"…That Ordel will now properly act like a saint."
At the count's voice—heard for the first time since all the talking ended—Gale hastily nodded.
"Y-Yes! In fact, from what I've seen, not only the High Priest but also the Head of the Order have softened their attitudes toward her quite a bit compared to before."
Although they had no choice but to accept her, the High Priest Ayrick had clearly shown discomfort at her un-saintlike behavior and speech.
And the Head of the Order, Seth, who, even while treating her politely believing she was a real saint, never seemed interested in getting personally close to her.
But their attitudes had completely changed over just a few months.
As if Ordel had truly gained their trust.
That was also why Gale had come to believe Ordel's words when she said she would become a spy.
"She did all sorts of things to get my attention before, so I still can't fully trust her this time."
However, unlike Gale, the Count, who hadn't seen the situation firsthand, didn't believe a word of it.
Gale was disappointed, but didn't push any further.
Given Ordel had once faked her own suicide, it was only natural the Count didn't believe her right away.
"But the real issue now isn't her. Are you sure the Duke of Sieri actually visited the Solar Temple?"
At the Count's follow-up question, Gale's expression hardened.
Yes, Ordel wasn't the only problem now.
He himself had been just as shocked to see the Duke of Sieri at the Solar Temple.
"Yes. He was with Yuri Fulton."
"You don't know why he came?"
"I only heard it was something urgent. I hid outside the temple and waited for the Duke to come out, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary."
Until he got into the carriage, the Duke and Count Fulton didn't exchange a single word, so there was nothing to overhear.
"Should I ask Ordel what business the Duke had there? If she really intends to become a spy like she said, she'll send back a reply."
"…Alright. We don't know how much information the High Priest is willing to share with a fake saint, but there's nothing to lose. Go ahead and send the letter."
"Understood. I'll send it right away."
"Oh, and—what kind of expression did the Duke have when he came out of the temple?"
Gale tilted his head at the Count's question.
He didn't know why he was being asked this, but answered obediently anyway.
"He was smiling. That usual, obnoxious smile of his. Actually… maybe it looked a bit brighter than usual…?"
There was a slight difference in tone, but regardless, it was the same unsettling and unpleasant smile he always wore.
At Gale's reply, the Count waved his hand as if he understood.
Gale immediately bowed and left the Count's office.
Relieved that the Count hadn't given him a serious scolding.
"Lute Sieri visited the Solar Temple."
Left alone after Gale departed, Count Kiris tapped his desk with his fingers.
That a big fish like Lute Sieri had taken the bait and walked into the place where he had planted the fake saint for the sake of his family's gain...
It would be ideal if Ordel could win the man's trust and gather various pieces of information for them—but expecting that much would be too greedy.
For now, it was enough just to know that Lute Sieri had made contact with the Solar Temple.
Count Kiris put down his pen and stood up. There was still a mountain of work left, but none of these petty documents mattered right now.
First, he had to report Lute Sieri's movements—
To the master who had a very keen interest in the man's every move.
When Ayrick belatedly found out that what had gone to Lute wasn't just a holy relic (seongmul) but an actual divine relic (shinmul), he fainted.
Startled, Seth quickly carried him to the bedroom, and I trailed behind the two of them.
"I knew he'd be shocked, but I didn't expect him to actually faint. How can someone this faint-hearted lead the Grand Temple?"
I placed a cold, damp cloth on Ayrick's forehead.
He lay in bed groaning, and he looked truly pitiful.
"Well, it was a divine relic, after all. I suppose the shock was immense."
Seth gave an awkward chuckle, taking Ayrick's side.
"Still, he's far too delicate. Once the meat delivery arrives today, we need to feed the High Priest plenty."
"Good idea."
"It's all because he lacks protein. A person needs protein to survive."
I glanced around Ayrick's bedroom.
It was my first time seeing someone else's room in the Grand Temple—and frankly, it was a bit of a shock.
Even though he held the second-highest position after the Saint, the room was tiny and worn.
The only furniture was a bed and a wardrobe, nothing more.
His office was at least decently kept, but no matter how clean the bedroom was, the age and wear couldn't be hidden.
"Yeesh."
Living in a place like this would make even a healthy person sick.
So today, it's a meat party, no exceptions. Everyone eats until they're stuffed and can't eat another bite.
"Mmm…"
Just then, Ayrick regained consciousness. The moment his eyes met mine, he let out a loud sigh.
Sighing the instant you see someone's face? That's just asking for bad luck.
"Saint, why… why would you give away a divine relic…?"
"It just seemed more necessary to the Duke than, say, a typical holy relic."
"But, Saint… A divine relic is something granted directly by the gods. It's incredibly important—especially during trying times like these…"
I cut him off.
He only sees one side of the situation.
"High Priest. If the divine relic just sits quietly in the underground sanctuary, will the Grand Temple's name become known all on its own?"
"…"
"If we just treasure it in storage, will gold bars rain down from the sky?"
If anything, the Sun God is draining my income and converting it into holy power.
No one but the Sun God and I will ever know that.
Kind of depressing, honestly.
There was a time I held two hundred million won in my hands—and now, all I have left is divine power.
I'm a modern person—cash matters more to me.
"Rather than letting it sit unused, it's far better to lend it to someone who needs it and get the money we urgently need. Plus, didn't our number of believers increase as well?"
We're talking about an SS-rank believer worth 300 million won.
And he paid 300 million in cash—so in total, that's a whopping 600 million. A very valuable client!
There's no way I'm letting him go.
"If news spreads that the Duke became a follower of the Solar Temple, others may come too. He even promised to visit once a month."
"Once a month?!"
Ayrick, speechless, widened his eyes in shock.
Seth, who hadn't heard anything about this either, was equally surprised.
"The Duke of Sieri is famous for having zero spare time, and yet he's coming here monthly?"
"Yep. He said he wants to check on the divine relic's condition regularly."
I couldn't exactly say he was coming to recharge blessings, so I gave a vague excuse.
"For the record, the Duke doesn't know it's a divine relic. Since he didn't recognize the real appearance of the holy relic of light, I just told him the aurora was it."
"Well done. It's best to keep the divine relic's existence hidden. Who knows what the Duke might be planning."
Now that he seemed a bit more composed, Ayrick took the cloth off his forehead and sat up.
"So, is the real holy relic of light still in the sanctuary?"
"Oh, I was just about to mention that."
I pulled out the jewel box that had contained the holy relic from my sleeve.
In novels and comics, people always pulled things from their sleeves and I found that so fascinating—but now that I've possessed a character, I see it really is super convenient for storage.
I kind of feel like a martial arts master from a wuxia novel.
"No matter how you look at this, it seems fake."
I placed the box on the bed and opened the lid. The broken necklace inside made Ayrick freeze in shock.
"All I did was apply a bit of pressure and it shattered. A real holy relic shouldn't break this easily. It must've been swapped out or wasn't genuine from the start."
I also explained this was why I had no choice but to give the divine relic to the Duke.
"Honestly, I agree with you, Saint. Compared to other relics or divine items, this one always felt... off. It gave me this unpleasant feeling, like rejection."
For the first time, Seth—who had been quietly listening—voiced his agreement with me.
"…You two felt that way too?"
"Huh? Wait, High Priest, did you feel it too?"
Ayrick nodded with a strange expression.
"I first saw this right after I succeeded the position of High Priest. But it gave me such a bad feeling that I never looked at it again. So honestly, when the Duke wanted it, I felt relieved."
"Wait… so you were ready to give this creepy thing to the Duke just like that? Wow…"
"No, that's not what I meant…!"
"If he'd taken it and something went wrong, our barely surviving Grand Temple would've been completely ruined…"
Could it be… that in the original story, the reason the Duke was so hostile toward the Solar Temple wasn't because of the final boss who used him like a slave—but because of this thing?
Even if he asked for it himself, we gave him a cursed relic without a single warning…?
That actually sounds plausible.
"Ahem! So… what should we do with this now? Putting it back in the sanctuary seems… a bit…"
"I have an idea. I'll take care of it."
I gave Ayrick a pointed look, shut the lid of the jewel box, and hugged it tightly.
This useless chunk of cursed jewelry had been driving me nuts throughout the whole novel—and now I finally had the chance to destroy it.
There was no way I was letting anyone else take that satisfaction from me.