Everyone Realized the Saint Was a Fake, but She Still Thought She Was Fooling Them - Chapter 10

After returning from her “Night Stroll,” Lianna found herself overwhelmed. She had discovered that Saint Lucilda seemed to be hiding a secret and that there was a suspect in Ernst’s attack. There was too much unexpected information at once, and she didn’t know what to do with it.

To be honest, Lianna still didn’t know how to process the fact that Ernst’s fiancée, Yelena, had a lover and that this lover was the one who stabbed Ernst.

Whenever she tried to think about it, her mind became a mess, and she couldn’t put her thoughts in order.

However, she had a vague feeling that Ernst had some idea of who the culprit was. And if Wallace and Bartlett were getting involved, then it must have something to do with that.

What were Ernst, Wallace, and Bartlett planning to do next?

Feeling anxious, Lianna wondered if she could use Wallace’s kindness to her advantage and get him to tell her something. It would be unnatural for her to have this much information, but when it was just the two of them, Wallace was always incredibly sweet to her. She knew that well.

Of course, he might not tell her anything… but she figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

So, Lianna sent a letter, a bit hesitantly, asking if she could meet Wallace.

When Wallace received the letter, he immediately assumed it was about Ernst and prepared himself. Still, he didn’t refuse her invitation.

Since he liked Lianna, he didn’t want to turn her down just because it involved Ernst. If she acted recklessly because he refused, that would be even more troublesome.

Lianna chose a reception room in a quiet corner of the mansion and invited Wallace there. She had the maids prepare tea.

Sitting across from Wallace at the tea table, Lianna asked directly,

“Wallace, did you meet with Lord Ernst?”

Wallace remained silent and took a sip of tea.

“……”

Since he didn’t answer, Lianna, feeling a bit awkward, reached for her own cup and took a sip, just to have something to do.

Wallace glanced at her.

“Are you worried about Ernst?”

“Well… I mean, about who the culprit is…”

Relieved that Wallace had finally spoken, Lianna answered.

“If you find out who stabbed Ernst, what are you going to do? What can you even do, no matter how much you like him?”

Wallace set his tea down slowly and spoke with a slight pout. His words made Lianna’s heart skip a beat.

“Is it wrong to like him? Besides, I think this might be connected to me…”

Wallace’s eyes widened in surprise as he stared at her.

“Connected? How?”

His sharp gaze pierced through her.

Lianna shrank back under his intense stare.

“Ah… no, I just overheard something…”

“Overheard what? Tell me properly.”

Wallace’s voice was firm, and he didn’t take his eyes off her.

“Uh, well… It’s about my broken engagement with the crown prince. I heard that Lord Ernst doesn’t recognize Saint Lucilda as the Saintess and that he was supporting me…”

“Ah, that.”

Wallace exhaled deeply, lowering his shoulders as if he had been relieved of a burden.

“You scared me. When you said ‘connected,’ I thought something had happened between you two.”

Lianna’s face turned red with anger.

“N-Nothing happened! But if Lord Ernst is defending me and that’s making him clash with Saint Lucilda… And if this attack is related to her, then it’s my fault.”

“That’s not true.”

Wallace dismissed the idea casually and reached for a cookie on the table, toying with it between his fingers.

“Ernst just doubts that Lucilda is really a Saintess. He’s not trying to protect you. He just feels bad that you got caught up in the mess caused by a fake Saintess. That’s all.”

He made it sound as if Lianna was merely a side detail in the whole issue.

Lianna felt slightly relieved.

“As long as it’s not my fault… I don’t really understand the whole ‘fake Saintess’ thing, but I’m actually glad I got out of my engagement with the crown prince, so I don’t need anyone feeling sorry for me.”

“Glad you got out of it? No one is happier about that than I am.”

Wallace still didn’t look at her and instead broke the cookie in half with both hands.

“Anyway, you’re just a minor part of this. Ernst and I are only talking about getting Lucilda removed because she’s unfit to be a Saintess.”

“Unfit?”

Hearing that, Lianna recalled her “Night Stroll.”

Lucilda had been talking about proving her Saintess powers and not having enough money. It had been a strange conversation.

Wallace finally looked at Lianna, dropping half of the cookie into her palm.

“She’s obviously lacking power. Even the neighboring country is gossiping about it.”

“What kind of rumors?”

“Well, they’re just rumors, so I won’t say.”

“Tell me.”

Lianna leaned forward eagerly.

Wallace glanced at her.

“Are you that interested? Why? After your engagement was broken, you stopped caring about Lucilda and the crown prince. For two years, you completely ignored her. So why the sudden interest? Is it because Ernst got hurt?”

Lianna’s face turned bright red, and she fell silent.

Even though she looked down, her expression made it clear that she wasn’t convinced. Seeing that, Wallace let out a small sigh and started speaking.

“Our country’s goddess is the Water Goddess. Since we get a lot of rain, people’s prayers for water turned into faith. That’s all fine. When a Saintess appears in this country, usually, things like floods decrease—”

Lianna nodded.

She had heard such stories many times before.

Seeing her nod, Wallace continued with a sullen expression, as if he didn’t really want to talk about it.

“But… the floods haven’t decreased, have they?”

“Ah,”

Lianna thought.

It was true. Even after Lucilda appeared, floods from heavy rain and river overflows kept happening all over the country.

Lianna looked at Wallace.

Wallace nodded.

“Even though we have a Saintess, these troubles haven’t decreased. That’s a rumor being whispered among the nobles of our country.”

“Oh, I see…”

Lianna’s voice trembled.

“So, what’s the rumor from the neighboring country…?”

Wallace let out another big sigh, then explained in a tired voice.

“Well, when a real Saintess appears, our country’s floods and water troubles decrease. That’s a good thing, of course, but that doesn’t mean it stops raining. What happens instead is that when our country has stable water control, the problems move to the neighboring country. Some kind of strange force is at work. Historically speaking, small water troubles start happening more often there, and sometimes even big, unexpected disasters occur. That’s why the neighboring country was on alert when Lucilda appeared. But so far, not even the smallest trouble has happened.”

“That sounds like a good thing for the neighboring country,” Lianna said softly.

Wallace gave a light nod. “Well, yeah.”

Then, he got to the most important point.

“It was good for them. But when people have room to breathe, they start talking. ‘Why isn’t anything happening even though a Saintess appeared in the neighboring country?’ Some have even started doubting if Lucilda is really a Saintess. The neighboring country is looking down on her.”

Lianna had been listening with a serious expression, but when she heard that, she suddenly realized something.

“So that’s why? That’s why you came back? To investigate the Saintess’s abilities?”

Wallace, now done with his explanation, suddenly changed his tone.

“Well, that’s one reason. But I also came back to find a fiancée.”

Lianna looked a little surprised at how abruptly he ended the conversation about Lucilda.

“Oh… right, you did say that.”

Seeing how uninterested she seemed, Wallace sighed and lowered his gaze to his teacup.

“But the person I have feelings for is still trapped in an unrequited love.”

“Really?”

Lianna tilted her head in confusion.

Wallace stared at her for a long moment.

Then, he sighed again in exasperation.

He had been sighing a lot today.