Everyone Realized the Saint Was a Fake, but She Still Thought She Was Fooling Them - Chapter 12

Since Lianna had accepted her engagement to Wallace, Wallace, with a conflicted and uncertain expression, promised her:

“I’ll arrange a meeting so you can talk directly with Ernst.”

As promised, a few days later, Wallace took Lianna to Ernst’s residence, the Duke of Lynbrick’s mansion.

Wallace was unusually quiet, his face tense with nervousness, but Lianna was determined to ask anything now that she had come this far.

She liked Ernst. A one-sided crush. She had only ever watched him from afar.

But today, even though she was finally able to talk to him, her real goal was to stop whatever schemes Saint Lucilda and Ernst’s fiancée, Yelena, might be plotting. That realization helped her stay unexpectedly calm.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lianna Gruber.”

Lianna greeted him cheerfully.

Even as Ernst’s beautiful golden hair swayed and his clear blue eyes met hers directly, she found herself less nervous than she had expected.

Ernst greeted her in a refined and gentle manner. With a warm smile, he took Lianna’s hand and kissed the back of it in a polite gesture.

Lianna was dazed.

To think this day would come! That Ernst would call her name and touch her!

Of course, it was just a greeting. Still—a short while ago, she would have thought this was something out of a dream. Now, however, her feelings had shifted slightly. Unlike before, when she only loved him from afar, she now had a mission: to uncover the conspiracy he might be caught up in.

Lianna composed herself.

Skipping any unnecessary preamble, she asked directly about something she had been wondering for a long time—the conversation between the Crown Prince and Ernst on the night her engagement to the Crown Prince was broken.

“I’ve been curious about this for a while. Why do you oppose Saint Lucilda, Lord Ernst? Whether she is real or fake, shouldn’t it have nothing to do with you? Even if she were an imposter, wouldn’t it be easier to ignore it like the other nobles?”

Ernst, who also disliked unnecessary formalities, did not reprimand her for being blunt. Instead, he answered immediately.

“It does concern me. Saint Lucilda has been demanding large amounts of money and goods from us. And not just from my house.”

Money and goods?

Lianna’s heart pounded.

Could this be related to what she overheard during her “night stroll” when Lucilda had said, ‘I need money’?

“Why would Saint Lucilda need money?”

Lianna asked, her voice trembling.

“Our country experiences a lot of rain, so the goddess worshiped in the temple is the Goddess of Water.”

As Ernst began explaining, Lianna quickly interjected.

“Yes, I know. She is the goddess who protects people’s property from floods. Whenever it rained, people would pray at the temple. But what about it?”

Ernst smiled.

“My territory, the Duchy of Lynbrick, has several major rivers. While these rivers are essential for agriculture, their abundance also means poor drainage. Every time there is heavy rain, the river courses shift, flooding homes and fields. Controlling this has been a major issue. That’s why flood control is one of our top priorities. We’ve planned various large-scale projects, like reinforcing embankments and deepening riverbeds.”

Lianna nodded.

“Flood control is a problem for every territory to some extent.”

Ernst continued.

“The saint in this country is said to be blessed by the goddess and able to control water. Naturally, I had high hopes. Since we were actively working on flood control, I thought Saint Lucilda could provide the best method or even use her powers to help us complete the projects efficiently. It wasn’t just my territory—several lords struggling with similar issues gathered to discuss this.”

“But Lucilda doesn’t seem to have enough power to control water. Nothing has changed since she appeared.”

Wallace interjected.

Ernst gave a wry smile.

“That’s right. But honestly, if Lucilda wasn’t a real saint, that wouldn’t have mattered as long as she kept quiet. We could have simply continued our flood control projects as before. However, she lacked the wisdom to stay silent.”

“What do you mean?”

Lianna asked.

Ernst’s expression turned grim as he explained.

“Although the projects are within our territory, river management affects multiple lands, so we need permission from the royal palace. When we sought approval, Lucilda, possibly bribed by construction firms, started interfering. She proposed inefficient projects, pushed for unnecessary construction outside our land, and even opposed coastal reclamation, insisting on building multiple unneeded reservoirs. Yet she never explained her reasoning. I just wanted her to stay out of it.”

“That’s awful…”

Lianna sympathized with Ernst.

He nodded firmly.

“The Crown Prince said he wouldn’t approve any construction unless we followed Saint Lucilda’s directives. He wanted to ‘respect her authority as the saint.’ But he had to know what she was really doing. It all came down to money and politics. Our construction fees were being funneled to Lucilda through contractors. We had no choice but to pay bribes, and only then were we granted permission for a small embankment project. It was clear she intended to demand money at every step. How could someone like her be called a saint? A woman who interferes with vital public works just to extort money is supposed to become the Crown Prince’s wife because of the Saint Law? It was absurd. That’s why I oppose the Saint Law and refuse to acknowledge Lucilda as a saint.”

“But… even so, the Crown Prince insists she is the saint…”

Lianna hesitated, and Ernst sighed.

“Yes, well… the stigmata are undeniable.”

“I see… So, because of your opposition, Lucilda is trying to threaten you…”

Lianna murmured, lost in thought. Ernst suddenly looked up sharply.

“What do you know?”

“That’s it, Ernst. Lianna says your fiancée’s lover, the one who stabbed you, is connected to Lucilda.”

Wallace cut in.

“What?!”

Ernst stared at Lianna in shock and suspicion.

Feeling nervous, Lianna hesitated. “I can’t say much, but… I heard it from Lucilda herself. That’s all.”

“Heard it from Lucilda? In what situation?”

Ernst asked sharply.

Lianna shrank back. “I can’t say…”

She had no intention of revealing her “night stroll.”

Seeing her resolve, Ernst sighed. “I see. I won’t press further. I already had suspicions, so I asked Wallace and his people to investigate Lucilda’s connection to Yelena. I can’t act too openly because of Yelena’s involvement.”

“Wallace, is there any progress?”

Lianna looked at Wallace anxiously.

Wallace met her gaze briefly before turning to Ernst. “We’re looking into that travel permit you mentioned. Yelena’s lover had a suspicious one issued under Lucilda’s name.”

“What are they planning?”

“We don’t know yet. It’s just a permit. We don’t have proof that Lucilda ordered the attack on you. Bartlett and I will keep investigating.”

Lianna glanced worriedly at Ernst, whose expression darkened.

Feeling uneasy, she reached out and took Ernst’s hand. “Lord Ernst, I will find out what Lucilda is scheming.”

Shocked, Ernst looked at her.

“Lianna, no! It’s too dangerous.”

Wallace immediately pulled her away.

Lianna, unaware of her own gesture, protested, “I have sources. I’ll be fine.”

Wallace snapped, “No, you won’t! Absolutely not.”

But Lianna was determined. “Someone has to do it. If Lucilda is a fake saint, this is a national issue.”

Wallace’s expression turned even grimmer.

“I won’t let you risk yourself. That wasn’t part of the deal.”

Lianna fell silent, frustrated.

Seeing this, Ernst reached out to comfort her, but Wallace stopped him.

“I need to talk to Lianna alone. We’re leaving.”

Ernst, surprised, nodded. “If that’s what you want. But… will you be okay?”

“She’s my responsibility. I’ll handle it.”

Wallace said firmly.