Everyone Realized the Saint Was a Fake, but She Still Thought She Was Fooling Them - Chapter 15

Celeste had noticed that Lianna was up to something, but she didn’t like the feeling that Lianna was trying to trap Brode. She pouted slightly.

Ever since she got engaged to Brode, Celeste had fully accepted her future. She was determined to respect her husband and dedicate herself to his household.

That said, Lianna, Wallace, and Bartlett were all childhood friends she was very close to. She had no intention of betraying them here.

So, Celeste decided to take a neutral stance, silently observing Lianna and Brode.

“So? Lord Brode, what are Lord Ernst’s misdeeds?”

Lianna continued her act, leaning forward with interest. Brode smiled.

“Well, let’s start with the basics. Lord Ernst is opposing Saint Lucilda. Even though she is the rightful Saint, he continues to act arrogantly, questioning her powers and refusing to accept her engagement to the Crown Prince.”

Lianna also had doubts about Lucia’s abilities and didn’t think she was fit to be Crown Princess. But for now, she pretended to agree to get more information from Brode.

“Oh my, how rude of Lord Ernst.”

And then, she added with perfect acting skills, “Even I, who had my engagement to the Crown Prince annulled, still show respect to Saint Lucilda.”

Brode nodded enthusiastically.

“Exactly! If even you, who should resent her the most, can acknowledge her, it only proves how stubborn Lord Ernst is. But, well, I heard that at first, even you refused to accept Saint Lucilda and even tried to cover up her existence…”

Brode probed her with a searching gaze. Lianna thought, That’s all Lucilda’s false accusations—none of it is true.

However, she knew denying it outright would leave a bad impression. So instead, she smiled.

“Yes, I was immature back then. I let my emotions take over. But I’ve reflected on my actions.”

She made sure her words wouldn’t provoke Brode.

Celeste didn’t like that Lianna was accepting false accusations. She almost spoke up, but before she could, Lianna gently tapped her ankle with her foot, signaling her to stay silent.

Brode, completely unaware, nodded again in satisfaction.

At this point, it was obvious—Brode was entirely on Lucia’s side. Lianna realized she had to choose her words carefully.

“So, Lord Ernst was injured recently, wasn’t he? It’s like divine punishment, don’t you think? Wallace said he stabbed himself, but later, I heard that the culprit was someone else.”

Brode’s eyes widened in shock.

“Someone else? Who told you that? Lord Wallace?”

“I didn’t hear it from Wallace. But, Lord Brode, you don’t know who the culprit is? I heard it was Lady Yelena’s lover.”

Lianna revealed the information little by little, carefully watching Brode’s reaction.

Brode was visibly startled. His face said, How do you know that?

“Where did you hear that…?! D-Does Lord Wallace or Lord Ernst know about this?”

So, Brode did know.

If he knew nothing, he would have been shocked to hear that Yelena even had a lover. And the idea that her lover stabbed Ernst would have left him utterly speechless.

Since Brode was aware, Lianna thought, Let’s push a little further…

“I heard it from Saint Lucilda.”

It wasn’t a lie. It was during my ‘night walk’ after all.

She hoped this statement would make Brode mistakenly believe that she had a special connection with Lucia.

Then, Lianna continued,

“But who did you hear it from? Surely not Saint Lucilda herself? Did Lady Yelena tell you?”

She baited him.

Brode completely misinterpreted Lianna’s words. He now believed there was a secret link between her and Lucia. Instead of being suspicious, he seemed rather proud of knowing this valuable information, and he began to trust Lianna more.

Then, shaking his head firmly, Brode said,

“I could never speak with Saint Lucilda directly. To be honest, I’m not particularly close to Lady Yelena either—there’s a difference in our family status. My house isn’t an old noble family, after all. But I do have ties with Dustin, so I heard it from him. He didn’t seem eager to talk about it, but I pushed him until he admitted it—he’s the one who did it.”

Even though he said he was surprised, he spoke with a tone of pride, as if he had uncovered some great secret.

Lianna had never heard the name “Dustin” before. Who’s that? she wondered bitterly.

But she didn’t let her confusion show. Instead, she looked up at Brode with admiration.

“That’s impressive.”

Still, from the way Brode spoke, she could guess.

Since he said “the culprit himself,” it meant that Dustin was the one who stabbed Ernst—Yelena’s lover.

Lianna swallowed hard.

Could she use this conversation to dig deeper into the connection between Lady Lucia and Yelena’s lover, Dustin?

“Saint Lucilda wasn’t exactly open about this, so I don’t know all the details. But to hear it directly from Dustin himself—that’s incredible. Of course, Saint Lucilda gave her permission, right?”

Lianna asked carefully, making her tone as soft as possible to avoid alarming Brode.

“Of course! Without Saint Lucilda, Dustin wouldn’t even be with Lady Yelena. He wouldn’t have harmed Lord Ernst either. If he had never met Saint Lucilda, Dustin would have lived an easy-going life, hiding his feelings for Lady Yelena forever.”

Brode spoke as if he was boasting.

“Oh, what a devoted man. If Saint Lucilda is vouching for him, then there’s nothing to worry about.”

Lianna said something she didn’t believe at all.

Brode, however, frowned slightly.

“Well, honestly, I am a bit worried. He’s being used a little too conveniently. Stabbing Lord Ernst out of love for Lady Yelena—it seems excessive, doesn’t it?”

“The day I introduced Wallace to you, Lord Ernst was stabbed. You left the room immediately when you heard. Did you figure it out right away? Who did it?”

Lianna subtly tested him.

“I talk to Dustin often, so I thought it was possible. And, well, it turned out I was right. But yes, I do have some concerns.”

Brode nodded as he spoke.

“It should be fine. I went with Wallace to see Lord Ernst. He suspects Dustin but said he wouldn’t blame him. He’s probably considering Lady Yelena’s reputation. But he did say there wouldn’t be a next time.”

That was a complete lie.

But Lianna wanted to see how Brode would react if he believed that Ernst was willing to forgive Yelena’s lover, Dustin.

“I see! That’s a relief! There won’t be a next time! I’ll make sure of that! Dustin regrets what he did. Even if it was Saint Lucilda’s order, if Lord Ernst had died, it would have made him a murderer. He said he made sure not to go that far, but still… It was something that could have caused a much bigger scandal.”

Brode spoke as if he was defending his friend.

But there was something in Brode’s words that Lianna didn’t miss.

“Saint Lucilda’s order? I think you mentioned that she gave Dustin some kind of permit?”

Lianna carefully chose her words, keeping her tone light so Brode wouldn’t become suspicious.

“Oh, yes, he said something about that. He mentioned that he got a travel permit from Saint Lucilda, and Ernst’s name was deliberately written on it. He then pretended to contact Ernst to ask about some kind of mistake, using that as an excuse to approach him… I think?”

Brode murmured as he tried hard to remember.

At that moment, there was a loud crash as a chair fell over.

Startled, Lianna looked up to see Celeste standing, her face pale, her mouth pressed into a tight line, and her shoulders shaking with anger.

Lianna thought, “Oh no.”

She had been speaking as if she understood Lucilda’s side to get information out of Brode, but she had forgotten that Celeste—who was on her side and disliked Lucilda—was also there.

Celeste’s shoulders trembled as she clenched her fists. She was clearly furious with Lianna’s attitude.

Had Lianna switched sides to Lucilda’s?

What was the point of all the time she had spent worrying about her?

And whose side was Brode even on?

One unbelievable thing after another kept coming up, completely outside of Celeste’s understanding.

Her thoughts were in total chaos, and she could no longer make sense of anything.