Everyone Realized the Saint Was a Fake, but She Still Thought She Was Fooling Them - Chapter 27

Now, let’s move to another place.

That day was the day for the King, the Crown Prince, and the ministers holding important positions in the country to have their regular luncheon.

It was a customary gathering, but the large table set in the grand hall, the thick, pure white tablecloth without a single stain, the elaborate candle stands, and the stacked gold-rimmed plates all emphasized the solemn importance of the occasion.

When the time came, the ministers were led into the hall and took their designated seats one by one. Among them were Duke Gruber, Lianna’s father, and Duke Tronic, Celeste’s father.

Finally, the King and Queen, the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince’s fiancée, the Saint Lucilda, took their seats.

The meal began as usual.

Exquisite dishes prepared by the chefs were served, and the crisp sounds of cutlery and warm conversations filled the hall. The beautifully arranged plates looked like pieces of art.

When the seasonal soup was brought out, Lucilda took a sip and suddenly covered her mouth.

“What is this?” she said.

A maid rushed over immediately.

“What happened? Did it not suit your taste?”

Lucilda glared at the maid with displeasure.

“It’s not about taste! My tongue is tingling! What is this?”

The maid looked flustered and said, “Perhaps the ingredients do not agree with your body. Please wait a moment.”

She quickly returned to the kitchen and then came back in a hurry, holding a pre-meal drink glass filled with some liquid.

“The chef said you should drink this immediately.”

Lucilda arrogantly grabbed the glass without a word and gulped it down in one go.

She pressed her lips together for a while after drinking, but then, as she seemed to calm down, she roughly shoved the glass back at the maid.

“Shall I call the royal physician?” the maid asked timidly.

“I think I’ll be fine, but yes, call the physician just in case. And make sure this never happens again—have the chefs properly instructed.”

Lucilda leaned back, speaking with an air of authority.

“Y-Yes!” The maid hurriedly left the room.

A short while later, the royal physician entered.

Lucilda glanced up in surprise.

Behind the physician stood Lianna and Celeste!

“What are you doing here?” Lucilda shouted in anger.

Duke Gruber and Duke Tronic, seated among the ministers, also widened their eyes in shock.

At that moment, the royal physician, with a completely serious and calm expression, spoke.

“Oh my, Lady Saint. Your Saint Mark has disappeared.”

Lucilda gasped.

“What? What did you say?”

The ministers also turned in surprise and looked at Lucilda’s forehead.

“Can a Saint Mark disappear?”

Lucilda, seemingly guilty about something, awkwardly tried to cover her forehead with her hand.

Duke Gruber noticed Lianna looking satisfied with the physician’s statement and asked her,

“Lianna, why are you here?”

“I came to reveal the truth about Lady Lucilda’s Saint Mark to everyone,” Lianna answered clearly.

Lucilda stiffened.

“What do you mean?”

The King, rather than scolding Lianna and Celeste for intruding on the meal, calmly asked.

“The drink Lady Lucilda just consumed was an herbal infusion,” Lianna explained. “We made a small adjustment to ensure she drank it without hesitation.”

Lucilda’s eyes flashed with anger.

“The soup!?”

“Yes. We added an ingredient that causes a tingling sensation only to Lady Lucilda’s soup. It is not poison, so please rest assured. We thought that if she felt something unusual, she would drink the herbal remedy without suspicion.”

Lianna smiled.

“What is special about this herb?” the King asked, tilting his head.

Lianna continued her explanation.

“This herb neutralizes the effects of a certain medicine. That medicine is directly related to Lady Lucilda’s Saint Mark.”

Lucilda instantly understood what Lianna meant and turned pale.

That “certain medicine” was an old remedy for skin diseases!

But how did they find out about it—?

“Lady Lucilda seems to understand,” Lianna said, glancing at Lucilda’s expression.

Everyone turned to look at Lucilda.

Only the Crown Prince, looking down, let out a quiet chuckle.

“Well, well. I always thought this day might come. This is quite entertaining. I’d like to know what this ‘certain medicine’ is. Go on, Lianna.”

Lianna frowned at the Crown Prince’s inappropriate laughter but, urged by the King and the ministers, continued.

“Lady Lucilda’s Saint Mark is fake. It is caused by a unique physical reaction. Her body reacts to an old formula of skin medicine, creating red spots that resemble a Saint Mark. Everyone was deceived. If she takes the herbal antidote, the Saint Mark disappears.”

“A fake Saint Mark? A reaction to the medicine?”

The King blinked in surprise.

“Isn’t that right, Lady Lucilda?” Lianna asked.

Lucilda bit her lip in frustration, looking down to hide her now markless forehead.

She could apply the medicine again to restore the mark, but doing so now would confirm Lianna’s accusation.

In desperation, Lucilda tried to argue back.

“There is no proof that my Saint Mark comes from a skin medicine! And there is no proof that what I drank was that special herb! Maybe it was poison! Maybe my body weakened from poison, making my Saint Mark less visible!”

She clutched her head, pretending to be in pain.

“It’s not poison. We still have some of the herb left. You can test it if you like. If you’re worried about tampering, we can have neutral physicians verify it. The same goes for the old skin medicine. We can apply it to see if a mark appears. The new formula doesn’t work, does it? You need the old one.”

Lianna smirked.

Lucilda clenched her teeth in silence.

Then, the Crown Prince spoke clearly.

“Lucilda, was your Saint Mark fake?”

“I-I…”

Lucilda turned pale, unable to answer.

The Crown Prince looked around at the King, Queen, and ministers.

“Well, it seems like no one here considers you a Saint anymore.”

Lucilda trembled.

“Even you doubt me, Your Highness?”

The Crown Prince shrugged.

“I never thought you were a Saint from the start.”

“What!?”

Lucilda screamed hysterically, while the Crown Prince casually covered his ears.

“I checked with reliable priests as soon as I heard about you. The priest at Wisledge was vague. So, I asked priests from an ancient temple in the water source region. They said your name never appeared in the Water Goddess’s divine record.”

Lucilda was speechless.

She had never even heard of such a method…