Everyone Realized the Saint Was a Fake, but She Still Thought She Was Fooling Them - Chapter 6

It was embarrassing that she couldn’t control herself, but in the end, Lianna sneaked into the royal palace for a “night stroll.”

She did it to put an end to her lingering regrets, but she also had a strange feeling, a vague sense of unease about something surrounding the crown prince.

However, in the end, Lianna overheard an important conversation.

She hadn’t intended to eavesdrop, but the crown prince already had a visitor.

That visitor was Ernst.

Since it was a late-night visit, and most likely a warning regarding the Saintess, the crown prince decided not to invite Ernst into his chambers. Instead, they met in the royal palace’s courtyard.

Lianna, who had sneaked in, happened to come across the scene and, hidden in the shadows, overheard their conversation.

At that time, she wasn’t in love with Ernst. In fact, she hardly knew anything about him.

The crown prince stood in front of Ernst with a sour expression.

“I already know what you’re going to say. But no matter what you tell me now, nothing will change.”

“But if that’s the case, then anyone who calls themselves a ‘Saintess’ would be accepted!”

Ernst protested strongly.

Lianna wondered what they were talking about. She could tell it was about the Saintess, but…

With a troubled expression, the crown prince replied,

“That’s exactly the problem! The definition of a ‘Saintess’ was never clear in the first place. But she has the holy mark, and the temple acknowledged her. If the royal palace were to deny it, we would need solid proof to justify it.”

However, Ernst refused to back down.

“What proof did the temple use to recognize Lucilda as the ‘Saintess’? If you were to ask a Saintess to make the sun rise in the middle of this pitch-dark night, none of them could do it. But praying for peace? Anyone could do that. Such vague reasoning isn’t convincing at all!”

The crown prince shrugged, as if to say, Why are you asking me?

“I don’t know the details. I don’t even know what criteria the temple uses to recognize a Saintess. Even if such criteria exist, the temple wouldn’t disclose them to outsiders. But that holy mark—how could that be faked?”

“How could it not be faked? That’s a careless way to put it. But honestly, I just can’t believe Saint Lucilda is a true Saintess! What do you think, Your Highness? Whose side are you on?”

Ernst pressed the crown prince.

The crown prince responded with a relaxed smile.

“I welcome our new Saintess.”

“What?! And what about Lady Lianna, who devoted herself to you all this time?”

“Lianna? If anything, she’s more of a criminal. She noticed the Saintess’s awakening and tried to hide it. And when she could no longer keep it hidden, she insisted that the Saintess wasn’t real.”

“That’s just what Saint Lucilda claims. I have no proof that Lady Lianna ever did such a thing.”

“Proof, huh? After our engagement was annulled, she did try to contact me a few times. But yes, there was no real evidence regarding the Saintess case, so she wasn’t punished.”

“Of course not! Lady Lianna understood her position well—both before and after the annulment!”

Ernst spoke seriously, as if reasoning with the crown prince.

Lianna, who had long waited for words of recognition, felt her heart swell and tears well up in her eyes when she unexpectedly heard them from Ernst.

Yes, this is what I had been waiting for, Lianna thought, deeply moved.

However, the crown prince coldly dismissed it.

“Lianna may have done well, but she was too serious. When it comes to charm as a woman, the Saintess is far more attractive. I am a man, after all.”

Hearing this, Ernst gave the crown prince a disgusted look.

“Don’t tell me—you’ve already slept with the Saintess?”

“Shh! Keep it a secret, Ernst. If word gets out that I laid hands on the Saintess before marriage, I’d be scolded from all directions.”

Despite saying he would be scolded, the crown prince grinned, looking completely unbothered.

“Aren’t you being a little too careless?”

“Am I? Well, it doesn’t matter. Let me be clear—being the crown prince bores me. I spend my time dealing with the nobility, and it’s exhausting. If I have a choice, I’ll pick the option that makes my life more enjoyable.”

The way the crown prince spoke carried a strange intensity. His eyes held a deep darkness, and his voice, lower than usual, revealed his true feelings.

Ernst realized that the crown prince was experiencing some form of despair. Though he couldn’t guess what exactly.

As Ernst fell silent, the crown prince lightened his tone.

“Lucilda bears the holy mark, and the temple recognizes her. I see this as a positive thing. Even after everything I’ve said, do you still plan to go around calling the Saintess a fraud? That would be treason, you know.”

Hidden in the shadows, Lianna gave up on everything at that moment.

She had been engaged to him for years, yet she had never truly understood what the crown prince was thinking.

No—was there even a single person who truly understood him?

A farewell from him? That meant absolutely nothing in his mind.

Even without love, she had hoped for at least a relationship of trust—but that fragile hope was shattered.

Lianna felt as if she was facing something inhuman.

Ernst remained silent.

“…?”

“You still have something to say? You refuse to accept Lucilda and me?”

The crown prince asked, sounding slightly irritated. Finally, Ernst spoke.

“No. Accept or not, everything has been carried out according to the Saint Law. The law is the law. No one can judge you for this.”

Hearing this, the crown prince looked relieved.

“Good. I didn’t want to make an enemy of you.”

“I don’t want to be your enemy either, Your Highness.”

“Then this conversation is over.”

“I see. Then, I’ll be leaving.”

Ernst turned his back on the crown prince and walked away. But in a voice so cold and low that the crown prince couldn’t hear, he muttered,

“But don’t think you and Lucilda will get away with this.”

Was it the direction of the wind?

Lianna heard Ernst’s words clearly.

Get away? She didn’t understand what he meant.

But she had never seen Ernst, who always seemed mild-mannered, speak with such murderous intent.

That night, Lianna ended her night stroll.

Yet, from that night on, she couldn’t stop thinking about him. Ernst… who exactly is he?

“Don’t think you’ll get away with this.” A person who would say something like that must be dangerous.

But at every social gathering, Ernst, with his golden hair, looked refined and gentlemanly—nothing like the ruthless man from that night.

It was almost as if that night had been an illusion.

Lianna found herself strangely drawn to him, yet at the same time, she felt an eerie sense of unease.

Then, one day, at a horse racing event hosted by the king, as Lianna walked toward the guest seating area, she overheard voices from the shadows.

“The goddess will strike down the false Saintess with lightning.”

Startled by the rough words, she turned around.

There stood Ernst. He wasn’t alone, but the other person was hidden in the shadows.

Seeing Ernst’s harsh expression, Lianna felt as though she had stumbled upon something she shouldn’t have. She quickly looked down and walked away.

But then she heard his voice.

“I cannot accept that choice. I will protect Lady Lianna—”

He hadn’t noticed her, yet his eyes burned with unwavering conviction.

Ernst’s words pierced Lianna’s heart.

She had never spoken to him, yet she felt shaken.

She recalled his words from that night.

“Lady Lianna understood her position well—both before and after the annulment.”

Her heart swelled, and she felt it pounding furiously.

She tried to calm it, but she couldn’t.

From that day on, every time she saw Ernst, her eyes followed him.

—But she knew.

Ernst had a fiancée.

So all she could do was watch.

Even if he seemed to be on her side, she knew all too well—he didn’t see her that way.