Everyone Realized the Saint Was a Fake, but She Still Thought She Was Fooling Them - Chapter 8

After settling things with Mesha, Lianna briefly discussed tonight’s plan with her.

Even though it was nighttime, visiting too late would mean the person they intended to see might already be asleep. So, they chose a time when people were still awake but beginning to relax.

To match that schedule, Lianna went to bed early.

Mesha, under the pretense of keeping her company at night, entered Lianna’s bedroom and sprawled out on the long chair.

Bong, bong, bong, bong, bong, bong…

The sound of the old clock echoed. At exactly ten o’clock, just as scheduled, Mesha, who had been getting drowsy out of boredom, rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up.

Yawning widely, Mesha grumbled, “So sleepy.” But despite her complaints, she was someone who kept her promises.

She wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, shivered slightly, lit a candle, and carefully placed it beside Lianna’s bed.

Then, dragging the long chair closer to where Lianna’s sleeping body lay, she sat down.

She glanced at Lianna’s sleeping face for a moment, but with no particular emotion, she quickly averted her gaze. After that, she stopped complaining and simply opened a book, quietly reading.

—Until morning. She would just sit there and read.

Meanwhile, when the old clock struck the scheduled time, Lianna woke up.

She left her sleeping body and glanced anxiously at Mesha. But when she saw Mesha stretch and rise from the long chair right on time, she looked relieved.

While she was asleep, Lianna could—if she wanted to—mysteriously leave her body.

Without a physical form, she couldn’t speak, but since no one could see her and she could pass through anything, she could freely wander outside.

This was what Lianna called her “night stroll.”

Of course, she could enter other people’s rooms, but she rarely did since she knew it was wrong.

Since she had no physical form, she couldn’t steal anything or even touch anything. She could only see and hear.

Lianna planned to use this ability to investigate the incident where Ernst was stabbed.

However, since her sleeping body would be left defenseless, she asked Mesha to keep watch.

Even though she knew Mesha couldn’t hear her, Lianna quickly said, “I’m going. Take care of things here.”

She was feeling uneasy—probably because she was about to go to Ernst. She fidgeted nervously.

Then, leaving her body behind, Lianna floated towards the Limbrick Ducal Estate where Ernst lived.

Since she had no physical form, she floated rather than walked. Walking was, after all, a very physical action.

As she moved in a straight line, she found herself near the royal palace.

Just then, she heard voices. Out of curiosity, she looked in that direction and saw none other than Saint Lucilda.

“Huh?”

Lianna was startled to see such an unexpected person.

Even on such a dark night, Lucilda was completely wrapped in an outdoor cloak, standing in a secluded part of the royal palace’s courtyard.

Judging from the situation, it didn’t seem like anything good. Not wanting to get involved, Lianna turned her eyes away and hurried to leave. But then, she overheard a conversation.

“I am the Saintess, the Crown Prince’s fiancée! Do you understand?!”

It seemed she was meeting someone in secret.

Lianna sighed. Is she bragging again? She decided to ignore it and turned back toward Ernst’s estate.

But then—

“Ernst is still alive, isn’t he?!”

Lucilda’s hysterical voice rang out.

Hearing Ernst’s name, Lianna froze and spun around in shock.

Was Lucilda involved in Ernst’s injury?

Lianna clenched her lips tightly. Frowning, she narrowed her eyes and moved closer to Lucilda.

Of course, no one could see Lianna in her current state, so there was no risk of being discovered.

“But Saint Lucilda, you said it was just a warning. Killing him would be a big problem!”

A man hidden in the darkness spoke, his tone almost pleading.

“But if he stays alive, won’t our secret be exposed?”

Lucilda sounded scared.

“It’s already been exposed. But it should be fine. Since he was stabbed by his fiancée’s lover, her family will try to cover it up. Even if they fail and something happens, you just need to protect me. I’ll insist to the end that I had nothing to do with it.”

The man’s words were chilling, yet his tone remained oddly casual.

Listening to their conversation, Lianna turned pale.

Fiancée’s lover?!

Does that mean Ernst’s fiancée had a lover?

His fiancée was Lady Yelena Maselesten, the Marquis’s daughter.

Did Lady Yelena have a lover even though she was engaged to Ernst?

That’s terrible!

And that lover was the one who stabbed Ernst?!

If Lucilda was protecting him, then this wasn’t just a crime of passion—this was part of her scheme! But why?

At that moment, the man in the dark spoke again.

“Saint Lucilda, rather than worrying about this, you should hurry up and prove your power. If you truly had absolute power as a Saintess, no one would dare question you.”

“I know that! But… I need money to prove I am the Saintess!”

Lucilda shouted hysterically again.

“Money?” Lianna thought. What does money have to do with the Saintess’s power?

The man’s tone suddenly turned colder.

“Saint Lucilda, we have no intention of going down with a sinking ship. If you don’t resolve that issue, we can’t continue working with you.”

Lucilda flinched.

But she quickly masked her reaction, turned her back to the man, and silently walked away into the darkness of the courtyard.

Lianna wanted to see the man’s face.

But it was too dark, and he was wearing a hooded cloak, as if he was being extra cautious.

His identity remained a mystery.