Chapter 148: Downfall, Windfall (II)
Thinking that Esther would take everything away if she stayed like this, Rabienne answered, practically screeching.
“I will. I can do it too.”
To Esther, it was fortunate to have Rabienne not disappoint her expectations.
‘Yes. You can’t back off now.’
‘This is not enough. I haven’t even taken off my gloves yet.’
She was waiting for the right time to prove more conclusively that Rabienne was a fake.
“The second test is holy flowers.”
At Sharon’s words, Rabienne’s expression brightened slightly.
‘I have a seed.’
In any case, she just needed to plant the seed and she could nurture the holy flower.
For the previous test, there was a big difference because her hyacinths couldn’t bloom, but this time, there was hope that she could reverse the result because she would grow the same holy flower.
The priests brought a square board prepared in advance.
The wide board was filled with soil from the greenhouse.
“You are to grow holy flowers.”
Esther and Rabienne were given equal space and time.
As soon as Sharon finished speaking, Rabienne quickly ran toward the board.
‘What kind of plan is this?’
Esther sent Rabienne a curious glance. She had been in tears until just now, but suddenly regained her vitality.
Occupying the best position, which was the middle, Rabienne pressed both her hands to the board.
‘Well, it must be a trick again.’
To begin with, Esther hadn’t thought that Rabienne would face the exam fairly.
Well, it didn’t matter. Esther walked slowly to the board.
As she began to move, the gazes of the elders also moved in unison towards the same direction.
With Rabienne occupying the middle, Esther stood on the edge.
But she didn’t care, she touched the soil and closed her eyes.
‘I’m sorry I’m making you grow in a place like this.’
She felt sorry for the holy flowers that would grow in a small temporary space, not a greenhouse, and dispersed her divine power.
Then, sprouts came up around Esther, and something green began to shoot out.
“Oh, oh!”
“Look at that!”
Even without much effort, the holy flowers ate Esther’s divine power and grew.
“It’s okay. With this, one thing is for sure…!? What’s that?”
After planting the seed she had barely snuck in and making the holy flower sprout, Rabienne excitedly turned her head, then sat down in place in surprise.
She assumed Esther would have a hard time, but…
It was not enough that a multitude of holy flowers had grown around the younger girl. She even had a calm expression. These two things combined made Rabienne emotional.
‘You could do that?’
Staring at the scene, her red eyes were bloodshot. She had strained her eyes, causing them to swell.
‘Everyone is not looking at me.’
And when she saw that there was no gaze directed at her, she despaired.
All the people in the venue blankly gazed at each and every one of Esther’s gestures.
‘To think I’m being treated as an extra.’
Rabienne squeezed the soil between her fingers.
She grabbed a handful of soil and erupted in anger.
“Why is it so easy for you? And what’s with that comfortable face?”
Already, the difference in their divine power was transmitted to Rabienne, who was right next to Esther, to the point that her skin tingled.
Rabienne’s face was crushed by shame and jealousy.
Right at this moment, Esther opened her eyes, wondering if everything was okay, and seeing the holy flowers that had grown more than she thought, she giggled.
“I guess I should have adjusted it a bit.”
She tilted her head, turning towards Rabienne, wondering if she had played too much. Then serene pink eyes met red ones that were overflowing with anger.
‘What’s with that face?’
When Esther glanced at her side, she saw there was only one bud of holy flower. Seeing that made her instinctively smile.
“Why are you laughing? Is it funny?”
Rabienne muttered softly and tried to throw the soil she had grabbed at Esther. It was an impulsive action.
“Are you going to throw it? The image you’ve worked so hard to build up will all be ruined, is that okay?”
“You… you……!”
Unable to carry it out, Rabienne’s arm stopped in the air, trembling harshly.
“You have to smile as usual. If you’re openly hostile, anyone can tell. That you don’t have the qualities of a saint.”
Never in her wildest dreams did Rabienne imagine she would hear these words from Esther, who she always ignored. She grabbed the back of her neck in amazement.
“You seem to be arrogant now that your divine power has increased a little, but don’t be mistaken. It’s because I’m not feeling well today.”
“I guess so.”
Staring at the agitated Rabienne, Esther proudly took off her gloves.
The mark of awareness, which clearly appeared on the back of her hand, stood out.
“We are the same. If that’s real.”
Esther smiled brightly as she pointed to the back of Rabienne’s hand.
The bewildered Rabienne winced, flinging her hand behind her.
With how both her pupils and the back of her hand were clearly revealed, the elders were now convinced that Esther was the saint.
Some frantically looked through the test records of the saints from previous generations.
As was the case with the hyacinth, Esther’s record of holy flower cultivation was superior to that of anyone before her.
“There is no recorded instance of growing holy flowers as quickly as she did.”
“If it’s her, it’s only a matter of time before the contagious disease can be cured.”
“Is treatment a problem? Very soon, the fallen status of our temple will be restored.”
Some of the elders were delighted that the real saint was found, while some were still arguing for their own interests.
“Time’s up.”
Sharon called the two off the board to stop the test.
Rabienne’s expression was so contorted that she couldn’t even keep the smile she always had on her face.
‘If the difference in divine power is this big, what have I done all this time?’
A great sense of helplessness overtook her.
After confirming that she wasn’t the saint, the gazes around her became even more frosty.
She couldn’t shake the thought that everyone watching would doubt and curse her.
‘Now what do I do… Is it all over like this? No, my father will do something for me.’
While Rabienne panicked, the board was cleared.
Sharon came forward and looked at the two of them alternately. She said,
“There is one final test left.”
At that, Esther nodded as if it didn’t matter how many were left.
Having already exhausted most of her divine power in the previous tests, Rabienne was restless and nervous.
“What is it?”
“This is a confirmation process rather than a test.”
Sharon held out her wrinkled hands to each of them.
“All you have to do is show me the mark of awareness.”
At the unexpected last test, Rabienne unknowingly covered the back of her hand.
‘I wonder if it’s okay.’
The mark on the back of Rabienne’s hand was a fake engraved by a famous painter before her ordination.
It was not much different from Esther’s, apparently, because the marks of the previous saints were copied exactly.
Although worried that she would be caught, she put her hand forward, believing that it was better than facing another sort of test with her already exhausted divine power.
Esther held her hand out to Sharon at about the same time, in a way that the back of her hand could be seen.
“Hmm.”
Quietly, Sharon gazed at the two hands. It seemed she was pondering over something. Eventually, she stepped back.
“It’s okay for now. The elders have to talk about the exam. We’ll let you know the results in 30 minutes, so please rest.”
With that, Esther and Rabienne were guided to a small room connected to the hall.
When they were alone, albeit very briefly, Rabienne made no secret of her enmity towards Esther.
As soon as the door closed, she glared fiercely and fired off.
“What are you aiming for? Is it also power? Do you want to become the saint?”
“What if I’m aiming for it?”
“What?”
“Are you afraid that I will become the saint and that you will lose that position?”
“I will never give up. What difficulties I went through to get it!”
As Rabienne shouted angrily, she pulled out a dagger, which she had tucked between her skirts. After making sure they were truly alone…
‘If only now.’
It was a dagger smaller than the palm of her hand, but sharp enough to cut the skin.
“What are you going to do with it?”
Esther stared at Rabienne. The air between them was heavy.
“If you stay still, I won’t hurt you too much.”
The glaring eyes of Rabienne were filled with malice.
Having been cornered, she had nowhere else to retreat.
“If I scream, it will be over. How many people are out there?”
“It doesn’t matter. Then I’ll stab you right away. Even if you say you’re attacked, so what? I have nothing more to lose.”
Rabienne looked like she had gone mad.
Instead of calling out, Esther muttered to herself, maintaining the tight tension with Rabienne.
“Shur.”
As soon as his name was called, Shur, who had been wrapped around Esther’s ankle, uncoiled and came out.
The snake that had been hidden from view by the long dress that reached the floor stood in front of Esther.
“S-Snake?”
“It’s not just a snake, it’s a venomous snake. Do you know the Giant Big? It’s deadly. If you’re bitten, you won’t be able to heal with your divine power.”
Shur’s sharp teeth actually contained a lot of deadly poison.
He never used it against Esther, but it was different with enemies.
Flicking his tongue at Rabienne, who exhibited hostility, Shur tried to rush to her.
“If you’re calculating if that dagger will be faster, or if my Shur will be faster, try it. I have nothing to be afraid of.”
Rabienne froze as it was because of Shur, who was glaring at her with bright yellow eyes, appearing as if he would attack if she moved even a little.
“You still see me as the old Daina, but don’t underestimate the grand duchy. If you stab me, I don’t know if even your family will be safe.”
When Esther showed disrespect, Rabienne couldn’t bear it any longer— she slammed the table.
“It’s all because of you! I just wish it wasn’t you… I was destined to become a saint!!”
“Do you really think so?”
Esther spoke informally, raising her eyebrows. Rabienne was no longer worth the minimum respect.
“Huh, you’re speaking informally?”
“What can you do about it? Rabienne, don’t you think it’s never been your place?”
“…Everyone did. This is my seat. Only I should become the saint. You ruined everything.”
“Okay. Go ahead, don’t reflect, don’t feel guilty. So that I don’t need to feel sorry for you in the slightest.”
Esther looked down pathetically at Rabienne, who still didn’t know how to give up and was still aiming for her blood.
“Do you think you won? So you think you can become the saint?”
“I am not interested. Even if you beg me to do it, I won’t sit there.”
“You want me to believe that?”
How could she reject the position of saint? Rabienne’s wretched face expressed so.
“Believe it or not, it’s up to you. It’s just that the saint position you want so much has no value to me.”
Esther muttered self-deprecatingly.
It was sincere.
She would rather live a normal life, which was what she would have gotten if she hadn’t been the saint. She lost count on how many times she thought about this alone.
“And Rabienne, I know you poisoned Saint Cespia.”
“Do you have proof? Don’t accuse an innocent person. I am the one who protected the sick woman until the end!”
Greatly taken aback by Esther’s calmly recited words, Rabienne tried to defend herself, lying through her teeth.
“Oh, I have proof.”
But she bit her lips at Esther’s next words, and glared as if she would kill.
Credits goes to Kushi for raw providing and Ame for translating.
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