The day after I completed my oath with the dean, he came to find me, realizing that he had been deceived. But no matter what he said, the oath between us would not disappear.
As I had promised, I tore up the letter. Now, it was time for the dean to keep his part of the bargain.
"Don’t worry, Dean. As stated in the oath, I will release you when you graduate from the academy," I said.
"...Young Lady, you..."
"And by the way, if it hadn’t been for me, you, the foolish and incompetent dean, would’ve had your neck chopped off. If you consider that, letting you live as my cute little slave for two years is a far greater loss for me, isn’t it?" I added.
"..."
"If you really hate it that much, I can have a meeting with Papa about it, you know?"
"...No! Young Lady! I am simply lost for words in admiration of your mercy!"
The dean, who clearly did not want to face Benedict, the tactical weapon, reluctantly accepted his position as my slave but suppressed his frustration inwardly.
As I watched him, I thought about why he was so opposed to it, and then I realized I was looking at it all wrong.
Right. This is the normal reaction. Telling him to work like a slave and then asking him to treat me like a pet is bizarre.
I’ve become so used to the strange perversions around me that I’ve gotten too accustomed to the abnormal.
After the dean left, Erin, who always stuck by my side in the mansion, arrived.
"Pathetic Erin. Didn’t you come a little too early? Were you so eager to see me, my cute self?"
I had contacted the mansion last night to ask them to send Erin, so it was only yesterday evening that I made the request.
The system in place at the mansion meant it would take at least two days for her to arrive, but she showed up the very next day.
"Yes, I really missed you a lot."
Erin, smiling brightly, explained that she had finished everything she needed to do and had rushed here without sleeping through the night.
"I didn’t have much to do, after all," she added.
...Wait, I thought the maid schedules at our mansion were packed from morning to evening. Since Erin is my personal maid, does she have a slightly different schedule?
Tilting my head in confusion, I decided to let Erin inside. Since she hadn’t been assigned a room yet, she’d have to stay in my room for now.
"...This can’t be. Young Lady, how can a maid share the same room as her mistress?"
When I told her to unpack and make herself comfortable, Erin was horrified and shook her head.
"For now, I’ll ask Sir Cal for help. If it’s really not possible, I’ll find a place to sleep outside."
I was just as embarrassed. How could she say that she’d rather sleep on the street than stay in my room?
Is it really that burdensome to be with me?!
What have I done wrong?
If it were the old Lucy, maybe I would’ve understood, but now, I’m not asking you to do anything special!
"Pathetic Erin, are you refusing my command?"
"I’m sorry, Young Lady."
Even after I made another suggestion and was rejected, I frowned, then had a sudden thought.
Lately, I’ve become more free with my expressions and have learned to do something new!
The technique I used on Cal when I tried to pass off Freya as my problem, my ultimate move, which even the pathetic saint couldn’t resist!
"How rude. Pathetic Erin."
Lucy Alrn used her pouty face!
"Ah! Young Lady, I... that’s not—"
"Enough. You hate me, right? Then I hate you too. So..."
"I understand! I will stay here!"
The effect was amazing! The pathetic Erin lost the verbal battle!
"...Is this really okay?"
While Erin cautiously unpacked in the room, I stepped outside to find Faby. I had a request to make to the church’s power holder, the Saintess.
"You want to pray in the church in the middle of the night?" Faby asked, seemingly puzzled.
I had promised to prepare for a prayer with the Saintess, something I had done months ago.
Originally, I was planning to visit the art guild, get some makeup done, and then pray, but there was such a commotion that I had forgotten. Afterward, I had been too busy with the work to remember.
It seemed like even the Saintess, who had been openly signaling with her quests, was also eager. Since I had kept her waiting, I was planning to do it properly.
"Even if she’s a pathetic saintess, she’s still a saint, so I can do that much, right?"
"Of course, it’s possible. But... is it really necessary to do it in the middle of the night? It might be better if people can see you praying beautifully, Young Lady," Faby suggested.
I was trying to avoid doing it in public, but I wasn’t about to tell her that.
I mean, just wearing the proper makeup and stepping in front of people would naturally draw attention to me.
If I start emanating holiness in front of them... what would they think?
I don’t want to raise another infatuated fool or a perverted cult leader!
I don’t want to relive what happened at the art guild either!
When I strongly refused, Faby seemed disappointed but didn’t try to convince me any further.
"I’ll tell the Bishop and make the preparations. Oh, by the way, if you need the church attire, I can get that ready too."
"Church attire? Huh? What’s that? You want to see me in those clothes? I thought you were innocent, but I guess not?" I teased her.
"Uh...? Oh, no! It’s not that I want to see you in them! Well, I mean... not exactly, but... Ahh!"
Laughing, I poked fun at the flustered Faby but then considered her suggestion. Since I had decided to do it properly, I should at least get the right attire.
But, do I even have anything that fits?
Considering my body type, it would be hard to find something unless it’s custom-made.
I voiced my doubts, and Faby, smiling brightly, reassured me that it would be fine.
"The children’s attire from the church should fit you."
...What?
"Your height isn’t too different from theirs, so with just a little adjustment..."
Faby, who didn’t realize the mistake she had made, continued talking until she saw my expression souring, at which point she hastily shut her mouth.
But by then, it was already too late. My dignity had been insulted by Faby.
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"I’m sorry, Young Lady. I didn’t mean it like that. I just... please, wait a moment. Let me apologize properly... Ahh! Aahhh!"
After turning Saintess Faby’s face red with embarrassment, I warned her once more that if she kept provoking me, I’d turn her into a silly saint, making sure she knew her place.
"At this point, just a little adjustment will do. Please wait a moment, Young Lady."
It was incredibly frustrating, but the small nun's habit that Faby had given me actually fit my body.
...To be honest, it was a bit big.
This nun's habit, which was meant for young children, was too big for me!
Seeing the slightly loose habit, Faby turned her head, as though recalling something from earlier that day.
<It’s really strange, isn’t it? Your father is so big, but why are you, Lucy, so small?>
‘...Small, you say?’
<I misspoke. My apologies. I’ll shut up now.>
I quieted my grandfather with a sharp look and quietly watched Erin as she helped me get dressed.
There was nothing particularly wrong with Erin's movements.
How long has it been since she received lessons from the perverted priest, and yet her skills have improved so much?
As I looked at the many scars on Erin’s hands, I thought I should eventually get her a gift that would help heal those hands properly.
Although I felt a little annoyed as she cut away pieces of the habit, I knew it wasn’t Erin’s fault, so I tolerated it.
Before long, I found myself in a refined appearance that didn’t quite suit the late evening.
I was already small and pretty, often called a doll, and now, wearing a nun's habit, I had a pure and noble aura.
"Seeing you like this, Young Lady, you look even more saintly than I do."
It wasn’t just me who thought so. Faby, seeing my appearance, let out an admiring voice.
Faby, who usually didn’t speak loudly, couldn’t take her eyes off me.
It was a good thing I hadn’t prayed earlier today. If I had appeared like this in front of everyone, it would’ve surely caused a scene.
"Shall we go, then?"
"Yes, Pathetic Saintess."
I stood up and followed Faby as we headed to the location where the pathetic god’s saint was.
I was keeping my promise made months ago.
Luca, the professor at the academy, had been feeling frustrated more often lately.
It wasn’t because his beloved talents were absent from the academy. Soul Academy had more promising students than ever before.
If this had been a year ago, Luca would have been so busy with his tasks that he would have been laughing nonstop.
But not anymore. Even with so many talents around him now, Luca couldn’t find any joy.
No matter how talented any of the students were, none of them could compare to the shining star that was Lucy Alrn, and that thought left him dissatisfied.
What irritated Luca even more was that, after returning to the academy, Lucy Alrn hadn’t sought him out at all.
Until now, she had always asked him if there was anything she could destroy whenever she had a moment, but after her return from the break, she hadn’t approached him for any requests or even spoken to him.
Luca, who had prepared various trials for Lucy Alrn, grew restless on his own. Eventually, he decided to meet her himself before the new term started.
He resolved to prove his worth, to remain the craftsman who shapes the jewel that is Lucy, rather than let her slip away from him, someone who could illuminate the world more brightly than any star he’d ever seen.
And so, when evening fell, Luca began to move. By coincidence, he spotted Lucy Alrn leaving the academy.
Beside her was the maid she had brought with her, and another person was the Saintess of the God Church.
While it wasn’t surprising that Lucy Alrn was out, what caught Luca’s attention was the fact that the Saintess, who valued rules and order, was also out at this hour. What was going on?
Curious, Luca chose not to greet Lucy and instead erased his presence, following behind her.
The group’s destination was the church in the middle of the night.
A quiet place where the lights were off, and everyone was preparing for the early morning.
Luca, well aware of Lucy Alrn’s dislike of churches, wondered what could be happening and followed them into the chapel.
However, he couldn’t get any closer.
Before he could approach, the door closed, and if he had tried to open it and entered, he would have certainly been caught. So, he waited in the darkness of the chapel, hoping Lucy and her group would come out.
How long did he wait? As the entire street fell silent and everyone headed to their dreams, Lucy Alrn finally revealed herself again.
This time, she looked even more sacred and noble than the Saintess of the God Church standing beside her.