TLS 09

Chapter 9

‘I feel like I’ve just heard something huge.’

When Noah looked startled, Gabriel smiled.

“It’s a secret.”

“…Yes!”

“Even though he is now a devout holy knight of the Church, the fact that he is a prince of Aranta doesn’t change.”

“Yes!”

“And Her Imperial Majesty the Empress is an extremely political person. Until the engagement between Princess Kyria and Sir Alkarai is officially announced in the newspapers, we should keep this a secret.”

“Yes! Yes!”

Noah nodded vigorously.

That was a close one.

A lowly priest using her fiancé as her personal escort knight? How much would Princess Kyria hate her for that?

She had already felt burdened by the situation, but the more she heard, the more Noah realized that Ran was truly someone she should never get entangled with.

“And Sir Gould is the captain of the knights. The position of captain also involves managing all the holy knights. Therefore, he must remain here and assist His Holiness the Pope.”

Noah felt like she couldn’t breathe.

Noah Kaplan! You reckless little priestess!

What kind of audacity had possessed her to ask for one of His Holiness’s right-hand men as her escort?

If recklessness could be expressed in two letters, it would be Noah.

Noah’s face turned bright red.

What on earth was I thinking when I asked Darren to be my escort?!

“If you don’t mind, Noah, may I choose someone for you?”

“Yes, please do.”

Noah bowed her head.

Gabriel gently brushed a strand of Noah’s hair behind her ear and smiled.

“Leave it to me.”

Noah merely fidgeted awkwardly with her hands.

Good grief… If Gabriel-nim weren’t a cardinal, I’d think he was trying to seduce me. I guess a handsome man’s kindness is easily misunderstood.

Entranced by Gabriel’s face, Noah unconsciously took his hand and returned to where the holy knights were gathered.

“I think it would be best if Sir Stockwell escorted Noah-nim.”

“It would be my honor.”

Heron Stockwell smiled mischievously and bowed.

“……”

Surprisingly, Ran Alkarai merely glanced at Heron. He didn’t question why he hadn’t been chosen as Noah’s escort.

Relieved, Noah patted her chest.

After that, Noah was held captive by the holy knights for a while longer. She had to recite several prayers, and she even demonstrated an offensive prayer—Hyah!—that sent sand flying through the air before they finally let her go.

Every holy knight looked at Noah with reverence, but Ran’s gaze was in a league of its own.

His stare was so intense that Noah felt like a moth flying straight into a blazing flame.

I don’t know why everything keeps going so well for me either!

The conclusion was reached rather easily.

“Noah-nim, you truly are an incredible Saintess.”

Noah looked at the holy knights with dull, exhausted eyes.

They were all convinced that Noah would participate in the Urbas subjugation as the Church’s representative Saintess.

Hahaha…

Well, that’s life, I suppose.

After finishing her meeting with the holy knights, Noah trudged back to her room with heavy footsteps.

Rina patted Noah on the shoulder and said she was rooting for her, while Will said that he would work hard as well and do whatever he could to help. Anas looked at Noah sympathetically.

Apparently, none of the other Controllers were able to manifest abilities even after diligently reciting prayers.

“Is the title of Saintess too burdensome for you?”

Gabriel asked.

Seeing the apologetic expression on his face, Noah couldn’t bring herself to say, Yes! It’s way too burdensome, and I don’t want to go on some dragon-slaying expedition!

Instead, she answered quietly.

“I was merely lucky. I’m not some great person worthy of being called a Saintess. I didn’t even know I had the talent to manifest abilities through prayers until now.”

“If you truly find the role of Saintess too burdensome, we could ask Rina-nim to take your place.”

“What?”

Can they really do that?

“The Church simply needs a female priest who can stand against Princess Kyria’s image.”

“I understand that Princess Kyria is an incredible mage, but… to outsiders, we Controllers are priests who don’t seem to possess any abilities at all.”

“The Church never expected anything extraordinary from the beginning. If there were no Controller among the priests capable of standing against Princess Kyria, we were planning to select the most beautiful female priest in the entire Church and appoint her as the Saintess.”

They were planning to choose the most beautiful priest?

“The dragon subjugation will have an influence extending beyond the Empire and throughout the entire world. We cannot simply stand by while Princess Kyria uses her carefully cultivated image to win over even our people. That is why we are taking action.”

Noah nodded.

“It was simply a coincidence that you happened to be the Controller we were looking for, and that you were a beautiful woman capable of wielding divine power through prayers.”

At this point, it almost sounded like Gabriel was saying, ‘So you should just be the Saintess, shouldn’t you?’

“I-I’m not that beautiful.”

To be honest, Noah was far from being a glamorous beauty or a voluptuous woman.

She had grown up in a small village called Soal, and she had only ever been told she was pretty by the people there.

Noah knew that perfectly well herself.

Gabriel looked at Noah hesitating before speaking.

“…Noah-nim, I’m saying this not merely as a personal opinion, but as someone speaking on behalf of the Church.”

“Yes.”

“You truly are beautiful, Noah-nim.”

Gabriel’s expression was so serious that Noah felt she shouldn’t contradict him at that moment.

“Well, I don’t have gorgeous curly hair or blonde hair.”

“You have beautiful, lush pink hair.”

Gabriel spoke with such absolute conviction that Noah couldn’t answer.

“And since when did being beautiful require having lush, curly blonde hair?”

“Uh, well…”

“The Church is trying to break the mistaken belief that only women with lush blonde curls can be beautiful, capable, and worthy of representing the world.”

“Um…”

“That is why, when choosing the Saintess, we were actually planning to exclude blonde hair and colors resembling blonde.”

Gabriel’s eyes seemed to say it all.

Noah Kaplan was an extraordinary priestess who possessed every quality necessary to represent the Church as its Saintess.

He genuinely seemed to believe that Noah was perfectly suited for the role.

“I-I’ll do my best.”

Noah answered without even realizing it.

“You don’t have to try hard. You already possess everything you need.”

Embarrassed, Noah avoided Gabriel’s gaze.

“Since you’ve finally made up your mind, Noah-nim, let’s get everything prepared today.”

“What?”

Wait, prepare what today?

Gabriel took Noah by the hand and led her away.

Noah followed Gabriel into his study.

Several women dressed in elaborate clothing were waiting inside.

Noah was extremely surprised.

“This is Noah Kaplan, the Saintess who will be accompanying us on the Urbas subjugation. Noah-nim, these are the people who will turn you into the finest Saintess possible.”

“H-Hello?”

One of the women introduced herself and the others.

“Hello. I’m Jenny. This is Daisy, and the one carrying the box is Amanda.”

Daisy and Amanda each gave a slight curtsy when their names were mentioned.

“We’ll be responsible for the Saintess’s clothing, accessories, and other adornments.”

Jenny and the others proceeded to measure Noah’s body. Then they began holding various colored fabrics, ribbons, lace, and jewels against her face and body.

“I think this style would suit you best. What do you think, Saintess?”

“Oh, I’m not really sure…”

Noah was so overwhelmed that she could barely think straight.

Gabriel answered Jenny’s question for her.

“Princess Kyria will also be participating in this subjugation. She will likely dress herself extravagantly, so I’d like Noah-nim’s appearance to be sacred and beautiful, befitting a Saintess.”

“Her hair is such a beautiful shade of pink. A black hood would look lovely with hair like this.”

“No. She needs to represent the image of the Church, so please use white tones as much as possible.”

“Should all the jewels be white as well?”

“No. You may use jewels of various colors. I simply want the overall color palette of the outfit to be white. You may add other colors to patterns or accent points.”

“Until now, priests have worn styles that concealed their figures. Shall we keep that tradition?”

“No. We want to move away from the impression that the Church is old-fashioned and clumsy, so please use a silhouette that is fashionable these days.”

“Understood.”

“Oh, but nothing too revealing. It would be inappropriate. You may use lace to create a slightly sheer effect around the arms, but please make sure the lace is white.”

Gabriel spoke as though he were reading answers from a sheet of paper.

All Noah had to do was sit still and wait while everyone tried various things on her.

Gabriel had clearly given her a choice about becoming the Saintess earlier, but with all these people already prepared in advance, Noah couldn’t help feeling as though she had been tricked somehow.

“This is our chance to raise the Church’s standing and show the world Noah-nim’s abilities and beauty.”

“……”

Gabriel’s voice was filled with determination, and Noah gave an awkward smile.

I don’t care about any of that… Please just let me leave…

It wasn’t until her soul had practically been drained from her body and her legs were trembling that Noah was finally allowed to return to her room that day.

The next day, Noah was walking with her right arm and right foot moving forward at the same time.

“You don’t need to be so nervous.”

“Yes.”

Gabriel told her there was no need to be nervous, but how could anyone possibly remain calm when meeting the Pope?

The Pope was someone Noah had only ever caught glimpses of from afar when she was at the Divine Power Training Center. Not every priest in the Church even had the opportunity to meet His Holiness.

“Um, are you sure I’m all right like this?”

“Of course.”

She was wearing the same teacher’s clothes she had always worn at the educational center in Soal. The clothes they had prepared for her the day before weren’t ready yet, so she couldn’t wear them.

She had washed her clothes thoroughly before putting them on, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that they weren’t good enough.

I’m going to appear before His Holiness the Pope. Shouldn’t I look more presentable?

When they arrived, the door to the Pope’s audience chamber had an embossed image of God’s Last Judgment carved into it.

Noah trembled.

If I say the wrong thing, I feel like I’ll be judged on the spot.

Gabriel patted Noah’s back sympathetically as he saw how frightened she was.

“I’ll be right beside you to help. Though there probably won’t be much I can do. Don’t worry too much.”

Only then did Noah look at Gabriel.

Come to think of it, she had a cardinal right beside her.

“P-Please make sure I don’t make any mistakes…”

“Of course.”

Gabriel’s smile calmed her down a little.

A moment later, the holy knight guarding the audience chamber announced Noah and Gabriel’s arrival.

Soon, the door opened.