Chapter 93
The royal capital. At the Grand Shrine.
Dilet Horst, the cardinal at the top of the kingdom's priests... was buried in work as usual.
"Honestly... It's just exhausting..."
He lowered his gaze to the documents lined up on his office desk and held his forehead as if enduring a headache.
Sitting before him was a marriage proposal document.
Of course, the name written on it was not Dilet's—who was well past middle age.
It was for the newly discovered Saint this spring... Reina Laurel.
"Gold, jewels, paintings, antiques, mansions, even land... How do they keep coming up with so many gifts...?"
"They must really want to win the Saint's favor. Even though she's not someone who would be swayed by such vulgar tactics..."
A subordinate in the office shrugged in exasperation.
Ever since Reina was discovered by the Grand Shrine as the Saint, marriage proposals had been flooding in.
Of course, they didn't come with just proposals. They were accompanied by gifts as well.
The presents were always large sums of money or expensive items... but honestly, it was all meaningless.
When they informed Saint Reina of this, she said, 'Reject them all' and 'Return the gifts'.
Therefore, anything that could be returned was sent back, and anything that couldn't was donated to the shrine.
Naturally, they informed the senders of this too... but they continued their pointless donations.
The Saint was without greed. She desired neither money nor art.
If there was anything she wanted, it was probably just one man's 'heart'.
"...If it were just gifts, that would be fine. But it's lamentable that there are even those who resort to threats."
Some humans had even gone so far as to threaten the Grand Shrine, saying things like, "Hand over the Saint, or else..."
Most of them were upper nobles of marquis rank or higher. Or powerful figures from other countries.
Some who had their gifts returned even made unreasonable demands, saying that since the gifts were accepted, favors should be granted.
It was just appalling how shameless they were when dealing with the Saint.
"I too misunderstood until recently... But a Saint is someone who cannot be bound by the schemes of us common folk. Power and status mean nothing to her..."
"No way... You're saying even Your Eminence the Cardinal is a commoner...?"
"I am. Being involved with the Saint has made me painfully aware of that..."
Dilet held his head in his hands and swept the marriage proposals on his desk to the side.
"Even if I'm called a cardinal and stand above the other priests, such a title means nothing when dealing with the Saint. There is no way to control her. The Saint is a representative of god... If she decides something, we lowly beings have no choice but to obey."
Until just a short while ago, Dilet too had tried to somehow control and manage Saint Reina.
For that reason, he had even assigned high-ranking priests in the shrine to try and arrange a marriage with her.
But... every attempt had failed.
No matter how handsome the man was, the Saint brushed them off without a second thought.
Some men, frustrated, even tried to force a situation... but their fates were grim.
Without exception, they were struck by an angel's hammer and expelled from the Grand Shrine.
"I even tried arranging a marriage with that man to make her give up... but that also failed."
Even Dilet could sense who held the center of Reina's heart.
That's why he once tried to arrange a marriage between her and that man.
But that too ended in failure.
For some reason, every woman arranged for the marriage turned him down.
He even suspected interference, but all of the women ended up happily married to men they truly loved or fulfilled long-held dreams... None were unhappy, which was even more unnerving.
On top of that... when Dilet started looking for a partner for that man, strange phenomena began occurring around him.
Someone watching from outside the window, a shadow moving behind the mirror, rattling sounds from inside a wardrobe... It was as if something inhuman was monitoring him.
The moment he stopped arranging marriages, the supernatural events ceased—clearly, it had been a warning to "quit it already."
"I see... So the Saint really is protected by god and angels..."
The subordinate priest misinterpreted Dilet's words and only deepened his reverence for Reina.
That wasn't the intention behind his words, though...
"But why did you recognize the Saint's guardian as a Saint and recommend him as a teacher at the academy?"
"Because it's necessary to keep the Saint here... The center of faith must remain the Grand Shrine in the royal capital."
"............?"
The young subordinate priest tilted his head.
Being young, he didn't seem to understand the cardinal's intentions.
"The shrine where the Saint was born and raised is drawing attention, and many believers are making pilgrimages there. If the Saint were to graduate from the academy and return to her hometown... the people's faith might shift to that town instead."
Even the town's transportation network is developing.
It may be a remote town now, but it's likely to grow into a regional city eventually.
Reina had no attachment to the royal capital, and the moment a long vacation came, she immediately returned to her hometown.
Once she graduates from the academy, she might just abandon the royal capital just as quickly.
"Neither the glamour of the royal capital nor its rich, convenient life can keep the Saint here. In that case, we have no choice but to bring her 'home' here instead."
Fortunately, the idea of recognizing the Saint's guardian as a Saint had already been proposed.
With the cardinal's agreement, it was quickly approved.
The proposal to appoint him as a teacher at the Royal Academy was also swiftly arranged.
By coincidence, a female theology teacher at the Royal Academy was retiring to get married, creating a vacancy.
"...This too must be god's will. I will no longer interfere. I will entrust everything to the Saint's will."
"............?"
Seeing the utterly exhausted cardinal, the subordinate priest could only look at him in confusion.