The Villainess Hides Her Wealth - Chapter 70

Chapter 70

The sudden change in his expression surprised me even more.

“I should have paid attention from the beginning. I was careless.”

“No. It’s nothing serious, I can just leave it on the side of the plate…”

“But isn’t it possible for the food to be contaminated during the cooking process?”

Suddenly, he said something that alarmed me.

“I have to exclude shrimp from the dishes that the restaurant sells.”

“Sorry?”

Didn’t he ask if I wanted to come here because it had opened recently?

‘… Did he look familiar with it because it’s his own restaurant?’

I doubted my ears. I mean, it wasn’t that serious.

‘Why shouldn’t other people be able to eat it just because I can’t?”

I stopped Crown Prince Enoch in a cold sweat.

“D-don’t do that. You should tell your employees to ask from now on if there’s something a customer can’t eat!”

He fortunately calmed down his agitation as I stopped him.

“I will tell them beforehand to never add shrimp when I come here with the Lady.”

I was worried that he was taking it too seriously, but it was still better that the menu almost getting decimated.

‘I mean, it’s an allergy that even my father and brother don’t know about.’

I couldn’t believe how seriously he was taking it and taking care of it.

It seemed a little unusual, but I still appreciated it.

… This was the first time anyone had thought of me like this.

‘Why is he being nice to me? Even doing things like sweeping back my hair.’

Was he like this to other people? The people of this world didn’t consider allergies to be a big problem and didn’t think it was that big of a deal.

Why was he listening carefully to each word I said, responding, and worrying? I didn’t know why he kept making me feel confused.

I touched my face, about to turn red for some reason, and tried to focus on my meal. And I tried to change the topic before this kind of attention was given to me.

Attack is the best defense!

“Your Highness, are you always that excited?”

“What?”

Fortunately, thanks to the crown prince’s commotion, the awkward atmosphere between us disappeared. When we were about to eat dessert, I brought up a trivial conversation first.

It was a pleasant meal.

‘… But will I come here with His Highness again next time?’

Of course, Crown Prince Enoch and I were still business partners. We had a lot of opportunities to meet and a lot of time to talk.

Surprisingly, however, the time His Highness and I spent alone was decreasing.

As Yunette settled down, there was nothing that could be talked about and solved by only two people like before.

‘It must be a special occasion just this time.’

But surprisingly, that time came quickly.

And it was not related to Yunette.

***

The luxurious office of the temple.

There were several priests there, but nothing could be heard except the sound of the documents being flipped over.

It was because of the presence of the man who was sitting in front of the desk.

“Do you want me to believe this right now?”

Sebrino, a priest with a face so white that it was indistinguishable from marble, could not hide his displeasure.

“Aren’t you going to answer?”

He asked the priests standing stiffly in front of him again.

“The number of nobles visiting the great temple of the capital has been reduced ridiculously due to Yunette or whatever it is. Is this what you’re saying?”

“Th-that’s right, Reverend Sebrino!”

“Does that make any sense!”

Reverend Sebrino couldn’t hold back the outburst of anger and banged on his desk. The young priests standing in front of him flinched their shoulders at the loud noise.

They answered because he asked them to, but in the end, the only thing they got in return was anger.

“The offerings have been halved, and all you have to say is that it’s because of Yunette? You know very well that we need money to build a new temple!”

“I have nothing to say…”

“Your divine power is so low because you live your life like that. Hm? I’m telling you to use your head, your head!”

The nobles of the Piaast Empire were eager to dress up their appearance.

Regardless of gender or age, the formality of one’s family was also considered to be based on how well-presented they were.

The Bible said that rather than the outer side, which is nothing but a shell, the inner side that serves God should be valued, but the reality was different.

Rather than praying, the nobles visited the temple to use their divine power to take care of their skin. The priests welcomed them with great encouragement, even if they did the opposite of what the Bible said.

And so, with the amount of money given by the nobles in return for the use of divine power, their faith was reduced.

Reverend Sebrino frowned for a long time. Then, he raised his chin in annoyance.

“There have been lay people and Excellent Believers in the Church of Ibafne until now. We’ve set up only two positions for the congregation.”

“Yes, that’s correct, Reverend Sebrino.”

“Let’s make something else between the lay people and the Excellent Believers.”

“I’m sorry, but what do you mean…”

“Divide them according to how much they believe in God. Oh? Encourage the laypeople to come to the temple more and reach higher ranks. It’s hard for a layperson to become an Excellent Believer right now.”

“Ah, yes! I understand!”

“By naming it something cool, we can make them want to climb to a higher rank. And the name ‘excellent believer’ is not cool, so change it.”

Sebrino turned his gaze to the documents he was looking at again.

Those who couldn’t do anything unless it was spoon fed…

He only stopped paying attention to the temple’s internal affairs for a few months at most, he never thought there would be such a pain in the neck.

‘Lords, ladies, young ladies, gentlemen… Damn it. People aren’t coming equally. Even the knights have stopped coming.’

The son of Duke Primrose was the last important figure to come to the temple.

He made a fuss, saying that his skin was sunburnt and that it hurt, and cut in line to get treatment before all the critically ill commoners.

“Didn’t the son of Duke Primrose come recently?”

“From what I heard, he has been using Yunette’s cosmetics since before its launch… I think he got them from his mother, the Duchess…”

“And you’ve been keeping your arms closed all this time?!”

“The other priests tried hard, but there was no great result…”

In fact, it was understandable. How could they crack down on the temple visits that seemed to be decreasing due to the cosmetics that have appeared?

Although they covered their eyes and pretended not to know, they had been using the divine power for the congregation who visited the temple to receive skin care using ‘mental and physical stability’ as an excuse.

“Are you saying that no one has come here to treat pimple wounds, sunburned skin, or dead skin? Ha, I don’t need to hear anymore. Leave now.”

But even though he knew it, he was annoyed.

Reverend Sebrino waved his hand at the priests in front of him and had them leave the office.

‘Where did something like Yunette come from all of a sudden?’

He didn’t think the young priests noticed, but… This was not simply a matter of incoming offerings.

It was very important to frequently encounter the divine power, the power of God, and to see the process before and after getting better because of it.

‘God is always with us everywhere?’

That was what the Bible said, but Sebrino was wary of human guile.

The less often they came to the temple and the less they felt the power of God, the more their faith was clouded.

‘If things go on like this, the influence of the Church of Ibafne will diminish.’

For now, the insufficient contributions had to be made up another way. Like skin, the only other way was to leave it alone.

Reverend Sebrino decided to go to a more urgent place.

He went directly to the place of negotiations with the Piaast Empire.

He was greeted by Crown Prince Enoch’s aide, a man who knew how to use his power well.

“You’re here, Reverend Sebrino. I am Viscount Conrad, the Imperial Administrator.”

“May the blessings of God Ibafne be with you.”

He had an elegant tone and soft voice, but Sebrino didn’t mention the name of the other person.

The other person’s face stiffened and relaxed again.

Watching that, Reverend Sebrino continued, “The dispatch period set in the last negotiation is until this winter, right?”

In the Piaast Empire, priests were dispatched to the provinces for the treatment of diseases of the imperial people.

Without the support of the empire, those people would collapse without being able to do anything.

“Yes, exactly. We are always grateful for the temple’s hard work. Everyone knows that…”

“Is that so?”

Reverend Sebrino crossed his legs.

“I don’t know if that’s true or false.”

At the same time, Viscount Conrad’s face stiffened.

No matter how important the other person was in the temple, and how much people said he was a priest sent by God, this was the place for negotiations between the empire and the temple.

Viscount Conrad was representing the Piaast Empire.

“I hope you don’t just say things that look good, but also express your appreciation.”

But right now, in this place, the empire was thorough with everything.

Moreover, the fact that he crossed his legs seemed to be clearly deliberate, but it was an act to point out something.

‘He’s provoking me on purpose.’

Viscount Conrad continued, clenching his teeth.