Time-Limited Saintess, You've Been Caught by the Tyrant Once Again - Chapter 39
Chapter 20.1
In the end, it seemed that Arkan ended up hearing Liliana’s words. Elin sighed at the thought. These days, she has been sighing often.
“Ah… that’s because Miss Ellin is leaving today.”
“Is that so? Why?”
“It’s because maintaining faith is difficult, so how can people stay consistent? Elin must have her reasons, too.”
Leaving because it was difficult to maintain faith… Liliana was subtly belittling her.
In the meanwhile, noticing that Arkan’s eyes turned towards her, Ellin turned her head to avoid his gaze. It didn’t matter how this person saw her. She just wanted him to believe those words.
Seeing Arkan’s tenacious gaze, Liliana spoke with a bitter expression.
“Your Majesty, it seems Miss Elin has been of great help to you.”
“That’s right. I’ve received significant help.”
He finally smiled at Liliana.
As the Emperor smiled at her with his handsome face, Liliana felt enchanted. She couldn’t even see those eerie red eyes that were staring at her.
The next moment, Arkan looked at Ellin and asked.
“Miss Ellin. Do you have a job once you leave the temple?”
“Yes. I’ll have a place to work when I return to my hometown.”
“What kind of work?”
“I’m going to work at an inn of an old lady I know.”
Pfft.
Among them, someone eventually couldn’t hold back their laughter.
“Angelia is known to select only those with exceptional skills, even from commoners, and yet she’s working at an inn? What a waste.”
“….”
“I can arrange a job for you. How about working at the imperial palace?”
Hearing his next words, Ellin glanced up at the Emperor’s face. He was smiling while gazing at her with red eyes.
Instinctively, she felt a sense of danger. It was like the ominous moment a prey felt just before getting caught in a trap. Arkan, this man, was trying to keep her captive. It was probably because she knew about Liliana’s secret.
Ellin opened her mouth calmly.
“I appreciate the offer, but I can’t accept it.”
“Hm, why?”
“I’m a commoner, and regardless of the task Your Majesty is entrusting me with, I wouldn’t be suitable for it.”
“There are very few nobles among those who work in the palace.”
“I’m still not good enough.”
“That’s for me to judge.”
At those words, Ellin looked at Arkan.
She couldn’t understand why he was so persistent when he could just let go at this point. Could it be that he had noticed something? No… If he had noticed anything, he wouldn’t just remain quiet like this.
This was purely his curiosity, aligning with the commoner Angelia, Ellin.
In the past, he was like a sword. No, even now, he would be the same. Why was this ruthless person, someone who didn’t keep people around, so unwilling to leave her alone? It was excessive to keep someone who knew a simple secret by his side. Shouldn’t he just kill her?
In the end, words flowed out of Ellin’s mouth coldly.
“I apologize for saying this, but I am being disgracefully chased away.”
“What?”
“Is Your Majesty saying that someone expelled from the temple is welcomed at the imperial palace? I don’t want to become a stain on the palace’s honor.”
“Disgrace?”
“Yes.”
“Hahaha!”
Arkan let out a cold laugh. Even though she couldn’t fathom what was so amusing, it was unpleasant for her to have to bring this topic up with her own mouth and to have to tell him about it like this.
“Disgraceful? For what reason?”
Even though she didn’t say anything, Ellin didn’t want to claim her innocence to Arkan either. Wasn’t it like she was making an excuse? Besides, what good would claiming innocence do anyway? So, she hoped that Arkan would just think that way.
When she turned her eyes towards Liliana, fortunately, Liliana, not being so foolish, wasn’t saying anything about the matter.
“It’s said that Miss Ellin sold the precious artifact given by the high priest, the Golden Bible. How could she sell such a thing…”
However, it seemed that not all Angelias were that clever. Not only was this a shame for the temple, but it also signified that Liliana was still unable to properly manage the Angelias.
Of course, assuming that Ellin really did sell the Golden Bible.
In the meanwhile, Helen, the Angelia who uttered those words, became even more excited as the gazes of everyone, including the Emperor, turned towards her. After all, when would she ever get this close to the Emperor?
Gathering her courage, she addressed Arkan.
“Your Majesty, I apologize for speaking so boldly, but Miss Ellin is shameless enough to sell the High Priest’s gift! We shouldn’t allow such a person into the palace.”
Ellin suppressed her embarrassment quietly. Despite the fact that she, a commoner, was poor, she didn’t want to appear as a shameless person who would sell something recklessly just because of that.
She wanted to escape Arkan’s gaze and burst into tears right away. Regardless of the circumstances, even if they were forced to be together, they had been together in their previous life. She had acted so proudly and asserted her dignity, yet now she stood before him, becoming someone who had stolen the bible.
How lowly was this?
She bit her lip.
“It seems like our standards of disgrace are different.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t consider it such a disgrace.”
This time, even Ellin looked at Arkan in surprise.
He remained silent. While Liliana and Angelia looked at the Emperor as if expecting an answer, he gazed at Ellin before eventually parted his lips.
“Originally, commoners, except for merchants, were usually in need of money. A gift? The Golden Bible? The gift wasn’t considerate of the recipient from the beginning. When we first met, Miss Ellin’s clothes were shabby.”
“….”
“Does the temple not consider the perspective of commoners at all? How can offering valuable items out of the blue to someone in poverty be considered a good gift?”
At his observation, Liliana bit her lip.
Please consider sending some love either through the translator’s Ko-fi or by leaving a rating/review for this series on novel updates~!
For update pings, novel discussions and/or to send mistake reports, join our discord server~