Time-Limited Saintess, You've Been Caught by the Tyrant Once Again - Chapter 59
Chapter 30.1
“Why is Erich here of all places…?”
She was so caught off guard by his sudden appearance that she didn’t realize exactly what Erich had called her.
“There’s always a priest in the imperial palace.”
“Oh, yes, that’s right.”
There was always a priest in the imperial palace.
A priest who resided in the palace would assist in the prayers of the imperial family, oversee ceremonies and marriages, and heal the illnesses of the imperial family with divine power. In any country’s palace, there was always a priest in residence.
“A few days ago, the priest who resided here was expelled by the emperor. I happened to be in the capital, so I came in to see what was going on.”
“Has His Majesty granted you permission?”
Ellin, who was pondering the relationship between Erich and Arkan, asked with a puzzled expression.
“No, not exactly.”
“Then, secretly…!”
“It’s not a secret. The reason why they let me in was because I said I was going to collect the belongings that were left behind when the priest was kicked out. They just didn’t realize that the High Priest would come to get them.”
“But still, what are you going to do if you are executed by His Majesty?!”
“Regardless, it’s true that I came to collect supplies. Why, are you worried I’m going to be as threatened as you were by Sir Maynard?”
Haha. Erich laughed playfully, throwing a teasing remark, just like the old days. The coldness from before seemed to have disappeared. Nevertheless, she still remembered the cold Erich who had turned away from her.
…The man in front of her didn’t believe in her and turned away from her, even though she hadn’t done anything wrong.
‘…Yes, that was how it was.’
Ellin’s face, which had been somewhat disheveled from the surprise, became emotionless.
Did he notice that? The smile also vanished from Erich’s face. He then asked with a serious face.
“You’re very angry with me, aren’t you?”
“….”
“Ellin.”
Ellin didn’t say anything. Instead, she rose from her seat.
“I’ll be going now. You should continue with what you’re doing.”
As she was about to leave, Erich let out a deep sigh.
“It was all for you.”
“….”
“I would rather not have you set foot in the temple again.”
Ellin turned around.
He glanced gloomily at her, whose expression demanded an explanation. It was as though she had returned to her first life where Erich was weak to her.
“Because that’s not a good place.”
“What?”
“I thought there was no one more suitable to be an Angelia than you, and I thought your erudition would inspire something in the priests as well. Of course, I also thought that the fake lady, who is now just lazing around, would at least put in some effort.”
“….”
“Instead, she ostracized you for being a commoner and bullied you. I didn’t like that. I was afraid you might get hurt.”
“….”
“When you were framed with the Golden Bible, I was troubled. I thought that if I took sides, they would back off. I was sure they would.”
“….”
“But if things escalated to that point, it meant you were in danger.”
“….”
“I brought you here.”
Erich spoke desperately, looking at Ellin.
“I brought you here.”
He said those words to her even in her previous life. He kneeled down and took care of the country girl, who was in despair after losing her parents as if she were the most precious thing in the world.
Ellin bit her lip.
She had thought to sever the emotions she had for them in the past, but it seemed she was mistaken.
“What if I can’t protect you? I have to travel to many places, not just the temple in the capital. I can’t protect you forever.”
“….”
“If it was inevitably going to be like that, I wanted you to get out of there without being too attached to that place. Just in case you might have lingering feelings.”
Erich’s voice was clearly filled with anguish.
Upon hearing those words, she understood where he was coming from. He truly looked tormented. However, for some reason, her cold heart remained unmoved.
“If so, why are you just telling me this now?”
“At least I hope where you are won’t be the imperial palace.”
“….”
He gazed at her earnestly.
“The Emperor is a Normatian, and he has a grudge against the temple. So, he’s going to try to destroy the temple, and we’ll fight against it.”
“….”
“If a kind and faithful person like Ellin is here, you will get hurt. Perhaps even killed. As you know, the Emperor is a cruel man, but since you’ve caught his attention, I would rather you go to the temple instead…”
“High Priest Erich just mentioned that you can’t protect me.”
“Still, it’s probably less dangerous than the imperial palace. I would rather you live in the temple I oversee than in the capital’s temple with the Saintess…”
“Why are you doing this?”
“I have a sense of responsibility. I also carry guilt… the guilt for driving you to this point.”
In their past life, Erich had also mentioned that Arkan was a dangerous person. It would be no different now. He harbored hatred towards Normatians.
It was true that Arkan was a dangerous man.
She recalled the atrocities he had committed in their past life, and in this current life, he had almost killed her. Still, if she had redefined her relationship with Erich and Maynard, wouldn’t it be appropriate to establish a new relationship and cut off the bad relationship with Arkan as well? If she took everything out of the equation and looked at him… was he doing such an atrocity to her now? She remembered him saying ‘thank you’ and offering a gift.
Erich opened his mouth again after seeing her hesitation.
“What are you hesitating about, Elena? He is…”
Ellin has finally realized the source of the discomfort she had been feeling since earlier. She suddenly snapped back to reality and took a step back.
“I… I told you my name was Ellin?”
Come to think of it, Erich had been calling her by her ‘real’ name since they met earlier, but she hadn’t noticed amidst his sudden appearance. Throughout the conversation, her real name, Elena, was sometimes mixed.
She could see a momentary realization flickering through Erich’s eyes. It was an unfamiliar change of expression.
“Ellin!”
…Why did Erich know her real name?
Her heart pounded at the thought. She was so surprised that she took a step back.
“No, this is… Please stop, Ellin. I’ll explain everything.”
Did he know about her true identity? How much did he know? At the same time, she remembered what Maynard and Arkan had said about the man in front of her in her first life.
“Don’t trust High Priest Erich too much.”
“That priest is a snake that will devour you… a cunning serpent.”
Erich, who had been a dear friend, now felt unfamiliar. While there were many times when she thought of him as someone she couldn’t understand, he was still on her side.
‘…But is he really on my side now?’
Living in the temple as a commoner without being a saint, Ellin painfully realized how commoners were treated in the temple. Was it any different for Erich?
Come to think of it, why was he so sweet to her?
She couldn’t forget his expression that she had missed earlier.
‘…Ah, ah.’
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