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Esther carefully peeled the package off so that it wouldn\'t wrinkle. As she lifted the lid, a pair of gloves appeared.

“Gloves?”

Surprised by the unexpected gift, she slowly lifted the contents. The gloves were very soft, perhaps made of silk. It was a light yet pungent material.

Unlike other gloves, the fingertips were left bare, making it possible to wear them even during work.

She had been worrying over the stigmata that shone every now and then, but this seemed to be a perfect solution.

Esther’s eyes glimmered with emotion. She asked, “What made you think of getting me gloves?”

“I happened to pass by them, and thought they would suit you well. Do you like the gift?”

“Yeah. This is something I really needed. I\'ll use it well. Thanks.”

She fancied the subtle mauve hue, the peculiar structure, and the material used.

Esther immediately put on the gloves. They were light to the extent that one wouldn’t recognize they were even there.

“Let me see.”

Noah lifted Esther’s hand using the excuse of evaluating the gloves.

“I think it suits you.”

“Yeah.”

Esther flusteredly rolled her eyes upwards while trying to act aloof. She then pulled out her hand and started speaking.

“Ah! I almost forgot. I heard you\'re going to sleep here tonight? My father asked for you to have dinner with us later, if that’s alright.”

“Really?”

The hand in which Esther previously let go of stopped midair, expressing Noah’s surprise.

“Yeah, but maybe it\'s better for you to say no. My father and brothers don’t really welcome you too much.”

“It makes me feel better to know that you worry about me.”

Esther continued in distress while Noah joked around.

“I\'m afraid you\'ll feel uncomfortable. Though, my brothers and father are really nice people, even if they look cold on the outside.”

“I also think so.”

Noah smiled softly as he listened to Esther\'s affectionate tone as she spoke about her family.

Darwin was truly a frightening human being when dealing with politics, but Noah believed him to be a good enough person, looking at how he changed Esther so much.

Therefore, he interpreted the invite in a positive manner.

Anyhow, Noah was satisfied that he was standing by Esther’s side.

“I love eating. Let\'s take this opportunity to score some brownie points.”

“What’d you say?”

“Nothing.”

Esther didn’t have a chance to understand Noah’s quiet murmur, so she dismissed the matter.

“I\'ll let the butler know.”

She had achieved her purpose, so there was no reason to remain here. Esther lifted Cheese from the bottom of her feet.

She prepared to leave for her room. Esther couldn’t spend more time with Noah, as there were many eyes roaming around.

Since they’re inside the mansion, her father and brothers may notice.

“Then I\'ll see you later.”

“Yeah. See you later.”

Noah sadly stared at Esther\'s back as she moved with Cheese, holding no ounce of regret.

“But it\'s nice to see you again, now that we’re in the same place.”

It had been a while since their last meeting, so the moment they conversed with each other felt too short. However, Noah’s smile did not fade.

It was nice meeting each other again.

***

“…I\'m back.”

Khalid sighed as he reached the main Temple. He checked the time.

It was 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the perfect time to meet Rabienne.

Khalid felt too uncomfortable to meet Rabienne, but he recalled his order and headed to the Saint’s palace.

He entered the Saint\'s Palace and asked about Rabienne’s whereabouts.

“Where is the Saint right now?”

“Ah, you are the newly appointed paladin. The Saint left for the greenhouse to take care of the torches… She is likely to still be there.”

“Thank you.”

Having marked her location, Khalid headed straight to the greenhouse.

The surrounding area remained void of people, since Rabienne ordered for no one to be around while she tended to the torches.

He knocked on the entrance to the greenhouse and stood in wait, before hearing a slightly sharp voice from the other side.

“Who is it?”

Rabienne was fatigued to the point where she stood on edge.

She was going to reprimand whoever entered, but as soon as she confirmed the offender, Rabienne dropped the torch in her hand and rushed towards him.

“Khalid! You\'re finally here, aren\'t you? You don\'t know how long I\'ve been waiting for you.”

Khalid stiffened in embarrassment as he observed Rabienne acting as if she had met her lover.

“I\'m sorry it took so long.”

“It\'s all right. How did it go?”

As Khalid observed her ruby-like eyes glisten excessively, he felt an unknown sense of reluctance.

Nevertheless, he pulled out the vial and carefully handed it to her so it wouldn’t break.

“I have brought it.”

“As expected… I knew you would succeed. You did a great job.”

Rabienne gently caressed Khalid\'s shoulder and acknowledged his hard work, her expression angelic.

The moment he handed over the glass bottle containing red blood, she resembled an excited child who received an amazing gift.

“It must not have been easy. How did you obtain the blood?”

Khalid noticed her intention to verify his mission. He tensed up and replied.

“When I left for Tersia, I happened to meet her at the same time a tree was falling down. I pretended to shield her and took my chance when she hurt herself.”

In reality, before entering the Temple, Khalid visited the butcher house and received the blood of a freshly slaughtered cow.

“I imagine there would have been many escorts?”

“It was a very hectic situation, and I was right beside her as we were having a conversation. It was simply luck.”

It was an excuse he had practiced several times, so the words naturally flowed from his lips like water.

Rabienne observed him and soon moved on dismissively.

She didn’t even fathom the possibility that Khalid would betray her as soon as he became a paladin. For Esther at that.

“That\'s great. Anyhow, you did great. Take a few days off.”

Rabienne smiled refreshingly and shook the vial from side to side. The Red liquid fluttered inside.

“Hm? Why aren\'t you leaving? Do you have anything else to say?”

“I\'d like to know what you\'re using the blood for.”

At that moment, Rabienne\'s eyes changed. People wouldn’t realize because she was smiling all the time, but when expressionless, her face was truly the definition of poison.

Khalid flinched at the change.

“Khalid, who am I?”

“…The Saint.”

“Yes, I am an agent who follows the will of God. Everything I do is God\'s command. You are here to carry out what I order you as a Saint.”

The cold voice clearly contained the warning to not question her words.

“I asked a presumptuous question. I apologize.”

Khalid lowered his head as a means to avoid Rabienne’s gaze.

“It\'s alright. Don’t do that going forward. I\'ll call you again, so leave.”

“Yes, Saint.”

Today\'s conversation only raised Khalid’s suspicions about Rabienne, but he obediently left the greenhouse.

Rabienne, at last left alone, hummed joyfully while observing the glass bottle against the sunlight.

“What a beautiful color.”

The same, bold red color as her eyes. How lovely.

She pulled the cap of the vial with expectant eyes. Then, she nervously pushed the tip of the bottle to her lips.

Rabienne swallowed a gulp of the blood, believing that the outcome would be significantly different from the other times she consumed the blood of the candidates.

Half of the bottle\'s blood swiftly flowed into Rabienne\'s mouth.

However, no matter how long Rabienne waited, the outcome she had longed for did not manifest. She was still exhausted, and her energy showed no signs of increase.

“…It wasn’t her?”

Rabienne scrunched her face in dismay. Blood glistened on her lips, but she didn’t even think of wiping it off.

She swallowed the remaining half of the blood in the vial just in case, but nothing changed.

“Well, whatever. She couldn’t be the Saint anyway. That\'s a relief.”

It was satisfactory that Esther, whom she had always looked down upon, was not the Saint, but the emotion did not last long.

Now that the most likely candidate had disappeared, it would be a challenge to find the true Saint.

Rabienne\'s lips twitched in agitation as she imagined her future goals.

“Where the hell am I supposed to find them?”

The problem was that they could not be known publicly. She was frustrated at the amount of work she would have to add to her pile.

“I\'m so annoyed, really.”

Rabienne, unable to overcome her rising anger, threw the glass bottle onto the ground.

The glass shattered into pieces. The countless shards scattered against the grass.

Rabienne glared irritably at the pieces before noticing that the surrounding torches were beginning to turn black.

“What\'s wrong with them?”

The venom emanating from Rabienne seemed to have been transferred to the torches.

When she spotted another black torch after her hard work of purifying the rest of the torches, Rabienne grabbed the stem and tore it from the ground.

At that time, another knock resounded from the door.

Rabienne tried to cool down her ferocity and retorted with as much kindness as possible.

“Who is it?”

“It\'s me, Lucas.”

“…Come in.”

Fortunately, Lucas knew everything about Rabienne.

She didn\'t have to conceal herself, so she allowed him inside.

Lucas opened the door and started inside when he noticed broken pieces of glass lying around.

“What is all this?”

“I accidentally broke the bottle. Be careful not to step on the shards.”

“Ah, I see.”

She obviously smashed it to the ground.

In addition, he nearly frowned at the torches surrounding Rabienne, but he pretended to be oblivious.

“I understand that you know I don\'t wish to be disturbed when I\'m in the greenhouse, therefore you are here for an important reason?”

“Yes, this is urgent news related to the epidemic.”

“Please speak.”

“The temples surrounding the border attempted to block out the disease as much as possible, but it has already gone out of control.”

Lucas observed Rabienne\'s cold expression and continued.

“Why don\'t we inform the royal family and respond officially?”

“What would everyone think if the epidemic spread as soon as I became a Saint? That\'s not possible.”

Rabienne put her own honor before saving the people and reporting the plague as soon as possible.

“What is the most effective way to prevent infectious diseases?”

“Well, perhaps these torches would suffice. Although, there are not enough of these precious things…”

Lucas looked around the torch laying in the greenhouse before blurting the end of his words.

***

TL/N: Pfft, imagine drinking a cow’s blood. Khalid, I give you a point for that. Now you’re at –infinity points. Keep at it.

Also, apparently, I was thinking of lamps this whole time and mistaking it with torches. Sorry, this is what a torch looks like: (I won’t correct the s since there’s too much, but I’ll do it right from now on~)