FTA Ch 23

<Episode 23>

‘How long had she been sitting there, feigning ignorance?’

Eventually a small boy was unable to hold back any longer, thrust his face toward hers.

 

“Saintess, right? You’re the Saintess, aren’t you!”

 

Gloria silently sighed to herself.

‘How on earth did this little rascal figure out her identity?’

 

“Saintess, why aren’t you answering?” The little boy asked
“I’m not the Saintess.” Gloria replied.
“…What?”
“I said I’m not the Saintess.” Gloria replied again.
“…”

 

The boy’s eyes widened, clearly taken a back by Gloria’s straight forward denial.

He seemed at a loss for words, staring at her in stunned silence with his mouth slightly agape.

But Gloria simply returned his gaze, watching the bewildered child with calm indifference.

Then, as if he had finally made up his mind, the boy’s face lit up with a wide smile.

 

“Aw, come on, stop joking around. You are the Saintess!”

“I’m really not.”

 

Gloria quickly refuted his words, as if she had been waiting for them.

 

“Why would I be the Saintess? I actually don’t like the Saintess at all.”

 

The boy gasped dramatically, drawing in a sharp breath.

To Gloria, it was meant to be a playful joke, a lighthearted tease.

But her attempt at humor seemed to have had the opposite effect.

The boy’s face turned pale, and Gloria couldn’t help but feel slightly awkward, seeing how utterly shocked he looked.

 

“Oh no, Rus!”

 

A voice suddenly called out from somewhere nearby, brimming with urgency.

The sound of hurried footsteps followed soon after.

Gloria turned her head in the direction of the voice.

A girl with her long hair tied up in a single bun appeared, rushing toward them.

 

“…Sis?”
“Are you serious right now? Didn’t I tell you to stay right by my side?”

 

It seemed the girl was the older sister of the boy who had so easily deduced Gloria’s identity.

Gloria quietly observed as the girl scolded her younger brother.

After giving him a proper reprimand, the girl, as if sensing Gloria’s gaze, turned to face her.

 

“I’m so sorry, Saintess. My brother wasn’t bothering you too much, was he? He’s still young, and…”
“No, it wasn’t much of a bother.”

 

Gloria replied as nonchalantly as possible, though in truth, she was deeply startled.

Both the boy and now the girl…

‘How had they so effortlessly recognized her as the Saintess?’

‘I may be famous in the capital, but…’

 

During her time in the capital, she had been forced by the royal family and the church to attend countless banquets and festivals

They was making her face a familiar sight to many.

On top of that, her portrait hung prominently in the halls of the Imperial Temple of Imperius.

But she hadn’t expected her face to be known in a remote estate like this.

 

“Why are you calling me Saintess?”
“…Pardon?”
“I’m not the Saintess.”
“…”

 

The girl blinked in disbelief, as if she’d just heard something entirely unfathomable.

She stared at Gloria with wavering eyes for what felt like an eternity before finally speaking, her voice unsure.

 

“Well, it’s just… you look exactly like the portrait of the Saintess hanging in the temple.”
“Wait, there’s a portrait of the Saintess in this village’s temple too?”

 

Gloria, caught off guard by this revelation, asked with a raised voice.

The girl flinched momentarily, startled, but then quickly nodded her head.

 

“Yes, it’s displayed right at the entrance of the temple.”

“It’s huge! You can see it from really far away, and it makes it super obvious that the Saintess is incredibly beautiful!”

 

The boy, still excited, grabbed his sister’s hand and swung it as he shouted.

Gloria felt her head spin.

She had thought that portrait only hung in the Imperial Temple of Imperius…

But now it seemed her likeness adorned other temples as well.

 

‘It must be the doing of those old men.’

 

Gloria felt a sudden impulse to storm into the Imperial Grand Temple.
To be more precise, she wanted to grab the high priests by the collars, shake them violently, and demand an explanation.

 

“…Are you okay?”

 

A cautious voice interrupted her turbulent thoughts.

Returning to reality, Gloria slowly opened her eyes to see a girl gazing at her with concern.
She reached into her pocket, pulled out a gold coin, and placed it in the girl’s hand.
The girl’s wide eyes grew even larger in astonishment.

 

“Wh-why are you giving me this…?”
“I want to buy that.”
“This postcard?…”
“Yes.”

 

Gloria glanced at the postcard the girl was holding.

It depicted the day when Gloria received the blessing of the gods.
To commemorate that event, the high priests of the Grand Temple had established ‘Poorhouses’ in every temple across the empire.

These institutions cared for children orphaned by monsters, providing food, clothing, and education.

The children were protected until adulthood and could even save money for when they left.

Children made souvenirs to earned money by selling temple

That money splitting the profit with the temple like half for the temple, and half for themselves.
It was an arrangement beneficial to the children, but also a profitable one for the temple.

Gloria was well aware of how much the temple enjoyed this lucrative setup, though she grudgingly admitted that it did benefit the children.

 

“The postcards cost 1 bronze per each,” the girl said hesitantly.

“I don’t have any smaller coins. Just take this and give me a postcard.”

“But…”

“Then sell the rest to me too.”

 

Gloria’s tone was casual, almost indifferent.
The girl hesitated, lowered her gaze, and counted the postcards in her hand before looking back up.

 

“But there are only 29 postcards. I’d need to give you 7 silvers in change…”

“You figured that out so fast? You’re sharp.”

 

Gloria couldn’t hide her surprise.

Many of the men she knew couldn’t manage even simple arithmetic.

Genuinely impressed, she patted the girl lightly on the head before rising to her feet.

 

“You’re adorable, like a little sister. So just accept it.”

“But this is far too much…”

 

The girl shook her head vigorously, adamantly refusing the money.

Her cute, soft features belied a surprising stubbornness.

 

“If it really bothers you, then draw more pretty pictures on postcards and sell them all to me.”

 

Finding no other solution, Gloria offered the girl a compromise.

Just as the girl opened her mouth likely to protest again, Gloria cut her off.

 

“Do you know where the old castle… the one where the lord used to live is?”
“Yes? Oh, yes, I do,” the girl answered, looking startled.

 

Amused by her expression, Gloria smiled and placed the gold coin firmly in the girl’s hand.

 

“I live there now. So bring your postcards or other souvenirs and sell them to me there. You can even bring your friends.”

 

Before the girl could return the gold coin.

Gloria quickly took the postcards and her mace, then turned to leave.

 

“W-wait a minute…!”

 

The girl’s flustered voice called after her, but Gloria feigned ignorance and strode off.

When she entered the café, the owner froze and startled as he was about to serve a drink he had just prepared.

 

“Something came up, so I need to go. Sorry for wasting your effort. Here’s the payment.”
“Uh… wait, what?”

“I’ll come back another time.”

 

The man stared at Gloria, be wildered. But she had no time to explain.

She quickly placed the money on the counter.

 

“Is there a back door?”

“O-over there…”

 

Swept up by Gloria’s urgency, the man pointed in the indicated direction.

Gloria moved swiftly, opened the back door, and stepped out.

 

“You must come back! Promise!” Behind her, the man’s anxious voice called out.

 

Even without his plea, Gloria had every intention of returning.

She wasn’t one to make empty promises, and besides, she genuinely wanted to savor the drink she had missed.

Like ordinary people do.

They enjoyed moments like this as part of their everyday lives.

 

‘I could come back someday with Leonhard.’

 

Resolving to return, Gloria turned her attention to the dark alleyway across from the café.

She could feel an uncomfortably blatant gaze emanating from the shadows within.

Someone had been watching her intensely for some time.