Chapter 119: The Incompetent Saintess

On the freezing ground, flowers with golden and silver leaves swayed in the cold wind.

“Xavier, Lonicera is blooming here too.”

“I see it too. Yuria, hold on just a bit longer. Once we’re inside the mansion, you’ll feel better.”

“Are you okay?”

Even Xavier’s lips had turned purple. No matter how healthy he was, wearing only a thin shirt in this cold would surely be tough.

“A Swordmaster doesn’t die from something like this.”

“Stop bluffing.”

“Hah. I don’t mind being a braggart in front of you.”

Xavier swiftly carried me into the mansion and shouted.

“Maya! Albert! Bring blankets! Remove the magic stones and light the fireplace!”

“My lady!”

Maya came rushing down from upstairs with a new personal maid in tow. Albert arrived with two blankets, wrapping them around both me and Xavier.

Still holding me, Xavier climbed the stairs to our room. Maya followed closely, asking questions.

“My lady, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Maya, hurry and pack my things.”

“Where are you going in this cold?”

“Shh.”

“Ah, understood.”

Maya clamped her mouth shut and, with her new maid, retreated to carry out my request.

I stopped Xavier from laying me on the bed and asked him to set me down on the sofa by the fireplace instead.

“Ada! I’ll pack the luggage, so you light the fire quickly!”

“Yes, my lady!”

While Maya hurried off to the dressing room to pack my things, the new maid Ada skillfully lit the fireplace. The icy room gradually began to warm up.

“Xavier, we can’t leave things as they are. Distribute the holy power patches to everyone immediately. Also, please take care of the Pins territory.”

“Understood. I’ll send Wilhelm and Ethan to trace back the blackened merchants.”

“That’s even better. Once I recover, I’ll head straight to the temple.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay in this cold? The carriage might not even be able to move through this weather.”

“I still have to go.”

“You won’t change your mind, will you?”

“No.”

“I thought I’d get to spend some time with you, but I guess not.”

“Me too… Thank you for understanding.”

“In that case, I’ll either buy heat-generating magic stones or summon a Fire Spiritist.”

Frankly, Xavier’s concern was valid. Though the temple was closer to the ducal residence than Berg, it was still a full day’s journey. If not for the cold, it wouldn’t have been a problem, but even I was worried about the weather.

‘Will the horses even be able to run properly?’

It was frustrating. Why doesn’t this world have mages? If only there were a way to reach the temple instantly.

Suddenly, Xavier furrowed his brow.

“The Emperor will likely hold an emergency council meeting soon… I suppose I’ll have to say I can’t attend.”

“What do you mean? Of course, the Duke must attend.”

“You’re planning to ride a carriage to the temple in this cold, aren’t you? Even if I can’t go with you, I should at least see you off.”

“And then you’ll end up following me all the way?”

“I can’t just leave you and take a portal to the Imperial Palace comfortably.”

Portal?

“Xavier, did you say you’re taking a portal to the Imperial Palace?”

“I didn’t say I’m going. I said I don’t want to go.”

“No, you just said you’d take a portal to the Imperial Palace.”

“Oh, right!”

Xavier’s stern expression suddenly brightened. His face lit up as he replied.

“In times of national crisis, the Emperor opens portals to summon ministers and nobles to the Imperial Palace at once. You can use that portal to go to the palace and then transfer to the temple.”

“Wow, can the destination be set arbitrarily?”

“There’s an outstanding magitech engineer in the palace who specializes in spatial teleportation, though it’s a different field from Dr. Daniel’s.”

“That’s great. I’ll ask them to open a portal from the palace to the temple.”

“I’ll persuade His Majesty for you.”

I decided to take this opportunity to strike a deal with the Emperor.

As Xavier mentioned, an interim portal to the Imperial Palace was opened in the Duke’s office.

“It’s done.”

I plastered Xavier’s back with holy power patches featuring Kiki designs. Arranged in a heart shape, they looked quite satisfying.

“Why so many?”

“I don’t want you to suffer again like last time when your internal flow got disrupted, or worse, turn into Kiki. Your back is hidden under your uniform, so no one will see.”

“That makes sense.”

Xavier gently took my hand.

“Are you ready?”

“I’m a little nervous, but yes.”

“It’ll be quite disorienting.”

“I understand. Let’s go.”

Xavier and I stepped into the swirling black portal. As my vision flipped and dizziness set in, it felt like the world was turning upside down.

“Yuria, are you alright?”

Waves of light flickered before my eyes. As my hazy vision cleared, I saw Xavier looking at me with concern.

The place where I stood was a grand reception hall. It seemed they had used a spacious area for the portal instead of a meeting room.

“How does it feel to cross a two-hour distance in the blink of an eye?”

“Whew. It’s incredible.”

Unfortunately, we had arrived at a poor time. The hall was already filled with high-ranking nobles from the empire. Of course, the Emperor and Crown Prince were seated on the elevated throne.

I wasn’t the only one surprised. The nobles began murmuring as they noticed me.

Emperor Charles, unable to hide his delight, spoke up.

“Oh! It’s reassuring to have the Saintess join us as well.”

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

I offered a slight bow in response.

Even as a Saintess, unless I was tied to the Imperial family, the Emperor couldn’t order me around.

If the Emperor harbored ill intentions, he could force me, but the Imperial family avoided antagonizing the temple due to the importance of holy power. The two powers were evenly matched.

Meanwhile, Arthur remained expressionless, keeping his gaze fixed on me.

I met his gaze without flinching.

‘Does Crown Prince Arthur know about the Gold-Silver flower or the Lonicera incident? If he does, why is he staying silent? Shouldn’t he be working to save the people? What is he thinking?’

Upon reflection, Arthur didn’t seem to be a transmigrator.

If he were, he’d likely be someone from my previous world. But I never got that impression when speaking with him.

‘Even I subconsciously use old words or phrases from my past life.’

That would make him either a regressor or a resurrected individual.

It sounded absurd, but the fact that he knew the original story where Rosetta was the Saintess supported that theory.

‘But does that make sense? If the male lead regressed in the original story… would he abandon the female lead Rosetta and twist the plot like this?’

No matter how I thought about it, it didn’t add up.

What is going on?

‘I need to wrap things up here quickly and head to the temple.’

Lost in thought, I furrowed my brow, and Arthur suddenly smiled at me.

‘Why is he smiling?’

Bang!

The Emperor’s staff struck the floor.

The murmurs in the hall ceased, leaving only the Emperor’s solemn voice echoing through the space.

“Now that everyone is gathered, we shall begin this emergency council meeting in brief. Start with the reports.”

A noble stepped forward to report.

“My territory, Roten, is located north of the capital, yet the heat was relentless before peculiar flowers began sprouting everywhere. Suddenly, the cold became so severe that the ground froze. That’s not all. Merchants in the village began turning black from their fingertips to their entire bodies, dying within days. They turned as black as charcoal.”

Murmurs spread through the room.

“The same is true for Nordenmost, located in the far north. The death toll has exceeded dozens over the past few days. The Flower of Calamity is blooming, Your Majesty!”

“Next.”

As similar testimonies piled up, the unrest grew. Even the Emperor’s face showed deepening concern.

In contrast, Crown Prince Arthur remained calm, his gaze fixed on me.

“Herb Harbor, a southern coastal region, experienced sudden heat and bitter cold. Within days, people started turning black and dying!”

While the specifics varied by region, the pattern was the same.

The commonality was extreme weather changes, the appearance of ominous flowers, and deaths resembling charred remains.

At the Emperor’s signal, a chamberlain emerged from behind the Emperor’s banner, carrying a cushion with an uprooted flower. It was the same Lonicera I had seen at the ducal residence.

“Did the flower bloom and bring the cold? Or did the cold come first, followed by the flower?”

At the sight of the flower, the nobles trembled in fear. Some even backed away to hide behind pillars.

“Th-this is ominous! It’s the Flower of Calamity! We uprooted them all immediately!”

“Ah, Your Majesty! Please remove it! We’re all going to die!”

The Emperor, glaring at them with disdain, raised his voice.

“Such pitiful fools! If this flower were the problem, both I and this chamberlain would already be dead, reduced to charcoal as you claim!”

His booming voice was so powerful it seemed even the pillars trembled.

‘As expected, His Majesty is different.’

As Daniel had said, Lonicera likely wasn’t the Flower of Calamity. At least, not directly. The reason for its blooming remained unclear.

The nobles, cowed by the Emperor’s outburst, sheepishly returned to their places.

“The issue is that we cannot save the dying citizens. Does anyone have a solution?”

“……”

The room fell silent. The Emperor turned to a man summoned to the meeting.

“Imperial physician, speak.”

“At present, the symptoms are unprecedented. We are tracing the deceased to analyze the cause.”

“I see.”

The Emperor, deep in thought, turned his gaze to me. His piercing look made my heart sink.

“Fortunately, we have the Saintess sent by Goddess Maha after a hundred years. Isn’t that reassuring?”

“Oh, the Saintess is here.”

“Yes, there is hope!”

The nobles, as if grasping at straws, erupted in excitement. Dozens of fervent gazes fell upon me.

Xavier’s sharp response came immediately.

“Your Majesty, you’re not planning to leave the empire’s troubles entirely to the Saintess, are you?”

“Duke Xavier.”

Even at the Emperor’s call, Xavier didn’t back down. At that moment, another voice interjected.

“That’s right. We can’t ask the Saintess to solve everything.”

Arthur, who had been silently observing, finally spoke.

“As everyone here knows, the Saintess’s holy power is remarkable but has a critical limitation. Isn’t that correct, Your Eminence?”

What are you trying to say?

“The Saintess’s holy power only demonstrates its miraculous abilities through physical contact. At best, how many people could she save with that? A few dozen?”

Arthur’s eyes gleamed sharply.

“In other words, she’s an incompetent Saintess.”