I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince

Chapter 219

“Do you, just like me, love the Hero, Miss Lillis?”

For a moment, my mind went blank as I stared at Celesta, who had just uttered such an absurd statement with a straight face.

This girl’s head is completely filled with flowers—head over heels in love.

Of course, I never once felt any romantic feelings toward Gyeonmwa Joshekigwat, let alone considered him as a potential partner. In fact, I hadn’t even felt a moment of attraction to him as a member of the opposite sex.

To begin with, I hadn’t spent much time with the Hero, and the number of times we had spoken alone, including the conversation yesterday, amounted to exactly two. For someone to fall in love within those two meetings, the Hero would have had to save my life at least once—preferably twice—during that time.

While it was true that we were from the same hometown and shared some common ground, making him easier to talk to than most men, he had too many drawbacks as a romantic prospect.

“I knew it... Miss Lillis, you also have feelings for the Hero, don’t you?”

“...Excuse me?”

Celesta, misinterpreting my silence as agreement, continued to weave her narrative, prompting me to quickly refute her assumptions before Gyeonmwa Joshekigwat got any strange ideas.

“That sound you hear is not my heart fluttering... Please don’t misunderstand, Saintess Celesta. I’ve never had such feelings for the Hero.”

“You don’t have to be embarrassed, Miss Lillis. The Hero is handsome and dependable; it’s only natural for any woman to be drawn to him.”

“It’s not embarrassment; it’s really a misunderstanding, Saintess Celesta. I don’t have any deep connection with the Hero, and I certainly don’t have any reason to...”

“You can be honest with me. I won’t tell anyone. And it’s not like I’ll refuse to consecrate you because of it...”

“I said no.”

“...What?”

“I said no. How many times do I have to say it for you to understand?”

“I’m sorry...”

...Why is it that when I try to be polite, people don’t listen the first time? It was only after I spoke sternly that Celesta finally closed her mouth, making me sigh involuntarily.

The premise that I had fallen for the Hero was wrong from the start. Even though quite some time had passed since I realized I had transmigrated into this world, that didn’t mean I had completely abandoned the memories of my past life.

Having played 『Luminor Academy』 obsessively, it had become a significant part of my life, so the experiences from my previous life were still ingrained in my mind.

Just because I ended up in a woman’s body didn’t mean I would suddenly fall in love with a man overnight. And considering my shallow connection with Gyeonmwa Joshekigwat, he was the last person I’d consider romantically.

In fact, if I were to consider the person I’ve spent the most time with, it would be Ethan, not the Hero. Not just among men, but among people in general, the time I’ve spent with Ethan far exceeds that with anyone else. And it’s not just the quantity of time, but the quality and intensity of those moments.

Whether it was the King Serpent hunt at the masquerade ball, the bandit attack on our way home, the battle against demons in Grimestone Village, or the Kraken hunt on the Lake of Knowledge, the moments where we fought with our lives on the line, trusting each other completely, were overwhelmingly with Ethan.

“I... I see... I’m sorry for the misunderstanding...”

Claiming to have someone else in mind has always been an effective way to deflect an unwanted confession. ...Or rather, it seems to work just as well in a medieval fantasy setting as it did in the modern world.

Though, in Celesta’s case, she wasn’t confessing to me, but rather making an odd assumption about my relationship with Gyeonmwa Joshekigwat.

And honestly, what I told her wasn’t a lie. I had no intention of marrying anyone in this world, but if I had to choose, Ethan would be the most likely candidate.

...To be clear, he’s just the most likely candidate. That doesn’t mean I’m planning to marry him.

“By the way, the Hero is already aware of this, so I hope there won’t be any more misunderstandings.”

“Then... why did you agree to join the Hero’s party? If it wasn’t because of the Hero or someone else, why would you...”

“...I’ll leave that for you to ask the Hero himself when the time comes, Saintess Celesta.”

Since it had to do with her position as a fake Saintess, I figured it was better for Gyeonmwa Joshekigwat to explain the situation. After all, he was the one who set the condition of me joining the Hero’s party, so it was only fair that he handle the explanation. If I do end up joining the party, he’ll need to explain my presence to the other members as well, and I’m sure he’s already come up with a suitable cover story.

As we conversed, we finally reached the empty main church. Celesta cautiously put her ear to the door, and after a moment, she turned to me and nodded.

Click, creak.

“...”

“...”

Using her authority as a high priestess and the power associated with the title of Saintess, Celesta quietly unlocked and opened the door to the main church.

With the summer break just starting, most of the academy priests were on alternating vacations, so there was no one on night duty at the church tonight.

“Let’s finish this quickly while no one’s around. Miss Lillis, please come this way...”

“...Alright.”

Following Celesta, who gently pulled me by the hand, I walked into the main church. Inside, she began to perform the consecration ritual according to the teachings of the Aurelia Church.

She had me kneel on the floor, read from the church’s scriptures, sprinkled holy water over my head while covering me with a veil, and fed me a piece of bread and a glass of wine, which she’d brought from somewhere, as part of the ritual.

After nearly thirty minutes of this lengthy ritual, we finally stepped out of the main church, and I emerged as an awakened Saintess.

It was a moment that had taken over six years to arrive since I first realized I had been transmigrated into this world.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

『Name: Lillis Rosewood

Title: Prophetic Saintess』