Belladonna, who became the Pope’s daughter and a saint praised by everyone overnight, had two concerns.

First, should she reveal to the world that she could speak?

The answer was no. Absolutely not.

‘How on earth am I supposed to do this…’

Belladonna gazed down at her empty hands as she walked through the garden of the Papal Palace, lost in thought.

In her previous life, she had seen the Saint heal someone with lower body paralysis, albeit from afar.

The Saint, whom she had eagerly stood on tiptoes to see among the crowd, had placed her hand on the legs of the man sitting before her, then quietly closed her eyes.

‘…Then a blue light came from her hands, and the man’s eyes widened before he suddenly stood up, I think.’

Recalling the memory, Belladonna closed her eyes once more and concentrated all her energy on her fingertips.

Hiyah…!

“…”

But, as expected, nothing happened.

For now, it was clear that she possessed no holy power.

‘This probably has something to do with my soul.’

Since the Saint had lost her voice and gained holy power, it made sense that she, who still had her voice and a changed soul, would have no holy power.

So, she couldn’t rashly reveal to anyone that she could speak.

‘What if they try to test my holy power…’

“Saint Belladonna. Many devotees have come to see you today as well.”

At that moment, a voice was heard from behind.

Belladonna quickly lowered her hands and turned her head. She saw a young priest, still not quite grown, standing there blushing and fidgeting.

Belladonna silently smiled and nodded.

The priest gazed at her beautiful smile with an enraptured expression, then bowed deeply once before turning away.

In the distance, she could see many people waiting in front of the entrance to the Papal Palace.

Why do people in this world have so many secrets?

Belladonna stood still, beginning to ponder how she would endure another day. Perhaps today she should count the patterns on the ceiling instead of the floor…

“Is Saint Belladonna really trustworthy?”

Just then, a low voice began to be heard from somewhere.

Hm? Belladonna slowly turned her head.

Under a large, ancient tree, two high-ranking noblemen were standing close together, engaged in a hushed conversation.

Because the tree was blocking them, it seemed they couldn’t see her from their vantage point.

“Ah, of course she’s trustworthy! She’s chosen by God. She’s called the Saint of Astanya!”

The man across replied in a slightly louder voice.

Oh, so they were talking about me.

If she left hastily, they might discover that she had been standing there.

Belladonna held her breath and quietly hid her body behind the tree.

“But, no matter what… What if later on her holy power disappears and she regains her voice, revealing everyone’s secrets?”

The other man cautiously uttered.

Listening to their conversation, Belladonna quietly sighed.

If it’s so worrying, you could just leave the Papal Palace right now…

“Hahaha, Saint Belladonna is revered as a saint because she keeps everyone’s secrets very firmly. She cannot freely disclose our secrets.”

The man across smiled.

“Don’t you know that those chosen by God cannot do anything harmful to people? Promises made in God’s domain, that is, in the Papal Palace, must also be kept until the end of one’s life.”

“Th-That’s true, but…”

“The Saint will take our secrets to her grave. Besides…”

The man briefly looked around, then lowered his voice considerably.

“…She’s not even the Pope’s real daughter anyway. Just think of it comfortably.”

“A-Ahem…”

“We just need to receive the grace, comfort, solace, and wisdom that God bestows through the Saint.”

“Grace and comfort… Solace and wisdom…”

The man who first spoke stroked his mustache, lost in thought.

“Alright! Add my name to the confession list too. I have so much to say!”

“You’ve thought well, Baron!”

So that gentleman was a baron.

Belladonna, hiding behind the tree, let out a small sigh.

In any case, it seemed that Saint Belladonna provided great comfort and solace to the empire’s people by listening to their confessions. She recalled that in her previous life, she too had loved such a Saint dearly.

So, she couldn’t now reveal that she could speak and disappoint people.

‘I shouldn’t do anything to tarnish the Saint’s reputation, at least.’

Since the current Pope took office, the Saint’s holy power was only used specially at a few imperial events throughout the year, such as the Emperor’s birthday or Christmas.

Fortunately, there were no scheduled events for the time being, so the risk of being discovered should be low…

That day, behind the tree, Belladonna decided to keep it a secret for now that she could speak.

The next thing she had been constantly pondering was as follows:

Should she try to find the poor farmer’s daughter who was her previous life? She must already be dead…

“Saint, you must meet with the devotees again today.”

“…”

“Saint, there is a meeting with the priests today.”

“…”

“Saint, you must attend the mandatory service this morning, and there is a banquet prepared for the afternoon.”

“…”

But…

‘Saint Belladonna is too busy, even for someone who’s busy!’

Belladonna simply couldn’t find any personal time.

She bowed her head deeply and tugged at her luscious silver hair.

‘But I can’t rashly tell someone that I want to find the farmer’s daughter…’

She thought that she would have to postpone looking for her previous self for now.

“Saint, there is lunch with the Pope today.”

At the priest’s calm voice, Belladonna, who had been scrunching up her face, quickly raised her head.

See, she’s this busy…

She forced a smile and slowly nodded.

Then, the priest who had not left the room until then spoke hesitantly.

“Um… I’m afraid I won’t be able to escort you to the dining hall today. The priests’ class time has been suddenly moved up… I’m sorry, Saint.”

Am I a child? I go to the dining hall three times a day…

Belladonna smiled again, raising the corners of her mouth to indicate that it was alright. At her warm smile, the priest sighed with relief, bowed, and left the room.

As the priest disappeared, Belladonna turned her head to look at the clock.

‘About 20 minutes to spare.’

She slowly rose to her feet.

Instead of going through the long corridor, she planned to go outside the building and follow the large circular path to the dining hall.

The path that curved widely to the west of the Papal Palace building was a road allowed only to the Pope and the Saint, where priests and devotees could not enter.

Whenever Belladonna had even a brief moment during her busy schedule, she would slowly stroll there, lost in thought.

When the Pope wasn’t around, at least on that path, she could hum very quietly…

‘The Pope should have already arrived at the dining hall…’

Belladonna, who had come down the stairs and entered the west side of the Papal Palace building, carefully looked around front, back, and both sides to see if anyone was there.

“…”

There was only a very small sound of wind; the path seemed empty.

Yes, there’s no way anyone would be in a restricted area!

Belladonna took a step forward, reassured. As she entered the path, she lifted her head, opened her mouth, and let out a deep sigh.

“Haaaa…”

Compared to the times when she had worked in the fields all day without a single shade, trembling with hunger and falling asleep clutching her empty stomach without a proper meal, her current life was incomparably abundant and satisfying.

At least here, cool shade, delicious meals, and a warm bed were guaranteed.

“…The only problem is that it’s too boring, if anything.”

Belladonna chuckled very softly.

It was amusing to her that she was having such well-fed concerns when she had only lived as the Saint for half a year.

Yes, what’s wrong with living like this? Belladonna nodded.

So what if she couldn’t speak forcibly, if her freedom was suppressed!

So what if she had to live carrying everyone’s heavy secrets in her heart!

At least it was incomparably better than her past life, wasn’t it?

In high spirits, she closed her mouth and began to hum softly.

“Hmm hmm… Mm, hmm…”

It was a work song that sometimes, when the farmers were too exhausted from their work, someone would start singing while straightening their back and looking up at the sky.

No matter who started the song, it would spread like a plague, and soon become everyone’s chorus.

“Hmm hmm… To the sky… I pray… For a bountiful harvest…”

Was it because she was too excited?

Belladonna was soon so absorbed in the song that she began to recite the lyrics with a frown.

What were the next lyrics? Was it about a bird flying in, or harvesting crops…

“Beautiful little bird… Your win– Aaack!”

Belladonna, who had been quietly singing the work song, suddenly screamed.

Startled by her own voice, she covered her mouth with both hands. If she hadn’t, an even longer and louder scream might have escaped.

“…”

She froze completely, her eyes wide open.

Under the shade of the tree where she had been carelessly looking, a large man was lying with his arms crossed and eyes closed.

‘Wh-What?’

Belladonna thought, clutching her pounding chest.

Wh-Who is it? How did they even get in here?

…Did he hear my voice?

After standing still for a moment, she slowly moved her feet towards the lying man.

“…”

Despite her sudden scream earlier, the man didn’t wake up and remained motionless in his lying position.

‘Is he sleeping, or dead?’

Tanned skin and a prominent nose. A manly sharp jawline and an enormous physique.

He had an air about him that seemed relaxed and leisurely, yet somewhat dangerous.

Given his excellent physique and somewhat rough appearance… A mercenary, perhaps?

There was no way priests or devotees could enter this place in violation of church rules. This man was clearly an outsider unrelated to the Papal Palace.

Belladonna couldn’t bring herself to approach him closely, and after looking him over, she turned and began to flee.

He had his eyes closed anyway.

Even if he had heard something in his sleep, he would never dream that it was Saint Belladonna.

She ran up to the dining hall where the Pope would be waiting, praying to God that the illegal intruder wouldn’t open his eyes.

Please… Please…!