The papal office was bustling from early morning.
Belladonna, who finished dressing up with Rosie’s help, came outside and frowned slightly.
Although she had used her holy power to heal all her wounds, her condition was not good at all.
To divert her thoughts, she forcibly looked around, and saw more people than expected wandering around the papal office and going in and out of the chapel.
As it was the biggest national holiday of the year, everyone’s faces looked bright and without a trace of worry.
Belladonna watched them with no expression.
Rosie, standing beside her, opened her mouth.
“Saint, are you alright?”
At Rosie’s careful voice, Belladonna came to her senses and turned her head.
She seemed worried about Belladonna not smiling today.
Usually, she would have quickly given a bright smile as if nothing was wrong, but today she somehow lacked the energy.
Belladonna forcibly lifted the corners of her mouth slightly and nodded. She couldn’t tell how her smile looked.
“The Pope is in the Grand Chapel. The believers who will receive your grace today are gathered there, shall we go right away?”
Belladonna nodded.
As she entered the Grand Chapel with Rosie, believers who recognized her took off their hats or bowed to greet her.
Belladonna smiled at them and walked inside.
“Ah, Saint, you’ve arrived.”
Nicholas, who was sitting at the very front directing the priests with hand gestures, raised his head.
“The believers who will receive the holy grace today are lined up over there. After the mass with the Pope ends, let’s move over there together.”
Nod, nod.
Belladonna nodded and sat down next to him.
Receiving all the gazes directed at her from the back to the front of the huge chapel, she already felt drained.
Soon, a priest went to the front and announced the Pope’s entrance.
As people’s voices quieted down, the small door on the side of the chapel opened and the Pope appeared.
‘Ugh…’
At the memory of the past, Belladonna secretly frowned.
But as he entered the chapel interior with a big smile, there was no trace of that day’s appearance, and an aura of serenity, benevolence, and utmost kindness emanated from him.
That hypocrite…
Belladonna took a deep breath, barely suppressing her disgust. She had to manage her expression quickly before he noticed.
The Pope stood on the platform, looked around the chapel once, and then raised his voice to speak.
“143 years have passed since the founding of the Elineros Empire.”
With those words, his congratulatory speech for His Majesty the Emperor’s birthday began.
[This is the timeline separator]“Saint, the next believer is here.”
“Ah, hello!”
Belladonna looked at the plainly dressed man who appeared before her.
He seemed to have trouble with his leg as he limped over and sat down in the prepared chair with difficulty.
Belladonna gave a gentle smile to the man who looked somewhat nervous.
“Ah… S-Saint. I-It’s an honor to meet you like this. I-I, that is, I…”
“This man was born with a leg disability, it seems.”
Nicholas, standing to the side, quickly interjected in place of the stuttering man.
Slightly embarrassed that his words were completely ignored, the man licked his lips and gave an awkward laugh.
“Th-That’s right. I-I was told I could fix my leg if I came here…”
“To be precise, the Saint’s ability is healing, not perfect restoration. In severe cases, it may only alleviate symptoms. As you know, the Saint’s power belongs to all of us, so we cannot focus it solely on one believer.”
Despite Nicholas’ explanation that could come across as cold, the man nodded rapidly.
“A-Anything is fine! This damn leg…”
Belladonna approached him and placed her hand on his knee.
Closing her eyes to concentrate, a blue light soon sparkled from her fingertips.
“W-Wow…”
At the same time, sighs and exclamations of admiration were heard from the surrounding believers once again.
Belladonna still couldn’t get used to this act and these reactions that had been repeated so many times already.
After concentrating for a few minutes to tend to the wound, the man’s leg that had been twisted at a strange angle slowly began to straighten.
At that sight, the voices of those around grew even louder.
Now that the leg is straightened, if I just finish tidying up the inside…
“Enough. That’s enough.”
At that moment, Nicholas reached out to stop Belladonna.
Huh? I could completely heal it if I just did a little more… Despite the disappointed expressions of Belladonna and the man, Nicholas spoke in a firm voice.
“Call the next believer.”
“B-But…”
“Timothy priest, don’t make me repeat myself. Call the next believer.”
At Nicholas’ stern order, Timothy, who had been lining up the believers, flinched and came over to place his hand on the man’s shoulder.
“It’s time for you to go back.”
“But it seemed almost done, just a little more…”
“Believer. As I said before, the Saint’s holy power belongs to all of us. We cannot allocate too much power to just one believer. You should be satisfied with this much grace bestowed upon you.”
“Ah…”
The man stood up with a face full of regret.
Belladonna quietly looked up at Nicholas. How is the Saint’s holy power everyone’s when it belongs to the Saint…
“Saint, the next believer is here.”
Without a moment’s rest, the next believer appeared.
This time, Belladonna smiled at a woman who came in holding her right cheek as if she had a toothache.
‘I’m reaching my limit soon…’
As she stood up after healing the man earlier, she felt dizzy as if all the blood was suddenly rushing out of her head.
It seems I can only heal one or two more people…
Belladonna looked up at Timothy standing in front of the believers with a troubled face.
Receiving her gaze, he quickly spread out his fingers.
‘Five.’
She had to pour out her holy power to five more people. Belladonna opened her eyes wide and swallowed dry saliva.
Let’s hang in there a little more, just a little…
[This is the timeline separator]Finally, as the last believer got up and left looking perfectly fine, Nicholas called out loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Thank you for your hard work, Saint. We are grateful for all the blessings and grace this year as well.”
Following him, the voices of the believers filling the surroundings were also heard.
“Saint, thank you!”
“You are truly gracious.”
“It was an honor to see the Saint in person.”
It’s over now…
Belladonna smiled while gasping for breath, completely exhausted.
Everyone, I can go back and rest now…
“Lastly, you need to participate in the gift delivery ceremony to the capital where His Majesty the Emperor is, together with the Pope. We have prepared a portal to transport the gifts, so please go there.”
Ah, it’s not over yet.
Still, since it was the last schedule, there was hope that it would end soon. Belladonna mustered her strength and stood up.
At that moment, her vision went dark and her knees buckled.
Belladonna stumbled forward, but managed to regain her balance just before falling to the floor.
Frowning and holding her dizzy head, her blackened vision slowly returned to normal.
“Are you alright, Saint?”
Timothy, who had been pushing through the believers to clear a path for her and Nicholas, quickly approached and asked while supporting her.
Ah, I’m fine. I just got dizzy for a moment…
As she tried to smile to indicate she was fine, Nicholas’ hardened face came into view before Timothy’s worried one.
Belladonna took a breath, feeling the chilling sensation she had experienced when facing the Pope in his office a few days ago.
“…”
Belladonna shook off Timothy’s hand and stood up straight.
Perhaps Cardinal Nicholas might tell the Pope about what just happened. And if that happened…
Her fist clenched reflexively in fear, becoming damp with sweat.
“Saint, are you really alright?”
At Nicholas’ question, Belladonna nodded faster than anyone.
She put on a bright smile and took vigorous steps.
After pushing through the believers and walking to the back garden where there was a large guardian tree, a huge portal came into view.
Its width and scale were so large that it seemed to be on a completely different level from the ones she had used to travel to Griblata or Silenia.
‘Wow…’
The portal, shining with red and blue light, was spinning with a humming sound, attracting people’s attention.
“Belladonna, come this way.”
As she stood there blankly staring at the large portal, she heard the Pope, who had arrived earlier and taken his position, calling her with a gesture.
Belladonna approached him with a casual smile.
“You remember all the gifts we’re presenting to His Majesty the Emperor this year, right? After all, you and I personally selected each one.”
As Belladonna approached, the Pope spoke with a smile.
When did we? Though she was dumbfounded by the blatant lie, Belladonna looked at him with a beautiful smile and nodded.
As admiration flowed from the mouths of the people surrounding them at the sight of the warm father-daughter relationship, satisfaction glowed in Pronunce’s eyes.
‘Fortunately, he seems to be in a good mood for now.’
She had to tell him that she needed to return to Griblata after the event was over, so she needed to humor him for now.
“The delegation may depart.”
At the Pope’s words, the priests holding gift boxes each approached the carriage placed in front of the portal.
They boarded the carriage one by one and sat down in proper posture.
“Please deliver safely to His Majesty the Emperor.”
With the Pope’s farewell, the carriage began to move.
Belladonna stood beside him, clapping her hands as she watched the carriage go through the portal to the capital.
And finally, as the carriage completely disappeared, Belladonna turned her head with a sense of relief.
“Bella, will you enjoy more of the festival?”
Belladonna shook her head slightly with the most polite face possible.
The Pope’s face showed satisfaction once again at her smile, which seemed to imply ‘We should leave so the priests can enjoy comfortably.’
“Ho ho, I see. Let’s take our leave then.”
He turned around, holding Belladonna’s shoulder in a friendly manner.
“You really worked hard today. It’s not easy to give grace to so many believers.”
Belladonna shook her head to indicate that wasn’t the case either.
It was truly the final stage of the event now.
Now all that was left was to smile and wave at the believers she encountered on the way back to her room, and everything would be over.
I should probably bring up the Griblata topic sometime this evening, after gauging the mood…
As she was turning over thoughts in her head about escaping to Griblata, the Pope looked at her with narrowed eyes and said,
“From now on, rest here and recover your health.”
“…?”
From now on… here?
As she stopped in her tracks in confusion, the Pope tightened his grip on Belladonna’s shoulder.
Belladonna couldn’t say anything at the cold madness that had risen again in his eyes at some point.
Cold Male Lead Became My Clingy Husband (Female-Dominant)
Feng Bai Su transmigrated into a matriarchal novel, becoming the sister of the female protagonist and the Seventh Princess of the Feng Ling Kingdom.
After working herself to death in her previous life, finally reincarnating as a princess, she only wanted to be a lazy fish who could eat, sleep, and play.
Until she met the male protagonist from the book, Wei Jing Mo, and he took a liking to her!
Wei Jing Mo is the top young man in Feng Ling City, talented in both appearance and ability, from a prestigious family, with a cold and otherworldly appearance, a figure like the bright moon in the hearts of noble ladies. It was thought that only the most powerful and talented noble lady in Feng Ling City would be worthy of such a brilliant young man. Who knew that this young gentleman would secretly admire the infamous Seventh Princess?
Short scene 1:
Feng Bai Su looked at the young man crying like a pear blossom in the rain before her, and couldn’t help but doubt her life.
Wasn’t the male lead described as a cold and otherworldly figure in the book?
Then who was this poor little thing crying with swollen red eyes and tear-stained face?
Short scene 2:
Wei Jing Mo stared intently at Feng Bai Su who was about to go out, wanting to say, “Be careful on the road.”
Before he could speak, Feng Bai Su suddenly bent down and bit his cheek.
Her peach blossom eyes were full of disdain: “Tsk! You’re so clingy!”
Wei Jing Mo: “…”
A talented fox spirit female lead with a flirtatious appearance but actually abstinent VS A cold-looking but actually naive and clingy little jealous male lead
