Dilaia took Diana to a prayer room prepared within the castle instead of the temple.

As it was a castle where a saint resided, the prayer room was also of considerable size.

The elaborately crafted ceiling mural created a sacred atmosphere under the clean light coming through the windows, and the solemn-looking statue of the goddess was enough to dampen the spirits of a novice saint.

Diana thought there would be some special ceremony, but Dilaia merely told her to pay respects to the goddess and stepped aside.

Sitting on a chair, Diana earnestly prayed that she would survive this life and leave this continent without dying.

“I will do my best to help people, so you must spare my life as well. You really have to promise me that.”

There was nothing else to say.

The echoing silence was a bit awkward, and as she was about to slowly get up from her seat, her eyes were caught by an unknown glimmer placed under the statue of the goddess.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Diana slowly approached and picked up the mysterious object, which turned out to be none other than……

“A lump of iron?”

It was literally a piece of iron that seemed to have been accidentally spilled while smithing.

She had seen the children at the monastery picking up such trash near the smithy a few times, so she could recognize it right away.

“It looks just like a horse.”

Thinking it was nothing of importance, she was about to leave when a thought suddenly occurred to her.

‘Is there such a thing as coincidence?’

Wasn’t Diana awakened as a saint?

For some reason, even this lump of iron she found by chance felt like a revelation from the goddess.

Holding the lump of iron that anyone would see as garbage, Diana prayed that the goddess’s blessing would be imbued within it as she headed out of the prayer room.

“By any chance, does anyone else besides the saint enter the prayer room?”

“Believers dispatched from the Holy Kingdom occasionally come to pray, but they haven’t visited recently.”

Just in case, she asked Dilaia about the origin of the iron piece, but she also seemed to think it was just trash.

“You can take it with you. If it’s something that puts your mind at ease, doesn’t that in itself have meaning?”

Diana looked down at her palm, which smelled of acrid iron, and nodded slightly.

Yes, let’s take whatever we can. I shouldn’t have any reservations.

As they headed out of the castle, Dilaia dismissed the servants who had followed them out and gave a brief explanation about holy power.

“As a citizen of the empire, you would have received various education about holy power since childhood. I believe you already know that holy power is classified into three categories: healing, foresight, and exorcism.”

“Of course.”

“We’ll have to wait and see what abilities you have, Lady. Healers can test their powers right away, but those with foresight have no way to gauge their powers until they receive a revelation.”

“What about exorcists…?”

“Test it when you face a demon. Demons are naturally afraid of holy power, but there are those who specialize in exorcism. They can completely exterminate demons with holy power.”

Diana speculated on what power she had been given.

If possible, she hoped it would be healing power… If she had healing power, she could help the critically ill abbess…

Well, whatever ability it was, it would be far more helpful than not having any, so she would welcome it with open arms.

Although it didn’t seem like they had a very long conversation, the entrance of the castle was already in sight.

Diana looked up at the towering castle gate and let out a wistful sigh.

It was now time to truly leave the Duchy of Homern. Diana looked back several times before getting into the carriage.

“You could stay one more day.”

Seeing her wistful behavior, Dilaia suggested staying the night first. However, the road was long and she was worried about Lu who was waiting.

“…No. We should go back quickly before it snows more.”

“Did you say goodbye?”

Diana blushed and shyly replied, guessing the omitted name.

“Yes… I briefly saw him this morning as well. Don’t worry.”

“I’m not particularly worried. I was just surprised that your relationship is much stronger than I thought.”

“Oh, by any chance…”

“Don’t worry. My foresight can’t see such scenes. I don’t want to see them either.”

“Ah… Yes…”

Diana bit her lip and lowered her gaze.

For some reason, she felt like she had committed a sin, making it difficult to meet the eyes of the devout saint.

Whether she knew or not, Dilaia said nonchalantly,

“You should retie your ribbon. Your escort knight might be surprised.”

Diana hurriedly pulled her coat up to her neck and fanned her face, which had turned as red as a beet.

“Ah, yes, yes! See you next time. If… um, if there’s a need to contact Raoul…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll pass on the message.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

Even more flushed from the squeak in her voice, Diana opened the carriage door herself and said goodbye to Dilaia.

She saw Biche hurriedly running out to get the luggage, but she didn’t particularly want to ask for an escort.

Even that short time was so embarrassing that she couldn’t bear it.

Diana hid herself in the carriage and let out a silent scream.

It felt like the hot lava rising from inside her body would spill out of her mouth.

The door opened and the figure of a demure woman waving her hand could be seen outside the window.

Diana composed herself, fully drew back the half-open curtain, and waved back.

The view of the castle reflected outside the window began to get smaller and smaller.

Diana smiled bitterly as she thought of Raoul, who would be staying at the villa.

She didn’t feel very pleased about leaving Raoul in the Duchy of Homern instead of the Arnel estate, but she decided to think of it as one step back for two steps forward.

‘Just wait a little longer. Once I find the relics, I’ll tell you the whole truth. Then the three of us will leave together.’

The road to the castle was much more arduous than expected.

“The carriage wheel is buried in the snow again… It will take half a day to dig it out. How about getting a room in a nearby estate and resting for a while? I think that would be better than just sitting here and waiting.”

It had already been two days. Diana was so anxious thinking about Lu, who was left alone, that she couldn’t stand it.

She wanted to walk through this heavy snow alone to the estate if she could.

“We can arrive by tomorrow afternoon, right?”

“I hope so, but I can’t guarantee it.”

Biche said as he struggled to dig out the snow.

Diana got out of the carriage, unable to urge him any further. She spotted a place to stay nearby. There was no other way now.

The next morning, Diana, who had stayed up all night, hastily packed her breakfast and got into the carriage.

She felt sorry for Biche, but thinking of the child who had been left alone in a palace-like house for days, the food wouldn’t go down her throat.

Diana fidgeted restlessly, ready to jump out at any moment.

It was the moment when the heavy iron gate opened its mouth and Diana’s carriage passed through the second castle gate.

Unable to endure any longer, Diana leaped out of the carriage. Biche tried to escort her, but failed again this time.

Diana tried to look for Angela, who had come to greet her, but Angela was nowhere to be seen, perhaps because the news had arrived late.

Diana barely shook off the strange stares of the servants and headed towards the annex where Lu would be waiting.

“Lu!”

The main gate swung open and the sound of Lu running from the main building could be heard from afar.

“Mommy!”

Huh?

But there was something strange about Lu’s face as he ran towards her.

Why did he gain so much weight…?

Diana was startled and lifted the child, whose flesh had become chubby.

“…Lu?”

“Yes! I missed you!”

“Huh?”

Upon closer inspection, there was white sugar powder around his mouth. Even though he probably hadn’t been able to wash for days, his body smelled of fragrant soap.

Diana tilted her head, holding Lu who looked not just neat but extremely well-fed and well-rested.

And at that moment, she heard a familiar shouting voice from afar.

“Goodness! If you eat while spilling, you’ll attract bugs!”

“Angela…?”

“Oh my! Young lady!”

The person who came running out of the main building was Angela, standing with a broom in one hand.