A bewildered priest, who had not yet grasped the situation, asked with a confused expression, “Did Lady Blanchett Marquis invite you?”

“Yes. The Lady Saint created an opportunity formally to apologize,” replied the noblewoman, “As it’s a gathering of important figures in society, I’ve always wanted to witness that scene.”

The confused priests moved to deliver the news to the Saint. However, the arrivals were not just the Alvert couple.

Following them, another noble asked the priests, “Is this the temple where the Lady Saint officially apologizes? Could you guide us?”

The faces of the priests turned pale as the carriages continued to arrive endlessly.

“Did the Lady Saint only invite Lady Blanchett Marquis?”

“What on earth is happening?!”

Stella’s private prayer room.

In a luxurious room fit for a high-ranking aristocrat, Stella was chatting with three close noble friends.

“Lady Blanchett Marquis is truly too much,” said one of the noblewomen in a saddened voice.

“Knowing it’s a misunderstanding that even the Lady Saint herself finds difficult to explain, she deliberately stays silent. Especially when the Lady Saint doesn’t have anyone to defend her….”

Currently, there were more people in high society supporting the Saint. This was due to Mireu, the root cause of all problems, acknowledging her guilt, taking her own life, and clearly stating in her will that the Saint was innocent.

In the Empire, there were many followers of the Church, so they were reluctant to view the Saint negatively. Moreover, many were hesitant to completely deny the previous infamy associated with Estelle.

Of course, there were a few who questioned how incompetent the Saint must be to be deceived by Mireu.

The point where Luigi, the passionate advocate of the Saint, was furious at Estelle was precisely because of this aspect.

“I don’t like it when you blatantly ignore the Lady Saint, especially when Lady Blanchett Marquis kept rejecting the Lady Saint’s invitations until the Emperor pleaded with her. It’s like openly disrespecting the Lady Saint!”

“Don’t be too harsh. Misunderstandings can arise if it goes too deep, right?”

“But the Lady Saint, Lady Blanchett Marquis is no ordinary person. She’s someone who received grace from both the temple and the Lady Saint! She should have recognized it when she called me to treat her like a personal maid, even when she was sick….”

Stella ended up defending Estelle.

“Calling her a personal maid is an exaggerated interpretation. I understand Luigi cherishes her deeply, but Lady Blanchett Marquis only sought my help when she was unwell. It’s natural for a Saint to assist the sick.”

“Even after Lady Saint chased away the celebrants right after receiving treatment, and even after rejecting the proposal to become friends?”

Luigi became even more furious at Stella’s defense.
“After all that, she called the Lady Saint again, saying she wasn’t feeling well. Since then, she criticizes the Lady Saint without expressing gratitude or even a word of thanks.”

“The Marchioness said she wanted to give me guidance….”

“Oh, please! On what grounds does Lady Blanchett Marquis have to give guidance to the Lady Saint? She just took advantage of the Lady Saint’s kindness and treated her as she pleased, not even thanking her. How is that any different from treating her as a personal maid?”

Other noblewomen around nodded in agreement with Luigi’s words.

“That’s right, it’s not normal. She took advantage of the Lady Saint’s unfamiliarity with the Empire and tormented her.”

“Even looking at the false accusations the Lady Saint almost faced. Lady Blanchett Marquis was skillfully manipulating the situation, pretending to be a Marchioness. We could clearly see her intentions in our high society eyes, although the Lady Saint was oblivious.”

“But I still want to believe in the Marchioness. People can’t act so wickedly.”

Luigi sighed at Stella’s righteous and stubborn response.

‘The Lady Saint is truly worrying.’

Perhaps it was because she had lived in the temple for a long time, Stella was excessively innocent and ignorant of human malice.

‘I have to protect her.’

“Even if the Lady Saint was impolite, isn’t she the benefactor who treated the Marchioness’s illness? Where in the world does someone treat a benefactor like that? Rather than making an effort to repay the favor—”

At that moment, a priest abruptly opened the door of the prayer room.

“Lady Saint, the guests have arrived.”

“Ah, it seems Lady Blanchett Marquis has arrived now.”

While Stella nodded and smiled, she seemed strangely full of fear, as if terrified.

“Lady Saint, shall I accompany you? Even if she is Lady Blanchett Marquis, she might not act recklessly in front of the flower of high society, Luigi Calstein.”

“Or should we all go together? It’s an opportunity to see the Marchioness’s face. Let’s see what she was thinking when she behaved like that toward the Lady Saint.”

“It’s okay, everyone. If it gets really tough, I’ll ask for your help. Thanks to you, Luigi, for giving me this chance.”