I’m Not A Saint Though?

chapter 23

I tormented the two women using every childish method I could think of.  Perhaps because their bodies were weakened from living a life of luxury beyond their means, they were bedridden just three days after falling into my clutches.

Seeing them groaning in pain, lying in a small room with barely enough space for two single beds, I couldn’t help but sigh.

“How are you two feeling?”

“S-Saintess!”

“What are you doing here…!”

Their eyes widened in shock and fear at my unexpected visit.

‘Why is she here?’

‘Is she going to make us work even now? When we’re practically dying?’

So cruel, so cruel.

Their eyes seemed to say so.

But I wasn’t as evil as they thought.

“Stay in bed.  You seem to have a bad fever.”

“W-What?  Are you sure?  We have so much work to do…”

“That’s right, we have to polish a hundred and forty-four Goddess statues, wipe down three hundred and fifty pillars supporting the Grand Temple, disassemble all the furniture in the Saintess’s room and scrub even the screws…”

They couldn’t hide their surprise, as if they couldn’t believe my mercy.

Well, it was understandable. They couldn’t believe I was giving them a break for a mere fever after tormenting them so relentlessly.

But I was sincere.

“Work isn’t important when you’re sick. Don’t worry about that and get some rest.”

“Saintess…”

The two women looked at me with teary eyes, as if deeply touched by my words, and I responded with a smile.

‘See, I’m not that bad of a person.’

Why are you so scared?

Shrugging, I gently adjusted their blankets.

“You can do it tomorrow. Although tomorrow’s work will be doubled with today’s unfinished tasks, rest should be your priority for now.”

“…”

“…”

“You two are the temple’s property, we can’t have you getting sick already.  Take good care of yourselves, since you’ve vowed to serve the Goddess until your deaths.”

I smiled kindly at them as they lay there with dazed expressions.

Then, I gently closed their gaping mouths and left the room.

“Aaaaaah!”

“Shaen, that crazy bitch! That wicked bitch!  I could chew her up and spit her out!”

Their curses, clearly audible through the closed door, didn’t bother me at all.

‘I have another toy.’

Humming to myself, I went to find my next toy.

***

“Damn it, this is heavy! What’s even in this box?”

The Duke cursed, roughly dropping the wooden box he had been carrying on his back.

“What’s with this temple?  Why do they buy so much stuff?”

Three days ago, he had fallen from being the Empire’s sole Duke to a lowly servant and been dragged to the temple’s loading dock.

He was tasked with moving and organizing the goods delivered to the temple, and there were so many that he could barely straighten his back after work.

“Ha, how did a noble like me end up like this…!”

Frustrated by his sudden change of fortune, he kicked the box, and a yell immediately flew at him.

“Hey, you Musikan bastard! Do you know what that is?  Those are precious donations bought with the believers’ offerings! They’re worth more than your life!”

“What nonsense… How can these vegetables and potatoes be more valuable than a person?”

“Ha, this bastard still doesn’t understand his place. Do you not know what you are? A slave, a slave!  How dare you compare yourself to food?  You’re not even worth a single ingredient for soup!”

“Hah!”

The Duke scoffed.

Even if he was a slave, how could his worth be less than food?

But the worker’s aura, honed from a lifetime of hard labor, was something he couldn’t handle.

Feeling a vague sense of fear emanating from the bulging muscles, he couldn’t refute and remained silent.

Although his pride was hurt, he thought he could just endure it.

But.

“What are you standing around for, you idiot? Move the next box!”

Another worker approached and kicked him in the buttocks.

“Y-You lowlife…!”

Falling pathetically to the ground, he glared at the worker who had kicked him.

He had never experienced such humiliation in his life.

He wanted to grab the worker by the collar and slap him a few times, but…

“What? You gonna do something about it? You wanna go?”

“…”

He couldn’t muster the courage again.

‘How did I, who enjoyed wealth beyond anyone’s dreams and commanded everyone at will, end up like this…’

Just as he was swallowing his tears at his humiliating state,

“Hello.”

A gentle voice tickled his eardrums.

A woman’s voice, a welcome change after three days of being surrounded by rough men, seemed to melt away his hardships.

He quickly turned his head to find the owner of the angelic voice, but…

‘Damn it.’

He cursed inwardly as soon as he saw her face.

The owner of the voice was Shaen.

‘Why is she here?’

Seeing her looking so pristine while he was in such a miserable state, his resentment flared up again.

But the workers he was working with approached Shaen with welcoming smiles.

“Oh, Saintess! What brings you to this rough place…?”

“The weather is so lovely. I was concerned about you all working for the Goddess in this beautiful weather.”

“Oh, this is our job!”

“Of course, don’t worry about it!”

Shaen smiled at the workers bowing obsequiously and spoke again, “I happened to receive some desserts made by the Imperial pastry chef as a gift. I thought it would be nice to share them with you all, so I brought them here. If you have some time, how about we have a little tea party?”

“Desserts made by the Imperial pastry chef?”

The workers’ eyes widened.

“Thank you for the offer, but are we worthy of eating such things…”

“Don’t say that. We’re all children of Goddess Hedel.”

Shaen approached with a sympathetic expression and gently held the worker’s hand.

“Come on, everyone, this way. It’s such a beautiful sunny day, let’s sit on the lawn and eat.”

“Saintess…”

Everyone in the loading dock, seemingly touched by Shaen’s kindness, had teary eyes.

Except for one, the Duke.

‘What a show. Since when was she such an angel?’

He grumbled inwardly, but he couldn’t hide his excitement.

He was starving.

The food served at the temple consisted only of vegetable soup and a few slices of rye bread.

A commoner might be able to endure it, but he, who had always eaten gourmet dishes made with precious ingredients like meat and seafood, couldn’t survive on such food.

But desserts!

The rich smell of butter wafting from afar made him dizzy.

The Duke hurriedly followed Shaen, blending in with the group of workers.

Arriving at the garden, Shaen spread a white cloth on the lawn and placed a large basket in the center.

“Wow, look at those colors!”

“As expected of desserts made by the Imperial pastry chef, they’re something else!”

“Thanks to the Saintess, even lowly people like us get to try such precious desserts.”

The workers eagerly grabbed the desserts.

The Duke, pushed and shoved by the burly men, finally reached the basket last.

Fortunately, there were still plenty of desserts left.

‘Let’s see, what should I choose?’

Madeleines, financiers, cannelés, cookies, apple pie, and even a cake topped with whipped cream.

There was quite a variety.

Gulping, he scanned the desserts and was about to pick up a slice of whipped cream cake topped with fruits when,

“Oh, what’s that?”

Shaen exclaimed as if puzzled.

Turning his head, wondering what was going on, he saw a white object lying on the green lawn.

Looking closer, it was a crumpled piece of paper.

“To think there’s trash lying around in the temple that serves the Goddess…”

As Shaen clicked her tongue disapprovingly, a few workers stood up.

“Oh dear, who did this!”

“I’ll go pick it up!”

But Shaen shook her head.

“No, you’re in the middle of eating.  I don’t want to interrupt your rare moment of leisure. I can pick up the trash myself.”

“No, we can’t have you do that!  How can a noble Saintess like you… We’ll go!”

The Duke looked at the frantically waving workers with a dumbfounded expression.

‘Huh, as if picking up a piece of trash is such a big deal.’

Scoffing, he turned his attention away from Shaen and reached for the cake, when

“Hmm, how about someone who hasn’t had any dessert yet goes? That would solve everything.”

At that moment, everyone’s gaze turned to the Duke.

“M-Me?  You want me to go?”

The Duke’s face crumpled.

What connection was there between not having dessert yet and picking up trash?

‘She’s trying to mess with me again!’

He was furious at Shaen’s obvious intentions, but what could he do?

‘What are you waiting for? Go!’

Everyone was staring at him expectantly.

Glancing at the desserts with a longing look, the Duke shook his head.

‘There’s still plenty left.’

He could just pick it up quickly and come back to eat.

He hurried off.

But as always, things didn’t go his way.

“Oh, there’s more trash over there.”

“Oh, and there too!”

“Oh my, now it’s over there!”

Shaen exclaimed every time he returned after picking up trash.

‘Where is all this trash coming from? It was clean when I went there!’

Frustrated, he looked around frantically, trying to find the culprit.

And he finally found it.

A white furry lump perched on the windowsill of the temple building, spitting out something it had been holding in its mouth.

It was the lion, the Goddess’s Representative.

“That, that bastard! Hey, you! Why are you throwing trash outside?!”

He raged furiously, but the lion continued to throw trash out the window.

*Spit.*

*Scramble, scramble.*

*Spit.*

*Scramble, scramble.*

This dog training-like act repeated several times.

Finally, as if losing interest, the lion stopped its prank and disappeared, but by then…

“Alright! Now that everyone’s had their fill of delicious desserts, let’s get back to work!”

The break, let alone the desserts, was over.

“…”

The Duke stared blankly at the empty basket.