A Saint Who Was Adopted by the Grand Duke
chapter-ex2

When Esther entered the shop she often patronized, the madam recognized her and immediately ran to her with a wide smile.

“Oh my, Lady Esther! Welcome. If you had contacted me, I would have gone.”

“I want to see various things.”

“Come over here.”

The madam led Esther to a separate room and the employees brought various dresses.

As Esther looked in the mirror and checked the dresses one by one, the madam pulled out a dress that was a different style than usual.

“How about this?”

It was a bold design for Esther, who usually wore modest dresses.

“Isn’t that too tight?”

“It’s a popular design these days. There’s nothing like this for a date.”

Esther swallowed as she took a closer look at the one-piece dress which had a deep neckline and was made in a thin material that showed her arms.

“You are so beautiful that this dress suits you well. Any man would have no choice but to fall in love? Especially since it’s a style you don’t normally wear.”

“It’s okay.”

She refused, but the madam’s words kept ringing in her ears, so she kept glancing at the dress.

“That and that. This is fine too… And… give me what you showed me earlier.”

“I will prepare them right away.”

Esther waited for the dresses to be packed, all of which were comfortable to wear. But after much thought, she called the madam.

“Excuse me… That too…”

“If it’s…. ah! Good idea. You will look really pretty in it. I’ll wrap it up for you.”

With a wink, the madam went to pick up the dress herself.

Embarrassed for no reason, Esther fiddled with her hands and waited for the purchased goods to be loaded into the carriage.

It was then.

The shop door opened and a gorgeously decorated woman entered.

When she saw Esther, she approached in amazement.

“Oh my, nice to meet you! You are Lady Esther of Tersia, right? To think we meet in a place like this.”

“Ah, I remember meeting you at a party. Your name… You are Lady Alice, right?”

“I’m glad you remembered.”

Esther, who had a good memory, remembered Alice’s name during the conversation.

“By the way, what are you doing in Tersia?”

“I have an appointment with Lord Dennis today. Ah yes, he is your older brother. Hehe.”

“With my brother?”

“Yes. We’re pretty close.”

Esther’s eyes widened when she heard something unexpected.

“Actually… We met briefly. I like him, so I followed him around, but I got dumped in a few days. I’m here to catch him today. Please help me.”

Esther could only blink in embarrassment. She turned her head stiffly when she heard that her items had all been loaded.

“I have work, so I need to go. with my brother… I hope it works out.”

“Thank you.”

Esther hurriedly left the shop and climbed into the carriage, belatedly crying and hitting herself in the knee.

“Dorothy, is that true? Did Dennis really have a girlfriend?”

“Well, all of you are very popular. It could be.”

“I didn’t know. Why did you hide it from me? It’s unfair. They kept interfering with my love…”

Esther felt betrayed by the fact that not only Judy, but Dennis as well, had been meeting ladies behind her back.

When she returned home, Dennis, who was at home, greeted her. But she ignored him and stormed up the stairs.

★★★

The next morning.

“Esther, did I do anything to make you upset?”

“Me too. I haven’t seen you since yesterday.”

“There is no such thing.”

When Esther came down to leave, she passed the twins and hugged Deheen.

“I’ll be back.”

“Do well and return. Contact me anytime if you need me. I will run straight to you.”

“Yes, Dad.”

“Me too!”

“I’ll be the first.”

Although she still felt irritated that her older brothers didn’t tell her anything, Esther gave them a hug before leaving for Comet.

While on the move, Esther studied about murals, reading the books she had prepared in advance.

The distance was quite far, so even though she left early in the morning, it was late at night when she arrived at the residence in Comet.

“My lady, we have arrived.”

Esther was reading a book with the lamp on.

Having been concentrating, she was unaware that the carriage had stopped. She closed the book in surprise.

“Thank you.”

With Victor’s escort, she got out of the carriage and looked around.

She liked the quiet atmosphere of the temple. It was in harmony with nature.

She wanted to look around a little more, but the new high priests and priests who were waiting for her came rushing.

“Welcome. I am happy to be able to serve the Saint like this.”

“Was it uncomfortable? You’ve come a long way?”

“It’s all right. I came comfortably. Thank you for coming to meet me.”

Esther greeted them casually with her usual public smile.

“There are residential facilities inside, but construction is still ongoing in various places, so it can be uncomfortable to stay.”

“There are places outside the temple where the environment is more pleasant. I’ll take you to wherever is convenient for you.”

“I think it will be comfortable to work on the mural inside the temple.”

“Then I will guide you. How about we have this conversation over dinner…”

Hoping to get acquainted with the saint, the priests casually approached Esther.

“Sorry. I came from afar, so I am tired today.”

“Ah. We weren’t very considerate. Please go ahead and rest. There is plenty of time ahead.”

“Yes.”

Esther, who had no intention of making friends with the priests, smiled and turned away.

In her mind, she wanted to see the place where she would paint the mural, but she headed straight to he room to keep herself in good condition.

★★★

The next day.

Esther, now sleeping well even in an unfamiliar space, opened her eyes and stretched.

“Ah, I feel good.”

Perhaps because it was a place in harmony with nature, the air was exceptionally clear and full of divine power.

After a good night’s sleep, she woke up and happily got ready to go out.

“Are you awake already?”

“Yes. Let’s go.”

Dorothy, who had come to check on Esther, was surprised and followed her.

“You should have breakfast.”

“I want to quickly see where I’d paint the mural.”

They were soon joined and guided by a priest. He was supposed to escort Esther and run errands for her during her stay here.

As they walked, they could hear construction noises everywhere.

“It’s a bit noisy because there are many new buildings being built and repairs going on.”

“It’s okay.”

Most of the workers wielding pickaxes and carrying heavy loads were slaves whose feet were shackled.

Glancing at them, Esther commented.

“There are many slaves.”

“There’s a lot of work to be done. The temple has received support from the imperial palace.”

After a short walk, they arrived at the temple located in the center.

It was the largest temple Esther had ever seen.

The interior was just as gorgeous and spacious as the grand exterior.

In particular, the huge statue of the goddess, which almost touched the high ceiling, was overwhelming.

The priest took a posture of prayer and said in a proud voice.

“This is the part we paid the most attention to.”

It was so high that Esther had to look up for a while even though she raised her head.

“Awesome. Espitos will be pleased.”

Esther paused, facing the stone statue and praying with the priest.

Thereafter, they exited through the door behind the statue and walked down the hallway.

At the end of the hallway was the prayer room. It bore a high ceiling in a round dome style, and there are many windows, so it received plenty of light.

“You can paint a mural wherever you want on an empty wall.”

As soon as Esther agreed to the request, she kept thinking about what to paint, but when she saw the actual space, it felt different.

“If you need anything, just tell me. We will prepare anything.”

Esther nodded and immediately sat down and began to concentrate.

Seeing the serious glint in Esther’s eyes, Dorothy and Victor also left quietly.

“I’ll do this here… It would be good to make this like this.”

When she was in the space, several inspirations came to mind. Sketching in pencil on paper, she made a rough draft.

Time passed quickly as she became more and more engrossed and drew without hesitation.

“Did you not eat anything?”

Victor sighed when he saw that the bowl of lunch Dorothy had brought for Esther remain in the same condition.

“I forgot. I guess I was too focused.”

“Anyway, it’s… It’s already evening. If you continue to skip meals like this, I will tell His Excellency the Grand Duke.”

“I heard it’s a long process. Maintaining physical strength is also important.”

As Victor started to nag, Esther put down her pencil, but she couldn’t hide her regret.

“Okay. I’ll stop for today.”

Her hands were black from holding a pencil all day. She tried to hide the calluses on her fingers as much as she could as she tidied up her surroundings.

After the clean up, Esther looked out the darkened window and rubbed her stiff neck.

“It’s pretty here at night too.”

“Yes. It’s a place where anyone will feel at ease.”

If sunshine poured in radiantly during the day, the moonlight shone in soothingly at night.

“I like it here.”

“Still, you can continue working tomorrow. Go take a break for today.”

“I know.”

Esther was forced to leave the temple at Dorothy’s urging.

She was walking slowly, breathing in the fresh air, when she heard children running and laughing behind her.

As she turned around, a child met her eyes and fell in fright.

“I’m sorry!”

The child bowed her head towards Esther, who, at one glance, seemed to have a high status. She had a very frightened gaze.

“Are you okay?”

“…Yes.”

“Be careful not to get hurt.”

Esther bent down, taking the child by the hand and lifted her up herself.

When their eyes met, the red-cheeked child nodded and hurriedly ran away again.

“Are they candidates?”

Dorothy said to Esther, who turned her head and watched the children’s disappearing backs.

“These days, you’re following children with your eyes.”

Ame: Dennis too!? Betrayal 101 x_x

I’ve read enough novels to know how this set of extra stories will end ^o^