A Saint Who Was Adopted by the Grand Duke
chapter-ss4

Even after the judge gave the verdict, Rabienne couldn’t accept it and continued to scream.

“This is not fair. Why am I the only one responsible? Everyone watched on the side. They’re all the same! And you, sitting there… Ugh!!”

However, no one listened to Rabienne’s cry.

The trial assistant tightly shut Rabienne’s mouth.

Frustrated and angry, Rabienne was unable to speak at will, and her tears dripped to the floor.

With a pathetic gaze, Esther stared at Rabienne.

‘Even in this situation, you only blame others.’

Even in this situation, there was no sign of remorse at all.

Everything she did was her own choice, how could she be so shameless?

It was then.

Rabienne, who continued to whimper, couldn’t overcome her anger and eventually collapsed.

“Pull her up right now and check her condition!”

The judge shouted in shock, and the assistants hurriedly pulled Rabienne’s eyelids.

“She just fainted.”

“Hmm, bring a stretcher.”

There was no issue since she hadn’t taken poison and committed suicide.

The judge tapped his chest as Rabienne was lowered on a stretcher to the space behind the podium.

“I guess the shock was too great.”

Esther muttered as she stared at Rabienne till she disappeared from her field of vision.

“What a fool. Fainting… she would be even more desperate when she wakes up later.”

Dennis clicked his tongue as he ate the last remaining snack.

“It’s as Dennis said. It must be hopeless to come to terms with the reality of being enslaved.”

Deheen, who had been silently staring at the podium throughout the trial, looked away and asked Esther.

“By the way, is it really okay not to reveal anything about the previous saint?”

“The temple asked for it, and I don’t want to appear in front of people yet.”

Esther had to stand as a witness in order to reveal the story of Saint Cespia.

To do so, she had to announce in front of everyone that she was a saint, but it was a burdensome task for her, who did not yet have the heart to do so.

Besides her memory, there was nothing to put forth as evidence.

In the end, the temple and the imperial family decided to quietly deal with Cespia’s affairs separately instead of disclosing it publicly.

“If that had been revealed, she would have been sentenced to death. She should be glad she ended up as a slave.”

“Esther. If this verdict isn’t enough, shall I ask for that child to be sent to our house?”

Deheen studied Esther’s expression as he suggested so.

During the forgotten time, Esther had been hurt by Rabienne a lot, so if she wanted to be next to her and harass her, he would let it happen.

“Father, you do. If you bring her home, I can try out the novel methods of torture I’ve read in books.”

Dennis chipped in, seemingly disappointed that he could not use what he had learned from the several books he had bought and studied.

It was also done to ease Esther’s hesitation if she was too soft-hearted and could not get those words out.

But Esther didn’t want to do that at all, so she shook her head resolutely.

“I know you said it with me in mind, but… I don’t want to see her anymore.”

Anyway, once branded with the seal of a slave, it was impossible to return to nobility.

If she lived as a slave, she would never have to face her. Just like this, she would be able to cut those ties.

When Deheen heard Esther’s decision, he muttered with a darkened face.

“Shouldn’t you draw some blood?”

“What will I use that blood for?”

Realizing that Deheen meant it, Esther laughed.

It seemed that her family was sorry that they could not repay the same for what she suffered.

“This is enough.”

After she came back to life, her only wish was to be able to escape her terrible fate.

But gaining a precious family wasn’t the end, she also took some revenge on Rabienne and the temple.

She thought she might be punished for anything more than this.

At Esther’s calm words, the three men looked into each other’s eyes without saying a word.

Deheen’s stare at the twins was pretty much admonishing them to do as Esther wished, even if they felt it wasn’t enough.

Judy and Dennis nodded, but each said a word as if their anger had not passed.

“As expected, our Esther is so kind. If it’s me, I would take her as a maid and torment her for the rest of her life.”

“We don’t even need to take her. Just like she did with Esther, lock her up somewhere and draw blood.”

While listening to the twins’ conversation, Deheen remembered something and smiled contentedly.

“Let’s go eat now.”

“Huh? Are you going to eat here?”

“Yes. I made a reservation at a famous restaurant. Or are you not hungry because you ate snacks?”

Looking at the puzzled Esther, Deheen asked anxiously.

“No. I am very hungry.”

They ate together at home every day, but had never eaten out together.

Esther smiled brightly, excited at the thought of sharing an experience she hadn’t had before.

“Then let’s go.”

The family made their way to the carriage parked at the back of the square.

The twins hurriedly ran into the carriage. It was unknown who reached first.

Esther, who was following behind, turned around and gazed at the platform where Noah was.

‘Mm… Are you looking at me?’

But surprisingly, Noah was also looking in her direction.

There was a considerable distance, but it seemed like Noah was slightly waving his hand.

Esther paused and waved back secretly.

“Esther, what’s wrong?”

Deheen, who was a little ahead of her, sent Esther a suspicious glance.

“It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

Stunned, Esther quickly turned around and ran straight towards the carriage.

The cute steps, like a rabbit’s hop, seemed light like she would fly away.

‘Really, it’s goodbye.’

At long last, Esther decided to completely forget about Rabienne.

Though she knew it was in the past, whenever Rabienne was in her view, she couldn’t help but recall the horrific past.

She didn’t want to live with those past wounds anymore.

In the future, every day that she had never lived before would unfold.

Bright sunlight shone on Esther as she ran into the arms of her family.

★★★

After the verdict was passed, the emperor left first, and eventually, the other priests also disappeared.

Since Rabienne had fainted, there was no opportunity for Hudson and Rabienne to talk.

The two were put into different carriages and set off in different directions.

“Get it down! I can’t go like this!! My trial is not over yet!”

As soon as Rabienne was shoved into the carriage, she came to her senses and went on a rampage.

But she was forced to stop when a cloth was put over her face and her hands became tightly bound.

Alone and trapped in pitch-black vision, Rabienne continued to mutter, stunned.

“…A, a slave? I… I’d rather die than live as a slave.”

The carriage in which Rabienne rode rattled as stones and eggs were thrown by people until it pulled out of the square.

Then, when it was quiet, Rabienne crouched over.

Not knowing where she was going, she was so anxious that she could not rest.

Then, the carriage suddenly stopped.

Rabienne flinched, pressing her body against the wall and bracing as hard as she could.

“What? Why did it stop?”

Still unsure of where she was being taken, she was so anxious when only the carriage stopped and fear overtook her.

“A-Am I there already?”

It hadn’t been long since she was in the carriage, and so it shouldn’t have gone far enough to be out of the capital.

She wondered if she would be mistreated before she was sold into slavery, and her body trembled without letting up.

Since she had committed so many sins, it was not surprising if someone was targeting her.

With sharpened senses, Rabienne heard the carriage door open.

“Who is it? Who just entered?”

She braced herself against the wall and raised her guard against the unknown opponent.

But instead of answering, the opponent reached out to Rabienne’s head.

Scared by the touch, Rabienne struggled violently.

“Don’t touch me! I’ll have you know I can still use divine power even though I’m captured like this, right? If you touch me, I won’t let you go!”

“Don’t make a fuss. I’m just trying to take off the cloth.”

It was a somewhat familiar voice. Puzzled, Rabienne kept silent and blankly blinked as the cloth came off.

“…Your Highness?”

Rabienne’s face suddenly brightened, and a smile that she hadn’t made for a long time appeared.

When she saw Noah, even her cheeks turned a little red. She was relieved to the point of having tears in her eyes.

“Did you come to pick me up? As expected, Your Highness could not turn away from me.”

Noah, who came to Rabienne when she was afraid and down after losing everything she could rely on, was like a savior.

Rabienne cried and tried to get closer to Noah.

Her eyes were very submissive.

“How did I end up like this… Still, I can go back if I’m by Your Highness’ side. If Your Highness takes me, I’ll be forever grateful…”

Rabienne spoke purposefully, fawning over Noah.

However, Noah’s eyes were very cold as he looked at Rabienne.

“Don’t be mistaken. Why would I take you?”

At Noah’s hostile reply, Rabienne’s eyes suddenly changed as if she had awakened from a dream.

“Then why are you here?! To watch me fall further?! Are you happy now?!”

“I have no interest in you, I just came to warn you.”

Noah glared at Rabienne, narrowing his eyes expressionlessly.

“From now on, wherever you go, someone will be there to watch you. So don’t even dream about doing something to Esther. If you want to survive even as a slave.”

Realizing that Noah came all the way here just for Esther, Rabienne was gripped with fierce jealousy.

“What the hell are you talking about? Are you thinking of marrying an orphan like her?”

“Be careful with your words. She is the person I like.”

At the reply which came without the slightest hesitation, Rabienne smiled despondently.

Noah, who was so cold when dealing with her, was like a different person when he uttered Esther’s name.

Crushed by jealousy, Rabienne’s face crumpled and she clenched her fists hard. Her fingernails dug into her palms, drawing blood.

“I would rather die here than be sold as a slave. Ha, people will think that Your Highness killed me, right?”

“You will die?”

“Yes. I will die. So, if you don’t want to see me bite my tongue and die, take me out of here.”

Already driven to a dead end, Rabienne threatened Noah, shouting like a lunatic.

Even after seeing that, Noah just laughed with the same blank face he had earlier.

“Try it. It will be an interesting sight.”

“You think I can’t? You will regret it.”

Rabienne didn’t really intend to bite her tongue, but stunned by Noah’s provocation, she tightly shut her eyes.

Ame: *burps* ah, the champagne and cheese and crackers sure hit the spot.