It was the annual prayer. As usual, neither the saintess nor the emperor attended. However, this year, Marquise Larose decided to personally participate. The difference from last year was that Lady Aria's seat was moved to the front row, among the archbishops. It was because she had been gone on pilgrimage, though it was not yet finished. So, she was treated with the same rank as the archbishop. In the column of the saintess candidates, only Lady Aria sat alone. Looking at her back from behind, I could feel her loneliness. Her small back gave off a melancholy aura. That small body has been carrying the heavy burden alone all this time. I hoped one day she would disclose the thing she has been guarding and share the burden she has been carrying with anyone, either me or others. I was waiting for that day.

  It has been a day since the last day of the annual prayer. It seemed that the news that Lady Aria’s future appointment had reached other people's ears. Many people tried to curry favor with her. Her private room was full of boxes.

  While I was guarding her in the study room. I noticed she wrote down something similar to the ledger. Then, I remembered our conversation several days ago. I could not fight the urge to verify it. “So, this is the mean you told me about?”

  “Oh, this? Perhaps. It is just one of the means. It is not sustainable anyway. But every little thing counts.”

  “Are you not afraid of being labeled as a greedy person?” I could not help but worry about her reputation. I began to hear some whispers about it among the priests and ‘believers.’ At first, I thought it was inevitable since Lady Aria was practically broke.

  “I was once told that one cannot be too clean. If you want to cross the river, you have to dirty yourself.” Lady Aria sadly smiled at me.

  “I believe that is not the real intention behind this phrase.” I began to resent Marquise Larose. Even now, why did he have to plant that kind of idea in her?

  “Either these things go to me or my uncle. Since it is the case, I should make the most out of it and use it for the greater good. Do not worry, I will not be tainted by it. I am creating my own principles right now.” Lady Aria said so as she showed me a piece of paper. Her ability to adapt and the mindset of putting the things she learned into practice were admirable.

  If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “That was not the ‘tainted’ I was worried about.” I let out a sigh. Lady Aria had a bright mind. She always considered many aspects when making decisions. But she always excluded her own well-being when doing that. It felt like she subconsciously tortured herself.

  I decided to follow Marquise Larose’s example. I knelt down in front of her. As our eyes met, I took her small hand into mine, and then I asked her, “Don’t you worry about how the other people view you?” It was too embarrassing for me. It was too cheeky.

  Stunned by my behavior, Lady Aria looked at me blankly. After a while, she giggled. “What has gone into you?”

  It backfired. Forget it. It was my dark history. I would never do it again.

  “……. I cannot control how other people view me. I know I cannot please everyone.” Lady Aria softly replied to my previous question while moving her hands to her necklace.

  “Who to please? How to please? Who to ignore? It's not that important to me; I cannot bring myself to be bothered by it,” she said as she looked outside the window. The words she said and the way she thought..., it were too mature for her age at that time.

  “What matters most to me is I can help all those good people out there.” She tightly grasped her necklace.

  Bathed in the sunlight shining through the window, dressed in her white garment, with her golden hair reflecting the golden light, she looked so divine. I dazedly looked at her. I really could not talk big to that garbage now.

  Then, she looked at me. “The most important thing to me is to ensure a future where all the good people can live in peace, full of happiness.”

  At that time, her golden eyes shone brightly like the sun. That was the light guarding us. I looked up at her. I could not take my eyes off that light. ‘If getting too close to the sun gets you burned, I don’t mind being burned by her holy fire. At least let me stay close to you and protect you. Let me fulfill my duty, too.’ I really wished to speak out my honest thoughts. However, I had to hold it in. It was not the time yet.

  “Whatever you want, I am sure you will be able to achieve it.” It was not lip service. It was my true feeling. I felt she could achieve it. I knew she would keep her word.

  ----------------------------------------------------

  After we ended our conversation and Lady Aria finished organizing the ledgers, I was told to help her carry those boxes to the bank and deposit them. It seemed that most of them were registered to different accounts with different names. As part of my service, I was given a significant portion of them for keeping quiet about her activities. At the end, I could not help but keep looking at her hairband. I was considering buying her a new hairband after that.