Chapter 12

-One month later.

“Looks like Vanessa-sama wasn’t a Saint after all.”

Even after all this time, there was still no announcement from the church about a confirmed Saint.
At other tea parties hosted by noble houses, Solene was visibly pleased not to see Vanessa there.

“I told her not to go around acting like she was a Saint. She wouldn’t have embarrassed herself if she had just listened to me.”

Solene had been like this lately.
Since being caught by her meant being drawn into her complaints, I had been staying in my room as much as possible.
Even so, when I opened my window to ventilate, I could hear Solene repeating the same story to the servants outside.
From what I could tell, those poor servants had heard the story at least three times.
Still, everyone humored her because keeping Solene in a good mood meant their work would go smoother.

“My lady, the madam wishes to speak with you.”

“Mom wants to speak with me? Did she say about what?”

“It seems a letter has arrived from the church. Perhaps it’s about that.”

“A letter from the church…”

Hearing it was from the church made me instinctively want to avoid getting involved.
When I arrived where Mom was, Solene was already there too.

“Both of you, listen carefully. We’ve finally received a reply!”

Just as Solene seemed to have calmed down, now it was Mom’s turn to get excited.

“What’s the matter, Mom?”

Now that her mood had improved, Solene asked more calmly.

“Nfufu, a reply came from the church. They want to conduct another confirmation for the Saint.”

“I knew it. I thought it was strange.”

Solene was completely delighted at Mom’s report.

“It seems there are two from our house, plus several other young ladies who were also invited.”

“Eh, really?”

Solene had assumed she would be the only one.
Upon hearing there were other candidates, her brow furrowed deeply.

“Carlotta, you’ll be participating too.”

“…Yes.”

This time, the young ladies summoned by the church were all from high-ranking noble families.
None of those who had been called for verification last time were among them.

“Now then, today you will each pray according to the contents provided.”

The priest handed each of us a sealed envelope.

“This time, each person’s prayer content is different. To ensure fairness, please keep it strictly confidential.”

It seemed that this time they had limited the number of candidates and assigned different prayer topics to each one.
If they had done this the first time, I wouldn’t have been mistaken…
But it was too late to think about that now.
I opened the envelope and checked the contents.

“The task assigned to me is…”

The restoration of Azair.
It had once been a lush, green forest but had since turned into barren wasteland where nothing could grow.
There were several causes:
First, deforestation.
Azair’s trees were often hundreds of years old, known for their hardness.
Once polished, they gleamed unusually bright, their beauty enchanting many.
Because of noble demands, reckless deforestation weakened the land, leading to devastating mudslides after heavy rains.
Second, burning.

After the mudslides, disease spread not only through crops but also through all vegetation, forcing the locals to burn the land to contain it.
Third, drought.
Prolonged drought dried the earth, making it impossible for anything to grow.
The only way to resolve it… was through the Saint’s prayer.

“…No way…”

Looking around, I saw that the other candidates also seemed overwhelmed by the difficulty of their assigned prayers.

“Those who have confirmed the contents, please line up here.”

Following the priest’s instructions, we lined up and pretended to pray. I only pretended.
Because I was not a Saint, and I wouldn’t imitate one.
Last time, it was my fault for praying in a way that led to a misunderstanding.