Chapter 32 It’s all the fault of overwork

After another moment, realizing that standing there blankly wasn’t going to help, Elia suddenly had the thought of retreating.

‘Alright, alright, it’s fine to go back. Even if he spreads rumors, probably no one will believe him… That’s right, everyone will believe me over him…’

This was undoubtedly the correct line of thinking. Between a guard of a count with an extremely bad reputation and a highly respected Saintess, anyone would believe the latter.

However… Luke thought about it and decided to continue following that scummy pinkette.

As expected, all the way until she returned to her bedchamber, she remained in a state of indecision… wavering between killing and ignoring, but never taking any action.

Eventually, Luke got tired of listening and simply let her return to her room to rest.

The next morning, however, he discovered that she had actually been up all night thinking about it.

Luke, speechless, quietly snapped his fingers, dispelling the auditory and visual hallucination magic he had cast on her.

Elia, naturally unaware of this, continued to be troubled while eating breakfast as usual, then headed to her next work location with Iris.

You ask about the fatigue from staying up all night?

That, of course, couldn’t be shown. Any dark circles, tired expressions… these were all overcome by her magic and willpower.

After all, Saintess Elia was a super invincible cute and healthy being, a superhero who would never fall!

Naturally, she shouldn’t have any flaws either… Argh, it’s so annoying! I really want to kill that guy! Why was I discovered? Why does a super invincible beautiful girl like me have to endure such a threat? The world is truly unfair!

‘Good morning, everyone.’

Just as she was smiling and greeting people on the road as usual, incidentally boosting her likability and goodwill, she noticed a furtive figure.

‘Did he come so soon? Or is he going to expose me now? No, he’s waiting for my answer… But how could I possibly agree to such a thing! But if I don’t agree, what will he do? Oh no, oh no…’

Elia’s heart instantly became a mess; the matter that had troubled her all night surged out from the depths of her mind again.

‘Huh?’

Just then, she noticed some strange images mixed in.

They were memories completely different from the situation she had encountered before… In summary, Novas had praised her from meeting to departure, even saying things like he would be her fan for life.

Elia’s first reaction was that she was hallucinating from staying up all night, but when she took out the letter the other party had given her yesterday, she was surprised to find that the words on it had also changed.

‘W-what’s going on?’

As she approached the furtive Novas, the other party, like a fan at a handshake event, shouted excitedly and emotionally, ‘Lady Elia, I will always support you!’

Gazing at his face, which was without a trace of shadow, Elia instinctively showed a gentle smile before falling into a daze.

Whether it was true or false, she had to first fulfill her duty as a Saintess… This was Elia’s basic professionalism as an excellent actress, and also her greatest asset in capturing so many hearts over the years.

Seeing her smile, Novas was so happy that he almost fainted, as if struck by an angel’s arrow.

At this point, Elia confirmed one thing—

That everything before was a hallucination caused by her being too tired from work; the memories that surged out later were the real ones.

Huh?

Luke, who was following invisibly nearby, was stunned. He had expected this scummy pinkette to suspect someone had used magic to confuse her. Instead, the first thing she thought of was to blame herself.

But Luke was only half right.

‘I almost wronged a good person, and almost had my reputation ruined. It seems I can’t work so hard anymore… No, this workload is actually similar to before. The only difference is that this time I also have to divide my attention on that bastard Hero. It’s all his fault! All his fault!’

After three seconds of self-reproach, Elia dumped the blame on a certain person.

After cursing a certain person for ten minutes, Elia suddenly remembered a question.

Since it wasn’t Novas who was peeping from the secret chamber, then who was it… Huh, what’s surging out again?

As new memories emerged, Elia finally realized that there had been no tea water at the time; it was purely her persecution complex being too severe that caused the visual hallucination… And thinking about it carefully, Count Lecherley was there to have a good time, so why would he let others watch?

‘No, he’s exactly the type who likes to be watched.’

A certain person’s inner monologue naturally didn’t reach Elia’s ears. Realizing that ultimately it was her fatigue causing the trouble, she quickly shifted the blame to where it belonged.

‘Damn it, why don’t you go die, bastard Hero!’

Fortunately, in the following few days, Elia did not see that irritating bastard Hero again, and she was able to get some good rest during her free lunch breaks and on certain evenings.

A week later, Elia finally recovered to her full state, and her work was cleared to only a small portion remaining.

Just as she breathed a sigh of relief and was about to enthusiastically embark on her grand mission to deal with the bastard Hero again, the Holy Light Church suddenly sent someone over, giving her a new commission.

Church commissions were generally not to be refused, and this task involved inspecting an orphanage, which was a political show. Elia readily accepted.

However, once she clearly saw that the orphanage to be inspected was not one of the famous ones within the city, but the one in the city’s slum area, her mental chibi’s face immediately darkened.

It must be said that one point in Bibis’s slanderous information was true: the Saintess did have a cleanliness obsession.

But for Elia herself, as someone born in modern society in her previous life, being clean was very normal. For example, her most passionate activity, bathing, required at least once a day.

Rather, after so many years of transmigration, she had already lowered her standards much more than an average modern person. It was just that in the eyes of these natives, who grew up in an environment similar to the Middle Ages, her behavior was still a bit excessive.

Based on this standard, for the slum area, which was filled with all sorts of human and animal waste, Elia, although not viewing them as inferiors, would not actively approach such a dirty and smelly place.

But this time, she actually had to go there voluntarily… Elia’s stomach couldn’t help but churn at the thought of the smells and scenes there, and her mental chibi exaggeratedly vomited.

‘I can only go quickly and come back quickly.’

Elia decided to just go through the motions there and leave.

However, this series of thoughts of hers all fell into the eyes of a certain person who could see her mental chibi.

So, just as she called for Iris and, for the first time in a while, prepared a carriage for transport, an uninvited guest with black hair and red eyes leisurely walked over.

‘Her Highness Elia, long time no see… Where are you two going?’