Monica, who was granted Ordell's consideration, guided her parents into the Saintess's reception room.
'This feels strange somehow.'
Since becoming a maid, Ordell's bedroom and reception room had become part of her daily domain.
Seeing her parents in a place that now felt as familiar as her own room—after half a year apart—filled her with emotion.
"It's neat. And clean too."
Monica looked at her mother, who was calmly surveying the reception room.
Her mother's elegant and flawless demeanor was exactly what Monica had always aspired to.
"The Saintess of the Sun God seems to live quite modestly."
"..."
Though she had once flaunted the pinnacle of extravagance even in this impoverished temple, Monica didn't bother to correct her mother.
After disposing of all her luxurious possessions, she had indeed been living modestly. So it wasn't exactly a lie!
"Honestly, I was a bit surprised after only seeing the Saintess of the Great Sea God."
"Please don't compare our Saintess with that rude woman."
Monica, who had just set down the tea she brewed herself, glared.
It was a bold reaction to show her beloved mother, but she couldn't help herself.
How dare anyone compare their Saintess to that woman from the Temple of the Great Sea God!
"…You really have become a devout follower of the Sun God."
Instead of scolding her, Lady Hindel made a sour face in response to Monica's intense reaction.
"To think you made your parents cry for half a year, and then ended up as a priestess here of all places."
"Yeah! Do you know how shocked I was to hear you were here?!"
The Count agreed vehemently, raising his voice.
He wasn't angry—his face showed only concern and relief.
"I'm sorry for worrying you."
Monica admitted her fault without resistance.
"But I didn't deliberately hide the awakening of my divine power. It happened suddenly, not long after I ran away."
While wandering after leaving the mansion and wondering where to go, her divine power had awakened unexpectedly.
Divine power isn't inherited or possessed from birth.
It truly is something that awakens suddenly, as if one is blessed by the gods—Monica had been just as shocked.
A few days after the awakening, a priest of the Sun God came to find her.
He said that she had been chosen by the Sun God, and that if she wished, she could walk the path of a priestess.
He never forced her to become a priestess.
He simply showed her the path, explained everything in detail, and gave her time to think it over.
That moved Monica's heart—someone who had never once considered becoming a priestess.
And so, she became an apprentice priestess.
For someone who had lived as the daughter of a count, life in the impoverished temple was anything but easy.
From the moment she opened her eyes in the morning until she went to sleep at night, she had to do all kinds of chores—but not once did she regret it.
On the contrary, she felt a deep satisfaction, as if she had finally found the path she was meant to walk.
"I'm going to live my life as a priestess. This is where I truly belong."
"…Monica."
"So I won't inherit the family estate."
That was the reason she had stabbed a knife into the hearts of her beloved family and run away from home.
She had been born as the heir, so naturally she was expected to succeed the family—but she didn't want to.
Looking back now, maybe it was because living as a priestess of the Sun God was her true destiny that she felt such resistance.
"Alek will carry on the family legacy brilliantly."
Her younger brother, Aleksei Hindel, two years her junior.
He loved the family. He cherished the people of the domain and dreamed of its prosperity.
No one understood that heart better than Monica did.
So she willingly passed the position of heir to him.
Rather than someone like herself with no ambition for the headship, her passionate younger brother was much better suited to lead.
"…That matter has already been settled. Alek has officially become the heir."
Lady Hindel said with a sigh after listening to Monica.
Monica's face lit up.
"Really?"
"How could we make someone who ran away from home because she didn't want to be the head the heir? Even if we forced you into it, knowing your personality, you'd just run off again the moment you got sick of it."
"Exactly! You really do know me so well!"
Monica clapped her hands, overjoyed.
Her family really did understand her better than anyone else in the world!
"Well, now that you're free to do what you want…"
Her mother, looking at her beaming daughter, asked gently,
"…Don't you still think this place is too lacking for you to live in?"
Monica's joyful face froze at the abrupt question from her mother.
Count Hindel stepped in to support his wife as well.
"Yeah! Just looking around, this place seems way too poor. And the Temple of the Sun God—aren't they practically on the verge of collapse?"
Having finally discovered Monica's whereabouts after half a year, her parents had first investigated the temple where she was staying.
And they were shocked.
Their daughter was at a temple so destitute, so far gone, that even they—nobles with wide-ranging information networks—had no idea it was in such ruin. No, not almost ruined—completely ruined.
Had it been the Temple of the Great Sea God, they might've understood. Even if it were another god entirely, it would've been easier to accept.
But the Sun God?
"We just don't understand what you stand to gain from becoming a priestess here."
The couple held great regard for their daughter's talents.
They knew Monica hated the idea of becoming the heir so much that she had run away, and still, they couldn't give up on her. That's how talented she was.
Even though they recognized their younger child's passion, they had still chosen Monica as the heir without hesitation.
How could they let such a precious daughter waste away in a place like this?
Monica belonged somewhere greater.
"A benefit, huh…"
But Monica didn't see it that way.
Her lips curled slightly, as if the idea amused her.
"Mother, Father. I'm not here as a merchant or something like that. I may still be an apprentice, but I've received the rite of baptism. I'm a priestess."
A priestess who serves the god, performs divine rites, and shares divine power with those in need.
"Benefit? You must be mistaking this place for one of those worldly temples like the one for the Great Sea God. Real priestesses live by faith alone, regardless of what they might gain."
Monica knew it all too well.
This sunlit temple, the people who lived cheerfully despite their poverty, and the god who had never once turned away from them.
As long as the Sun God—who loved her unconditionally—was here, so would she be.
"I'm not here to gain something. I'm here because I'm a priestess. The reputation of the god doesn't matter to me."
To be honest, she was a little disappointed.
Her mother—always so rational, calm, and intelligent—was the last person she expected to say something like that.
"…Pffft."
But instead of getting angry, her mother… laughed?
"Hahaha! That's our daughter, alright!"
And not a mocking laugh—she laughed so heartily she doubled over, clutching her stomach.
"See? Didn't I tell you she wouldn't come back and would stay right here? If Monica were the type to be swayed by our persuasion, she would've come home ages ago."
Lady Hindel tapped her husband's shoulder, a far cry from the graceful demeanor she had shown earlier in front of Ordell.
"Monica, my daughter. Is this truly your choice…?"
"Yes."
Monica answered her father's question without hesitation, despite being a little taken aback.
The count sighed and ran a hand over his face.
"Alright. Do as you wish. You've never been one to wait for our approval anyway."
"Wait, were you testing me?"
"Testing you? We just wanted to know how you really felt."
Her mother's shameless reply left Monica speechless.
Still, she was relieved they hadn't fiercely opposed her.
"But, there's one thing I need to correct. It's true the temple is poor right now—but not for long."
She explained the current situation to her puzzled parents.
Thanks to Ordell, they had formed a partnership with Duke Sheari and were now working on a potion business based on the temple's powerful healing abilities.
"What? The Lumen Merchant Guild?"
"Goodness, that Duke Sheari?"
Since the Hindel territory was in the eastern region—far from here—rumors about the potion business hadn't reached them yet.
So hearing it now left both parents genuinely stunned.
"Even His Majesty the Emperor has trouble moving the Lumen Guild…"
"Yes, and our Saintess is the one who made it happen. That's not all—she saved me too!"
"Saved you? Monica, don't tell me you were in danger?!"
Lady Hindel, who had felt some relief thinking Monica had been safe in the temple all this time, turned pale.
The count, likewise, was alarmed.
"Who the hell laid a hand on you?!"
Monica wasted no time tattling to her furious parents.
"Baron Gale, a retainer of Count Kiris, slapped me and insulted me!"
All she did was ask him to wait as per protocol, but he struck her for 'blocking his way.'
She recounted the full extent of his brutish behavior—how he had insulted her, the temple, and even the Saintess.
Naturally, she also made sure to highlight how Ordell had swooped in just in time, saved her, and humiliated Gale in front of everyone.
And that was all it took to enrage her doting parents, who now looked ready to go to war for their beloved daughter.
"…So, in other words,"
I looked at the Hindel couple, who were now fuming with righteous anger in front of me.
"You're saying you want to actively support our temple from now on."
They had come charging in while the four of us were enjoying tea at a worn-down garden table, declaring,
"Yes! We want to become patrons of the temple!"
…What was this?
I hadn't done anything, and yet a sponsorship opportunity just fell right into our laps.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : http://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]