Chapter 6: The Pleasure of Saint Meldiana【Side:Meldiana】│Read translated stories and daily updates at: Awebstories.com
Time rewinds a little.
Saint Meldiana is in a good mood as she returns from sending the sinner Lysette to the Dungeon Realm.
The carriage is as luxurious as royalty, with thick cushions to absorb all of the road’s shock and fatigue.
The carriage is now on its way to the capital, where a ceremony will be held to repair the barrier.
—Ah, Onee-sama is finally gone! How refreshing!
She is overjoyed but does not express it.
—Poor Onee-sama has to live in such a deplorable environment.
Meldiana and the church were “kind” to her and did not force her to enter the dungeon.
However, they are considering selling her body to unscrupulous adventurers. And let her body and soul be shattered.
Because Lysette has committed a heinous crime.
—Onee-sama had everything I was looking for… Onee-sama is the one who is being unjust. This is the punishment she deserves. Punishment for being the only person who lived in luxury without me until I returned. She deserved it.
Meldiana’s mother worked as a maid in the Claudis household. She had a child with the head of the family’s son-in-law, ran away, and raised Meldiana alone while working in a tavern.
When the head of the household died, Meldiana’s father, who was now acting as marquess, came to the slum to pick her up.
Her mother, however, had died not long before.
Her mother had faith in her father until the end, but he did not arrive on time.
The Marquise took Meldiana in, but the reception of Meldiana, who did not have a drop of the Marquise’s blood in her veins, was not flattering.
But, Meldiana was treated well by her father, the acting head of the family, and her sister Lysette.
…Meldiana, on the other hand, was unable to accept this.
Her father and sister gave her everything she wanted.
Because they recognize Meldiana as a weak being, they can love her as if she were a pet.
She holds a grudge against Lysette in particular.
—How could Onee-sama have everything while I was left with nothing, despite the fact that we shared a father?
That’s how she made her decision.
She desired to take everything she possessed.
Her father assisted her in this endeavor. He was an ordinary man, but he had a deep love for Meldiana. Perhaps he was atoning for her mother’s death.
“Hahaha.”
Meldiana burst out laughing.
This was the pinnacle of Meldiana’s happiness.
The saint’s group stops at a church between Norun and the capital to perform a blessing ceremony and break.
The blessing ceremony is a holy ritual that can only be done by Saint Meldiana.
Meldiana mulls over this as she and her attendants make their way to the guest room.
—It’s a rural church… I wish we could just leave this place.
Meldiana thinks that the pilgrimage would be easier if they only had to protect the area around the royal city and the rich lands.
“You must be exhausted from your long journey—please rest here to recover from your exhaustion.”
“Thank you very much.”
She walked into the guest room and smiled at one of the Saint’s guards, a church knight with slightly flushed cheeks.
Meldiana was well aware of her beauty. She was also aware of the impact that her facial expressions and gestures could have.
But that didn’t mean she’d try to please everyone. Only the strong and beautiful, and this church knight is a sight to behold.
“Even so, I can’t believe Saint-sama accompanied the Sinner personally.”
“…Yes, it was terrifying, but… But she was a member of my family. It was my responsibility to accompany her until the end.
“How generous… to show mercy even to the great sinner who harmed the Saint.”
Meldiana smiles briefly.
“Don’t worry. Anyone who harms Saint-sama will never come out of the Dungeon Realm again.”
“Yes… but… I’m scared—I’m afraid Onee-sama is plotting vengeance against me…”
“That’s…”
“I know that Onee-sama will never come out of that place again… But Onee-sama is more terrifying than the Killing Bear. She might use terrible magic or people to kill me…”
“Saint-sama…”
“I’m sorry…”
She shakes her head and wipes her eyes, enraging not only the knight but also her attendants. The saints are the most noble and vulnerable beings on the planet.
“Rest assured, Saint-sama. Leave everything to me. I, Douglas, will protect you.”
Meldiana smiled when she heard of his firm determination. Lysette would now be actively pursued by the Church Knight.
If Meldiana wants to, everything will go her way because the Saint is at the top of the world.
—You got what you deserved, Onee-sama. You took the mark that should have appeared to me. It was just returned to me.
The holy mark, the proof of the saint, appeared to Lysette rather than Meldiana.
Meldiana was enraged that Lysette, not Meldiana, had been chosen as the saint.
And, before it became public, she had a dark elf black magician implant the holy mark.
—I was simply correcting a mistake. It is an act of justice. I’ve corrected the Goddess’s mistake.
This world is riddled with curses.
This world exists because the Goddess’ Barrier holds back the curse that comes from the earth.
However, the barrier can be damaged and broken, which weakens it. And the saint is tasked with restoring the barrier.
Without the Saint, all lands and countries are cursed to perish.
The Saint is more valuable and precious than royalty.
The original purpose of Meldiana’s journey was to restore the barrier.
It is a miraculous power that only a saint can perform, bringing the power of the Goddess down to the host body and blessing the earth with that power.
The next day, Meldiana attempted to use the power of the saints in front of the Goddess statue in the cathedral the day after her arrival.
She tried to bring down the power of the Goddess, but no matter how much she prayed, there was no sign of the Goddess’s power coming down.
Meldiana is skeptical.
Normally, the sacrament provides power, but nothing happens. The people around her become restless when nothing happens. even if they don’t express it explicitly.
“I don’t think I’m feeling well today.”
Meldiana walks away from the statue.
The cathedral’s priests and knights are stunned and dismayed by her words, and their uncanny appearance incites Meldiana’s rage.
“What’s the matter with your face?! disrespectful! Your lack of prayer is the cause of the lack of blessing!”
Meldiana exclaimed in exasperation.
—How vexing! Everyone except me is incompetent, as if I’m to blame!
Meldiana angrily left the cathedral.
—I hope this place is destroyed!
She thinks strongly.
She didn’t dwell on why the goddess’s power hadn’t been bestowed upon her.
All she could think about was how the goddess had abandoned this land because the people who lived there were faithless.