3 bar menu

I was once a hollow saint – chapter 6

It didn’t make sense no matter how much I thought about it. Something was clearly off here.

I was reborn again, yet problems seemed to be hitting me left and right. I sighed.

「Um, you see. Rumors are often twisted as they spread, right? Besides, I’m actually not that powerful…」

「That’s definitely not true Tiana-sama, what you did just now was truly, truly amazing!」

「T-Thank you…?」

All I could do was to return her wry smile to her when she made such a strong point to it.

(However, Tiana had the heart of a great saint.)

I remember how Tiana had almost no magic power, yet she used them all in the embroidery of handkerchiefs, which she then handed to children in areas with many evil spirits as amulets to ward them off and protect them from the spirits.

She tried to do other things she could do, working tirelessly till late despite being made to perform menial tasks from morning to night.

I clenched my hands, vowing that one day, I would definitely take revenge on everyone who had mistreated me all these years.

…After that, the Knights and Marielle kept praising me,and I spent the entire journey feeling awkward and itchy.

◇◇◇

Without facing any other hassles, we arrived safely at the Raveis Empire.

(Hopefully, Sylvia won’t try anything again once she knows she failed to kill me…)

With the carriage used by common nobility, we arrived at the castle. My presence as the saint wasn’t made known in order to avoid causing a commotion.

(This place hasn’t changed at all since then. Those days now felt like a long time ago…)

I lived in the castle when I was still the Great Saint.

The mere sight gave me a sense of security and nostalgia, as if I was in my parents’ home.

I entered the castle from the back door with Marielle and the knights, and we proceeded through a long corridor.

「Saint Tiana-sama has arrived…!」

「Oh my, she’s really beautiful!」

Such whispers and hushed conversations were exchanged by the people we passed by.

Sylvia and the other saints’ abuse to Tiana caused her to have low self-esteem, but she was actually quite the looker.

Her long, shiny violet hair and rose-pink eyes complemented her well-proportioned face.

(I had red hair in my previous life, I’ve always had a thing for this kind of color.)

While thinking about such things, I arrived at a familiar place. It was a room used by emperors of the past.

「Tiana-sama, you are now going to meet the emperor.」

「Okay.」

Marielle knocked on the door saying, 「We have brought Saint Tiana-sama from the kingdom of Fallon」. Shortly after that, a male voice responded, 「Come in.」

「Excuse me.」

I immediately bowed after entering the room with Marielle, and something came to my mind suddenly.

(Wait, who was the current emperor? The fact that they brought me here to be the empress must mean that the old raccoon was dead.)

The emperor was already pretty old seventeen years ago. It wouldn’t be surprising if he had been dead for a while.

He was the worst. He was a womanizer, he had no sense of respect for women, and he even tried to touch me, the Great Saint.

I’m sure he had three princes. I wonder who ascended to the throne?

「Please raise your face.」

A low, soothing voice echoed in the quiet room.

Lifting my face quietly, my eyes were locked with a pair of transparent, ice-blue eyes.

(W-Whoa…! He’s so pretty…!)

The man gave me a feeble smile as I was in awe of his beauty. His slightly long obsidian hair swung freely.

「It’s a pleasure to meet you, Saint Tiana-sama, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming to our country.」

Judging from his gentle smile and demeanor, he didn’t seem to be an arrogant person like his father.

Before I could reply, he continued,

「My name is Felix Reavis.」

「…Felix?」

「Yes.」

The dazzled me instantly came back to her senses.

(Y-You’re kidding me!? This is the little, crybaby Felix!?)

Seeing me gasp in shock, the emperor who introduced himself as Felix frowned a bit and seemed perplexed by what I just said.

Unable to hide my confusion, I covered my mouth with one hand.

(I had no idea Felix would succeed as emperor.)

Felix. He was just ten years old when I was the Great Saint. The third prince, he was my disciple.