Irene Decided to Die - Chapter 11
“Irene,”
a girl born with crimson-colored eyes, a symbol of ominousness. Accordingly, she was despised by everyone, a being that naturally deserved such treatment.
She was never considered a contender for the saintess’s position, yet the goddess proclaimed her as the saintess.
But not the other.
At first, she refused to believe it. But when people rushed toward Irene, who had fallen from the tower, and she was ignored for the first time, she realized it.
The moment she faced the cold reality, Ramiel felt as though the ground beneath her crumbled away.
No other thought came to mind; she simply collapsed there, trembling. Yet, there were few who took care of her.
Everyone was too caught up in the chaos, rushing after the trails of the fleeing royals.
That day, Ramiel was supported by a maid back to the mansion, where she secluded herself in her room and prayed to the goddess incessantly.
Hoping for her voice to be heard, she prayed fervently. However, the goddess gave no answer.
The days she had expected to live, being heard as the saintess, never came.
The kings eventually reached out, but she didn’t want to respond. Anger surged at the realization that she had not been their priority, even for a moment.
‘Why not me?’
This resentment extended even towards the goddess.
‘I’ve believed all this time!’
Why, when she had been the most faithful of all? Irene was someone who had even attempted to kill her!
The fact that a sinner could not become a saintess never crossed her mind. She felt nothing but injustice, sorrow, and hardship.
The thought of stepping outside became terrifying. The mere idea of how others might view her was dreadful.
“Ramiel!”
Engulfed in misery, Ramiel was visited by Shah-Naz.. When she did not grant him entry, he shouted from outside the window,
“I believe in you! You are truly deserving of being the saintess!”
His words caused the maids standing by to gasp in shock, but undeterred, he comforted Ramiel.
“To me, you are the only saintess!”
It was an unusual kindness from Shah-Naz..
But he wasn’t the only visitor. Sage also came to offer consolation.
“I heard you were in pain.”
His soft and gentle voice soothed Ramiel.
“I wish for Ramiel to always be healthy.”
He expressed such sentiments.
Garan did not visit in person but sent a get-well gift and a letter.
“Ramiel, even if you’re not the saintess, we still love you.”
Her parents, who always showered her with deep love, said the same.
Yet, she couldn’t be satisfied. This place wasn’t where she belonged.
Why was she still at home when she should be sleeping in the saintess’s room in the temple at this time?
Believing she would become the saintess, she had prepared her heart to leave home at any time.
Determined to be the finest saintess, to bestow more of the goddess’s grace than anyone, yet to find she wasn’t the saintess.
Ramiel’s gaze drifted to the temple towering beyond the window.
Uniquely, the temple was visible from any country, said to be because the goddess bestowed her grace upon the world.
‘Yes, that’s where I belong.’
Everything must be a mistake. Holding onto that thought, Ramiel prayed today with a fervent heart.
‘Please answer my prayers.’
She fell endlessly into the darkness, waiting for a response that would never come.
The news that Irene had become the saintess reached the Rostellele Ducal family as well.
Not having participated in the selection ceremony for the saintess due to having a daughter who was a sinner, they were surprised to hear the news for the first time.
“What did you say?”
“Lady Irene has been appointed as the saintess.”
“Did the goddess herself say so?”
“Yes.”
That was the message delivered by the spy they had planted.
Even though he had sent a trusted person, at first, he found it hard to believe the words. He had never imagined his daughter becoming the saintess.
He had sinned in the past. He had coveted a woman with an ominous color, and that woman had borne a child. The child resembled her mother, with black hair and red eyes.
Illegitimate children were fairly common among the nobility, but if that child bore an ominous color, that was a different story. Thus, the Duke of Rostellele thought,
‘The goddess must be seeking to punish my sins.’
He believed that because he had sinned, the goddess intended to punish him by bestowing the most lowly upon him. Hence, despite his horror, he accepted Irene into the family.
The small child born of a momentary lapse was as repulsive as a rat soaked in rain.
He restrained himself from immediately casting her out. All of this was a sin he must bear, so he endured her in accordance with the goddess’s will.
As Irene grew and increasingly resembled her mother, she sought the love of a father from the Duke. Even if it made him nauseous, he endured it.
Then Irene was selected as a candidate for the saintess.
At first, he thought the goddess intended to forgive everything. But that wasn’t it. It was merely a revelation for more profound repentance through greater suffering.
But Irene as the saintess?
“Is that lie actually true?”
The Duke of Rostelle asked again with a blank expression.
“It is the truth,”
