A saintess? She's just a bad woman.

Page 106

"Something happened to Esther?... Or is this someone else's blood?"

Saint Karina couldn't determine the real reason. However, while she was thinking, she had already pinpointed the last location of the bloodstains.

That was a flowerpot on the bedside table next to a luxurious king-size bed, in front of the fluttering curtains.

Or rather, it was on the branches of the flowerpot. It was a black rose in full bloom, so alluring that the bloodstains originated from the thorns on its stem.

"L……"

Although she hadn't witnessed it firsthand, Saint Karina could almost see a stunningly beautiful blonde girl carefully tending to flowers. She accidentally cut her finger on a flower stem, and blood dripped from her fingertip. She tried to stop the bleeding by sucking on her finger, but these cursed flowers were not so easily stopped. Finally, she stumbled towards her medicine chest, used alchemical potions to remove the curse, and then employed divine magic to stop the bleeding.

A healing white light flickered, and when the dazzling light dissipated, the blonde girl's face finally transformed into Esther's face.

The black rose symbolizes hypocrisy, infidelity, extreme love, or a curse.

At the same time, in the doctrines of most believers, the black rose symbolizes death and bad news, but also carries hope and passion, and is also a symbol of the mystical world.

Unconsciously, my feet had already stepped into the blood-stained forbidden zone, arriving at the bedside and the flowerpot next to the bedside table.

On the flowerpot, some dried bloodstains could still be seen. They were brownish, not bright red. Besides the edge of the flowerpot, there was also some dark blood on the petals. St. Karina felt a tremor in her heart at the sight of this blooming black rose. This black rose seemed to have some kind of captivating power, causing her to subconsciously, almost inexplicably, pluck a blood-stained petal from the black rose and put it in her mouth.

Upon entering the bloodstream, a familiar, stimulating pain shot through her. Saint Karina understood; this was indeed Esther's blood.

However, perhaps because there wasn't much blood, or perhaps because the blood had dried up, the taste of rust wasn't obvious; instead, the mouth tasted more of the bitterness of the flower juice and a slight sourness.

At the same time, the rose has a very pleasant fragrance that is refreshing and invigorating, like the scent of a lover lingering around the nose.

"Search magic. Detect target, life form. Review, image reconstruction."

Saint Karina found it hard to believe that a demigod would have an accident in the Sanctuary, the stronghold of the Church of Order.

Even if there were a mole, it would have to be someone His Holiness the Pope trusted. Given Esther's personality, Saint Karina could hardly imagine anyone else who could gain Esther's trust. In fact, even Saint Karina herself was probably not truly trusted by Esther; rather, it was other emotions at play. She was more like Esther's beloved prey or pet, kept in a cage.

"hiss……"

A tingling sensation ran through her head, and Saint Karina knew that the magic she had used earlier was taking effect.

"Sister Saint Karina..."

She was a delicate, doll-like blonde girl wearing a black dress, her heterochromatic eyes filled with a terrifying, viscous love.

And her hand was caressing her indescribable parts, making circles left and right, up and down, and clockwise, in a manner befitting the fine tradition of virtue.

With each movement of her fingertips, her face grew increasingly flushed. Finally, she reached the critical point, like a boiling pebble thrown into a calm lake, causing numerous bubbles to rise to the surface and white steam to billow upwards. The bubbling continued for about ten seconds before the jet of water, propelled by the high temperature, finally fell back to the surface.

The broken peace has been restored.

"Mmm...that feels so good..."

She pulled her finger out and casually wiped it on a nearby flower.

However, it was a cursed black rose, so the blonde girl's delicate features briefly contorted. That was because of the pain.

"It really hurts! Even delicate flowers have thorns, don't you think? Sister Saint Karina..."

Drip, drip, drip, drops of blood, blooming like red spider lilies, dripped onto the floor beside the bed. Then the blonde girl, as happy as a five-hundred-year-old child, deliberately stepped on the drops of blood, and tiny, blood-red footprints bloomed on the white floor.

It's like a painting spreading out on a white canvas.

"However, it's still not as comfortable as what you did for me, Sister Saint Karina~ What I did is still far from good enough..."

She walked barefoot to the door, then pushed it open and went out.

Next, a new female clergy member, responsible for attending to the Pope's daily needs, came in. She first fetched water and wiped the entire floor, then added cleaning agent.

Compared to Philomena, who dared to lazily use cleaning magic, this person's technique was much more clumsy. And her courage was far less than Philomena's, who had served the Pope for quite some time.

After diligently completing her tasks, she withdrew, not daring to linger in the Pope's bedchamber for even a moment longer. It seemed she was terrified that she might see something she shouldn't have, or know something she shouldn't have, and that the next moment she would perish.

She wouldn't even touch that potted plant. She seemed extremely worried about being tainted by a curse.

"It was intentional, this madman..."

Saint Karina pulled herself out of the magical image, her mind still filled with the scene she had just witnessed.

This was far from what she had imagined. Indeed, a delicate young girl was simply not a good match for Esther.

The image of that little girl who called out "Sister Saint Karina" in the orphanage is ultimately becoming more and more distant from her.

"Tell me... what am I supposed to do with you, Esther..."

Saint Karina murmured to herself.

However, Saint Karina didn't have much time to overthink, because a slow turning sound came from the doorknob.

"!"

The sound startled Santa Karina from her reverie. Instinctively, she chickened out and quickly hid under the bed.

Only after hiding under the bed did she realize that she shouldn't be afraid, but should confront the situation head-on.

But now she had lost the initiative and the upper hand. If it wasn't Esther who came in, she planned to wait until the other person finished and left before crawling out from under the bed. If it was Esther herself, she had the same plan: to wait until Esther left the room or fell asleep in bed before going out.

"Click."

The lock was completely flipped open, and the door was opened from the outside.

"Your Holiness, it's not good for your health if you don't eat anything. We've already received word that Her Majesty the Holy Maiden will be back today."

The two were unaware that Saint Karina had arrived at this side hall; it appeared she had moved here from another room within the side hall. Saint Karina assumed they had been working there previously.

Or perhaps Esther went to the bathhouse. After all, just thinking about Esther's alluring demeanor earlier made Saint Karina feel a burning sensation in her body, and her cheeks flushed.

"call……"

Her breathing became heavy, but Santa Karina tried her best to control it.

She didn't want to give herself away and have people discover that she was hiding under the bed.

She probably won't be punished, but having her dragged out from under the bed will only weaken her already weak momentum further. Besides, Esther can easily find a pretext to deliberately punish her.

The punishment was exactly the same as what Saint Karina had just witnessed. Equally indescribable and unbearable to behold.

"I know my own body. If I say I don't want to eat, I don't want to eat. As a demigod, I won't have any functional or bodily problems just because I haven't eaten for a little over half a month."

It seemed that no one was found under the bed, and the two continued their conversation as usual.

It was clear that the priestess in charge of daily life sounded somewhat anxious.

This is the person Saint Karina saw in the magical image before. Her concern for Esther wasn't out of genuine worry about the Pope's health, but rather out of fear that if the Pope were to experience a fainting spell due to not eating, as is the case with normal humans, she, as the person responsible for taking care of the Pope's most basic needs, would be punished by the Church.

After all, it's true that the Pope himself said he wouldn't eat it, but when things go wrong, the higher-ups always find someone to take the blame. She, a mere priestess, is naturally the perfect target for venting their anger.

Theoretically, Esther, who has already achieved deification compared to normal humans, could indeed go three to five years without eating without any harm to her body. However, Esther had always adhered to the practices of her human days. Even after becoming a demigod, she still ate three meals a day, unless she was busy with official duties.

Even at her busiest, she only eats dinner once a day; she never goes without food. And since this young priestess took over caring for Esther, the Pope has repeatedly acted capriciously, drawing criticism from the Church. If something really goes wrong, she certainly won't be able to escape responsibility.

"Alright, there's no need to persuade me anymore. I have my own plans..."

By the end, Esther was quite impatient.

However, when she caught a glimpse of a humanoid creature under the bed out of the corner of her eye, the corners of her mouth suddenly turned up, as if she had seen something interesting.

Originally, everything tasted bitter, and I couldn't taste the original flavor of the food, as if my sense of taste had been altered by a virus. Now, however, I have recovered.

She suddenly felt hungry. Perfect timing, she also wanted to get rid of this annoying nag who had been chattering beside her from the start, so she pretended to be unable to resist his persistent pleading and said:

"Fine, I've changed my mind. Aren't you just worried about being punished? I don't want to listen to your daily lectures either. Subordinates can't talk back to their superiors. Go tell the kitchen staff to bring some dinner. Something light will do."

After all, she hadn't eaten for more than half a month. Esther wasn't picky, but she didn't want to eat anything too greasy.

Girls differ from boys in this regard. Boys generally eat both meat and vegetables, both fatty and lean meat, and enjoy strong flavors, such as spicy hot pot, twice-cooked pork, or braised pig's trotters—foods that girls find extremely spicy and greasy. Girls, on the other hand, prefer sweet dishes and meals served with sweet soup or fruit.

"Yes, His Majesty the Pope."

The priestess blushed when her secret was exposed. She didn't think too much about the reason for Esther's change of heart, but simply responded obediently and left.

Even after leaving the room, the embarrassment on her face had not yet faded.

As for Esther, she didn't care what the other person was thinking at all. Instead, she had a long-lost, impulsive desire to play a heart-pounding game and a game of hide-and-seek with the mysterious creature under the bed.

"Hmph, let's find someone else to serve us next time. After I gave away my favorite doll, none of these people are satisfied with using it."

Esther deliberately hummed in order to distract the person under the bed and prevent her from discovering the reason for her sudden change of address.

However, this was also what she truly felt. Compared to these people, Philomena, the puppet she had personally trained, was far more useful—she never uttered a word of unnecessary talk, was utterly loyal, and had perfect obedience.

"I'm so tired, dealing with all this trouble... Never mind, I'll just sit on the bed for a while."

There isn't much seating in this room, just a dressing table. The matching chair is made of wood and is very hard, unlike the softness of a mattress.

Even the desk was moved to another room. This wasn't because the room was too small to fit it, but because the palace was too large and had too many rooms. Each room was arranged reasonably so that it wouldn't feel cluttered or crowded. The rooms were designed for good air circulation and comfort.

It also includes a bathroom, specifically for releasing physiological needs, and for taking a lazy dip in the small pool when you don't want to go to the large pool.

This is not extravagant; the entire Cult of Order is the property of Esther and the gods. This is just the most basic configuration, not the kind of extravagance.

“Sister Saint Karina, tell me, isn’t their concern for people both hypocritical and disgusting?”

Esther sat down on the bed. The bed was very sturdy, and even though the girl moved around a lot, the bed did not make any creaking or groaning noises.

The mattress was very soft, making a slurping sound like slippers.

Saint Karina wasn't sure if the other person had noticed her, so she didn't make a sound. She watched those snow-white little feet dangling, covering her mouth to prevent her breath from brushing against that smooth, silky skin.

Because she was so nervous, Santa Karina felt a pain in her heart.

"I don't know, get lost. You bastard, is it fun to scare me?"

Saint Karina cursed inwardly, but remained outwardly calm.

She didn't feel like she'd given herself away, but she also felt like she was taking a chance. With the perception of a demigod, how could he not have noticed she was under the bed?

The room was indeed very large, almost a hundred square meters, but for a strong person's perception range, a hundred meters was just enough to cover their perception range.

Besides this, Saint Karina also really wanted to complain: why do we have to eat in the bedroom when we can just eat normally?

"Huh huh huh~"

Seemingly in a good mood, Esther began to hum a song.

From an angle where Santa Karina couldn't see, the curve of her lips was completely undisguised, revealing the pure joy of discovering prey.

"I wonder what kind of expression Sister Saint Karina will have when she hears that I miss her so much that I can't eat? Will she feel sorry for me, be indifferent, or helplessly advise me to take care of myself? I really can't wait to find out!"

Esther thought Saint Karina was wonderful no matter what expression she had.

As she pondered this, her dangling feet swung faster and faster, and her hands began to cup her cheeks.

She was thoroughly enjoying her game of hide-and-seek with her sister, Saint Karina. However, she had been patiently enduring it for so long, and was really about to lose her patience.

Her gaze unconsciously shifted from looking towards the doorway to looking down at the area under the bed. There was a bed board separating the bed from the view of the pretty sheets, but Esther could clearly see every movement of the "creature" beneath the bed.

If Saint Karina were to crawl out from under the bed now, she would surely see something terrifying. A pair of horrifying, staring eyes, driven mad by longing for her.

197. The relationship between the saint and the pope

"Huh...huh...huh..."

As time passed, Santa Karina saw that the little feet had been pulled away from the bedside and placed on the soft mattress.

She seemed really tired; Santa Karina could now hear Esther breathing.

A beautiful young girl doesn't snore. So, compared to her usual soft breathing, this was a relatively steady and long breathing sound.

"..."

In an instant, Saint Karina found it difficult to walk.

She wanted to just go out like that, but at the same time she was worried that Esther was pretending to be asleep, or that she was a light sleeper and would wake up if she moved even slightly.

At this moment, she only regretted that she hadn't learned teleportation magic, otherwise she wouldn't have to suffer so much.

"It's a bet."

After much deliberation, Saint Karina decided to go out.

The opportunity is right in front of you; a true warrior cannot back down!

"Screw rustle..."

A rustling sound, the rustling of clothes, could be heard.

Saint Karina stretched out every second. What usually only takes a few seconds to crawl out from under the bed took her a full minute in order to make every movement as light as possible.

She got up and glanced back at the bed. A blonde girl with delicate features was sleeping soundly, her eyelids closed. Her eyelashes were long and thin, fluttering gently with her breathing.