Chapter 1 part 2

"Thats why, Young Master doesn't have any grounds to be the next successor of Count Epheria's household."

Sofia explained it while putting down a bowl of soup, that had been mildly cooked so it's easy to digest, onto the table. I pick up my spoon while looking at her.

"In other words, my little stepbrother isn't really related to the Count Epheria's household."

"Yes. At the moment, Miss Silla is the only legitimate descendant of Count Epheria's household."

Count Dgowin Epheria, Silla's father, actually is a walk-in son-in-law in the Epheria family. In other words, children born from his marriage with another woman aren't part of the Epheria household. The only descendant of the Epheria family is Silla, who was born from the only daughter of Count Epheria from the previous generation. Both of Silla's step-siblings have no rights to be the next head of Epheria household.

"That being said, Miss' future husband will be the next Count Epheria."

"But, my stepmother won't let it happen, right?"

"Yes, that's right!"

Sofia held her tray tightly without being able to conceal her bursting emotions.

"That woman…cough… I mean, the new Madam intends to make Young Master the next Count with 'Miss is a woman'-, as the reason. It is definitely doesn't make any sense at all, but the main problem is the Count only watches as a spectator and the new Madam's family are very powerful nobles."

"Is that so? It's quite odd that a daughter of powerful nobles doesn't mind being a second wife."

"Of course it's because she wants to take over the Epheria family. Even now, she is still working hard to reach her goal. The reason why she urged Miss to get engaged to that scum is also because of that (her goal)."

"Mhmm."

I drink the soup while trying to form a conclusion based on Sofia's story. To put it simply, the Countess wants to get rid of Silla, who is none other than me, by any means. Having me married is the safest method but she might be using other extreme methods if it (marriage) doesn't work, right? This is interesting.

"The explanation is enough for now. You said before that the Leader of the Holy Knight's funeral will be held in 4 days?"

"Yes… the Church announced that the funeral will be held in 4 days."

My funeral…

"Can't I participate?"

"That's impossible. I heard many people want to come but only Master Roel's close acquaintances or some high authorities can join."

"It's really complicated."

People said that the grief will be less if shared with more people, so what's the problem if many people come? Are they doing it to save on funeral costs?

"Even so, it doesn't mean there is no other way."

That's what Sofia said to me when I grumbled inside my heart.

"The funeral will be held once in the Church and once in the Palace. And Miss can watch the funeral procession between the two venues."

"There will be two of them?"

"Yes."

Do they even have the money? Even until now, the Church always maintains a humble attitude regarding mortal possessions; it's unusual for them to act this way, isn't it? It should be more than enough to hold the funeral ceremony in the Church, what needs were there to even go to the palace? Is it because of my merit for saving the Crown Prince?

"Regardless, I still want to take a look, even if it's only in the streets."

"Seems like you still care for him even though you lost your memories."

Sofia laughed softly as she cleared away the empty plates.

"Miss needs to get direct permission to go out from the Madam."

"It can't be that she forbids me from going out, right?"

"It's even the opposite. Madam asked Miss to go outside more often, but Miss always refused before."

"Is that so?"

"Madam always asked Viscount Schwartz to tail Miss whenever you went out. He is your fiancé. It's likely Madam will invite him this time too."

"Perfect. I would like to see what kind of person he is."

Sofia pouted after hearing my words.

"Don't put high hopes on it. Miss definitely will be disappointed."

I became more curious about the fiancé upon hearing the maid's confident remark. Is he ugly? Does he have bad attitude? Or, perhaps both?

After Sofia left the room with empty plates, I was left alone, so I got on the bed and lay down.

Should I tell the Church that I'm still alive?

Even though my current situation is a bit abnormal, at least I'm still alive. But, I'm not sure they (the Church) will easily let me in. The High Priest certainly will be able to recognize me, but other people won't. If I claim to be the Leader of the Holy Knights, I would be grateful if they didn't consider me to be a crazy woman. Moreover…

Honestly, I don't want to lead that kind of life in the Church ever again.

Life inside the Church actually isn't that bad. There's even no preferential treatment based on one's family and people only see you based on your ability within the Church. That's why, even though I was only a commoner-born orphan, I still managed to reach the Leader position. But still… there're some reluctant feelings emerging from within my heart if I were to be asked to return there.

Regulated life, dawn worship, night worship… ugh, what a boring life… moreover, I can't get married!

That's the highest obstacle. Marriage. In other words, I can't build a family. I would be satisfied if only I had some relatives, but it can't be helped that I was all alone. I'm lonely! In addition, I was prohibited from having any personal funds inside the Church. I, too, want to have my own home so that I could experience the feeling of going home and getting off from work, alright?!

I need a family too… I don't want to grow old and lonely in the Church. I need my own home…

A life dedicated to the Goddess has high reputation and is honorable, but as a person, it's really dull and full of emptiness. It's said that the High Priest can communicate directly with the Goddess, but to obtain even a single oracle is very hard for a normal follower, let alone hearing any sound. So I have decided, I will live normally from now on. Shouldn't this be my compensation for completing the hard mission of lifting the Crown Prince's curse? Yup, this is enough. Starting today, I have to live as a normal girl.

"…, I was hoping so. Though now, I'm already far from a normal life."

I smiled bitterly. Although Silla's life is much more normal than my life as a woman who was the Leader of the Holy Knights Squad, her life was far from comfortable. Even so, Silla's life will change now because the 'present' Silla won't stay quiet without fighting back. The one who is in Silla's body now isn't a weak girl anymore.

I raised my right hand that lay on the bed and stretched it out. Holy power that couldn't be seen by normal eyes wrapped around all five fingers and the hand's palm, then quickly seeped into the skin.

The difference between a priest and a holy knight was based on whether the holy power poured out of the body or gathered inside the body. The priests let out their power within the body so they can perform a miracle, whereas the holy knights gather their holy power within the body, resulting in great strength compared to an ordinary human.

Besides, the holy power appears when the Goddess gives Her blessings onto the soul, not the body. That means, even though I have lost the body that I have trained for a long time, I'm still able to use my holy knight's ability in my current body. For now, there is no doubt that my current ability doesn't even measure up to half of my previous one, but I can quickly build up my ability to match that of a normal knight to a certain degree. To reach up to a high knight's level… well, it will probably take about another 10 years. This body's potential is limited, so first, I need to collect plentiful holy power, then I can slowly increase this body's potential. As I see it, this body doesn't have much potential.

Even so, there would be no problem to protect this body of mine.

If I felt that the situation was turning out to be so severe that I couldn't recover, I still have the option of returning to serve the Church. Well, though I consider it as my last trump card.

I let out a long breath and withdrew the warm energy that floated around me back inside my body.