I Became the Villainess in an Anticlimactic Novel - Chapter 36

By the time we arrived, Saintess Olivia and the Solarism priests were already taking care of the people. They seemed to have come as soon as they heard the news.

[Ara] “So you’ve come as well, Saintess.”

I approached her, thinking she was just as kind-hearted as I expected, but my path was suddenly blocked by a particularly sharp voice.

[Solarism Priests] “Don’t come any closer to our Saintess!”

The Solarism priests stood in my path and had hidden Olivia behind them.

‘Oh right. I’d take the top spot for people they want to avoid in Solarism.’

Although I was a little hurt by their blatant hostility, I still took a step back, thinking that they had enough reason to take such a stance.

[Ara] “I’m also just here to help people. I’ll keep my distance from the Saintess and go see what the situation is right now.”

I thought that it’d be better for me to work myself to the bone instead of bothering her again, so I tried to turn around. At least that’s what I would’ve done if I hadn’t heard the following words.

[Solarism Priest] “To think that you had the nerve to show up so shamelessly in front of her again after doing such a heinous thing.”

[Ara] “…What did you say?”

I asked the priest whose temper had suddenly flared up, but he didn’t answer me. Instead, the guy next to him clicked his tongue disdainfully and started to slander me.

[Solarism Priest] “I used to think that your face was as thick as an iron shield, but I didn’t think it’d be to this extent. Aren’t you just here to check how much the epidemic you’ve spread is spreading?”

Although it had just been something that had been muttered amongst themselves, I couldn’t just overlook the meaning behind it.

[Ara] “I beg your pardon?”

Unexpectedly, it sounded like they were insinuating that I was the one to spread the epidemic. 

[Ara] “The epidemic that I spread? What sort of nonsense are you saying?”

At my sharp voice, the priest snorted and said.

[Solarism Priest] “Is that not the case?”

I frowned at his voice that was so full of conviction. There were three people that managed to respond faster than me, just as I was about to ask for an explanation of what that nonsense meant.

[Lunarism Priest] “What did you just say?! Our Saintess what?”

[Lunarism Priest] “That’s the most ridiculous groundless accusation I’ve heard all year.”

But the Solarism priests didn’t back down at the furious voices of the Priest Trio and retorted back.

[Solarism Priest] “How do you explain this situation then?”

[Solarism Priest] “It started at the location where the Ezzarson Head’s funeral was held. The timing of it was even exactly at the same time of the sending off ceremony in the evening!”

[Solarism Priest] “They all said that they had absorbed the ‘light’ that woman created as well.”

To sum up everything that they were spewing recklessly, it seemed like the epidemic had started the evening I released my divine power at the sending off ceremony. What’s more was that everyone who showed symptoms had one thing in common with each other, and that was absorbing my divine power that day.

[Ara] “Everyone, let’s calm down a bit.”

I first broke up the priests who were fighting with each other while growling. Despite the grumbling, the Priest Trio still obeyed what I said.

[Ara] “I’m quite flustered by the coincidentally overlapping locations and times too, but isn’t it too far fetched for you to claim that the disease began to spread because of my divine power?”

I asked the priests of Solarism. Saintess Olivia, who had also similarly calmed down the priests who had previously been protesting, stepped forward. 

[Olivia] “Even though the people afflicted have attested that the symptoms started to appear after their body absorbed the Princess’s light?”

The look in the eyes of Olivia, who was making eye contact with me, remained completely unperturbed. It was as if she firmly believed that this was set up by me. No matter how much of a female lead she was, there was no way she could just let go of the fact that I could be the root source of the disease.

[Ara] “Divine power cannot be the source of the disease. I’m sure you’d know that better than anyone else, Saintess.”

Although the divine powers of Solarism and Lunarism were slightly different in nature, they both had healing properties, and didn’t harm people anyway. 

[Ara] “Moreover, my divine power covered the whole district that day.”

Not only did it cover the funeral ceremony, but the entire 500 metre radius surrounding it too. There wouldn’t have been a single person who hadn’t touched my divine power that day.

[Olivia] “…”

[Ara] “Regardless of how bad the relationship Solarism has with Lunarism, I hope you won’t treat your opponent’s divine power as an infectious pathogen.”

My tone was stern, since this part was not only insulting to me, but also the entirety of the Lunar religion. 

Then, the Saintess muttered softly.

[Olivia] “It might not be divine power though…”

Her voice was too loud for it to just be talking to herself. This was further proven when everyone around me flinched in surprise and began to look at me with a suspicious gaze. There were even people backing away from me in fear.

‘What…?’

I couldn’t help but frown. Even if she was going to doubt me, that didn’t seem like something a person who was in the position of a saintess would accidentally say in such a public place. Wouldn’t it be better to openly cast suspicion on me? By saying that, she seemed to want to single me out as the culprit, but not take any responsibility for it.

[Ara] “What you said just now. What do you mean by that?”

She avoided my eyes when I asked her directly without dropping the issue.

[Olivia] “…I didn’t say anything though?”

She even had an excuse prepared.

[Ara] “Do you doubt my divine power?”

I held out my palm to manifest my divine power. It transformed into a ball of light and flew toward a person who was waiting for treatment. He was startled momentarily, but thankfully didn’t try to avoid it. 

Thanks to this, my divine power naturally seeped into him and the age spots on his skin soon disappeared from view. Like before, although the open wound remained, the skin disease had been remarkably cured.

Olivia’s eyes seemed to twitch as I added.

[Ara] “My ability has been guaranteed by Lydia, the High Priestess of Lunarism. But if the Saintess of Solarism, Miss Olivia, doubts my divine power, it could be considered as the Solar religion objecting the Lunar religion’s words.”

[Olivia] “You’re reading into it too much!”

Olivia said, jumping up at my point that could lead to a fight between the two religions. But my voice was flat.

[Ara] “There’s just that much weight behind those words.”

It’s not something you can just whisper.

As if she had been falsely accused, she added with a soft murmur.

[Olivia] “You’re obviously trying to cover it up with those words because I hit the mark…”

The moment I heard that brusque murmur, I felt as if my thought process had suddenly froze.

Was this the female lead that I knew…?

This was a mean appearance that didn’t seem to match with the bold and honest female lead of the original novel. It felt like a huge discrepancy, and a very bad feeling of foreboding began to rise from my feet. 

Thinking it was just an irrelevant emotion, I shook it off and started to speak.

[Ara] “Do you really think I started this epidemic? While using, not divine power, but a mysterious, unknown ability in such a populated area? And so what exactly would I gain from that?”

[Olivia] “…”

[Ara] “Doesn’t it make more sense for it to have started because an infected person had attended and spread it?”

She neither confirmed nor denied it.

[Ara] “That’s quite embarrassing. To think that it was you, and not other people, who believed such a ridiculous claim.”

The Saintess, who was so kind and understanding, and understood the situation better than anyone else in the original novel, had such an absurd doubt…

[Ara] “Just how did the rumour start in the first place?”

[Lecht] “I’ll look into it.”

As I muttered while frowning, Lecht, who had been watching me from behind, suddenly spoke up. His expression also seemed to look grave when I turned my head around.

[Lecht] “It’s a false claim that has slandered your reputation, so whoever started it will have to pay dearly.”

[Ara] “…”

Normally, I would’ve stopped Lecht when he said something like this. Since I had said he didn’t need to be so passionate. But I didn’t stop him this time. Unlike anything else, I couldn’t simply brush over the criticism I had received for being the culprit of an epidemic that had hurt people so much.

[Ara] “Then, can I ask you for a favour? Seeing as you discovered the cause of the disease last time, you should be able to find out naturally this time too.”

[Lecht] “Alright.”

Just as I was trying to thank him, a sharp voice suddenly interrupted me.

[Olivia] “How do you think it started?! People must have started talking amongst themselves naturally since you’ve got a lot of previous history! Don’t tell me you’re going to try and punish everyone when they have the right to doubt?”

I couldn’t respond to Olivia’s words without hesitating. Since there’s a history of this body trying to harm her.

Lecht spoke first when I was thinking over it for a moment while sweeping back my hair from my throbbing head.

[Lecht] “Once we investigate, we’ll know whether the rumour had started naturally in conversations and spread, or whether it was spread by one person with malicious intentions.”

His eyes were fixed on Olivia. I seemed to have glimpsed a great amount of deep fury in his eyes.

At the appearance of Olivia flinching and clasping her two hands together, I decided to add.

[Ara] “Please don’t say anything recklessly until it turns out to be true and backed with solid evidence. Since the words of someone who is in the position of saintess like yourself will reach more people than others.”

The weight in the words of groundless rumours spread from other people and what came out of the Saintess’s mouth was different. 

After that, I nodded to her in greeting and moved on.

[Ara] “Let’s hurry up and get things sorted first.”

The Priest Trio and those who had been waiting for me followed after me.

[Ara] “Priests, please come and provide healing with me.”

[Priest Trio] “Yes!”

[Ara] “Linden, can you regulate the area like last time?”

[Linden] “That much should be easy.”

[Ara] “Lecht, please do what I mentioned earlier.”

[Lecht] “Alright.”

Since it was something we had already experienced once, we were able to coordinate our actions easily. 

Before everyone else started their tasks, Lecht whispered to me softly.

[Lecht] “Don’t overdo it.”

I laughed at his words, recalling the time when he had called all kinds of healing mages and doctors when I had just been fatigued.

[Ara] “Don’t worry. Are you underestimating me again?”

As I spoke while playfully jutting out my lip, Lecht smiled faintly and whispered softly.

[Lecht] “No way. I believe in you more than anyone else. But I’m still worried.”

Tanma, who was standing next to him, added a few words too.

[Tanma] “His Excellency would still be worried, even if Miss was a god.”

 Although what he said was a bit troublesome, I laughed since his meaning was accurately conveyed.

[Ara] “You be careful as well, Lecht. If you have any symptoms, just come and look for me right away. Don’t say you hate seeing me tired out or you don’t want to infect me and make excuses for not coming. I’ll seriously scold you if you do.”

Lecht’s smile deepend when I showed him my clenched fist as I spoke.

[Lecht] “Okay.”

He turned around first with a smile. He seemed like someone who had already decided where he was going to start the investigation I had requested him to do. 

I rolled up my sleeves as well as I watched him leave with Tanma.

[Ara] “Come on, Kelber. Just stay by my side, okay? We’ll be busy from now on!”

I rushed over to where the sick people were gathered.

* * *

Unlike giving blessings, healing took a lot longer since it had to be done one by one. 

When Linden had said that it had spread more rapidly than expected, I thought we’d have to stay up and run around for about a week, so we all shouted ‘let’s do this!’ together. But contrary to my resolve, I didn’t heal people for very long.

It was because someone had shown up and interrupted, not even 30 minutes into healing. 

[Ziken] “Just what sort of strange situation is going on here?”

[Linden] “…You’ve come, Brother.”

[Ara] “Greetings, Your Highness.”

Ziken, whose ego seemed to be needlessly inflated, seemed to be overflowing with displeasure. I thought he was annoyed at the fact that such a thing had occurred in the capital, so I opened my mouth in order to calm him down.

[Ara] “You shouldn’t worry too much. We’ve started to restrict the outbreak regions, and once we finish healing…”

But as if he had started to develop it as a habit, he once again interrupted me and started to get angry.

[Ziken] “Did you restrict the area without any orders or permission from the imperial palace? You sure do have a lot of nerve!”

The crux of why he was displeased clearly lay in a very different place.

[Ziken] “Can I interpret this as a challenge to the imperial family’s authority?”

It must have been a deliberate move since he even dropped the formalities in front of everyone and exposed his true self that he had been hiding.