Saint Marigold

10.

“The Knight Tournament is being held!”

The streets were filled with an excited, festive atmosphere.

The Imperial Knight Tournament. It was the greatest spectacle in Rodniss, held only once every dozen years.

For a long time now, no matter where you went, the talk of the town was all about it. With gambling mixed in with the fighting, it was hard not to get excited.

What’s more, the participants weren’t just local thugs, but renowned knights? It was something that everyone from little kids to housewives would be interested in.

“This is our chance to find out who the best knight in the Empire really is, instead of just hearing them argue about it.”

Even the knights who would normally try to avoid such things had no way out, thanks to the Imperial Archbishop’s decree: ‘All Pilgrimages must participate!’

—Who is the best knight in the Empire?

People’s attention was gradually shifting towards that question.

It was around that time that Marigold’s days became increasingly busy.

———

[Fallen Noble Lady Simulation]

Creating the schedule for the 4th week of June.

Monday – Church etiquette training.

Tuesday – Saintess Church prayer meeting.

Wednesday – Art piece modeling activity.

Thursday – Art piece modeling activity.

Friday – Learning horseback riding ‘Beginner’ level. (Location: Mansion)

Saturday – Learning horseback riding ‘Beginner’ level. (Location: Fallow land)

Sunday – Accompanying Demon beast hunting. (Location: Forest).

※It’s going to be a hectic week! If the Goddess is watching, she will surely bless our diligent Marigold, right?

———

[Monday. Church etiquette training]

Thud.

“Ugh.”

Marigold felt something hard being placed on top of her head and hunched her shoulders.

A thick book. And on top of that, even a teacup was gently placed.

“You mustn’t drop it.”

Hesti corrected Marigold’s posture with her hands.

“Head up. Chin in, walk calmly. Be careful not to raise your shoulders.”

“Ugh, ah. Ah!”

Marigold stumbled and fell forward.

If a large hand hadn’t supported her, she would have fallen face-first.

“Lancel……”

Lancel, Darling.

Marigold was about to say, but she changed her words.

“Lancel, Cleric.”

“That title is a bit embarrassing.”

“You told me to call you that……!”

Marigold, who was about to raise her voice without realizing it, was startled and lowered her tone.

“……to, Darling.”

“Of course, Mary.”

“I feel like you’re teasing me.”

“It’s just your imagination, Mary.”

Marigold awkwardly straightened her bangs.

She didn’t seem used to Lancel being so formal with her. Every time she heard it, she would turn her upper body and desperately try to hide her expression.

“Then let’s do it again. Straighten your posture.”

“Yes, yes!”

Marigold’s posture correction continued under Hesti’s guidance until the end of the day.

[Tuesday. Saintess Church prayer meeting]

There were already eleven Saintess Churches built in Imperial Capital Rodniss and its vicinity.

But all they were, were spaces with just a Saintess Statue placed inside, where anyone passing by could come in and.

“Let a bag of gold coins fall in front of my eyes!”

Even if they recited prayers like that, no one would scold them.

But still, it was a church.

Marigold went around to those Saintess Churches whenever she had time, spreading the prayers she had learned to the people.

“Goddess of the dawn that splits the dawn. Thank you for today’s meeting that you have blessed. May blessings always be with all our neighbors.”

“May blessings be with us.”

To the illiterate people who thought that going to church was all about saying whatever they wanted, Marigold was like a teacher.

One week.

Two weeks.

One month.

Two months.

Lancel felt them gradually becoming enamored with Marigold.

No wonder, as dozens of letters a day, using all sorts of recording methods such as paper, clay, and wooden boards, were delivered to the front of the mansion.

Without even bothering to read them, they were all expressions of adoration for Marigold.

“You’re already popular, Mary.”

“……”

Marigold only made an embarrassed expression at Lancel’s teasing.

In every village she visited, young people and children lined up waiting for her. It hadn’t even been a few months.

“The gods are so heartless. To blind someone like her.”

“What are you saying? Those eyes that can’t see are what make Priestess Mary so sublime.”

Lancel thought that their reaction was due to Marigold’s appearance in her pure white robes. He thought it was because of the unique mystique that was felt from her expression and gestures as she quietly closed her eyes and walked around.

Even Lancel, who had lived for hundreds of years and whose senses about women had become dull, would sometimes be mesmerized, so how could others not be?

With Marigold’s demeanor refined through Hesti’s etiquette training, it was as if a halo was shining from every move she made.

“Cleric Lancel. Where are you?”

“……”

Marigold, with the setting sun behind her, wandered around the field.

Lancel felt a sense of nostalgia for a moment. It was a sight that reminded him of someone from a long time ago.

He quietly approached and took her hand.

“Mary. It’s time to return to the mansion.”

“I thought you were gone.”

Lancel smiled as he saw Mary’s eyes slightly glistening with tears.

Perhaps she was really sulking, as she spoke less than usual that day.

[Wednesday-Thursday. Art piece modeling activity]

Bang!

“No! My artwork! My lifelong masterpiece!”

The statue fell over and shattered into pieces with one kick from Lancel. The head, resembling Marigold, rolled all the way to the corner of the workshop.

“Who told you to make whatever you wanted? I told you to just make something calm and serene.”

“You, you’re supposed to be a knight, but you have less aesthetic sense than a street bum! The statue you just broke was a masterpiece that would have remained in the history of this Empire, no, this continent!”

“If you have a problem with it, put some clothes on it. Why are you leaving a perfectly good statue naked?”

“Hic!”

Marigold was startled by Lancel’s glare. She seemed to have finally grasped the situation.

The sculptor’s eyes avoided Lancel and looked into the distance.

“……Eros is art…….”

“You’re pursuing Eros in an artwork to be displayed in a church? You’re the devil himself.”

“Then what can I do? If the artistic spirit coiled up inside me is that of the devil, then that’s fate!”

He grabbed the sculptor’s beard.

“Aah! My hair!”

“I’m telling you nicely, make it normal again and send it over. Otherwise, I’ll sell you off as a devil worshiper.”

“I, I’ll do it, I’ll do it……!”

That night.

“Cleric, um, did you……see it in detail?”

“Well, yeah.”

Lancel answered without hesitation.

“How can I not see what’s visible?”

“…….”

Marigold quietly backed away. He just didn’t want to lie.

[Friday. Learning horseback riding ‘Beginner’ level – Mansion]

“Don’t be afraid.”

“Haa……haa……hic!”

Marigold’s face turned pale from the morning because of the presence of the horse that was making a whinnying sound.

To a person who can’t see, a horse would feel like a monster.

“Are you sure an animal like that is something someone like me can ride?”

“A fine horse knows its owner.”

“Kyaa!”

He pulled her arm and sat her in front of him in one swift motion.

“It’s nothing, right? Don’t just sit there, pet it.”

Marigold stroked the horse’s mane with trembling hands. It was a horse with white fur and a golden mane.

Telling a person who can’t see to ride a horse might seem reckless, but with a horse this good, it was the opposite.

It was a fine horse that could become her eyes and feet.

“How is it? There’s no better one in my stable.”

“Let’s take a quick spin.”

“As much as you want.”

Lancel grabbed the reins at Baron Ibil Shen’s confident expression.

“Let’s go, slowly.”

As the horse took leisurely steps, Lancel felt Marigold clinging tightly to him.

He could see her ears, which had turned bright red from how scared she was.

“Shall we pick up the pace a little?”

Marigold’s startled scream followed the horse far into the distance.

[Saturday. Learning horseback riding ‘Beginner’ level – Fallow land]

“It’s already been a year.”

In the wheat field that stretched beyond the horizon, weeds grew lushly.

Lancel and Marigold, riding on horseback, wandered around the deserted fallow land for a long time.

He could see Marigold’s hand, which seemed to have become accustomed to riding, following him and grabbing the reins.

==========

—Mastered horseback riding ‘Beginner’ level. Marigold has learned a little about the emotions that horses feel. Together, even a desolate field is not scary.

==========

‘As expected, the protagonist buff.’

She had learned to ride a horse in just two days. And that was someone who couldn’t see. It was a natural talent.

“You’re not asking, huh.”

Lancel’s question, which he blurted out, contained many things.

And Marigold seemed to already know its meaning.

“Because I was happy.”

“About what?”

“That I’m helpful.”

—Master.

“…….”

How many times has Marigold lived her life?

Twenty-second?

No, twenty-third?

Having repeated it dozens of times, she lived a slightly different life each time, and appeared in different forms each time, but there seemed to be something that didn’t change.

But Lancel was different.

He was a human who had lived, confirming the changes in himself each time he opened his eyes anew. He had been whittled down and whittled down until he had become somewhat inorganic.

He had been given an almost infinite amount of time, but he knew that it was only a matter of time before he would gradually forget himself within it.

There had been several times when he felt like he couldn’t take it anymore. That was before he found the ‘answer’ called Marigold.

‘Make Marigold open her eyes.’

It wasn’t for her.

It was purely for Lancel himself.

‘I need you to open your eyes so I can live.’

What would she say if he said that?

“…….”

Lancel somehow felt like he already knew the answer.

“Shall we go back now? I’m getting hungry.”

“Yes.”

11.

The Pilgrimage’s misdeeds were good news for Lancel.

The task he had to do from now on was to plant not just one or two, but as many as 200 Churches of Marigold, that is, Saintess Churches, in this land.

To do that, the only important thing was to make themselves known……marketing, or, to put it more elegantly, ‘missionary work.’

‘Saintess Churches are all the rage these days!’

‘Really? I can’t stand missing out on trends!’

Lancel had struggled to build even 50 churches on his own.

But what if he made them build them themselves?

What if he didn’t have to spend his own money, time, and effort?

At least Lancel felt a possibility.

“The answer is rivalry.”

Lancel was now going to control the Pilgrimage’s emotions.

This would also be useful in the upcoming Imperial Knight Tournament.

There was no better means of missionary work than this.

The Pilgrimage’s campsite was buzzing.

Knights, residents who had volunteered as guides, and Clerics from various orders were packed at the entrance of the forest. They were preparing to subjugate the Monsters that were said to appear in this area.

Their attention was now stolen by two men and women who had suddenly appeared.

A blonde woman.

What was unusual was the pure white blindfold that covered her eyes.

Even though she couldn’t see, she was riding her horse without any hesitation.

Everyone in the Pilgrimage stared at her, seeing a figure they had never seen before.

“What is it?”

The leader of the Pilgrimage, Duke Meriril Dunn, opened his mouth.

“Who are you here for?”

It was the man next to her who answered.

“Is there any other reason to carry a sword into a forest where Monsters appear? Your Grace.”

“It seems the message to reveal your name was not conveyed. You still seem young…….”

“Lancel Dante.”

It was the man who cut off the Duke’s words. The Duke Dunn’s gaze became even more fierce, but he didn’t care at all.

“I am working as a knight at a place called the Church of Marigold. This is Priestess Mary, the head of our church and the head Cleric.”

A buzzing sound spread.

“Is that the Lancel Dante who was said to have come out in the Knight Tournament?”

“There was a country bumpkin from the provinces who passed the preliminaries…….”

“Church of Marigold? What is that? I’ve never even heard of such a name.”

The name Lancel Dante seemed to be well known even among the Pilgrimage.

Mainly with the feeling of ‘a bumpkin from the frontier’ or ‘a small-scale order’s minnow.’

Duke Dunn’s lips twisted.

“We don’t need the help of other orders to deal with Monsters. Leave immediately.”

“Instead of that, please allow us to help. Our Priestess Mary felt a bad premonition last night and urged us to come. Are you really going to turn us away so coldly?”

Duke Dunn’s expression crumpled.

“Bad luck from the start…….”

He wanted to shout at them to get lost.

But the woman, who was supposedly a ‘Cleric,’ felt a sense of foreboding, so he felt uneasy about just sending them back.

They were worshiping the same god, even if they were from different orders.

“I’ll send you back immediately if you get in the way, so keep that in mind.”

“That will never happen, Your Grace.”

“You seem to be all talk. Dante Baron must be having a hard time. Tsk tsk.”

Duke Dunn turned away, clicking his tongue.

He thought that Lancel Dante was as good as useless anyway.

He thought that the Pilgrimage would never be in danger, and that he would never have his achievements stolen by someone like that.

But what went wrong? From the moment they entered the forest, strange things really started happening to the Pilgrimage.

“Cleric Mary, bless me.”

“I bestow the Saintess’s protection upon you.”

Cleric Mary, who had covered her eyes, reached out to Lancel Dante, who was also closing his eyes and gripping his sword.

“Lancel Dante, you are now stronger.”

At the same time, a faint light began to emanate from Lancel Dante’s body.

Magic Power of unknown origin covered his body. It was enough to illuminate the dim forest.

“Ah, this is the Saintess’s protection…….”

Lancel Dante’s expression was filled with joy.

The Pilgrimage could only watch the series of events with bewildered eyes.