Saint Marigold

5.

Even without sight, Marigold knew when spring arrived. Perhaps because she couldn’t see, she felt the retreat of winter more vividly.

From the moment she was first brought here by Lancel Dante, Marigold didn’t feel fear or unfamiliarity towards him.

Not when his firm palm supported her back, nor when he grasped her shoulder to redirect her when she strayed off course.

Marigold somehow felt at ease with him.

“You mustn’t trust him too much! All the noble men in this Imperial Capital are beasts, beasts!”

“Still…”

“My lady is too trusting. I’m really worried, truly.”

“Hmm.”

It was only natural that Pina’s nightly worries had become like a callus on her ear.

Marigold felt not only no aversion to the noble Lancel Dante but was even unreserved with him.

From Pina’s perspective, it must have seemed as though her mistress was completely infatuated with the wrong man.

“Morning prayers? I’ll go with you, why not.”

Hmm.

“Why? If you’re stifled, go outside for a bit. Even if you can’t see, the air is different.”

Umm.

“Where shall we go next?”

Ummm!

“Lean on me if you’re tired. Why have you been so stiff since earlier?”

That night.

Marigold realized that all she could think about throughout the entire spring was Lancel Dante’s voice, and she buried herself in the blanket.

“I heard he’s from a knight’s family. He hasn’t been here for a year yet, they say?”

Pina seemed puzzled by him as well.

“Anyway, he seems like a unique person. I wonder why he’s so kind to my lady.”

“…I wonder.”

Marigold had nothing to do in this mansion.

Aside from her habitual prayers twice a day, the maids took care of all the laundry and cleaning. She even received help with meals.

It felt like she had returned to her childhood.

“I don’t know much, but isn’t it just nice? It’s much more comfortable than when we were at the Temple.”

“But I can’t do anything for him.”

“Well, Lancel Dante told you. Just relax and do nothing.”

“…Kindness that’s only received is strange.”

It wasn’t just because she had received something or been given conveniences.

She simply wanted to do something for him too.

But there was nothing she could do for Lancel Dante, not with her blindness.

If this kind of life continued, it would remain so.

Marigold felt like she couldn’t bear her uselessness.

“Mary. Would you try using Heal?”

The change came as spring ended and summer approached.

6.

Thinking about it, ‘Heal’ was truly strange. The ability to restore people, compared to that, magic was quite ordinary.

Having lived for hundreds of years in an era where even a needle prick could lead to death if you were unlucky, you couldn’t help but think about its existence in a peculiar way. It felt unbalanced. It felt like a ridiculously noble job even in games.

In fact, Heal existed in this game too. It was definitely there as one of the priest skills called White magic.

But Lancel hadn’t seen anything even remotely like it in the past 200 years.

If something like that existed, Lancel might have become religious by now.

The ability to heal people, wasn’t that the most certain proof of Divinity?

“Ugh!”

“No reaction at all?”

“Ugh…!”

“Don’t you feel like something’s coming out?”

“Ughhhhh…!”

Lancel spent about an hour badgering Mary, who was straining with her palm outstretched towards him, and finally became convinced.

‘As I thought… there’s no way Divinity exists in this world, is there?’

That was the conclusion he reached after seeing Mary collapse onto the bed, having exhausted all her energy trying to squeeze out Heal or whatever it was.

The protagonist of the game, who had been praying for several hours every day for years, couldn’t even use Divinity? Game over. It was as good as proving its non-existence.

“I’m a useless person. I’ll go beg right away.”

“Hmm…”

Lancel looked at the dejected Marigold alone and recalled the memories of the previous playthrough.

That’s right.

Actually, this was the second playthrough that he had brought Mary from the Salvation Church to the mansion.

The dazzling first playthrough had already existed.

.

.

.

The story went back to when Lancel first saw that system notification.

==========

—Fame Event: The ‘Church of Marigold’ has been established for the first time by believers! Your myth begins in earnest from this moment on.

※Marigold’s Karma decreases by 1 point.

==========

‘One point for a church? So, 200 churches?’

It wasn’t like churches were some new coffee brand aiming for 200 stores.

‘I can do it.’

If he had enough money, building 200 churches, while difficult, wasn’t impossible. It was nothing after repeating playthroughs. Lancel felt that things were going too easily.

That was why he immediately had two more churches built in nearby areas.

There was no rule that he had to build extravagant churches, and Lancel was already well-versed in numerous tricks to bring in money. By passing all the responsibility to his future self in 10 years, that is.

“You’ve built them all? Are you sure?”

“I visited and checked several times, Lord Lancel. Are you doubting the Thief Guild that lives by its reputation?”

When the first church was built, bad news came. The notification that Marigold’s Karma had decreased didn’t appear.

‘It wasn’t just about building churches?’

But after another one was built.

==========

—Fame Event: The second church has been established!

※Marigold’s Karma decreases by 1 point.

==========

“Got it!”

“Hick! You startled me!”

Lancel’s voice startled Marigold, who was taking a walk with him.

‘One counts, one doesn’t. What’s the difference?’

Lancel only realized the difference between the two churches after visiting them himself.

“Please give me your blessing.”

“Please help me make a lot of money, Saintess.”

“Please let women flock to me!”

It was the presence or absence of worshipers actually visiting and praying. A church with no visitors was just an abandoned house.

And so, the third church was built again.

“Why isn’t it working this time?”

It was driving him crazy.

It was a church where he had spent a little more money to secure a good location. There were even a dozen or so actual visitors every day. But still, there was no notification that Karma had decreased.

What was different this time? Lancel easily found the difference.

‘Saintess Statue.’

The presence or absence of a statue modeled after the Saintess in the myth.

It was also the difference between Lancel and other Temples that mainly created ‘Goddess Statues.’

He had deliberately avoided making a Saintess Statue, fearing he would be mistaken for a specific religious order, but could that really be the answer?

Lancel quickly had one made and placed inside the church.

==========

—Fame Event: The third church has been established!

※Marigold’s Karma decreases by 1 point.

==========

“That’s it!”

He later learned that even a ‘building’ wasn’t necessary.

Only two things were needed.

1.

Saintess Statue.

2.

Worshippers praying in front of it.

‘Easy?’

He decided.

He would build just a few dozen in one playthrough.

If he repeated that life four or five times, the Karma score would quickly return from 200 to 0.

…Or so he thought.

10 years passed like that.

.

.

.

[Playtime 10 years 0 days]

—Marigold has turned 25 years old.

—No marriage partner.

—No achievements.

[Normal Ending 36. Noble House’s Parasite Marigold]

—The ending has been added to the ‘Album of Memories.’

—Opening the album.

‘A useless life of a parasite.’

Kindness that is only received is embarrassing, but it becomes quite nice once you get used to it.

‘I’m sorry, Lord Lancel, I can’t live without you. In this case, just marry me and make it a fait accompli! Let’s have children together and raise them! No more, no less, three daughters and four sons, just seven children! Yes, right now!’

You can’t live like this, Marigold!

[Normal Ending. Noble House’s Parasite Marigold – fin]

—Would you like to restart the game?

.

.

.

==========

—Permanent Damage: Marigold has lost her eyesight in both eyes.

※Marigold’s Karma score has been reset from 163 to 200.

==========

The Karma score returned to its original state.

‘Don’t play tricks and build all 200 within 10 years.’

The system was telling him that.

“Haha.”

He just laughed.

7.

“I’m a useless person. I’ll go beg right away.”

“Hmm…”

In front of Lancel, who had finished reminiscing, was Marigold, collapsed and exhausted from trying to squeeze out ‘Heal.’

If.

If she.

What if the ability called Heal had manifested in her?

200 churches? That wouldn’t have been a problem. Everyone who witnessed the miracle of healing the injured would worship Marigold. She might have founded a huge religion and spread it across the continent. Yes, within 10 years.

But that was impossible.

‘Hoping for a fantasy is foolish.’

Lancel had already built seven ‘Saintess Churches’ in this playthrough as well. With the Empire’s permission.

But building 200 in 10 years was impossible. He needed something much more groundbreaking.

“Young master.”

“Come in.”

Hesti entered with a knock.

“There’s a visitor outside.”

“Who is it?”

“They say they’re from the Holy Knights Order of the Martyrdom Church.”

Holy Knights Order?

“They came to recommend you participate in the Pilgrimage. It seems they found out that you’ve been building churches, young master. What should we do?”

Lancel’s eyes lit up.

‘Pilgrimage.’

A procession of clerics who claimed to be skilled with swords, going around defeating monsters, bandits, traitors, and demons.

Of course, Lancel had no intention of participating in it.

“Tell them I’m not here.”

“Understood.”

Monsters, bandits, traitors, and demons were all just pretexts. In reality, they were a procession of fanatics who stirred up trouble everywhere, causing war and plunder, and turning the Empire into a wasteland.

Lancel had met the Pilgrimage guys a few times when he lived in the countryside. They were nothing more than thugs. Thugs who didn’t listen to reason.

Naturally, fear of religion soared during this period, and faith had the opposite effect, plummeting to the bottom.

Fighting them was something even Lancel didn’t want to do. Who would stop a Pilgrimage approved by the Emperor?

They were a genuine natural disaster with both God and imperial authority behind them. Unless you were planning to fight the entire Empire, you had to avoid them.

Every region the Pilgrimage stepped on would turn into hell.

That’s when it happened.

‘Wait.’

Suddenly, lightning struck Lancel’s head.

“Mary.”

Lancel raised Marigold’s upper body, which had been lying down. He looked into her opaque silver eyes.

“I need your help.”

“Me… a parasite like me, you mean?”

“On the contrary, it has to be you.”

Marigold’s expression changed blankly. Lancel continued in a more serious voice than ever.

“From now on, you will stand in the heavens, Mary.”