She Became the Wicked Sister-In-Law of the Heroine

It had only been a month since she had given birth to her precious daughter, Abigail. Her body had not fully recovered yet, but she was on her way to the cathedral for Abigail's one and only baptism, a significant event in her daughter's life.

‘…I'm upset.’

Rosalyn tightly bit her lips to prevent tears from falling.

It was supposed to be a perfect day. A day when her beloved baby, Abigail, born from the love between her and the man she would love forever, would receive God's blessings. But why did Lucia, Rosalyn’s younger sister from the Chase family, collapse and leave a stain on this day of all days?

The people who should have blessed Abigail's happy future gathered together and only whispered about the incident involving Lucia's collapse. The attention that should rightfully be focused on Abigail was stolen by Lucia. It was a truly upsetting situation.

In retrospect, Rosalyn’s life had always been like this; it was as if fate played dice with her. When she was happily spending time with her one true love, Albert, an unthinkable accident occurred, almost taking him away from her.

And after enduring difficult times and miraculously waking up from that nightmare, she tried to find happiness again by reuniting with Albert, only to have her extended family push her back into this hellish existence, saying,  ‘Divorce is absolutely out of the question.’

Hell. 

Yes, this place was hell for her.

Seamus was a good person, but he wasn't a perfect husband for her.

It was evident even from today's events.

Seamus was startled by Lucia's collapse and left Rosalyn alone, leaving her feeling upset as all the attention was taken away from her. People might think it was natural, but it wasn't for Rosalyn.

If Seamus truly loved her like he always claimed, she should have been his top priority, not Lucia.

It was the same when he returned.

He apologized for not being there to support her during her sister's distress, but he never apologized for the incident that ruined the baptism. Of course, Lucia's collapse was an unavoidable circumstance, so it was difficult to be angry. However, that didn't mean Rosalyn wasn't upset.

She wished he would at least pretend to understand her frustration and join her in criticizing Lucia, who carelessly collapsed.

‘If it were Albert, he wouldn't have acted like this.’

Albert, Rosalyn's one and only love.

He would never have left her feeling lonely.

Instead of rushing to his sister, he would have stayed by Rosalyn's side, comforting her and making sure she wasn't alone. He would have assured her that he would take care of his sister.

That was the difference between Albert and Seamus.

Albert was the kind of person who would disguise himself as a servant and risk danger just to meet Rosalyn.

‘Albert, I miss you so much. I feel like I'll go crazy if I don't see you.’

It hadn't even been a week since she saw Albert, but that one week felt like several years.

As Rosalyn held Seamus's hand and stepped off the carriage, she swallowed back her tears.

***

Outside the window, darkness had fallen, and it was pitch black.

For me, it had been an incredibly long day, and it was finally coming to an end.

"How about staying at the Sado Palace tonight and resting, Lucia?" the Pope asked with a kind voice.

Sado Palace, which had the most splendid and comfortable rooms even compared to this Grand Temple, was a very generous offer, but it felt a bit burdensome.

I wanted to hide the fact that I had been entrusted with something.

If rumors spread that I had stayed at the Sado Palace for a night, it could be troublesome. After all, externally, I was supposed to spend a day at the temple, overseeing things after collapsing at the baptism ceremony. If I were to stay a night not just anywhere, but in the Pope's palace, even someone oblivious would sense that something was being concealed.

When I conveyed this meaning, the Pope simply nodded.

“I didn't consider that. Caroline, please prepare a room for Lucia. It should be prepared without any deficiencies.”

I was worried that she might feel bad about me rejecting her kind offer, but fortunately, she showed no signs of being upset.

Caroline seemed to be an easily impressed person. With a face touched by the fact that the Pope remembered her name, she left to prepare the room.

I was also a little surprised by the fact that someone in such a high position as the Pope knew the name of Caroline, who had just been officially appointed as a priest.

“Would you like to be this old woman's companion while we wait for Caroline to return, drinking a cup of tea?” the Pope asked in a subdued voice.

Although we hadn't known each other for long, I liked this aspect of her.

Honestly, the position of the Pope was like that. Even though it was a position where I couldn't refuse if she simply commanded, “Have tea with me,” the fact that she would ask for my consent with a questioning expression…

“Okay.”

Even someone like me who didn’t easily open up to people nodded in agreement.

And a little while later, three cups of tea were prepared on the table in front of the Pope and me.

“…Is Jerome supposed to join us too?”

Why did he always manage to be there no matter where I went?

I was already in a state where I had indulged in various delusions while walking ahead alone, so facing him was an awkward situation.

However, contrary to my expectations, Jerome quietly listened to the conversation between the Pope and I and drank tea.

Of course, he fumbled with the cup, almost spilling it, or made a clattering sound when he put the cup down. He was a bit scattered, but even that didn't bother us since we weren't having a conversation. At times, I even suspected that he deliberately timed accidents like that. It felt like he was doing it on purpose.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Oh, yes! Of course.”

While watching Jerome clumsily wipe the tea he spilled on the table with a handkerchief, the Pope asked me, “Why are you hiding the fact that you received the trust? It would be easier to announce it publicly and say, 'God warned against committing adultery.”’

I couldn't easily open my mouth to answer her question. It was an unexpected question.

“Um…”

“You can take your time to answer.”

Seeing me in a difficult position, the Pope once again furrowed her brow, creating beautiful wrinkles around her eyes.

Yes, why?

I pondered deeply.

For some reason, I thought it should be kept hidden.

If I went around pretending to be a Saint and said, “God told me to stop cheating!”, would it have been easier to break Rosalyn and Albert's happiness?

However, I was skeptical of that thought.

‘Will it really be that easy?’

No. My thought was, ‘It's unlikely.’

Although I had organized my thoughts, I hesitated to speak. I thought that my answer could be considered very rude by the leader of the temple.

“Just speak comfortably. Forget that I'm the Pope. Just think of it as having a conversation with an ordinary grandmother.”

As if she knew the reason for my hesitation, the Pope chuckled and took a sip of tea.

It was easier said than done. It wasn’t easy to think of the Pope as an ordinary grandmother.

But, gaining courage from her words, I opened my mouth.

“Well, if I reveal that I'm a Saint and convey God's will, do you think people will suddenly realize their mistakes and say, 'Oh, I shouldn't commit adultery'? I don't think so.”

At my firm words, the Pope wore a bitter smile and brought the teacup to her lips again. She seemed parched.

“Even now, the fifth doctrine of the temple clearly states, 'Do not commit adultery,' but hardly anyone follows it. So… I thought I had to change people without revealing God's will… with my own power.”

I gathered courage and spoke up, but the more I talked, the more I lost confidence, and my voice grew smaller. Was it an arrogant thought? I was scared of being presumptuous.

But that's what God had said. He warned repeatedly that humans didn't understand. That's why He entrusted it to me.

I still wasn't sure if I could handle such a big task, but that was my thought.

With my own power.

Not with the power of God, but with the power of humans.

“…I see. You're right.”

The Pope nodded.

The Temple of Terenus had lost its power. They possessed wealth and authority, manipulating emperors at will and exerting influence over every aspect of life, from birth to death, in this empire.

But moral authority had long been lost.

That was my judgment.

“I think I know why He chose Lucia.”

The Pope, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly looked at me with an affectionate gaze and spoke.

Feeling embarrassed for no reason at the sudden praise, I turned my gaze out the window.

The view of the garden of the Grand Temple from the Pope's office was still beautiful, even at night.

***

The morning dawned.

As I opened my eyes in an unfamiliar room, I looked around with sleepy eyes.

Recalling the unbelievably long day I had yesterday, I realized that the grandeur of the temple room was as extravagant as my own room in the Count's manor as if confirming that everything that had happened to me yesterday was real.

After tea time with the Pope last night, I came to this room to get some rest. Since it had been very late at night, discussing what I should do and how to achieve my—and God's—goals were postponed for later.

For now, I decided to sleep and think about it when I woke up. No matter how much of a Saint I was entrusted to be, I was still a human with a human body. I needed to sleep while working.

Just as I was stretching and yawning to loosen my groggy body upon waking up from sleep—

Tap, tap. I heard the sound of someone knocking on the window.