Chapter 84

The next afternoon, I sighed deeply while my gaze fell upon a thick book in my room.

"What is the power of love...?"

"Isn't that line embarrassing?"

"Be quiet."

As I scolded the impolite Evan who was standing by my side, I gently closed the book.

I thought I had gone through all the literature on the holy maiden, but there was nothing written about the "power of love," which is said to be the trigger for the holy maiden's awakening.

-- Rarely in this world does a holy maiden appear, like Lady Rosaline Winslett, who was the former duchess and the mother of Lord Zain and Mariabel.

However, there was no literature found that explained how a holy maiden awakens or how a person is chosen to become one.

Since the story has changed significantly because Zain and I are together, it's possible that the future developments will also change.

However, despite the discrepancies in the timeline, various events have occurred as they did in the novel, so there's no guarantee that the war won't happen.

"Charlotte was supposed to awaken when the Zedonic Kingdom invaded."

When she wished to save the injured Zain, Charlotte manifested the power of the holy maiden.

Still, if Charlotte, who is supposed to save the world, doesn't awaken her holy maiden powers, it will be a problem. But if there's no future where Zain and I can be in love, I need to find another way.

"..."

I know it's a selfish wish, but I can't give up either.

I still don't know what the golden light was that saved me when I was in a dangerous state after being exposed to miasma when I destroyed the magical artifact.

And there's more that worries me.

"There's also the tea party at Lady Clive's house next week."

"Yes, that's also a heavy burden..."

I don't understand why Charlotte, who has hardly had any interaction with me, invited me to a private tea party at her home.

Given our significant social status difference, such a sudden invitation would be considered rude.

Most of all, from the look on her face when she misunderstood that Zain and I were kissing, it was clear that she has feelings for Zain.

I decided to attend to find clues about the holy maiden's power and to learn more about Charlotte and her intentions, but I'm really dreading it.

I never imagined that the heroine of my favorite work might become my love rival.

"Pa pi po pu...?"

"Thank you, Haniwa-chan."

Haniwa-chan, who was sitting on the table, seemed to notice my worries and hugged my finger tightly with a worried look.

My heart fluttered at her cuteness, and I patted her head with my other hand.

"Only a holy maiden can purify the miasma, right?"

"Yes, definitely."

Evan, who was standing by my side and flipping through the book listlessly, nodded immediately.

If that's the case, the light I saw back then might have been the power of the holy maiden. Since Charlotte wasn't there, it's also possible that it was the power of Zain, the protagonist of the novel.

"If I could figure out what that light was, it might give me a clue..."

"Maybe you're the holy maiden, Lady."

"Stop it, that's impossible."

As I chuckled at Evan's joke, a knock echoed in the room.

"Milady, Lady Mariabel is here."

"Thank you, I'll go right away."

I replied to Yana and stood up, heading to the entrance hall.

Since Zain has been busy, I told him I would stop visiting the ducal mansion this week, and Mariabel said she wanted to visit my house.

I love Mariabel so much that I would want to see her every day, so I readily agreed.

"Hello, Grace! "

"Welcome, Mariabel. You're the cutest in the world today."

I hugged the angelically lovely Mariabel tightly, and she immediately hugged me back, saying, "I'm so happy," making my heart melt.

When I led her to my room because she wanted to see Haniwa-chan, Haniwa-chan, who loves Mariabel, immediately jumped on her.

"Pa pi pa! Pe pu!"

"Hehe, you're so cute. Actually, I brought some clothes for Haniwa-chan today."

The sight of the two of them getting along so well was so adorable that I couldn't help but smile.

We then had tea and chatted leisurely.

Recently, Mariabel has been able to eat not only what she makes but also what the ducal mansion's head chef prepares, which is really good.

"Pe?"

"That's perfect! It fits perfectly!"

Mariabel had brought clothes for Haniwa-chan and was putting a pink frilly dress on her. Haniwa-chan seemed happy and was jumping around, which was really cute.

"You look like a princess."

"Haha, how could she look so un—Ouch!"

"You look so cute! I'm so happy for you, Haniwa-chan."

I elbowed Evan hard to stop her from ruining the heartwarming moment.

Haniwa-chan, who was hopping around, seemed to want to see herself and eventually stood on a shelf near the mirror.

As I watched her with a smile, Mariabel suddenly said, "Ah."

"Milady, were you researching the holy maiden?"

"Ah..."

On the shelf where Haniwa-chan was standing, the books about the holy maiden that I had been reading earlier were stacked.