CHAPTER 235: THE NOT-SO-HOLY SAINTESS

"Please, be careful! It’ll take you a long time to recover if you get hurt!"

"Why would I care about my health right now?!"

Elarion swatted away the hands trying to hold him back and immediately dropped to the floor, crawling toward Primrose like a man possessed.

Primrose’s eyes widened in shock, terrified, because the priest was crawling like a demon emerging straight from the depths of hell.

"Your Majesty, is it true?!" he cried out, trembling all over as he stopped right in front of her. "DID THE MOON GODDESS REALLY SPEAK TO YOU?!"

Primrose winced, her brows drawing together at the sheer volume of his voice. It was so loud that she actually saw a crack forming on her teacup.

How in the world could someone shout that loudly?

"Y-yes..." she answered softly, blinking a few times to stop the ringing in her ears. "The Moon Goddess spoke to me when His Majesty and I were about to pray."

[Impossible! This can’t be happening!]

Just like Edmund had been, the priests were utterly shocked, but their reactions were far more dramatic than his.

Suddenly, Elarion grabbed her hands and held them so tightly, Primrose honestly thought he was about to crush her bones.

"Your Majesty! No one has ever received this much of the Moon Goddess’s blessing before! This ... this is a once-in-a-lifetime miracle!"

To her surprise, he began crying. His tears fell like a river bursting through a dam, pouring down his cheeks without shame.

The other priests followed suit, and before she knew it, they were all weeping together. Not just their eyes, but their hearts seemed to be crying too.

[WHYYYY? WHY WAS I SO STUPID?!]

[WE ALMOST KILLED OUR HOLY SAINTESS!]

[We should die to atone for our sins against her! WHERE IS THE DAMN KNIFE?! I WILL OFFER MY BLOOD FOR THE NEW SAINTESS AND THE MOON GODDESS!]

Primrose stared at them in disbelief. Why was self-sacrifice the first thing that came to their minds?!

These beasts seriously needed to stop thinking death was the answer to everything!

"WE’RE SORRY FOR OUR NEGLIGENCE, YOUR HOLINESS!"

They slammed their foreheads against the floor, bowing in deep submission before Primrose.

Primrose’s eyes grew even wider. She immediately descended from her seat, completely startled. "What ... what are you doing?!"

Wait a second.

Did they just call her ... Your Holiness?!

There was nothing holy about her!

"WHY ARE YOU SITTING ON THE FLOOR, YOUR HOLINESS?!"

In a blur of movement, the priests picked her up and gently placed her back in the chair before she even realized what was happening.

"THE FLOOR IS TOO FILTHY FOR YOU!"

"JUST AS WE THOUGHT, YOUR HOLINESS IS TOO HUMBLE! YOU WANT TO SHOW US THAT YOU SEE YOURSELF AS OUR EQUAL!"

"BUT WE’RE NOT EQUAL, YOUR HOLINESS! WE WOULD GLADLY SACRIFICE OUR BODIES AND SOULS FOR YOU!"

Primrose leaned back slightly, closing her eyes as the priests kept shouting at her like a chorus of overexcited cult followers.

Her ears began ringing again, and she was starting to regret ever saying anything in the first place.

Just when one of them inhaled—probably to start screaming again—Edmund finally stepped in

He positioned himself between her and the priests, like a wall standing between her and not just danger, but also unbearably loud noises.

"Stop yelling at my wife!" he snapped, raising his voice just enough to command attention. "Don’t you know she has a condition? If anyone yells too close to her, it hurts her heart!"

The priests gasped loudly. It was as if someone had just told them frogs could grow wings and fly into the sky.

"WE APOLOGIZE, YOUR HOLIN—"

"I said stop yelling at her!" Edmund snapped, cutting them off mid-sentence.

The eldest priest furrowed his brows, and his eyes lit up with something intense.

Was he ... angry? At Edmund? For interrupting their dramatic apology?

"Your Majesty," he whispered, though it somehow still sounded like he was shouting quietly, "you’re also speaking too loud! Let’s all just whisper from now on."

Primrose let out a soft hiss of breath as she heard the priest boldly telling the mighty Lycan King to lower his voice. But honestly, what was going through their minds was even worse than what they said aloud.

[If the Moon Goddess has truly chosen Her Holiness as her saintess, doesn’t that mean she’s supposed to live in the temple now?]

[She must not touch anything impure! Wait ... does touching the Lycan King count as impure?]

[Of course it does! Just look at the way he stares at her, those eyes are full of desire and sinful lust!]

[Poor Her Holiness! Her husband is clearly way too ... indecent for her!]

Primrose nearly choked on her own saliva.

Alright, yes, Edmund was a pervert. But she liked it! Actually, she loved it!

If being the saintess meant she couldn’t enjoy her husband’s big di—well, let’s say affection, then she would gladly never step foot in the Moon Goddess’s temple again!

She would never leave her husband. Not now. Not ever.

Not even if the Moon Goddess herself descended and told her to give up his big d—love. Yes, love. That’s what she meant.

She was not going to give up her husband and the big love he gave her every night!

"Reverend Fathers," Primrose finally spoke up.

She stood from her chair and slowly looked at each of them from beside her husband. "I don’t think it’s right for you to recognize me as a saintess."

"The Moon Goddess didn’t speak to me today to assign me some sacred duty, or to demand that I preserve my purity just for her."

Her words were soft, but they struck like a bell in a silent room. All the priests stiffened, none of them even dared to blink.

She stepped out from behind Edmund, walking slowly toward them with a sweet, serene smile.

"The Moon Goddess only wanted to tell me that the bond I share with my husband is far stronger than we imagined."

"She gave her blessing to our marriage."

Elarion and the other priests gasped again, this time even more dramatically than before, as if they’d just heard frogs could not only fly but also split themselves into a hundred clones.

Seriously, why did she keep thinking about frogs today?

Still, their reaction was ... unbelievably theatrical.

"This ... this is the first time I’ve ever heard of the Moon Goddess personally blessing a married couple," Elarion said in awe.

"Many have climbed the thousand steps of the temple, yet none have received such a divine gift as you, Your Holiness."

Primrose’s eye twitched slightly every time she heard them call her that. "Please ... don’t call me that," she said, her voice still gentle. "It feels like I’m insulting the Moon Goddess just by being compared to something sacred. I’m not holy at all."