Episode 1: Adoption of the Sinner Saint

“Why can’t you do it properly again!!”

“─ Ugh!!”

Fiene was slammed onto the cold floor of the underground dungeon, and the priest trampled on her face and hair, reminiscent of the deep sea.

The slow, dull pain intensified further under his shoe.

“I apologize, Father. I won’t fail next time.”

“A saint with low mystical power like you won’t attract any engagement proposals!”

The trampling foot gradually descended to her chest, and Fiene grimaced in pain. Born with a large, congested red mark on her chest, she was disliked by the priest and other saintesses because of it.

After giving her body a final kick, the priest left the underground dungeon, locking it with a padlock.

Fiene was once again destined to spend her days in the dungeon.

Her daily routine involved cleaning the church and doing yard work from morning until night. Her meals consisted only of a soup with a few crumbs of bread at night. At night, she had to sleep in the cold and bleak dungeon without blankets or a bed.

Fiene’s mistreatment was not only because of the mark on her chest but also because of an incident ten years ago.

One winter night, while fervently praying to the goddess statue to amplify her mystical power, Fiene, in need of light, lit a candle. When she went outside to fetch the mystical water to offer with her prayers, the candle ignited the decrepit wooden floor of the chapel. In reality, her saintess friend, who had been reading the Bible with her, had dozed off and dropped the candle, causing the fire. Fiene knew this upon returning from fetching water.

Although the chapel was completely destroyed, both Fiene and her friend managed to escape unharmed.

However, the problem arose afterward. The false testimony of Fiene’s friend, who had exceptionally high mystical power, claiming “Fiene dropped the candle,” was believed more than Fiene’s truthful testimony. From that day on, Fiene, branded as the “Sinner Saint,” was confined to the underground dungeon.

Recently, she was supposed to be bought by a viscount as a mistress, but her engagement was canceled when he accidentally saw the mark on her chest and felt repulsed.

While many nobles sought to acquire her simply because she was a saint, Fiene was never bought for various reasons.

Some claimed she had a bad personality; others said she had an unattractive figure; and the worst was when a noble didn’t take her home because he didn’t like Fiene’s emerald-colored eyes.

Despite these unpleasant experiences, Fiene felt grateful just to be taken in compared to the days of oppression at the church.

The priest also hoped for the early departure of the sinful and failed saint.

At that time, a certain noble came to buy Fiene.

Since the priest had never seen this noble around, he carefully inquired to avoid offending the newcomer.

“Excuse me, but may I ask which noble you are, sir?”

“I am Oswald Erze. I would like to buy the saintess named Fiene here.”

“What?! Lord Erze?!”

“Oh, should I show you some identification?”

Saying so, he took out a badge with a crest from his pocket, and the priest was astonished to the point of almost collapsing. He hurriedly ran to the underground dungeon, where Fiene was.

“Fiene!!!”

“Yes, Father.”

“You have a buyer. It’s none other than Lord Erze!! The cousin of the crown prince! Make sure not to mess up!!”

“Y-Yes…!”

Fiene was forcefully pulled out of the underground dungeon with her thin arms and presented directly in front of Oswald.

“I am Fiene. Is this place alright for you?!”

“Yeah, she’ll do.”

“Thank you!! Uh, about the payment…”

“Will this be enough?”

After confirming the contents of the bag, the priest involuntarily prostrated himself at the unexpected wealth.

“Thank you very much! Please take care of Fiene!”

“Yeah.”

Fiene squinted her eyes in the sunlight and looked up at Oswald. She thought his milk-tea-colored, fluffy hair looked incredibly comfortable.

“Shall we go, Fiene?”

“Yes.”

Oswald took Fiene’s dirty hand and invited her into the carriage. It was her first time on a carriage, and Fiene couldn’t hide her confusion. Oswald gently embraced her, lifting her into the carriage.

“Lord Erze?!”

“Oswald.”

“Huh?”

“Call me Oswald.”

“…Lo…Lord Oswald.”

Blushing, Fiene called out his name, and he softly kissed the back of her hand, pledging his love.

“From today on, you are my wife. The rare-blooded saint, Fiene.”

“Rare-bloo…?”

Hearing unfamiliar words and gazing into the sapphire-blue eyes that looked at her with sweetness, Fiene fell into a strange sensation.