<Chapter 3>

*  *  *

The title of the novel I found myself in was The World That Lost Its God. Just from the title, I’d had a feeling. This definitely wasn’t going to be a comforting, feel-good story. 

But still, I’d been lured in by the beautiful cover art and ended up clicking on it… only to quit around Chapter 70. There wasn’t even a hint of romance between the main leads, and the plot was painfully frustrating, like trying to breathe through a pillow.  

‘Honestly, the genre was more escape room than romance.’ 

Anyway. My character, Inosensia, had a very specific role in the story. To put it simply, she was a prop to make the infamous “Monster Duke” seem even more terrifying.  

‘She’d rather die than marry that monster of a duke, so she took her own life. Though, rumor has it, he murdered her.’

Which means that, if the novel’s events were to proceed as written, “Inosensia” should’ve died the moment she jumped from that high place. She did die… but then my soul entered her body and brought her back to life. And that was the problem. 

Why a problem? Because after the third bride candidate dies, the emperor sends the fourth candidate up north.  

The heroine, Beatrice. 

The story only really begins once she sets foot in the north as the fourth candidate.  

‘But because I’ve come back to life in this body, Beatrice won’t even be able to make her debut.’

I had to get to the chapel, if only to ask how in the world I was supposed to clean up this mess. 

But…

“The chapel? Oh… the chapel…” 

Alice seemed strangely uneasy.  

“Wait, don’t tell me… there isn’t a chapel here?”  

“Well… there is a chapel… but… I’m just not sure if it’s proper for someone of your standing to be brought there. Could you wait just a moment?” 

Well, that was only to be expected. It had barely been two hours since the head butler had left me in my chambers with orders to stay put. No wonder Alice was flustered, saying she needed to get permission first.  

But hold on, what if they don’t let me go?

Well, then…  

I’ll just lie down and wait till they let me, I guess.

Did Alice somehow catch on to my resolution?  

About an hour later, she finally returned, fortunately with the head butler’s permission. She wasn’t alone, though.  

“The chapel is quite rundown, so… for your safety, you must go with an escort.”  

“We will ensure the prospective duchess’s safe passage.”  

Apparently, they had no intention of leaving my side, judging by the two knights glowering at me with fierce eyes. But I didn’t even blink.  

Ha. Go ahead, stare a hundred times over. I won’t die from it.

Judging by their blatant hostility, it seems they want to scare me into submission. Too bad. My mentality has been tempered so many times that it’s long since evolved into titanium.

Not that I won’t get my revenge, though!

Just you wait until the tables turn. I’ll make sure to make you pay with interest!

*  *  *

Honestly, I thought Alice’s reason was just an excuse. The part about the chapel being in a “dilapidated state.”  

I figured that was just an excuse to put a watch on me. 

“This… is the chapel?”  

“Y-yes… It’s, well… a bit shabby, isn’t it?”  

I couldn’t bring myself to offer polite reassurances, not even out of courtesy. Words like “dilapidated” and “shabby” felt too generous. This was practically a ruin. The ceiling had holes punched all over, the walls and floor tiles were cracked and broken. 

At least the statue of God, standing about my height, was intact—but just barely. It was mossy, broken in parts, and covered in dust and cobwebs.

Anyone able to feel God’s grace here? Certainly not me.  

The reason the male lead turned into a monster…

Could it be that he’d incurred God’s wrath? If you look at this mess, even the kindest, most compassionate God would be hard-pressed to keep their cool.  

“Since I’ve lost my memory… I’m asking sincerely because I really don’t know… but don’t people here pray at the chapel?” 

The man who answered my question was one of the two knights, the dark-haired one.  

“They can’t.”  

“Can’t pray? You mean, they just don’t?”  

“Yes. There are no priests here, not in Winstein or anywhere in the north.”  

What was that supposed to mean?  

“No priests means… you can’t pray at all?”  

“Isn’t that obvious? I didn’t expect a candidate for the saintess to be this clueless.”  

“Didn’t Dr. William tell you? I have amnesia, remember?”  

“Oh, right. That backstory.”  

Both knights were blatantly treating me like a scam artist. When I narrowed my eyes at them, Alice whispered to me in an attempt to smooth things over.  

“Without a priest to carry the voices of the faithful to God, prayer would be meaningless.”  

Now that I thought about it, I vaguely recalled reading something similar in the novel.  

Priests needed a pendant to offer prayer.

When Beatrice first arrived in the north, she lost hers while attempting to escape and couldn’t pray at all…  

Wait.  

Then wouldn’t I need a pendant, too? 

I unconsciously reached up to feel around my neck, but there was nothing there. So I turned to Alice and asked,

“Was there a pendant among my belongings?”

“A pendant? I’m not sure… Should I go and check?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll look for it later.”

Whether it works or not, I’ve come this far, so I might as well try praying. …but first, I should probably clean up.

I sighed, taking in the rundown chapel around me.

“Before I pray, I’d like to clean this place up a bit. Where can I find some cleaning supplies?”

“Pardon? Are you saying you want to do it, Prospective Duchess?”

They all looked at me with wide eyes, but if I don’t do it myself, who else is going to?

“This, too, is a service for God.”

My flimsy excuse seemed convincing enough, as Alice nodded.

“Just a moment. I’ll go get the cleaning supplies right away.”

Alice and I each grabbed a rag and a broom and began cleaning the filthy chapel. 

Surprisingly, the two knights, who seemed like they’d just stand by and watch, hesitated before stepping forward.

“…Please, let us do it.”

Ah, so they’re feeling guilty about Alice having to work because of me?

I can’t miss this opportunity!

Before Alice could turn them down, I flashed a bright smile and quickly moved in front of the knights.

“Wow, thank you! Then, could you take this rag and clear the cobwebs up there? And you, could you take this broom and…”

Before they had a chance to change their minds, I pressed a rag and a broom into their hands and even assigned them areas to clean. The knights grimaced, but unable to back out now, they reluctantly went to their designated spots.

Hmm, good, good.

The difference in pace was like night and day compared to when it was just the two of us women cleaning. With two big, sturdy men pitching in, the chapel was shaping up quickly. Pleased with the steadily improving state of the chapel, I grabbed a rag and approached the statue.

Let’s see… Will a rag even work on this?

Gripping the rag, I scrubbed away at a mossy spot, managing to make a bit of it come off.

“I’ll help you, Prospective Duchess,” Alice said, joining in after finishing the windows.

Thanks to her, we managed to get the statue cleaned up in no time. It was still pretty broken in places, so it was hard to make out its original form, but it seemed to depict a goddess.

“The statue’s a wreck, but at least the oracle tablet is still intact.”

“Oracle tablet?”

“You don’t… know, right. I almost forgot,” Alice said as she scrubbed a rectangular tablet lying at the base of the statue. “When a pious priest asks a question of God, the answer is supposed to appear on this tablet.”

“……Really?”

Suddenly, an idea hit me.

So… I can just do that, right?

As a candidate for saintess, surely God would grant me an answer too.

Guess coming here was the right call.

After finishing the final touch on the dusty statue, I turned to the knights with a smile of gratitude.

“I’ll be sure to tell God how much you’ve done in service today. Please wait just a moment.”

“There’s no need for that. Just make it brief,” the red-haired knight replied, looking tired.

He didn’t even seem pleased at the prospect of having his good deeds highlighted to God.

I get it now. No wonder this chapel’s in such bad shape—looks like no one around here’s very pious.

Come to think of it, in the novel, Beatrice had referred to the North as “the land of sinners.” 

Though the reason wasn’t clear, it seemed something must have happened in the past here.

If I’d known, I wouldn’t have dropped the story halfway and skipped to the ending. Should’ve stuck with it all the way through.

There was no point in regrets now, though. I knelt respectfully in front of the oracle tablet, clasped my hands, and closed my eyes.

Dear God, can you hear me? I’m sure you can. By the way, was that novel I read something you wrote? I apologize for the negative review and for stopping halfway. Please forgive me.

But honestly, was what I wrote really all that negative?

I mean, I didn’t say it was boring. I just politely complained as a reader—how could you kill both the male lead and heroine and end with the world’s destruction?

God, don’t you think that ending was a bit too much? I’ll put in the effort, so maybe… could you give me a hint on how to prevent the world from ending…

“Oh, my heavens! Prospective Duchess! Lady Inosensia!”

“What?”

At Alice’s shocked cry, I opened my eyes, and I was just as surprised as she was.

The oracle tablet that Alice had mentioned—the one that displays answers to pious priests—was glowing with a pure, white light, with words appearing on its surface.

BEST
LowSun

I knew it was suspicious when they offered a sudden way out… Turns out it was all a ploy by the Emperor.

Not only was it familiar…

Um, excuse me. 

Why is this showing up here?
 

<To be continued>

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