A Saint Who Was Adopted by the Grand Duke

It was a miracle to the servants.

“Oh, my God…!”

“Ha, haha. How is that a serpent?”

It was such a mysterious sight that one couldn’t do anything other than admire.

It appeared Esther was controlling the snake. This made some frightened, and some mystified.

Esther walked toward Hans as she carried the snake that was residing in the basket.

The eyes of the servants stood terrified as the small girl approached the injured man. Those who were taking care of Hans stumbled and stepped backward.

Esther agonized over the sight.

‘Should I just leave it like this?’

They were already scared.

The people Esther had experienced so far betrayed her just because she was a little different from them. When they found her weakness, they unhesitantly used it to their advantage.

If she used and showed her strength here, her life may be ruined.

So, she could just pretend to be ignorant, and let Hans pass away.

But if left unchecked, Hans was likely to die soon. As was said, the arrogant doctors who treated only the members of the Tersia family weren’t likely to come running for a mere servant.

It was probable Hans would stay like this and then soon breathe his last.

‘…I can’t help it.’

Esther sighed and crouched beside Hans.

As such, she couldn’t turn a blind eye to the person who was nice to her.

‘This is the price for the donuts.’

As she thought so, Esther grabbed Hans’s stubby foot. The bite mark from the snake had already become helplessly rotten.

Esther gently closed her eyes and concentrated her hands.

She never learned how to use the power of a saint, but just thinking about treating this man was enough to activate her abilities.

Swaa–

A warm light extended from Esther’s hand and enveloped Hans’s leg.

Then, most shockingly, his wound began to heal. The venom of the snake could not stand against Esther’s mana. The poison purified in an instant.

Hans’s pale complexion had also returned to its usual color. He immediately came to his senses and blinked blankly.

“Ah, why are you… No, I got bitten by a serpent? What happened..?”

“It’s alright now.”

Esther smiled at Hans as he regained consciousness.

As Esther glanced around and fiddled with her fingers, everyone had distanced themselves from her.

It was a gaze that didn’t work against her expectations. She was a bit disheartened to see the fear in the eyes of those who had kindly accepted her as a lady.

“Give me the snake. I’ll take it.”

“But the danger… No, but still…”

Esther grabbed the basket from the feeble servant.

The snake was incredibly quiet for one who had just made a fuss.

She even poked her head out to peek at Esther and flicked her tongue cutely.

Esther clutched the basket and quickly entered the mansion.

After Esther’s presence completely disappeared, the servants let out their breaths.

“Ha, have you all seen it? The young lady…”

“Yes. I was really surprised.”

“It seemed as if the snake could understand her.”

The servants shook their heads, the aftermath of the sudden shock unable to leave their faces.

“Is that all? She even healed Hans’ decaying leg.”

“Is that possible?”

The sensitive atmosphere was rather heavy. No one was able to speak out and only glanced at each other.

A child who could deal with poisonous snakes that even adults feared, and the ability to heal deadly poison with one simple gesture.

The servants were frightened of what had happened.

It was then.

While everyone glanced at each other, Hans stood up, clearly irked by their nervous appearance.

“So what? I lived thanks to My Lady.”

Hans’s face was filled with dry tear stains.

The servants who noticed him felt awkward. They had forgotten for a moment due to the shock, but once again recalled Hans’s life and death situation.

“Hey, are you all right?”

“Yes. Look at my legs. How are they?”

The kitchen staff gathered around Hans.

He rolled up his pants and showed off his healthful legs.

“It’s as if nothing happened. I feel like running now.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. It’s like… It’s similiar to the healing power we’re only ever heard of, right?”

“This is remarkably astonishing. It was rather a blessing to see the pain go away as soon as her hands touched your legs.”

Hans placed his hands on his chest, claiming that he was overwhelmed every time he thought about it.

“What would have happened if My Lady didn’t lend a hand?”

Hans answered someone’s question in a serious tone.

“I’d be dead. There was no way anyone could cure me. Not to mention the cost of the treatment. I would have died from the pain.”

If Esther hadn’t helped, Hans would have been dead. The servants soon realized this fact.

“….But I couldn’t even say thank you.”

The solemn servants bowed their heads and reflected on the attitude they had shown.

They had been so scared that they didn’t thank their Lady. Hopefully, Esther didn’t feel hurt.

“She was the one who took action.”

“That’s right. My lady could have just passed by, yet she came to help.”

Few owners reached out their hands to a mere servant.

“She always enjoyed the food we made.”

“Especially dessert! How lovely did she smile whenever I handed her a snack.”

The servants simultaneously recalled Esther’s beaming face.

Esther had very few facial expressions. However, it was different when she ate dessert. She couldn’t hide her expression and a happy smile filled her face.

Thanks to Esther, the kitchen staff had felt invincible.

Darwin, Judy, and Dennis made little response to any food. It was inconceivable that food would cause emotional changes to them.

That’s why Esther was even more precious. Thanks to Esther, who always ate deliciously, the atmosphere in the kitchen changed.

Esther gave them the pleasure of cooking. She was the joy of the kitchen staff.

The servants fully realized that Esther’s ability changed nothing about her.

Esther was Esther, their precious little Lady.

“You know what? I’m making her the most delicious dessert to present my gratitude.”

“Alright! Then I’ll bake her a chiffon cake.”

“I’ll prepare a tart filled with fruit. Last time, she enjoyed the egg tart.”

“Donuts cannot be left out.”

Everyone clenched their fists with enthusiasm. They were going to head back to the kitchen and make dessert for Esther this instant.

“Hans, you have to say thank you properly later.”

“Of course.”

Bright smiles returned to the servants’ faces.

“By the way, My Lady, she was cool.”

“Hm. In one glance, the serpent was suppressed and the wound was healed. I thought she was gentle, but I change my mind.”

“It’s fortunate to be able to serve such a great Lady.”

“I agree.”

Their eyes filled with pride as they thought of Esther.

** ━━━━━━━⋅•⋅⊰∙∘༓∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ ━━━━━━━**

Around the same time,

Dennis had been reading a book in his study, only to be led to the window at the sudden disturbance. There, he witnessed the whole situation.

After Esther’s back disappeared while she carried the snake, Dennis also drew his curtain and returned to his seat.

“Woah, Esther is no joke.”

Dennis’s mouth was filled with a pleasant smile.

“Controlling snakes and healing power…”

He heard that there were people who are exceedingly good at dealing with snakes, but he never knew that it was a special ability.

Dennis placed his chin on his hand and was soon lost in thought. He was recalling the passage of a book he had looked over before.

Then, something came to mind. Dennis jumped from his seat and headed to the bookshelf. There were many books at a height that he couldn’t reach, so he stepped on the ladder and climbed up.

Dennis’s fingers skimmed through the books, only to stop at the very one he wanted.

「The history of the temple」

The whole section was filled with temple-related books. Dennis pulled out all the books from the shelf and moved them to his desk.

Dust lay on the books as they had not been touched for a long time. Dennis swept the dust away with a cloth.

He placed on his glasses and focused on the text. He was so focused that he didn’t even blink.

It was only after an hour that Dennis’s moving finger halted.

“Found it.”

His eyes glistened as he swept the passage of the book. He began to read aloud.

“Saints have the ability to communicate with animals. Therefore, as they could interface with any species, even bears or poisonous snakes could easily be tamed.”

His head remained confused, even now that he found what he was looking for.

Dennis searched further through the other books with the keyword ‘Saint.’ Fortunately, descriptions of the saint could be found frequently here and there.

“Their healing ability is incomparable to that of a temple priest. It is also possible to revive a dying person, and it is a simple task to treat a person with an infectious disease. However, excessive use of healing powers is known to reduce life force.”

Also,

“When the hand of the saint reaches out, flowers grow to be in full bloom in a day.”

“The eyes of a saint as they use divine power turn a golden color.”

After finding various descriptions, there was nothing more to look into.

Many of the features in the book indicated Esther was a saint. There was no doubt as everything was witnessed by Dennis himself.

“Esther is a saint.”

Dennis placed his hand on his temple. His mind was complicated.

‘Does father know?’

No, he wouldn’t.

It didn’t make sense for him to just bring the saint from the temple through adoption.

No matter how on bad terms he was with the temple, Darwin wasn’t someone who would commit such nonsense.

There was another strange question.

The Saint was already established within the empire. There had never been a history with two saintly women appearing.

“It’s complicated.”

Dennis continued muttering to himself and headed back to the bookshelf. This time, he pulled out all the books related to the temple in the history of the Empire.