I Became the Substitute for the Runaway Heroine - Chapter 54

“Hnnng… Mother.”

Just like in the portrait that hung in the temple of the Hoan District, her mother in her youth was dazzlingly beautiful.

Dressed in a gown as white as snow, her honey-golden hair sparkled and fluttered with every breeze.

“It’s the High Saintess!”

“Please, bless us!”

“I beg you—please save our child!”

Her mother waved gracefully at the crowd pressing forward, her smile warm and radiant.

But no one could reach her.

She stood far above them, out of reach. Below the platform, knights stood guard, wielding spears, their fearsome eyes blocking the throng from coming any closer.

“Mother…”

Odette could only shed tears as she gazed at her mother, unable to bridge the distance no matter how far she stretched out her hand.

Suddenly, the space around her warped, colors melted into each other, and the scene changed.

‘Where… is this?’

Inside a prison cell devoid of light, her mother knelt, clad in ash-stained clothes.

The torch on the wall flickered, close to extinguishing.

A chilling clank of iron echoed as the heavy door at the basement’s entrance creaked open.

At the approaching footsteps, Odette instinctively hid.

“Herah…”

A man wearing a red cloak called out her mother’s name—the familiar nickname.

“Give up the child. Then I’ll return the Staff of the Saint.”

“……”

“Don’t be stubborn, Herah. Without the Staff, you won’t be able to control your divine power. You’ll die… and so will the child. What will that achieve?”

“Brich, my child will live.”

Her mother’s voice was calm, carrying neither resentment nor hatred.

“My daughter will grow into a beautiful lady, revered as the noblest being. She holds the power to defeat evil.”

Her mother’s eyes shifted past the man called Brich, settling on Odette, hidden in the darkness.

Ah… this was her mother’s memory.

Yet Odette couldn’t comprehend how she had entered her late mother’s memory.

No… perhaps, as someone who could foresee the future, her mother had left behind a message for the child she would one day bear.

From one High Saintess to the next.

From mother to daughter… the message was simple.

“Odette… I love you, my darling. I’m sorry I left you to grow up alone. But your trials ended with my death, so you can rest easy now.”

The trials are over… That’s what Caesar had said too.

“Mother!”

Odette tried to run to her, pushing off with all her strength.

At that moment, a flash—and her eyes flew open.

‘Where am I now?’

Her blurry vision struggled to focus on the ceiling above.

She blinked several times, disoriented—her mind was foggy, as if she’d been asleep for a long time.

Gradually, her surroundings came into view.

‘This is the Count’s annex.’

The eastern annex of the Count’s estate—where she was supposed to stay until the engagement ceremony.

Odette slowly opened her clenched fist.

Andrea’s ring glinted in her palm.

She had held it so tightly that deep marks were left on her skin.

‘Seeing Andrea… it wasn’t just a dream.’

She had dreamed so much.

Dreams of her childhood, building castles and gardens beside the cabin.

And the final dream—it must have been shortly after her mother conceived her.

‘Her pregnancy wasn’t even showing yet…’

The Staff of the Saint, which helped regulate the High Saintess’s divine power to prevent it from being exhausted all at once.

Brich—the man who took it—must be her father, the Emperor.

He had told her mother to abandon the child in her womb.

Her mother had refused and chose to flee alone.

‘That’s why she died so young.’

As Odette sat in a daze, Emma rushed to her side.

“Young Lady? You’re awake!”

Emma suddenly burst into tears.

“This is all my fault! I gave your letter to Lord Caesar… sob sob Sir Arden told me everything. The letters meant for the Viscount’s estate and the Imperial Academy… they were switched. hic”

“It was wrong of them to intercept someone else’s letters.”

So much for being on the same side.

Even if it was a contract marriage, they were to become husband and wife.

How could she live at ease beside someone who never stopped doubting her?

‘He’s just someone I can’t be on the same side with.’

Caesar had his path. Odette had her own—one of freedom.

They simply needed to go their separate ways.

Odette reached out and gently wiped Emma’s tears from her cheek.

“Emma, Lord Caesar and I were strategic allies, nothing more. We were never in love.”

She briefly explained that Caesar was consumed only by thoughts of revenge. That much, Emma had the right to know.

Odette continued.

“He thought I might interfere with his revenge. So, Lord Caesar said he’d lock me away somewhere not even sunlight could reach. And… he actually locked me in a room.”

“What do we do now?”

“What else? We run.”

“In this condition?”

“You’re fine now.”

It didn’t feel like her body had been unwell or that something had prevented her from regaining consciousness.

Rather, it seemed she had fallen into a deep sleep just before fully awakening her divine power.

Not only did she feel lighter, but the tight, suffocating pressure in her chest—which came whenever her divine power surged—had vanished.

It felt as if her body could now contain even more divine power.

She sensed that she had grown far stronger than before, yet her body was handling it effortlessly.

“Here, look at this—my power.”

Odette conjured small orbs of divine energy at her fingertips, one by one.

But… why were they so big?

‘These orbs are huge!’

Looking closely, she realized countless radiant orbs shimmered beneath her skin, as though they were part of her very being.

Had the nature of her divine power changed with its increase in strength?

Otherwise, how could their form have altered like this?

“W-What is this?”

Emma lightly tapped one of the orbs with her fingertip.

Pop! A burst of light flared, and the orb disappeared. Startled, Emma’s eyes flew wide.

“What? Why did it vanish?”

“I don’t know… M-My fingers are tingling, and… I feel lighter somehow. L-Like I’ve gotten stronger?”

“Really?”

“…But what exactly was that?”

“Divine power.”

Odette began to speak about her mother.

Because to escape successfully, she would need an ally.

“Emma, my mother was the High Saintess Heravrua, bearer of blessings and purification.”

“Whaaat?! So… that’s why you cried when we saw the portrait at the temple?”

“That’s right.”

“Oh, heavens!”

Emma crossed herself and looked at Odette with reverent eyes.

There’s still more to tell, and she’s already like this?

Odette steadied her breath and continued.

“Divine power isn’t inherited… yet somehow, I’m becoming a High Saintess too.”

“A-A High Saintess? So that’s why you conjured those divine orbs earlier. Can I have just one more, please?”

Thud! Emma dropped to her knees and tried to bow at Odette’s feet.

“J-Just one?”

“They’re orbs of blessing, aren’t they? Or maybe purification… or a miracle…”

“They’re for attacking.”

“…Pardon?”

“They’re used to attack.”

Odette flicked her fingers lightly, shattering the vase by the window with a loud crash.

“Wow!”

“I can do things like this too.”

With a swift motion, she wove a thread of divine energy, wrapped it around the chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and yanked it down.

With a crash, the chandelier smashed to the floor, and Emma’s face stiffened.

“A-Amazing…”

“I can also…”

Odette spread her palm wide, and the windows began to rattle violently as if they might shatter.

“Okay, stop!”

Emma quickly stood and backed away a step.

She’d never seen anyone with power like this—fear was only natural.

“I might be used in war. Or maybe… to eliminate the opposition within the temple.”

“D-Does Lord Caesar know about your power? Is that why he locked you up?”

“Yeah.”

Tears welled in Emma’s eyes.

“I thought… it was a romantic love story.”

“It’s not.”

“Don’t be sad. I’m here for you.”

Emma wiped her tear-streaked eyes and smiled.

“Divine power or not, you were always my hope and salvation. So I’ll protect you.”

Her words—about paying back her debt and escaping to a warm, southern country—had been Emma’s hope, her salvation.

Suddenly, Odette remembered that her mother had once said something similar.

“My child, you are hope and salvation.”

To whom?

To what?

Hope and salvation, for what purpose?

What had her mother seen in the future, to make her say that?

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