Until the Substitute Saintess is Loved: The Sister Sent to the Convent as the Villainess Heals Everyone's Hearts with Her Healing Powers - Chapter 7

(What in the world happened to those fingertips…?)

Watching Lupina pass through the monastery gate from the shadows, I couldn’t shake this uncomfortable feeling.

(Would a noble lady’s hands become that rough in just a few days…?)

Her hands were impossibly worn and damaged.

They were so coarse that my own hand hurt just from holding them, with numerous chapped cracks. Even the lowest-ranking maids serving in the royal palace don’t have hands that rough.

They were no different from a commoner’s hands—no, perhaps even worse.

That worst of women, who had absolute confidence in her beauty, used her title of Saint as a shield, secured her position as the Second Prince’s fiancée, and acted like a queen in social circles.

Would such a woman leave her hands in that condition?

But what surprised me most was how she immediately rushed into the alley to save that child.

I had been there because I heard from the nuns that Lupina was skipping work to go play in town.

When I learned that, I thought “I knew it.”

It confirmed that her strangely meek demeanor the other day had indeed been an act.

Even in this monastery, she was skipping work, pushing her duties onto other nuns, and spending her time playing around.

She was the same in the royal castle.

That woman only heals men of noble status—and good-looking ones at that.

Though she was a Saint, she forced other healers to do the work while she took it easy.

Despite being my brother’s fiancée, she was involved in romantic scandals with numerous men. My gentle-natured brother might not have known, but it was the talk among the nobility. It seemed she hadn’t been foolish enough to lose her virginity, but that wasn’t the only problem.

Lupina was the type of person who couldn’t stand not being first.

She was dissatisfied with her fiancé, my brother Dangard.

Because he was only the Second Prince.

She always seemed discontent that she, the most beautiful woman and a Saint to boot, wasn’t the Crown Prince’s fiancée.

Yet she detested other women approaching my brother.

The most recent victim was probably Lady Haruhina, who became the head librarian.

She was only at the royal library because that was her position.

But the royal library was the place my diligent brother Dangard favored most, and the place the lazy Lupina detested.

It was impossible for Lady Haruhina and Prince Dangard to be alone together, but Lupina wouldn’t allow it anyway. She was witnessed entering the royal library in a flashy dress more suited for a ball and violently berating Lady Haruhina.

If I had been there, I would have immediately arrested Lupina and thrown her in jail.

Lady Haruhina had her hair cut by Lupina during that incident.

She’s been styling it in intricate braids so you can’t tell at a glance that it was cut, but the shock must have been tremendous.

I wanted to break off the engagement with Lupina right then, but Brother Dangard stopped me. “It might be because of something I said or did that give her the wrong idea,” he said.

Too soft!

If we had dealt with it then, we wouldn’t have incurred the displeasure of Margrave Rolt.

Remembering it makes me click my tongue unconsciously.

The Rolt border territory borders the Demon Forest.

They conduct annual monster culling and are a key territory protecting the nation’s security by preventing large-scale rampages.

To hurl abuse at the beloved daughter of that Margrave was insane.

Even now, the words Lupina spat out at that party venue remain in my ears.

“That plain-looking woman has no right being the Margrave’s daughter! If you’re a high-ranking noble, you should dress properly. It’s not my fault you make me look bad!”

That was her scream the moment she learned that the girl she had mocked in front of everyone, thinking she was a lower noble, was actually the Margrave’s daughter.

Even when arrested by the guards, that woman never once apologized.

And Lupina was always tormenting Lady Bejular Schmaritt too.

Lady Schmaritt is the beloved fiancée of my third-eldest brother, Prince Fairile Rutoire.

She’s the same age as me, and we’re childhood friends.

And she’s the Crown Prince’s fiancée—the position Lupina desperately wants.

Before Lady Haruhina appeared, Bejular had always been Lupina’s target.

Bejular has calm, soft brown hair and gentle hazel eyes.

Their approachable coloring is lovely, but it’s also commonly seen among commoners.

That’s why Lupina often mocked her for looking like a commoner.

Of course, even as a Count’s daughter and a Saint, Lupina couldn’t openly torment Bejular, who was a Duke’s daughter and the Crown Prince’s fiancée.

So, she bullied her in ways that weren’t immediately obvious.

She would praise a lower-ranking lady wearing the same color dress as Bejular, saying “Wouldn’t this hairstyle suit Lady Bejular too? Oh, but since she’s so adorable, your current reserved hairstyle is wonderful on you, Lady Bejular,” with a smug smile in front of everyone.

What sounded like praise for the lower-ranking lady and recognition of Bejular actually meant “You’re losing to a lower-ranking lady in both face and hairstyle.”

Even before becoming a Saint, Lupina had a striking appearance and sharp personality, and the quiet Bejular had always been uncomfortable around her. But after Lupina became a Saint and Brother Dangard’s fiancée, their interactions increased.

Bejular has been studying to become queen since she was young.

Unlike a woman like Lupina who relies only on her looks, she’s a lady who has continuously worked hard and refined herself.

Yet every time she encountered Lupina in the royal castle, she smiled less and less.

She became prone to looking down and lost her confidence.

I know that Bejular, who always maintained perfect posture and never showed tears in public no matter how difficult it was as the Crown Prince’s fiancée, cried numerous times in private after being bullied by Lupina.

(That’s right, Lupina is a wicked woman. Trash with a rotten core. So, what if her fingers were rough? Saving that child was probably just a whim…)

There was no need at all for me to watch over her return to the monastery like this. Even if there might still be ruffians around, where was the need for me to secretly provide protection?

A woman like that deserves to die miserably in some shabby alley.

…Even though I think that, I can’t get the image of Lupina gently stroking the child sleeping in my arms out of my head. Her voice timidly thanking me also remains in my ears.

(Damn it!)

I shake my head.

Don’t think about it!

I’m just going to keep watching that wicked woman.