She's Different

"I'm back!" Serenia gazed left and right, and heaved a sigh of relief as nothing seemed to be wrong even after she disappeared for three hours straight.

'I don't think I have anything else to do.. do I?' Serenia thought, slipping under the comfortable blanket to finally close her eyes and fall into slumber.

___

The following morning, Serenia was woken up by a familiar face- her maid Sarah, who she had rebuked the other day.

Sarah didn't say a word after Serenia sat up, only placing a glass of water and a towel down from her tray.

'She looks docile today.' Serenia stared blankly at her, drinking some water to quench her morning thirst. 'Maybe she learned a lesson or two from yesterday.'

These types of people were always the same. They would act nice in front of you, then talk all sorts of things about you behind your back. But when confronted, they would cower easily and will change 180 degrees in a flash. Sarah was also like that, wasn't she?

Little did she know, this was actually Sarah's puny attempt at giving Serenia the cold shoulder. The previous Serenia was used to being showered with praises.

As revenge, Sarah came up with a petty plan. She would not say a word, none of those 'you're the prettiest' or 'you're so generous and kind' she used to say all day. Then, she would wait until Serenia noticed the loss and became bothered by it.

Of course, Serenia wasn't bothered at all by her lack of speech. In fact, she was happy about it.

She fell into a trance as she tried to recall something she had forgotten. She was vaguely reminded about it when she saw Sarah, but couldn't remember. After thinking deeply for a few seconds, she finally got it.

'That's right.. I'll just have Alia take over Sarah's position!' A revelation came over her mind.

Alia was way gentler and sweeter. Also, judging from the system's words, the young girl really respected and valued her. Having her as a personal maid would not only make her feel more comfortable, but would also guarantee Alia's safety.

Sarah, who saw this slight change unfold took it as Serenia being puzzled over the lack of praises and attention. She grew expectant of the day this master of hers would admit they were wrong.

Wrong! Totally wrong!

But no one would come up and spill the contents of their head. Thus, the misunderstanding continued to develop.

___

After finishing her morning bath, Serenia returned to her room and sat down. Then, her expression morphed to a mixture of confusion, amazement, and disgust.

'This girl.. was really lazy.'

Serenia found out that except for the major schedules like the upcoming royal ball and other important dates, the Saintess really had no other workload.

She wasn't even expected to the bare minimum like praying daily or appearing in front of her people frequently.

'Can this really be considered a Saintess?!'

Although she liked the taste of a luxurious vacation, being served without doing anything... it also made her extremely bored.

As someone who had worked nonstop for years to no end, it was too sudden of a change. Her lack of duties and schedules made her feel empty.

'Should I pay that Elias guy a visit?'

She needed to sort out Alia's harassment case and remove Sarah at the same time. Two birds with one stone. For that, however, she needed to make an appeal to her guardian, the First Cardinal.

'Although I don't really want to meet him again.. The sooner the better, I suppose.' Serenia sighed.

She contemplated for another few moments, then decided she was going to do it. She tied her waist-long hair up in a high ponytail and put her Saintess robe on.

The former Serenia only got to request an audience with Elias once. It was about her obsession with Duke Ardenne, and the fact that the man had rejected her request to be her escort for an upcoming royal ball.

Under normal circumstances, Duke Ardenne would've accepted the request because he was pressured by the Holy Palace's name and influence. However, at that time, the number of monsters around his territory had increased, and it was a potential security hazard.

Being a man who prioritized his people above anything else, he chose to be absent from the ball and stay to guard his home until the issue went down.

Serenia couldn't accept this with her small ego, so she went to throw a tantrum in Elias' office.

The only response she got? A cold stare. Icy and sharp. Elias watched as she let out her emotions like a child, not uttering a single word. And that just made Serenia even angrier, because she expected to be consoled and handled with care.

However, no matter how much she continued to talk badly about Duke Ardenne, not a single response was given.

In the end, tired and creeped out, she gave up and left his office in a hurry. She never went inside again. The man inside that room.. was not like the First Paladin Elias that she knew, the one that was always all smiles to her.

The immature Saintess obviously preferred the fake Elias shown to her more, so she chose to play dumb about that one occurrence and treated it as if it never happened.

'Though, that doesn't matter to me.' Serenia walked over to Elias' office and knocked on the door three times, announcing her presence.

A tired-looking man emerged. His head peeked out of the door's gap. His eyes, which had dark circles under them widened upon seeing her appearance.

"S-Saintess? What brought you here today?"

'If I recall correctly, his name is..'

"Good day, Archbishop Damian." Serenia greeted. "I have something to say to the First Cardinal. It'll be short, I promise."

"Uhh.. We're currently a bit busy, and.." Traces of hesitance and worry appeared on his face.

Just then, another voice came from inside.

"What is it?" It was Elias. He knew who was behind the door since he had heard Damian call the woman 'Saintess'. Remembering the past, he naturally wondered what she was up to this time.

"The.. Saintess says she has something quick to say to you." Damian reported.

"..Let her in." Elias massaged his temples, preparing his heart to hear Serenia.

He was quite scarred by the last emotional breakdown. Though, somehow, he had a feeling that today was not going to be the same.

The Saintess was becoming more and more unpredictable.