The Guidebook for Villainesses

Translator: Wawaa

Editor: WilsonWilson

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Hundreds of candles were always burning in the sanctum called the House of God. It was the duty of the sanctum priests to keep the candles from extinguishing. They opened the door of the sanctum only to the rich or to those with high status, filling their pockets with gold coins.

With the news of the appearance of the saintess, numerous people flocked to the sanctum. As such, the priests were put in a very embarrassing situation. They were afraid of the backlash they would receive were they to openly ask for gold coins in front of these many people. So, the trick they came up with was to make roads of candles.

The priests decided to open the doors of the sanctum wide and light all the roads leading to it with candles, then, they would sell the candles. They had also prohibited lighting foreign candles not made in the temple.  

Lara stood still on the road. Then, she took off her robe and dropped it on the floor.

“It’s the saintess!”

The knights shouted loudly.

On a dark night, the saintess stood on a candlelit road. The Emperor was nowhere to be seen, but his knights escorted her with stern faces.

“Saintes…”

“Saintess, it’s the saintess!”

The nobles, who recognized Lara’s face before anyone else, bowed their heads at her. The poor stuck out their neck to take a glimpse at her face.

A child was crying at the end of the road. He wanted to light a candle for the saintess, but as his mother was poor, he could not even buy a candle.

The child, wanting to at least hold a candle, reached out to a dying candle on the floor. But he was slapped hard by a priest who saw him. Not enough with hitting the child, the priest even scolded the child, he said that, if he stole God’s things, both he and his mother would die getting divine punishment. The child cried, his tears full of sorrow, and his poor mother restlessly begged him to stop crying.

Lara walked in front of them. Then, she raised her hand in front of everyone and slapped the priest hard.

Slap!

It was so loud that the quiet air of the sanctum was broken at once. The priest who was slapped was so surprised that he did not even know what had happened.

“What in the…”

The priest, who belatedly raised one hand and wrapped his cheek, opened his mouth vacantly. His cheek was tingling and burning. Everyone was looking at him. Soon, intense shame poured in.

The one who hit the priest was a young woman with a cold impression. Her thin, abundant brown hair, white face, and clear and deep eyes were impressive. Everyone who whispered amongst themselves had kept their mouths shut. Even the sad and crying child stood bewildered and looked at Lara and the priest.

“Tell me.”

Lara asked.

“Did God ask you to panhandle?”

There were gasping sounds here and there.

“A gold coin for a candle? The price of that cheap candle is the same as a worker’s 10-day salary?”

“Excuse me!”

“I’m asking you. Did God ask you to panhandle?”

Lara asked again. Not knowing what to say, the priest trembled and stood far away. He wanted to retaliate because he was ashamed and angry, but he could not because there were so many people watching.

“You don’t have to endure.”

Lara smiled. When she opened her red lips, a puff of white breath leaked out.

“If you feel you have been treated unfairly, you can hit me too.”

“Where did such an arrogant thing like this come from…”

“Such an arrogant thing?”

Lara took a step forward. The priest was surprised and stepped back. He distorted his face even more when he realized that he had backed down like a coward at a small threat from a young woman.

“Step back!”

“I can’t believe a priest will commit robbery and violence in the name of God…”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“I’ll have to fire you.”

Something that should not have happened in front of God’s house had happened. A woman slapped the priest in the face. She slapped him so hard that it was heard not only by the people gathered nearby but also by those who were far away.

Moreover, the woman uttered harsh words to the noble priest by saying he committed panhandling and robbery, and finally, she fired him.

“Drag out this crazy woman!”

The priest shouted out loud. His voice rang loudly in the quiet sanctum.

Lara was staring at him with an unchanging expression. Behind her, the Emperor repeatedly cleared his throat and hiccuped awkwardly as he tried not to laugh. The temple soldiers approached to drag Lara out.

“Stop! She, she is…”

A noble who recognized Lara caught the soldiers with a pale face. Then, he shouted with a shriek.

“She’s the saintess!”  

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The Temple of Glory was turned upside down. All the priests living in the temple ran outside and rushed to the sanctum.

But they could not meet the saintess. The vacant lot in front of the sanctum had already been filled with people gathering to see Lara. She looked down indifferently at the priest who was kneeling down in front of her with his hands held together.

“I was just trying to make God’s house even more precious. All the gold coins offered by believers will be used for the believers. How can you say robbery? As someone who serves God, I will never…”

“Do you think I’m blind and deaf?”

“Saintess!”

“Don’t be upset. You won’t be the only one fired.”

Lara’s voice was calm and her eyes were cold. There was almost no intonation in her tone. The saintess in Tarragon was very different from the saintess of legend that they had imagined.

“If any of the priests here dare to rob and commit violence in the name of God, I will kick them out without leaving a single person behind.” 

Lara spoke without any emotion as if she was reading a boring liberal arts book. She looked around slowly.

“Choosing the real priests is a simple matter.”

Someone would accuse her of being reckless and hasty. They might say that no matter how much they have sinned, the saintess was supposed to embrace and forgive everyone with love. They might also say that she should take her time, persuade them with kind words, and lead them to the right part.

‘I don’t have time.’

However, Lara decided that it was not her role.

Demon worshippers, along with black sorcerers, were gathering forces under the name of their demons. The clock of the great demon war would turn faster and faster. If she took her time to preach leisurely, the humans might enter the path of destruction without even a proper counterattack.

Lara did not mind being called the villainess of the century and not the saintess. She did not even mind if people said that God chose the wrong person. If she could save them, she could even do more.

“If you have served God with all your heart, you will be able to use divine power from now on. Because God is back.”

Lara said.

“The rest is fired.”

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The saintess appeared in the Temple of Glory and said that she would fire all the priests who could not use divine power.

The priests protested fiercely against her order. They argued that it had been a long time since God and his divine power had left this land, and that it was not because of their lack of faith, but because God did not allow them to use their power.

However, even among the corrupt priests, a small number of priests who had honed themselves without losing faith could suddenly use divine power. And because of this, the corrupt priests’ arguments were shunned.

Exceeding exception, hardship took place. Not only did the Emperor applaud the saintess’ reformation, he even lent her the authority to issue orders to the Emperor’s knights.

“It’s the order of the saintess! Confiscate the property of the dismissed priests and banish them out of the capital!”

“It’s the order of His Imperial Majesty! Find the nobles who had colluded with the Temple of Glory and bind them up!”

The Temple of Glory in the Tarragon Empire had long been called the most prestigious place on the continent. Tall buildings, large territory, and gold coins that piled up in the warehouse had given them greater power than faith.

The High Priest could not even light a candle with divine power. He tried so hard to protect the properties he had collected, and in the end, he was taken to prison.

While the Emperor’s knights turned the temple upside down, Lara kicked out the High Priest and entered the abode he used.

Prayers were in full swing outside. The priests who were able to use the power of God fell down in front of the sanctum in tears. More people sang in praise of God. Candles that could only be lit by bringing gold coins were now in everyone’s hands. The beautiful lights had brightly lit up the dark night and swayed as if it was dancing.   

“A miracle happened.”

A child muttered. Following the child, everyone uttered the word miracle.

“I guess the world will get better.”

Someone else muttered. He brought a box of cheap candles and distributed them for free.

Miracles sometimes have the face of a close neighbor. Those who held candles together and transferred the embers turned their eyes toward the sanctum─the sanctum that had turned quiet yet again. 

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