After Fulfilling My Sister's Dream to Be the Saintess of Vexwood Frontier

: Rebirth

In my past life, on the day of the Vexwood Frontier's Saintess selection, my sister pushed me into the Maw of Scourges.

She thought I would be devoured by the Scourges and left to rot in the Maw.

But after seven days and seven nights, I climbed out alive and became the Saintess.

She, however, was thrown into the Dungeon for the crime of attempting to murder the Saintess.

Harboring a deep-seated hatred, she murdered me when my guard was down.

The next time I opened my eyes, I had returned to the day of the Saintess selection. But this time, I saw my sister leap into the Maw first.

I knew it instantly. She had been reborn, too.

She had no idea what a horrifying hell the Maw truly was.

Nor did she know that the so-called Saintess was nothing more than the Emperor's golden canary.

If she wanted to be the Saintess in my place, I couldn't be happier.

...

The night was pitch-black, the only light a ghastly white glow from the hanging moon.

In the moonlight, something could be seen writhing in the depths of a bottomless pit.

An Elder of the tribe, leaning on his staff, spoke.

"Moira Arden, Lira Arden. Whichever of you two jumps into the Maw of Scourges will become our new Saintess."

But merely standing on the edge of the Maw, I felt a wave of nausea.

That slick, nauseating feeling... a soul-piercing, bone-gnawing horror—

'I didn't want to recall it.'

Lira Arden grinned at me.

"Sister, it would be better for me to be the Saintess."

Before she even finished speaking, she leaped into the Maw.

At that very moment, I knew.

She had been reborn, too.

It had been the same in our past life.

As Descendants of the Vexwood Frontier, dealing with the Scourges was unavoidable.

It's almost laughable, but I'm terrified of insects—of anything with too many legs.

'They make my skin crawl.'

Lira Arden knew that.

She always used to console me. "Don't worry, Sister. When it's time for the Saintess selection, I'll jump in your place."

But when the day of the selection finally came, she caught me off guard and shoved me in.

She assumed that I, with my fear of insects, would certainly die.

But I survived seven days and seven nights in the Maw before finally crawling out.

I was immediately declared the Saintess. In three days, I was to enter the Imperial Palace and attend the Emperor.

Lira Arden, meanwhile, was thrown into the Dungeon for pushing me.

After entering the Imperial Palace, I returned to my clan once to visit her in the Dungeon.

I never expected that she would have a Dagger hidden on her, just waiting for me to arrive.

I didn't hate her for pushing me into the Maw.

I knew I was better suited to be the Saintess than she was.

The Imperial Palace is a treacherous place. Lira Arden wasn't cunning enough; she would never have survived in the harem.

It was just...

It was just that we were both reborn.

And since she had made her choice...

I would let her have a taste of the Maw. I would let her become the Saintess.

Seeing this, the Elder exclaimed in astonishment, "Lira Arden will surely be a worthy Saintess."

As for me, I merely glanced back at the Maw.

The pitch-black Maw swallowed Lira Arden's tiny form, consuming her from sight.

The next time I saw Lira Arden was three days later.

She dragged her battered, wounded body back to the clan, alive.

The clanspeople were ecstatic, running to spread the news.

"It's Lira Arden! The Saintess is back! The Saintess is back!"

In an instant, celebratory torches blazed to life throughout the clan.

The Elder stroked his beard. "Moira Arden, go and welcome your sister."

"Yes."

Lira Arden stood at the center of a crowd, surrounded by endless cheers.

"Saintess! Saintess!"

Amidst all the jubilation, only I noticed—

the faint, dark mark that had appeared between her brows.

Back then, to survive, I had to fight off starvation.

I had stuffed all the Scourges I could find into my mouth and swallowed them, not knowing if they were poisonous.

By fighting poison with poison, I had unexpectedly gained Immunity to all poisons.

It seemed Lira Arden had done the same.

Except, it seemed her luck wasn't quite as good as mine.

When she saw my face, Lira Arden shot me a triumphant smirk.

"Sister, in our past life, you were in the Maw for seven days. I only needed three." She leaned close and whispered in my ear, "Doesn't that prove I'm more qualified to be the Saintess than you?"

I simply smiled and said nothing.

Three more days passed, and it was time for Lira Arden to enter the Imperial Palace.