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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: The Temple's Visit
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Is she just going to let this go? Am I innocent?
Unlike my confused self, Kivrin couldn't hide his excitement.
Even lying in bed, Kivrin couldn't fall right asleep, staring at me with bright eyes.
“Young Lord, you need to sleep.”
“I’m n-not sleepy at all.”
Kivrin answered quickly.
But I’m incredibly sleepy.
Should I read him a fairy tale…?
But the bookshelf was too far away.
I rubbed my sleepy eyes.
“Should I tell you a story?”
“I like anything you tell me, Cheria.”
Kivrin’s ears perked up.
Half-lost in dreamland, I began to ramble.
“Hm. Once upon a time, there lived a worker ant.”
“…”
“It was a worker ant that woke up at five in the morning and got off work at eleven at night…”
“…”
Kivrin suddenly seemed at a loss for words, but I was doing my best.
“Tricked by the promise of getting all her unpaid overtime at once, she didn't quit even when her salary was late. It's still a bitter memory… They totally looked down on her because she was young…”
At the tragic tale, Kivrin muttered with clouded eyes.
“I-I hope the worker ant… is happy in its, its next life.”
It was hard to even answer now.
I felt Kivrin pull the blanket over me as I drifted off to sleep.
…Wait, what was my name again?
* * *
From the moment I woke up, my body felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton.
On top of that, my skin was unpleasantly itchy, as if I’d been bitten by a bug.
I was clinging to Kivrin, barely managing to descend the stairs, when a commotion echoed from the hall.
Kivrin, who figured out the source of the noise before I did, stiffened his shoulders.
“It’s… people from the Temple.”
I peeked over the railing and looked down at the hall.
Priests were surrounding Winter.
…Well, at least I knew why my skin was itching.
It was because of their holy power.
“Do you truly intend to make an enemy of the Temple? This is truly regrettable, Duchess.”
“…”
“We will be taking all the maids belonging to the Temple with us. You must send the Young Lord out of the capital before the day is out.”
Winter, who had been tapping her fan, tilted her head.
“Is that all you have to say?”
Winter’s attitude seemed to have offended the priests.
Even though I could only see Winter’s back, I could clearly see the priests’ faces contort.
“…Still so arrogant. Don’t you feel any pity for the citizens of the Empire who are fated to be sacrificed to the Young Lord now that he is out in the world?”
“The Duchess wouldn’t know anything. You are not a citizen of the Empire, after all.”
At the priests’ mockery, Winter spoke leisurely.
“It’s true that I know nothing, but I do believe the God of the Empire is merciful. After all, He allows you to run your mouths as you please.”
“What in the…!”
“Have you not left yet? You were the ones who told us to leave before the day was out. Do you truly intend to hold me back?”
“…Letting the Young Lord out was the wrong choice. You will surely come to regret this.”
After spewing curses disguised as warnings, the priests turned to leave.
Can’t you just go already? My skin is so itchy.
At a very slow pace, Kivrin and I finished descending the stairs.
Winter ground her teeth with a grating sound.
—*We, no, I, will hurt you. That’s why I…*
Last night, even in the rain, Winter hadn’t been able to bring herself to approach Kivrin.
Though she acted nonchalant in front of the priests, Winter was bottling it all up inside.
Winter composed her expression and turned to look at me.
“We’ll be leaving the capital as soon as preparations are complete. We may never be able to return. If there’s anything you wish to do, you should hurry.”
There isn’t really anything…
I recalled Mera telling me I should definitely take a walk in the garden once morning came.
“May I look around the garden?”
The corners of Winter’s eyes drooped.
“No one asks for permission to walk around their own home, Cheria.”
“…”
With just that, Winter brushed past me with her maids.
What was with this person, who seemed to be the very personification of sweet and salty…?
She seemed harsh, yet she had just hammered home the fact that I was a member of the ducal family with her own words.
In that moment, I thought that maybe Winter wasn't the bad person she was described as in .
I was definitely scammed by the novel.
Come to think of it, in , neither Winter nor Menelik were that old.
With Kivrin being ten now, Winter would only be thirty-one.
Menelik was three years younger, so he would be twenty-eight.
Just as the priests had mocked, Winter was not from the Kalista Empire.
She was the last descendant of a royal family from a long-fallen kingdom, so she had no relatives.
Menelik had rushed their marriage in order to protect a woman like her.
In , it was stated that Menelik’s arm was perfectly fine on their wedding day.
But when he reappeared later in the story, Menelik had lost an arm.
However, since the Duke and Duchess were supporting characters, only the outcome was mentioned, not the cause.
My eyes followed Winter, who seemed to have a hidden story, before I looked for Kivrin.
He had already scampered over to the window and was peering outside.
“Young Lord? What are you looking at?”
“Uh, I’m memorizing… their faces.”
Whose? Was he talking about the priests?
“When I… when I grow up, I’m going to punish them.”
“How admirable.”
“I’m going to kill them.”
Huh?
“Whoa, that’s a bit much…”
I went through all that trouble to get him out of the Snake Pit, he can’t go down the villain route!
Kivrin gazed at me with his innocent eyes.
“I can’t…?”
“…Well, if you kill a priest, wouldn’t that cause a huge problem?”
I attempted to persuade him.
But what Kivrin said next was truly something else.
“B-But I heard… them talking. They said they hope Mother d-dies soon…”
Who? Who said that?
Cursing someone’s parents in front of their child?!
“Maybe it’s fine if you don’t get caught… no, wait! You still have a long way to go before you grow up, so let’s think about how to get revenge slowly.”
Kivrin nodded.
I almost got swept up in it. I can’t let my guard down just because he’s a kid.
I changed the subject to stop Kivrin from looking out the window again.
“I want to go to the garden. Will you show me around, Young Lord?”
“Is it… is it okay for you to spend time with me…?”
Kivrin seemed to think I had many lingering attachments to the capital.
I briefly wondered if I could tell him that my biological parents sold me to the ducal family in a gentler way.
Yeah, that’s impossible.
“I like being with you, Young Lord.”
It was just a way to gloss over it, but Kivrin responded with enthusiasm.
“M-Me too! I like it too!”
A motherly smile spread across my face without me realizing.
How cute.
I followed half a step behind Kivrin as he bravely led the way.
The moment the outside breeze tickled my cheek, a wave of dizziness washed over me.
Whoa. Feeling like I was about to fall forward, I instinctively grabbed onto Kivrin.
“Cheria?”
“…I’m fine.”
The ground swayed. I clung to Kivrin, gasping for breath.
“I’m fine, so don’t call anyone.”
I tried my best to make my voice sound normal.
My condition wasn’t great to begin with, but it seemed to have gotten much worse after sensing the holy power.
“Hoo…”
It had to be just a simple cold. It had to be.
If it was an illness harder to cure than a cold, my parents-in-law might change their minds and decide not to take me with them.
Anything but a future where I have to go back to the county!
“You t-told me you don’t have to say you’re fine to me.”
“…”
I barely managed to stand up straight.
I took in Kivrin’s complexion. He had been rained on far more than I had last night, yet he was perfectly healthy.
…Was I perhaps in no position to be worrying about Kivrin?
As I unknowingly wrinkled my nose, my body was suddenly lifted into the air.
From behind me, someone who had casually lifted me up clicked their tongue.
“I momentarily forgot that other children aren't like Kivrin.”
When I lifted my head, I saw Winter’s captivating face upside down.
“Mother?”
Winter gestured to Kivrin with her eyes.
“I’m taking her to see Yelena. You should go back inside.”
Kivrin nodded with a worried look on his face. Winter started walking, carrying me like a sack of luggage.
“I can walk on my own…”
“You can’t, so stay still.”
Yes, ma’am.
Her voice was soft, but laced with firmness.
The place Winter took a now-docile me to was a room filled with all sorts of miscellaneous items.
A woman with a bob cut greeted us cheerfully.
“Hello, Lady Cheria! I’m Yelena Lilier, the Nectarian family’s personal physician. Please, feel free to call me Yelena.”
Her voice was so cheerful it could brighten the listener’s mood.
She must have worked for the ducal family for a long time, as she didn’t seem particularly intimidated by Winter.
“Hello.”
When I greeted her back in a daze, Yelena smiled.
“I’m going to examine you now. It won’t hurt at all, so there’s no need to be scared.”
But the warm atmosphere was short-lived.
