My Husband Was Clearly a Paladin
Chapter 53
“Princess Cecilia? Why her?”
“That’s… *Cough! Cough!*”
Reina had run so hard that she couldn’t even speak properly, letting out a rough string of coughs.
Irene immediately brought her some water and patted her on the back.
Finally catching her breath, Reina drained the water in one go, took a deep breath, and spoke as if spitting the words out.
“That woman declared that she’s participating in the subjugation!”
At those words, Irene looked at Reina with a bewildered expression.
“And why is that a problem?”
She had naturally assumed the Princess would participate.
After all, she had entered the Distorted Dungeon in her past life as well.
“She said she’s forming a Raid with the people from her faction to go in!”
That wasn’t surprising either. She had formed a Raid back then too.
In fact, it would have been more shocking if she had entered with only her knight.
“Calm down. We expected this, didn't we?”
“But…”
Reina cried out, her voice trembling.
“She declared that this time, she’ll distribute the rewards equally among everyone in the Raid!”
“Oh, dear.”
At Reina’s words, Irene pressed a hand to her forehead.
She knew the Princess would try something. She just hadn’t expected her to use the exact same tactic so quickly.
‘I thought she’d have a bit more pride than that.’
The moment Irene had attended the Princess’s gathering, she knew. That place was a class-based society strictly divided by the rank of the purifier.
To the Princess, the difference in distribution based on rank was as natural as a commoner bowing before a king.
Yet now, she had swept all of that aside.
Irene gave a bitter smile at the situation, which was no different from a king, feeling his throne threatened, descending the high stairs to reach out to those below.
“It seems we’ve become a bigger threat than I thought.”
“Irene, aren’t you worried? I saw Cynthia before I came here, and she’s already in a panic. Apparently, more than half of those who had agreed to join our Raid have already gone back to the Princess.”
Half, then.
‘It’s only natural.’
The biggest grievance of those who had switched to her side was the discrimination in distribution.
Once that was gone…
‘There’s no reason for them to stay with us.’
The Princess’s Faction had strong purifiers and knights.
Moreover, because they had fought together continuously until now, they had a well-established system for how to attack and provide support, unlike Irene’s Faction, which would have to coordinate for the first time.
Naturally, that increased their chances of survival and the likelihood of securing more rewards.
‘And the Princess’s side will give their absolute best in this Raid.’
They would start from a different entrance to gain more rewards and move like madmen.
‘Because there’s no better opportunity than this to show just how overwhelming they are.’
When they emerged from the dungeon and compared the rewards they’d earned, the gap would surely be enormous.
The opponent was a Raid from the only massive group in the Fortress, while her side was a small-scale Raid heading out for only its second subjugation.
It seemed the Princess wanted to nip this in the bud once and for all.
Irene organized her thoughts and spoke to Reina.
“Reina, I need a list of the people who left us immediately after hearing the news, and a list of those who stayed.”
“That’s not hard, but why the ones who left?”
At that question, Irene gave a cold smile.
These were people who had come to her, badmouthing the Princess and acting as if they had finally found someone who understood them. Yet the moment the conditions changed, they turned their backs without a second thought.
‘Even if the Princess treats them normally for now, she’ll eventually discriminate against them for having sided with us.’
She wished they had at least shown enough pride to hesitate for a few days.
Irene spoke in a voice of genuine pity.
“I’ll have to make sure people realize that even trust has its ranks.”
* * *
After finishing her other requests for Reina, Irene hurried toward the Temple inside the Fortress. It was to keep her promise to Michael.
The Temple was located in the northern corner of the Fortress. To be honest, it was the most remote area of the stronghold.
‘I suppose they have no choice but to leave it be, even if they’d rather kick them all out.’
They were eyesores, but they couldn’t be cast out. There were still many knights who stopped by the Temple before heading into a dungeon to pray for a safe return.
Furthermore, the Temple was responsible for handling the remains of those who died in the dungeons.
‘Still, because they’re in the corner, they have plenty of land.’
There was a proper Temple building, quarters for the sick, and even farmland they cultivated themselves according to divine teachings.
It seemed they were actually enjoying various benefits precisely because they were tucked away in the corner.
Irene looked around as she stepped inside the Temple.
Though she had wandered every corner of the Fortress alone in her past life, she had never once visited the Temple.
‘Back then, I couldn’t even bring myself to look this way.’
Unlike other pairs, Michael did not use the quarters provided by the Fortress.
No matter how soundproofed they were, if he heard the moans leaking from various rooms, he would wear an expression as if he had entered the most lewd and filthy place on earth.
After the Night of the Contract where they first formed a pair, he had never even stepped foot in the building.
Instead, he told her he was staying in the Temple’s Prayer Room and told her to seek him out there if anything happened.
But she had never gone there.
‘I did try to go once, though.’
The day after the butler sent by the Count had taken every last penny of her money, she had headed to the Temple to ask Michael when they would be going to the next dungeon.
Then, she had encountered a priest inside the Temple.
When she asked him where Michael’s quarters were because she wanted to see him, the priest had asked who she was to be looking for Sir Michael.
Normally she would have been cautious, but in her desperate state of mind, she had blurted out that she was his pair.
In that moment, Irene saw the deep contempt that flashed across the priest’s face.
Then, he suddenly said that, come to think of it, Sir Michael was away from the Temple today and told her to just go back to the Fortress.
From his expression and cold voice, Irene realized.
That this was not a place she dared to enter.
After that, Irene never went near the Temple again.
‘And yet, here I am back again.’
But she still didn’t know which Prayer Room he stayed in.
As she looked around the Temple further, she soon spotted a priest and approached him.
“Hello, by any chance, could you tell me where Sir Michael’s quarters…!”
Irene stopped mid-sentence, her breath catching. The man she had stopped was the very same priest she had asked about Michael’s location in her past life.
“I beg your pardon, but who might you be to be seeking Sir Michael?”
At the exact same question as before, Irene had to hesitate for a moment, considering her answer.
If she pretended to be someone else, the priest would likely tell her his quarters.
If she were an unwelcome guest, Michael would just turn her away himself anyway.
But…
“I am his pair.”
Unlike in her past life, Irene spoke confidently, squaring her shoulders and lifting her head.
She might have been a burden to him then, but not this time. This time, he was the one who had held onto her.
Therefore… these people had no reason to show her contempt.
The moment Irene answered, the priest’s expression changed. *Will I be treated the same as back then?* Just as she thought that, the priest broke into a bright smile and bowed his head slightly.
“I apologize for not recognizing such a distinguished guest. Please, come this way. I will escort you there myself.”
He led the way, reacting in a manner completely different from her past life.
At this moment, more than ever before, Irene truly felt how much had changed from her previous life.
