My Nerdy Neighbor Is the Master of the Magic Tower
Chapter 26
“Ah….”
Dismay settled over the knight’s sculpted face.
His melancholic expression suited him quite well…. No, get a grip.
Clenching her fists, Cecilia shook her head stiffly.
“Of course not. Having Sir Miguel as my guard is so reassuring. Haha.”
It was a performance so poor even a passing dog could sniff out the lie, but the Holy Knight, who knew nothing of deceit, was fooled quite easily.
“Is that so?”
His hand patting her shoulder was incredibly irritating. The urge to deny it rose within her, but as long as Miguel stood there with his face brightened by her empty words, it was a predetermined defeat.
Having had his fill of teasing, Knox bowed his head toward Kiar, who had been watching them in silence.
“Then, I’ll leave my sister in your care.”
“Are you leaving right now?”
‘You just got here.’
When she asked in surprise, Knox gave a faint smile.
“Are you lonely already? You’re past the age to be saying such cringy things, honestly.”
“Yeah, goodbye.”
‘You don’t have to come back.’
In a rare moment, Cecilia voiced her true thoughts only to herself and turned away without a trace of regret.
“I’ll visit often, so don’t cry because you miss your oppa\!”
She cleanly ignored the nonsense trailing behind her and walked into the Temple.
Escaping Knox was all well and good, but she had overlooked one thing: the presence of her companions.
An awkward silence settled between them.
Miguel was naturally taciturn, and the Archbishop was following quietly, hidden in the knight’s broad shadow.
Eventually, unable to endure the endless silence, Cecilia spoke first.
“The, the weather is quite clear\!”
“It’s the perfect weather to collapse from heatstroke.”
“Haha. I-is that so? Indeed, on a day like this, one should rest indoors.”
“Yes. It is my dream to find eternal rest on a day like this.”
‘Forget it. I’m done.’
Unable to overcome Kiar’s negativity, Cecilia shut her mouth tight and followed them.
Perhaps because it was already her third visit since being possessed into this world, she passed through the familiar paths until a building where the priests stayed appeared.
Kiar, who guided her to a room on the top floor, explained listlessly.
“You will use this room during your stay at the Temple.”
The room was more spacious than expected, but as if modeled after the Pope’s integrity, it was furnished with only the bare essentials.
“And I have brought the children who will assist you with your daily life.”
While she was scanning the sparse interior, a small figure suddenly popped out from behind Miguel, who was standing at the threshold.
“Saintess-nim\!”
The one who came running was Sena, her black hair tied up tightly.
Cecilia had worried she might have been shaken by the previous incident, but fortunately, her complexion looked good.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, thanks to you, Saintess-nim. It’s an honor to serve you, even if it’s only for a short time\!”
Sena looked incredibly cute with her hands folded neatly and her cheeks flushed pink.
“I’ll be in your care as well.”
Just as they were sharing a heartwarming greeting, a faint presence was felt behind the Archbishop.
A small child, wearing a white Mass Veil that covered not just her head but her face as well, hesitantly revealed herself before her.
“I, I greet the Saintess-nim.”
The child was small, barely reaching Cecilia’s chin.
Come to think of it, he did say ‘children’ would serve her.
It was already thoughtful enough to assign her Sena, whom the Pope had personally taken in, but to have two….
When she looked at him with a mix of burden and curiosity, Kiar gave a light shrug.
“It wouldn’t be enough to leave the service of Lady Weberdin to just one child.”
He wasn’t sarcastically implying she was a pampered noble lady who required a lot of work, was he?
He’d better not be. If he wanted to avoid the catastrophe of her swearing at an Archbishop.
When Cecilia reflexively frowned, the child in front of her flinched and trembled.
‘Oops.’
Belatedly putting on a smile befitting a Saintess, Cecilia reached out as gently as possible.
“I’ll be in your care. What’s your name?”
“Li, no, that is, I mean….”
“Li?”
“Li, Liri\! Please call me Liri\!”
“Huh? But your name isn’t Liri, it’s Mari, isn’t it?”
Sena, who was stuck right by Cecilia’s side, tilted her head in confusion.
Then, a sharp gasp was heard from beneath the veil.
“I-it’s a nickname\! I wanted the Saintess-nim to call me that\!”
The child’s hand, which she was holding, was shaking violently, as if she were extremely flustered or nervous.
‘Hmm.’
Was she a cold-hearted person for finding the sight suspicious rather than pitiable?
As she stared down at the small child whose face was completely hidden, a loud yawn suddenly echoed.
“Since the introductions seem to be over, I shall take my leave now.”
It seemed even a shred of interest had vanished while she was greeting the children.
The Archbishop, blinking his eyes which had grown even darker, turned around without hesitation.
“Ah, from tomorrow onwards, things like purification will make everything exhausting, so eat your fill and rest well until today.”
He left with words that somehow sounded like a curse.
‘What?’
Cecilia dismissed his warning as his usual gloomy nonsense.
It was only the next day that she came to regret not taking it seriously.
* * *
Just as Cecilia had feared, a day at the Temple was excessively fast and wholesome.
Meaning, neither sleeping in nor napping was permitted.
Early in the morning, the children came to her room, flung the curtains back, and threw the windows wide open.
“Saintess-nim\! You have to wake up now.”
“Uugh.”
“Hurry\!”
Cecilia, who had been squirming with her face buried in the blankets, barely managed to push her heavy eyelids open.
She wondered if this body had low blood pressure, as waking up was no easy feat.
However, seeing Sena’s round face suddenly appear, her sleepiness seemed to gradually fade.
“I think I could get up if someone helped me.”
“Oh, honestly.”
Sena, her cheeks flushing red, struggled with her small body to help her up.
“Thank you.”
Cecilia, having finally sat up, gave a faint smile. At that, the warm body heat touching her arms and back scurried away.
“I, I am the one who is grateful.”
“Hmm?”
Liri, who had been halfway on the bed as if she had been helping, hurriedly scrambled back to create distance.
She didn’t know what they were grateful for, but Cecilia blinked slowly and listlessly climbed out of bed.
Afterward, she washed her face with the water Liri provided and tied her hair into a single braid that Sena brushed out for her.
Once she changed into the plain, white Temple clothes hanging in the wardrobe, her miserable day began.
“Once you finish your meal, you can go see the Archbishop-nim\!”
“Mm-hmm.”
Breakfast was served before Cecilia, who sat at the table without any motivation.
She had suspected it, but as expected, today was also just greens, a few pieces of fruit, and a cup of Holy Water.
It was already the third day of her stay at the Temple.
On the morning of the second day, when she had expressed her dismay at the menu that was beyond simple—it was barely chewable—Kiar had explained nonchalantly.
[One who performs the rite must cleanse both body and soul for ten days prior to the ceremony. That is also why I summoned the Saintess-nim to the Temple early.]
[…So you’re saying I have to live on nothing but these greens for the next ten days?]
[Yes.]
On the first day she arrived at the Temple, his words, ‘Eat your fill because it will be exhausting from tomorrow,’ had not been a joke\!
Cecilia poked at the greens, which were no different today, with her fork.
‘It’s not like we’re Buddhists who forbid killing; why can’t I eat meat?’
There were some beans and roasted almonds mixed in, but even if they tried to balance the macros like this, her empty heart wasn't filled in the slightest.
Especially the ‘Holy Water’ she had to drink five or six times a day was the worst.
Whatever was in it would just be digested by stomach acid anyway; what exactly was it supposed to be purifying?
It only made her feel unpleasantly bloated.
However, as soon as the cup was empty, Liri, who was standing by her side like a shadow, poured more water.
‘What on earth are the ingredients in that?’
It was purely a distrust of the drink, but the child, receiving her blatant gaze, seemed startled and spilled a bit of water.
“So, sorry.”
Beyond the translucent Mass Veil, a tearful face was briefly visible.
Was the way she had been trembling since their first meeting because she was naturally shy? Or because she liked the Saintess very much?
Whatever the reason, Cecilia gently patted the back of the hand of the child who looked ready to burst into tears at any moment.
“It’s alright, so don’t be so nervous.”
But her gentle Saintess cosplay must have been too much.
The even more flustered child stepped back, tripped on her long hem, and wobbled.
Clatter\!
Along with the sound of a chair falling over, a long sigh escaped.
It was a sigh of relief.
“Whoa, that was a close one. Right?”
Cecilia, who had quickly caught the child, looked down at her now-close face.
“Th-thank you.”
Beneath the Mass Veil that had been pushed aside in the commotion, the child’s white cheeks were flushed pink.
And what she saw….
‘Her eyes are purple.’
The familiar color instantly brought someone’s face to mind.
‘She’s just like Lien. I didn't think it was a common eye color. Could it be that Lien is in disguise…?’
Cecilia shook her head at the sudden, nonsensical imagination.
‘No way, that’s impossible. Even if her nickname, her stuttering, and her blushing are similar, there’s no way….’
…It really couldn’t be, right?
Right, no matter how low Lien’s self-esteem was, how he occasionally did things outside of common sense, or how he had a gloomy side, he wouldn’t do something as creepy as infiltrating the Grand Temple—the heart of the Temple—in the form of a child to observe her every move.
While believing that, Cecilia eventually blurted out a question.
“By the way, Liri, how long have you been at the Temple?”
