Chapter 18
Chapter 018.
My body was incredibly healthy, making it seem as though I had never collapsed.
I was glad that my body, which had been tired from studying for exams, felt lighter, but I couldn't be entirely happy knowing it was due to the power of Holy water.
Mom, who had slept with me, was nowhere to be seen, so I looked around. A maid, sensing my confusion, approached and said,
"The Duchess left her room at dawn. She had a conversation with the Duke."
A conversation.
I wondered what kind of conversation it could have been.
I ignored the faint blush on the maid's cheeks and got out of bed.
'Good, actually.'
I would have been in a difficult position if she had insisted I have breakfast before leaving, but since she was gone, I could just leave the mansion.
As I changed and walked across the hallway, I heard shouts echoing from the Training Grounds.
The royal guard were out wielding their swords from early morning.
Orion's expression, as he moved among them, seemed unusually solemn.
Watching him observe the other knights with a serious face, I realized,
"He's surprisingly normal most of the time."
The coachman, hearing my words, coughed awkwardly and turned his head away.
Lenny was waiting at the mansion I returned to, leaving behind the royal guard engrossed in their morning practice.
"Academy classes are canceled."
They tried to keep it quiet on the day of the incident, but there was no way the students' mouths would remain shut.
All internal Academy classes were canceled.
"The atmosphere is completely chaotic."
"It would be."
A student who was expected to be a promising talent had collapsed, vomiting blood in front of everyone.
The Academy would have to resolve the issue no matter what.
Of course, without tarnishing its reputation.
"The Magic Tower and the temple have sent investigators, but they're still being cautious."
"It's not a problem they can rashly judge."
Whether it was Dark Arts or some other Dark Arts, once someone was labeled a heretic, many would be hurt and troubled.
The temple wouldn't want to antagonize the nobles, so they would approach the issue carefully, and the Magic Tower would likely do the same.
"I'll probably be investigated soon too."
All the examinees who were in the exam hall would be investigated.
I touched my bare neck and sighed.
"We should coordinate our statements before the investigation begins."
If Trevor was really involved in Dark Arts, that would be a problem, but it would also be troublesome if it was revealed that I had an item filled with Divine power.
'It's not like it came through normal channels.'
Just hearing about blessed cloths and magical treatments made my head hurt.
I looked at Lenny, and she smiled brightly.
"Don't worry. I've taken care of it so there won't be any problems. Even if they find something out, the blame will fall on Locke, the head of the merchant guild."
"Locke is your father."
Lenny smiled cheerfully, as if it didn't matter.
Then, she continued casually,
"Count Ember visited the Academy."
"Really?"
He was Trevor's patron and there were talks of adopting him, so it wasn't surprising.
"The Academy Dean was fawning all over him. It seems he's going to strongly protest this incident."
It was understandable, since a talent he had personally invested in had suffered an accident of unknown cause.
It was suspicious to anyone that a healthy person had suddenly collapsed, vomiting blood.
"Well, thanks to the Count's grand arrival, the Academy won't be able to quietly cover up the incident."
I wondered if the Academy's active investigation would be beneficial to me.
My head was filled with complicated thoughts, but it was difficult to predict the situation.
"First, I need to go to the temple to confirm."
I needed to confirm whether Trevor's attack was the reason I collapsed.
Lenny nodded.
* * *
We headed to the central temple where Mom's wedding had taken place.
As the largest temple in the Imperial City, there was a long line of people in front of the main gate.
The carriage passed the line of people and headed to the back.
A novice priest, who had been waiting in the distance, quickly waved.
As the carriage entered a narrow tent, he skillfully guided us.
Entering through a narrow door, surprisingly, the inside of the door led to the central corridor of the temple.
A priest with a kind face greeted us with a smile.
"Lady Reinia Locke, is it not?"
Lenny bowed politely.
"My father said he met Apostle Bayel last night. It was so vivid that the sacred light of Bayel seemed to be within reach when he woke up this morning."
"Oh..."
The priest looked at her with a deeply moved expression.
Lenny smiled brightly, touched her dress, and said with a shy face,
"As soon as I heard that, I couldn't help but feel upset and resentful that it wasn't me who met Bayel."
She called out to Apostle Bayel with such a devout face, but how did she fail theology class twice?
The two were the epitome of a devout believer and a sincere clergyman.
There wasn't even a hint of 'donation' or 'bribes' in their conversation, but the two understood each other perfectly.
"It is originally impossible, but it is the will of the Pope, who always watches over how devout Lady Reinia is."
As he led the two of us into the corridor, Reinia smiled and made the sign of the cross.
"May you be blessed in the name of God. It's not much, but it's a small offering to the altar."
The fruit basket she had prepared in advance was heavy.
The inside of the basket, which was only lightly covered with grapes on top, was filled with clinking gold coins.
'It would have been a touching scene if I hadn't seen the process of filling it.'
Both of them had excellent acting skills.
The waiting room we were led to by the priest was dazzling.
While he was away for a moment, Vertein suddenly appeared from another door.
"You're here?"
He looked a little unfamiliar in his formal royal guard uniform, unlike how he was at the Academy.
"I asked someone I know, but they're busy, so we'll have to wait a bit."
"Are you kidding me? We're busy too."
I grabbed Lenny's hand, who was snapping back at him, and made her sit back down.
Lenny had been having fun at the Academy under the guise of gathering information, and she was excited to go home in the evening and teach her only younger brother, Benji, how to play poker.
Vertein, who was juggling temple and Academy duties, was the one who should be busy.
"If you keep being so uncooperative, you won't get any..."
"Lady Reinia?"
The priest, who had been away, returned and called Lenny's name.
Lenny, who had been shaking her small fist at Vertein with a fierce expression, smiled brightly.
The hand that had been clenched into a fist was now neatly folded on her dress.
"Bishop Roland wishes to convey his blessing to you for your sincerity, Lady Reinia."
Lenny smiled even more brightly.
Then, she clasped her hands together and replied in a charming voice,
"Oh my, isn't his words more precious than money can buy?"
You just gave him a basket full of money.
"Of course, I want to hear it."
The priest smiled kindly and instructed Vertein,
"Please escort the precious Lady Reinia to the director's room, Sir Gremia."
It seemed to me that the priest was trying to be considerate in his own way.
Vertein Gremia was the object of envy for young ladies and a popular ideal type.
He was giving Reinia, who was donating generously, the 'right' to be escorted by Vertein as a favor.
The problem was that Lenny didn't seem to appreciate the favor.
Reinia's lips twitched.
As soon as the door closed, she cursed.
"That XX. Is he saying he wants to meet me privately to eat more after eating so much?"
"Please refrain from cursing the Bishop."
"XX and XX and XX..."
Vertein shook his head as he listened to the curses coming from Reinia's mouth.
Then, he turned to me with an apologetic face and asked for my understanding.
"It seems like the two of us have to visit the Bishop for a while. Can you wait here?"
"Yeah. Or I'll go to the prayer room."
After seeing off the two who reluctantly left, I was left alone in the waiting room.
'I really can't get used to this.'
The waiting room was as splendid as the Miller Dukedom's hallway.
Reinia comes here every week.
I realized once again how amazing her wealth was.
And how amazing Viscount Locke's skills were to have protected that wealth.
I could tell just by looking at Reinia's behavior just now.
'Has Orion lived that kind of life too?'
Both of them were always honest and clear about what they wanted in front of me, so it was hard to imagine.
As I was blankly waiting for my friends, someone burst open the door and entered the waiting room where I was.
"Ah, those persistent ones."
The person who took off the white cloth headdress was surprisingly a female priest with graying hair and wrinkles.
She was wearing a gray robe instead of a priest's robe, and her face was covered in sweat as if she had been running.
She glanced at me and sat down on the sofa with a thud.
The white lace cloth that had been in her hand fell to the floor.
She glanced at me indifferently.
"Judging by the looks of it, you don't seem to be from a great family, but you must have a lot of money to come and go here so often."
"I could be a high-ranking noble, couldn't I?"
She scoffed at my words.
"Do you think a high-ranking noble who comes and goes here would come to a place like this without a single attending maid?"
"It's so bad that they're causing all sorts of trouble even in the prayer room. The food is not good, the altar is too hard. Well, the altar for praying should be hard, not soft. Damn it!"
I quietly picked up the cloth, put it on the table, and observed the priest with a strong impression.
Her wrinkled face was full of exhaustion, but her eyes shone brightly.
I didn't feel much resistance to her rough way of speaking.
'Is it because of Lenny's early education?'
She glanced at me and asked.
"So, you came with a friend?"
"Yes."
"If you came to donate, you must have a purpose. What did you come for?"
I hesitated at her question.
I couldn't recklessly talk about the curse that could lead to being branded a heretic.
She glanced at me and nodded as if she understood.
"Well, there are more than one or two who come with secrets they can't tell. Last time, a Count came and pulled down his pants, asking me to cure his erectile dysfunction."
"That's not the reason."
"Of course, it shouldn't be. It would be terrible if you had that reason when you're young and young."
No, that's not a problem of being young and young.
I was wondering whether to refute, but I read the playfulness on her face.
"Is it okay for you to be here like this, Priest?"
I asked, remembering how she had rushed in as if she was being chased by someone, and she sighed.
"Good question. I've been working all day, but these guys still won't let me go. They only do the easy and good things, and they treat me, an old woman, like a pretty but useless fruit."
Remembering the sweat dripping from her forehead, I looked at her with a pitiful face.
She suddenly raised her head and looked at me with a desperate face.
"If I could rest a little, I could recover. I have neuralgia and headaches these days, there's no illness I don't have."
"Oh, what should I do?"
"Can you help me a little?"
"......Yes?"
Her eyes sparkled as she looked at me asking in confusion.
She didn't look like someone who was suffering from headaches and neuralgia and was about to collapse from workaholism.
When I came to my senses, I was trapped in a small room after changing clothes with her and wearing a white cloth on my face.
"Just nod your head whenever people say this and that."
"I'll definitely come back in an hour or two to relieve you."
I don't even know why I have to sit here in the first place.
I stared at her as she left, then gave up and sat down.
'She said an hour or two.'
I was going to have to wait blankly in the waiting room anyway.
