After the door closed, only Iris and Lucael remained in the small space.
The silence was so thick that they could hear each other’s breathing, creating an oddly tense atmosphere.
Iris cautiously licked her dry lips.
Lucael opened the Bible and held the Enraka Church Insignia pendant in his hand.
Then, he spoke quietly to Iris.
“Shall we sit together and pray?”
“Yes, that sounds good.”
Iris gave an awkward smile and sat down beside Lucael.
The two of them sat on the long bench, and a brief, uneasy silence passed between them.
Lucael met Iris’s gaze and lowered his eyes, intending to pry some information to pass on to Abellus.
“By the way, do you have any plans? The youth worship is about to end soon. I was planning to pray starting next week, but I hope I’m not wasting Sister’s time.”
“Oh, no. I don’t have any plans at all. My grandmother said she’d be out with some friends…”
Iris’s voice trailed off, and she gave a small, awkward smile.
Lucael paused for a moment, then nodded slightly and began preparing to pray.
Since she had no weekend plans, it seemed she didn’t have a boyfriend.
‘Looks like she doesn’t have one. Huh, she really doesn’t seem to. And here I am, a Priest, digging up info on a believer…’
Wait, was she really single? He couldn’t jump to conclusions and give Abellus the wrong information.
Abellus had said earlier, with a joyful expression after meeting “that,” that he planned to intensify his research on the relics.
Apparently, he’d had an important conversation with “that” inside the secret chamber.
But if Iris passed on wrong information and upset Abellus, he might refuse to share his research results.
In any case, Lucael was irrelevant to Abellus’s plan.
Since Abellus had already been introduced to the previous Church Leader, Lucael’s role was essentially over.
With the former leader’s permission, Abellus had also obtained secret access to the chamber.
He seemed very interested in Iris, so if the wrong information caused him to get rejected, he might get angry and avoid Lucael altogether.
Would he really avoid someone who gave him important information and help just because of one mistake about a woman?
…With Abellus, that was entirely possible.
His unpredictable personality became clear the moment you met him.
Anyone who spoke to him for even a few sentences noticed that he was… different.
His violet eyes shone with a dangerous light unlike any criminal’s.
It was obvious madness.
‘Better if he just avoids me. Who knows what he might do with that temper.’
Lucael sighed and opened his mouth.
Iris, who had been thinking about how to get close to him during the prayer, was startled when he spoke.
“Um, Sister Iris…”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Please don’t misunderstand… just listen.”
Iris looked steadily into Lucael’s honey-colored, innocent-looking eyes as if to say, “Go ahead.”
His face flushed.
She wondered if it really had to come to this.
But her religious curiosity about seeing the relic regain its power overcame her embarrassment.
“Do you happen to have someone you’re seeing?”
“Huh? No, I don’t. Why do you ask?”
Iris shrugged her shoulders and stammered.
Lucael’s face reddened even more at the surprised reaction.
Of course, it was shocking for a Priest to ask something like that.
He quickly thought of the most plausible excuse and blurted it out.
“…I see. No, it’s just that some believers meet good matches inside the temple. So, I was wondering… what is your type? I was thinking of introducing… someone suitable.”
“My type? Well… Priest, someone like Priest Lucael would be perfect.”
Being asked about her ideal type, Iris couldn’t miss this chance.
She fidgeted with her fingers and replied.
Her shy act was obviously a performance.
She had no idea how to seduce a Priest, so this was perfect.
Whatever Lucael’s intentions were, she planned to take the bait.
After speaking, she studied Lucael’s expression.
His dark blue eyes widened, and his face turned intensely red.
He pointed at himself with a finger, flustered.
“Me? You mean me?”
“Yes. Someone kind and upright like you, Priest. If you weren’t a Priest, I would have asked you out already. It’s a pity. Ah, saying this might be rude. I didn’t mean to be so frank.”
“Ah…”
Iris whispered softly and moved closer.
If she moved just a bit more, their breaths would mingle.
Lucael covered his face with his large hands, unsure what to do.
He was extremely embarrassed but at the same time strangely pleased that the woman Abellus was interested in was showing interest in him.
It wasn’t a bad feeling — in fact, it was somewhat good.
His heart pounded with tension.
It was the first time he was alone in a confined space with such a cute believer.
Originally, his goal had been to privately ask un-Priest-like, personal questions while avoiding prying eyes.
But maybe his questions had been a bit too much.
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
Iris swallowed a laugh as she observed Lucael’s expression.
Things were going exactly as she planned.
‘This much should be okay, right? I have a feeling I can do something…’
If it went wrong, she could always stop coming to church.
For justice, one must be prepared for humiliation.
Why not push things a little today?
She recalled the item she had slipped into her pocket for just such a moment.
She thought it would be hard to retrieve from the unsightly pouch between her legs, so she had already placed it in her clothing pocket — and now, she was going to use it.
She rummaged carefully and pulled out the item.
The “Feather of Affection” she had bought at the secret market.
If she used this, she could steal Lucael’s skill today itself.
She had vowed to approach slowly, but she couldn’t stand by while her grandmother and other innocent believers’ money kept flowing into Enraka Church.
As she hesitated, the believers’ money would continue to be siphoned away.
The feather was so light it made no rustling sound as she held it in her hand.
The cozy, dim prayer room was perfect for using an item without the target noticing.
‘Using this makes me feel a bit guilty, like I’m committing a sin. No, Lucael is a bad guy who deceives believers, so it’s fine to use this. He seems to like me a little anyway… I’ll just raise that affection a bit more.’
Iris swallowed hard and gently tickled Lucael’s body with the feather.
‘Affection, grow even more.’
How much effect would it have?
Since it was an item sold at the secret market, it should raise affection quite a bit.
Even before using the feather, Lucael’s state was unusual, so after using it…
She sneakily tickled him with the feather, her hand behind his back.
Lucael flinched sharply.
Soon, his breathing grew heavier — clear enough for her to hear.
Iris quickly put the feather away before anyone could notice and watched his reaction.
Lucael bowed his head deeply and exhaled sharply through his lips.
“Hah…”
“Priest, are you alright? Your complexion looks very bad…”
More precisely, his face was too flushed, but to protect his pride as a Priest, Iris chose her words carefully.
Her small hand hovered briefly before resting on his solid thigh.
At that moment, Lucael’s muscular thigh tensed with nervousness.
He bit his lip and took a quick breath.
He was already feeling strange, but Iris’s touch sent his excitement spiraling out of control.
He should tell her not to do that, but the words of refusal stuck in his throat and disappeared.
Lucael’s face was no longer just red — it had turned an earthy shade.
Would Abellus ever find out about this?
If he did, he might rage wildly.
No, why worry about that?
After all, all Iris had done was place her hand on his thigh.
It wasn’t a big deal, yet why did it feel like she had committed a sin…?
Perhaps because she knew the secret meaning behind her actions and yet couldn’t pull away.
This had to stop.
A Priest of Enraka is devoted to the Goddess.
Lucael was already slightly aroused before Iris used the feather, and now, he was clearly overwhelmed.
Without looking down, she could feel how swollen he was.
He was on the verge of breaking with just a light touch, but he exerted superhuman self-control and spoke in a low voice.
A pitiful effort to not cross the line.
“If you keep this up, huh… I can’t.”
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