Prince Lorath eventually threw a purse of money at his subordinates, telling them to put it in the donation box, and quickly left the temple.
He kept a friendly face until the end, but both Princess Lasiell and I knew that his pride had been deeply hurt.
Lasiell seemed to like my actions so much that she couldn’t stop laughing at the end.
“I’m worried he won’t just take it and stay quiet, but I feel much better now, thanks to you.”
I’m glad she liked it, but I was worried that Princess Lasiell seemed to be more affected by the prince than I had expected.
‘If Princess Lasiell wavers, our entire team will be shaken.’
This is why leadership is important.
It’s not something just anyone can do.
The princess, who should have shown a reliable side, was swayed by the prince, so it was natural for her credibility to be shaken.
The princess seemed to realize this, as she stopped laughing and began to reflect, then said:
“I know I looked terrible today. I don’t usually act like this. Today, I was unfairly treated, but next time, I’ll show a winning side.”
“Did you feel troubled? You looked quite flustered.”
“…The priest really has strong willpower. I was impressed by how he acted without caring in front of that guy. Thanks to him, I snapped out of it. After seeing how well the priest handled things, I thought I couldn’t keep showing such a pathetic side.”
I realized why Princess Lasiell’s eyes were so bright and intense—it was because of this.
“Why did you act like that?”
To me, Princess Lasiell seemed like a herbivore caught at the edge of a cliff, about to be chased by a lion. Or perhaps a cat, growling and warning not to be touched.
When I asked, Princess Lasiell cleared her throat in embarrassment and responded:
“That man really knows how to manipulate people. He takes away those who were on my side and makes them his own. I was afraid the priest might fall for him, so I reacted sharply and overreacted.”
Ah, so that’s why she made such a fuss earlier?
It makes sense now—if I had switched sides, it would have jeopardized Princess Kanabi’s position, so it was natural for her to be sensitive about it.
But I wondered why she hadn’t told me about this sooner. If she had, I would have been more cautious.
My confusion was soon resolved.
“I’m sorry to say this, but I was also testing the priest. People I thought would always be on my side have easily fallen to him before.”
“!!”
“If you had even given him the slightest opening, he would have taken advantage of it… and stolen everything.”
Princess Lasiell’s expression was very grim, not daring to mention Princess Kanabi’s name recklessly.
‘Already meddling so much, yet pulling away now seems strange.’
If she were going to do that, she should have never gotten involved in the family matters in the first place.
I might have already gone too far to back out, pretending not to know.
Even now, I wasn’t angry at being tested—I actually felt pity.
‘I’ve become too close.’
I didn’t want to openly express my feelings to a princess who had no idea how I felt, so I said:
“I’m just trying to ensure that everyone can feel the warmth of the Lord equally, as a priest.”
I said that with a bit of resentment, thinking I was the only one who had been overly friendly, but it seemed that was enough for Princess Lasiell, who smiled brightly in response.
Then, she proudly stood tall and began to pound her chest with her fist.
“Alright. I won’t doubt you anymore, priest. And that small-minded person will definitely remember today. If he ever tries to harm you, come straight to me. I’ll protect you no matter what.”
Just so you know, I was the one who boldly refused the bribe offered by Princess Kanabi.
I haven’t changed since then.
No matter what the prince offers me in the future, it won’t change me.
‘She’s the most unreliable person who promised to protect me.’
I couldn’t say that to someone who promised to protect me, so I could only nod and reply, “Yes.”
“I should go now. If I’m late, there will be another uproar.”
Princess Lasiell shook her head in frustration.
“I’ll make sure to remember the way Priest Arthur acted today. I’ve always had a bad feeling whenever I had to talk to that guy, but today has been unexpectedly pleasant. I wonder how much his face must have crumpled by now. I think I’ll go check it out.”
Just imagining it was enjoyable, and Princess Lasiell left the temple, saying it would be even more fun to see it in person.
My head ached from the mental battle caused by the unexpected appearance of the prince.
It was particularly disappointing that the prince seemed far from ordinary.
“You were talking to a strange person.”
“Ah! You startled me.”
I hadn’t noticed Sister Melody getting close until she was right near me, probably because I had been distracted by the prince and empress.
How could I have known that someone I hadn’t seen since the first day would suddenly appear at this moment?
She was wearing a black robe and had a hood pulled low, adding to the eerie vibe.
Seeing me startled to the point of exaggeration, Sister Melody took off her hood to reveal her face.
“It’s me. I didn’t mean to surprise you.”
“Ah, you nearly made my heart stop. When did you arrive?”
“Just now. Are you familiar with the person you were talking to earlier?”
I thought she was just curious, but it seemed there was more to it.
The fact that she asked twice meant that someone who had been barely noticeable to me was suddenly speaking to me, likely trying to gather information about that person.
“Are you asking about Princess Lasiell?”
“I wasn’t talking about a woman.”
It seemed like she was asking about Prince Lorath.
Since Prince Lorath had left some time ago, it meant she had been watching me for quite a while.
“If you mean a man, then you must be talking about Prince Lorath. Why are you asking about him?”
“Prince…”
“Yes, Prince Lorath of the Deltrak Empire. I heard that they replaced the representative of the expeditionary force from Princess Kanabi with Prince Lorath this time. But why are you asking about him?”
The Inquisition’s interest is never a good thing.
The people they show interest in are usually either involved in heresy or are victims.
‘Could it be that the prince is a victim? That doesn’t seem likely.’
If he wasn’t a victim, then he was likely involved with heresy, which would lead to a big mess.
“…He just stands out a bit.”
Sister Melody didn’t seem to want to elaborate, so she remained silent.
Since it didn’t seem like I would get any answers from asking more questions, I decided to let go of my excessive curiosity.
‘I’ll find out later if something goes wrong.’
Since this involves the prince of the Deltrak Empire, even if he’s an Inquisition member, it’s unlikely that it could be handled quietly. So, even if I don’t want it, if something happens, I’ll naturally find out about it.
Prince Lorath kept his word.
Of course, this means he kept his promise to come often to pray.
As expected by Princess Lasiell, he didn’t retaliate or act in a petty manner.
Honestly, I thought he’d be upset about me making him put money in the donation box, but it was a bit surprising to see him behave so differently.
‘He was extremely friendly toward me.’
As he said before, he came often to pray and tried to build a connection with me.
When I saw him praying sincerely, it didn’t seem like he was lying about being active in religious practices.
However, after finishing his prayers, he always singled me out for a conversation.
The topics of our conversations varied.
Sometimes he would vent about the difficulties of organizing the expeditionary force, and other times, he would share personal worries, like how his younger sibling wasn’t listening to him.
‘Is he still trying to win me over?’
The more time I spent with the prince, the clearer my image of him became.
I was sure there was no sincerity in his kindness.
There was always an underlying motive in every conversation we had.
So, I became convinced that the reason he was being kind to me had another purpose.
Of course, part of it was probably to provoke Princess Lasiell, who was always nervous when the prince approached me.
But.
‘He must want to know where Princess Kanabi is.’
He was trying to find Princess Kanabi through me.
Since he had previously tried to have someone kill Princess Kanabi, he must have known there was something behind her sudden disappearance.
What the prince wanted was likely to finish off Princess Kanabi now that she was weakened.
‘Every time the prince visits the temple, his subordinates are snooping around, searching the place.’
It was obvious that they were looking for traces of Princess Kanabi.
But only I knew where she was.
‘If they keep coming up empty-handed, will they turn their attention to me?’
If persuasion doesn’t work, what will they do next?
‘Threats?’
Looking at people like him, it makes me think about how difficult it is to truly treat everyone equally under the light.
‘I still don’t have evidence, so I’ll have to watch, but it doesn’t feel right to wish good things for people like him.’
So, I find myself hoping that Prince Lorath loses his right to be considered equal under the light.
If Sister Melody hadn’t shown any interest, I wouldn’t have asked who he was the moment I saw him.
‘When I think about it, there are definitely suspicious aspects.’
His malicious personality, which has consistently tormented princesses since childhood.
What infuriates me the most is how he betrayed Princess Lasiell by stealing those close to her.
‘How could he do such a thing to a child who still needs protection?’
It would be shocking and painful even for an adult to go through, so imagine how a child would feel in that situation.
There were more reasons why I disliked him.
He pretended to be a good person on the outside.
While I tried not to jump to conclusions about the prince based on Princess Lasiell’s words, the more I met him, the more I felt a sense of discomfort and didn’t want to get closer.