The atmosphere surrounding the man is unsettling.
“Do you have anything more to say?”
“Priest.”
The man’s low voice carries a chill.
“How about reconsidering?”
Just by his gaze, I could tell.
This man is thinking about killing me right now.
‘Is he insane?’
Laying a hand on a priest inside the temple is madness.
If he’s caught, the Holy Nation won’t let his country off the hook.
‘The problem is, how would anyone know if he killed me?’
As it stands, a perfect crime is possible.
How would anyone figure out that he is the culprit?
‘I should never meet someone alone in a place like this again.’
I hadn’t realized it before, but I think I’ve been too complacent about my safety.
Cold sweat trickled down my back, but I kept a neutral expression.
Panicking here would only benefit him.
“Even if you keep asking, my decision won’t change.”
“Even if it means your life is in danger?”
Ssshh—
The man’s gaze lingered on my neck.
Is that a threat to strangle me?
This was one of the few times I’d been directly threatened like this.
I’d heard patients say they wanted to kill me before, but those threats usually meant they were in unbearable pain, not that they actually wanted to kill me.
Surely, no one would commit the heinous act of killing a priest.
Of course, there’s one shameless person standing in front of me right now.
“There’s no way that would happen. My life cannot be endangered inside the temple. The deity protects me.”
“In my eyes, Priest, you seem very much in danger. You’re the only one denying it.”
“…”
“If I were to kill you right here and now, no one would know. Not even the Sun God you trust so much would know of your death.”
For someone who claims to believe in the Sun God, he sure is irreverent.
“Even if you threaten me, my resolve will not waver.”
Based on my reasoning, this man cannot kill me.
Surely, he understands that murdering a priest would create consequences he can’t handle.
But this was all just my assumption. If he really is insane, he might kill me.
“Then, that makes it all the more necessary to kill you and silence you. It would be a problem if this incident reached Princess Kanabi.”
“!!”
The man’s hand suddenly grabbed my neck.
I couldn’t breathe.
‘Is this really the end?’
Fear gripped me.
No matter how composed I tried to appear, who wouldn’t tremble before death?
Bang—!!!
The moment I closed my eyes, a deafening noise erupted.
Startled, I almost collapsed pathetically onto the floor.
As my ears rang, regret washed over me for having spoken so firmly.
‘But… why doesn’t it hurt?’
Taking deep breaths to calm my fear, I opened my tightly shut eyes.
In front of me was someone’s back.
“???
Wondering what had just happened, I rubbed my eyes and looked ahead.
The man who had been threatening me lay unconscious on the floor, unable to make a sound.
It seemed to be the doing of the person with their back to me.
“Who… are you?”
“I apologize for the trouble caused because of us.”
“Knight?”
The voice was familiar.
It was the voice of the knight who always stood by Princess Kanabi’s side.
“I will handle this man myself. Do not worry.”
“Uh… um… okay.”
I didn’t know what to say.
Relief that I was alive?
Or resentment at why I had to go through something so dreadful?
The knight, with a piercing gaze, stared at the unconscious man and spoke.
“Priest, you might see something unpleasant.”
It was his way of saying he was about to get serious and that I should leave.
“…I’m feeling hungry. I think I’ll go have lunch. Don’t skip yours, and make sure to eat something substantial, Knight.”
“Yes, I will, Priest.”
As soon as I closed the door and took a step, I collapsed onto the floor.
My legs had given out.
‘If it weren’t for the knight, I’d be dead.’
The absurdity of it all left me feeling hollow.
How much effort had I put in to become the chief healer?
Yet, all of that hard work could have amounted to nothing because of a single reckless act by that man.
‘Did he think the religious nation was a joke?’
I was furious.
No matter how much chaos his family might have been in.
No matter how dysfunctional his family might have been!
“How dare he touch a priest?”
Rage surged within me.
For the first time in a long while, I truly understood what it meant to see red.
I informed Bishop Haman and Sir Rafael of the situation.
Both were shocked beyond words that such a thing had occurred in the temple.
Sir Rafael remarked that they should have increased the number of knights protecting the temple long ago and promised to assign more knights immediately.
Bishop Haman was enraged and declared that he would inform the Holy Nation about this incident.
After meeting both of them separately, a knight came looking for me.
I had spent more time than I thought during lunch and skipped my meal, heading straight to Princess Kanabi’s room.
It seemed the princess hadn’t yet heard about the incident from the knight, as she appeared unaware of the situation.
‘No need for me to bring it up first.’
After completing the treatment, I exited, only to find the knight waiting for me by the door.
“Thank you for saving me. I felt I needed to properly express my gratitude.”
At the time, I hadn’t thought about it, but in hindsight, there were more than a few suspicious things about the situation.
Still, since he had saved me, I couldn’t skip showing my appreciation.
“I was merely doing my duty. In fact, I wanted to apologize and ask for some of your time to do so. I’m sorry for what you went through.”
Even though I hadn’t mentioned any of the suspicions I felt, he apologized of his own accord.
I couldn’t help but think his apology wasn’t simply about the ordeal I had experienced.
“It would be a lie to say I wasn’t shaken. But thanks to your perfectly timed arrival, I escaped unharmed. It’s astonishing how you managed to show up so precisely at the right moment.”
“…”
“Knight.”
“Yes.”
“How did you know when to come? No one knew I was meeting that man. I didn’t tell anyone beforehand.”
A knight guarding Princess Kanabi happens to show up at the exact moment to save me?
It was too convenient to chalk up to coincidence.
The knight responded calmly, as if resigned to the inevitable.
“Her Highness ordered me to keep an eye on you, Priest Arthur, in case something like this happened. She suspected that suspicious individuals might approach you.”
“So, Her Highness already knew I was meeting a suspicious person. And the reason you didn’t step in sooner to save me was because you wanted to see whether I’d accept or reject his proposal.”
“…That’s…”
In this situation, any explanation would sound like an excuse.
The knight had watched from the shadows, doing nothing while my life was threatened until I was on the brink of death.
“You should apologize for putting me through this ordeal, but I believe you also owe me an apology for doubting me. I’ve never neglected my duties in treating the princess.”
Since I had done nothing wrong, I felt justified in being upset about the excessive suspicion.
I wondered if he might deny his mistake, but to my surprise, he accepted it calmly.
“I don’t think an apology alone can make up for this. I will report everything about this incident to Her Highness without omitting anything.”
“Does ‘without omitting anything’ mean Her Highness will punish you for this incident, even though you protected me?”
“What I did wasn’t protection—it was a test. Her Highness despises having her orders disobeyed. Since I disobeyed, I’m sure she’ll deliver a harsh punishment.
You, Priest, will be compensated fairly for what you endured.”
Hearing his honest admission somewhat eased my anger.
It seemed he assumed I cared more about compensation than an apology.
I felt the need to clear up this misunderstanding.
“I have no intention of resolving this incident solely within Her Highness’s domain.”
“What?”
“The religious nation will formally publicize this matter to the Deltrak Empire. I’ve already informed the higher-ups.”
“!!”
For the first time, the knight’s stoic expression faltered, turning pale.
“That cannot happen!”
“I was threatened inside the temple as a priest. If this had been solely my problem, I might have let it slide. But if we overlook this, another priest might face something worse and possibly lose their life next time.”
“Priest!”
“The only responsibility you bear is to apologize for doubting me. There’s no need for you to be punished by Her Highness.”
“If this becomes public, Her Highness will be put in a difficult position!”
While I sympathized with Princess Kanabi, there had to be consequences for touching a priest so recklessly.
“This incident isn’t something that can end with just me. The Deltrak Empire tried to silence me, a priest of the Holy Empire, by threatening my life. And they did this inside a temple.”
The knight seemed to finally grasp that this was beyond Princess Kanabi’s jurisdiction. His face turned ashen as he bit his lip in frustration.
“Those behind this incident must face the consequences of challenging the Holy Empire.”
I can tolerate being underestimated as an individual.
But I cannot tolerate the disregard for the Sun God and the Holy Empire.
They must pay the price.
I hoped this incident would serve as a clear warning to all nations: don’t mess with even the smallest priest.
<Holy Empire, Papal Audience Chamber>
“A priest almost lost their life because of a royal power struggle? And inside a temple, no less?”
“Yes. A royal from the Deltrak Empire had been secretly admitted for treatment and apparently threatened the priest in charge to reveal the location of the room. They initially tried bribery, but when that failed, they resorted to violence.”
“Hah! They dared to try bribing a priest with money?”
The urgent report from the Labyrinth Temple quickly made its way up the chain of command, eventually reaching the Pope himself.
This demonstrated how seriously the Holy Empire regarded the matter.