Chapter 61
“Ah, you’ve come to tell me that you won’t become a priestess.”
Prion quickly deduced the answer with his sharp intuition.
Alice lowered her gaze, unable to meet his clear eyes due to the overwhelming sense of guilt.
“…I’m sorry, after all your help.”
“Sorry? There’s no need for that at all. My lady, please raise your head.”
Prion spoke gently.
His voice didn’t convey any displeasure at all.
As she raised her gaze and their eyes met, Prion let out a light chuckle.
“While the divine would have been pleased if the Duchess became a priestess, I believe it’s also the divine’s wish for you to live the life you desire. So there’s no need to feel sorry towards me.”
“But… you went through so much trouble because of me.”
“The divine always tells us not to turn away those who seek help. I merely carried out the divine’s will, so please don’t burden your heart, my lady.”
It was like hearing the divine’s teachings.
But he wasn’t just saying it out of courtesy. He truly believed it.
His blue eyes shone with purity, without a trace of impure intent.
It was indeed a deep and clear faith.
Despite living as a servant of the divine, Alice thought there probably wasn’t anyone who believed in the divine as wholeheartedly as Prion.
After all, Alice could use holy power, but she didn’t believe in the divine.
Alice found him both amazing and a bit chilling, as he showed no sign of wavering.
It was because she felt he was like a perfect incarnation of the divine, thoroughly suppressing his own emotions.
The ability to completely suppress one’s emotions in the face of divine doctrine could make one ruthlessly cruel to those who go against the divine’s will.
In fact, that’s how it was.
The book described how Prion never showed mercy when punishing corrupt priests while reforming the temple.
Alice swallowed dry saliva at the slightly frightening imagination that arose simultaneously.
If he were to find out that her faith was fake… wouldn’t he have expelled her from the temple without hesitation?
It wasn’t something she wanted to imagine.
Since she wouldn’t become a priestess anyway, there was no need to dwell on Prion’s cruel side.
Alice composed her unpleasant expression and opened her mouth.
“…Thank you for saying that.”
“If I may ask, just in case… You’re not giving up on becoming a priestess due to any pressure, are you?”
“No, absolutely not. The Duke treats me very… well. And mother… I mean, Lady Quillian, I’m not sure if you’ve heard the news, but she committed a great sin and can no longer stay in the duchy. That’s why I gave up on becoming a priestess.”
“I see. Well, even back then you mentioned that Lady Quillian was giving you a hard time… I’m glad everything seems to have been resolved well.”
“Yes, that’s right. But I didn’t come here today just to tell you this. I have something important to tell you, High Priest.”
“…It doesn’t seem to be related to joining the priesthood.”
“No. It’s about the temple.”
Prion’s face grew serious at Alice’s earnest gaze.
“Go on.”
“…There’s a high priest in the temple who’s in collusion with a high-ranking official from the imperial palace.”
For a moment, Prion’s kind eyes turned cold.
“…Priests must never side with imperial authority. Duchess, do you realize how dangerous the words you just spoke are?”
Alice’s shoulders instinctively flinched at his piercing gaze, which she had never seen before, but she wasn’t perplexed.
She had expected Prion to react sharply.
That’s why she had debated whether to tell him this or not.
But she decided it was right to do so.
Because the original story was being twisted.
In the original story, Prion had successfully reformed the temple.
If things progressed according to the original plot, his future would be fine.
But Alice was anxious because the details of the original story had already deviated too much.
She feared that Prion’s future might change as well.
She was partly responsible for the distortion of the original story, so she was warning Prion too.
To prevent him from being in danger.
Judging by his statement about pushing her to become the Pope, it was clear that the Empress didn’t want Prion to become Pope.
After all, Prion wasn’t someone who could help with the imperial succession.
She would try to get rid of him.
“I can’t tell you how I know this, but it’s absolutely not a lie. I can swear on the name of the divine, no, on my life.”
Alice spoke while maintaining eye contact with him.
Prion gazed deeply into Alice’s eyes, as if trying to discern the truth.
It felt a bit uncomfortable as he seemed to be probing her intentions, but she didn’t avoid his gaze.
Eventually, he let out a heavy sigh.
Blink.
Prion slowly closed his eyes, then opened them.
When his blue eyes reopened, the sharp look of suspicion was gone.
It seemed he had accepted what she said.
“Since you say you can’t tell me how you knew, I won’t pry further. And I’ll believe you. However, my lady, don’t ever mention this to anyone else. Your life could be in danger if you’re not careful. Just because someone is a priest… doesn’t mean they’re all pure people.”
Alice found herself nodding at the weight felt in his uncharacteristically subdued voice.
“Yes, I know that.”
“Thank you for sharing this difficult information with me.”
“Well, you helped me too, High Priest.”
Prion gave a bitter smile.
The bitterness wasn’t directed at her.
It was the face of someone confronting an unpleasant truth.
Probably because he had confirmed the dark side of the temple.
He must have already seen and heard much more, but it’s always more painful to be pointed out by an outsider rather than an insider.
Alice kept her mouth shut, unable to offer any hasty consolation for such a weighty matter.
A heavy silence fell, but it didn’t last long.
Because a priest came out of the infirmary looking for Prion.
“High Priest Prion, a visitor has arrived.”
“A visitor?”
Prion turned his body halfway.
“You should go. I need to leave too, as I didn’t come alone.”
Alice said, indicating it was fine.
After all, she had already conveyed everything she needed to say.
“I see. Then let’s go together…”
“High Priest!!”
Just as Prion was about to finish his sentence, a loud voice came from behind Alice.
As Alice was about to turn around, Prion’s eyes widened. And before Alice could fully turn, she collided hard with someone who had come running.
Alice fell backward without a chance to avoid it.
“Oof!”
“Ugh…”
Alice, who had fallen straight back, groaned in pain.
Who on earth…
Alice was about to raise her head to scold the person who had so rudely bumped into her, but she stopped short.
Because of the young child she saw as soon as she lifted her head.
The child was sprawled on top of her body.
Seeing the child’s small frame at once, the words that had risen to the tip of her tongue dissipated.
At that moment, the small boy raised his head. The child’s ordinary wood-colored eyes met Alice’s golden ones.
Before Alice could say anything, the wood-colored eyes filled with shock.
Soon after, the child quickly moved away from her and lay flat on the ground.
“Ah… I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
The child trembled, lying face down on the floor, seemingly frightened.
He seemed to have realized she was a noble and became scared.
After all, a commoner had dared to collide with a noble.
If Alice said she would punish him, he would be dragged away without uttering a word.
Because this fact was so clear, even High Priest Prion couldn’t hastily intervene.
He could only watch Alice’s reaction carefully.
“…Duchess, are you alright?”
Prion cautiously extended his hand to her.
Alice took his hand and stood up.
For a moment, she felt a sharp pain in her ankle, but she held back her groan for now.
If she revealed that she was hurt here, it seemed like that child might stop breathing from fear.
Alice let out a small sigh as she looked at the child watching her with anxious eyes.
Of course, she was clearly the victim, but it wasn’t a pleasant sight to see a small, thin child lying face down on the floor and begging.
Alice spoke to the child.
“I’m fine, so you can get up now.”
“…Pardon?”
The child glanced at High Priest Prion, still anxious despite being told to get up.
Seeing that he didn’t seem to trust her words, Alice spoke to Prion.
“High Priest, please help that child up. I’m really fine.”
For a moment, the blue eyes looking at her took on a strange light.
“Then, if you’ll excuse me…”
Finally, Prion let go of her hand and approached the child.
“It’s alright, you can get up now.”
The child seemed to believe Prion’s words.
As the child awkwardly stood up, Prion spoke.
“You almost seriously injured this lady because of your carelessness. How could you run around in the temple without watching where you’re going?”
Prion’s voice scolding the child was quite stern.
Though she could only see his back, judging from the child’s whimpering, Prion’s expression must have been quite fierce.
“My mother is receiving treatment here… I wanted to ask the High Priest if my mother was okay… I didn’t see anyone else. I’m sorry.”
“Your apology shouldn’t be directed at me. The lady has graciously forgiven you, so offer her a proper apology and express your gratitude.”
Prion didn’t shield the child and turned back to her.
Alice was a bit surprised by his uncharacteristically cold demeanor, but she turned her head at the sound of the child’s voice.
“I’m truly sorry.”
The child bowed deeply to Alice.
“Don’t run around so dangerously next time.”
“Yes. I’ll never run around again. Thank you so much for forgiving me.”
Alice let out a small laugh, finding the child’s earnest nodding cute despite his sniffling.
“Alright, I understand. Now go see your mother.”
“Your mother has finished her treatment, so you should be able to see her when you go in.”
“Thank you!”
The child, who had greeted them with a bright voice, headed towards the infirmary with quick steps.
“Ah, High Priest?”
As soon as the child left, Prion suddenly lowered his body in front of her.
