Chapter 99
“Oh…”
A handsome blonde man wearing pristine white priest robes.
The person who caught her eye was none other than High Priest Prion.
Alice stood up quickly, feeling glad to see him, and approached him.
“High Priest!”
Prion, who had just come down to the first floor, stopped and turned his head.
Then, seeing Alice, his eyes widened.
Their chance encounter seemed to be quite surprising to him.
Alice approached Prion, who had frozen in place. She smiled and greeted him first.
“It’s good to see you, High Priest.”
One second, two seconds, three seconds…
Why is there no reaction?
Her voice had clearly rung out, but Prion showed no reaction. It wasn’t that he was ignoring her greeting, but literally, there was no response.
It was as if he had frozen in place upon seeing her.
Come on, it’s not like I cast a spell on him. Why is he like this…?
As the silence grew longer, Alice also became flustered. Finally, Prion’s lips parted.
“…It really is you, Duchess.”
What does he mean by that?
Prion was confusing her one after another.
Alice, bewildered by Prion’s unexpected response, pointed at herself with her index finger.
“…Yes, it really is… me…?”
As if finally coming to his senses, Prion’s face relaxed.
“Oh my, I apologize. I was just thinking about you until a moment ago. When I suddenly encountered you like this, I was so surprised that I didn’t know how to react.”
Prion gave a faint smile mixed with apology.
Wait, did he just say he was thinking about me until a moment ago?
Alice paused at his somewhat strange words.
I was just thinking about you, and like magic, you appeared before my eyes.
Usually, when a man says something like this… isn’t it when he’s trying to flirt with a woman?
Of course, Prion didn’t say it exactly like that, but it wasn’t too different.
Alice was about to narrow her eyes suspiciously but hesitated.
The person in front of her now is not an ordinary man, but Prion.
If another man had said something like this, she would have thought he was hitting on her, but Prion… was different from those men.
He was the most perfect priest Alice had ever seen among the clergy.
As if he was born for the main god.
There’s no way someone like him would try to flirt with her.
Alice lowered the finger she had been pointing at herself and asked directly.
“Why were you thinking about me?”
“Ah, I happened to hear news related to the Dearrut ducal family earlier. That the Duke has become the Third Prince’s mentor…”
Prion hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“As I heard about the ducal family’s news, I naturally thought of you, Duchess. It seems the ducal household is quite busy, so I was wondering if you were doing well.”
As Alice had expected, Prion had no impure intentions.
Alice smiled brightly as she looked into his blue eyes filled with genuine concern.
“Thank you for your concern. But I’m really doing well in the ducal household. You don’t need to worry.”
“That’s a relief. Actually, you told me last time that the Duke was treating you well, so I shouldn’t have worried. But perhaps because you’re the first person who told me they wanted to become a priest and asked for my help, I find myself worrying about you without realizing it.”
Prion said with a smile.
“I was concerned that your life might have changed because I stepped back that day.”
“Ah…”
By ‘that day,’ he seemed to be referring to the day Kylus woke up.
It was true that her life had changed that day, but it wasn’t because of Prion.
If anything, it was because of Kylus.
But to think he had been keeping that in his heart until now.
Prion had been trying to help her much more sincerely than Alice had thought.
Alice swallowed an awkward laugh, feeling guilty once again.
As if understanding Alice’s feelings, Prion smiled gently.
“But seeing that your face looks much better than before, I won’t worry anymore.”
“That’s right. I’m really! fine now, so don’t worry, High Priest. But did you come here today to buy desserts?”
Alice tilted her head slightly.
After all, Prion didn’t seem like the type to enjoy desserts.
“No. I don’t particularly enjoy desserts. I came here today to order some sweets for the lower-ranking priests.”
Just as Alice was giving him a look of surprise, Prion shook his head.
“I suddenly have to participate in a royal event next week, so other lower-ranking priests will be in charge of the poor relief center. I wanted to give them some sweets as an apology. I heard the desserts here are the most famous, so I came despite the distance.”
Prion smiled with his proper face.
“Ah…”
Just as Alice was admiring Prion’s thoughtfulness in considering even the lower-ranking priests, she remembered another matter that concerned her.
It was the royal event he said he would be attending.
There’s only one royal event happening the day after tomorrow.
It’s the royal hunting competition.
Alice recalled the newspaper article she had read today.
The content about priests attending a royal event exceptionally, along with the divine oracle that had been cut off for nearly 100 years.
It was an article that had given Alice an inexplicable uneasy feeling.
The latter especially bothered her.
From her vague memory, it seemed that Prion had received an oracle in the book.
Was it really true that the oracles had stopped as the newspaper article said?
The most accurate way to confirm this was… right in front of her.
At that moment, Prion asked:
“Duchess, are you feeling unwell?”
“Pardon?”
“Your expression suddenly darkened.”
Alice’s uneasy thoughts had shown clearly on her face.
Alice let out an awkward laugh and said:
“I was just thinking about something… Um, High Priest. Actually, I saw an article about the Temple and I have a question. It might be a sensitive issue… may I ask?”
Alice asked carefully.
Although it was publicly reported in the article, this kind of thing might be close to an embarrassment for the Temple… it could be offensive.
Priests are servants of the god and representatives of divine power.
The voice of the god must be a great source of pride for them.
Even if she didn’t know the deep history of the Temple, this was common sense.
Was I being rude?
She had touched on sensitive Temple issues before.
She had brought it up because she thought it would be better to be sure, but…
As Alice tensed slightly, Prion opened his mouth.
“By article… do you mean the one about the Temple participating in the royal hunting competition?”
Prion seemed to know about that article. And fortunately, there was no sign of offense on his face.
Seeing his calm face, Alice felt more at ease and answered immediately.
“Yes.”
“There wasn’t really anything in that article that would raise questions… Are you curious about why the priests are attending the royal event?”
“No, not that content… it’s about the oracle.”
“The oracle…”
Alice finally asked Prion directly, as he seemed completely unable to grasp what she meant.
“I’m curious if it’s true that there has been no divine oracle from the main god for over 100 years.”
Prion, who had been furrowing his brow as if pondering, finally seemed to understand exactly what she meant and let out a small exclamation before speaking.
“Yes. It’s true.”
So it was true.
This is really strange.
If it’s been 100 years, that’s even before she came to this world, but has the original story been twisted since then…?
Alice felt something was off, but Prion continued speaking, looking at her as if she was even stranger.
“But… it seems you didn’t know this fact. It’s already such a well-known fact in the Empire… I’ve never met anyone who didn’t know this.”
Ah… So it was already a famous story in the Empire.
How could she have known when it wasn’t mentioned in the book at all?
Moreover, in the book, Prion had received an oracle.
She couldn’t remember the content, but still.
Anyway, things famous in the Empire that Alice didn’t know.
Like Madame Rosewell, whenever something was called “famous,” she became a fool.
Should she compile a list of Empire specialties?
Alice was starting to dislike the word “famous,” but right now, Prion looking at her was the priority.
Alice lowered her gaze slightly, pretending to be embarrassed, and pulled out her cheat key.
“I grew up in a very remote countryside far from the capital, so I didn’t hear many stories about the Temple. It’s truly embarrassing that I know so little, considering I once said I wanted to become a priest.”
“Not at all. I didn’t know much about the main god either before I became a priest. Rather, I was rude. Even if it’s a fact that everyone around me knows, it doesn’t mean everyone knows it. My perspective was too narrow. I apologize, Duchess.”
Prion’s humble apology rang out above her head.
Alice raised her gaze.
“Oh no, it’s not… Ah!”
Just as she was about to open her mouth to say it was okay while waving her hand at Prion, she felt an impact on her back.
“Oh my!”
Someone had bumped into her back.
The surprised voice of that someone was heard belatedly, but Alice’s body was already tilting forward.
As Alice flailed her arms, losing her balance, a large hand firmly grasped hers.
“Are you alright, Duchess?”
“…Thank you, High Priest.”
The person who caught her was, of course, High Priest Prion who had been standing in front of her.
Thank goodness I didn’t fall ungracefully, Alice thought, when Prion slightly curled up the corners of his mouth and said:
