CHAPTER 87……………………….
The knight glanced back at Everett and gave a faint smile.
“Don’t worry. There’s a small door over there. Once you step outside, Ventus will be waiting.”
“You know Sir Ventus?”
“Ah, I suppose you haven’t heard yet. Though I’m part of the Imperial Knights, I actually serve His Excellency Kyle.”
“I see…”
Everett gave a small nod.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
The knight opened an old, unused-looking side door and offered his arm. Everett took it, stepped over the rather high threshold, and went outside. A narrow alleyway stretched ahead—barely wide enough for a grown man to walk through.
“Head right once you’re out. I must return from here.”
“Thank you, Sir Knight.”
As he said, a black carriage was waiting beyond the alley. Ventus sat in the driver’s seat.
“Young Lady, quickly, get inside the carriage.”
As Everett approached, the carriage door suddenly swung open and a man’s arm reached out.
Kyle leaned out with a bright smile.
“Come on, Everett. Let’s go home.”
At the sight of Kyle’s deeply curved, handsome smile, Everett finally let out a sigh of relief.
Leaving the temple, Jankeller hurried toward the Imperial Palace. His pace quickened when he saw the long trail of black smoke rising into the sky.
“Halt.”
The palace guards blocked his way.
“I am a priest. I urgently need to enter the palace.”
“That is impossible right now. As you can see, there’s been a disturbance. No one may enter.”
“What happened? Was there a fire?”
The knight, eyeing Jankeller’s pure white priestly robes, spoke in a low voice.
“There was an explosion.”
“What? An explosion?”
The knight quickly pressed a finger to his lips, signaling him to be quiet.
“Since you are a priest, I’ll tell you. The same ones who blew up the plaza have dared to attack the Imperial Palace.”
A chill ran down Jankeller’s neck.
Could Everett possibly be among them?
“Was the culprit… a woman?”
“What? A woman? No, it was two men. The palace is in chaos right now. Please turn back.”
Knowing it was useless to push further, Jankeller turned instead toward Everett’s mansion.
If the culprits were men… then why was Everett taken? Could the Saintess have lied to me?
His mind felt clouded with a thick fog.
“Is Everett… here?”
Jankeller’s heart dropped at the sight of Daisy’s haggard face.
“She’s at home, isn’t she?”
Daisy weakly shook her head a couple of times.
“Where did she go? Was she truly taken to the palace?”
Her eyes widened at his question.
“How did you know? Has the rumor already spread?”
Angellus had been right. Jankeller realized he had to quickly find a way into the palace.
Just as he was turning away from a tearful Daisy, a carriage pulled up in front of the mansion. Kyle and Everett stepped out.
With a short cry, Daisy ran toward them.
Everett being released from prison was a relief—but why was Kyle with her again?
Jankeller’s brow twitched as he strode straight toward Everett.
“Jankeller?”
Everett was startled, while Kyle frowned.
“Everett, are you alright? I heard you were taken to the palace. Were you imprisoned all this time?”
“How do you know about that?”
“Oh, I happened to hear… I was worried, so I came to see you.”
Kyle didn’t like the look in Jankeller’s eyes—so full of desperate concern for her.
They ignored each other’s presence, treating the other as invisible, but Everett felt her whole body tighten under the palpable tension crackling between them.
“Thank you for your concern. It seems there was some misunderstanding.”
“I see.”
Kyle, still watching Jankeller, casually tossed out a remark:
“The temple must not be very busy these days, hm? For you to linger outside for so long.”
At Kyle’s sarcasm, Jankeller’s eyes sharpened.
The atmosphere grew so heated it looked as though they might grab each other’s collars. Daisy’s eyes widened as she glanced between the two men.
At that moment, not far away, someone else was observing the strained scene—one of the Saintess’s maids, who had been ordered to follow Jankeller.
Seeing Kyle, Everett, and Jankeller together, the maid’s eyes glittered with curiosity.
Moments later, everyone except Jankeller entered the mansion.
The maid, not wanting to risk encountering his wrath, hurried back toward the temple.
“What? Jankeller met someone?”
The maid recounted everything she had seen, leaving nothing out.
Kyle—known to everyone in the empire.
Her voice grew louder in excitement as she described his handsome appearance.
“His Excellency got out of the carriage with a woman with long black hair. Jankeller was already there waiting.”
At her words, Angellus immediately realized the woman must have been Everett.
She had personally sent knights the night before to have Everett captured. So why was the girl, who should have been in prison, with Kyle?
Angellus chewed at her nails.
“And the atmosphere was… odd.”
“Odd?”
“Yes, I heard Jankeller was close to His Excellency, but to me, it looked like they were about to fight. Their relationship seemed terrible.”
A sly smile curved across Angellus’s lips.
“Is that so? Tell me exactly what you felt.”
As the maid spoke, Angellus’s eyes gleamed mischievously.
Night fell, and silence blanketed the temple.
Angellus quietly walked down the corridor toward Jankeller’s office.
“You must be in a foul mood right now, aren’t you?”
Light seeped out from under his office door.
Knock, knock.
No response.
She reached for the handle instead of knocking again. If her guess was correct, Jankeller was drowning in anger.
“Jankeller, are you in?”
She carefully opened the door.
His back was to her, sitting on the sofa, head in his hands, motionless. Just as she expected.
“I’ll come in for a moment.”
Finally, Jankeller turned to face her. His face was flushed red, as though it might burst. Angellus paused for a beat.
“What brings you here at this hour?”
He tried to sound calm, but his voice trembled slightly.
“I had something to tell you. I knocked, but you didn’t answer, so I let myself in.”
Feigning apology, Angellus strode confidently inside and sat opposite him.
Her brazenness irritated him. His tightly reined-in anger boiled beneath the surface.
“Must you say it now?”
To her, his attempt at composure was laughable. And now she was certain.
The restless flicker in his eyes was familiar.
It was the same look she herself had when gazing at Everett.
So Jankeller harbored feelings for Everett Gronzy.
He was writhing with uncontrollable jealousy toward Kyle.
“Yes, I must say it now.”
Jankeller let out a deep sigh, as if inviting her to speak.
“Alright. Go ahead.”
“Well, I happened to learn something. It seems we have… a connection.”
What game was she playing, dragging things out like this?
Her roundabout words made Jankeller frown.
“With such a clear, youthful face, that expression doesn’t suit you, Jankeller.”
Angellus laughed behind an exaggerated hand gesture.
“A face like that—Lady Gronzy wouldn’t like it, would she?”
His eyes widened briefly, then narrowed again.
“Gronzy? What do you mean?”
“Oh, are you pretending not to know? Didn’t you rush out of the temple this morning to meet her?”
“Saintess… were you following me?”
Angellus waved a hand.
“Of course not. Pure coincidence. My maid just happened to see you while walking down the street.”
Her serpent’s tongue began to coil around his nerves.
“And? What exactly are you trying to say?”
His tone dropped, cold and heavy.
“As you know, if the banquet hadn’t been canceled, His Excellency Kyle and I would have announced our engagement that day.”
He only gave a curt nod.
“The announcement was merely delayed. The marriage itself will proceed as planned. His Majesty himself has approved it.”
“Congratulations.”
“Mmm… This is just my assumption, but… Jankeller, perhaps you see Lady Gronzy in a special way?”
Though phrased as a question, her tone and eyes made it clear she already knew.
He didn’t want to answer—just stared back at her.
“You don’t need to say it. But since you aren’t denying it, I’ll take it as confirmation.”
She narrowed her eyes and smiled seductively.
Unable to hold back, Jankeller finally asked:
“Saintess, what’s your intention in probing me like this? Say what you mean, directly.”
