CHAPTER 05……………………
“…It’s quiet.”
Most of the high-ranking priests had been summoned, making the temple unusually silent.
Today I was assigned to clean the hall of the Great Temple. Hoping to earn additional promotion points, I swept the floors diligently.
Then the entrance area grew a bit noisy.
“Did someone important visit?”
The Great Temple occasionally received unexpected visits from imperial nobles.
Whenever a famous person arrived, many priests were called, so such commotion wasn’t unusual.
“For someone to show up on the day of the Grand Assembly…”
It felt rude. Probably some shameless noble flaunting their authority.
“I’d better finish quickly.”
Even without a direct order, I understood what was expected.
If someone of high status saw me cleaning, they’d have something to complain about.
The floors were clean enough anyway. As a trainee priest, the best choice was to finish up and disappear.
I gathered the cleaning tools and was about to leave when someone wearing a necklace set with a blue bead—symbol of an intermediate priest—approached.
“Excuse me… oh, you’re a trainee priest.”
“Yes. Trainee Priest Sonia Theodore.”
“Ah, the Theodore Count’s family! Perfect. Please attend to the guest until the Assembly finishes.”
“Guest?”
“Yes. An imperial noble arrived suddenly saying he required prayer. Someone must attend to him until the Assembly concludes, and you’re the only one here who’s been taught proper etiquette.”
Most trainee priests were commoners, and all higher-ranking priests who knew court etiquette were attending the Assembly.
I understood the situation.
In short, I needed to serve tea and keep the noble company in the guest salon until the Assembly ended.
Failing to entertain a noble properly could even escalate into a diplomatic issue.
Which meant this task was extremely important.
If done well, I could earn additional promotion points.
My goal was to become an intermediate priest. To rise from full priest to intermediate, I needed to gather points.
“The sooner I get promoted, the better.”
To leave the Holy Kingdom and take charge of a small, isolated shrine.
I smiled after finishing my calculations.
“I can’t just abandon a lost lamb. I’ll take the task.”
“Thank goodness. You saved us, Priest Sonia.”
The intermediate priest ordered nearby trainees to take my cleaning tools, and I followed him toward the temple entrance.
A massive black carriage—almost reminiscent of a war chariot—stood before the temple.
“Hrrrff!”
The powerful horse hitched to it snorted wildly.
It looked like a carriage guided by the god of death himself.
But the truly intimidating thing was the man standing beside it.
A man with long black hair cascading to his waist, radiating a vicious aura he didn’t bother hiding.
“You made me wait? Are you joking?”
His voice dripped with coldness.
Even an imperial noble couldn’t behave violently in the Holy Kingdom.
I knew that, yet the pressure in his voice made my nerves tighten.
The intermediate priest stepped forward and apologized.
“My apologies, Your Grace the Grand Duke Ryndmere. We will guide you to the reception room at once.”
…Grand Duke Ryndmere?
Schwarz Valquier Ryndmere, ruler of the northern territories.
Leader of the assassins that ruled the underworld, and one of the obsessive male leads in Domain of Predators.
“Why here, of all places?”
If I’d known it was Schwarz, I’d have faked an illness and run.
But now I was already standing in front of him. Too late to escape.
Fortunately, Schwarz was fiercely wary of others and rarely formed close relationships.
He avoided everyone, so he had barely interacted with Omegas.
Having chosen isolation, Schwarz wasn’t familiar with Omega pheromones.
Even when he had encountered a wounded Lancelot bleeding heavily, he showed no particular reaction.
But once he realized Lancelot’s fragrance wasn’t perfume but pheromones, he stopped thinking entirely and lunged at him.
Schwarz’s chilling gaze swept over the intermediate priest.
“Reception room? Surely you were informed why I came to this temple.”
Perhaps irritated that preparations hadn’t been made, he placed his hand on the hilt at his waist.
Metal clinked—the sword and fittings colliding. The intermediate priest flinched at the sharp sound.
Standing behind him, I watched Schwarz’s fingers toy with the sword.
He had actually brought a weapon into the temple.
“Did he forget this is the Great Temple?”
He must be insane.
If he drew a sword here, it could spark a war between the Empire and the Holy Kingdom.
Then again… he was insane to begin with.
Most obsessive leads at least pretended civility when first introduced.
They only grew unstable after meeting Lancelot, who carried the scent of the sole remaining Omega.
But Schwarz was different.
His hobby was torture. His specialty was torture.
He had been slicing people apart long before meeting Lancelot.
And in the original story, he was the one who killed me.
“Why did it have to be Schwarz…”
In the novel, Sonia loved him. But he found her affection annoying and killed her.
Brutally. In front of her younger brother.
Schwarz continued to toy with the sword, glancing between me and the intermediate priest.
Maybe calculating where to strike—
Which vital point
Would make someone die slowly and painfully.
Goosebumps crawled up my arms.
Thankfully, unlike original Sonia, I had absolutely zero attraction to this man. If anything, I loathed him.
“Are you telling me you intend to keep me waiting again?”
His voice chilled.
Having read the novel, I remembered exactly how he reacted once he recognized Omega pheromones.
He had crossed paths with Lancelot several times and sensed a strange, floral trace. But he hadn’t known it was pheromones.
Only after meeting Lancelot for three consecutive days at a small ball did he realize what that lingering scent was.
Once he recognized it as Omega pheromones, he charged without hesitation.
“Follow me. Refuse and I’ll cut off your ankles.”
He had skipped every intermediate step and simply dragged Lancelot off to his lair.
If he detected Omega scent from me, I’d follow the same fate as my brother.
Thankfully, it seemed he hadn’t noticed.
“It’s not time yet.”
He only realized after three consecutive encounters.
While I hesitated, Schwarz’s expression grew increasingly hostile.
At this rate, he might cut down the intermediate priest simply for irritating him.
And I’d likely be next.
He scared me—but he wasn’t yet in pheromone-responsive mode.
I didn’t want to die simply because I stood nearby.
So I stepped forward and gently pushed the intermediate priest aside.
Then I held my robes and bowed gracefully.
“A pleasure to meet you, Your Grace Grand Duke Ryndmere. I am Trainee Priest Sonia Theodore.”
I introduced myself quickly, worried he might draw his sword if I didn’t speak soon enough.
Instead of drawing it, he slowly examined me.
“So Count Theodore had a daughter. News to me.”
“I left the Empire at a young age to serve Magnus in the Holy Kingdom…!”
Schwarz reached out with his gloved hand and seized the necklace dangling from my neck.
He yanked.
My body jerked toward him with his strength.
The tough chain bit into my throat, making it hard to breathe.
It felt like he was gripping a leash rather than a necklace as he studied my face in detail.
“Indeed. I’ve heard Countess Theodore was a great beauty.”
When he released me, air finally rushed back into my lungs.
My halted thoughts kicked back into motion.
My throat stung where the necklace had dug in.
“…I thought I was going to die.”
Being choked like that felt eerily similar to execution.
“Raise your head.”
Carefully, I looked up. His murderous gaze pierced through me.
Maybe because I’d read about him killing Sonia…
His eyes felt like blades.
My clasped hands trembled slightly. The pain in my throat worsened.
“S-so scary…”
Why had the original Sonia ever loved someone like this?
If possible, I’d stay away from him for the rest of my life.
“Whether you’re a count’s daughter or not, you send me a trainee priest?”
His voice dropped even lower, filled with violent anger.
“Is the Holy Kingdom claiming my filthy blood makes me unworthy of a full priest’s audience?”
I realized why he was so displeased.
Schwarz Valquier Ryndmere—born the illegitimate child of the Emperor and the Duchess Ryndmere.
The Emperor acknowledged him. And with the duchess’s lineage confirmed, Schwarz was granted succession rights as a grand duke.
The Empire’s state religion was the Magnus faith. To be considered a citizen, one needed a baptism from the Holy Kingdom.
But the Holy Kingdom did not recognize bastards.
Schwarz requested baptism and was ignored.
He had once visited the Holy Kingdom personally and caused a rampage after being mistreated for being illegitimate.
It ended without casualties only because the Captain of the Holy Knights intervened.
“I can’t call the Captain right now…!”
All high-ranking clergy were gathered at the Assembly, and the troops were stationed there.
The low-ranking guards wouldn’t stand a chance against Schwarz.
If he drew his sword, a trainee priest like me would die long before help arrived.
I had to appease him somehow.
“What should I say…?”
Cautiously, I examined Schwarz’s expression. I didn’t dare meet his eyes, so I focused on his cheek.
That’s when I noticed a wound.
