~Chapter 36~
Before reporting the temple’s corruption to the guards, Astia first told Damian everything.
She was worried about going straight to the authorities, since she didn’t know how far the corrupt Zilte Temple’s influence might reach.
Thankfully, Damian heard about it and rushed to Elling Orphanage, so the case was solved quickly.
“Brother, I secured the evidence.”
Astia handed the magic recorder to Damian. As he listened to the recording, he smirked coldly.
“Zilte Temple… I’ll destroy it if I have to, right?”
Astia stopped Damian before he ran out in anger.
Instead, she asked him to make the story as big as possible in the newspapers. That way, other temples would be more careful, too.
With the Rovellito family’s influence, the case moved forward quickly.
Zilte Temple, Priest Corruption Exposed!
Is the Temple’s Reputation Finished?!
Illegal Slave Trade Connected to Zilte Temple?
The Zilte Temple was completely reformed after this scandal. The largest temple in the order, the Sea Grand Temple, sent in new priests to take over.
All the money the corrupt priests made was taken by the imperial palace. There were many special news articles, and Clay was caught with the slave records by palace knights.
Cecilia wrote a letter thanking Astia and saying she would stay at the Sea Grand Temple for a while. She had lost all trust in Clay and the Zilte Temple.
Astia was relieved. The Grand Temple was a much better place for Cecilia to chase her dream.
And then…
“[Priest Charlet says he wants to see you and apologize in person.]”
Suddenly, Charlet said he wanted to beg for Astia’s forgiveness.
Damian joked as he touched his sword,
“Maybe I should listen to his excuse, then just kill him cleanly.”
“Brother, no. Wouldn’t it be better to make him suffer for a while instead?”
“Hmm. That might be better.”
“The palace will handle it, but I’ll meet Priest Charlet myself.”
“Alright. Go ahead.”
Damian agreed, and Charlet was brought in, tied up with ropes. He looked sick and pale, like he might collapse any second. He fell flat on the floor and bowed deeply.
“I didn’t realize you were the noble Lady of Rovellito. I’m sorry! The Third Confession Room was only for commoners, so I didn’t even consider it.”
He kept slamming his head to the ground, even when he started to bleed.
“Stop.”
Damian glared at Charlet with a cold look, raising his hand. Charlet shook with fear at the warning in Damian’s eyes.
“I’ll spend my whole life apologizing…”
“I have a question.”
“Y-yes?”
“You shouted in the temple that you didn’t want to die. Why did you do that?”
“I-I don’t know!”
Charlet panicked and screamed. Damian started to raise his sword, and Charlet trembled even more.
“I saw… a monster.”
“A monster?”
“Scarier than a devil. I’ve never seen anything like him while working in the temple… I don’t want to die.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s going to kill me! I’m safer in prison…”
Astia tilted her head. She couldn’t understand what he was talking about.
“Take him away.”
Damian’s assistant dragged Charlet out. Damian sighed.
“Tch. Maybe he’s lost his mind.”
Astia still didn’t understand Charlet’s strange words.
‘Who is he talking about?’
Charlet looked like someone about to die, his eyes darting everywhere, trembling with fear. For a priest to call someone a devil, it must have been serious.
Astia remembered the man who passed by her near the confession room.
‘That man came out of the Third Confession Room.’
It seemed related, but she didn’t feel threatened, so she decided not to worry about it.
‘If I see him again, I should at least ask his name.’
She was also curious about who caught Clay and the orphanage head, and gathered the evidence before she even arrived.
She had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last time she met these people.
Ian was walking alone through a dark alley, even though it was daytime.
People hiding nearby ran away, scared by his presence.
“Hmm. Is it here?”
Ian bent down and brushed the ground, searching for leftover traces of magic.
“Definitely…”
He could sense something strange. It was too subtle for a normal magician to notice, but Ian had dragon blood and could feel it.
He closed his eyes and focused on the flow of magic. Suddenly, he realized it was familiar.
‘Ruby.’
He felt the same kind of magic from the rabbit Astia used to keep. The rabbit had disappeared, but Ian had always suspected it was a person under an ancient spell.
“Why did someone do this…?”
Ian clenched his teeth. He’d heard from the Tower Master Alves about the murder case.
“[Ian! Do you know how hard it’s been? The palace asked us to help with the murder case, and they kept us busy for days…]”
“[Then just don’t do it.]”
“[No, sorry. But something is strange. The victim was just a normal person who sometimes used these alleys. Why kill a civilian with magic?]”
Alves said the palace investigators were completely lost.
That’s why Ian came straight to the scene, instead of explaining everything to Alves.
“You can’t fool my eyes.”
He was sure the criminal thought they’d erased all evidence, but Ian could sense their magic trail.
“I might fail, but…”
He needed to find out who was behind all this.
Normally, he wouldn’t care and would let Alves handle it, but this time, he didn’t feel like ignoring it.
Astia.
He felt the same energy from her rabbit, so he thought it might be related to her.
She could be in danger because of this.
Even if Damian was protecting her, there were unknown threats, and that made Ian uneasy.
“I can’t let that happen.”
Ian activated a tracking spell with his magic.
“I’ll just kill anything in my way.”
His golden eyes flashed.
The Zilte Temple scandal spread through high society.
While teaching Astia, Countess Helen brought it up.
“I heard about the corruption in the temple?”
“Yes, you heard?”
“Of course. It was in all the newspapers. But I also heard a rumor that you were the one who exposed the corrupt priest…”
Helen watched Astia with a hopeful look.
Astia was surprised. She had asked for secrecy, but the rumor still spread to the social circles.
Helen noticed Astia’s discomfort and added,
“Oh, my husband visits the temple a lot. So I only know because of him.”
“Ah, I just found out about the corruption by chance.”
“I see. As expected.”
Helen smiled at Astia, who was feeling a little nervous.
“I like you, you know. You’re honest and say what you need to say. I like people who don’t flatter me or get scared in front of me. The other young ladies act nervous, but you don’t.”
Helen kept praising Astia.
“You’re also so graceful. I want to learn from you.”
“Oh, thank you, madam.”
“Can you tell me how you caught the corrupt priest?”
“It’s nothing special.”
“You don’t have to say if you don’t want to.”
Helen acted casual, but Astia could see her eyes sparkling with interest.
Astia gave a rough explanation, and Helen’s face changed as she listened. She dropped her usual elegant attitude and harshly criticized the priest.
“People like that are the problem.”
“Right?”
“You need to watch out for people wearing masks. There are plenty of priests like that in society, too.”
Astia ended up listening to more of Helen’s life advice.
“The debutante ball is soon, right? You seem perfect, but you should finish your lessons beautifully.”
“Yes.”
“Also… would it be alright if I became your sponsor for the debutante?”
“Huh?”
“You don’t have to have one, but I’d like to help if I can.”
Helen smiled.
In noble society, a sponsor wasn’t required, but who you had as a sponsor could change your future.
Having Helen as a sponsor was a dream for many girls.
‘No way.’
Astia knew Helen liked her, but this was an amazing offer.
“You don’t have to feel pressured. I just want to help.”
“Thank you…”
Astia was a bit overwhelmed by Helen’s kindness, but it made her happy to be recognized.
