Chapter 79…………………………….
He suddenly went stiff, then quickly composed his expression.
But Knox had already noticed everything.
The High Priest pretended not to know and played dumb.
“What are you talking about? Tampering with the Book of Prophecy?”
“The medicine in this vial erases written letters. Since you couldn’t rewrite the prophecy from scratch, it seems you planned to erase the words and cleverly rewrite them yourself, High Priest.”
“……!”
It was exactly as Knox had said.
The High Priest intended to erase only the parts he had misinterpreted and rewrite them in his own way.
Knox took a step closer and spoke.
“Well, looks like I hit the nail on the head. Your expression is quite something, High Priest.”
The High Priest reflexively raised a hand and touched his face.
Without realizing it, his face was drenched in cold sweat.
A devilish smile curled at the corner of Knox’s lips.
He began to coax the High Priest gently.
“Tell me the truth. Then I’ll make sure this ends with you merely stepping down from your position, not being expelled from the temple.”
But the High Priest didn’t believe him.
“Hmph, aren’t you the one who wants my mistake exposed to the entire world? Once I lose my power, you’ll strip me of all my qualifications. You think I don’t know that?”
“…You’ll regret this.”
Knox’s eyebrow twitched.
The High Priest decided to leave this place for now and moved his body.
“Step aside! I’m leaving!”
“That won’t do.”
Knox had no intention of letting him go.
Since persuasion had failed, the only option was to use medicine to force a confession.
As they struggled, the High Priest’s foot slipped, and he fell backward.
“Ugh…!”
His head struck the hard stone floor with a dull thud.
Seeing his chance, Knox quickly mounted him.
The impact was so great that the High Priest couldn’t gather his senses.
Knox pulled a vial from his pocket and popped the lid open with his mouth.
With one hand, he squeezed the High Priest’s cheeks and forced his mouth open.
“I told you… you should have cooperated when I tried to talk things out, High Priest.”
“Mmph—!”
The dark red liquid slid down the High Priest’s throat.
After struggling for a moment, he soon went limp, his eyes glazing over.
Fortunately, the drug seemed to be working very well.
Knox let out a sigh of relief and got off him.
The medicine he had given the High Priest was a truth serum.
Anyone who drank it would answer all questions truthfully for a certain period of time.
He’d obtained it just in case—thankfully, because things would have been troublesome without it.
“Hoo… well then, shall we hear your confession?”
Knox smiled brightly as he pulled out a recording orb from his pocket.
It was to record the High Priest’s confession.
About an hour later, Knox left the prophecy chamber with a refreshed expression and headed to his room.
In his hand was the recording orb containing the High Priest’s confession.
“The weather was nice last time too, and it’s nice again today.”
Ibellina smiled and stretched out her hand, lightly dipping it into the water.
The bone-chilling cold made her shiver instinctively.
Ibellina and Arsen were currently out on a boat on the lake behind the estate.
They had come out for a change of pace.
As Arsen slowly rowed, he spoke.
“When I visited the imperial palace not long ago, I met His Majesty. He said it seems some good news will be coming soon.”
“Really? That’s a relief. I was worried because His Majesty seemed to be going through a lot…”
At Arsen’s words, Ibellina’s face visibly brightened.
Seeing her worry about Jonas irritated him slightly, but Arsen didn’t show it.
Ibellina, who had been absentmindedly watching the flowing water, spoke.
“Do you remember what Mother told us about the divine beast when we first came here?”
“Yes, I remember.”
She turned her head and looked toward the forest.
“Actually… I saw the divine beast back then.”
“…The divine beast?”
“Yes.”
She continued speaking without taking her eyes off the forest.
“The deer I saw on the way back to the estate—it was the divine beast. And it even spoke to me.”
“What… did it say?”
“That it had been harmed by someone’s misguided mistake, but that things would soon return to how they were.”
“…I see.”
Arsen nodded seriously.
Ibellina turned to look at him.
“The divine beast is an unconfirmed existence. Do you believe me?”
“There’s no way you’d lie to me, Ibellina.”
He answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Ibellina blinked in surprise, then let out a soft laugh.
Her clear laughter echoed around them.
She gathered herself and spoke again.
“At the time, I didn’t understand what it meant. But now that I think about it, I think I know.”
She turned her gaze back to the forest.
“It must have meant that the prophecy was misinterpreted, and that it would soon be corrected.”
“It seems the divine beast cares for you greatly.”
“Not at all. It probably just felt sorry for me, that’s all.”
Arsen smiled faintly without replying.
A breeze passed by.
Since she hadn’t tied her hair today, it streamed back in the wind.
Watching that sight absentmindedly, he spoke.
“When your hair flows like that, it looks like a cluster of stars.”
“Maybe because it’s silver.”
Ibellina smiled as she tucked her hair behind her ear.
“I have something I’m curious about.”
“What is it?”
“Soon, the way people look at you will change. What’s the first thing you want to do then?”
“Hmm…”
She thought carefully at his question.
After hesitating, she spoke cautiously.
“I just want to walk through the streets without thinking about anything. Without worrying about other people’s eyes.”
“…I see.”
“And, ah—later, I’d like to host a tea party too.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Once she started talking, more and more things she wanted to do came to mind.
Arsen never once said no.
“Then we can take things one step at a time.”
“Because we have plenty of time?”
“Yes. Because we have plenty of time.”
Looking up at the sky, Arsen spoke.
“We should head back soon. The sun is setting.”
“Let’s do that.”
As he rowed toward the shore, Arsen said,
“Once this matter is settled, how about taking a vacation? I have a villa by the sea.”
“The sea? I’d love that!”
Ibellina chattered excitedly.
“It’d be so nice to go without servants. Fishing with Mother, cooking meals together…”
Her heart was already pounding with excitement.
She hoped that day would come soon.
In the early dawn, when everyone was asleep, Arsen slowly opened his eyes as he lay beside Ibellina.
His gaze was sharp, as if he hadn’t slept at all.
He quietly got up.
Beside him, Ibellina slept peacefully, breathing softly.
Arsen lightly kissed her cheek.
Tickled by the sensation, she shifted around before falling back asleep.
After changing into simple clothes to meet a guest, Arsen left the room.
Noah, who had been waiting outside, immediately followed.
“The guest?”
“He arrived just now.”
“Good.”
Arsen headed to the study—the meeting place.
When he flung the door open, someone who had been sitting stiffly in a chair jumped to his feet and spun around.
Arsen closed the door, sat across from him, and nodded slightly.
The man who had arrived first cleared his throat and cautiously sat back down.
He wore his robe pulled low, obscuring his face.
But judging by his height and build, he was clearly a man.
The man glanced at Arsen and spoke.
“Why did Your Grace summon me?”
“To make a deal.”
“…A deal?”
His voice rose slightly.
At that, Noah—standing behind him like a shadow—leaned in and whispered quietly.
“Everyone in the estate is asleep. Please lower your voice.”
“O-oh, I understand.”
The eerie tone sent a chill down the man’s spine.
Arsen spoke again in a low voice.
“It’s simple. What’s the most controversial issue in the temple right now?”
“That would be… the prophecy issue.”
The man answered while cautiously watching Arsen.
Perhaps because of the dim light, those dark blue eyes looked frightening.
He quickly averted his gaze and cleared his throat.
Arsen crossed his arms and legs.
The arrogant posture irritated the man, but he didn’t dare complain.
“I hear you have a recording orb containing the High Priest’s confession.”
“How did you—?!”
At Arsen’s casual words, the man—no, Knox—widened his eyes.
He hadn’t told anyone, and no one had witnessed it.
Arsen added with a leisurely smile,
“There are always eyes watching, even where you can’t see.”
A chill ran down Knox’s spine.
Then… since when has he been watching me?
Knox looked at Arsen with trembling pupils.
Arsen spoke with an unwavering expression.
“Use that to make a whistleblowing report. In return, while you’re serving as High Priest, I’ll promise a massive donation.”
Knox flinched.
Money was essential to keep the temple running, and it relied on donations.
But as rumors spread that the prophecy was wrong, donations had abruptly dried up, leaving them in trouble.
“Even if you become High Priest, faith in the temple won’t recover easily. I want two things.”
“And those are…?”
“Whistleblowing, and cooperation with the imperial family.”
Arsen casually slipped in another condition.
If he was making a deal anyway, he decided to make it more beneficial for Jonas.
“If you agree to those two things, I’ll promise not yearly—but monthly—donations. One million gold should suffice.”
“O-one… one million gold?”
Knox’s jaw dropped.
One million gold every month.
With that amount, they could completely renovate the temple and still have plenty left over.
He couldn’t even begin to imagine the scale of the Grand Duke’s wealth.
Knox swallowed hard.
It was an amount too tempting to refuse.
In the end, Knox nodded.
Arsen raised one corner of his mouth crookedly and said,
“If you fail to uphold this deal, I’ll take your life as payment. And if you leak this deal, I’ll take your life for that as well.”
At the razor-sharp words, Knox hiccupped and nodded frantically.
