Chapter 47……
Angelus was impatient. She had to catch Kyle no matter what.
For anyone else, just one look from her eyes or a touch of her hand was enough.
There had never been a person who didn’t fall in love, and if she asked, they would even pretend to die for her.
Kyle had spent a long time in the wild northern lands, hunting monsters.
She was certain that once he saw her beauty, he would fall in love instantly.
But Kyle did not act according to her expectations.
He was the second person after Yankeller to do so.
Kyle politely greeted Angelus with proper courtesy.
When she invited him to have tea again, he refused once more.
Then, without looking back, he walked toward Yankeller’s office.
“Kyle…”
Angelus stared daggers at him until his figure disappeared.
The grip on her skirt tightened, the fabric making a scraping sound.
Angelus felt humiliated.
If they had been alone, it wouldn’t have been so disgraceful.
There was a chilling glint in her eyes as she stared at the empty corridor.
“I’ll have you no matter what, Kyle Sow Bartman.”
Despite the priest’s attempts to stop her, Angelus left the nobles—who had been waiting for her since dawn—behind.
The priest followed her, pleading for her to return.
“Are you saying you dare follow the Saint into her chamber?”
Arriving at the door, Angelus snapped her head around and shouted.
Her voice was sharp and venomous, and the priest finally gave up and turned back.
Bang!
The door slammed shut as if it might break, and soon after, Angelus’s furious scream leaked out.
“Just wait. I won’t let you get away with this!”
She began throwing anything she could grab against the wall.
A set of expensive cosmetics she had bought just a few days earlier shattered, leaving a large stain.
“Hoo…”
A short sigh came from the corner—it was Hugo, her butler, who followed her like a shadow.
“Come here. Now.”
He slowly stepped out of the darkness.
“Go deliver a message.”
Hugo bowed his head, ready to listen.
“Tell them… that I’ll do what they suggested before. Exactly as they said.”
“Understood. Is that all I should say?”
“Yes. They’ll tell you when and where to go. Bring that back to me.”
“Yes.”
“And one more thing.”
Angelus looked up at him with eyes full of malice.
“You saw the young lady sitting next to Duke Kyle, right? Baron Everett Gronzy’s daughter.”
“Yes.”
“Find out everything about her. Not a single detail left out.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Hugo didn’t ask why—he already had a good guess.
After Hugo left, a maid quickly brought wine, then hurriedly backed out of the room before she could become the target of Angelus’s wrath.
Angelus drank straight from the bottle.
“You think I’d lose to some baron’s daughter?”
Her hand shook as she gripped the bottle.
She was certain it was a fight she could never lose.
But the way Kyle kept looking at Everett made her uneasy.
Goosebumps prickled all over her body.
“It’s just because I’m cold… I should raise the room temperature.”
But she didn’t call for a maid.
Angelus knew better than anyone that it wasn’t the cold.
“Yan, it’s me.”
Kyle stepped into the office but stopped in his tracks.
Stacks of paperwork filled the spacious room, hiding Yankeller from sight.
“What is all this? Are you doing all the temple’s work by yourself?”
Yankeller poked his head out from between the piles of documents.
He gave Kyle a faint smile.
“It hasn’t been that long, has it?”
When Kyle mentioned meeting him through the teleportation orb Yankeller had made, he laughed.
“Why are you so busy?”
“Winter’s ending and the new year’s starting. This is always the busiest time for the temple. And with the donations pouring in through the Saint… there’s barely time to sleep.”
Kyle shook his head with a wry smile.
“So that’s why you gave me such a weak welcome. Our great archmage shouldn’t be worn down by such menial work.”
Yankeller gently pushed away the hand Kyle had placed on his shoulder.
“Archmage… careful, someone might hear. Don’t say that.”
Normally, he would have smiled shyly at such words.
Kyle found his reaction strange, but assumed it was just fatigue.
“You don’t have to worry today. Alp’s guarding the door—no one can eavesdrop like last time.”
Kyle sat on the sofa.
“What about that owl bastard? Did you catch him?”
“No. I called for him early the next morning, but like you said, he’d already vanished.”
“Knew it.”
“Even the entry records he filled out when entering the temple were gone.”
“That’s the kind of guy he is. Hard to catch.”
Yankeller placed a cup of tea before Kyle and sat opposite him.
After watching him for a moment, he spoke carefully.
“I just came from there—a problem between the Saint and a young lady.”
“Oh yeah? Then you must’ve seen me.”
“Yes, and… the same young lady we met outside the temple before.”
Kyle nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips.
‘There it is again… that look.’
Yankeller’s mouth felt dry.
“You two seemed familiar. Have you met since then?”
Kyle chuckled.
“A few times by chance. When I came in, she and the Saint were in a heated debate over a prophecy.”
He pictured Everett’s wide eyes as she challenged the Saint.
“Unusual, isn’t she?”
The almost-whispered words made Yankeller ask what he meant.
“Ah, nothing. Why do you ask about her?”
“You seemed close…”
A small storm raged in Yankeller’s mind.
“We’re not close. Not yet.”
“Not yet?”
“Yes. I’m thinking of getting closer.”
“Getting closer how?”
“I found out she’s quite capable in many ways. Worth knowing.”
Yankeller’s heart sank.
‘Could he already know she’s Naz?’
He wanted to ask immediately, but feared he might end up revealing it himself.
So he swallowed the question.
Kyle began humming, thinking of Everett.
The sight was unfamiliar—no, unsettling.
Until that morning, Yankeller had been buried in donation work, but after seeing them together, he couldn’t stop thinking about meeting Everett.
“What kind of ability does she have?”
“Oh, it’s something.”
Kyle laughed quietly.
“I’ve decided to take her as my teacher.”
“What? Teacher? Learn what?”
“I’ll tell you soon. The more I know, the more interesting she gets.”
Kyle kept talking about Everett, and without realizing it, Yankeller bit his lower lip.
He glanced around at the mountains of work still to be done.
If he didn’t handle it, another priest would suffer for it.
He didn’t want to be a priest, but his sense of responsibility was strong.
That was why he couldn’t leave the temple to see Everett.
‘Why does this temple work matter so much…’
He sighed heavily, chest tight.
‘Is it harder this year because of the donations? It’s the same work every year, but he looks more worn out.’
Kyle looked at him with concern.
Even in the last letter from the north, he’d sensed something was different.
Now that they were face-to-face, it was obvious there was a problem.
He wanted to ask, but knew he might not get an answer—so he decided to wait.
‘He’ll tell me when he’s ready.’
He always had before.
Even when there’d been trouble with the high priest over magic, Yankeller had always told Kyle first once things were settled.
This was the busiest time of year, so Kyle decided to wait.
Besides, spring was going to be busy for him too.
A few days later, in the imperial audience chamber.
The emperor glared at the nobles as if he might kill them.
After one noble finished speaking, the emperor restrained his anger and spoke in a voice heavy with tension.
“What’s so important about the Duke’s marriage that we must hold a ball just to find him a bride?”
“But Your Majesty! Didn’t you already tell Duke Kyle there would be such a ball?”
The emperor let out a short, displeased groan.
He shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable, then slammed the table.
It was a signal for the nobles to shut up.
The cunning ones understood and fell silent with small grunts.
“In my view, Kyle doesn’t want to marry.”
“Your Majesty, royal marriages are not a matter of want or don’t want.”
He was right—there was no flaw in his argument, and that made the emperor even angrier.
“Kyle has wandered the frontiers his whole life. Why would we force the chains of royalty on such a child?”
The emperor stopped speaking, letting out a faint sigh.
“I just… want my only nephew to live freely.”
