Chapter 50
As expected, the moment we stepped inside the temple, I felt a chaotic atmosphere.
There were no believers in sight.
Instead, only priests hurried back and forth—startled when they saw us and quickly avoiding us.
It seems the news has already spread.
Well, the Emperor must have sent word already.
That the princess would come to the eastern temple to register guardianship.
Is that why they didn’t even allow believers inside?
Carlos seemed to feel the same uneasy mood.
The inside of the temple was a special area free from demonic energy, yet his deeply furrowed brow showed no sign of relaxing.
“Relax your expression, Archduke.”
I whispered softly, but unfortunately, it had no effect.
The harsher the stares around us became, the colder his expression only grew.
Instead of saying more, I quickened my steps and approached the priest in charge of guidance at the entrance.
From afar, I could already see the priest’s expression souring as she watched me approach.
She looks like she’s been struck by lightning.
But what could she do?
I stood proudly in front of her—
though in reality, I was almost looking up at her.
“I came to register guardianship.”
“…Greetings, Your Highness the Princess.”
“Yes. I never thought I’d come all the way to this remote eastern temple.
But thanks to someone blocking the registration by letter, I had no choice.”
The priest coughed awkwardly.
“You know my purpose, so could you call the person in charge?
As you can see, my schedule is very busy.”
“Please wait a moment.”
She bowed her head and quietly went inside.
Will it take about ten minutes?
Since Carlos still didn’t look well, I was about to look around the corridor for a place to sit—
But before I could even take a step, the priest returned and stood in front of me.
That was fast.
“…Where is the person in charge?”
The priest looked troubled.
“I’m sorry, but the priest in charge has stepped out.”
“…Stepped out?”
“Yes. An urgent matter came up.
We’re not sure when they will return…”
She couldn’t meet my eyes and trailed off.
Avoiding my gaze, awkward tone—
it was practically written on her face that this was a lie.
An urgent matter? On the exact day we arrive?
Ridiculous.
Isn’t that excuse too obvious?
Even if I wanted to pretend to be fooled, there was no sincerity at all.
But unfortunately, I couldn’t argue.
If we caused trouble inside the temple, we would only lose more.
So I pretended to think—
just pretended.
I rolled my eyes once and smiled brightly.
“Then I’ll wait.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ll wait until the person in charge returns.
Where should I wait?”
This time, the priest truly looked flustered.
She clearly hadn’t expected me to say I would wait.
Of course.
The princess Lorea they knew would have exploded and overturned the entire temple demanding the official be brought immediately.
If I acted like that, they planned to chase me out with some excuse.
Let’s see if I fall for that.
As I stared blankly up at her, I saw cold sweat forming on her forehead.
“What, don’t tell me there isn’t even a waiting room?
This is the eastern temple.”
“Ah, well…”
“My legs hurt.”
“Yes—yes. Th-this way… I will guide you to the waiting room.”
“Okay. Let’s go, Archduke.”
I deliberately started walking, and Carlos silently followed one step behind.
The place we were guided to was a small room in the corner of the temple.
The window was tiny.
The chairs were hard.
Rather than a guest room, it felt closer to a storage room.
It even smelled dusty.
They brought us here on purpose.
On the way, I had seen other waiting rooms—
wide, clean, with large windows and cushioned chairs.
Yet they brought the princess here…
They want to test my patience and watch me explode, don’t they?
The trick was so shallow it was laughable.
I will never fall for it.
The priest bowed and hurried away.
Carlos sat in a chair.
His expression was calm, but he looked tired.
Three days of forced travel must have been too much.
Without Sion’s magic, we wouldn’t have reached here at all.
“…Archduke, please rest.”
“Ignore me.”
“I will—if you rest.”
No answer came back.
I looked out the window.
The sun was slowly setting.
* * *
I expected this… but how is it exactly the same?
Before I knew it, I was staring at a sky that had already turned completely dark.
Even after sunset, nightfall, and the moon rising high—
the priest in charge never came.
Sometimes another priest entered and said,
“Please wait a little longer,”
then left. That was all.
They didn’t even look truly sorry. It was clearly just formal words.
At this point, my own stubbornness made me endure.
I wanted to see how long they would leave me like this.
The problem was…
I’m getting sleepy.
Not only Carlos—three days of travel was exhausting for me too.
And now I had the body of a thirteen-year-old, so the fatigue felt even heavier.
Just as drowsiness overwhelmed me and I thought I couldn’t endure anymore,
the door opened and the guiding priest entered again.
“Um… it’s very late today…”
I knew it.
“It seems the priest in charge cannot return today.
We have prepared lodging, so please rest there tonight and come again tomorrow—”
“Do you at least plan to handle it if I come tomorrow?”
The priest stopped speaking.
“…We will do our best.”
Do our best.
Not we will do it.
“We will check the priest’s schedule and contact you.”
“You haven’t even checked the schedule until now—what have you been doing?”
“Well… the schedule is uncertain.
It may take several days…”
Several days.
That was the real plan.
Not today. Not tomorrow. Not the day after.
They would keep delaying until my patience ran out—
then use that as an excuse to drive me away.
If I were expelled from the eastern temple,
my only choice would be the central grand temple.
And the moment I entered the capital with Carlos,
being dragged to the Imperial Palace would be inevitable.
The priest watched my face nervously,
as if bracing for an explosion.
“Alright.”
I nodded.
“…I’m sor—! Pardon?”
“I said alright. You want me to come again tomorrow, right?”
At my easy answer, the priest looked dazed.
“What are you doing, standing there with that empty face?”
She snapped back to her senses.
“Ah—yes! Then I will guide you to the lodging—”
“Just tell me where it is. I’ll go myself.”
“Pardon?”
“No need to guide me.
If you were me, would you want your guidance?”
At my sharp tone, she hesitated, then told me the location.
It was at the edge of the temple grounds, far from the sanctuary.
“Let’s go, Archduke.”
Carlos stood.
His expression was unreadable, as always.
More than that, he hasn’t spoken at all since we entered the temple.
As we left the waiting room, I carefully asked:
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Only then did Carlos look down at me.
“Do you want me to do something for you?”
“Not exactly…”
“You seemed to have a plan of your own, Princess.
So I was watching.”
“…Yes. That’s true.”
How did he know?
Maybe it was simply within his ability to see through things—
but more than that, I just didn’t want to move exactly as they expected.
Carlos nodded as if he had known all along.
“Then try doing it your way.”
