“No. Nothing happened.”
“I was bitten.”
Liselotte’s voice, which had almost reflexively blurted out a denial, overlapped with Eren’s.
Turning her head slightly, Liselotte realized her mistake and squeezed her eyes shut.
There was no reason for her to answer that question in the first place. And on top of that, her answer differed from Eren’s.
Even though Hedmilton looked oblivious, he was actually quite quick at grasping situations.
Sure enough, Hedmilton blinked and tilted his head.
“Why did Princess Liselotte answer?”
‘Get a grip, Liselotte. If you cannot even persuade Hedmilton here, then you have no right to stand in court.’
After firmly whipping herself into shape, Liselotte replied solemnly, pretending nothing was wrong.
“We were together yesterday.”
“Ah, right, His Highness said the estate has been unstable lately.”
“That’s right. So he saw to it. That nothing happened.”
Her gaze drifted quietly toward Eren.
Eren’s low voice delivered a thick, short answer that matched his blunt expression.
“What Liselotte says is correct.”
“Haha… yes.”
Her overly cheerful reply felt suspicious, but Liselotte decided to brazen it out.
As if on cue, knock knock, Marsha knocked on the door and urged her on.
“Your Highness, the High Priest has been escorted to the reception room! If you need more time, shall I serve tea first?”
“No, we are going out now!”
At her shout, Eren extended his hand as if he had been waiting for it.
Perhaps because there was a clear purpose to this escort, it felt less awkward.
Maybe it was just her imagination, but his mood seemed oddly good, though the difference was very subtle.
To others, he still looked like his usual taciturn man with a somewhat intimidating expression.
For some reason, a group of holy knights had gathered in the corridor leading to the reception room.
“Return our weapons!”
“We cannot.”
Ail was standing in front of them, blocking the way with a faint smile.
The one who appeared to be the Holy Knight Commander was formidable in both build and presence.
With his bronze skin and fierce expression, if not for the white holy knight uniform, he looked like someone who would challenge anyone to a duel on the spot.
“The Holy Kingdom is a neutral zone that belongs to nowhere. We have no interest in regional disputes within the continent, so return our weapons!”
“We understand the position of the holy knights, but do we not also have our own principles?”
“Is this not a measure that makes it seem as though House Keilos does not trust the temple?!”
“As I have explained, due to the recent increase in attacks within the North, all weapons are prohibited when outsiders enter.”
Compared to the Holy Knight Commander, Ail, who had a slimmer build, responded with the same smile that seemed to grate on one’s nerves.
They had said security had recently been strengthened, and it seemed the ones escorting the High Priest were protesting after having their weapons confiscated.
“What is the problem?”
At Liselotte’s soft presence, the attendants who had been watching the scuffle belatedly greeted her and hurriedly disappeared.
Ail leisurely placed a hand over his chest and bowed his head.
“You have arrived. There was a brief disagreement with the holy knights, but it has been resolved.”
Contrary to his explanation, the Holy Knight Commander strode straight toward Liselotte and Eren.
Clack, bowing his head sharply in a formal greeting, he spoke stiffly.
“May the light of God be with you. I am the Holy Knight Commander. This is not without reason, but the knights of Keilos have confiscated our weapons. I humbly request that they be returned.”
Though phrased as a request, his attitude was somewhat coercive.
Eren didn’t even blink.
“For what reason?”
“Without weapons, the Holy Knights cannot protect the High Priest.”
“A knight claiming they can only protect someone with a sword, how narrow-minded.”
It was a blunt, short refusal.
But the Holy Knight Commander didn’t back down.
“We are people who believe in God. Do you not trust the priests? This is blasphemy.”
“I would like to believe you are not saying that out of ignorance of what became of the West that trusted its priests.”
At a loss for words, he bit his lip tightly.
The Keilos estate didn’t have many occasions to see priests.
It seemed to be because they more frequently used healing magic stones, and because they tended to raise people somewhat more harshly than other regions.
Even when catching a cold, the atmosphere was such that one was thrown into the middle of the snow and told to endure it with even harsher cold.
Because of that, unlike other regions, the psychological distance felt even greater.
Growing worried that relations between the North and the Temple might sour, Liselotte slipped in with a subtle smile.
“Normally, in the North, one must follow Northern law. We will properly return the weapons when you leave, so do not worry.”
She deliberately smiled even more brightly.
“Surely you are not claiming that the North might ambush a priest, when it was the clergy who recently committed wrongdoing and are showing no tolerance?”
“…”
“And according to continental law, the basic rules of each region are determined by the ruling House, so you wouldn’t be thinking of disregarding that either, would you?”
“…Yes. I was hasty.”
Perhaps judging that this wouldn’t do, the Holy Knight Commander reluctantly backed down.
As they passed by them, Ail slipped closer and whispered softly.
“I knew holy knights were inflexible, but this really goes beyond imagination.”
“They live by their convictions. We are the ones who have to understand.”
Tsk, clicking his tongue softly, Ail quietly opened the door to the reception room and spoke.
“His Highness the Grand Duke and Her Highness the Grand Duchess are entering.”
When the door opened, pale greenish hair came into view.
“Wow, it has been so long!”
Chael’s broad, beaming smile reminded her of the time she had seen him at the Rovans estate.
His manner of grinning as if greeting a close friend after a long time was still something she couldn’t quite get used to.
Liselotte treated him with measured politeness.
“I am surprised that the busy High Priest would visit the Keilos estate first thing in the morning.”
As she took a seat on the facing sofa with Eren, he followed and sat down as well, smiling shyly with his eyes.
“Well, I really wanted to offer my apology in person, but unfortunately, if not today, I don’t think I would have the time.”
“It would have been fine to convey it by letter.”
“After such an act was committed in the name of the Temple, it wouldn’t be proper to convey it by letter.”
Seeming embarrassed, Chael lightly rubbed his hands together and continued speaking.
“I heard about what happened in the West. They say one of our priests led the theft of a large quantity of magic stones?”
“Yes. Have you confirmed what kind of person he is within the Temple?”
She had already wanted to speak with the Temple.
There were many things she had been curious about.
Whether the High Priest was also aware of the priests whose divine power didn’t work on her.
If he wasn’t aware, then what kind of information circulated within the Temple, and what sort of relationship it maintained with the East.
It felt awkward to ask so bluntly by letter, and it was difficult to suddenly arrange a meeting, so she had only been thinking about it.
Now that he had come of his own accord, Liselotte was almost grateful from her perspective.
Chael brushed his pale green hair, which looked as though it had been diluted with water, back behind his ear and lightly shook his head.
That gesture gave off a very innocent, almost childlike impression.
“I was told that five years ago, he was recognized for his devotion at a temple in the West and became a priest. According to that temple, he had recently been undergoing treatment because his mental state was unstable, and they claim that he caused the incident during that time.”
“His mental state was… unstable?”
“Yes. Since he was being treated with divine power, it seems the Western temple believed he would recover.”
Eren, who had been listening quietly, sharply asked back.
“Does that mean treatment with divine power did not work?”
“I suppose so?”
Chael tilted his head, speaking as if it were someone else’s problem entirely.
She felt like she finally understood why the original Liselotte had scribbled graffiti at the Central Temple.
That oddly flower-field way of speaking, as if living in a dream, was exactly the kind of thing that would provoke resistance in a young Liselotte who was painfully realistic and worldly.
This was something a priest had committed, of all people.
Was it not a case that should be treated with greater gravity?
As Liselotte quietly observed him, Chael met her gaze and replied with a bright, innocent smile.
“So we have sent an Inquisitor to the West for now!”
Clapping his hands together, he continued speaking energetically.
“If they are revealed to be heretics, we will execute them all!”
