23 episodes
It was dawn, but Shunin Justia was in the office.
square square.
The quill pen, which had been moving over the paperwork, stood still.
His nerves were all focused elsewhere.
“Whew.”
Shunin had a headache.
‘I have to plant the next saint as my person according to their instructions.’
Only invisible, the Dark Followers have been trying to plant people in the Church of Pars.
It was a plan that had been in place right after the Demon King died.
In collusion with them, Shunin had to make his adopted son, Nyx, a saint.
The Dark Followers who joined the delegation and came into contact with Shunin trained him like a debtor.
However.
‘The plans have been messed up since he showed up!’
The documents that Shunin was holding were crumpled.
Ethan is an orphan from the countryside.
The boy was the problem.
Nome performed miracles by reviving Seongbaeksoo and making Seongbaeksoo flowers bloom at the ordination ceremony.
He also won the favor of the Pope with his thin tongue, and earned the status of a candidacy for the saint.
‘Where did a dog bone that came from rolling around dare to disturb you?’
Shunin clenched his fists and trembled.
The Saint Candidate was not something that could be defeated by a clumsy check.
Because of Edan’s actions, there were already many people within the central church who predicted Edan as a future saint.
“Cuckoo! Cool cool!”
Shunin suddenly coughed.
The palms that covered his mouth were covered with blood.
Seeing this, Shunin’s eyes fluttered.
‘Now there is little time left.’
The life he had been living in collusion with the Dark Followers was coming to an end.
Shunin closed his eyes tightly.
He should have died much earlier.
However, I came here because of my greed and obsession with life.
‘I can’t die yet! How did I get here!’
And his ambitions and obsessions were not yet exhausted.
That was then.
smart.
“High Priest!”
The secretary-priest rushed into his office.
“What’s going on?”
“Miss Matilda Harper, the eldest daughter of the Harper family, who came on a mission from Aurum, has been arrested on charges of assaulting a priest.”
“What, what?!”
Confused, Shunin jumped up from his seat.
“Miss Harper is currently detained in the Templar Investigation Room. And Priest Bernstein and Priest Ethan, who were affected, were quarantined separately.”
“… Hurry up and guide me to the investigation room!”
“All right.”
Shunin soon arrived at the investigation room.
The sudden visit of the high priest surprised the soldier guarding the door.
“The High Priest.”
“I’ve got something to check for myself, so stay out of the way for a moment.”
“yes. All right.”
Matilda was the only one in the investigation room.
As Shunin entered, Matilda looked at him with a tired face.
“How the hell did this happen? Surely you didn’t say you were going to stay here quietly, did you?”
Shunin asked a small question just in case anyone could hear it.
Then Matilda’s face turned red.
“High Priest Justia, if you came here to say something like that, leave now. It’s not your job to question me.”
“Then what do you want?”
Matilda rolled her eyes and raised her head.
“… … !”
But biting his lips, he turned away from Shunin.
“I have nothing to say right now. Get out now.”
“How could you help me if I kept my mouth shut like that?”
Shunin was amazing.
I couldn’t understand why he went to the general priest’s room in the middle of the night and made the fuss.
What if Matilda did what she was told to get out of here, and the Harper family caught up with her?
There were so many things I had to take and eat, so I was restless about not interfering with my work.
That was then.
smart.
The guards who were outside rushed to inform me.
“High Priest, Your Holy Spirit has come to visit.”
At those words, Shunin cursed inwardly.
‘damn.’
Since this has happened, he had to give a pretending that he worked hard until the end.
Shunin said to Matilda.
“Then I’ll be there when you talk to His Holiness. I don’t want to go back and hear strange noises.”
* * *
squeaky.
The door opened carefully, and a timid priest appeared.
“I, there… … .”
He had a bottle of water and food in his hand.
Ethan rose from his seat and approached the priest.
“Is it us?”
“yes? Ah yes. I don’t think you can even eat. Have some.”
Ethan and Luisa did not sin.
However, the atmosphere in the church was very strict, and it was like walking on a thin ice sheet.
Therefore, it was not a situation where he could give something to Ethan and Luisa in haste.
Luisa, who had guessed that, asked in surprise.
“The atmosphere must be bloody, did you bring this with you?”
The shameless priest only scratched the back of his head.
“Priest Ethan resurrected the Holy White Beast. Flowers bloomed too. But I don’t feel comfortable being swept away by this kind of thing.”
“I see.”
At the priest’s answer, Luisa faltered again.
“I will enjoy this food.”
Ethan smiled and took the food.
Had this happened in the Niilum Empire in a previous life, such a favor would not have been expected at all.
Because we were busy biting and slandering each other.
‘Certainly only soft humans.’
Not only Jacob, but also an unknown priest were worried about them.
It was a very unfortunate thing.
“Hey, be strong.”
The priest, who had been paying attention, left those words and disappeared.
Ethan, who had received the food, grabbed a piece of bread and bit it.
But Luisa didn’t even touch the water.
“Aren’t you?”
At Ethan’s question, Luisa looked at Ethan curiously.
“I heard what the situation is outside right now. But aren’t you worried?”
But rather, Ethan reacted as if it was strange.
“Why should I worry?”
“… … .”
‘I knew it wasn’t an ordinary bet, but I think it would be this much.’
Confused, Luisa was speechless for a moment.
“Are you really that special?”
“Coming out of that, I don’t think now is the time to worry about me.”
“what?”
“You seem worried that Matilda Harper will harm me, and she will care more about you than me.”
At Ethan’s words, Luisa hardened her face.
That was correct.
This incident deepened the relationship with Matilda Harper.
He couldn’t remember the details, but he knew the seriousness of the matter well because he had heard of what had happened between the two of them.
Louisa sighed.
Ethan took the bread and spoke skillfully.
“First, eat this bread. I think if this goes well, Matilda will no longer be viciously harassing.”
“What do you mean?”
“There is such a thing.”
Luisa suddenly took the bread with both hands.
She knew that Ethan’s actions were no mere favor.
“you… Have you ever stabbed me with something? Or did you owe me something in your past life?”
Have you been in debt in a previous life?
At that, Ethan burst out laughing involuntarily.
“Well, it’s not really like that. I have something to gain from her.”
Even as he responded like that, Ethan was pierced in his heart.
Considering what he ate with Leon, he couldn’t say he had no debts in his previous life.
“and… … .”
Ethan’s eyes turned cold in an instant.
It was because the dark followers who wanted to resurrect the Demon King came to mind.
“I just don’t like them. That’s good enough.”
* * *
After a while.
The three involved in the incident met again in the pope’s auditorium.
When Ethan and Luisa arrived, Matilda was already in the audience.
What was unusual was that the high priest, Shunin, was also present here.
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
-Then, have you all made contact with the targeted priests?
-Of course. The old man was begging very much, wasn’t he?
Conversations of the Dark Followers flashed through his mind.
‘As the High Priest, I could have just started mediating the case.’
Ethan looked at Matilda.
It was completely different from when he was dragged away by the guards crying.
In the end, Ethan came to this conclusion.
‘That old man could be one with the Dark Followers.’
The Pope opened his mouth.
“It was only a day ago that the ceremony to commemorate the ordination of priests and the resurrection of Seongbaeksu was held. But it is very unfortunate that this has happened between the home priest and the messenger of Aurum.”
The Pope asked, looking at Ethan’s forehead.
“Priest Ethan, did you heal the wounds well?”
“yes. As you can see, it’s fine.”
“Now let’s get to the point. Initially, this was the result of a private quarrel between Miss Harper and Priest Bernstein. Priest Ethan was injured while mediating their quarrel. Am I right?”
“yes.”
At Ethan’s unwavering reply, the Pope’s eyes grew serious.
“Priest Ethan, not all priests have to mediate quarrels. From what I’ve heard Miss Harper and Priest Bernstein say they’ve been together in the family since childhood. At first, the fight between the two was a private matter, but when Priest Ethan intervened, the matter escalated. Do you have that kind of awareness?”
“yes.”
“Then, Priest Ethan, can I judge that your mistake was a big one in the first place?”
“… … .”
Ethan didn’t answer right away.
Instead, he turned his head to look at Matilda.
Matilda’s heart seemed to tighten at that gaze.
Matilda looked like a frog in front of a snake.
Ethan looked away from Matilda and opened his mouth.
“I am reflecting on that.”
The Pope nodded.
Since the party admitted their guilt, the likelihood of it developing into a complicated matter is lowered.
If the opinions differed from each other, it could turn into a diplomatic issue from then on.
“I do not think it is right to reveal a personal relationship here, so I am going to stop at this point. Is everyone okay?”
Ethan sighed in admiration.
‘The old man is very resourceful.’
Luisa and Matilda’s work got worse as they got older.
So, he treated it as a personal quarrel, and handed over what happened between Ethan and Matilda only to Ethan’s fault.
It was just what Ethan wanted.
Originally, Ethan would have designed the story to take the lead and unravel it that way.
But the Pope’s response meant that the work was reduced.
It was a moment in which the evaluation of the Pope, which was persecuted within Ethan, changed in its own way.
“yes. I am only sorry for bothering His Majesty with personal matters.”
Luisa bowed her head in agreement.
It was meant to obey the Pope.
On the other hand, Matilda said nothing.
This is because, in the first place, what the pope was talking about was not very important to Matilda.
‘I have no choice but to keep my mouth shut because I don’t know what I’m going to do.’
Ethan knew it well.
Matilda had not decided what attitude she should take.
But at least the desire to play tricks seemed to have disappeared.
Otherwise, during the course of the investigation, I would have confided everything about Ethan.
bum bum.
At that moment, Ethan walked to Matilda’s place at will.
And he reached out to Matilda.
“Isn’t it time to take a stand?”
Ethan said so.
At first glance, it seemed to be asking for a handshake of reconciliation.
But only Matilda knew the true meaning of those words.
She is now at the crossroads of life and death.
“… … .”
But Matilda’s answer was nothing short of a definite one.
As an aristocrat who grew up fine in the first place, there was no way she could withstand Ethan’s harsh threats.
It was because he was fed up with how he would deal with a madman who suddenly did self-harm.
Matilda reluctantly held out her hand.
The meaning of the handshake was very clear.