Ch.281Chapter 281 – Find a Ship (3)

The Domestica walked toward us.

I casually greeted her.

“What a quick reunion.”

“Indeed.”

Honestly, it hadn’t been long since we parted.

I thought we wouldn’t see each other much during our stay here, but we met again too soon.

“Why is Domestica here?”

“I’d like to say I was happy to see you all…”

Domestica spoke apologetically.

“Then why…?”

“I came to warn you. An acquaintance of mine seems to have spotted some suspicious individuals.”

After saying this, Domestica looked at the hooded woman and said:

“So it would be better to move somewhere else…oh.”

“If Dome says so, I suppose we have no choice.”

Though Domestica spoke awkwardly, the woman replied without concern.

Instead, she looked at us and said:

“Dome, do you know a suitable place to accommodate these people?”

“…I don’t think there is one.”

Domestica replied apologetically.

However, the woman pondered for a moment before smiling and saying:

“Well, we have no choice then. Shall we move for now?”

“Where to?”

“A place I occasionally rely on.”

After saying this, the woman looked at me and said:

“There’s no trap. I guarantee your safety. If necessary, you can take me hostage while we relocate…”

“I’ll be the hostage instead.”

Domestica said this and then positioned herself among our group.

Then, looking at the hooded woman and me, she said:

“If she betrays you or does anything similar, take me hostage to escape the crisis.”

“…That’s—”

“There’s no time. For safety’s sake, we should move first.”

Domestica spoke quietly and then looked back at the woman.

The woman nodded and said:

“Domestica can’t be the only hostage. After I guide you, I’ll turn my back to you as well, how about that?”

“Ella, you don’t need to do that.”

“I do. For the sake of trust.”

Despite Domestica’s objection, the woman replied this way.

Then she smiled at me.

“Shall we go? Follow me.”

“Do you know the way?”

“Of course.”

After saying this, the woman turned her back and said:

“We’ll move to a shelter just in case. Shall we?”

The woman immediately walked toward the alley with light steps.

As I watched her, Domestica quietly spoke to me.

“Let’s follow her.”

I looked at Domestica’s face, then immediately at my companions’ faces.

Beatrice approached me and said:

“Let’s go for now, Helmet.”

“Beatrice.”

“It’s funny to say this after being so cautious earlier, but for someone who might be plotting something, she seems surprisingly defenseless.”

Beatrice added that it was probably calculated, but didn’t seem to be purely for selfish reasons.

“So let’s follow her for now. If necessary… we’ll break through by force.”

After hearing Beatrice’s opinion, I looked at my other companions.

Behind Ive and Sera who were deep in thought, Chris quietly nodded and said:

“I’m also in favor of going for now.”

“Why?”

“…Just a feeling.”

After saying this, Chris put her hands together in prayer and said:

“It would be difficult for us to find a proper ship on our own anyway. I think it’s better to see what cards our counterpart holds before making a decision.”

“Well, don’t worry too much. You and I could easily break through any trap.”

The latter part was interjected by Sia, who had been quietly observing.

Seeing that opinions were mostly aligned, I quietly said:

“Let’s go for now.”

“Yes.”

“Stay alert. A battle could break out at any time.”

Everyone nodded at my warning.

Soon, we included Domestica in our group and began walking through the alley following the woman.

The woman who had been waiting for us nodded when she saw us and continued deeper into the alley.

+

“It’s complicated.”

Sera said this as we followed the woman.

Although there were no people in the alley, we went so deep into the maze of passages that there were moments when we almost lost sight of the woman.

Of course, whenever that happened, Domestica immediately directed us, so we never actually lost our way.

“Excuse me, where are we going?”

“As I mentioned earlier, it’s a place where we occasionally seek shelter.”

Domestica, who was sticking close to my side, quietly replied.

She wasn’t by my side because she had feelings for me, but because she wanted me to take her hostage if necessary.

Perhaps because of this, Ive, Sera, and Chris were taking turns eyeing Domestica intently, while Vanilla looked at them as if they were being ridiculous.

“The atmosphere is like they’ll draw their swords at the slightest hint of seduction.”

“Shut up.”

I could hear Sera and Vanilla exchanging such words.

Meanwhile, the woman walking ahead of us stopped, suggesting we had finally reached our destination.

And the moment I saw that destination.

I immediately glared at Domestica and asked:

“What’s your scheme?”

“I have no scheme.”

Domestica answered quietly.

Sensing the situation behind her, the woman who had been ahead approached us and said:

“Is there a problem?”

Her voice was calm.

Ive responded to that voice:

“There are many problems.”

Ive, who had entered a combat stance, answered quietly.

Then she raised her hand and pointed at the building behind the woman.

“That’s an Emiris Order church, isn’t it?”

The place where the woman and Domestica had brought us had the symbol of the Emiris Order hanging on it.

Though small in scale, it was unmistakably an Emiris Order church.

Sera was preparing to take out her tools, and Chris, though uncertain, was firmly gripping her stone tablet.

Beatrice was quietly glaring at Domestica, but seeing the blue energy gradually rising from her, she was clearly preparing to fight.

Following our group’s atmosphere, I could see Sia putting her hand on her weapon and the demon folk taking a step back.

“…I seem to have caused an unnecessary misunderstanding. First…”

Just as the woman was about to explain something, the church door opened with perfect timing.

And from inside, a priest in black clothes appeared.

“What are you doing there…”

The priest approached us with wide eyes.

He stepped in front of the hooded woman as if offering himself as a shield.

“Whatever the issue is, please lower your weapons. This place is…”

The priest suddenly stopped speaking.

“You are…”

The priest was looking at Chris with surprised eyes.

Chris stepped back slightly while still being wary of him.

Then Domestica addressed the priest:

“Father George?”

The priest, called George, regained his composure at Domestica’s words.

He then examined our group carefully, stared intently at me with my helmet, and seemed to realize something as he quietly said:

“Could you be the one who was condemned as a heretic…”

‘Was it a trap after all?’

Judging by his words, he must have heard about me from the higher-ups in the order.

Thinking I had misjudged the situation, I moved my hand to draw my weapon.

The priest quickly extended his hand and said:

“Would you wait a moment, Sir Knight?”

With a tense yet composed face, the priest spoke as I was reaching for my weapon.

As I kept my hand on my weapon while eyeing him warily, the priest quietly spoke again:

“It’s alright. Please don’t be alarmed. We have no intention of fighting you.”

“Why should I believe you?”

I asked without dropping my guard, and the man quietly put his hands together in prayer.

“I would swear in the name of God, but…”

Then he replied with a slightly troubled expression:

“Honestly, I don’t believe in the Emiris deity anyway, so I have nothing to swear on.”

“What?”

“I could stake this old neck of mine if you wish…”

Chris’s voice sounded slightly confused at the priest’s words.

Meanwhile, the man quietly put his hands together and said:

“Please grant me a brief reprieve. If you want my neck, I’ll gladly offer it afterward.”

These were the words of an Emiris Order priest—or rather, someone who claimed to no longer believe in that deity.

As I watched him standing protectively in front of the woman behind him, I fell into thought.

‘…He doesn’t seem hostile.’

More concerning was his claim about not believing in the deity.

I thought all followers of the Emiris deity were fanatics.

And if he doesn’t believe in the deity, why is he still wearing priestly garments?

“…Sir Kay.”

“I know.”

It seemed best to deal with this after clearly determining right from wrong.

For now, the other side didn’t appear to have any means to harm us immediately.

“I’ll give you a brief reprieve.”

I said quietly while glaring at the priest.

“But you’ll need to explain everything properly.”

“Thank you.”

The priest sighed with relief, understanding that I was only willing to observe the situation briefly.

Then, glancing cautiously in our direction, he began to speak:

“It would be better if we went inside first, but… that would be difficult, wouldn’t it?”

The man paused in thought after saying this.

Then he quietly addressed Domestica:

“Miss Domestica, if it’s not too much trouble, could you bring out something we could sit on to talk?”

At the man’s request, Domestica nodded.

She glanced slightly at Beatrice.

When Beatrice gave a slight nod to Domestica’s silent request for permission, Domestica’s skirt hem lifted slightly, and suddenly white tables and chairs began to appear.

“…Since we’ve unintentionally caused suspicion, it would be better to talk here.”

“Indeed, Dome. There’s no need to make conversation difficult between us, is there?”

When Domestica addressed the woman respectfully, the woman nodded with a smile.

Then, as if realizing her mistake, Domestica’s eyes widened slightly as she looked at me and said:

“Excuse me. I was tense and addressed my friend as if she were one of you.”

“……”

By unnecessarily saying that, she only made it clearer that they were definitely not just friends.

Anyway, thanks to the table set up by Domestica, a place was prepared.

There were only two chairs.

“Please sit, Sir Knight. You’re the representative, aren’t you?”

At the woman’s words, I looked at each of my companions once, sought their permission, and sat down.

The priest then stood behind the woman, while my companions stood behind me.

Domestica, who had somehow produced a steaming teapot, poured tea into what looked like expensive teacups and then came to stand behind me.

“…Miss Domestica, why are you going over there?”

“I told them to take me hostage if things go wrong.”

“You’re excessively diligent.”

The man said with a smile.

Meanwhile, the woman lifted her teacup, took a small sip of tea, and said to me:

“Dome makes delicious tea. Would you like to try some?”

I quietly turned my head to decline the woman’s offer.

This wasn’t the time to be drinking tea.

The woman, who had apparently wanted to lighten the mood, seemed slightly dejected.

“…Let’s talk first.”

“What would you like to talk about?”

“The ship you were holding.”

At my words, the woman took out a small ship from her bosom and placed it on the table.

It made a sound like a piece of wood being set down.

“The item is genuine.”

“It’s not about the item. Though that’s important too.”

I spoke quietly while looking at the woman.

“Beatrice mentioned earlier. That ship is managed by Firenchena or the royal family.”

“That’s right.”

“And that ship was in your hands. I can tell you’re not an ordinary person, at least.”

I said while looking at the woman.

“If we’re going to build trust, wouldn’t it be better to be open about our identities?”

“That’s reasonable.”

The woman nodded and replied.

While I could hear Beatrice lightly sneezing behind me, I asked the woman:

“Who are you?”

The woman seemed to be in thought for a moment.

Then she looked at the priest standing behind her and said:

“Is it alright, Father George?”

“As you wish.”

The priest who claimed not to believe in the deity quietly bowed his head and spoke.

The woman soon raised her hand and slowly lowered her hood.

And a familiar face emerged from within.

“…Are you Lady Beatrice’s… younger sister?”

“I am not.”

The woman with a face very similar to Beatrice’s denied Chris’s words.

“The order is wrong.”

“Then her older sister…”

“No. I’m not talking about age. Definitely not.”

The woman replied with a somewhat dark smile to Chris’s words.

“If anything, Beatrice resembles me. Please don’t get the order wrong.”

A sense of dignity and pressure was slightly felt beneath her even tone.

The woman looked at me and said:

“My name is Gabriella.”

Gabriella smiled and said:

“Gabriella di Firenchena, the legitimate heir and princess of Firenchena Kingdom.”

Shock began to spread among our group.

And after taking another sip of the tea brewed by Domestica, Gabriella began to display a fierce smile resembling Beatrice’s.