The Grand Duke, Catsy

“What is the Saintess doing?”
Arczel IV asked the priest as he stamped his seal on an antique parchment.
The priest, with her hair neatly tied up, avoided the Pope’s gaze, lowered her head slightly, and answered cautiously.
“She is reviewing the list.”
“I see… I understand. You may go. Elder Ceres is here, you say?”
“Yes. She is waiting.”
“Tell her to come in.”
Arczel IV carefully folded the parchment, sealed it with wax, and placed it on a tray.
The priest carefully picked up the tray, which already had more than ten parchments piled up, bowed again, and slowly left the office. Soon after, Ceres entered the office with a suspicious smile on her face.
“Your Holiness, you don’t seem to be in a good mood.”
“What good thing could there be?”
Arczel IV let out a long sigh and rubbed his eyelids with his hand.
His eyesight was getting worse day by day, and his eyes felt heavy and tired after reviewing some documents.
“Still, since you’ve set an example, wouldn’t it be resolved if you just manage the internal affairs well? Besides, you’ve established discipline.”
Ceres drawled, sitting on the sofa even before the old Pope could speak.
The Pope glanced at her sideways, and whether she did or not, he pressed his eyelids again and sighed again.
“The Saintess’s prestige is growing day by day, Your Holiness. How can you achieve your great will like this?”
“…The means and methods are not important. Whether I achieve my will or the Saintess achieves it, that is not important. Now that the Celestial Deity does not show himself, we humans must unite and pray for the Celestial Deity’s return.”
The Celestial Deity does not come.
Even if all humans were to die,
To be precise, he cannot come—Ceres knew this well and only inwardly ridiculed this old-fashioned old man.
“I know that well. But if people follow the Saintess more than the Celestial Deity who does not come, wouldn’t that be a problem… that’s what I’m saying.”
The Celestial Deity had occasionally appeared over the past years to solidify the foundation of the Celestine Church.
However, it has been a long time since the Celestial Deity has shown himself.
In the meantime, the presence of the Celestial Deity, who existed as a real god, faded, and now there was even anxiety that an era without an echo was returning.
The Celestine Church needed unity.
Each branch was divided, and the ecclesiastical territory, which should have reigned as the spiritual sanctuary of the Celestine Church, had greatly diminished in its presence.
“…There are suspicious movements in Evian. You are aware of this, right?”
“I have seen the report.”
The old Pope nodded, taking a sip of his tea.
“Since all the girls with white hair have been sent home, it will soon subside.”
“I don’t know why they thought of doing such a thing.”
Ceres shrugged and shook her head.
She had been informed that they would start investigating girls with similar appearances.
However, the story she heard from Bigrind, the Saintess who suddenly returned to the church territory, was different, and the Pope was greatly surprised and immediately ordered everyone to return home.
“Anyway, it’s a difficult time, Your Holiness. At times like this, you need to firmly play the role of a spiritual leader.”
Ceres picked up another cookie.
With a crisp sound, she bit into the cookie, and the crumbs fell to the floor.
“Because the Saintess is still too young.”
*
The place where the girls’ names were written was not even parchment.
On a dirty and cheap piece of cloth, the names were scribbled haphazardly, and on top of them, a stamp that read “Returned” in red was stamped all over.
“Are all the return measures completed now?”
Bigrind said, placing the last piece on a pile of cloth that was as tall as she was.
“Yes. We have confirmed everything.”
The obedient priest deeply bowed his head in response, and only then did Bigrind straighten her back and stretch.
It had been several days since she returned to this ecclesiastical territory.
As soon as she arrived at the ecclesiastical territory, Bigrind went straight to the Pope and recounted in detail all the events that had taken place.
And as Bigrind expected, she confirmed that even the Pope was unaware of the fact.
Also, immediately after that, the Pope’s decree was issued for the girls to return home.
There were over a thousand names on the list.
In fact, the number was well over a thousand when counted, but roughly speaking, it was a thousand.
She wanted to give those girls enough travel expenses, but the budget of the church territory was limited, so it was a pity that she couldn’t.
“Alright. You may leave.”
At Bigrind’s words, the obedient priest bowed again and left the room.
And Bigrind, who watched the priest’s back for a moment, soon yawned and stretched greatly.
Since returning to the church territory, she hadn’t been able to rest properly.
Of course, it was necessary to deal with the aftermath of the events that had occurred, and in addition, she had to report in detail to the Pope and the elders about the events that took place in Evian—the demon, Damian.
‘…She told me to be careful of Elder Ceres.’
Just before leaving for the church territory, Eije had met with Bigrind separately.
Eije, who said she had met Yona, told Bigrind to be careful of Ceres as soon as they were alone.
Yona knows the true identity of Ceres, but when she told Eije about it—and knowing Eije’s personality, Yona knew that she wouldn’t just sit still, so she vaguely told her that Ceres was not a trustworthy elder in the Celestine Church as she appeared to be.
And as Yona thought, Eije went straight to Bigrind and told her to be careful of Ceres.
‘Elder Ceres…’
An elven fairy, and a mage who holds a seat in the Tower of the Mage Community.
In addition, a mage who can perform a purification similar to that of a priest—although it is said to be the exclusive domain of priests and has many limitations for healers.
And based on that power, a mage who has taken the position of an elder in the Celestine Church.
‘Come to think of it, there’s something fishy about it. Definitely.’
Looking back, wherever there was a problem because of Yona, Ceres was always there.
When Yona summoned Berbaria at the banquet, Ceres was there.
And when Alec’s trial was taking place, Ceres was there.
When Yona raided the courtroom and took Alec, Ceres was there.
Not only that—when Damian appeared in Evian, Ceres was there.
It was no exaggeration to say that Ceres was at the root of every incident.
‘Can this really happen by chance…?’
Bigrind was lost in thought, tapping the desk with her quill pen with a clack-clack sound.
No matter how much she thought about it, there was something suspicious.
It could be a coincidence, but in almost all of the incidents she could think of, Ceres was there.
Could that really be a coincidence?
“Is it really, a coincidence…”
Bigrind was 고민ing about what to do.
The best thing would be to meet Yona, but Yona had left for the Katus Empire.
The Katus Empire is a vast place, and Bigrind has never been outside of this Capatia Empire, so going to find Yona is also absurd.
‘Should I do something on my own?’
It would be a great help if the Champion were here at a time like this.
The Champion Rudvik had borrowed one of the Cathedral Knight training halls of the church territory and was keeping to himself.
‘What should I do? Hmm, what should I…’
Suddenly, she felt lonely.
In Evian, where she stayed when she was a priest, she had her fellow priests, and although she considered her an evil friend, she had Yona, and there was also Teacher Eije. But now in the church territory, although her body was comfortable, her mind was not. No matter how hard she tried, she was an outsider, a highly regarded figure, and someone to be served. There was no one who showed their true feelings to Bigrind.
‘Champion… please come back soon…’
With a long sigh, Bigrind rubbed her dry face.
Something, something huge was happening—
Bigrind felt lonely.
*
The cart being transported to where Eshma was located carried Yona and her party, who were sprawled out carelessly.
The cart was surrounded by layers of iron bars, and it was surrounded by thick, oiled cloth to a height that no ordinary person would dare to jump over. It was impossible to see outside from the inside, and conversely, it was impossible to see inside from the outside.
So, among those in the cart, only one, Berbaria—Berbaria in the form of Rubina—sat alone with a frown, and no one knew.
【Catsy, I knew it was you.】
【Don’t lie. Why didn’t you stop it then?】
【It’s a conflict. I don’t need to interfere in conflicts between humans. Besides, it wasn’t an evil illusion, so there was no reason for me to intervene.】
【Is that so?】
Beside Berbaria, a black cat lay curled up.
The cat, which seemed quite happy, purred continuously.
Berbaria reached out and gently scratched the cat under its chin.
【Why did you come?】
【I came with the Saintess. To be precise, I came to subdue you.】
【I’m not interested in that. But, I have one question.】
The cat—Catsy—stood up and sniffed Yona and Alec alternately.
It seemed to be sniffing something, and it even stuck its nose between Yona’s legs and sniffed.
【…Berbaria, do humans usually mate for this long?】
【What are you asking? I don’t understand the meaning of long or not long.】
【So—】
Catsy approached Yona’s face again and sniffed.
【The illusion. In this Saintess’s dream, the mating has been going on for three days now. Do they usually do it for this long? You are the god of fertility, so you should know.】
Berbaria tilted her head at Catsy‘s words.
Berbaria, with Rubina’s face, looked quite fitting with that movement.
【That can’t be. Three hours is long, let alone three days. Are you sure you saw it correctly?】

【I’m sure. Now this Saintess is begging this man on her knees. She seems to be having a hard time because it’s been three days.】
Berbaria couldn’t understand it in many ways.