episode_0068

When the prince raised his voice in anger, all the worshipers around him looked in his direction.

“Did you not know that I was just a regular priest!! How dare you deceive me so blatantly? This time, I will not stay still! How dare you, a regular priest!!”

Prince Loras seems to be really upset from what happened last time and what happened today.

I couldn’t let Prince Loras stay angry any longer, so I decided to say something to calm him down.

“Your Majesty, you are indeed the one who came to escort me. Those who were worried about me entering the labyrinth assigned you to me. I did not lie to you, Prince.”

The moment I notarized her, Prince Loras’s face hardened further.

“Is that woman really a knight? She’s not even wearing armor?”

That’s a pretty sharp observation.

If she was escorting me, and if she was a real knight, she should be wearing armor.

But Sister Melody was no pushover either.

It was a shameless lie.

“It’s a matter of personal preference. You don’t necessarily need armor for protection.”

“Are you playing with me now? Arthur, Father, is that really what she’s saying?”

They say that one lie begets another lie.

I wanted to honestly say no to the prince’s question, but I chose to protect her.

I couldn’t suddenly change my attitude.

“… Yes.”

“… … .”

The prince was silent for a moment, as if speechless.

Since we both agreed, the prince could only think of one thing.

I suspect that the subordinate who investigated Sister Melody made a mistake.

He was already very embarrassed because I didn’t take his side, and on top of that, his subordinate might have made a mistake too?

Knowing well what kind of personality the prince was hiding, I thought there would be chaos if the prince returned.

“Hoo, Arthur Priest.”

The prince’s voice was low and desolate with anger.

“I said I wanted to talk to you alone. Follow me, leaving behind any unnecessary escorts.”

The angry prince was speaking to me in a commanding tone.

And before I could answer the prince, Sister Melody answered first.

“If you try to separate from the escort target, you will be considered a threat.”

“Hey, hey!!”

I know you’re trying to provoke Prince Loras, but your provocation skills are so incredible that it’s dangerous.

Having already been scratched once, and now being attacked again in that scratched spot, the prince stopped acting and started glaring at her as if he was going to kill her at any moment.

“I knew from the beginning that you were wary of me. But since my younger brother cares for me and seems to be good at it, I wanted to keep him close, so I visited him often and talked to him, but all I got in return was lies and deception. I don’t want to continue my friendship with you while enduring such rudeness!”

Everyone knew that he had come because he wanted to steal someone Princess Rasiel cherished, but he was really good at packaging himself.

‘I thought this moment would come someday.’

I know that this is the moment when the prince’s patience will run out.

I wasn’t surprised because I was prepared for it.

It was inevitable that the prince would have to fight to be with Princess Rasiel.

I even thought that it might have been better.

It was embarrassing to be kind to someone who was uncomfortable.

The fact that Princess Rasiel tried hard to act calm whenever the prince came also played a part in making it difficult to watch her any longer.

“Sister is a person who keeps her mouth shut. She can be quiet and seem to be there but not there. But since the prince says she is uncomfortable, I guess there is nothing I can do.”

“…Is that your choice after all?”

I didn’t feel the need to respond to the prince’s words, so I kept my mouth shut and stared at him.

The prince’s eyes were filled with sincerity for the first time in a long time.

‘I can’t believe that someone can harbor such deep malice towards someone.’

I knew he was a serious person, but I didn’t think dealing with him would be easy.

“I’ve felt that you’ve been trying to distance yourself from me because of your younger sibling. Even though you’re being interrupted, I didn’t think our relationship was that bad. You really make me sad.”

The prince had a murderous look in his eyes, but he was conscious of the gaze of those around him, so he finished his work very politely and neatly.

Even if you don’t know the whole situation, just looking at him now, you’ll think that the prince is truly a great man.

It was such a great performance that I would have been fooled if I didn’t know the prince’s true personality.

but.

‘You can’t shake a heart with words that don’t contain sincerity.’

It was Prince Loras who first showed deception and lies.

When I didn’t respond, the prince sighed and said, as if he was frustrated.

“What good is it to tell someone your true feelings when they’re not listening? In the end, my voice won’t reach them. I’m really sorry that things have turned out this way.”

Now the prince’s patience has run out.

I felt more relieved than worried.

‘It was going to end up like this anyway.’

The prince and I had different starting points when it came to becoming close. Furthermore, unless he abandoned his nature, it would have been even more impossible for us to become close.

Still, I wanted to end it with a word of wisdom, because the prince showed me ‘sincerity’.

The next time we meet, I know the prince might try to take my life.

“I hope that the Prince’s future path will be one that leads to light.”

I said this after thinking about what kind of words of wisdom I should give.

It was a prayer for Prince Loras, who was sure to commit numerous sins in his quest for the throne, to repent even a little and follow the path of light.

The prince hesitated for a moment before saying, “I have your blessing.

“…Since you have shown your last goodwill, I will also give you some advice.”

“I will listen carefully.”

“Don’t stand on a crumbling cliff. You’ll just fall down with the broken stones.”

“… … .”

The prince left without any regrets, leaving behind words that could be either advice or a warning.

This will be the last time we see Prince Loras, who always attends church services and shows his faithfulness.

His faithfulness was merely a ‘means’.

‘The saying ‘you can’t spit in a smiling face’ doesn’t apply here.’

How can someone give you a blessing and then hear evil in return?

The prince, who left me with a fresh shock, left the chapel.

“It’s trash.”

Sister Melody must have felt the same way as I did because she cursed at the prince as soon as he left.

“You’re giving me a warning instead of advice. That’s petty.”

“I guess he thought it was advice. Anyway, now he has completely turned his back on the prince.”

I think that since they put so much effort into me, their revenge will be thorough.

I think that I have to ruin myself as much as possible in order to restore my damaged face and self-esteem.

“This will be your first time conquering a labyrinth, so you’ll feel pressured. You won’t be making any hasty moves for the time being.”

“Still, I won’t let my guard down.”

When I recalled the anecdotes that Princess Rasiel had told me, it was clear that I should not let my guard down.

“I will always be by your side. Don’t worry. And you will probably try to get rid of me first because I am more annoying.”

… Those are truly comforting words.

* * *

Gulp-

I couldn’t stop laughing as I watched the nervous chicks.

The chicks gave you hints telling you not to do that, but don’t you think you’re being too obsessive?

“I told you not to be nervous.”

“Hey, aren’t you nervous?”

“You were so nervous that you even stuttered, but you pretended it wasn’t true.”

“Hing. Are you showing a lot of tea?”

“Yes. I heard you apologized and said it was okay. But why are you so nervous?”

“Isn’t it easy to approach? Especially since he’s wearing armor like that… .”

Sister Melody, perhaps because she had been pointed out by the prince, started wearing knight armor brought from somewhere the next day and began to guard me.

She followed me around like an iron wall, as if she was doing her job as my escort.

Even while I was working inside the temple, the escort continued.

Of course, the patients found her burdensome, so they watched her from a distance.

“But are you okay, priest? I’ve been watching you for almost the whole day… .”

“Haha, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t burdensome, but I’m more grateful. It’s not easy to stand like that and be wary of your surroundings.”

Sister Melody is not the type of person to spend her time pretending to be an escort and just sitting around blankly.

He will do his best to escort me with all his heart.

Just in case something happens.

“I guess I still have a long way to go to follow the priest. I just thought it was scary, I didn’t think it would be hard.”

“As you gradually get used to it, your fear will go away. Then you will be able to feel your true self, sister.”

Sister Melody’s attitude toward me became toxic, but her attitude toward other people did not change.

But the good news is that it’s not just people who are afraid of Sister Melody.

“Excuse me, please have some of this!”

Although it was not easy to treat them comfortably, and they were very cautious, there were people who gave Sister Melody food and other conveniences.

At first, he was embarrassed and seemed uncomfortable and just refused, but when I told him to be comfortable, he started to accept my kindness little by little.

Just as priests need time to adjust to the Inquisitor, it seems she also needed time to adjust to our temple.

“Thank you.”

And after some time of adaptation, there came a day when I readily accepted food offered to me like that.

There is nothing more rewarding than turning a stray cat into a house cat.

The priest who brought the food disappeared quickly, controlling his expression, but it was obvious what he was doing behind him.

‘I wonder if he’s happy because he succeeded in feeding the stray cat.’

I just hoped Sister Melody would never know about this.