Natu looked at me with a worried expression. His concern that he might have done something wrong was a little endearing.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. But there are other ways to say goodbye, so I’ll teach you next time.”
“As expected, Hanelope is too kind.”
Natu seemed relieved at my response.
Aite’s face suddenly turned red, and she said, “Stop interfering and let’s go.”
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s give them some space.”
Aite dragged a confused Natu away while humming.
“Interfering?”
I was puzzled at first, but I soon understood what Aite meant.
Brantley was stepping out of the carriage with a slightly flushed face. He had business in the same place as me today.
Brantley scanned the surroundings cautiously.
“There was definitely someone here.”
“Oh, I was just talking with some of my foundation staff.”
“Staff?”
He looked relieved but then quickly became sullen again.
“You seem really close with them.”
Why did that make him sad? I was confused, but I wanted to clear up any misunderstandings, so I spoke honestly.
“Actually, it was Aite, Todd, and Natu. You know they’re staying at the capital.”
“Was it Todd who kissed your hand?” Brantley suddenly asked.
He must have seen me with them, though he was trying to act like he hadn’t.
‘But why has Brantley been so emotionally unstable lately?’
He’s usually so calm. I guess it’s fortunate that he doesn’t show this side in front of others.
‘Still, it’s nice that he’s being more honest with his feelings around me.’
For some reason, it made my heart tingle.
I corrected him with a smile, “Actually, it wasn’t Todd, but Natu. He’s been working hard to learn the etiquette of humans…”
“And now even that guy.”
Brantley clenched his fists and bit his lip in frustration, looking as if he had just lost an opportunity to defeat his lifelong enemy.
Just then I heard a sharp voice not far away.
“What are you two doing without me?”
A familiar, friendly voice rang.
I looked towards the sound and saw a sharp yet elegant beauty with red hair, standing with her arms crossed, glaring at us. Beside her was a man with the same hair color, exuding both nobility with a hint of mischievousness.
“Katherine! Fritzka!”
I jumped in excitement.
After graduating from Barbetz, they had returned to their family estate with their father. They were receiving training as potential heirs, competing intensely against each other.
They had come to the capital on an errand for their father, and we had quickly arranged to meet.
The two of them approached aggressively, sticking close to my sides.
Brantley, who had been standing in front of me, furrowed his brows. Katherine and Fritzka returned his gaze, refusing to back down.
“What happened while I was away?” Katherine asked while fuming.
I answered proudly, “Brantley has become a Duke.”
“Isee. Congratulations,” Fritzka said, extending his hand stiffly, though his expression showed he wasn’t particularly enthusiastic.
“Thank you,” Brantley replied, shaking Fritzka’s hand with equal reluctance.
The two of them shook hands so forcefully that they didn’t let go until their hands turned red.
They stopped only when I asked, “How’s your training going? Is it really tough?”
Katherine and Fritzka’s faces turned pale at the same time.
“I would rather not talk about it…”
“Please, let’s avoid any mention of Father here…”
Their expressions looked as if I made their nightmares reappear. It seemed the Marquis Spigent was as strict as ever.
I awkwardly laughed and quickly changed the subject.
“Well then, let’s hurry into the Great Temple and take care of our business!”
Our destination was the Great Temple.
“How bad is the Pope’s health? I heard he might pass away soon,” Katherine whispered as we entered the temple.
As she mentioned, the Great Temple had announced that the Pope’s health was rapidly deteriorating. This news had brought many of the empire’s prominent figures to the temple to visit and pray.
‘Honestly, I don’t have good feelings about the Pope.’
Back when I was kidnapped, it was the Pope who came with Yenna to offer help to my grandfather. I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling he gave me.
But even though his influence isn’t what it used to be, he’s still the Pope. I couldn’t just ignore him when he’s on his deathbed.
‘Of course, it could all be a ruse for some ulterior motive.’
Unlike me, most people didn’t doubt that the Pope was dying.
“The Pope has always been in poor health,” Fritzka said indifferently.
Katherine nodded in agreement. “Considering how he looked when we last saw him, it’s a miracle he’s still alive.”
“He’s an old man who’s lived for decades looking like he could die any day. Announcing his impending death now might be for some other reason,” Brantley speculated, sharing my suspicion.
Inside the temple, it was crowded with people. The main difference from the past was the presence of many poor citizens. There were so many of them that they couldn’t all fit inside the temple, and many were kneeling in the courtyard, clasping hands in prayer.
The atmosphere was quite different from before.
‘With this many people, it’ll be hard to run into Dad.’
Dad was supposed to visit the temple today too.
‘Grandfather specifically sent him to verify if the Pope’s condition is genuine and to observe the temple’s activities.’
Since Father planned to visit around the same time, I thought I might run into him, but now it seemed unlikely.
‘But I don’t have much time to be disappointed. While I’m here, I should secretly check the ruins of Grouser’s temple.’
Of course, I needed to visit the Pope first.
As we were led inside the temple by a priest, we saw other nobles grumbling as they left.
“We came for nothing. They won’t even let us into his room. How are we supposed to visit him?”
“They’re just telling us to pray and leave. I guess I wouldn’t want to show my face if I looked like I was about to die either.”
It seemed that visiting the Pope directly was prohibited. However, the priest guiding us led us right to the Pope’s room.
“His Holiness wishes to see the four of you.”
The priest said kindly as he opened the door.
‘Is he selectively choosing who he meets?’
Though it felt unsettling, I wasn’t alone — I had my friends with me.
Katherine, Fritzka, and Brantley all seemed to share my suspicions. We exchanged glances and silently nodded before stepping inside.
The air in the room was oppressively heavy. It carried the scent of death.
The Pope’s bed was shrouded in a semi-transparent curtain. The faint silhouette of his labored breathing is visible through the curtain.
“Your Holiness, Princess Hanelope, Duke Eisen, and the Young Master and Lady of House Spigent are here,” the priest announced.
The Pope slowly turned his head towards us, moving in a way that was almost disturbingly corpse-like.
“May Your Holiness recover soon,” I said.
There was no reply, but the curtain fluttered slightly.
The priest explained, “He’s gesturing for you to come closer.”
As we approached, the Pope began to speak in a faltering voice.
“Now a Duke…”
“Yes, Your Holiness.”
“You were… alive? I thought… you.. had.. died…”
“Fortunately, I survived the fall from the cliff…”
“Weren’t you… executed for your… crime?” The Pope struggled to speak in a raspy voice. He seemed to have lost all his reasoning.
We all froze in shock.
Brantley tried to remain calm as he replied, “I am Brantley Eisen, newly appointed as Duke.”
“Is that… so? Ugh, cough!”
The Pope suddenly began to cough violently. The coughing fit seemed endless.
Just as we were about to step back, the Pope’s hand suddenly shot out from behind the curtain. It moved with such speed that it grabbed my wrist and tried to pull me behind the curtain.
“Ahh?!”
I was caught off guard and stumbled towards the curtain. Brantley quickly grabbed me, forcefully prying the Pope’s hand off my wrist. The Pope let out a raspy scream and then fell silent.
The startled priest rushed behind the curtain. “Your Holiness!”
Another priest, who had been standing guard, approached us with a pale face. “His Holiness sometimes has these seizures. That’s why he rarely meets with people. It’s best if you leave now.”
“Yes, I think that’s for the best,” Brantley said, still visibly angry.
The moment we stepped out, Katherine screamed, “Hanelope, your hand is bleeding!”
Sure enough, there was a scratch on the back of my hand. It seemed the Pope had scratched me with his nails while pulling me. The wound wasn’t deep, but small droplets of blood had formed.
“Oh…”
I winced as the pain suddenly hit me, and Brantley quickly wrapped a handkerchief around my hand.
“The Pope really must be losing his mind,” Fritzka muttered in frustration.
Instead of agreeing, Brantley whispered to me so only I could hear, “Make sure you treat the wound when we get home. He might have hurt you on purpose.”
I nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”
But Brantley still seemed uneasy, his eyes were fixed on my hand.
‘Dad won’t stay calm when he sees this wound,’ I thought.
It might be better not to meet Dad at the temple today.
‘I should head home first and apply a lot of medicine to the wound before he notices.’
But my resolve crumbled in less than a second.
“Hanelope!”
Because Dad had just arrived at the temple, and he was approaching me with a smile.
