It was a bit surprising to see Latte, who I thought was friendly to everyone, be so irritable. This is especially true because Lambiel is very popular with women.
Lambiel looked at me as if he felt sorry for me.
“It must be hard for you to go through such a big thing. She can’t go anywhere and she needs to rest for a while.”
“Yes? Ah… Yes.”
I nodded, drying my moist eyes with a hand fan.
“Thank you, Lambiel, for coming all the way here too.”
“She was going to ask me to go to the royal banquet with her, but it turned out to be a shame,” she said. “But she has many places to go on dates even if it’s not a banquet, so I’ll ask her out again any time.”
“…Oh, a royal banquet? Are you planning on going there?”
Lambiel tilted her head as if she was surprised. Because so many people were talking at once at that moment, I couldn’t properly look at Lambiel’s expression. Among them, the one with the loudest voice was Officer Amanta.
“A banquet… Are you going? No, you haven’t quite come to your senses yet. Where are you going?”
“No. I’m fine.”
“…but.”
Officer Amanta bit her lip.
“I am… Because I’m not good enough, I put you through this…”
I shook my head. I felt bad for deliberately avoiding the officer because I wanted to see the results of Catherine Hunt’s autopsy.
“It’s really good.”
“…If you really want to go to the royal banquet, I will go with you as your escort!”
“Yes?”
“Please allow me to protect you.”
“…No, you don’t have to go that far. How many people need your help?”
While we were arguing, a white man who had been praying in the corner all along approached us. The last time I saw it, I only had the image that it would break if I hit it, but in the meantime, Alay Kus had a pretty tough-looking face, as if he had made some kind of big decision. Officer Amanta gave up arguing any further and cleared the way, and Latte, Lemuet, and Milorad, pressured by Alay Kus’s spirit, let go of me and stepped aside.
“If you must go, come with me.”
Alay approached me and immediately made a strange sound.
“…yes?”
Alay kus didn’t answer my question, but came closer, knelt down on one knee, held my hand in both his hands, and recited a small prayer. It would be common for a believer to kneel in front of a priest, but the reverse would never be common. The guests who filled the living room looked at me and Alay with surprised rabbit eyes.
‘…Clearly, I had a goal of living quietly without attracting attention.’
“…What do you mean by asking me to go to the royal banquet with you?”
“The blessing of oblivion is equal for all… If Miss Arvice wants to go to the banquet, that would also be a step toward making a grand arrangement.”
“Yes?”
Alay gently brushed the back of my hand, stood up, made eye contact, and spoke seriously.
“This time, I will be attending the royal banquet as an acting minister. If you go as a partner, of course I will also serve as your escort. I will protect you.”
Even if it wasn’t, I could feel the surprise growing in the focused gaze of the people.
‘Acting High Priest?’
‘This priest is the one who was appointed as the next priest. I did not know?’
‘Wow, it’s him. He was so unknown that I didn’t know his face. There were many prominent candidates before him, but there was a lot of talk about him suddenly appearing after beating them all… This is how I get to meet you.’
Milorad pointed his finger at Alay.
‘That person, we ran into each other at the salon the other day! How could you not know?’
‘…omg! It’s true, it’s him. But, don’t you think I have feelings for Alby?’
‘Just a little bit, why are you openly teasing me like that?’
‘What are you talking about? Alby is so popular.’
A roar of laughter erupted.
‘It would be more fun to go with us. What kind of partner is this? It’s completely out of date!’
‘Therefore! But isn’t it still fun?’
‘You two, stop making a fuss.’
Latte, Lemuet, and Milorad were blushing and whispering, asking what the hell this was all about, and Aunt Ross Green, who had not been able to utter a single word until now, was clutching her clothes so tightly that she felt like she was going to crumple them up, as if she was upset about something.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Priest Nari. Miss Green has a prior agreement with me?”
In the meantime, Lambiel, who was oblivious, spoke up. Latte and Lemuet looked at Lambiel, Alay, and me in turn with curious eyes, wondering what was so exciting about them.
‘No, you said you came to see if I was okay? But why did the story go here?’
I was embarrassed and was about to talk about something else, when a soft bass sound that made me feel good just listening to it suddenly and very naturally entered the conversation.
“I was supposed to be the guest, but since I was Miss Green’s guest, I didn’t show my face, and the story seemed to flow as I wanted.”
Even though it was a room full of prominent figures, he had a presence just by leaning in the doorway. The owner of the voice was the owner of this mansion, Luke. Luke, who immediately caught everyone’s attention, looked at Lambiel and Alay once and continued speaking.
“Miss Green promised to be my partner. So, after saying hello, please go back without bothering the weak patient.”
Luke spoke in a very soft tone, but it would not be an illusion to hear a slight discomfort in his voice. In the cold, subdued atmosphere, Alay calmly stepped forward.
“Duke Rearmond, it’s been a long time since I saw you. Alay Kus, I am the person nominated to be the next High Priest.”
There were gasps among those who had heard the news about the appointment of the next high priest, but Luke, far from being surprised, did not seem to have any intention of paying homage to the new high priest. He crossed his arms and nodded his head.
“So does that mean you are a layman now?”
“…That’s right.”
“Well, thank you for coming all the way here and worrying about our Miss Green.”
“That’s not it… You will feel more at peace with me by your side, Arbice. You’ve been through something big recently…”
“I don’t think there’s any need to discuss something that isn’t even a topic for discussion.”
“I heard that Duke Rearmond feels uncomfortable with priests, and after talking to him personally, I think that’s true. Is there something in your heart that you can’t share?”
Alay, with a faint smile, and Luke, his face hard, looked directly at each other. It was pleasing to her eyes to see the man with blond hair and gray eyes, as beautiful as a red rose when he smiled, side by side, and the man who was just like a white and neat lily. But the atmosphere was not like that.
‘…No, why did Luke suddenly show up and start a fight?
It’s not that they’re really fighting because of me, it seems like they just don’t get along… … Listening to the story, it seemed like we didn’t even know each other very well.
‘What should I do to stop this…? Don’t fight because of me…?’
I looked at the two back and forth in confusion, but just before I could speak, Lambiel intervened between the two.
“Why are grown nobles and priests making the atmosphere so bad by doing things like this? huh? Let’s not do that.”
Now there are three gorgeous faces. The silver-haired Lambiel, who was sandwiched between her white and golden hair, smiled brightly and intervened between the two. I nodded my head in agreement with Lambiel.
‘Still, considering that Lambiel McRae is a character with a lot of quirks, he seems to have a good personality. I’m good at it, I’m good at it.’
However, Lambiel did not particularly follow my wishes.
“Luke, what’s wrong? I asked you when we met separately the other day, and you said that Miss Green had absolutely nothing to do with you?”
He suddenly mentioned my name and criticized Luke. Luke’s expression quickly became subtle as they noticed the scent.
“What do you want to say, Lambiel?”
“It means I have a chance too. We should give Miss Green a chance to choose a partner, right?”
I was shocked and clicked my tongue.
‘Lambiel is also immature. It’s not like I’m adding fuel to the fight. What do you choose? It’s not like I go there to have fun.’
Alay looked at me as if he was very pleased with Lambiel’s proposal, but Luke sighed as if they were not paying attention.
“There are many different ways to harass a tired person. Stop, please go now. It’s late.”
With just one word, Luke turned the grateful guests who gathered for me into very inconsiderate people. Alay and Lambiel seemed to have more to say, but the others looked at each other and nodded.
“Is it so? It was late though. Now that I’ve said hello, I’ll be leaving. I’ll show you a more different side next time.”
Led by Officer Amanta’s greeting, Latte, Lemuet, and Milorad hugged me and left the room, asking me to invite them in the near future. As I hurriedly followed him out to see him off, Alay and Lambiel also showed no choice but instead insisted and went towards the carriage. I wanted to talk for a long time with the people who had gathered here for a long time, but seeing Luke, who had been acting as gently as the spring breeze yesterday and today, was kicking everyone out with a tired look on their faces, I couldn’t go any further. I quickly said bye to each person and saw everyone off.
After everyone left, Ally and Ross Green were the only ones left. Alay stood in front of the pure white carriage, hesitated for a moment, then looked back at me.
“The nomination ceremony for the next high priest is held the day before the royal banquet… It must be very difficult to attend then, right?”
“What should I ask when I know?”
Before I could answer, Luke, who had his arms crossed, answered indifferently and wrapped a blanket around my shoulders.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on May, 18.
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