Chapter 15
Noctem’s visits to the field continued for about a week. In other words, it meant that Charlotte had been coming to the field every single day for a week.
At first, he had considered questioning her about how she knew Kai, just as he had done when she first called for “Noctem” in the empty clearing. But he soon abandoned the thought.
‘He likes her so much… It would be pointless to ruin the mood. Ahem, it would be a bit awkward.’
This was about Kai.
Although it wasn’t frequent, he had taken care of Kai for a full 15 years. Even Tei, who visited at least once a month, had never received such a reaction from the beast.
Yet, for some reason, Charlotte Daphsine had done something that made Kai practically ecstatic.
Even now, just playing with her for a short while had the beast wagging its tail with all sorts of joyful cries. It was shaking so much that Noctem wondered if the tail might get cramps at this rate.
Of course, Charlotte also wore a bright smile he had never seen on her before, making it difficult for him to step in.
So, in the end, Noctem spent nearly a week hiding behind a tree trunk, watching Charlotte and Kai from afar all day.
At first, he had wondered what in the world he was doing. But strangely, watching them made him feel at peace.
It was as if his heart, worn down from months of slaughtering monsters in the north, was slowly healing.
And so, Noctem kept returning to the field as if he were addicted. Naturally, he canceled all his noble-related appointments for the entire week.
Watching her for a whole week like that, Noctem began to feel a strange sense of familiarity with Charlotte.
In the end, he even came to recognize her habits.
He found himself a little creeped out by his own actions but quickly brushed it off.
‘What am I supposed to do when it’s right in front of me?’
Still, whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, Charlotte was the one who stopped coming first.
At first, when she didn’t show up, he felt antsy as if experiencing withdrawal. But after three days…
“Haa. Did something happen? Why isn’t she coming?”
…He was still anxious.
With a small sigh, Noctem tapped his index finger rapidly against the desk in his office.
For a brief moment, he considered heading to the field again. But it was already 3 p.m., and he had already gone there over ten times today alone…
“Damn it, why am I so on edge?”
It wasn’t black magic, nor had he gone insane. So what on earth was this?
Annoyed by his own feelings, Noctem instinctively placed the blame on Charlotte. Ever since he met her, nothing in his life had been going smoothly.
And just then—
Knock, knock.
A knock sounded at the door, followed by his aide, Tei, entering with a thick stack of documents.
Despite the office being filled with paperwork piled from floor to ceiling, Tei’s expression remained impassive.
This was, of course, entirely Noctem’s fault, as he had neglected his duties for ten days because of Charlotte.
Without a word, Tei placed the documents on the floor, sorting out the urgent matters to report to Noctem.
For the moment, Noctem managed to focus on work and briefly forget about Charlotte.
“…That concludes the matters that must be handled by tomorrow. Also, in honor of the summer season, a donation has been made to the temple. Here is the certificate, Your Excellency.”
“I see. How is the temple these days?”
“They remain steadfast in their neutrality. However… something seemed unusual today.”
“Hmm?”
At the unexpected remark, Noctem raised an eyebrow.
The temple.
It was the sanctuary of the continent’s one and only deity, Terua.
Unlike other nations, where atheism and human-created sects were relatively common, the people of the Empire were almost universally devoted to Terua.
With the temple’s support, it was possible to sway public sentiment in an instant.
As a result, both the noble faction and the imperial faction had spent decades trying to win the temple’s favor.
Yet, the temple had remained immovable, stubbornly maintaining its stance of neutrality in the name of peace.
‘And now something seems off?’
Tei wasn’t the type to make meaningless remarks.
Seeing Noctem’s expectant gaze, Tei continued.
“The High Priest approached the lady and spoke to her. I couldn’t hear their conversation clearly due to the distance… but it seemed like he was trying to persuade her to convert.”
“…What?”
That was unexpected. Noctem’s eyes widened.
“You mean the lady—the Charlotte Daphsine I know?”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“…Hah.”
So she had been there.
A slow sense of relief washed over him, calming his unease.
It wasn’t as if she could have fallen ill or gotten hurt just because she hadn’t appeared for three days.
But his relief was short-lived.
As he replayed Tei’s words in his head, he suddenly froze upon recalling the term convert.
‘Why would the High Priest offer conversion to the lady?’
In the temple’s context, conversion meant only one thing—becoming an apostle of Terua.
But one didn’t become an apostle through mere faith alone.
The temple had a special method for selecting apostles, and regardless of the depth of one’s belief, one had to pass that test to qualify.
“…That is rather strange.”
As Tei had said, something was off.
‘What is the temple plotting?’
Why would they extend such an offer to Charlotte of all people?
His finger tapped against the desk more rapidly.
‘Could it be that she was at the temple these past three days to become an apostle?’
No, that was too far-fetched.
…But wasn’t it somewhat plausible?
‘I should check on this.’
This was purely for political reasons.
It was absolutely not because he wanted to see her.
With that justification in mind, he slammed his hands on the desk and rose to his feet, quickly donning his uniform and cloak.
“Y-Your Excellency?”
Tei called out weakly, already resigned. He wasn’t even surprised anymore.
At this point, he just wished that Noctem would at least finish his work before running off somewhere.
Naturally, Noctem had not the slightest clue about Tei’s inner thoughts.
“I’ll be back shortly.”
“…Yes, yes.”
What was the point of arguing?
With complete resignation, Tei merely nodded.
Noctem, oblivious to the dozens of subordinates wailing behind him about overtime, strode confidently out of the grand duchy.
***
Meanwhile, completely unaware that she had been under Noctem’s watch for over a week, Charlotte was leaving the temple with a bewildered expression.
Unlike Noctem’s assumption, today was the first time she had visited the temple—and she had done so without any particular reason.
Finding herself suddenly thrown into a parallel world, Charlotte, who believed in fate, naturally assumed that this world’s god, Terua, existed as well.
So, before leaving the capital, she had come here with a sliver of hope.
‘But why did that priest say such things?’
Out of nowhere, the priest had urged her to convert.
“The honor is mine, Lady Daphsine. Your eyes are truly clear. Since you’ve come all this way, your faith in Terua must be strong. Have you considered becoming an apostle?”
At that moment, Charlotte had quickly examined his attire.
His tone and demeanor felt less like that of a sacred priest and more like that of a fanatical heretic.
Yet, no matter how she looked at him, he was indeed wearing the official robes of Terua’s temple.
……
After being forcibly dragged to a prayer room and subjected to two hours of persuasion, Charlotte had finally escaped and fled into the city streets.
Just then, she spotted something familiar.
“How much is this?”
Unknowingly drawn in, she approached a merchant.
And there, in his stall, lay the very same ribbon hair ornament Noctem had once bought for her.
NOTE
Hey guys, if you like my work and want to support me you can visit this link for tip. As I can’t create kofi because of unavailability of PayPal in my country, I’ve made this teir which will be updated weekly so you won’t be charged again until you want to tip again, also you can exit the tier after donating. Enjoy reading 💞💫
