The Extra Decided to be Fake

Episode 70

 

In a corner of the banquet hall, a scuffle broke out unbeknownst to anyone.

 

Strictly speaking, it couldn’t be called a scuffle since one side wasn’t resisting at all, but the atmosphere was tense enough due to the excessive anger from the other side.

 

“I didn’t expect you to get this angry, Theodore.”

 

“Shut up, you bastard.”

 

Theodore released Lillian as Damian had requested.

 

Instead, he immediately grabbed Damian by the collar and pushed him against the wall. Despite Theodore’s already intimidating demeanor, his aggression was enough to intimidate an ordinary person, but Damian remained expressionless.

 

“What the hell did you do to Lillian?”

 

“Haha. You told me to shut up, but what if I ask a question?”

 

“I’m not in the mood for jokes. Right now, I feel like I could kill you to make Lillian normal again.”

 

“Sorry, but even if you kill me, it won’t make Lillian normal again. So, how about you let me go? Otherwise, what are you going to do if I don’t tell you because I’m feeling upset?”

 

“Then I’ll have to slap you. What do you want to ask?”

 

“You’re vulgar.”

 

Despite casually laughing, perhaps because he was being held by the collar, Damian coughed a few times after finishing his sentence.

 

“Cough, well… it’s nothing. I just dropped a subtle hint. Lillian knows too much… I didn’t intend to come to me.”

 

“Who would go to someone like you?”

 

“More people than you, for sure. More than just a commoner knight.”

 

“Oh, so you wrote all those hints because you couldn’t even seduce a girl?”

 

“Haha!”

 

As Theodore grumbled, Damian laughed cheerfully. They had often played together with Lillian when they were younger. They never imagined such a future.

 

“Say what you want. If it’s just about dropping hints, it seemed like a problem that time could solve.”

 

If the issue was merely dropping hints, it seemed like a problem that time could solve.

 

If hints stick to reality, then covering them up as another fact would solve the problem.

 

“So, it’s not completely spoiled.”

 

“I guess not. But not until I wake you up from your hints.”

 

Theo’s face twisted at Damian’s words.

 

“What?! That’s not what you said!”

 

“Did you think I’d willingly spill everything?”

 

With a smirk, Damian stepped out of Theo’s reach. Theodore considered attacking Damian but refrained, fearing it would involve Lillian. Instead, he asked a question.

 

“Why are you doing this? You were clearly close to Lillian. Is it because of the temple?”

 

“Of course, the temple needs Lillian too. But I’m not the temple’s dog. I don’t care much for the temple.”

 

“Then why—”

 

“Because I want Lillian.”

 

Damian smiled brightly. His tender smile, with the curved eyes and the playful twinkle, matched well with the bright moonlight, and the youth with white hair was as beautiful as the moon itself.

 

Thus, the youth, blessed by the divine, asked with nostalgia.

 

“Isn’t there such love in this world?”

 

* * *

 

About 12 years ago, there was a very exceptional event.

 

Thanks to his tremendous divine power, despite his young age and without any particular apprenticeship period, there was a talent who was immediately appointed as a prodigy.

 

His name was Damien Portier.

 

Although he hadn’t officially vowed to the temple yet, making his appointment as a prodigy only an unofficial fact to the outside world, those within the temple who knew were aware of it.

 

The temple, being very strict in determining ranks, was so eager to recruit such talent that they overlooked the fact that he hadn’t yet made an official commitment to the temple. Moreover, they unofficially appointed him as a prodigy even though he had refused.

 

Just from this aspect alone, one could tell how remarkable his divine power was.

 

The magnitude of divine power is synonymous with the grace and love of God.

 

“A person who has received such love from God is unprecedented among men!”

 

“If it’s Damien, then he’s likely to take the position of the next Pope.”

 

The higher-ups of the temple gathered whenever Damien appeared, causing a stir each time.

 

Thus, Damien lived with the destiny of being appointed as the next Pope.

 

His polite speech and unwrinkled smile were created then.

 

“I must become Pope.”

 

The child knew from early on that it wouldn’t hurt to manage his reputation.

 

Fortunately, thanks to his good looks, the child received the favor of those around him even if he acted a little obsequiously.

 

Damien found it a bit boring to be surrounded by such favor, but he enjoyed staying in a temple that was favorable to him.

 

And then, Damien heard about ‘that child’.

 

“Mr. Damien, when you grow up, you’ll get married.”

 

“Me? But priests can’t get married.”

 

“That’s true, but Mr. Damien is special, and he receives a lot of love from God.”

 

With those words, the priest took Damien somewhere. It was the temple’s library.

 

There, Damien learned about the ‘Daughters of Moonlight’.

 

“There are bloodlines that are born to receive God’s love. They were supposed to work for the temple, but they refused their duties and ran away.”

 

“Isn’t that wrong?”

 

“Yes, it is. But we can correct it in our own way. It’s only natural for those who receive God’s love to return to the temple. We have the last ‘Daughter of Moonlight’ under our care.”

 

Mr. Damien will marry her.

 

That was the day Damien first heard about ‘that child’.

 

* * *

 

The temple’s goal was to marry individuals with strong divine power to produce offspring with strong divine power.

 

Except for the ‘Daughters of Moonlight’ whose divine power is inherited through the maternal lineage, divine power tends to manifest irregularly in others. Therefore, it was quite cumbersome for the temple to seek out these individuals one by one.

 

If they could control individuals with strong divine power, the temple’s influence would greatly increase.

 

In fact, the temple had succeeded in this once.

 

When the ‘Daughters of Moonlight’ first came to the temple.

 

The temple chose the one with the strongest divine power among them as a saint, and she is still recorded in many documents as ‘Saint Sophia’.

 

Moreover, it was when the temple’s influence was strongest.

 

So the temple aims to produce offspring with strong divine power to rebuild that time.

 

Damien figured out the temple’s goal.

 

‘How tedious.’

 

He had no intention of playing along. He had little interest in the temple’s progress. The glory of the temple? He already had the Portier name. Even if he were to lose the position of Pope, it wouldn’t matter much to him.

 

However, separately from that, Damien was interested in the last ‘Daughter of Moonlight’ being kept in the temple.

 

‘She’s supposed to marry me. Interesting.’

 

At first, the temple didn’t tell Damien much about the ‘Daughter of Moonlight’. But when Damien showed signs of non-cooperation, they changed their attitude as if a fire had been lit under them. Thanks to this, Damien learned that the last ‘Daughter of Moonlight’ was quite a famous figure.

 

The vanished Lady Maynard.

 

It was an endlessly intriguing combination.

 

‘I’d like to meet her at least once.’

 

Just as he was having such thoughts, he heard that the ‘Daughter of Moonlight’ had died.

 

Before the shock could even fade, conveniently, such rumors spread.

 

“Is the Duke of Maynard taking the child?”

 

“Yes. It seems certain, judging from the large order of dolls from the workshop.”

 

“Is that so? Then we should confirm it.”

 

Which side was the truth?