Chapter 9
“What? W-What is this all of a sudden…”
All of a sudden. Obsession always had a way of starting out of the blue.
There was never a considerate admirer who would give prior notice of their impending obsession.
And didn’t Gabriel, upon seeing Julietta for the first time, immediately start his otherworldly obsession?
I looked down at Gabriel, raising one corner of my mouth in a smile.
“If that’s how it is, then so be it. Just accept it.”
“B-But…”
But even the esteemed Gabriel seemed taken aback by such a sudden obsession.
He grasped my sleeve, his expression desperate.
“This… This cannot be, my lady! To appoint a personal priest, there must be, uhm, a fair process!”
“A fair process?”
“Yes. First, the permission of Priest Antonio must be obtained, and then the opinions of other priests must be gathered…”
Priest Antonio was a high-ranking priest who managed the regular priests. So, one couldn’t appoint a personal priest without his permission.
But…
“Oh. I’ll take care of that.”
It didn’t bother me at all.
Didn’t I say earlier? Beneath the temple lay treasures beyond imagination.
And who else but I would provide those treasures?
I walked confidently with Gabriel to meet the High Priest.
And under the guise of a donation, I handed over a substantial amount of cash to the High Priest. And just like that, everything was resolved swiftly.
“Father Gabriel, you have been appointed as Lady Ariadne’s personal priest from today onwards.”
The High Priest, Helen, smiled gently at Gabriel. Despite being well into her seventies, she appeared to be in her early thirties.
Such powerful priests could even delay physical aging. Of course, to reach such a state, one needed considerable divine power.
Gabriel seemed quite shocked by Helen’s words.
He turned pale and shouted at Helen.
“W-Wait a moment, High Priest! But according to the procedure, shouldn’t we also consider the opinions of Priest Antonio and other priests…?”
Gabriel’s voice gradually faded away. It was because Helen’s kind face was slowly turning cold.
With a smile on her lips, Helen looked at Gabriel, but her eyes didn’t share the smile.
Just looking at her made the surroundings feel chilly.
“Father Gabriel. While the procedure is important, there is something even more important, isn’t there?”
“…More important? What could be more important?”
“That’s right.”
Helen gestured towards me with her eyes.
The Lady of the Veloreo Duchy.
The chosen one who inherited the powers of the land.
A tycoon worth billions in modern terms.
An enviable and admirable figure to all.
That’s what’s truly important.
In my own words, Ariadne was truly an extraordinary person. If she hadn’t been entangled with the protagonist, she might have lived a brilliant life.
Gabriel glanced at me and nodded soon after. It seemed like he finally understood Helen’s words.
“Well, if there are no further objections, shall we proceed with drafting the direct priest contract?”
Helen retrieved a thick document from the drawer. Naturally, it was the direct priest contract.
While the contract contained various clauses, one thing stood out: I could freely summon Gabriel, my direct priest, for the next year.
And this condition would prove very useful in my endeavor to obsess over Gabriel
.
After confirming, I signed my name at the end of the contract. From now on, Gabriel was destined to be incessantly obsessed over by me for the next year.
“Haha. Today’s goal has been achieved. Gabriel, brace yourself for what’s to come.”
Thus, my plan to reform the protagonists was proceeding smoothly once again.
After a long time, since I was in the capital, I couldn’t just visit the temple and leave.
I went to the most popular dessert shop on Crystal Street, the upscale district of the capital.
“Welcome, Lady Veloa. Please come this way.”
Thanks to the privilege of the Veloa family, I entered the shop without having to wait in line like others behind me, feeling their envious gazes.
“Ah, the taste of power, Lady Veloa reigns supreme!”
The taste of power was always exhilarating and enjoyable.
Smirking, I followed the staff.
The staff led me to a private room inside the shop, decorated quaintly to suit the tastes of noble youths.
“Lady, what would you like to order?”
The staff asked politely as he poured me water.
“Oh, right… this place supposedly has the best cherry pie.”
I recalled Julieta mentioning it several times.
Confirming that cherry pie was on the menu, I promptly ordered.
“I’ll have the cherry pie and some tea, please.”
“Of course, Lady. Is there anything else you need?”
“Oh, and… I intend to place an order with Rebeka…”
At my words, the staff’s eyes widened momentarily.
Understandably so. “Rebeka” was a piece of highly classified information known to only a select few guests.
In fact, this dessert shop was the headquarters of the information guild, “Rebeka.” More precisely, Rebeka’s headquarters were located in the basement of this building.
And this shop operated as a front to welcome clients of Rebeka. Since most of Rebeka’s clients were high-ranking nobles, the setup was tailored accordingly.
Of course, even I would have remained oblivious to this fact if I hadn’t read the original novel. If anything, knowing about it would serve me well.
While I didn’t need to visit the guild in the previous rounds, this time was different.
For obsessing over the protagonists, accurate information was crucial. Hence, leveraging the information guild’s help was essential.
With that thought in mind, I stared intently at the staff.
“Ah, I’m sorry, Your Grace. I’ll get ready quickly.”
The employee who apologized to me hurriedly left the room.
As I waited for the employee to return, I absentmindedly gazed out the window.
The streets of the capital were bustling. People gathered in groups, chatting happily.
“It’s so peaceful….”
Those people don’t know that the empire is on the brink of collapse. They can be peaceful like that because they don’t know. Ignorance truly is bliss.
“I used to have moments of peace like that too….”
The me from the first round, who knew nothing, was happier and more peaceful than anyone else. Thinking back to those times, I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.
And then, in that moment, the door creaked open and a man walked in.
“I’m surprised. I didn’t expect you to come here in person.”
With a friendly smile hiding his face, the man approached me confidently.
“…What? It’s our first meeting, and he’s already being so informal.”
I frowned at him. I didn’t appreciate the lack of manners from someone I just met.
But the man didn’t seem to care about my mood at all. He sat down in front of me without even asking for permission.
“We finally meet, Bellua. This our first encounter, right?”
The man spoke to me in a familiar tone.
“…What the hell? Who is this guy?”
I debated whether to respond to him politely or informally, but I decided to speak informally like him.
“Yeah, it’s our first time meeting. But who are you?”
Well, it was obvious he was a member of the Rebecca Guild, but…
I crossed my arms and stared at the man’s face.
“I’m the guild master of Rebeka. Just call me Master.”
“…Wait. The guild master?”
What? Suddenly he’s the guild master?
It was a completely unexpected revelation. There was nothing known about the guild master of Rebecca, as far as I knew.
“Surely, he has never appeared in the original work.”
According to the original, Rebeka was an information guild frequently used by the Northern Duke, the male lead. He paid a hefty sum to Rebecca and obtained information about Julieta.
But even he had never met the guild master of Rebeka. The gender and name of the guild master were unknown.
“He didn’t even reveal his identity to the Northern Duke. Why would someone like that come to see me?”
“What can I get from Ariadne?”
I felt a sense of unease creeping in. But in moments like these, I had to remain calm even more.
I tried to keep a neutral expression as I looked at the man in front of me.
“I didn’t expect the Guild Master to come out personally. I heard he’s quite busy… No?”
The man replied to my question calmly.
“It’s not that he’s busy, he just dislikes dealing with people. He dislikes bothersome things too.”
“I see. So, today wasn’t bothersome for him?”
“Yeah. It’s always fun to see a beauty.”
“….”
I was momentarily taken aback and forgot what to say. It was an awkward situation.
“He must have plenty of admirers.”
Even though he was wearing a mask, it was evident that he was handsome.
The aura of a peerless beauty that couldn’t be hidden even with a mask emanated from him.
“If I were prone to flattery, it would’ve been dangerous.”
But thanks to my encounters with handsome yet dull male leads, I had developed immunity to beauties.
I casually ignored the man’s words and brought up the main topic.
“Anyway, I came because I have a request. I’ll pay you well, so I hope you can look into it as soon as possible.”
The man stirred his teaspoon, tilting his head.
I’m not sure when he took my teaspoon, but he did.
“A request? Unfortunately, I can’t accept it.”
“Why?”
“I didn’t come here today to take on any requests.”
“What?”
…Then why did he come out in the first place?
