Rejected by Daughter’s Second Male Lead Chapter 92

Gillen checked Yuan’s expression first. He was already concerned about it being the most religiously prosperous city, but now the very person who had caused the trauma had appeared in person.

He naturally took Yuan’s hand. He could feel Yuan look at him in surprise, but Gillen just held his hand tightly and greeted Marius.

“Greetings, High Priest. I did not expect to see you here.”

Gillen caught Marius’s eyes flick down to his and Yuan’s hands before rising again. That snake-like old fossil. Gillen internally muttered a curse, just like Yuan would.

“When a pair of lovers who are currently causing the biggest stir in the empire are coming to our Letinpan, how could I not come out to greet you?”

“Hahaha! Thank you, but I am concerned, High Priest. Letinpan is a city of His Majesty the Emperor. To say ‘our’ Letinpan… if some foolish person were to slander you, it would bring great harm to you, High Priest. I believe you must be careful with your words.”

Gillen said the last sentence quietly, feigning a friendly smile. Marius’s face stiffened for a moment. Treason was punished severely on suspicion alone. Gillen, by pointing that out under the guise of concern, was asserting his dominance over Marius.

‘What a vile non-believer.’

Marius thought.

‘Where does this shameless second male lead, who tried to make a move on our Cecil, think he’s pulling another stunt?’

At the same time, Gillen also thought.

Sharp glares disguised as smiles were exchanged between the two men. Breaking their uncomfortable smiles, a high-ranking priest with stark white hair who was beside Marius stepped forward.

“The High Priest meant to say that it is Lady Retina’s Letinpan, he had no other meaning. Please do not insult the High Priest, Your Grace the Duke. Our Retinism thrives under the reign of His Majesty the Emperor, so what kind of person could possibly misinterpret the High Priest’s words?”

“Ha! Ha! Ha! I was also just nagging out of concern, so I hope you priests will be generous and understand. But we have places to be, so if you’ll excuse us—”

“That is why we have come out.”

Marius cut in, interrupting Gillen’s words gently but firmly.

“We would like to host you both at the Letinpan temple. Would you grant us permission?”

Naturally, Gillen refused. He made all sorts of excuses: that they had too many knights, servants, and luggage to impose on the temple; that it would be blasphemous to exude the passion of love in such a sacred place; that he wanted to sleep in a luxurious inn, and so on.

However, Marius was a formidable opponent. He said the Letinpan temple was larger than any inn, and that followers periodically came to stay and pray for weeks, so there was nothing to worry about. Moreover, he said that Lady Retina always preached love, so she would surely bestow her blessing if a new couple of lovers were to stay.

“And it goes without saying that the Letinpan temple is luxurious.”

The shamelessness of his face as he smiled sweetly left Gillen at a loss for words. The priests and followers Marius had brought as reinforcements also chimed in from behind. They said they had already finished all preparations and had been waiting for only His Grace Duke Blake and Marquis Hampton for several days, cheering kindly.

And so, in the end, Yuan and Gillen were loaded back onto the carriage and headed for the Letinpan temple.

“…I’m sorry, Yuan.”

Gillen apologized in a subdued voice.

“For what?”

“I tried my best to avoid going to the temple…”

“It’s fine. I haven’t said a word, so why are you acting so guilty on your own?”

Yuan, surprisingly, seemed unfazed. His complexion was a little pale, but he didn’t show any signs of being severely agitated.

“Are you alright?”

When Gillen asked cautiously, Yuan hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Well, I was a little surprised, but… you held my hand.”

“Hmm?”

“What? Why? I know you’re just saying that because you want to hear it a second time. I’m not going to say it again.”

“No, I heard you, but…”

“Then that’s enough. Don’t talk to me now. The smell of the temple is getting stronger, so I’m going to hold my nose.”

After saying that, Yuan really did use magic to create a transparent, bubble-like shield around his face.

Gillen looked at Yuan and smiled faintly. For some reason, he felt a sense of fondness for him.

He couldn’t even begin to imagine how horrible an experience it must have been to be confined and even tortured during childhood. Even now, Yuan often showed signs of mental instability that didn’t suit him.

And yet, he said he was fine just because Gillen held his hand. Anyone can hold hands with anyone, and anyone can have their hand held, can’t they? But had Yuan truly never had anyone like that until now?

Just like me, in the past.

Gillen unconsciously thought of that sentence and turned his head away. It was dangerous to project oneself onto another’s misfortune. Such an act stemmed from a natural emotion based on empathy, but at the same time, it was the most basic foundation that could develop into a sense of kinship, then into sympathy and compassion, and perhaps even into love.

‘I can no longer deny that Yuan has come to like me.’

Gillen bit the tip of his tongue hard.

‘I have to be the one to keep my head straight. I can’t get swept up in this.’

He vowed this to himself several times, staring at the carriage window the whole time. But his gaze rested more on the reflection of Yuan’s profile in the windowpane than on the scenery outside.

“It is truly repulsive. To think this is a temple and not the imperial palace.”

Yuan sneered as he looked around the room assigned to him.

Gillen and Yuan were given separate rooms. They were even in different buildings, located at opposite ends of the temple. He said the god Retina would bless the loving couple, but they were being treated almost like doppelgangers who would die upon meeting.

Apart from that, the interior of the room was dazzlingly splendid. The silk curtains with embroidered holy paintings by the empire’s master artisans and the bed, exquisitely crafted from the finest wood, were nothing short of art pieces.

The symbol of Retinism, decorated with jewels, hung like a wall ornament, and a small, beautiful statue of Retina was displayed on the desk. There were also a water bowl and a mirror containing divine power, so that any follower staying in the room could receive a share of holiness at any time.

“This must be a room for the royal family or noble followers who make the largest donations.”

Gillen said, feeling empty. He had only seen this level of splendor at Yuan’s lordship castle. Even then, he had cursed internally that it was flashier than the imperial palace, but this was a temple that demanded moderation and faith.

“This is why I don’t come to temples. The god Retina must be weeping in the heavens, truly weeping.”

Gillen said sarcastically, fiddling with a doorknob that seemed to be made of pure silver. At that, Yuan, who was beside him, let out a soft laugh.

“You acted so kind and smiled even in front of the innkeeper you disliked, but you’re quite harsh on the temple.”

“That and this are different! It’s always okay to curse a corrupt temple as much as you want. You should curse it without hesitation too. If a duke and a marquis curse it, no one can say anything. That’s one good thing about it.”

Gillen said playfully. Yuan let out another laugh that sounded like air escaping. He thought Gillen was deliberately cursing to lighten his mood. It really did make Yuan feel better.

“Well, are you feeling alright?”

Gillen asked as if in passing. So that was the main point. Yuan nodded, a smile on his lips.

“I was a bit nervous too, but it looks completely different from the room I was locked in before, so I’m fine. Back then, it was a small, dark room, almost like a storage shed. It wasn’t even above ground in the first place.”

“You mean… it was a dungeon?”

“I wonder. A prison? It was just a room without a window. It was a place like a small prayer room in the basement.”

Yuan shrugged and touched the surface of the water in the bowl with his finger, flicking it. He seemed to want to cause some mischief.

And Gillen was left alone in shock. Doesn’t Yuan know? There are no such things as underground prayer rooms in any of the empire’s temples. This was because they believed that praying while receiving sunlight was the way to reach the god Retina.

The only things underground were the holy prisons. Only sinners who could not receive sunlight were sent underground. Priests who broke the doctrine, holy knights who committed betrayal, people who severely blasphemed the god Retina. The young Yuan was none of those. But to have locked him underground meant…

‘So that no one would see him.’

As expected, the confinement and torture must have been Marius’s unilateral actions. He had locked a child in the holy prison to avoid being caught.

‘How can I press charges when there’s no evidence?’

Yuan’s words had been precise. Marius would not have left any evidence. That was how things worked in the temple’s basement. That was why there were rumors that it was scarier to go to the holy prison than to be caught by the imperial guards and sent to jail.

“Yuan.”

Gillen walked slowly toward Yuan. He smiled gently to hide his shock.

“Will you stay with me until I go to sleep? I dislike temples so much that I feel a bit uncomfortable.”

“…Alright. It’s not like it’s the first or second time you’ve flaunted our relationship like this. Well, would you like to sit here?”

Thankfully, Yuan pulled out a chair for Gillen without any suspicion. Gillen sat there without a word. From now on, he intended to defend Yuan with an ironclad guard from that bastard Marius.