— Sigh, it seems this precious body has to step in again. Can’t be helped!
Despite saying, she was moving reluctantly, there was a subtle hint of anticipation in Excalibur’s voice.
Morgana picked him up from the bed and placed him on the table right in front of the window. When she approached the window like last time, it was within easy reach.
All the valuables had been swept into a magic pouch.
Excalibur could be stolen, but jewelry and gems were absolutely off-limits.
“See you later!”
Morgana waved her hand cheerfully and pushed Olivia out of the room.
As soon as they stepped out, she grabbed Arthur’s arm, who was standing by the door.
“Come on, Arthur, let’s go!”
Though he tried to pull away, his gaze fixed on the door, he asked suspiciously,
“What about the guards?”
Morgana, leaving Olivia and Arthur behind, returned to the room, deliberately leaving the door slightly ajar, then gestured with both hands as if introducing something grand.
“Today, anyone can come in!”
The two just stared at her blankly.
Morgana, wrapping her arms around their shoulders, looked at the other guests bustling through the hallway and smiled brightly.
“Let’s enjoy the festive atmosphere!”
The priests, seemingly having forgotten all about what happened in the Caledonian Forest, were in a somewhat excited mood.
The scenery visible through the window was also full of vitality.
Some were preparing bonfires for the night, and the large tree in the middle of the garden was being beautifully decorated with grapevines and laurel.
Morgana spotted Priest Rhiannon walking briskly down the hallway and called out to her.
“Priest Rhiannon!”
“Lady Morgana!”
Rhiannon, carrying an armful of branches, hurried over to her.
“You helped during the banquet, but I was so busy I couldn’t greet you properly until now.”
“That’s understandable! Are you alright now?”
“Of course. I’m perfectly fine! It really felt like I was possessed back then.”
Rhiannon shuddered, then opened her eyes wide and asked brightly, “Do you need something?”
“Is there a place where I can see stories or materials related to the temple?”
Preliminary research is essential.
The Caledonian Forest has been managed by the temple since ancient times.
It’s a place the priests would know best.
‘A mansion that uses offensive magic for defense wouldn’t just collapse out of nowhere.’
If it existed before, as Merlin said, there should be some records of it.
Rhiannon answered without hesitation, “Ah, you can find that in the temple library. It used to be passed down orally, but thanks to Merlin, everything has been recorded.”
“Are all those records complete?”
“Yes! Many high priests participated, and priests from temples all over also contributed, so it’s certain!”
She took a branch from her arms and handed it to Morgana.
“Since it’s a festival, please take one of these.”
Morgana took the branch with several small white flowers hanging from it and asked,
“What is this?”
“It’s a branch of the Whitehand tree that only grows in the temple. We give them out to guests during the festival! Let me know if you need anything else!”
Rhiannon bowed and hurried off to prepare for the festival.
Morgana gave a Whitehand branch to Olivia and Arthur.
Olivia, seeing the flowers on the branch for the first time, exclaimed in admiration.
“Wow, so this is the Whitehand! It’s beautiful.”
Unlike her, who kept admiring the rare tree not often seen outside the temple, Arthur’s expression wasn’t very bright.
Morgana glanced at Arthur, who was silently staring at the branch.
‘He’s been down since after the banquet…’
Could it be that he wanted to go and destroy Caliburn and the mansion, but couldn’t?
Thinking of how Arthur seemed particularly down whenever he saw him, it seemed like a plausible thought.
Morgana patted Arthur’s shoulder.
“Arthur, you’re good with a sword. That’s enough!”
She gave him a thumbs-up, and his blue eyes stared at her intently.
Patting his shoulder again, like Raon had done, Morgana headed off somewhere in the temple to pass the time.
After wandering around for a while, when she returned to the room,
Excalibur was already gone.
Smirking, Morgana dropped the branch on the floor, then covered her cheeks with her hands and shouted,
“Thief!”
💫
“Excuse me, miss. If it’s alright with you, may we investigate your room for a moment?”
The news of the holy sword’s disappearance had thrown the temple into chaos.
With many nobles visiting to attend the banquet and festival, the investigation was proving to be quite challenging.
“Are you suspecting me now?”
“Tsk, seriously. The person who lost it is over there, and now they want to search our room instead!”
“Go ahead and search. But if nothing comes of it, you’ll have to answer for this!”
Of course, it wasn’t just outsiders being investigated.
Priests, acolytes, knights—everyone was being searched.
Even the nobles’ pets, like dogs with two eyes, a nose, and a mouth, were being inspected.
Amidst this chaos, Morgana wandered the halls, putting on a dramatic show.
“Excalibur, where did you go? My sword, my precious sword!”
‘Not yet, Excal. Hold on a little longer!’
Deep down, she desperately hoped he wouldn’t respond to her call—a contradictory wish, but one she held onto nonetheless.
No matter where she went, nothing seemed out of place.
The temple knights and priests had already searched every possible corner.
On her way to the library, Morgana even casually peeked behind flower vases, just in case.
When she arrived at the temple library, it was clear the building hadn’t been around for long. Its modest size, comparable to a noble’s study, and the crisp smell of new books gave it away.
Disappointed by the smaller-than-expected library, Morgana stretched her neck and scanned the titles.
“Scripture Volume 1, Scripture Volume 2, Scripture Volume 3… Scripture Volume 53? What the—it’s all just scriptures?”
None of the other books seemed particularly helpful either.
<101 Behaviors a Priest Must Uphold>
<How to Efficiently Extract Divine Power>
<If You Save Them, They’ll Offer You a Bundle: The Mindset a Priest Must Have>
As Morgana frowned and carefully examined the spines of the books, the sound of footsteps echoed behind her.
The librarian, who had arrived late, spoke up.
“I’m sorry! With the holy sword missing, everyone’s been out searching, so I stepped away for a moment. What book are you looking for… Lady Morgana?”
Hearing her name, Morgana turned around to see Priest Anun staring at her with wide eyes.
Morgana pointed at the bookshelves and asked, “Priest Anun, are you the librarian here?”
“Well, yes, but since not many people come here, I actually handle a lot of other duties as well.”
Anun tilted her head and glanced around.
“But what brings you to the library?”
“Oh, I was wondering if there’s anything written here about the disappearance of Excalibur. I mean, it is a holy sword, right?”
“Ah…”
Anun let out an ambiguous sigh, licking her dry lips before timidly replying.
“Well… there probably isn’t anything about the holy sword here.”
“Why not?”
“Well… there are ancient documents that only the High Priest and the Saint are allowed to access. Usually, everything’s written in there.”
“But there are scriptures here, right?”
“The scriptures are based on the ancient documents, but they only include what’s permissible to share with the priests. Anything about the holy sword would be excluded.”
“So only the Saint and the High Priest can see the ancient documents?”
“I’m not supposed to say this, but since you helped clear my name at the banquet…”
Anun glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then took a step closer to Morgana.
“The High Priest can issue a token. It grants the bearer authority to intervene in temple matters, even in neutral zones.”
She covered her mouth with both hands and whispered softly.
“It’s a token of recognition from the divine. Whoever receives it can access the ancient documents.”
“Has anyone received it before?”
“Not to my knowledge.”
As Morgana rubbed her chin, pondering Anun’s words, a sly smile slowly spread across her face.
Then she’d just have to get it, ‘A temple that couldn’t even properly safeguard Excalibur, a sword acknowledged by divine prophecy…’
This was the perfect opportunity to demand compensation.
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