I’m Not the One Who Seduced the Grand Duke – Chapter 38

Author: isuzuuy

“Well, apparently?”

“At the Temple, each believer who comes to pray is assigned a guide priest.”

Doresa explained that their role was to help with prayer, or to listen to any worries or concerns the believer might have.

“But there are eligibility requirements to receive a guide priest, and that requirement is a donation. And depending on the amount, you can choose your priest. Something along those lines……”

Wait a minute.

Even to an outsider listening to this, it sounds strange. Is this really how it works?

The more I heard, the more an unsettling feeling lingered in the back of my mind.

“Of course, it works the other way around too. There aren’t only male priests. Apparently, before His Grace the Grand Duke was ordained, the female priests were actually more popular.”

“You can stop there. I understand enough.”

“Ahem. Well, anyway, that’s roughly how it works. Yes.”

“I’ve also heard stories about people having to give expensive paintings as gifts before they could enter a prayer room alone with a priest,” Doresa added.

The more I heard, the more absurd it sounded.

Now that I thought about it, perhaps the Temple had its own strange side too.

“But why are you telling me all of this? Giving me this information doesn’t really benefit you, does it, Viscount?”

“Well, I can’t agree that it doesn’t benefit me. To be honest, I’d like to maintain this relationship with you for a very, very long time.”

“As business partners who can trust each other.”

Doresa smiled brightly.

Certainly, building a relationship with the Viscount seemed like a much better idea than getting close to the noblewomen outside who were busy gossiping about others.

“If you ever need help, let me know.”

“Thank you, Viscount Evrel. But I think I’ll be fine for now.”

I had already been through so many things.

This much was still nothing I couldn’t handle, so I gave her a bright smile.

***

But when I thought about it carefully, it really pissed me off.

“Isn’t it a little much for them to openly oppose it?”

I had never anticipated things unfolding like this.

Until now, the only thing I had been agonizing over was whether I should accept Leon’s proposal.

And just when I had finally reached a conclusion and was about to accept it, this mess had happened.

Having things go wrong because of an outside party was extremely unpleasant.

“It’s my engagement, not theirs! Who do they think they are, meddling in someone else’s engagement?”

I climbed out of the carriage, fuming.

I was just about to enter the estate to find Leon and discuss this matter immediately when—

“Leon?”

“Ah, Erna.”

Leon, who happened to be outside the estate, greeted me happily when he saw me.

A huge carriage was parked in front of him.

Judging by the golden crest stamped on the door, it appeared to be a carriage belonging to the Bernstein Grand Ducal House.

Come to think of it, carriages that large were generally used for long-distance travel.

Surely……

“You’re going to the Temple now?”

“Yes. We should hurry. Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon.”

“Wait.”

“It’s fine. I can take care of everything myself.”

Telling me not to worry about it, Leon hopped into the carriage.

I stared at him for a moment before abruptly opening the carriage door and climbing in without giving anyone a chance to say anything.

“I’m coming with you.”

“What? But, Erna, the Temple is quite far from the capital, in the south. It’ll take several days by carriage.”

“I don’t care. Ah, but just in case, could you wait a little? I’ll tell Laura to pack me a few things.”

Saying it would only take a moment, I hurriedly called the butler and asked him to arrange it.

A short while later—

As expected of a veteran head maid, Laura quickly arrived with a packed travel bag.

“You’re really going?”

“What did you think I was doing sitting in this carriage?”

“Well, I thought perhaps you were throwing a fit because you wanted to see your fiancé’s face a little longer before you couldn’t see him for a while.”

What did she take me for, a child?

I let out a small laugh.

“Bluntly speaking, this isn’t just your problem, is it? If you think about it, it’s my problem too. So of course I should go with you.”

“…….”

“We’re in the same boat now, remember?”

Our engagement wasn’t something only one person was entering into. Since we were doing this together, naturally we should move together too.

At my words, Leon froze.

His eyes widened as though he hadn’t expected me to respond that way, and then he gave a small laugh.

“You’re right. It’s our engagement, after all.”

“Exactly. So let’s leave quickly. I have a mountain of things waiting for me to deal with once we get back.”

At my insistence that we should resolve this as quickly as possible, he silently looked at me before a gentle smile appeared at the corners of his lips.

***

“I think it’s probably because of the Constellation Council.”

“The Constellation Council?”

“Yes.”

Leon nodded as he gazed out the window at the passing scenery.

“The time has come for the vote to choose the next High Priest of the Temple. It takes place once every five years, and this is the year.”

He calmly explained what he thought was happening.

The reason the High Priest was going so far as to desperately cling to Leon.

“But apparently, the current High Priest, Servando, is in a precarious position. There’s a chief priest named Dominiel among the younger priests, and apparently he’s quite a powerful rival.”

“And High Priest Servando intends to use Leon to protect his position?”

“Probably.”

“Well, this is quite something.”

It really was an institution that had rotted to the core.

“So what are you planning to do?”

“What else? They’re using the rules against us, so we have to fight them with the rules too.”

He had occasionally fallen into thought by himself during the entire carriage ride.

Apparently, he had been thinking things through.

“We’re almost there.”

Leon pointed out the window.

Just as he said, standing majestically atop a high hill was the Asterion Temple.

“I’d heard about it, but seeing it in person is something else.”

The moment I stepped out of the carriage, I couldn’t help but gasp in admiration.

A gigantic temple spread out before my eyes, large enough to fill my entire field of vision.

The dazzling white marble sparkled beneath the sunlight, while golden decorations covered practically every corner with almost excessive splendor.

And atop it all were sharp roofs that seemed to pierce the sky.

It strangely resembles the architectural style of the Imperial Palace…… Surely that’s just my imagination?

In any case, there was no rule saying a temple had to be austere.

But even taking that into consideration, this was excessively lavish.

“Thank you for coming such a long way.”

As we entered, the priests who had been waiting for us bowed and greeted us.

“If you had given us a little more time to prepare for your visit, we would have been able to make better arrangements……”

“No. This is an important enough matter that we couldn’t afford to wait.”

“We too regret what has happened. But what can we do? The doctrine is what it is.”

They said they regretted it, but……

They all look rather displeased.

Why wouldn’t they?

When we, the parties involved, announced that we would come in person, the Temple had been considerably flustered and tried to stall for time.

But Leon refused to give them any time, insisting that the matter be resolved immediately. The Imperial Family had also provided a carriage and an escort to ensure we could travel quickly, so we arrived without delay.

Just as I was receiving the blatantly displeased looks of several priests—

“You have arrived.”

An elderly man with a half-bald head came walking out from deeper inside.

Deep wrinkles surrounded his eyes, while his hair and eyebrows had faded completely white. Kind wrinkles rested across his face, seeming to show the considerable years and devotion he had devoted to the Temple.

But……

Ugh. It’s blinding.

His wrists, visible beneath his fluttering sleeves, were adorned with glittering gold bracelets and rings, while the hems of his robes trailing along the floor were densely embroidered with elaborate golden thread.

As though he were the master of this “castle” himself.

No.

Maybe I was simply being too judgmental.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Priest Leon.”

“It’s been a long time, High Priest Servando.”

“Haha. Indeed. I never imagined you would be away from the Temple for quite this long.”

I take back what I said.

This probably wasn’t just my imagination after all.

The deliberate way he called Leon “Priest Leon,” as well as the way he smiled familiarly and patted Leon on the shoulder—

Everything about it rubbed me the wrong way.

Does he really treat him like one of his own limbs? Has Leon been treated like this by the Temple all this time?

Even if he belonged to the Temple, Leon was still a prince of Orden and the Grand Duke of Bernstein.