I’m Not the One Who Seduced the Grand Duke Chapter 46

I was watching the High Priest, who had completely lost his wits, being arrested by the knights when the young Chief Priest approached Leon.

“I am a man who abides by principles and rules. I would like to make it clear beforehand that I harbor no particular ill feelings toward Your Highness.”

“…….”

“However, violating the noble doctrines of the Temple and becoming consumed by personal feelings. And furthermore, allowing an impure heart to make you abandon the faith and devotion you ought to uphold as a priest. As an agent of the Temple, I cannot overlook this.”

“Is that so?”

“Therefore, Leon Obsidian. In the name of the representative of God, I hereby dismiss you from the priesthood as of this moment. Do you have any objections?”

At the young Chief Priest’s disciplined declaration, Leon’s eyebrow twitched.

Oh? Not bad.

He seemed to be enjoying himself.

Even while being dishonorably stripped of his position.

“None. I will gladly accept the punishment.”

With those words, Leon bowed deeply at the waist.

So politely and solemnly that anyone who didn’t know him would have thought he was deeply remorseful.

Soon, he raised his head and turned to me, putting on a dejected expression.

“Erna. What am I going to do?”

“…….”

“I really got fired.”

What is he talking about? He kicked himself out in the first place.

“Now you really have to take responsibility for me for the rest of my life.”

Leon’s face as he said those words looked so incredibly relieved.

 

***

 

[BREAKING] High Priest Servando Caught Red-Handed at the Scene. ‘The Temple Moves According to My Will.’ Statement Causes Uproar! Signs of Embezzlement Also Discovered!

Good. Very good.

The newspaper was reporting every single charge committed by High Priest Servando.

People were shocked or disappointed to learn that the Temple, which they had believed to be pure and incorruptible, had been behaving in such a manner.

[URGENT] Rapid Replacement of High Priest Position After Temple Falls from Grace and Loses Public Trust. ‘Chief Priest Dominiel’ Elected! Youngest High Priest in History Takes Office!

Could the newly elected young High Priest restore the honor of the Temple after his predecessor had thoroughly dragged it through the mud?

The public seemed both concerned and hopeful about that.

“Well, then. The corrupt High Priest has been sent to prison, and the appointment of the new High Priest has gone smoothly.”

But it didn’t end there.

In fact, the main event was something else entirely.

[THE WORST OF THE WORST GOSSIP RAGS, , PUBLISHES OFFICIAL APOLOGY! Notorious Reporter ‘Reka Valexi’ Issues Public Letter of Apology!

[…Furthermore, the donation certificate belonging to the Marquess of Zaherette that was previously made public was confirmed to have been donated after the announcement of the engagement. It was also revealed that the donor was not the Marquess herself, but the Grand Duke, who made the donation in the name of his fiancée……

In response, the Grand Duke of Bernstein stated, ‘My gratitude and apology for all the assistance I have received from the Temple over the years. And my remorse.’”

“Heh.”

It had been bothering me all this time. Good riddance.

Serves them right for constantly making up things that never happened and putting people in difficult positions.

Grinning with satisfaction, I pushed the offending gossip rag and newspaper aside.

All in all, it had been an operation that had yielded quite a lot, I thought proudly to myself.

“But, Marquess, where has His Grace gone? He seemed to be in a hurry when he left this morning.”

“His Majesty summoned him, so he’s probably still at the Imperial Palace. I suppose it’s because of this whole Temple affair.”

The decision regarding High Priest Servando’s fate had only been made yesterday.

Early this morning, Leon had been hounded by his aide to hurry to the Imperial Palace after being summoned.

He had complained the entire time.

Saying he didn’t want to go.

Asking if I could come with him.

Remembering him throwing such ridiculous little tantrums, I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

Then I suddenly stopped and hurriedly wiped the smile from my lips.

Ah. It’ll be a problem if I really get used to this.

But what could I do?

The smile just kept slipping out on its own.

 

***

 

“Take it.”

Orden Imperial Palace.

Inside Emperor Kael’s office.

Leon stood before a large desk decorated with gold ornaments that radiated authority at a glance, his brow furrowing.

His gaze fell upon the gleaming golden insignia resting atop the dark oak desk.

A lion and an eagle.

Surrounding them was the emblem of intertwined branches and vines.

The elite unit that protected the Imperial Family of the Orden Empire.

At the same time, the only position authorized to command even the Imperial Army by order of the Emperor.

It was the insignia granted to the commander of the Imperial Knights.

So this is why he summoned me first thing in the morning.

Leon let out a low groan and looked away.

“You have to come back. Otherwise, why do you think I’ve left the position of Chief Commander of the Imperial Knights vacant all this time?”

“…….”

“I’m telling you in advance, don’t even think about refusing, Leon. I have no doubt whatsoever that you’ll naturally remain by my side.”

Kael spoke in a rather serious tone, as if telling him to stop wandering and return to where he belonged.

Leon, who had remained silent until then, finally opened his mouth.

“Your Majesty……”

“Call me Brother.”

“…….”

“I don’t like you putting distance between us, either.”

“…….”

“I’ve told you countless times. You’re my one and only precious younger brother in this world. Don’t put up such a wall even between families.”

Saying things like how disappointed he was and how hurt he felt,

Kael looked up at his younger brother with dry blue eyes that held not a single tear.

“Are you not wary of me, Brother?”

“Wary of what?”

“It’s not uncommon, is it? Brothers fighting over their positions.”

And yet, you were willing to give me a position with enough authority to command the Imperial Army, despite being someone who could potentially be a rival for that very position.

“Why are you so twisted all of a sudden? Did someone say something to you?”

Who the hell went around spouting nonsense to my little brother?

Leon’s brow twitched.

Because that someone happened to be a person who took precedence over the only blood relative sitting right in front of him.

“Well, to be honest, that’s true. I’m not worried. Because you don’t particularly like this position. You’re not interested in it, either.”

“…….”

“More than anything, you hate it because it’s a hassle, don’t you?”

Kael looked at him with clear blue eyes, utterly free of suspicion.

What he said was true.

It was an answer even the Emperor himself plainly knew.

“……Then why does our dear fiancée keep worrying about such pointless things?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Nothing. I was just talking to myself.”

“More importantly, you’ll do it, right? No, please do it. Having you by my side will make me feel more reassured than ever.”

“Please!”

Kael even clasped both hands together as he earnestly begged.

After pondering for a long while, Leon finally let out a deep sigh and picked up the insignia.

“We’re getting married soon. It would look a little bad if the husband were unemployed.”

“What’s wrong with you being unemployed? You’re rich.”

Kael asked incredulously.

Technically unemployed, countless nobles simply lived off the income their families earned without holding a job or running a business.

Leon, too, had more than enough to live on with the title of Grand Duke and the territory he had received after leaving the Imperial Family.

“The woman who will become my wife is very diligent and hardworking. I don’t think she’d like someone who sits around at home doing nothing.”

“Really? In any case, that’s good to hear. You found yourself a very good fiancée. Be sure to thank her for me.”

Kael even clapped his hands as he spoke.

“She’s grateful to you, too, of course. Especially since there was only so much I could do about the Temple from my side. Thanks to this incident, we were able to cut out the troublesome part.”

“The new High Priest seems like a very uncompromising person.”

“I’d actually prefer that. He may lack flexibility, but at least he doesn’t harbor ulterior motives.”

Kael grinned, telling him to look at what had happened with Servando.

“I’m glad Your Majesty approves, but I didn’t do anything. Erna did everything. I was just thinking about tearing the whole thing down.”

“Really? Then I should thank the Marquess even more. For taking this lunatic off my hands!”

Kael exclaimed, putting considerable force into his voice.

“It wouldn’t exactly be compensation, but I’ll throw you an engagement party so grand and splendid that it’ll be talked about for years!”

“No, there’s no need for something so pointless……”

“Leon. Think about it carefully, all right? Why do you think people say you never know until you’ve walked into the wedding hall? You should hurry up and bring her in, then loudly announce, ‘This woman is mine.’ Until then, nothing is certain.”

“……Then go ahead and prepare it if you want.”

At his immediate answer without even a hint of hesitation, Kael bit the inside of one cheek.

Otherwise, he felt like he might burst out laughing.

“That’s settled, then. As it happens, I hear Isabelle is on her way back to the capital right now. She’d be perfect to ask to prepare the engagement party.”

“Wait.”

At the name that suddenly came up, Leon reacted sharply.

“Why is she being mentioned here?”

“Why? Apparently she heard about your engagement and is so curious she can hardly stand it. So she set off immediately.”

“…….”

“You’re not uncomfortable with it, are you? What’s the matter? You two got along well when you were young. Come on. What’s the point of having a childhood friend?”

Kael spoke with a faintly hurt expression, telling him not to be so difficult about it.

“This would also be a good opportunity to introduce her to the Marquess. If you two get married—no, engaged—you’ll be seeing each other much more often.”

“So, all right?”

Though the Emperor tried to coax him gently, Leon’s brow showed no sign of relaxing.

If anything, it only twisted more deeply, as though he were becoming even more uneasy.