Now This Family Belongs to My Mother Chapter 158

The paper I had given Nicholas had magic cast on it. Magic that would make it disappear when it encountered powerful holy power.

 

I already thought Stella would definitely show my weakness to one of the high-ranking priests. She had probably intended to bring that paper before the pope or a cardinal and present it as evidence. But the paper had reacted to the holy power of a high-ranking priest and disappeared. Which means the paper didn’t react to Stella’s holy power. No, it meant Stella had no holy power at all.

 

In the end, Stella tried to corner me, only to end up staging a farce on her own. To pull something like this as soon as she arrived at the temple… Of course, this incident alone wouldn’t diminish Stella’s standing as a saintess. If she displayed her fake holy power, people would be deceived by her all over again. But when things got off a bad start, it was only natural to grow anxious. And that meant she would be more likely to fall into a trap.

 

I’m not planning to let things end with just this.

 

I asked Lenon in a concerned voice. “By the way, how has Brother Nicholas been doing?”

 

“Ah, him…” Lenon spoke as though he had only just remembered. “He’s staying with the paladins.”

 

“Did Brother Nicholas become a paladin?”

 

“Not exactly. The saintess instructed us to give him a suitable position and keep him quiet, so we put him in charge of managing the paladins’ quarters.”

 

Managing the paladins’ quarters, huh. It sounded impressive, but Nicholas, who had only just arrived at the temple, couldn’t possibly have been given a position overseeing the entire operation. In other words, he’s doing menial work under the guise of management.

 

Stella really was as ruthless as I’d expected. She had tossed Nicholas aside like a piece of unwanted baggage. How humiliating must that be for Nicholas, who had lived as the young lord of the Blanche family? Knowing his personality, he must have been grinding his teeth in frustration.

 

“I’d like to see Brother Nicholas before I leave.”

 

“Of course.”

 

Guided by Lenon, I arrived at the paladins’ quarters, which were quiet.

 

“The paladins must all be away for training.”

 

“What do the managers do while they’re away?”

 

“They clean, or—”

 

That was when it happened.

 

“You want me to mop the floor? Have you gone insane? I’m the saintess’s brother!”

 

“The saintess herself sent Lord Nicholas here. If you don’t want to work, then return to Blanche Mansion.”

 

A commotion echoed from the end of the hallway. As expected, Nicholas was yelling at another manager.

 

“Brother Nicholas.”

 

Hearing my voice, both Nicholas and the other manager turned their heads. Lenon gestured to the manager, who promptly fled with a look of relief on his face.

 

“Cardinal, could you give us a moment for a private family conversation?”

 

“Yes, of course.” Lenon tactfully stepped aside.

 

“Why are you here?” Nicholas asked, his face still twisted with anger. He looked like he wanted to take his frustration out on something or someone.

 

I frowned as I noticed the mop discarded at his feet. “Who made you mop the floor, Brother?”

 

“Who else! That b*stard from earlier who deserves to be torn apart!”

 

“Had Stella said nothing about this?”

 

Nicholas was at a loss for words. After all, Stella was the one who had dumped him here like a piece of baggage.

 

I wanted him to understand. The person he should be angry with, the person he should direct his rage toward, wasn’t that poor manager. It was Stella, who had abandoned him.

 

“And why are you here in the first place, Brother? Uncle seems to be living quite comfortably by Stella’s side.”

 

“Living comfortably?” Nicholas’s face twisted.

 

I nodded. “I heard Stella is doing very well too. So I don’t understand why you’re the only one suffering here, Brother Nicholas.” Then I added as if I truly felt sorry for him. “Did you really give Stella the weakness I provided you with?”

 

“I did! I gave it to her, and she still treats me like this!” He spoke with a desperate expression. “Should I go back home? Wouldn’t that be better, after all?”

 

“Well, that’s a little…” I lowered my head as though I were troubled. “Grandpa may have readily let you leave, Brother. But he was actually very angry.”

 

“W-What?”

 

“He said that since you left the family of your own accord, he wouldn’t accept you even if you returned. I was so frightened.”

 

“H-How could that be…” Nicholas looked as though the sky had collapsed over his head.

 

I quickly tried to comfort him. “I’ll try to persuade Grandpa. In the meantime, have a proper talk with Stella and find a better place to stay.”

 

“…”

 

“You’re not someone who deserves to be treated like this, Brother,” I said while carefully observing Nicholas. Anger slowly rose on his face.

 

“Stella, that wretched…”

 

This time, he found the right target for his anger.

 

* * *

Stella had searched the temple three times, but no evidence could be found.

 

“Just give up on that evidence. At this rate, you’ll only ruin your image as the saintess. Let’s wait for another opportunity.”

 

When Kobel said that, Stella had no choice but to give up. Left alone in her room, she bit her finger as she struggled to contain her anger. What on earth happened! I’m the only one who ended up humiliated! Her plan was to bring Lenon down, put Kobel in her debt, and get revenge on Epirosa. Every single one of them had gone awry.

 

Stella needed someone to blame. Why did Brother Nicholas bring me that ridiculous thing and call it a weakness? If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have ended up in such an embarrassing predicament! I even brought him to the temple because of it!

 

This made one thing clearer.

 

Keeping Brother Nicholas around is completely useless. She needed to send him back as soon as possible.

 

It was when she was thinking like that. Bang!

 

“Hey, Stella!”

 

The very person Stella had been fuming about flung open the door without even knocking.

 

“Why are you here?” Stella’s voice was sharp.

 

Already furious with her, Nicholas immediately bristled. “Why am I here? I’m here to ask when you’re going to get me out of the garbage dump you threw me into!”

 

“A garbage dump?! Do you think just anyone can stay in the paladins’ quarters?” Stella glared at Nicholas, who had the nerve to complain. “If not there, do you think you can become a paladin? Or are you going to become a priest?”

 

“You could make me your guardian, just like Uncle Kobel!”

 

“Guardian? Don’t say such ridiculous things.”

 

“Why is that ridiculous? I even got Epirosa’s weakness for you!” Nicholas raised his voice.

 

Stella stood up as if she had been waiting for him to bring that up. “Haven’t you heard anything while staying in the paladins’ quarters? That everyone’s searching for that weakness because it disappeared?”

 

“What?”

 

Only then did Nicholas remember that priests had been coming and going from the paladins’ quarters several times. But since he had been busy avoiding work or hiding, he had no idea what the priests were up to.

 

“But then it suddenly disappeared! As if someone had used magic on it! Where on earth did you get such a worthless piece of so-called weakness?”

 

“What? Hey, I went through the trouble of finding that evidence for you, and now you’re blaming me because you lost it?”

 

“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have ended up in this predicament!”

 

“Who’s blaming who here! If you’d just put in a good word for me, I’d be living comfortably right now too!”

 

The siblings’ angry voices filled the saintess’s sacred room. Their faces flushed red with rage as they glared at each other.

 

“Get out of my room right now!”

 

“I’m not leaving until you make me your guardian!”

 

“Really?” Stella curled the corners of her lips upward, then shouted. “Is anyone outside? My brother says he’s leaving! Please show him the way out!”

 

“Hey, what on earth are you—”

 

Hearing Stella’s shout, several priests appeared.

 

“Hey, I’m not going! I’m not—”

 

“Please escort my brother back to his quarters.”

 

“Understood.”

 

The priests obeyed Saintess Stella’s order. Nicholas was then dragged out by the priests.

 

“Let go of me, I said let go!”

 

“Lord Nicholas, please lower your voice. This is a sacred temple.”

 

“I’m not going back to the paladins’ quarters!”

 

“If you insist, then please step outside for a while and get some fresh air.” The priests escorted Nicholas out of the temple’s main building and then returned inside.

 

“Damn it!” Nicholas stomped his foot, fuming. But there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t go back to Stella, nor could he return to the Blanche Mansion. But going back to the paladins’ quarters is worse than death!

 

He recalled what the priest had said earlier.

 

“If you insist, then please step outside for a while and get some fresh air.”

 

“Argh!” Nicholas turned around and walked out of the temple. He had no money, but he desperately wanted to drown himself in alcohol.