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85
“It was a good idea to bring in a desk, wasn’t it?”
With a slight smile, he spread out some documents on the desk in front of Evelyn. Despite the expensive appearance of the desk clashing with the old, cramped cabin, it was undeniably convenient, so Evelyn nodded in agreement.
Even though the documents contained information on several people, they barely filled half the desk. It was natural, as they were just ordinary people without much important information. Although they seemed unremarkable at first glance, Evelyn chose to carefully examine the information Lexia had provided rather than immediately losing interest.
Difficult family circumstances, accumulated debts, family members suffering from illnesses but unable to afford treatment due to lack of money… In addition, there were people with severe inferiority complexes, excessive greed, or very poor reputations.
He had cherry-picked people who couldn’t refuse if offered a large sum of money for a job. Evelyn’s expression turned cold. The conclusion came quicker than expected.
“There’s a group at the top.”
Could it be mere coincidence that everyone involved in this incident was either in difficult circumstances or excessively greedy? It was more credible to assume that someone had intentionally orchestrated the situation.
Someone who knew the circumstances and personalities of those working in the imperial palace. That’s what immediately came to mind. Lexia, sitting across from her, shrugged.
“About that, I questioned those guys. When I said I’d knock out the one who gave the most useful information first, it was quite fruitful.”
Another piece of paper emerged from Lexia’s possession. It was information investigated by his close aide as soon as he heard a useful story.
“It seems he not only knows the circumstances of the servants, maids, and menial workers, but also often helps them with his own money when they’re in difficult situations. As a result, he has a reputation for being deeply considerate and kind-hearted.”
Heymen. It was a familiar name that he seemed to have heard a few times before.
Male, 35 years old, with the notable characteristic of being from a fallen noble family.
He was someone who had risen to the position of guard captain at a young age due to his excellent work and reputation. Although he was appointed as the captain of the 8th division, which had almost no duties due to class limitations, it was still an impressive achievement considering that factor.
If he was someone influenced by the Salvation Church, the Emperor would certainly know about it. After all, he was the type who was only satisfied when he was aware of everything happening in his domain. Therefore, the Emperor’s influence must have touched every incident occurring in the imperial palace.
“I’ll investigate a bit more for now.”
Lexia, who had been silently observing Evelyn’s visibly displeased expression, gave a nod to order the clearing of everything in the warehouse. His subordinates standing by immediately left their posts. It was a coordinated but discreet movement without any common noise.
The subdued atmosphere, slightly lowered gaze, and tightly closed lips. Even as everyone except her was bustling about, the atmosphere surrounding Evelyn continued to grow colder without limit.
“Lexia.”
Finally, her mouth opened, breaking the long silence. Lexia’s fingertips trembled as he was roughly organizing the spread-out documents. Her voice, sounding as if she was steeling herself, was somehow unsettling.
“Stop the investigation.”
“…Hm, why?”
“Because I’m going to deal with it myself.”
Faced with this chilling declaration, Lexia unthinkingly looked into Evelyn’s eyes and found himself nodding without even remembering to ask for a reason. Her fiercely burning gaze was alarming.
She was a woman with strong pride as a member of the imperial family, even though she didn’t like being forced into the role of a “proper princess.” It might have been deeply insulting to her that a heretical group’s underling had secured a position within the palace and was stirring things up.
Whether her anger was directed at the Salvation Church, the culprit behind the incident, or at the Emperor who had turned a blind eye to this mess… At times like this, it was best not to provoke Evelyn.
Lexia, who had thoroughly learned this fact over the long time spent with her, nodded quickly and decisively.
***
Although there was still one day left until the end of the festival, there was no time to waste.
Given that the Demon God himself had mentioned a “filthy energy,” they decided to leave the palace as soon as possible. Despite conveying their farewells without beating around the bush, the Emperor readily nodded. It was a surprisingly agreeable response for someone who had tacitly allowed the Salvation Church’s misdeeds.
“To be honest, I feel quite uneasy,” Owen said with a furrowed brow as they rode in the rattling carriage.
Although he hadn’t directly threatened them during their stay at the palace, hadn’t he just stood by and watched as the Salvation Church meddled with the two of them? Since he was the one who had directly tied them to the imperial palace, it couldn’t be said that he wasn’t involved at all.
But now he was letting them go without showing any sign of regret. It seemed suspicious, but their carriage was already on its way, having left the capital long ago.
‘What exactly is going on?’
Owen’s mind became complicated. All sorts of thoughts had been tangled in his head since hearing from Rohan about what the Demon God had said during his brief manifestation. Even now, as he spoke slowly, it was merely a pretense of calmness.
If the Demon God himself referred to it as a “filthy energy,” the matter must be extremely serious. And such an incident had occurred in his own territory. The irony was that even Owen, who had become a priest but still kept in touch with his family occasionally, knew nothing about this incident.
And above all, the most terrible thing was…
He couldn’t dare to guarantee that his family wasn’t involved in this matter.
Any unusual incidents occurring in the territory, no matter how small the village, are supposed to reach the lord’s ears quickly. Yet, the fact that there hadn’t been a single rumor so far meant that someone had intentionally concealed it.
And that “someone” could possibly be his own family.
As his thoughts reached this point, Owen’s face naturally clouded over. Just as the sound of horses’ hooves leading the carriage seemed particularly loud, a voice pulled him out of the endless pit of his thoughts.
“I don’t think you need to worry. The people who raised you wouldn’t have gotten involved in something like this.”
It was Rohan who spoke. Owen had to look at him with a strange expression for a moment.
At first, he thought it was just meant as consolation, but upon seeing the two eyes that seemed devoid of the emotion of kindness itself, he realized. He was simply stating what he considered to be an obvious fact.
“…Yes. Thank you.”
Strangely enough, hearing those words allowed him to think more rationally. Rather than nurturing anxiety alone, it was right to have faith but confirm the truth with his own eyes. As he had always done.
But the problem didn’t end there. The sense of discomfort he hadn’t noticed due to his preoccupation suddenly rushed in all at once as he regained his composure.
‘…Why?’
Owen’s eyes began to tremble uncontrollably as he looked at Rohan and Arpel sitting across from him. Although it wasn’t the first time he had ridden in a carriage with them, he couldn’t get used to it and couldn’t even keep his gaze still.
Rohan was holding Arpel’s hand as usual. The way he repeatedly interlaced and separated their fingers, playfully tracing from Arpel’s fingers to his palm in a tickling manner, was similar to his usual behavior.
His broad smile and the way he nuzzled his head against Arpel’s shoulder might have seemed a bit excessive, but… this much could be overlooked. The same went for Arpel’s hand patting him in response.
What he absolutely couldn’t get used to was the look in Rohan’s eyes.
Before, he used to restrain himself when others were present. Now, it was as if he was shouting “I love you” with his entire body, whether he intended to hide it or not. Literally, love was pouring out of his eyes.
Setting aside the fact that he had no hobby of watching someone’s affectionate display right in front of him, what bothered him most was Arpel’s reaction. Despite Rohan’s behavior clearly having changed, Arpel was still treating him the same way.
No, he even seemed pleased.
“Don’t tell me, you two…”
As a streak of suspicion arose, Owen couldn’t stop himself from blurting out. When a shy smile filled Rohan’s face, suspicion turned into certainty, and he immediately closed his mouth.
“No, it’s not like that.”
It was a last-ditch effort to avoid hearing about someone else’s love story, but it was of no use to someone blinded by love. Rohan, burying his head in Arpel’s shoulder, finally finished Owen’s sentence for him.
“Arpel accepted me… Right?”
“Yes.”
Arpel, with warm eyes, looked down at Rohan and continued to pat his head. A laugh that seemed somewhat foolish, or perhaps as happy as if he had the whole world, flowed from Rohan.
And Owen looked at the two with increasingly unfocused eyes. As time passed, the intelligence disappeared from his eyes. Even though they were clearly in the same space, it felt like, no, he was certain that those two were in a different world.
At that moment, Rohan, who had been acting like a docile, tamed animal, suddenly raised his head. Owen, who had been showing confusion at the sudden reaction, only realized that the situation was not normal after noticing that Arpel next to him had a similar expression.
Rohan flung open the carriage window and shouted.
“Turn the carriage around! Now!”
His voice, infused with magical power, resonated loudly and reached the coachman’s ears. Knowing that they were important guests, the coachman obeyed his words promptly, even without understanding the reason for the sudden request.
Rumble. An ominous noise was heard from somewhere.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
