“Oh my, Lady Diana. You’ve returned!”
“Yes, I just finished my training and came back.”
“Oh, Lady Diana… There’s no other priest as devoted to their training as you are. Of course it’s important to share the blessings granted by the gods, but your health matters the most. You’re so pale and thin… I’m worried you’ll collapse from overwork.”
“Hehe, don’t say that. What could be more aligned with the will of the gods than reaching out a helping hand to believers in need? I do take care of my health from time to time, so there’s no need to worry.”
“Ah, may Thalassa embrace you in her grace. Not only do you possess such powerful Divine Power, but your heart is so pure as well. Who could be more suited for the position of Saintess than Lady Diana? I just don’t understand why the High Priest keeps postponing the announcement.”
“Exactly.”
Even her companions chimed in with more flattering words. It was worth enduring the bother of starting the conversation first.
Normally, she would’ve ended the exchange and walked away by now. But Diana had a different goal today. Feigning ignorance, she opened her mouth.
“Oh, I nearly forgot to apologize first.”
“Pardon? What for?”
“I happened to overhear your conversation just now. It caught my attention… If it’s not too rude, may I ask you to share more about what you were discussing?”
Her sweet, pink eyes curved gently with a hint of apology. Mesmerized by those eyes, Hailey snapped out of it and quickly shook her head.
“Of course it’s not rude! It concerns you, Lady Diana, so you absolutely have the right to know.”
She hesitated briefly before continuing.
Diana forgot even to maintain her expression, her eyes flying wide open. What did she just say…?
Hailey immediately grew indignant.
“I knew it. You didn’t know either, did you, Lady Diana? How could someone do that? After all that you sacrificed to heal him!”
“He… really went back?”
Her voice trembled with disbelief. Why? Without even saying a word to her? Why?
Fragmented questions viciously tore through Diana’s mind.
This wasn’t the future she had envisioned. She had believed—without a doubt—that the Duke of Laufe would come to understand his place and grovel at her feet, begging for mercy. She had fed that anticipation day after day, certain of its arrival.
And what she got instead was a cold, final decision. No—this didn’t even count as a proper notice. She’d heard it late, secondhand, from someone else.
“……”
She bit her lip and clenched her fists. Her neatly trimmed nails dug ruthlessly into her dry palms.
“Lady Diana…”
“…I’m fine. Don’t make that face.”
“Please don’t say that! How could this possibly be fine? This is outrageously unfair!”
“Hailey. I really am fine.”
“To not even thank the priest who devoted so much to his treatment, let alone ask for her understanding—he just up and left on his own! He must think so little of you. We should file a formal complaint! That Duke’s been in and out of the temple owing debts for those curses he’s trying to get treated! Waiting around to die, yet still acting so high and mighty!”
Hailey’s torrent of words brought on a pounding headache. Diana barely managed to hold her twitching facial muscles in place.
Why was everything so aggravating today? She wanted to scream at her to shut up right then and there.
“Priest Hailey.”
She called her name in a low voice. Startled by the chilly tone, Hailey flinched. Only then did she seem to realize she had crossed a line.
Diana offered a delayed, placating smile, as if trying to soothe her.
“Let’s drop this topic. Instead, could you tell me a bit more about the Duke of Laufe?”
“Y-yes, of course!”
Hailey lit up with relief.
A few minutes later.
Having finished the conversation, Diana clicked her tongue softly.
She doesn’t know anything, does she?
The explanation had been long-winded, but once all the useless parts were stripped away, only one fact remained. The Duke of Laufe had suddenly halted his treatment and returned home. Wild theories were flying about, but no one knew the actual reason.
She anxiously gnawed at her fingernail. Only two possibilities came to mind.
Either he got better… or he’s beyond help.
The scale quickly tipped to one side.
The last time she had gone to treat the Duke, he had looked far too lively for a man about to die.
“Ha.”
As soon as she reached that conclusion, a hollow laugh slipped out. A creeping sense of betrayal and indignation climbed up from her toes.
So you got better thanks to my treatment, and this is how you repay me?
Diana was absolutely convinced that the Duke’s recovery was her doing.
She was proud of her ability. The Divine Power that had one day awakened in her like a miracle. A vast power rivaling that of the High Priest had propelled her to her current position and had become the very foundation of her existence.
There’s no priest better than me.
And so she was certain—she was the one who had performed the miracle that healed the Duke of Laufe.
Without hesitation, she turned her steps away. Not toward the quiet, boring temple, but toward the Marquess Marilon’s household—where someone shared her views and would support her.
***
“Diana?”
“Why are you so late, Chesif?!”
The Marquess Marilon’s drawing room.
Diana, unable to stay still, spun restlessly around the lavishly furnished space, packed with expensive furniture and ornate decorations. Without realizing it, her voice rose in frustration.
Twitch. Chesif’s brows shot up. She hadn’t even bothered to let him know she was coming—what made her think she had the right to be so bold?
But more than that, something else caught his attention. His gaze slowly raked up and down her appearance.
“…What on earth are you wearing today?”
“Ah!”
Whenever she visited the mansion, Diana usually made sure to dress impeccably—never flashy, but always neat and presentable.
But not today.
Her hair was a mess, her priestess robes were disheveled, and the hem of her garment was stained with dirt, as though she’d been rolling around on the ground. A faint, unpleasant smell clung to her, just barely tickling the nose.
Only then did she seem to realize the state she was in. Her face flushed red with embarrassment. She frantically began brushing her fingers through her hair, as if to tidy it somehow, but it didn’t do much good.
“I’m sorry. I rushed out in such a hurry…”
Seeing her flustered apology and crimson cheeks, it was clear she at least had the decency to be ashamed.
This would be the last time he tolerated her insolent behavior. With that in mind, Chesif held up a hand to calm the flustered woman.
“Enough. If you came looking like this, then it must be something urgent. Did something happen at the temple?”
“It’s not exactly an emergency… but it’s something really important to me. I came because I hoped you’d hear me out, Chesif.”
“Hm.”
Annoyance flickered across Chesif’s eyes—only for a brief moment. She was still useful. Just like always, he was willing to at least pretend to listen.
But then—
“The Duke of Laufe has stopped his treatment.”
—those words changed his mind entirely.
“The Duke?”
The calm mask on his face shattered like glass. Frowning, Chesif urged her to explain further.
The details that followed were far more unexpected than he’d anticipated.
“…So that’s what happened.”
“I’m certain it was my treatment that healed him. And yet, not a single word of thanks! He just cut ties with me without warning! There’s a limit to how much you can mock someone—me, the temple!”
Diana was breathing hard with indignation. It was hard to believe this was the same woman who once trembled like a fragile bird before the Duke of Laufe. Her tone was sharp, furious.
This isn’t good.
Chesif listened to her rant with one ear and dismissed it with the other, calmly assessing the situation.
The Duke of Laufe’s recovery? For Chesif—who harbored not just hatred but an almost grotesque inferiority complex toward the man—there could hardly be worse news.
Foolish woman. Doing something so pointless…
He’d never intended for Diana to cure the Duke. All he wanted was for her to keep a leash on him.
What made it worse was that he’d already caught wind of some unsettling information. Chesif drummed his fingers nervously on the armrest of the sofa.
A Spirit Beast, they said.
The Duke’s townhouse was notoriously private. Contact with the outside world was rare.
That’s why, aside from Diana, getting any information about the Duke’s current state was nearly impossible. But recently, he’d heard that one of the servants had been kicked out.
He’d sent someone to approach the man, but the only thing they’d gotten was a string of bizarre stories—hardly reliable, but impossible to completely ignore.
—“A Spirit Beast! You couldn’t even put a price on it, right? I tried to sell it right away, and bam, I got caught! That’s why I got kicked out! Hic! Still, lucky, ain’t I? I survived that cursed Duke! Gulp… urk—”
The man, drunk off his ass and spewing nonsense no one had even asked for, had vanished without a trace the next day.
Was it a drunken lie or the truth? Hard to say. But if—if—it was true…
No. That can’t happen.
A buried sense of deprivation stirred in Chesif’s chest. He clenched his teeth tightly.
Justyn Laufe needed to stay exactly as he was. Cast out by his parents, his house, society, even the gods. A man who’d been fortunate enough to catch the eye of someone important but was too much of a fool to recognize his worth.
—“Tch! Come on! Fight properly—match my sword like you mean it!”
—“……”
The bastard had taken everything Chesif could never have. All he wanted was to see him broken and crawling.
That’s why he needed to be sure. That Justyn Laufe was still suffering, still shackled by his curse, still scraping by at the bottom of life.
The reins that could choke the Duke’s neck were still in his hands. Chesif smoothed out the emotions that had twisted his face and feigned warmth as he spoke again.
“Diana. I just had a wonderful idea.”
“Really? I knew it! I knew I could count on you, Chesif!”
Diana beamed as if she’d expected nothing less.
The look in their eyes as they faced each other was chillingly alike.
***
They look alike. Even after thinking it over again, that was the conclusion.
Maybe it’s not Justyn he resembles, but Sefiut.
Only, it was starting to get confusing which of the two he actually looked more like. A bluish, translucent face floated hazily through his mind.
He resembled both of them in an odd way. Maybe he was actually an ancestor of House Laufe, like Sefiut—one who hadn’t yet found eternal rest.
Sefiut agreed with that much. However—
—You think I memorized the entire family lineage of every damn descendant? Give me a break, brat! I need time to think too, so quit hounding me already!
Contrary to expectations, they still hadn’t figured out the ghost’s identity. Ries sulkily stuck out his lower lip, grumbling to himself. And this was a ghost who’d spent all his afterlife in a room full of family portraits.
That was when it happened. A bright voice cut sharply through Ries’ train of thought.
“How is it?”
Melissa.
Sparkle, sparkle. Her eyes shone with anticipation as she hovered uncomfortably close.
Normally, he would’ve already turned away to avoid her. But just for today, he decided to respond with a generous heart.
“Mya.”
“Ghhhk. You’re too cute…”
The knight, clad in full armor, collapsed onto the spot under the weight of a single meow from the cat.
Instead of comforting her, Ries turned his attention to the new object that had quickly become an essential item for his walks.
Two round knots at the top, with a large Velcro strap beneath them. You slid the front paws through the loops, and the Velcro would fasten securely across the back.
But the real highlight was something else.
A plushie attached with Velcro—removable. From a distance, it looked like he was wearing a little fish-shaped backpack. Given that, Melissa’s dramatic reaction made perfect sense.
Okay, it’s… kind of cute.
A cat with a fish-shaped backpack? Who wouldn’t find that adorable? Even Justyn’s gaze had already gone soft and melty.
damn two crazy hoes