Chapter 31
Benjamin had grown up admiring the Grand Duke since he was a child, so he had always disliked the Empress, who seemed determined to destroy her own nephew.
But putting his personal feelings aside, as the Grand Duke's aide, the growing number of people hostile to the Grand Duke was something he could not ignore.
"Besides, the Empress already knows about Her Highness the future Grand Duchess's status. I'm worried she'll accuse Your Highness of abusing your authority to take away the Count's illegitimate daughter."
She was more than capable of doing such a thing. As Benjamin frowned with concern, Kallian let out a scoff.
"It's true. So what's the problem?"
"Pardon?"
"The truth will come out eventually. Of course, as long as Count Lawrence has no choice but to keep his mouth shut, things will remain quiet for a while."
Count Lawrence had been quieter than expected.
If he requested an audience, Kallian had intended to meet him and hear whatever excuses he had to offer.
Still, perhaps because he was a Holy Knight, the Count seemed to value his own reputation far more than Kallian had anticipated.
In any case, revealing the family of one's future spouse was the responsibility of the person involved.
Even the Imperial Family had no right to interfere with whom the Grand Duke chose to marry. Doing so would be against proper etiquette.
"The Empress isn't a fool. With everyone's attention focused on my future bride, even she knows that condemning me based on suspicion alone would only tarnish the authority of the Imperial Family."
Besides, the only people who knew the Countess's crime were Kallian himself, who held special investigative authority over black magic, and the High Priest, the leader of the temple.
Kallian knew the Empress very well.
She might be blinded by power, but she was not incapable of judging right from wrong.
She understood that making a careless move under the current circumstances would only corner herself.
"Anyway, burn the portrait in the greenhouse."
Kallian suddenly spoke in an indifferent tone.
Benjamin's eyes widened at the unexpected order.
"The portrait?"
"What? Is there a problem?"
There were far too many eyes in the mansion.
Quite a few people had witnessed the Grand Duke returning the previous night carrying a sleeping woman out of the glass greenhouse.
They blushed as they imagined a passionate night between the two, but Benjamin knew why she had gone to the greenhouse.
The maid's words must have been bothering her. Poor thing.
"If there's a misunderstanding, wouldn't it be better to clear it up by talking first?"
"I'm not so sure."
Kallian rose to his feet and looked out the window, where dawn had fully broken, letting out a quiet sigh.
"I won't be keeping her by my side for long anyway. Explaining things would only become a nuisance."
Watching Kallian's expressionless face, Benjamin found himself wondering whether the Grand Duke truly intended to use Evelyn and discard her.
For someone who says he won't keep her by his side, he already seems far too concerned about her.
Swallowing the words he wanted to say, Benjamin answered as usual.
"Yes. It will be done."
By then, wagons loaded with supplies were arriving one after another in front of the once-quiet entrance.
After giving a respectful bow, Benjamin picked up the carefully prepared inventory list and left the office.
Until the heavy wooden door finally closed behind him, Kallian remained standing there, unable to take his eyes off Evelyn.
The knights wiped beads of sweat from their foreheads as they loaded supplies onto the wagons.
Once everything at the temple was finished, they planned to head straight to Richef without returning to the estate.
The Imperial Capital and Richef were quite far apart. Even using wagons enchanted with transportation magic, the journey would still take an entire day.
To make matters worse, most of the knights had no magical power and therefore couldn't ride those enchanted wagons.
Even carrying mana stones, an ordinary person would quickly become exhausted riding such a special carriage.
As a result, the expected travel time was three days.
Considering the long journey with supply wagons and military horses bound for the north, it was only natural that the already exhausted knights began complaining.
Standing at the front directing everyone, Dwayne glared fiercely as he barked at the grumbling knights.
"Damn it! Stop working with your mouths and check everything again! If anyone starts whining after the wagons leave, I'll kick your backsides until they split open!"
"Commander, are you sure you haven't forgotten anything yourself?"
At his subordinate's teasing question, Dwayne puffed out his chest confidently before suddenly looking down at his empty hand.
"Damn! I left my axe at the training grounds!"
As Dwayne ran off with his mane-like hair flying behind him, loud laughter erupted among the knights.
Watching the busy preparations from a distance, Evelyn quietly held back a laugh.
They're just as lively as ever.
In her previous life, they hadn't liked Evelyn, nor had they ever tried to hide it.
Still, she had never hated them.
To knights so fiercely loyal, it was only natural that someone who caused trouble for their lord would be seen as an enemy.
If everything goes well this time... maybe they won't reject me without reason anymore.
As she watched them with a mixture of anxiety and hope before turning away—
"Ouch!"
Something lightly bumped against her forehead.
"Did you sleep peacefully last night?"
The person she had mistaken for a wall was Kallian.
Standing beneath the brilliant sunlight, he looked astonishingly handsome, his expression as calm as ever.
As though what had swept over them like a storm the previous night had been nothing more than a midsummer night's dream.
So... I was the only one whose heart was shaken.
Remembering it alone, Evelyn touched her reddened ear with sweaty fingertips.
"Yes. I slept very well for the first time in a while. Did Your Highness sleep well?"
"Thanks to you."
He answered ambiguously before bending slightly to meet her gaze.
His golden eyes, shining like the sun itself, gleamed with a brilliance that captivated her.
"You look unusually cheerful for someone about to carry out a secret mission."
The way he stood there looked like a painting.
Evelyn stared at him in a daze, like someone admiring a masterpiece, before finally forcing herself to focus.
Now isn't the time to be captivated by that perfectly sculpted face.
"Worrying won't solve anything."
The temple strictly limited entry to anyone except priests and Holy Knights, especially women. During the morning prayer hours, even carriages were forbidden from entering.
Although the square before the temple had been specially opened today for the escort of a criminal, the inside remained closed to outsiders.
The only woman permitted inside was the Empress.
Since Evelyn had not yet officially become the Grand Duchess, it was only natural that she had no right to enter.
So the plan was for her to disguise herself as a priest and secretly follow him into the temple.
"As long as I stay calm, it won't be that difficult."
She couldn't deny that simply knowing he would be nearby made her feel at ease.
Apparently surprised by her answer, Kallian raised one thick eyebrow.
As she unconsciously watched that graceful movement, a large, loose piece of cloth suddenly dropped over her head like a sack.
A brown robe smelling faintly of leather settled over her until it completely covered her slender body.
It was a hooded priest's robe.
"Fortunately, you're rather tall for a woman from the south. Wearing this, you could probably pass as a skinny young man."
Stretching out his hand, he gently smoothed the hair that had become messy while she put on the robe.
A single leaf she hadn't even noticed fell into his hand.
There was nothing particularly affectionate about the gesture.
Yet her heart still trembled instinctively.
After letting the leaf drift away on the wind, he spoke.
"If you've changed your mind, you can still back out. Another opportunity will come."
Then he cupped her ice-cold cheek with his warm hand.
As though the warmth had spread instantly, her cool face quickly flushed, and her heart pounded wildly.
Seeing her face turn red so suddenly, he frowned in confusion and placed a hand on her forehead.
With a worried expression, he continued,
"I'm concerned you'll become too nervous and make a mistake... or give them an excuse to use against you."
He was simply trying to ease her burden.
The plan had been his idea, but he had begun to wonder whether it was worth exposing her to such danger.
But Evelyn, already tense, could only take his words at face value.
From everything she had experienced so far, it seemed that in this life, he had lived for only one purpose—
The destruction of Babel.
The prophecy.
The Saintess.
The Purification Elixir.
There were more than enough reasons why he could never become an enemy of the temple.
Even if I can't help him... I must at least avoid becoming a burden.
Evelyn nodded with determination.
"I'll be as careful as I can."
"Promise me. No matter how interesting something seems, you won't do anything dangerous."
He held out his little finger.
Nodding, Evelyn hooked hers around his.
"Yes. I promise I'll never do anything that would cause trouble for Your Highness."
"And one more thing. Even if you discover who's behind the Countess, remember that discovering it may be all you can do."
Of course.
There was no reason for him to throw himself into a muddy political battle for a woman he didn't even love.
Relaxing the tension in her fingers, she forced a smile onto her pale lips.
"Of course. You don't need to feel burdened. Revenge is my responsibility... and something for the distant future."
When the Grand Duke eventually ended up with the Saintess...
When he became someone who had nothing to do with her anymore...
When the evidence became so overwhelming that no one could escape.
"Then I'll be going now. I still have some preparations left."
As she turned away resolutely, Kallian suddenly grabbed her wrist firmly.
"So stubborn."
His eyes showed that he had realized no words would ever persuade her otherwise.
But Evelyn failed to notice.
Her attention had been drawn elsewhere.
"Ah..."
Something unfamiliar slid onto her ring finger.
Her eyes widened as she looked at the sparkling jewel.
Meeting her gaze, Kallian spoke softly.
"I can only hope this ring will be of some help."
The entrance restrictions at the temple had finally been lifted after a long time, and countless people gathered in the square before it.
"May the blessing of Adin, the Sun God, be with the Guardian on the path ahead!"
