~CMWDD 16~
Chapter 16
The person who appeared in the backyard was the priest Ancedo, whom she had just seen. Beside him was another priest she had never seen before, wearing a white vestment.
Their robes were slightly different. While the new priest’s vestment was simple, Ancedo’s was decorated with golden patterns, making it more ornate. Clearly, Ancedo held a higher rank.
Since there was no need to hide, she was about to step out from behind a tree—but Ancedo’s sharp voice cut through the air.
“Did the guy who saw us get dealt with properly?”
“‘Dealt with… a guy?’”
Startled, Olentia quickly ducked back behind the tree and listened in on their conversation.
The priest with the fluffy hair paled and nodded.
“Y-yes. Of course. I put him in a sack and threw him into the Centmi River. By the time anyone tries to find him, decomposition will make it impossible to identify him.”
“And I told you to smile when you see me at the church. Is it hard to smile? If you stiffen up and look scared every time, how do you think I’ll appear to the archbishop? He’s already grinding his teeth to find the embezzler in the church, you know.”
“I-I’m sorry. I’ll do it properly from now on.”
As this shocking conversation unfolded, Ancedo, looking displeased about something, punched the priest in the chest. His fist struck without a hint of hesitation.
Olentia was stunned. When she had been introduced to Ancedo, she had sensed the archbishop’s trust in him and thought him gentle and mild. Even in the parlor, he had been quiet and reserved.
But now… this!
Olentia shivered uncontrollably. Murder, disposing of a body, embezzlement—things she had never imagined were happening right before her eyes.
At that moment, her trembling body accidentally stepped on a branch.
Snap!
Frozen in place, Olentia watched as Ancedo looked around.
“…What was that? Was someone here?”
It was then that a woman came running across the yard and called out. She wore an orange shell-shaped hairpin—the woman from her dreams.
Ancedo turned to the opposite direction instead of where Olentia was hiding.
“Morin, is that you? Why are you here?”
The woman called Morin looked at him with a somber expression, like the dimming evening sky.
“Thomas, a local resident and minor administrator at Odor Parish Church, has disappeared. You knew he was the embezzler, Ancedo.”
“So?”
“You didn’t… hire someone to kill him, did you? My ex wouldn’t be capable of something so terrifying… right?”
It seemed Ancedo and Morin were ex-lovers. Thomas, the minor administrator she mentioned, had likely ended up in a sack in the Centmi River.
Olentia’s heart was pounding so hard she felt it might burst. Thankfully, her small size made her practically invisible behind the tree.
Ancedo scratched his head in irritation, then grabbed Morin’s arm.
“Come here. Don’t you realize that constantly showing up at the church like this is causing trouble?”
The two of them left the backyard. The priest with the fluffy hair had already fled the moment Morin appeared.
Finally, Olentia slumped to the ground, clutching the tree, gasping.
“Ha… ha…”
She had to inform the archbishop immediately. But without a recording or concrete evidence, would anyone believe her?
“While staying at the Odor mansion, if anything needs to be done at the church, I could ask Ancedo. The Count will probably be too busy anyway.”
She kept recalling the unwavering trust the archbishop had shown toward Ancedo.
Olentia bit her nails unconsciously, then snapped herself back to focus.
“Now is not the time to hesitate.”
Realizing it would be risky to speak directly to the archbishop immediately, she left the backyard and approached a priest working at the main church.
It was a female priest, looking puzzled.
“Why are you here? I saw you come with Count Odor earlier. You’re from the Armeniaca family, right?”
Being recognized as someone from the Armeniaca family helped in situations like this.
Olentia nodded and tested her.
“Do you happen to know if the archbishop came to Odor Parish Church… to find the embezzler?”
The female priest was startled and led Olentia to a quiet corner. Leaning against a wall, Olentia spoke in a weary voice.
“I guess that’s right… what should we do…”
“How did you know? Did Count Odor tell you?”
“No, he didn’t. I just… overheard something in the backyard. The culprit is Ancedo.”
“Ahahaha! Hahaha!”
Despite Olentia’s serious tone, the priest laughed, clutching her stomach. She clearly couldn’t imagine Ancedo being capable of such crimes.
Why not?
The priest explained right away.
“Father Ancedo is considered the angel and hero of the Odor region. A month ago, he personally entered a burning house to save children—it was incredible. He always seeks out difficult places to serve and sacrifice himself. And you’re saying someone like him is an embezzler? Impossible. There must be some mistake.”
Even the archbishop seemed to cherish Ancedo. Olentia pressed a hand to her forehead, wishing what she had seen wasn’t true.
“So you’re saying no one would believe me?”
The priest nodded awkwardly.
“I don’t know how you came to think this, but it’s not something you can say lightly. Especially since the archbishop trusts Ancedo deeply, he’d be furious. If there were evidence, that would be different, though.”
“Evidence… evidence…”
She thought of the body thrown into the Centmi River but had no way to prove Ancedo’s involvement.
Olentia steadied her trembling legs and asked the priest:
“If we catch the embezzler, the archbishop would be happy, right?”
The priest smiled brightly, as if it were obvious.
“Of course! He’s having a hard time with no leads at all. If you catch him, he’ll be delighted.”
Olentia left the priest and stepped outside the main church. Her mind was tangled with Ancedo, Morin, and the archbishop.
She couldn’t sit idly knowing the body’s fate. And since catching the culprit would make the archbishop happy, she felt even more determined. No one should die unjustly.
She boarded the carriage of the Odor family, which had arrived at the church on schedule.
Her uncle was not there—only a knight bearing the crescent moon crest.
Olentia spoke to him:
“Go to the Odor mansion, not the Jasmine field villa.”
“Thomas isn’t dead, right? Right? He isn’t?”
Even as Morin was led away by Ancedo, she kept asking.
Ancedo, pulling her outside the church, released her arm and smiled.
“You think I’d run away scared? How would I know where he disappeared to?”
Since they were in public, Ancedo kept up a smiling facade. After all, he was known as the angel and hero of the Odor region.
He calmed the anxious Morin.
“So don’t just show up like this. We’re broken up. No need to meet like this.”
“I know… but I’ve been so scared and anxious lately.”
“Scared of what?”
“N-Nothing. I’ll go now.”
Morin gave up and walked away, keeping her fear locked inside.
‘Like Thomas disappeared… I feel like that could happen to me someday too.’
She swallowed the thought silently.
As soon as she arrived at the Odor mansion, Olentia looked for her uncle. She had urgent matters to discuss.
“Uncle!”
The moment she called him, both Count Odor and Dimidius, who were in the hall drinking tea, looked at her.
Startled, Olentia froze. Of course, she could have met Dimidius at the mansion, but the shocking events at Odor Parish Church had caught her off guard.
“N-nephew… why are you here…?”
Count Odor stepped forward, his eyes questioning why she had come to the mansion instead of the villa.
Olentia clutched his sleeve and whispered so only he could hear:
“Please, search the Centmi River for the body immediately.”
She could have hired mercenaries to search herself, but that would take too long. Her uncle could conduct the search most effectively. Thomas likely had family, and the body needed to be intact for proper funeral rites.
Count Odor stared at her, pale.
“What… have you gotten yourself involved in?”
“I haven’t done anything wrong. I’ll explain later—first, we need to search for the body.”
At that moment, Dimidius, who had been sitting on the sofa until recently, was standing nearby. He wore a dark purple suit and still carried the faint, bitter scent of bark.
“Is this something I shouldn’t hear about?”
Olentia clasped her cold hands together and swallowed hard.
‘Did he hear about the search for the body? How could he?’
Dimidius had the unnerving ability to approach silently without making a sound.
