Chapter 19
The Grand Temple of the Capital.
“What on earth are you talking about—!!”
The furious shout slammed down along with a fist hitting the desk. The priests gathered in the conference room trembled and bowed their heads.
Across from them sat an old man, his eyes blazing with a sharp blue light.
“You couldn’t even step foot inside the prison?!”
At the roar, like that of an enraged beast, the priests’ already-hunched backs shrank even further.
“How lightly did you take this! Priests of the Grand Temple, getting driven out like that!”
One of the trembling priests squeezed his eyes shut and stepped forward.
“S-Sorry! But the young lady had not yet awakened, and the atmosphere at the Duke’s castle was clearly hostile toward us, so…”
The old man clicked his tongue and turned his head away, still glaring sharply. His brow was deeply furrowed.
With lips stiff from anger, he muttered lowly,
“So you all think this Grand Prelate is someone to be taken lightly.”
The priests’ faces went pale.
“It seems you think Calista Edelman is just a toothless old tiger.”
“N-No! Th-That’s not what we meant—!”
“Silence!”
At Grand Prelate Calista’s thunderous shout, the priests hurriedly shut their mouths. A cold silence fell over the room.
“For the past three months, you’ve gone to Tigris Territory no fewer than four times. And every time, you couldn’t even cross the castle gates.”
“G-Grand Prelate, that’s—!”
“I’m not sure whether this should be seen as mere incompetence… or as defiance of the temple.”
Shock spread across the priests’ faces.
Defiance of the temple was a grave crime—one that could bring the highest level of punishment.
‘This is bad.’
Someone dropped flat to the floor.
“D-Defiance of the temple?! Please, take those words back!”
Calista raised one eyebrow slightly.
“Take them back? Isn’t that something for the god to decide?”
The priests’ lips turned white.
Something for the god to decide—did that mean he intended to put them on trial?
Just who did that Meyer fellow think he was?!
One priest, growing desperate, blurted out,
“P-Please give us just a little more time! This time, we will surely persuade the Duke!”
Another priest beside him quickly chimed in.
“That’s right! A-And on the way back, we heard that the young lady has awakened. The Duke’s anger must have eased by now, so—”
“What? H-Hahaha—!!”
The priest fell silent as the Grand Prelate burst into loud laughter.
Calista looked at them with utter contempt, as if they were insects.
“The Duke’s anger has eased, you say?”
“……!”
“Since when have we ever needed to mind the Duke’s mood?”
The priest’s hands trembled violently.
“Th-That is—”
“Defying the temple is the same as defying the god. And the god we serve—!”
Calista’s eyes gleamed fiercely.
As if barely restraining his rage, he let out a short breath and muttered,
“…Is the god worshipped by the imperial family, and soon, by the entire empire.”
The priest hurriedly pressed his forehead to the floor.
“I misspoke! P-Please forgive us just this once—!”
Calista looked down at him disdainfully, then quietly rose from his seat.
“All of you, say nothing and prepare to leave for the Duke’s castle again. And this time—”
He ground his teeth as he spoke.
“I will go with you.”
The priests’ eyes widened at the grim resolve on Calista’s face.
But after finishing his words, Calista turned sharply and left the conference room.
The moment he stepped outside, he strode swiftly down the corridor.
“Insolent Tigris bastards…”
He muttered lowly. To be honest, he didn’t care whether Meyer Luss—who had supposedly been tortured—lived or died.
What mattered was one thing.
‘You will take responsibility and retrieve it.’
The voice of that person, smiling gently while holding his hands, echoed vividly in his mind.
“You must retrieve it. No matter what.”
Even if they left before sunset, it would still take three days to reach the Duke’s castle.
Calista hurried down the halls of the Grand Temple, impatience written all over him.
Tigris Territory Castle.
I sprang up in bed, doubting my ears.
“Meyer Luss… went insane?”
I asked with wide eyes, and Walter nodded.
He had been visiting my room every day for several days now to check on my condition.
And only today did he finally bring this shocking news.
“Less than a day after the torture began, he lost his mind. After that, no matter how much we questioned him, it was useless.”
“…That’s impossible.”
I murmured blankly.
It had already been three months since I collapsed. I thought they would have identified the people behind it by now.
I’d assumed that the owners of the voices I overheard in the mansion had already been fully exposed.
But because Meyer went insane, they’d gained nothing at all?
“Then what about the temple?”
“They visited a total of four times while you were unconscious, Miss. Each time, priests from the Grand Temple came personally.”
I calmly shifted my gaze.
“The Grand Temple came directly—figures. What were their demands?”
“They demanded that Meyer be handed over. They said the Order would conduct its own trial and impose internal punishment.”
“What?! That’s absurd.”
I exclaimed in disbelief, and Walter nodded.
“Exactly. That’s why His Grace didn’t even allow them inside the castle. After that, their demands changed.”
I frowned, thinking, then looked up at Walter.
“Changed how?”
“If Meyer couldn’t be released, they asked to at least be allowed to see him once in the prison.”
I tilted my head slightly.
‘Not asking for his release—just to see his face once? Why?’
Noticing my troubled expression, Walter asked,
“Is there something that concerns you?”
I shook my head for now. I needed time to think.
Just then—
Knock, knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
‘Is there someone else coming?’
Tilting my head, I said,
“Come in.”
The door opened, and someone stepped inside. When I saw his face, my eyes widened.
“I heard that you’ve awakened and came right away. At last, I finally meet you!”
The man laughed heartily as he approached with heavy, steady steps.
“Do you remember me?”
An enormous height, broad shoulders.
Eyes that felt sharp despite his smile, and a sense of long-earned authority between them.
He placed a hand the size of a pot lid over his chest and bowed deeply.
“Müller Bastin greets the young mistress of Tigris.”
Blinking at the bold presence he radiated, I listened as he continued cheerfully.
“I couldn’t visit because I was busy guarding the territory. But it seems we’ll be seeing each other often from now on!”
That was my first meeting with Count Bastin, known as the “Old Commander of Tigris.”
I watched him with interest as he squeezed his large frame into a chair far too small for him.
Each time he shifted to get comfortable, the chair creaked loudly.
I was just wondering if the chair legs might snap when—
“Children really do grow up quickly, whether then or now.”
At my confused look, he laughed and said,
“Don’t you remember? It feels like yesterday that you came all the way to the training grounds and begged me to catch a rabbit for you.”
I smiled awkwardly.
“D-Did I?”
“Yes, you did. You ran around the training grounds like it was a playground. His Grace just watched, while the soldiers panicked…”
Count Bastin laughed heartily, clearly amused even now.
“In the end, training only resumed after the Duchess came. Back then, that was truly—”
He suddenly stopped mid-sentence, then glanced at me and murmured cautiously,
“…Ah. This old man has made a mistake.”
He seemed worried that mentioning the late Duchess might upset me.
I quickly shook my head.
“No, it’s fine.”
Instead of answering, the Count gave me a gentle smile. Watching him, I quietly reflected on his words.
‘So when her mother was alive, Selenea was just a lively child.’
A strange feeling stirred inside me.
When I read the original novel, I thought of Selenea as nothing more than a villain.
But what I’d heard from the Duke a few days ago, and now this…
‘Her mother’s name was Hemera, right?’
I’d never imagined Selenea had such a background and story.
‘She lost her mother at a young age, then got tangled up with some strange man, and even her relationship with her father fell apart…’
Her life felt tragically twisted.
I frowned slightly.
‘If that’s the case, then Selenea killing Eria in the original story, and all the cruelty she committed…’
Maybe it wasn’t entirely her own will.
In the end, she was a victim too.
‘Who on earth brainwashed Selenea, and for what purpose?’
That was something I absolutely had to find out.
But of all times, Meyer had lost his mind, making interrogation impossible.
After hesitating, I finally made a decision and spoke with a slightly stiff expression.
“I heard that Count Bastin was in charge of interrogating Meyer.”
Surprised by the unexpected question, he looked at me with widened eyes, then nodded.
“That’s correct. Unfortunately, we gained nothing.”
I looked him straight in the eye and said,
“Actually, I want to visit the prison as well.”
Walter turned to me in shock, but I continued in a very serious tone.
“Could you guide me to where Meyer is?”
Count Bastin’s eyes widened in surprise.
