I only remembered about the setup now since I didn’t think it was very important.
There were also prayer rooms for men and women, but as a rule it was to use a separate gender into the prayer room at weddings’ ceremony.
‘Was it to emphasize the sacredness of the wedding?’
There was also a men’s prayer room nearby.
“…”
“…”
The atmosphere was heavy with silence, but unlike before, Kyle’s seemingly uncomfortable reticence led Lantes to look at his eyes.
“Other than that, access to the prayer room is arranged by the officials and priests of the reception area, and only one personal escort who has been brought in for the safety of her Highness can follow her to the prayer room.”
I saw it. Kyle’s eyebrows were wiggling noticeably when he heard him mention the personal escort.
Let’s pretend we didn’t notice.
“Then her Highness and the knight behind you…”
Lantes was having difficulties to continue speaking while Kyle stared at him before he could even finish talking.
“From here on out, only her Highness and her personal escort are allowed…”
“I’m the personal escort. Is there a problem?” This was the first thing Kyle said after being silent for so long.
‘What did I hear now?’
Lantes’ eyes were blinking more and more as his stress levels went up. Then Kyle and Sejan took turns staring at Lantes. No matter how hard I looked, Sejan was a personal escort. His outfit was enough information.
“Your Highness… .and the man behind you…?”
“Crazy Knight.”
Kyle proudly recited the most famous of Sejan’s nicknames, which was spread among people, in front of him. His face said it exactly as it was.
“Pfff…” Sejan made a deflated noise.
While the situation was interesting, Kyle didn’t seem to have any will to stop.
‘As always, am I the only one who can handle those kinds of situations?’
I looked at Kyle, eager to bury my head into the sand, then quietly murmured the words ‘promise’ and ‘swordsmanship’. Although Kyle was obviously not listening. His facial expression stayed the same as usual.
Inevitable, I had to show him through action.
I pulled the corner of my mouth with my fingers creating an artificially smiling face. I moved my mouth again.
Then I murmured again to him, a different word this time; ‘smile’. It was a kind of threat to listen to me if you want to see a lovely smile.
Kyle’s eyes went up when he saw my demonstration. Kyle, who had been displaying an arrogant image for a while, sat nervously, crossing his arms in a chair at the entrance of the prayer room.
“Then I’ll wait here.”
‘That’s the only way for me to get around alone for a little while.’
But it was a relief that it worked.
Honestly, it wasn’t a bad idea to be away from Kyle. Rather, it was an opportunity. I needed a chance to meet the High Priest separately.
I waved lightly at Kyle.
“Then I’ll be right back, Archduke. Let’s proceed, priest Lantes.”
At my words, he hurried his steps.
***
Afterwards, Sejan, Lantes and I walked nonstop through the endless white hallway. Lantes had significantly fewer words to say than before. Although Kyle lost his energy, he seemed to care since the prayer room was the most sacred place in the temple.
‘By the way.’
Now I was getting curious. Why was the High Priest not present?
Usually, when a high-ranking noble visits, a suitable person would come to greet him.
Kyle was also the highest-ranking noble who would often greets the emperor in person even when visiting the Imperial Palace. Lantes was not a low status by any means, but if we considered Kyle’s status, it would be right for the High Priest to show his face.
It seemed to me; it would have been better in matters of political means.
‘But instead, he’s just not showing up.’
He was a very unique character.
Nevertheless, I did have a reason, wanting to meet with the High Priest.
‘I can’t do it.’
I was about to ask Lantes about the whereabouts of the High Priest.
“Priest Lantes…”
At the same time, a voice came from up ahead; a young priest was trotting toward us. The young gentleman soon noticed me and quickly gave me a quick silent bow.
Quickly dismissed, he looked at Lantes once again.
“Well, I’m sorry to bother you, but I need to talk to you for a moment.”
“What’s going on? Is it urgent?”
“This is what priest John asked me to deliver, but…”
The young gentleman stopped himself from saying more than that and quickly glanced my way. It seemed to be information that Sejan and I, who were outsiders, were not welcome to.
I wonder how he could convey the information with us present without being disrespectful.
The young priest, who had been agonizing for a while, soon made a triangle with his hands. After that, he shook his head, making an X with his arms.
The light of his face was quickly dimmed by the overwhelming stress of the situation. Lantes promptly nodded as if he understood; his complexion didn’t look very good either.
I felt like I knew what this was.
‘The triangle is the temple, and the X means that there is no place.
Carefully analyzing the message, it could only mean that the High Priest disappeared on them again.
‘Looks like they really can’t find him.’
I asked Lantes, pretending to be innocent.
“Is there any trouble going on? If there’s anything I can do to help, I’ll be glad to be of assistance.”
“Oh, no, no. It is by no means a concern to her Highness, please do not worry.”
Consequently, Lantes, who is praised for his ability, had one fatal flaw.
You didn’t manage your expression very well. I could see it now. I felt sorry for the awkward smile that was supposed to make me feel relieved.
‘Anyway.’
I needed to see the High Priest, so let’s give him some help. I said to Lantes with a harmless face.
“Lantes, may I look around the prayer rooms for a moment?”
Find the High Priest himself and drag him over.
Afterwards, Sejan and I walked through the hallway of the prayer rooms. Lantes allowed me to act freely more easily than I thought. It was okay because there are few people in the prayer room today.
“ – The Archduke is guarding the entrance, so there will be no problem.”
Lantes indirectly revealed that Kyle was blocking the entrance.
I felt a little sorry because I could see his half-resigned expression, but it was good for me. As I walked a little further, a wide hall came out. No one passed by. When I looked around, I saw a large door at the center and dozens of small doors on both sides.
The biggest door here was the group prayer room, and the rest were private prayer rooms. Stopping in the center of the hall, I was lost in thought for a moment.
‘The 11th room on the right.’
The High Priest had set up secret passageways throughout the temple; using Geppel’s unique ability to connect space freely.
This was all for the purpose of playing hooky today.
And this was a top secret that even Lantes, who was closest to the High Priest, didn’t know. I quickly found the 11th room and walked to the door.
I swiftly confirmed there was no sign of movement nearby and spoke in a soft murmur that only Sejan could hear.
“Sejan, is our contract still valid?”
“Are you asking me to pretend I don’t know if you are committing a crime? Of course, it’s in effect.”
I hated him. Looked at him talking.
No matter how much Sejan didn’t make a distinction between nobles and commoners, if you’re going to sign a contract and be with me all the time, wouldn’t it be better to be friendlier?
I quit trying to give full attention to the way he talked. He won’t listen to it anyway. Honestly, it was a waste of time to argue with him.
I ignored Sejan’s words lightly and went directly to the main point.
“Sejan, I’m going to the secret passage in this room from now on, so please wait here.”
“Secret passage… Did her Highness confirm this information with her ability?”
“Yes.”
I told Sejan about the secret passage just in case something happened. We were on the same boat anyway.
“Okay, I’ll do as you wish, your Highness.”
Fortunately, Sejan didn’t dig into it anymore and simply agreed. I opened the door as Sejan displayed his usual arrogant smile.
The room was very quiet.
All you could see was a large frame with a picture of God from the story of the Empire and a rough-looking wooden chair.
‘The private room is supposed to be for penance, but it looks like a solitary cell of someone being punished.’
After searching the room, I walked to the frame and started touching the bricks located on the right side of the frame and counted them.
I needed to find the 17th brick on the right by the frame.
‘Okay, here it is.’
At first glance, the brick didn’t differentiate from the other bricks.
‘However…’
I recited while pressing down exactly seven times with my hands on the brick. “Release.”
It was the way to get into the secret passage, but for some reason, there was no response even after some time passed.
‘Isn’t it here?’
While I was thinking of it, the wall started to shake slightly.
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