Chapter 22: Volume 2 - CH 13

No one suspected me of suddenly going to the temple.

When I said I’d go to the temple, I was concerned Camilla would pick on me, but Camilla was busy since she talked to the Vassals.

Maybe she thought my faith had deepened after spending a month in the monastery.

Shannon, on the other hand, trailed me like a shadow.

“It’s been a while, Priest Aaron.”

“Oh my, Lady Selina.”

When I was a trainee, I stopped by Western Great Hall for a bit before being assigned to assist with the Martial Arts Competition.

It’s an unfamiliar place to me, but Shannon was more unfamiliar to it than me.

She had a very difficult time in the unfamiliar atmosphere as if she had not come to the temple often.

“How long has it been since we last saw each other? Are you here to pray?”

“Yes, my uncle went on an inspection, but I’m worried because I haven’t heard from him.”

“How are you able to be so generous?

Shannon, who had been trailing me, came to a halt in front of the priest.

It was both amusing and endearing.

“But who is this?”

“……”

I could see Shannon hesitate beneath the navy robe, so I introduced Shannon to the priest instead.

“She’s my younger sister.”

“Oh, I see.”

Shannon should have said hello if I had given her such a brief introduction, but she just stood there quietly.

‘What’s the matter with her?’

I’m not sure if she was just embarrassed, but I poked Shannon on the side, who was dazed.

Shannon only said hello in her crawling voice after that.

“My name is Shannon Berry, and I’m from the Crawford family.”

“Oh, Haha, Lady Berry, good to meet you……”

The nervously smiling apprentice priest hurriedly turned to face me.

“You must visit with the High Priest.”

“No. He must be quite busy. I shouldn’t be bothering him.”

“What do you mean bothering, Lady? You’re not bothersome in the slightest. You should pay a visit to the high priest in the Confession Room.”

When I heard Franz was in the Confession Room, I felt a little bad.

‘Does it have anything to do with the sausage?’

I’m glad I didn’t bring any of the jalapeno sausage he mentioned.

“Oh, Lady Selina, how delighted he would be to see you.”

“Thank you, Priest Aaron.”

“Don’t mention it.”

The apprentice priest guided us to the Confession Room and then vanished busily.

“Who are you referring to as your sister?”

Shannon, who was trailing behind, grumbled.

“Did you say something?”

Shannon had closed her mouth as though she had groaned as I turned my gaze.

I was about to say something, but I just turned around.

“I know now that I’ve seen it in person.”

“What?”

“Aaron is not a man.”

Shannon then abruptly came to a halt.

“The letter… Did you read my letter?”

“Yes, of course. If not for that, how would I have known the content? I’m not even a fool.”

Shannon, who was speaking quietly, had a perplexed expression on his face.

‘But, you are a fool!’

In reality, I planned to use that letter to summon Shannon to the temple, but Emma was expelled earlier than expected, rendering the letter useless.

“You must be pleased with your ability to read people’s letters like a rat!”

“……What? Hey! Stop right there!”

Shannon responded, but it was now late afternoon, so I moved on without hesitation.

Shannon clutched my arm as she raced by.

I glanced around and grimaced, as if I had stepped on the brake.

‘Didn’t this happen before?’

This girl had an extremely nasty habit.

“If you already knew, then why……!”

Shannon’s arms were flipped around and she was shrugged off before she finished speaking.

“Argh!”

“If you do this rude thing one more time, I’ll break your wrist. Did you get it?”

Shannon glared at me angrily for a brief while, her wrist clenched.

“… Did you bring me to the temple to humiliate me? To show off and make fun of me! What a dreadful scumbag!”

“It was you who wanted to come along with me, Shannon.”

“Damn bitch! You should’ve been dead! On the subject of stuttering, unable to say a word in front of my mother……!”

It was then.

In the peaceful hallway, there was a creaking sound of the wooden door opened.

A priest, who had been softly disputing and clutching the Bible in his arms, appeared in front of us.

It was Franz.

He looked at me blankly, his crimson eyes flickering.

“Lady Selina…?”

For a little minute, I couldn’t think of anything to say.

Perhaps because he cried, his innocent face looked ten times more noble and sacred than usual.

“What are you doing here?”

I had no choice but to stick out a handkerchief, despite the embarrassment.

“Here a handkerchief……”

Shannon caught my hand and extended her handkerchief.

“Here.”

At the same time, Franz and I looked at Shannon.

“Lady Selina, who is this sister?”

Shannon hurriedly removed her robe and greeted Franz politely when he asked.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, high priest. My name is Shannon Berry, and I am a member of Count Crawford’s family.”

Shannon’s face was painted with a bashful smile, as if she had never frowned before. There’s no sense of sadness, as if she’s already forgotten about Emma.

“My sister told me a lot about you. You’re extremely nice to my sister, she said.”

“……”

Shannon’s eyes twinkled with delight.

I was astonished and speechless for a little moment.

‘What in the world is this girl up to?’

Does Shannon prefer men like Franz?

‘What happened to Valhail, then?’

Valhail and Franz were, to be honest, polar opposites.

In the book, I only read that Valhail and Shannon are leaving together.

What followed afterwards was entirely my imagination, regardless of whether the two were married or not.

I had a faint expectation that the two would have married. It’s a romance novel, after all.

‘Perhaps the story of the two of them would just have ended there.’

Shannon’s eyes were filled with hearts when she looked at Franz.

‘That’s your taste like……’

An innocent young man with silver hair!

It’s no surprise that something was strange.

But I couldn’t believe Shannon and Valhail didn’t get their own story in the first place.

I mean, I saw Valhail’s face!

It just doesn’t seem reasonable.

I mean, it’s hard to believe Valhail wasn’t her cup of tea.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Berry. I, too…… Hmm, I’ve always heard about you from Lady Selina.

Franz coughed and looked at me, not accustomed to lying.

Shannon’s attention was already drawn elsewhere, whether he liked it or not.

“Is this the Confession Room?”

“You’re right. Is there anything you need to repent of?”

“Sure. I’m as innocent as a white goose, but I’m as guilty as dust. It’s likely you won’t believe it.”

“Everyone lives and commits a crime. We have no choice except to repent and ask God for forgiveness.”

“Wouldn’t it be a sin to imagine obscene things in front of the priest?”

“Everyone’s sin…… What  justdid you say?”

“Do you mind if I walk inside and speak with you, priest?”

Shannon led Franz to the Confession Room on her own initiative.

“Lady Selina! Lady Selina!”

With a pallid pale face, Franz shook his head.

I quietly closed the wooden door with the thought of offering sacrifices.

‘Way to go.’

I just brought Shannon with me because I felt bad for her being locked in her room all day, but carrying Shannon in my back was uncomfortable enough.

It was the perfect time to get Shannon out of the way.

That way, I could take my time going to the training field.

* * * * *

The Holy Knights’ training grounds, known as “the Withdrawal of God” and “the Executor of the Denomination,” were desolate and dreary.

‘It was a place like this.’

This location has a very different atmosphere from the monastery.

“Stop right there.”

“Without authorization, no one can enter.”

Two knights were wearing black blindfolds.

With a spear that could easily reach 2 meters, they guarded the entrance.

‘I should have brought Franz.’

It was a rigorous environment that I couldn’t enter without taking someone higher up with me.

“I’ll be back next time…”

Eventually, someone from behind yelled at me because I didn’t take a few steps back while I was already turning around.

“Stop.”

This was the first time I had heard this voice.

My spine was tingling from the coldness of the voice.

“Give me your name. And the reason for your visit.”

“……”

As Shannon had done previously, I gently turned around and said my name and family name.

“My name is Selina Crawford, and I am Count Crawford’s eldest daughter.”

With young black hair and fiery eyes, he was a menacing presence.

I hastily lowered my gaze when I noticed the blood-stained iron in his hand.

“At a martial arts competition a little while ago, I worked in a dungeon as a monastery trainee.”

“And then?”

“However, when I learned that the participant I was looking after had won and had joined the Holy Knights…”

“He was banished.”

“What?”

The man’s focused crimson eyes shook a little when I raised my head in surprise.

“Then where is that person…… What was the reason for his deportation? He was gentle and kind…”

“He refused to train, tried to flee, and even killed one of the instructors.”

“What?”

The man’s eyes grew smaller.

“Tell him this if you meet him.”

“……”

“On the day he meets Max Clark, his life would come to an end.”

In the end, I didn’t meet Valhail.

I had no idea where he went.

I was in vain the whole way I walked out of the training field.

‘At the very least, I should have kept you on a leash.’

The dog I was trying to get out of the temporary shelter is no longer there.

I don’t think he’ll return because he made such a mess and then left.

‘He has nowhere to go.’

I wish he could meet a nice master somewhere, but I don’t think he’ll be able to because he’s so vicious…

‘I am going to kick his butt if I find him!’

I should have given him a name.

It was heartbreaking that he didn’t have a name to call him with.

* * * * *

Shannon was truly repentant after Franz’s persuasion.

The sound of her sobbing and atoning prayer reverberated down a hallway.

“Are you all right?”

“It’s not only once or twice I’ve encountered such a beastly sister.”

Shannon seemed sincere in her repentance, which I couldn’t hear in detail.

‘As expected, high priests are different.’

What methods did he use to persuade her?

What transpired in the Confession Room was only known by the two of them.

Franz regarded me with disapproval, like a deer observing a hunter, but later forgiven me for selling him off.

Franz then informed me that Lord Max Clark is a knight descended from the  winner of the martial arts competition five years ago.

Maximus Clark.

He was one of the elite instructors of the Holy Knights.

“I heard he went on a penance march, but it seems he has returned.”

He was once a person similar to The Raven, but it is stated that after joining the Holy Knights, he repented greatly and was reincarnated as a God enforcer.

‘As expected, he was a frightening guy.’

No wonder, those eyes……

“The temple was buzzing for a while over his banishment.”

It had something to do with Valhail.

He, who entered the Holy Knights peacefully, changed his attitude shortly after.

He refused to eat or drink for a month and a half, refusing any training and attempting to flee.

He is reported to have killed those who stood in his way before fleeing.

‘Why did he do that?’

Franz opened his mouth again, as if reading my bewildered expression.

“He claimed he was seeking a trainee somewhere in the temple…”

My heart began to sink at that point.

“I’m a trainee.”

“Because I am still a trainee, I couldn’t specify which temple I belong to.”

Don’t tell me…… Was it because of me that he joined and then left the Holy Knights?

However, he said that he loathes that fanatical group!

‘Really… He’s a real eolppa idiot!’