Lilia’s face was one of great surprise at the sudden confession. Then, she soon let out a sigh with a gloomy expression.
“But, my lady, how could I possibly go up alone, leaving His Highness behind?”
Wasn’t it rather strange for a man to bring his fiancée to such a dangerous place!
The young lady of Baron Ruejak could not bring herself to say that. Regardless of her personal feelings, the other party was the Crown Prince, so she always had to be careful with her words and actions.
Lilia, who had been silently gazing at the young lady of Baron Ruejak fretfully shifting her feet in frustration, quietly averted her eyes.
Lilia’s expression, her gaze fixed on empty air, was quite peculiar.
“But you say the Dullahan is targeting His Highness the Crown Prince…….”
Lilia, pondering the words of the young lady of Baron Ruejak, narrowed her eyes. Pulling in her chin and lowering her head, she murmured softly.
“Then the Resurrected One will likely appear nearby as well?”
“Huh?”
The young lady of Baron Ruejak reflexively asked back. A moment ago, she thought she saw a smile flicker at the corner of Lilia’s lips, but Lilia’s face, now lifted, was only serious.
Far from any hint of a smile, she seemed utterly tense. It seemed the smile must have been a trick of the eye.
“I was thinking we must ensure His Highness’s escort is flawless. We need to bring many more, more skilled knights. And hire mercenaries as well.”
Lilia clasped the young lady of Baron Ruejak’s hand. As warm energy transmitted through the firmly held hand, the young lady of Baron Ruejak felt an unconscious relief.
“Thank you for telling me, my lady. I will never forget your help.”
Ah, she had been of help to Lilia.
The young lady of Baron Ruejak was seized by an inexplicable joy.
As if this were her role, as if she had fulfilled her part, she felt nothing but pride.
* * *
“The number of Monster hunters has increased, you say.”
In response to Samuel’s indifferent murmur, the priest sitting across from him nodded.
“Yes, it seems they are targeting the Dullahan rumored to have appeared here.”
What they were likely targeting was not the Dullahan, but Anelli.
Samuel had also heard the information obtained from interrogating one of the assassins who had attacked them previously. According to that information, ‘Monster hunter’ was merely a respectable pretext.
Weren’t they, from the start, individuals backed by Lilia Roam? It was obvious who their target was without even looking.
“As Sir Samuel reported, they truly were heretics. The Temple is also cracking down, concerned they might unnecessarily hinder the Resurrected One’s movements, but their activities are unusual.”
A faint disgust toward the heretics was evident on the priest’s face, which was deeply furrowed. Samuel pressed his lips together tightly and sank into thought for a moment.
The place where Samuel was visiting was a small Temple located a short distance from the village.
It was rare for a small village to have a Temple attached, but it seemed one had been exceptionally established here, likely because the lord’s villa was nearby.
‘It was good to visit.’
Samuel had come partly to gauge the atmosphere of the region and observe the activities of the Temples within the Montel territory.
And through his conversation with the priest, he learned how much resentment the Monster hunters had incurred, which was not a bad outcome.
‘At least in this region, their activities are clearly being rejected.’
The priest was a native, born and raised in the village, having lived here his entire life. Perhaps because of that, a certain untainted naivety and innocence was apparent.
“Do not worry. Not just I, but the priests within the Montel territory will actively step forward to block the heretics’ activities. We also frequently advise the local residents.”
It wasn’t just the priests who would step forward. The holy knights who had voluntarily come to the Montel territory to fight Monsters had likely now targeted the heretics instead of the Dullahan.
The Dullahan would be handled by the Resurrected One, so dealing with the heretics who had attacked the Resurrected One would align with their ‘convictions,’ wouldn’t it?
“Of course, I trust that.”
As Samuel answered bluntly, the priest’s expression became oddly excited.
“W-well, that is. By any chance… does the Resurrected One plan to visit the Temple……?”
The priest’s face was full of expectation. Naturally, the priest would have no other chance to receive the Resurrected One if not now, so it was understandable he would reveal his true feelings even at the risk of awkwardness.
While Samuel understood his position, unfortunately, he could not give a positive answer.
For one, Anelli distrusted the Temple. Just as she did with other places.
No matter how devout Samuel was, he could not forever pretend to be unaware of Anelli’s antipathy toward the Temple and its clergy.
‘She will not come.’
Anelli was probably at the lord’s villa by now. Waiting for news of the Crown Prince, gauging the timing to move.
“Unfortunately……”
Just as Samuel was about to say that Anelli would not come—
“Father! Father! He has come!”
One of the Temple attendants sweeping the front courtyard rushed into the chapel, clutching a broom, panting heavily. The attendant’s face was flushed with excitement.
“The Resurrected One has come to visit!”
The priest’s eyes widened. He seemed to forget he was in the middle of a conversation with Samuel, fluttering his priestly robes as he hastily ran toward the entrance.
Samuel stared blankly at the backs of the attendant and the priest scrambling out of the chapel.
‘Who…….’
Who said had come to the Temple?
Left alone before the divine statue, Samuel’s mind was more sluggish than ever. The attendant had clearly said ‘the Resurrected One’ just now.
Wasn’t there only one person who could be called by that title?
Samuel stared at the chapel entrance with a bewildered gaze. Given the commotion outside, it seemed a significant guest had indeed arrived.
A moment later, the chapel door swung open wide, revealing the priest with a shy smile.
He was guiding someone inside.
“So you were here, Sir Samuel.”
The person walking in behind the priest was Anelli. She scanned the chapel with a listless gaze, only putting on a gentle expression when the priest looked back at her.
“As the Temple is small, there aren’t many suitable places for conversation.”
“For those who serve the gods, what place could be more needed than the chapel?”
Anelli, who kindly replied to the priest blushing as if embarrassed, strode briskly toward Samuel.
Samuel remained frozen in a daze until then. It was only around the time Anelli requested the priest to ‘please leave us for a while to talk’ that he finally regained his senses.
“Sir Samuel, why are you so absent-minded?”
“……Had I known you were coming, we should have moved together from the start. Was the journey not troublesome?”
“I decided after you departed. And as for the journey… the road was uneven, but Nadav’s ride is always the best.”
Anelli, who answered nonchalantly, turned her gaze to the window on the side wall of the chapel.
The chapel interior itself was narrow, so the distance to the window wasn’t far, and given the circumstances, there was no need to strain to look outside.
Outside was the black horse Nadav, tied meekly to a rope.
She could even see Nadav surrounded by the Temple attendants’ kindness, pretending to drink water.
“There are Monsters in the world who respect Temples too, though no one would know.”
Perhaps finding it amusing that a Dullahan transformed into a horse was standing brazenly in the Temple courtyard, Anelli gave a faint smile.
“But why so serious? Did you hear some bad news?”
“What made you decide to come?”
Instead of answering Anelli’s question, Samuel diverted the topic.
She seemed not to intend to press for an answer, as she readily replied to his question.
“Because it’s a small Temple with only one priest. I thought there wouldn’t be many people to bother me, so I came to see.”
“Didn’t you originally dislike such places?”
“Oh, you know I dislike Temples?”
Anelli, looking genuinely surprised, raised her eyebrows and looked at Samuel.
Samuel, who had been staring intently at Anelli who was purely admiring, swallowed dryly and composed his expression.
“How could I not know? You always tell me you won’t go to the Temple.”
“True enough.”
Anelli, with her hands behind her back, ambled about as if sightseeing the chapel.
She even paused briefly before the crudely made divine statue, examining it intently. It seemed more out of simple curiosity than any sense of sanctity.
“Visiting a local Temple once in a while might be good for showcasing the Resurrected One’s influence. That way, Maxel will likely rush even more to try something. If he moves, Lilia will move too.”
She seemed to be in a good mood, answering more kindly than usual. So he should have enjoyed this unexpected fortune.
But Samuel could not.
“……Did you come alone?”
“I don’t travel alone, do I?”
“I was just surprised the mage didn’t accompany you. Or did he, instead of following, cast some… disguise magic on you?”
Samuel prayed his question wouldn’t sound strange.
“Just as you dislike the Magic Tower, Xenon dislikes the Temple. I know it well, so I didn’t want to force him to come.”
Fortunately, Anelli seemed to interpret it as him simply expressing dissatisfaction with Xenon.
“Even if he dislikes it, he’s the type to follow anyway.”
“Well, he is nearby.”
If Xenon had followed to the vicinity, he probably wouldn’t have cast disguise magic on Anelli.
So that meant Anelli was moving as usual now. That she hadn’t done any special, significant disguise.
‘But then why…….’
Samuel stared intently at Anelli, then turned his body.
He could sense Anelli’s presence behind him. Not just the presence one could feel from proximity, but her distinct existence that Samuel, being Samuel, could perceive.
‘My senses haven’t completely vanished.’
Yet that instinctual sense of his, which always allowed him to know her location anywhere, had not functioned just a moment ago. Why?
In fact, he had already experienced something similar.
It was right when he was about to return to Anelli after handing over the assassins to the Temple. For a very brief moment, he had been unable to detect Anelli’s location, which delayed his rejoining her.
‘……So that wasn’t an illusion.’
Samuel felt a chill run down his spine.
To avoid revealing his agitation, he clenched his fist tightly, the inside damp with cold sweat.