Chapter 107 - Book Rabbit

Episode 107

He had no qualms about intruding upon Hilia’s tea party.

‘What can they do if a husband goes to see his wife?’

He was impatient.

He wanted to see Hilia with his own eyes as soon as possible, to wash away the lingering traces of the vision he had seen.

The image of Hilia looking at him with eyes stained with fear and despair.

And his own phantom that had been threatening her.

‘Wait, come to think of it, was that knight fellow next to Hilia even in that vision?’

He had appeared deeply wounded, as if trying to protect her.

He truly was someone who didn’t know when to stay out of things.

Or perhaps, he himself had been so irritated by the man that he had included him in the vision.

Either way, it was unpleasant.

The moment he approached the eastern garden’s crystal pergola.

Arpad’s eyes saw nothing but Hilia.

The sunlight, which should have been evenly showering the entire garden, seemed to gather and shine only upon her.

She was distractingly beautiful, but he couldn’t afford to be truly distracted.

It was also irritating that Lord Beltain, who had annoyingly inserted himself into the vision and displeased him, was by Hilia’s side.

And a red-haired youth, a face he hadn’t seen before but who possessed the most outstanding aura among the knights he had seen, also caught his eye.

‘That one is probably the young Duke of Müzen.’

However, there was a bigger problem than those two men, whom he would normally consider thorns in his side.

Hilia’s condition was strange.

Though she was trying hard not to show it, her complexion was pale.

Biting her soft lips slightly, clutching her skirt—these were habits to swallow fear.

Such a reaction couldn’t occur unless someone was threatening Hilia.

‘Which one is it?’

Arpad’s gaze sharply swept the surroundings.

A man who had stepped closer to the pergola than he had.

A man with an elegant and neat appearance, smooth black hair flowing over white clerical robes.

That man was the culprit.

The judgment was instantaneous, and his steps were already heading toward Hilia before that.

“For one who calls himself an archbishop to get lost in the imperial palace. It seems the Main Temple does not properly educate its priests.”

Ignoring those who were bowing to him as if they weren’t there, he reached Hilia’s side in a single breath.

When he naturally took her hand to escort her, Arpad clicked his tongue softly.

‘Her hand is cold. And it’s clammy with sweat…’

It was rare to see Hilia so agitated or on the verge of breaking down.

Because she was a bold woman who moved unfazed even when two members of the imperial family with dragon bloodline clashed in a battle of auras.

The only similar instances were when she was ill and bedridden, or… when she met the Tower Lord.

Back then, when Arpad ran to meet her, Hilia was slightly different from her usual calm and bold self. She pretended to be fine, but a distinct shadow of fear remained.

And now, Hilia’s reaction upon seeing this man was even greater than when she met the Tower Lord.

Perhaps it had been similar right after meeting the Tower Lord as well.

He felt as if he had swallowed a burning coal whole.

But stabilizing Hilia’s condition took priority over the archbishop.

Whether there were many eyes watching or not was not the issue. He couldn’t bear Hilia being anxious and afraid.

Arpad whispered as if kissing Hilia’s cheek.

“You can just answer with a nod. Do you need my help, Hilia?”

“……!”

* * *

“Repent your sins.”

“Bringing a man in! That I seduced him! I’ve never done such a thing! Why are you lying, Your Excellency the Archbishop?”

“I am not an archbishop anymore. I am a cardinal. Address me properly. To still not admit your guilt, it seems your repentance is insufficient.”

“You… from the beginning, you weren’t trying to help me, you were on Evangeline’s side……!”

“Isn’t that obvious? No one would extend a helping hand to the likes of you.”

He confined me in the darkness of the basement for a full month, saying he would make me repent.

Meals were just enough to not starve to death.

The only moment I could see light was once every three days, when the disciplinary priest came to whip my back with a thorny scourge.

“Save me, please save me!”

But I didn’t die. Because whenever my condition became critically severe, he used divine power to keep me barely alive.

After several agonizing months, I finally obediently signed the statement and memorandum he presented.

A confession admitting to crimes I had never committed.

Documents stating that, as repentance toward him, I would return my title and lands to the imperial family and donate all my personal property to the Main Temple.

In return, the archbishop promised.

“Don’t worry. I’ll ensure you avoid burning at the stake. You’ll be able to live quietly and pass away comfortably.”

“…Thank you.”

By then, I had already lost all hope and will to live.

Having obtained what he wanted, the archbishop sent me off to a small monastery in the provinces.

There, I had to do all sorts of menial work under surveillance.

But it was far better than being confined in darkness, whipped with a thorny scourge, and subjected to all kinds of torture.

And about a year later, I was assassinated, disguised as a suicide by the temple.

Upon seeing Archbishop Bio, the horrific memories from my second life overwhelmed me.

I was confident I hadn’t shown any signs.

That I truly wasn’t okay…

“You can just answer with a nod. Do you need my help, Hilia?”

When Arpad’s low voice resonated in my eardrum, I felt it keenly.

So instead of nodding or just making eye contact, I clung to Arpad’s chest and whispered.

“I need it. Desperately.”

* * *

Holding Hilia, Arpad glared at the archbishop and spoke.

“Did you say you were lost? I’ll assign you a guide. You may leave now.”

Arpad signaled to Lord Beltain with his eyes.

His plan was to pair the annoying fellow with the unpleasant one and have them both removed.

Lord Beltain, having been the quickest after Arpad to notice Hilia’s condition, faithfully obeyed the command.

“I will guide you, Your Excellency the Archbishop. Please follow me.”

Then Archbishop Bio, with a benign smile spread across his face, waved his hand dismissively.

“That’s quite alright. There’s no need for an imperial knight to act as my guide. The Lord will surely watch over the path I must take.”

He smiled faintly and took a step forward.

“Perhaps there was divine guidance. A precious person is carrying a fragment of the goddess.”

Everyone was holding their breath due to the subtle tension between the archbishop and the crown prince.

A somewhat tactless noblewoman muttered.

“Come to think of it, didn’t His Excellency the Archbishop say earlier that Her Highness the Crown Princess possesses a divine relic?”

The archbishop didn’t miss this.

“Indeed. That beautiful ring is likely it. Would you grant me the honor of examining it up close?”

Originally, having a priest verify the authenticity of a divine relic is standard practice across all religious orders.

Considering that, the archbishop’s words had some merit. But Arpad cut him off sharply, like a blade.

“No.”

“…Pardon?”

“This item I gifted my wife as a wedding ring is ‘Star of Statalia.’”

Exclamations and gasps of admiration arose from the surroundings.

For Statalia was the goddess of spring, the queen of all seasons, and this was a sacred gem containing her blessing.

A distinct glint of greed, though momentary, flashed in the archbishop’s eyes.

“I procured and verified it myself. Why insist on having the temple authenticate it? Are you suggesting I gave my wife a fake?”

“How could that be? I was merely acting out of curiosity and goodwill.”

“The imperial family hasn’t requested it, yet you step forward… Isn’t that excessive interest?”

Thanks to Arpad, Hilia quickly regained her composure.

And soon, she realized his point was valid.

‘Come to think of it, in the second round, among the assets the archbishop seized from me was “Agrippina’s Tears.”’

A divine relic of the goddess, inherited from Hilia’s maternal family.

Back then, she had only thought the archbishop had taken it from her to present to Evangeline.

It suddenly occurred to her that perhaps that wasn’t the case.

‘What if, from the very beginning, he was after the divine relic of the goddess that I possessed?’

It felt like a puzzle piece she hadn’t realized before her regression was falling into place.

The traces of fear that had clouded Hilia’s purple eyes like mist completely vanished.

Her eyes began to gleam.