Chapter 173 - Book Rabbit

Episode 173

Arpad was momentarily bewildered by another memory, but soon collected himself.

The priority was to protect Hilia, take her to the palace, and deal with the captured criminals.

The situation at hand was only growing more chaotic.

This was because, while Hilia had lost consciousness and collapsed, Archbishop Bio had begun to rave.

"No! Impossible! What have I done?!"

It was a desperate, blood-curdling scream, as if he were vomiting blood.

He only fell silent after Aaron Müzen, unable to bear it any longer, struck the back of his head.

Bio slumped like a corpse. He wasn't dead, but the blow had been delivered with such force that it wouldn't have mattered if he were.

Just then, Evangeline, having regained her senses, let out a scream.

"Kyaaak! Aaah! Blood! Save me!!"

Only then did the surrounding gazes turn to Evangeline.

"A doctor, call a doctor—!"

Evangeline tried to crawl on her hands and knees toward Hilia and Arpad.

However, she was stopped by Lord Müzen and Lord Beltain.

Lord Beltain was a witness to how Evangeline had tormented Hilia back in the Ducal House of Delphin.

Moreover, Evangeline had once entangled him and Hilia in a disgraceful trial.

He could not let such a person approach while Hilia was unconscious.

Lord Beltain looked down at Evangeline as if she were the most loathsome thing in the world.

"I cannot allow you to further defile my master's safety."

At this moment, Evangeline was driven more by instinctive terror than by anger or a sense of injustice.

Forgetting all shame and propriety, she clung to Lord Beltain.

"Save me! It hurts! Aaah!"

Evangeline had been claiming to be pregnant with the imperial bloodline, and now, with her belly swollen, the hem of her skirt was stained red.

At the very least, the child's condition needed to be properly ascertained.

If it was indeed Ludwig's child, there was a risk it could later lay claim to the imperial succession rights.

At a glance from Arpad, the ladies-in-waiting approached to examine Evangeline's condition.

Soon, the women among them who had experience with pregnancy and childbirth began to exclaim.

"It seems she has already miscarried."

"Miscarried?"

"Yes. But……."

The oldest of the former married maids tilted her head as if something was strange.

When Arpad ordered her to explain in detail, she gathered her courage and spoke.

"The miscarried fetus and placenta are not visible."

Deep inside a massive sewer in a remote corner of the capital, quite far from both the imperial palace and the ruins of the temple.

Something dark red writhed and crawled along the floor amidst the filthy water.

It slid smoothly down through a hole pierced in the floor.

Someone was waiting for it below the long pipe.

It was Tower Lord Gaspard.

He looked at the amorphous, dark red mass as if it were the world's most beautiful woman or a lovely child.

When he extended a flask the size of his forearm, the dark red substance plopped inside with a wet sound.

Gaspard used his magical power to check the condition of the precious specimen within the flask.

"Not bad. Thanks to this, I've stored up quite a bit of divine power."

The Archbishop had often poured vast amounts of divine power into Evangeline.

To heal scars, sometimes because she felt unwell, even when she was in a bad mood.

This 'thing' had been able to sufficiently accumulate that excessively poured divine power within Evangeline's body.

"Good. Then……."

The Tower Lord smiled dangerously, then stored the flask away and vanished into the darkness.

* * *

Recently, the imperial palace was filled with vitality.

This was because, after the Emperor proclaimed his intention to abdicate to the Crown Prince, he had also begun to share his power.

This was a pure abdication, not a usurpation or a test of suspicion by the Emperor toward his son.

The atmosphere was extremely peaceful, even harmonious.

Naturally, the mood within the imperial palace could only be exceedingly gentle.

Amidst this, a small, awkward commotion broke out in front of the Crown Prince's palace.

"Please go back! Did you not hear that Her Highness has refused your audience!"

"Let me see her! Please! I must see her and offer a proper apology……!"

Blocking the Archbishop's path was Ani, the highest-ranking attendant among the Crown Prince's palace servants and a close lady-in-waiting.

She replied coldly.

"Her Highness says she has nothing to receive from you, Archbishop. She also wishes not to see you henceforth. So, please go back."

"...!"

The Archbishop's current state was a mess.

His priestly robes, which always shone sacredly in pure white, were in tatters from rolling on the ground last night while helping Evangeline escape from the temple ruins.

His long, chestnut-brown hair, once so smooth and glossy that noblewomen often admired it, was disheveled.

On the way back, Arpad had deliberately dumped Bio in front of the imperial palace.

Because he knew that as soon as Bio woke up, he would rush to Hilia and cause a scene.

Just as he had at the temple ruins.

True to Arpad's expectations, the moment Bio opened his eyes, he ran to the Crown Prince's palace.

So obsessed with meeting his apostle that he hadn't even properly treated himself, his tattered clothes were even stained with blood.

A sight enough to startle anyone.

The reason the Archbishop had come to the Crown Prince's palace in that state was simple.

'There is no appearance more fitting for a sinner than this.'

He dropped to his knees with a thud in front of the Crown Prince's palace.

Facing the direction of the Crown Princess, his apostle.

Of course, the imperial knights and palace servants absolutely did not let him inside the Crown Prince's palace.

"Eek! Wh-what is that? Why is such a thing inside the imperial palace?"

"My goodness, I thought he was a beggar."

"But his face looks quite familiar... Oh my, goodness! Isn't that man Archbishop Bio?"

"Huh? Really!"

As it was a place with many eyes, the fact that Archbishop Bio was kneeling in a wretched state in front of the Crown Prince's palace soon became a topic of conversation.

Just as Arpad had intended.

Everyone whispered curiously.

"Why is the Archbishop kneeling like that in front of the Crown Prince's palace?"

"And he says he's looking for Her Highness the Crown Princess?"

"Wasn't the Archbishop on Lady Ruth's side?"

"Besides, I heard that last night, while trying to take a criminal out of the underground prison to help her escape, there was an accident and she even lost the child……."

It had already been quietly concluded that the child in Evangeline's womb was not the Crown Prince's but Ludwig's.

If so, it was still of imperial blood, so issues regarding the imperial succession rights could arise later.

Those who bore grudges against the Empress or Evangeline spoke ill, saying it served them right.

The news that Evangeline was being treated by the court physician in a remote corner of the imperial palace, as a final consideration from the Crown Princess, was the end of it.

No one was more curious about Evangeline, nor tried to visit her.

She did not receive as much attention as the Archbishop now kneeling in front of the Crown Prince's palace.

The Archbishop shed tears and pressed his forehead to the ground.

"Please… I was merely deceived. My apostle, one last chance……."

The Temple of the Heavenly Lord was the most powerful among all the temples on the continent.

Someone in a position like the Archbishop of the Heavenly Lord had no one to serve above him except for the two Cardinals and the Holy Emperor.

He was an existence who, having devoted his life to God, also held the privilege of not having to kneel before the Emperor.

The sight of such a person kneeling and pleading toward the Crown Princess was decidedly unusual.

In essence, the Archbishop was kneeling and begging forgiveness from the apostle of the god he served, but to those unaware of the circumstances, it appeared to have a completely different meaning.

It looked as if the Temple of the Heavenly Lord, which had been secretly opposing the imperial family, was now kneeling before the Crown Princess.

"Could he be trying to beg Her Highness the Crown Princess now, of all times?"

"I clearly saw the Archbishop by Lady Ruth's side during the trial……."

"How shameless."

Many rolled their eyes.

The very person to whom the Archbishop was offering his wretched worship, Hilia, felt not a shred of sentimentality.

Hilia frowned as she watched the commotion through a gap in the curtains.

Contrary to the worries of Arpad and the officials, Hilia had regained consciousness immediately after returning to the imperial palace.

She had already been confirmed by the court physician to have no health issues.

However, having seen Hilia collapse, Arpad had prevented her from attending to state affairs today.

And he was staying right by her side, meticulously checking on her condition.

"...Are you alright?"

At Arpad's voice, filled with concern, Hilia forced an even brighter smile.

"Yes. Don't worry. I told you I'm perfectly fine. I also told you. It was just my body being startled from using an unfamiliar power for the first time."

Arpad's lips twitched for a moment.

In truth, there were so many questions he wanted to ask.

What exactly was the power of the divine object she used, and how was it possible?

What were the memories that suddenly came to him last night? Did Hilia know about them?

Arpad hesitated.

This was truly a rare occurrence.

He always ended up acting unlike himself in front of Hilia.

Hilia's profile as she gazed through the curtain gap by the window looked unbearably bitter.

'Why do you have so many secrets? You never tell me everything.'

Perhaps this was proof that Arpad still had not properly earned Hilia's trust.

After hesitating, Arpad finally managed to make a decision.

He approached his wife, closed the window curtain to hide the sight of the man praying outside, and then, as always, pretending to be calm, lightly embraced her shoulders and whispered.

"You often seem to forget what a jealous husband I am."

"What are you suddenly talking about?"

Arpad found her widening amethyst eyes utterly adorable.

"I'm asking you to understand the jealousy of a husband whose wife's attention has been stolen by another man."

Seeing Hilia's shoulders, which had been tense for a moment, slowly relax, he broached the main subject.

"You, don't you have anything you want to say to me?"

Romance, Fantasy,