CH 4

Cassius met her gaze. His eyes were as red as the fire that consumed me.

‘Is… is that why you came to the bell tower?'

There is no reason for the high priest to come here alone without an escort.

I'm going crazy.

It is said that Lancelot's omega smell was weak, but gradually got stronger.

IS mine strong enough to find it me at once?

Fortunately, the window was left wide open.

If it had been a secret room filled with Omega's pheromones, Cassius' sense of reason might have been cut off already.

She carefully raised her head.

The only entrance was blocked by Cassius.

I don't want to run away.

'Let's calm down for now.'

Ever since I found out that Cassius was an alpha, I ruminated on the contents of the original story.

The more Lancelot refused and ran away, the more the Alphas became obsessed with him.

It didn't seem like a good thing to provoke an Alpha.

It seemed that the first thing to do was to calm him down by having a normal, everyday conversation.

“Did you hurt your arm?”

Before I could speak, Cassius spoke.

Judging from the fact that he was able to talk, it didn't seem like he was excited with blood.

Is he patient because he is an ascetic priest?

[T/N: ascetic is relating to or having a strict and simple way of living that avoids physical pleasure]

I kept my guard up and answered quietly, so I wouldn't provoke him.

“… How did you know?”

His throat swelled.

“Sweet smell vibrates from you, much darker than last time.”

Oh, I see. Do you think I'm a cake?

“But I take a bath three times a day these days.”

Hopefully, the pheromone smell will fade a bit.

Cassius looked at me and smiled.

“Don't be so wary. I am here to help you.”

He came close to me

Alpha was an apex predator. As if to prove this, Cassius was tall and had a good physique, so his presence itself was threatening.

“I want to check the wound.”

In those words, I gave more strength to the hand that covered the wound. If I show blood, you might get excited.

I couldn't show my wound hastily because I was worried.

Cassius, who was examining my anxious expression, got down on one knee and lowered his gaze.

The ruler of the Holy Land kneels to the apprentice. I was embarrassed by the way I was treated beyond my means.

He raised a hand politely.

It was as if he was asking for my permission.

“You were attacked by a divine beast in the form of a cat, right?”

It seems that the ungrateful cat was a divine being.

“How do you know?”

“That cat is a divine beast that I raise, but it came back with the smell of Sonia's blood on it. It seems that he was embarrassed by the stranger's touch and attacked.”

“… I didn't touch it carelessly. The cat was injured, so I treated it.”

“I know. Therefore, I would like to help Sonia as a token of my gratitude.”

If it is a divine beast of prosperity, it is difficult to recover even with the holy power of the high priest.

She held out her arm carefully at the sight of him politely urging in a low posture.

“Thank you for your permission.”

Cassius, who held my hand slightly, put his forehead on the back of my hand.

Kneeling on one knee and touching the forehead was the clergy’s way of greeting to show respect and honor.

[T/N: clergy’s is people (such as priests) who are the leaders of religion and who perform religious services]

It's usually done when the opponent is a high-ranking official, but there's no need to treat me like this.

The sight of him bending himself made the fear disappear.

He used the divine power of water.

Water droplets splashed around them and glistened in response to the bright light that came in through the open windows.

‘Pretty.’

Glittering water droplets splashed around Cassius as well.

Bright blonde hair like honey, thick eyebrows. Long eyelashes settled down calmly, and the sharp nose looked good.

He was a handsome man, one couldn't help but look at him.

The blood stains on her arm were washed away by the water.

Even the hem of her clothes, stained red with blood, turned white after being washed in the water Cassius made.

He opened his eyes softly.

I met red eyes with surprise.

For some reason, I felt like I was peeping, and my ears were burning.

Cassius's eyes narrowed.

“Sonia had the divine power of healing properties, right?

I was hiding it, but Cassius seemed to already know.

“Yes.”

I didn't mean to hide it, I was about to say, but Cassius spoke first.

“I won't tell anyone else until you reveal it.”

He was still holding my hand.

“All Michael's power has been washed away. Now, if you use divine power, you will recover.”

The cat's name was Michael.

As soon as she used divine power, the wound healed in an instant. The pain that had been getting stronger was gone.

I saw Cassius, who was still holding my hand, smiling lightly as I looked at my arm which had healed.

“Thank you for your help.”

I gently pulled out my hand. But he grabbed the hand that slipped away again.

“I have to clean up now.”

So will you let go?

But he smiled, touching my hand openly.

“Isn’t it difficult to clean the bell tower? I can change your affiliation.”

“What?”

“Directly under the authority of the Holy Emperor.”

The holy kingdom was a place where only geniuses who completed 10 years of training within 5 years would go.

I'm also graduating in 7 years, so I'm on the faster side than others, but it wasn't enough to work at the holy kingdom.

More than that, I didn't want him to come, because I didn't want to get close to Alpha Cassius.

I shook off his hand.

“It's not hard. I love cleaning!”

As if regretting it, he licked his lips and turned his gaze to the window.

There was a cushion and a book that I had read.

He picked up the book.

That book! I should've put it away!

The book, of all things, was hot right from the start.

He flipped through the first few pages of the book and laughed.

“If you are curious about Alpha, I can tell you.”

No, what is this priest saying?

The high priests were obliged to look after the children due to the special lineage of the Magnus kingdom.

So, especially as a priest, you can get married and have children.

The consort of such a high priest was the nobility of the country or empire.

Sometimes there was prosperity in marrying commoners beyond their status.

Even so, you can't seduce a priest.

You're crazy.

“That's all right. I don't want to know.”

After refusing, she descended the bell tower as if she were running away.

Luckily, he didn't chase me, and I was able to get back to my room quickly.

My heart was pounding and my face flushed.

Perhaps it had been since Cassius took my hand and pressed it to his forehead.

In the evening after all the work.

Ellie, who was rolling around on the bed, opened her mouth.

“Sonia, did you go to the bell tower today?”

“Yes.”

“Did you see the book I brought you? It's awesome!”

The book got me in a lot of trouble.

“If you are curious about Alpha, I can tell you.”

Cassius' voice seemed to playback.

“From now on, don’t leave obscene books on the bell tower.”

“What? Why?”

“I was caught by another priest. If I get caught again, I might hear yelled at.”

Even that to His Holiness.

I told you the truth. Then Ellie might tremble like a man sentenced to death.

“I don’t like scolding… shit, okay.”

I finished my conversation with Ellie and read Lancelot's letter.

「 Dear sister Sonia,

A prototype of the new perfume suggested by my sister has been completed.

As a test, I sprayed the perfume and went to the ball, and the reaction was good.

I'm curious about your impressions.

I hope to see you soon.」

Originally, people in this world rarely used perfume.

Alpha and Omega pride themselves on their pheromone scent, so they don't use any other scented perfume.

For Beta, perfume was something that imitated Omega or Alpha.

There are a lot of betas who envy the power of pheromones, but perfume seems to have no pride because it is an object that openly imitates them.

For Beta, things like perfume and spices were like deodorants that they had no choice but to use when they smelled bad.

But it's different now.

All Omegas have died, and Alphas and Omegas do not emit the scent of temptation from each other.

The time has come for betas to use scents confidently.

In the future, nostalgia may become popular among betas.

'If I get it first, I'll make a lot of money!'

From the moment I learned that the world I was born in was in <The Realm of Predators>, I started teaching Lancelot.

To hide Lancelot's omega scent by burying it in other scents.

Develop the Omega phenomenon scent, which will be made soon.

I had to become a priest to protect my home and family from obsessive maniacs, so I left the perfume development to Lancelot.

From an early age, Lancelot played with the perfume bottle I gave him as a gift.

Whether his early education was successful, he took a great interest in scents.

I started steering.

To this day, I was constantly suggesting that Lancelot's interest in perfume not fade.

'I thought it was a perfect plan.'

I thought that if I just stopped the smell of Lancelot's omega scent, everything would be solved, but now I am the problem.

***

A few days later, today was the day of the Great Council of the Holy Land, which happens once a year.

The grand meeting reports on the achievements of the year and shares opinions.

It also prepares a formal priest's ceremony with a month and a few weeks left.

When the day of the competition came, I realized that I would be promoted soon.

'It's about time I got a raise…’

Apprentice Priests earn promotion points through various activities.

Based on this score, whether or not to be officially promoted is decided, and the affiliation is determined.

Although the ranking fluctuated, I consistently maintained the top spot.

As long as she didn't do anything big that broke the rules of the kingdom, the promotion was fixed.