CH 5

'It's quiet…'

Most of the high-ranking priests had been summoned, so the temple felt especially quiet.

I was in charge of cleaning the hallway today instead. I swept the floor of the temple hard to get more promotion points.

Then the entrance became a little noisy.

'Did a high-ranking person come to visit?'

The great temple is often visited by the aristocrats of the empire without notice.

It was so noisy because many priests were called when celebrities came.

'To come to the competition day.'

It felt disrespectful. Probably a brazen aristocrat with authority.

'I'll have to finish the work quickly.'

No instructions were given, but I figured it out by the look of it.

If you show the appearance of cleaning in front of a high-ranking person with a bad personality, you will be seen.

Even the floor was clean. Finishing it and disappearing was my job as a trainee priest.

I was about to pack up my cleaning supplies and go back.

A person wearing a necklace with blue beads, symbolizing a mid-level priest, approached.

“There… oh, dear. You're a probationary priest.”

“Yes. Sonia Theodore, a probationary priest.”

“Ah, the family of Count Theodore! That's great. Please welcome guests until the conference is over.”

“A guest?”

“Yes, a noble from the Empire has suddenly come to ask for prayers. We will have to respond until the Great Council is over, but currently, Priest Sonia is the only one who has learned the manners of dealing with nobles.”

Most of the apprentice priests were commoners, and the high-ranking priests who had learned manners were attending the great conference.

I understand the situation well.

In short, it was to pour tea in the drawing room and talk with him until the conference was over.

If the aristocrats were not properly entertained, it might turn into a diplomatic problem.

So this is a very big deal right now.

If you did it right, you could get extra promotion points.

My goal was to be an Intermediate Priest, so I need to collect points to be promoted from a Regular Priest to an Intermediate.

'I have to be promoted as soon as possible.'

To leave the Holy Land and take charge of a small temple that is deserted.

After I finished the calculation, I smiled.

“You can't just pass the stray lamb. I'll take it.”

[T/N: It means she can't miss this opportunity. Adjective: slipped to one side]

“I'm glad. I was able to live thanks to the Sonia priest.”

The intermediate priest ordered another trainee priest around to take my cleaning tools.

I headed for the entrance to the temple with him.

At the entrance of the temple, there was a huge black carriage, reminiscent of a chariot.

“Purrung!”

The heavy horse tied to the wagon grumbled.

It looked like a chariot led by the god of death, leading to the underworld.

Even more intimidating was the man standing by the carriage. 

The man with long black hair reaching his waist seemed to have no intention of hiding his ferocious energy.

“You've got me standing up, you've got to be kidding me?”

It was a cold voice.

No matter how aristocratic the empire was, he could not cause a disturbance in the Holy Land.

I knew it, but the high-pressure voice naturally made me nervous.

The intermediate priest stepped forward and apologized.

“I'm sorry. His Highness the Grand Duke of Lyndemere. I will guide you to the parlor right away.”

Grand Duke Lyndemere?

The ruler of the north, Schwarz Valkye, Archduke Lyndemere.

He was the leader of the assassination group that ruled the back alley and one of the obsessed maniacs in <The Realm of Predators>.

'Why did he appear here?'

If I had known it was Schwarz, I would have feigned illness and run away.

In the yard that had already arrived before his eyes, it was wrong to run away.

Fortunately, Schwarz was unable to have close relationships with others due to his strong vigilance.

He was so busy chasing out anyone who approached him that, naturally, he rarely met Omega.

Self-isolating, Schwartz was unfamiliar with Omega's pheromones.

Even when he ran into Lancelot, who was so injured and bleeding, there was no reaction.

However, from the moment he realizes that the smell from Lancelot is not perfume, but pheromone, he rushes at it without hesitation.

Schwartz looked at the intermediate priest with a shifty look.

“The parlor? I have told you in advance why I visited the temple.”

He put his hand on the sword that he tied around his waist, perhaps because he was upset because they didn't prepare to meet the guest in advance.

The sword clashed with a metal fitting that secured the sword to the waist. The sharp metallic sound startled the intermediate priest.

Standing behind the intermediate priest, I also looked at the sword that Schwarz was fiddling with.

I can't believe you came armed.

‘Did you forget that this is the holy land?’

I guess he's out of his mind.

If you wield a sword inside the temple, the empire and the Holy Kingdom might start a war.

Well, he was originally an insane person.

The other maniacs were quite decent when they first appeared.

Then, after meeting Lancelot, who had the only omega scent, they went mad.

But Schwarz is different.

His hobbies are torture and his specialty is torture.

Even before meeting Lancelot, he was an idiot who sliced and stabbed people.

In the original story, he is also the one who kills me.

‘Schwarz, of all people.’

In the original, Sonia loved Schwarz. But he killed the woman who loved him just because she was annoying.

That too, cruelly in front of her brother's eyes.

Schwarz fiddled with the scabbard and looked at me and the intermediate priest.

Where is the vital point?

He didn't know where to stab him, so he could die in pain for a long time.

I'm getting goosebumps.

Fortunately, unlike the original, I didn't seem to like Schwarz. I'd rather hate him.

“Do you mean you're going to make me wait again?”

It was a dismal voice.

After reading the original story, I clearly remembered how he reacted when he recognized Omega's pheromone.

Schwartz, who had met Lancelot a few times as if passing by, smelled the strange scent of flowers. But I didn't know that it was the smell of Omega's pheromone.

However, it was only after meeting Lancelot for three days at a small ballroom that he learned the true nature of the reverberation.

After recognizing Omega's pheromone, he only knew about rushing.

“Follow me, if you refuse, I'll cut off your ankles.”

He skipped all the intermediate steps, violently seizing Lancelot and dragging him back to his lair.

I didn't know that if he noticed the omega scent coming from me, I might follow the same path as my brother.

Fortunately, he didn't seem to be able to smell the pheromones.

'It's not the time yet.'

He wasn't familiar with the scent, so he had to see it for three days in a row to realize it.

Even while I was thinking, Schwarz's expression became sterner.

At this rate, he might cut down an intermediate priest just because he was in a bad mood.

And the next arrow was likely directed at me, who was beside him.

I'm afraid of him, but it's not yet time to react to Omega's pheromones.

It was a shame to die at the same time, so I went ahead, overtaking the intermediate priest.

Then, holding on to the hem of the priest's uniform, she bowed her head in an elegant posture.

“Nice to meet you. Your Highness, Archduke Lyndemir, I am Sonia Theodore, an apprentice priest.”

She quickly introduced herself because she was afraid that she would pull out the sword at them.

Instead of drawing his sword, he slowly glanced at me.

“It's the first time I've heard that Count Theodore had a daughter.”

“I left the Empire when I was young and lived here in the Holy Land…!”

Schwartz stretched out his black-gloved hand. Then he grabbed the swinging necklace from my neck and pulled it.

I was dragged by his strength.

It was hard to breathe as the heavy necklace tightened around my neck.

He gripped the necklace tightly as if he were holding a leash, and scrutinized my face.

“As expected, Countess Theodore is a beautiful woman.”

Only when Schwarz let go of his hand did she breathe.

Accidents that had been stopped by sudden actions followed.

The neck that the necklace had dug into was stinging.

'… I thought I was going to die.'

The feeling of being clamped down on my neck, as if I was being hanged, was unpleasant.

“Raise your head.”

I carefully raised my head. His bloody gaze was fixed on me.

Could it be because I read the story of how I died at the hands of Schwartz?

His gaze felt like a knife.

The neatly gathered hands trembled. The pain in my neck got worse.

'No, I'm scared.'

Why did Sonia in the original work try to be loved by such a terrifying man?

If I could, I wouldn't want to go anywhere near him for the rest of my life.

“Sending an apprentice priest, whether it was the count's daughter or not."

His voice, tinged with ferocious anger, fell even lower.

“Is this the will of the holy kingdom that it cannot send official priests to those with filthy blood?”

I could understand the reason for his uneasiness.

Archduke Schwarz, Valkye Lündmere. He was the illegitimate son of the Emperor and the Duchess of Lyndmere.

The Emperor recognized Schwarz as his own child.

Since the lineage of the Duchess was also certain, he became the Grand duke, with the right to inherit the throne.

The Empire's state religion was Magnus. Therefore, to be recognized as a citizen of the empire, it was necessary to be baptized by the church.

However, the holy country does not recognize illegitimate children.

Schwarz asked for baptism but was ignored by the Holy Kingdom.

He visited the holy country in person and had a history of being treated badly for being an illegitimate child and then going on a rampage.

Thanks to the dispatch of the commander of the Holy Knights, it passed without casualties.

'I can't call the captain right now…!'

As all the high priests gathered in one place, the troops were also concentrated in the meeting room.

Low-ranking knights who simply stand guard will not be able to defeat Schwarz.

If he draws his sword in anger, a trainee priest like me will die before reinforcements arrive.

I had to let go of his anger somehow.

'What should I say…'

I carefully examined Schwartz's complexion. She didn't dare to look into the bloody eyes, so she focused her gaze on his cheek.

Then I found a wound.