Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 147

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 147

“What are you going to do once you find it?”

Unlike Ian, whose eyes were jaded by reality without dreams or hope, Asillia’s orange pupils burned with the kind of romance that young boys would dream of.

“What do you mean what? I’ll reclaim the nation’s treasure from the Temple and become a hero!”

While Leo clapped enthusiastically beside him, cheering on Asillia’s dream.

“If you want to be a hero, start by conquering this exam. Your literature grades are absolutely terrible.”

Ian’s sharp remark pierced through Asillia’s dream-filled lungs.

Asillia, who had been blindsided by the unexpected attack, grumbled with an expression that said this was too much.

“You sometimes say really nasty things.”

“I think so too.”

“…You two, pick one – are you on bad terms or good terms?”

* * *

“I hear the Temple is conducting a massive purge.”

In the deepest part of the Crown Prince’s Palace, in a room filled entirely with greenery, the Crown Prince’s voice resonated heavily.

I, who was enjoying the honor of being served tea directly by him, barely managed to overcome the crisis of nearly spitting tea in the Crown Prince’s face.

“Oh my, perhaps my words were too harsh. Let me rephrase… The Temple has declared closure for two weeks and is squeezing out the rotten pus from within.”

Isn’t that the same thing?

Though his word choice was quite brutal, thinking back to Schubel’s incident, the current Grand Temple was indeed a mass of pus. Even the divine trial, known to be most sacred, had been swayed by gold.

“The new High Priest is quite devout and decisive. After exposing all the crimes of the previous High Priest, he’s personally filtering out the priests involved with him.”

Certainly, that would be like Giuseppe. He’s someone who abhors evil with obsessive cleanliness.

So what surprised me wasn’t the fact that the Temple was conducting a purge, but that Mikhail knew all these details.

According to his words, there should be no way for information from inside the Temple, which had declared closure, to leak outside.

However, Mikhail knew the Temple’s internal affairs inside and out, as if he were receiving real-time reports.

‘That means there must be Crown Prince’s forces among the priests.’

He’s even extended his reach to the Temple.

At times like this, I inevitably realize.

That this gentle man, who harmonizes surprisingly well with this green room, is actually standing at the center of a power struggle.

I took a sip of tea to hide my awkward expression.

The tea Mikhail served was so excellent that even I, who had somewhat dull taste buds when it came to tea, would dare suggest he change careers.

“And, I’m telling you this because it’s you, but Father probably won’t live much longer.”

“Cough, cough, cough.”

This time I really choked.

I cleaned around my mouth with the handkerchief Mikhail handed me as if he’d been waiting, and unconsciously looked around.

Though there was no one in Mikhail’s room except us two, since even servants were forbidden entry, wasn’t the palace a place where even walls had ears?

Even if he was the Crown Prince, to speak of the King’s death.

It was a dangerous statement that could be branded as treason if handled wrongly.

Yet Mikhail remained completely calm.

“Ten years at most, perhaps. He seems healthy, but his organs are badly damaged here and there because of that damned alcohol.”

“Your Highness, please stop.”

“The Queen must be anxious too. My half-brother is still young and hasn’t gained the King’s trust. So, you see.”

“Mikhail!”

Only then did Mikhail smile mischievously and pour more tea into my cup.

“So, how about it? Was this enough of an appeal?”

I finally realized that all of this had been his groundwork to draw me into the Nobility Council.

After I became the Marquess Blanche, the Crown Prince and I moved for each other’s power through some kind of deal.

The Crown Prince helped with Schubel’s execution to pressure the noble faction, and I turned to the royalist faction supporting Mikhail as the next king to protect my title.

‘Certainly, considering the political situation after the King’s death, there’s no lifeline as reliable as the Crown Prince.’

I sighed as if I had no choice and answered.

“I will accept the Nobility Council’s invitation and be of service to Your Highness.”

The Nobility Council was the highest honor that central nobles could enjoy, a supreme noble committee with only eight seats prepared.

The results of agendas from there carried such great political power that even the King couldn’t simply ignore them – it was an advisory body with significant influence.

The Blanche family had traditionally occupied one of those eight seats, but had been expelled since my uncle’s time due to legitimacy issues.

By Schubel’s time, though he had risen to represent the noble faction and greatly supported the Queen’s maternal relatives, he still couldn’t claim a Nobility Council seat due to bloodline issues.

And now it was being handed to me so simply, just because I, who had legitimate blood, had inherited the family headship.

“Those are very encouraging words.”

Mikhail finally picked up his own teacup, which had gone completely cold.

We silently sipped our tea for a while.

Though the Crown Prince and I spoke comfortably like close friends when alone together, at some point Mikhail stopped calling me Bel and I stopped calling him Misha.

Perhaps Mikhail alone instinctively sensed that I was different from the Belinda of the past.

‘Am I overthinking this?’

Soon Mikhail changed the subject as if to refresh the atmosphere.

“By the way, Belinda, I heard the child you adopted is achieving excellent grades at the Academy.”

“Do you even pay attention to Academy students’ grades?”

“If you knew how interested I am in the Royal Academy, you’d probably be surprised. Actually, I thought the summer term valedictorian would be claimed by a child from the Hereoes family, but I was so surprised when suddenly a child with the Blanche family name claimed it.”

At the Crown Prince’s words, I suddenly realized why Blue Monkey’s – no, Asillia’s – face had seemed familiar.

‘The royal knight route!’

That’s right. Asillia Hereios was the obstacle and rival blocking the protagonist’s path to graduating as valedictorian from the Academy to become a royal knight!

The Academy, operating on a six-year curriculum, conducted classes for nobles from late spring to early autumn, and classes for commoners from late autumn to early spring.

The former was called the summer term, and the latter the winter term. In 【Hirome】, when raising the protagonist as Ophelia, since the child was of commoner status, classes were always conducted in the winter term.

Then in the final semester, the protagonist represented the commoners while Asillia represented the nobles, competing against each other for valedictorian.

‘Six years is a long time for children.’

Six years later, the Asillia encountered in quests had a more desperate and arrogant impression.

Whenever he had the chance, he would call Leo an orphan or talk about base blood, making me grit my teeth throughout the game thinking ‘I’ll definitely crush that bastard.’

So many things had really changed.

‘To think that Asillia and Leo became friends.’

* * *

Around the time I accepted Mikhail’s opinion and put my name on the Nobility Council roster, the Temple finally lifted its closure.

The first thing the Temple did was bestow blessings on everyone who visited the Temple, regardless of status, age, or gender.

“Leo, are you going to the Temple again today?”

When I asked Leo, who had been going to the Temple quite often lately, he nodded with a somewhat gloomy expression.

“Today is the last day.”

I didn’t know what he was doing around the Temple, but it seemed the results weren’t good.

“Then let’s go together today.”

After that, Ian and Asillia followed along like candy stuck together.

Well, since the Hereoes family knight had been acting as the children’s caretaker, it wouldn’t be bad for me to look after the children today.

I asked Terry for escort and headed to the Temple with the children.

The area in front of the Temple was truly packed with people who had flocked to receive blessings.

In contrast, the number of priests was quite small, but among the priests giving blessings to people one by one, none appeared to be going through the motions.

Moreover, they were all wearing veils that covered their faces, which I hadn’t seen when the previous High Priest ruled the Temple.

I heard it was to prevent people from memorizing the priests’ faces and privately exchanging bribes, and while I didn’t know if it actually helped, it was something Giuseppe, who valued integrity, would think of.

“How long do we have to wait?”

We too were standing in line with the people to receive blessings.

Asillia began grumbling as if bored.

“Why do I have to wait in line like this? Can’t we just call a priest to the house?”

No, that won’t do. You arrogant noble brat.

I was thinking of taking this opportunity to nag him a bit to prevent him from turning dark like in 【Hirome】.

“If you find waiting in line bothersome, I can stand here instead while you rest over there.”

“No, it’s fine. I like waiting in line.”

For some reason, Asillia perked up at Terry’s words and even spouted nonsense about liking to wait in line.

When the long line finally showed its end and we stood before the priest at last.

The edge of his liturgical veil fluttered lightly in the gentle breeze.

“Oh? You’re that priest from before, aren’t you?”

Leo, who had been staring up at the priest from a much lower eye level than the adults, suddenly exclaimed.

That priest?

Responding to Leo’s voice, I examined the priest’s face.

The moment I met those golden eyes that sparkled like moonlight through the intricately woven liturgical veil, I could only curse this damned coincidence.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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