I Cured the Mastermind and Failed to Run Away - Chapter 22

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 22

Levelin hurried over to Sophia.
“You’ve been here the whole time? I told you it was fine to take the carriage back first since it would take a while.”
“But I couldn’t leave you alone in the Temple! What if the acolytes there bothered you?”
Sophia glared at the Temple as if it were a den of cutthroats, her voice sharp with worry.
“That won’t happen. The Ethelion Family’s annual donation to the Temple ranks in the top five. If they harassed me, we’d cut it off entirely—they wouldn’t dare.”
“But I told them I’d check on you every hour, and they blocked me! I kept saying the Private Prayer Room was too cramped, that you might feel afraid or suffocate, but they wouldn’t listen!”
Sophia’s voice rang out with indignation.
What was she talking about?
“The Private Prayer Room isn’t cramped, Sophia. It’s quite spacious—there’s a sofa and plenty of room to rest comfortably.”
“But you might feel uneasy in an unfamiliar place!”
Just days ago, Levelin had been coddling Sophia, feeding her desserts and fawning over her. Somehow the roles had reversed.
‘Has the curse of overprotection that haunts the Ethelion Mansion infected me too?’
Levelin glanced at the Guard Knight standing beside Sophia, silently asking why he hadn’t stopped her. The Guard Knight nodded gravely.
“I offered to enter the Private Prayer Room myself, but they wouldn’t allow it.”
Right. The Guard Knight had fallen prey to the same curse of overprotection that gripped the Ethelion Family.
The two of them must have made a fuss about going in together. Levelin covered her face with her hand.
“Sir Knight, you need to return to Miss Sophia right away—would you prepare the carriage?”
At Sophia’s request, the Guard Knight checked on Levelin’s condition, then nodded and left to ready the carriage.
Once the Guard Knight was out of sight, Sophia pressed close to Levelin.
“That acolyte who guided you earlier seemed strange too!”
The acolyte who guided her. She meant Lanuah Calenne.
‘Now that I think about it, Sophia’s first meeting with Lanuah has changed too.’
Just as the first encounter between Arendt and Sophia had been altered, everything about Sophia and Lanuah’s first meeting—the place, the event, the timing—had shifted.
In the original story, Sophia met the Crown Prince first, building mutual affection, before later encountering Lanuah Calenne, who needed Purification due to Contamination.
‘Even if Arendt and Sophia have drifted apart, I can’t let the other male leads grow distant from her too!’
Sophia deserved to be loved!
Levelin hastened to clear up the misunderstanding about Lanuah.
“Sophia, that person earlier wasn’t an acolyte.”
“Yes! Even I could tell he’s someone who uses a sword.”
Of course—no one who knelt in prayer every day would have that kind of physique.
“That’s right. Actually, that person is a Holy Knight—”
“He could be a bandit pretending to be an acolyte to kidnap you.”
Sophia stared down the corridor where Lanuah had disappeared, then wrapped her arms tightly around Levelin protectively. Levelin fell silent.
‘This is similar to the situation when she met Arendt.’
The heroine was on guard against the male leads.
What had Sophia said when she first met Arendt?
She’d asked if she should be wary of him.
And Lanuah?
“If I got kidnapped in a place like this, there’d be no one to save me!”
Lanuah was being mistaken for a kidnapper.
“So I was wondering what to do, and then this person—”
Sophia politely gestured to Chedwin standing behind Levelin.
“The moment this person arrived, all the acolytes who were blocking me and the Guard Knight got so frightened they fled, so I asked for his help!”
A heroine who kept her distance from the male leads and asked the villain for help instead.
But why had the acolytes fled in terror at the sight of Chedwin?
As their eyes met, Chedwin shrugged casually.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“But why did the acolytes run away when they saw Your Grace?”
“I was slaughtering Demonic Beasts in the Contaminated Area and came out, so when they pestered me about praying to the Divine, I got annoyed and took every acolyte I could see back into the Contaminated Area without Purification.”
So he’d deliberately led the pestering acolytes into a Contaminated Area crawling with Demonic Beasts without purification.
“About five times or so?”
Five times.
Now she understood why the acolytes had bolted at the sight of Chedwin’s face.
Levelin turned her gaze toward Sophia.
“…I wonder if the Guard Knight would have stopped them from asking for help.”
To avoid any unusual or dangerous situations, the Ethelion Family never entrusted Levelin’s affairs to anyone else.
True to their nature of overprotectiveness.
“Yes. But when I thought Miss might be in danger, I couldn’t just stand by! And when this gentleman saw the Guard Knight, he even asked Miss if something had happened to her!”
Chedwin gave a slight nod.
“I remembered the young lady’s escort from the Contaminated Area last time.”
“You swept the acolytes away like flies, waving your hand, and went right in. No one dared to touch you carelessly!”
“I heard.”
Chedwin bent forward to meet Levelin’s eye level.
“I was helping the young lady’s handmaid.”
Why in the world was Chedwin passing through here of all places? I thought we wouldn’t meet again after that day!
Levelin forced the corners of her mouth upward. They twitched slightly.
She couldn’t say anything to Sophia, who had just arrived in the Capital and knew nothing of etiquette or aristocratic life.
And even less so when she thought of how Sophia had worried enough to wait for hours on end.
“Yes, thank you… thank you for helping my child.”
Chedwin nodded with satisfaction.
Sophia clamped her mouth shut, then murmured “My child, my child!” in delight.
Chedwin straightened from his bow and swept Sophia with an indifferent gaze.
“I heard you were sponsoring her.”
The dark figure observes the heroine. Recalling the moment in the original when Sophia was kidnapped and imprisoned, Levelin found herself gently drawing Sophia closer without thinking.
Chedwin wouldn’t do anything cruel to Sophia immediately, but there was no harm in being cautious.
“Does the Grand Duke hear of my matters? I had no idea.”
“Staying in the Capital this long is rare for me, so I’ve been keeping an ear to various gossip.”
Chedwin murmured briefly, then lightly brushed his chin with one large hand. His wandering gaze settled on Levelin.
“The Imperial Palace is holding a party soon.”
Was there originally a party at this time? In the original work, it had never been mentioned specifically, as everyone’s attention was on Sophia during her period as a second-class Purifier.
“Since I’m staying in the Capital, I’ve ended up attending as well.”
“I see.”
She had no idea what his intention was in mentioning this.
“So I’d like the young lady to be my partner.”
“I beg your pardon?”
A questioning “pardon?” mixed with a disgusted drawl became a rather odd response. She couldn’t fathom how the conversation had taken such a turn.
“That was the strangest answer I’ve heard in all my life.”
“I understand that there’s an Imperial Palace party, and that Your Highness must attend since you’re staying in the Capital—but why on earth have you suddenly concluded that I should be your partner?”
“I helped the young lady’s anxious handmaid.”
“After hearing that the private prayer room is cramped and she might feel fear or suffocation?”
She was turning his own logic back on him—suggesting that hardly sounded like assistance worth repaying.
“I felt how much your family cherishes the young lady.”
A smile played at Levelin’s lips as she continued politely.
“It seems you always receive thanks in return for helping others.”
“I don’t always, but I never miss an opportunity to take advantage.”
Chedwin countered smoothly, without yielding an inch.
“Then consider my gratitude your reward.”
“I’ve already heard that. And the Ethelion Family doesn’t seem like the sort to accept help and pretend they never did.”
“But that day I’m busy.”
“I haven’t mentioned when yet.”
Levelin, who had refused too hastily, closed her mouth. Sophia beside her tightened her grip on Levelin’s arm and glared at Chedwin.
The moment Chedwin made his partner request, Sophia’s eyes flashed. She growled warily, as if watching a swindler trying to cheat her.
“Miss will be busy all year!”
‘Well done, well done!’
If she’s going to be wary of the male leads, she should be wary of the dark mastermind too!
At both women’s reactions, Chedwin folded his arms and tapped his forearm with a finger.
“As a Purifier, I thought the young lady might have interest in this particular party.”
What kind of party would that be for a Purifier to come up? Levelin tilted her head in confusion.
“Have you heard the rumor that a Purifier who recently received the Divine Calling has appeared?”
Levelin’s heart dropped and then seemed to leap out of her chest.
Levelin, the originator of the rumor, took a sharp breath and clenched her fists tightly.
Unbothered, Chedwin lowered his voice to a whisper.
“The Pope himself will conduct the Purification Ceremony to verify the truth of the rumor. It’s not a party just anyone attends—only a select few from the Imperial Palace, the nobility, and the Temple are invited.”
Levelin’s eyes wavered. Her mouth went dry.
‘So the rumors I spread are now going to make the Imperial Palace, the nobility, and the Temple come together to hold a Purification Ceremony and ask for a Divine Oracle?’

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