I Seducing the Black-Hearted Duke Wasn't Me - Chapter 38

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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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Episode 38
Well, who’s to say?
“The temple assigns a Guide Priest to each Worshipper who comes to pray.”
Doresa explained: they help with prayer, or listen as you unburden your worries and troubles. That sort of thing.
“But to become a Worshipper eligible to receive a Guide Priest, there are qualifications—namely, a donation. And depending on the amount, you can select which priest you’d like. So, roughly that sort of arrangement.”
Hold on.
‘Even someone who knew nothing would find this strange. Is this really how it works?’
The more I heard, the more I couldn’t shake an odd, unsettling feeling.
“Of course, it works the other way too. There aren’t only male priests. Actually, before the Grand Duke appointed the current administration, female priests apparently had quite high visibility.”
“That’s enough. I’ve heard enough to understand.”
“Ahem. Well, anyway, that’s roughly how it is. Yes.”
Doresa added, “I’ve heard stories about people who had to gift expensive paintings just to enter a prayer chamber alone with a priest.”
Really, the more I heard, the more absurd it became.
It seemed the temple had its share of irregularities.
“But why are you telling me all this? It’s not as though this information would actually help the Baron.”
“Hmm. I’d have to disagree that it won’t help. To be honest, I’d like to maintain this sort of relationship with the Marquis for a long time to come.”
As trusted business partners.
Doresa smiled brightly.
Certainly, it seemed wiser to build goodwill with the Baron than to gossip behind others’ backs like those ladies outside.
“If you need any help in the future, please let me know.”
“Thank you, Baron Ebrel. But for now, I think I’m managing all right.”
I’d endured so much already.
I smiled brightly, as if to say this was still nothing I couldn’t handle.
* * *
But now that I thought about it, I was irritated.
“Outright opposition—isn’t that a bit much?”
I hadn’t anticipated this turn of events at all.
Until now, I’d only been wrestling with whether to accept Leon’s proposal or decline it.
Just when I’d finally reached a conclusion and was about to accept, this trouble arose.
I was deeply displeased that external forces had derailed things.
“It’s my betrothal, not theirs. What right do they have to weigh in on someone else’s engagement?”
Fuming, I stepped down from the carriage.
I was about to storm into the mansion to find Leon and discuss this matter at once.
“Leon?”
“Ah, Erna.”
Leon, who happened to be standing in front of the mansion, greeted me warmly when he saw me.
Before him stood an enormous carriage.
Judging by the golden seal on its door, it appeared to be a carriage of House of Bernstein.
Besides, a carriage that large was typically used for long-distance travel. Surely not…
“Are you heading to the temple now?”
“Yes. I need to hurry. Don’t worry. I’ll be back soon.”
“Wait.”
“It’s fine. I can handle everything myself.”
With that, Leon nimbly climbed into the carriage, telling me not to worry.
I stared at him in silence, then abruptly threw open the carriage door and climbed in before anyone could say a word.
“I’m coming with you.”
“What? But Erna, the temple is quite far south of the Capital. It’ll take several days by carriage.”
“I don’t care. Anyway, just to be safe, would you wait a moment? I need to tell Lora to pack me a quick bag.”
I called urgently for the housekeeper, promising it would only take a moment.
A short while later.
True to her reputation as a seasoned head maid, Lora returned with a packed bag in no time.
“You’re really going?”
“What else did you think I was doing up here?”
“I don’t know. Maybe you were throwing a tantrum because you wanted to see your fiancé’s face for a bit longer before we’re parted?”
As if I were a child.
I laughed softly.
“Look, this isn’t just your problem alone. It’s mine too, when you think about it. So naturally, we should face it together.”
……
“We’re in the same boat now, after all.”
When I pointed out that an engagement isn’t something one does alone—it’s something done together—and that we should move forward together, Leon fell silent.
He blinks his eyes wide, as if he hadn’t expected me to say such a thing, then lets out a soft laugh.
“You’re right. We’re engaged, after all.”
“Exactly. So let’s depart as quickly as possible. There’s a mountain of work waiting for me once we return.”
At my words about resolving this as fast as we could, he gazed at me silently for a moment before a gentle smile bloomed across his lips.
* * *
“It’s probably because of the Constellation Council vote.”
“The Constellation Council vote?”
“Yes.”
Leon nodded, his eyes fixed on the passing scenery beyond the carriage window.
“It’s the time when voting to select the High Priest of the temple begins soon. It happens once every five years, and this year is that year.”
He spoke his thoughts calmly.
The reason the High Priest would go to such lengths to keep Leon at his side.
“But from what I hear, the current High Priest, Servando, is in a precarious position. There’s a young Guide Priest named Dominiell among the clergy who’s apparently a formidable rival.”
“And the High Priest Servando intends to use you to protect his position, is that it?”
“That seems to be the case.”
“How utterly vile.”
It was an institution rotted through and through.
“So what are you planning to do?”
“What else? They’re using the regulations as their shield, so we’ll fight with regulations too.”
Throughout the carriage ride, he’d seemed lost in thought from time to time, but clearly he’d had a plan all along.
“We’re almost there now.”
Leon pointed out the window as he spoke.
Just as he said, the Asterion Temple rose majestically atop a high hill in that place.
“I’d heard rumors, but seeing it in person is something else.”
I couldn’t help but gasp the moment I descended from the carriage.
The vast temple spread before my eyes, filling my entire field of vision.
The brilliant white marble gleamed as it caught the sunlight, and gold ornaments adorned nearly every surface with an extravagance that felt almost excessive.
And atop it all, a pointed roof that seemed to pierce the very sky.
‘Strangely, it bears a resemblance to the Imperial Palace’s architectural style… though I’m probably just imagining things.’
In any case, a temple doesn’t have to be austere simply for being a temple, but even accounting for that, this was far too ornate.
“Thank you for making such a long journey.”
As we entered, the priests who had been waiting greeted us with respectful bows.
“Had you given us more notice, we could have prepared something more suitable…”
“No need. It’s a matter of this much importance.”
“We do regret this situation. But what can we do? Such is our doctrine.”
They spoke of regret, but somehow it rang hollow.
‘Everyone looks displeased.’
And why shouldn’t they?
When word came that the principals would be coming in person, the temple had seemed quite flustered and tried to buy time.
But Leon insisted on immediate resolution and gave them no opportunity to delay, and with the Imperial Court providing carriages for swift travel and an escort, we arrived without hesitation.
It was then, as several of the priests were casting pointed looks our way, that I sensed something.
“You’ve arrived.”
An elderly man, his head half-bare of hair, emerged from somewhere deep within the temple.
Deep lines creased the corners of his eyes, and his hair and eyebrows had faded to white. His face bore the soft wrinkles of a kind man, suggesting the years he’d devoted and sacrifices he’d made to the temple were considerable, but…
‘Good heavens, it’s blinding.’
On his wrists, visible through the fluttering sleeves, gleamed a Gold Bracelet and a Gold Ring, and along the hem of his trailing robes, elaborate golden embroidery was densely stitched in ornate patterns.
As if he were the master of this very ‘palace.’
No, perhaps I’m being too harsh in my judgment.
“We’ve been awaiting your arrival, Leon.”
“It’s been a long time, Servando.”
“Ha, quite so. I never imagined you’d be away from the temple for such an extended period.”
A correction to what I’d just thought.
My instincts didn’t seem to be mistaken after all.
The way he deliberately called Leon ‘Leon’ as a priest, or how he smiled familiarly and patted his shoulder—
everything about it grated on me.
‘Is he really treating him like his own personal tool? Has Leon been receiving this sort of treatment from the temple all this while?’
Affiliation with the temple notwithstanding, Leon was a Prince of Orden and House of Bernstein.
Leon, too, seemed to have caught this, for he raised his eyebrows slightly and stepped back.
At his subtle withdrawal, the High Priest’s brow seemed to furrow in displeasure, and soon his gaze shifted from Leon toward me, who had greeted him from his side.
And in the next moment.
“Tsk.”
Hmm? A sharp intake of breath?

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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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