I Seducing the Black-Hearted Duke Wasn't Me - Chapter 39

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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 39
There was something distinctly sharp in her gaze.
‘For some reason, I feel like I’m being scrutinized by an excessively overbearing mother-in-law.’
I thought I might have misread it and was about to glance again when the High Priest turned toward Leon with a gentle expression, as though nothing had happened.
“The journey must have exhausted you. Why don’t you come inside and rest first? Oh, but since you’ve returned after so long, perhaps we should begin with a prayer in the sanctuary before…….”
“Forgive my interruption.”
Leon cut him off abruptly.
“I need to hear first what disqualifying reason made it impossible to ratify the betrothal agreement.”
“Ah, that.”
The High Priest’s genial smile vanished the moment Leon finished speaking.
He clearly looked caught off guard by Leon’s directness in getting straight to the point.
Yet, unable to let it show, the High Priest laughed again with a hollow chuckle.
“Very well. Still, let’s move to a better location, shall we?”
Saying it was awkward to discuss standing here, the High Priest guided us deeper into the temple.
The interior of the temple was far more ornate than its exterior.
The corridor walls were lined with paintings as if an art exhibition had been set up, yet it hardly looked like a sanctuary dedicated to salvation of souls.
The floor was entirely marble, finished with gold in places, and adorned with various jewels on the door of the High Priest’s office that we reached after admiring all of it.
The High Priest handed us tea unhurriedly as we entered the office.
“So, what exactly is this disqualifying reason?”
Leon asked again before the tea had even settled in place.
“Ahem. Quite right. I should explain that part. Yes. The reason we found ourselves unable to approve your betrothal was precisely…….”
Precisely what?
I swallowed hard and waited for what would come next.
And at last, the answer came:
“It is because Leon Obsidian is not in a position where marriage is possible.”
What? Unable to marry?
Startled, I turned my head to look at him.
There was only one thing that came to mind.
The moment I looked at him with eyes that seemed to ask ‘You don’t mean…?’, Leon, who had been frowning, suddenly looked alarmed and met my gaze before speaking firmly.
“No.”
“Really?”
“Well. That’s something you’d know better than anyone in this world.”
Leon questioned whether I was genuinely asking because he didn’t know, but unfortunately, I couldn’t answer him.
Because it wasn’t I who had verified whether he was capable of marriage.
“Dear me, there seems to be some misunderstanding. What I meant has nothing to do with that sort of function. To put it simply, Leon cannot become betrothed because he still holds the status of Priest.”
Then he should have said so from the beginning.
Leon grew quietly irritated, but the High Priest sipped his tea as if he hadn’t heard.
“That makes even less sense. I made clear my intention to withdraw of my own accord. I followed the proper procedures. Whether dismissal or resignation, it should have been processed according to the regulations.”
“No. You violated the regulations, Priest Leon. Look here.”
The High Priest clicked his tongue sadly before pulling out a thick tome and thrusting it forward.
Along with what amounted to an introduction calling it the Temple Regulations Codex, the page he pointed to contained an article that appeared to be written in someone’s hand.
“See here? It states: ‘In the case of Priests or Paladins wishing to resign, a period of approximately one hundred days for reconsideration shall be observed from the point at which the resignation is accepted.'”
“And right now…….”
“Yes. Which means Leon remains a Priest of our temple. Since the resignation has not been accepted.”
And with that, he smiled knowingly, as if to say ‘See? I’m right, aren’t I?’…….
No, was he joking?
‘Anyone can see that article was cobbled together on the spot.’
Leon too seemed unable to control his expression, clearly wondering what sort of game this was.
“Then after one hundred days, you will grant approval?”
“Well. I suppose we’ll see when the time comes. Who can predict what will happen with people? Hehe.”
“To my ears, it sounds very much like you intend to keep me bound until the end of your tenure.”
“My, how harsh. I truly believed you and I were looking at the same thing.”
The High Priest wore an expression of genuine sorrow, as though this were quite troubling.
The way he whined about his sincerity going unappreciated resembled nothing so much as a clingy ex-lover.
‘No matter what, to trample on someone’s personal will and hold them captive like this? Even tampering with the temple’s internal regulations?’
This was crossing a line.
Yet the reason why neither Leon nor I could lodge a protest was…….
“Erna.”
“Yes? Yes?”
“I’m sorry, but would you wait outside for a moment? I’d like to have a private conversation with the High Priest.”
You’re casting me out from here?
I looked at him in disbelief, and Leon nodded.
The High Priest broke into a broad smile and spoke smoothly.
“Yes, I think that would be best. Ah, Gadinelh? It seems the Duke wishes to see the interior of the Estherion Temple. Would you mind showing him around?”
“Understood, Servando.”
One of the Priests standing by the doorway nodded and approached me.
Really? He’s actually sending me out like this?
Still unable to believe it, I shot Leon a questioning look.
“I’ll be quick. Go ahead and look around.”
Leon waved his hand, his smile carrying an unmistakable note of unease.
That was it—a perfect dismissal.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the High Priest’s office.
High Priest Servando clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘Hmph. A mere Duke, daring to look upon the High Priest with such disrespect.’
A High Priest was the master of the Temple.
In his eyes, there was nothing worth seeing—he ruled his own palace in a society distinct from the aristocracy crowned by the Emperor, playing king in his private kingdom.
He wanted nothing more than to lecture the Duke as a High Priest lectures those less enlightened, but he could not.
Every time he tried to look at the Duke, the Grand Duke seated beside him cast such a piercing gaze that it silenced him.
‘This whole mess is because of that wretched Duke in the first place! The Constellation Council meeting will begin soon.’
Servando was a man of considerable ambition.
By nature, he should never have become a Priest, yet he possessed a gift for commerce, and he used it to bring the Priests to his side.
‘It wasn’t even difficult. Line their pockets well enough, and they fawn and scrape all on their own…….’
Five years ago, he succeeded in being elected High Priest, and he continued methodically expanding his influence.
Then Leon Obsidian appeared.
The Prince who came to the Temple of his own accord gave Servando a taste of real power.
With the Prince in the palm of his hand, the Temple bound itself to the nobility, and his influence throughout the Empire grew immeasurably.
The Prince’s very existence had fattened the coffers of donations.
Money was power.
This was why Servando had transformed the Temple into his own kingdom, wielding tremendous influence within its walls.
All that remained was to secure his reelection as High Priest at this Constellation Council meeting and enjoy the fruits of all he had built.
Or so he thought…….
“Defrocked? Leon Obsidian himself defrocked! How can this be! Absolutely not. He’s the leash I’ve finally gotten hold of on the Imperial household!”
So long as the Prince remained in his grasp, even that mighty Emperor could not touch him.
The Emperor normally dismissed the High Priest’s words without a second thought, but when they came through the Prince’s mouth, things changed.
All because he had made the Prince his subordinate.
In that sense, Erna Zaherete was nothing but a demon who had corrupted a devout believer.
Nothing more, nothing less.
The High Priest’s thoughts reached their conclusion, and he gazed at Leon with his characteristic gentle smile.
The Grand Duke himself had sent the Duchess away.
That alone suggested there was room to exploit.
‘For now his eyes are clouded by pleasure, that’s all. If I guide him properly, persuade him, he can surely be reformed.’
He’s only just discovered a woman, after all.
He’s simply blinded momentarily by passion, his reason lost—he was certain of this.
“Servando. I’ll speak plainly.”
“Please do. Whatever you say, I’ll listen with open ears…….”
“I have no intention of becoming your tool. So give up.”
The High Priest flinched as soon as the words left Leon’s mouth.
But he was not one to yield to such things.
“Ha ha. I’m not sure what you mean. I merely wish to offer guidance, pained as I am to see you stumbling down a dark path——”
“Ha. Unbelievable.”
A sharp, bitter laugh cut through before the High Priest could finish.
“Do you even understand what it is you’re trying to hold?”
“……Leon?”
Servando’s voice trembled slightly, confusion creeping in.
Leon paid it no mind, keeping his gaze fixed on the closed door as he spoke quietly.
“To hold something, you need the vessel to contain it. First, that vessel must be large enough.”
……
“Otherwise, even the smallest greed will shatter it.”

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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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