The Forgotten Field - Chapter 179

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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 179
The woman who had been gazing at the Altar with malevolent eyes flashed a provocative smile toward him.
“Next time, should I wear a Brishin instead?”
His face turned cold and rigid.
A Brishin was an Eastern traditional garment with extremely exposed upper body. The image of her crossing the Grand Cathedral in a perilously thin silk dress with shoulders and back completely bare rose unbidden in his mind, and something surged up from the pit of his stomach.
“Don’t even dream of it.”
At his low, muttered words, her face crumpled.
“It was just a joke. There’s no need to be so serious about it.”
He made no response. He knew perfectly well that she had not been joking.
Before her leg injury, she had often appeared in scandalously bold attire and caused disturbances. The current Talia resembled the troublemaker she had been in those days.
He could not decide whether to welcome this change or to be wary of it. He did not wish for her to continue hiding away within the Castle walls, avoiding everyone’s gaze. Yet neither did he want her to flaunt her beauty to all and sundry, stirring up trouble.
Most of all, she must cease her confrontations with the spiritual leader of the Eastern Faction.
“After the ceremony concludes, I intend to meet separately with the High Priest to discuss the matter concerning that beast—Khan.”
He leaned close toward her to prevent his voice from being buried beneath the choir’s singing.
“I will negotiate skillfully so that the High Priest can no longer criticize Your Majesty over the Khan matter, so please refrain from actions that provoke unnecessary friction with the Religious Order.”
“…I didn’t really intend to cause problems in earnest.”
She suddenly showed signs of embarrassment and awkwardly lowered her gaze.
“If you turn a blind eye to Khan’s existence, I have no intention of needlessly antagonizing that stuffy old man.”
He straightened, relieved that her attitude had softened.
Just then, the choir’s singing ended and the High Priest ascended the pulpit.
The priest, who first offered a blessing prayer in ancient Osyrian, slowly surveyed the assembly before beginning his sermon in a resonant voice.
“Today I wish to speak of temptation. In this world, there exist countless temptations that lead humans toward sin. We must remain ever vigilant against them.”
The priest then launched into an impassioned discourse on the peril of carnal seduction that leads humans to depravity and the danger of fatal beauty that numbs reason. Barcas, observing the High Priest’s stern face with cold eyes, studied her complexion.
Her face, which had appeared relieved that the sermon’s focus was not a warning about the danger of beasts, gradually hardened. As everyone in the Chapel began to glance at her, she seemed to realize that the High Priest’s arrows were aimed at her.
He carefully covered her hand resting on the armrest with his own.
“Do not worry. I will ensure he never speaks in such a manner again.”
Talia, whose lips had trembled as if she meant to say something, simply nodded.
He turned his gaze back to the Altar. The priest continued his blatant condemnation directed at her in a forceful voice. And most of the faithful gathered in the Chapel appeared absorbed in his sermon.
It seemed he needed to speak with him as soon as possible.
* * *
After forcing his wife, who insisted on waiting for him, into the carriage and sending her back to the Castle, Barcas headed directly to the High Priest’s Residence. As if anticipating his visit, a young priest who appeared to be a Secretary Priest promptly guided him to the Reception Room.
“It has been a long time, Grand Duke.”
As he entered the simply but neatly appointed chamber, the High Priest, dressed in a plain gray robe rather than ceremonial vestments, greeted him.
Barcas acknowledged him with a slight bow, then took a seat across from the elderly priest. The priest set a steaming teacup before him and offered a courteous smile.
“I have heard much of your accomplishments in the Northern Region. I wish to express gratitude for the Grand Duke’s dedication to the Empire. The Divine surely looked upon you with favor.”
“I did not come to hear empty flattery.”
At his blunt response, the old man’s expression darkened. Barcas proceeded directly to the matter at hand.
“Let us dispense with pleasantries. Cease your unjust attacks on my wife.”
“Why do you presume to judge them as unjust?”
The High Priest countered with a sharp tone.
“The Grand Duke is not unaware of the truth. The Eastern Sect is enduring to the very limits of their patience. Had I not intervened, a heresy trial would have been convened long ago.”
Barcas shifted his posture against the chair’s backrest. It was a threat to her safety, plain and simple.
He suppressed the urge to crush the priest’s stubborn face and instead arranged his expression as though he’d just heard an amusing jest.
“You exaggerate the matter considerably. My wife merely keeps a single Wolf Beast. If she were to stand trial for such a thing, every mage on the Robiden Continent would be extinct.”
“They treat magical beasts merely as experimental subjects. Yet the Grand Duchess regards that Dire Wolf as though it were her own child.”
The priest, who had countered in a clipped tone, exhaled a long breath.
“The reason I have turned a blind eye to the Grand Duchess’s conduct until now is because I sympathized with her circumstances. Having witnessed firsthand how the young Grand Duchess suffered in the aftermath of losing her child, I chose to overlook her affection for such a dangerous creature.”
“Then continue to overlook it.”
Barcas shot back with a somewhat harsh edge to his voice.
“I intend to take every measure necessary to ensure that Wolf Beast causes no further trouble. So I would appreciate it if you ceased tormenting my wife.”
“It is not merely because of that hideous beast.”
The priest set down his teacup and released a heavy sigh.
“Surely Your Excellency has received reports that the Grand Duchess’s outings have become frequent since last spring. Likely to accompany that Wolf Beast, but… the Grand Duchess has primarily been wandering through the Suburban Region beyond the Castle Walls.”
“What is the problem with the Grand Duchess taking outings beyond the castle for a change of scenery?”
“There are eyewitness testimonies that the Grand Duchess attended a heretical gathering that took place in that peripheral area.”
An eerie silence descended. After staring at the priest’s face without moving for some time, Barcas let out a hollow laugh.
“You jest heavily.”
“I am not idle enough to jest in the presence of the Grand Duke.”
The priest continued with a solemn demeanor.
“This is not merely gossip circulating in the streets. It is the content of a report submitted directly to me by the Heresy Investigators.”
Barcas immediately unleashed a sharp rebuttal.
“My wife is thoroughly protected by the warriors of House Sierkan. Particularly when she ventures out, I have ensured that dozens of soldiers accompany her. Surely you are not suggesting that my wife eluded all those guards and attended a heretical gathering?”
“According to the investigators, the gatherings occurred in the dead of early dawn. It is entirely possible that the Grand Duchess slipped out of the castle under cover of darkness while everyone slept.”
“That is baseless slander.”
Barcas lowered his voice to a growl.
“The High Priest surely knows well that my wife’s legs are infirm. You are also aware that she has only recently recovered her health. Are you truly claiming that she eluded all the sentries and escaped the castle?”
He released an overt scoff.
“Even a script penned by a third-rate poet would be better than this.”
“I do not intend to determine the truth of the matter at this moment. I merely hope that the Grand Duchess will cease any actions that might become problematic before this matter grows larger.”
The priest leaned back in his chair with an exhausted expression.
“Furthermore, I would appreciate it if the Grand Duke’s House would cooperate in suppressing the heresy that has begun spreading fearfully over the past several years.”
Barcas released a bitter laugh.
“You accuse my wife of heresy and now seek the cooperation of the Grand Duke’s House?”
“If the Grand Duke were to root out the heretics of the Eastern Territories, suspicion toward the Grand Duchess would naturally dissipate.”
The High Priest persuaded gently.
“Moreover, according to recent reports, evidence has surfaced that the heretics are in collusion with the barbarians. For the safety of the citizens, it seems the Grand Ducal House must undertake their suppression.”
Faced with the continuing troublesome news, Barcas pressed his brow.
He could not trust all of this cunning priest’s words, yet allowing the heresy hunters dispatched from the Osyria Papal See to run rampant seemed worse than taking direct action himself.
After deliberating for some time, he finally spoke.
“Very well. However, I have conditions.”
“Speak.”
“Please dispose of the report filed by the Heresy Investigators. If words like those you spoke to me today ever reach another person’s ears….”
Barcas’s eyes grew cold and sharp.
“We will find ourselves face to face in a far less cordial atmosphere.”
The High Priest, whose lips had been pressed into a rigid line, nodded slowly.
“…I shall bear that in mind.”

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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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