The Kidnapped Prince is Mine Now - Chapter 4

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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 4
I deliberately chose a cowardly, unambitious man as my husband. He was never the type to be executed for treason.
‘Since he’s fallen into someone else’s hands, he’ll need extensive discipline. Won’t he?’
So the answer was clear: someone had framed my husband for a crime.
After that, things unfolded much like before—except for the part where I shattered the Imperial Palace windows and jumped out. I couldn’t endure it until the poisoned tea was offered.
‘It’s a meaningless memory now.’
Rotar Eisenrit’s question never came. Instead, he leaped from the carriage first, blocking my path.
Wondering what he was doing, I looked up to find his hand extended toward me.
“….”
Was he the type to live and die by chivalry? For some reason, my thigh where his hand had touched burned with heat. I shrugged my shoulders and grasped his hand.
The carriage had stopped at the entrance of a dilapidated temple. The priest who came to greet us was Jakob, one of the few people I’d blackmailed.
He drooled slightly as he watched Rotar Eisenrit enter alongside me.
“You’ve truly come.”
“Did you think I was lying?”
“No, rather….”
“Isn’t this better than going to prison for embezzling donations at your age?”
“Ah, please don’t speak so loudly!”
Rotar Eisenrit’s eyes narrowed slightly as he watched Jakob jump about. The morality of the priest who would approve the marriage seemed to irritate him.
Well, what does it matter? He’s perfect for a hasty wedding.
“Don’t waste time. Show us inside.”
Jakob’s trips to prison had repeated countless times in the past. The Archbishop would never let someone who touched his purse go unpunished.
The elderly priest sighed deeply and entered the temple. Then he called over two female priests who had been waiting and issued them some instructions.
Soon the priests who approached bowed their heads in greeting.
“It is an honor to meet you, Saint Elise. Would you come with us for the verification procedure?”
I nodded readily. It was time to prove that my virginity—or whatever it was—had long since flown away.
Following the priests, I warned Rotar Eisenrit.
“Wait quietly.”
I raised my tone of speech since others were present. But he shouldn’t forget that I was still in charge.
I ignored the man’s expression, as if he’d heard everything.
“This way.”
The priests entered an isolated room and locked the door, then immediately began their body search.
“Pardon us.”
They saw the stains on the dress hidden beneath my robe. A pristine white dress, dark red blood. I had deliberately chosen these clothes for that contrast.
“Good heavens….”
One of the priests couldn’t help but sigh.
Soon my relationship with Rotar Eisenrit would become the most fascinating gossip in the Empire. Even the Grand Temple would be in an uproar.
Perhaps that’s why the verification procedure was so thorough. During the tedious body search, I thought of my third life.
Until then, I believed escape was the best option. How could a powerless Saint overcome the pinnacle of the Empire?
I thought that if I could only flee across the sea to the Birellia Kingdom, I could finally live a quiet life.
‘So you were hiding here, my Elise.’
Before the Birellia Kingdom fell to Maximilian’s army.
【If a woman with silver hair and violet eyes is discovered, she must be captured alive.】
It was an imperial decree issued throughout the conquered kingdom at the time.
I learned later that Maximilian had toppled every neighboring nation just to find me.
“It is finished.”
At the priest’s words, I blinked. His trembling voice suggested there had been no complications.
I pulled my robe back over my dress and left the chamber. The priests who had gone ahead approached Jakob and reported quietly to him.
Rotar, who had drawn near without my noticing, observed them and whispered.
“The Archbishop knows nothing of the Holy Maiden’s plan, does he?”
It tickled. I touched the earlobe where his breath had fallen and nodded.
“If he knew, he’d have locked me up. Probably broken my legs.”
“That cannot be. Even for an Archbishop of his standing….”
Rotar trailed off there. After all, a Holy Maiden of my standing was committing kidnapping right beside him—and a fraudulent marriage at that.
We moved toward the altar at Jakob’s gesture. The other priests lit the candles on the altar and then disappeared.
Jakob, standing on the dais, looked down at Rotar and me and asked in a trembling voice.
“Rotar Eisenrit and Elise. Children of the noble Pelmira. Do you both swear eternal love as husband and wife before God?”
Pelmira. The Goddess of Life who had chosen this body as a vessel for the Holy Maiden.
Someday I wanted to meet her and ask: what sin did I commit in my past life? Was I a collaborator in a previous existence?
“I swear.”
“I swear.”
Our answers, devoid of sincerity, rang out in unison.
Jakob sprinkled a few drops of lukewarm water over our heads. Then, after reciting a few ceremonial blessings, he reached the conclusion we had been waiting for.
“By God’s will, I accept their marriage.”
It meant the marriage had been approved in the name of the Temple.
I approached Jakob, who was trying to leave immediately, and made one final request.
“Give me some paper and a quill pen.”
“Are you planning to write a letter to the Archbishop?”
“Obviously.”
“You won’t mention my sins, will you?”
“Just hand them over already.”
Jakob gave me the paper and quill with an uncomfortable expression, then withdrew. He seemed desperate to abandon his priestly duties and retire to the countryside.
I sat on the altar and began to write.
“Archbishop, I have something to tell you.”
「To the esteemed Archbishop,
I, Saint Elise, write to you with urgent matters to discuss.」
Two lines so far.
As I paused to think, Rotar tilted his head slightly and spoke.
“It would be best to write that you kidnapped me because you felt a strong attraction to me.”
“…?”
That was exactly what I had been planning to write anyway. There was no other excuse that would work.
I cast him a sidelong glance and continued writing the letter.
「I have safely met with the Second Prince of the Empire, Rotar Eisenrit. However, blinded by his handsome appearance, I resolved to claim him as my own, and thus utilized the Empire’s custom of ‘abduction marriage’ to bind us as husband and wife.」
“Well? Do you like it?”
“Yes, it is satisfactory.”
Was he sincere? His expression remained so impassive that it was difficult to read his true thoughts.
I clicked my tongue inwardly and finished the letter.
「I hereby declare that I have received the sacred approval of Lieutenant Priest Jakob at the Licht Temple of Lindenbelt. I shall visit you shortly.
Your Elise.」
“The Archbishop will clutch the back of his neck and collapse.”
The moment I placed the final period, I turned at the sound of a voice behind me.
Wolfgang had somehow entered the temple and was examining the letter’s contents with apparent interest.
Judging by the slight twist of his lips… he didn’t seem to be in a particularly good mood.
“What are you sneaking a look at now?”
“Sneaking a look? As the Holy Maiden’s aide, I was merely verifying that there were no spelling errors. Surely you received a proper education?”
“Wow, now you’re bringing up my education level.”
How could a penniless, titleless, parentless commoner orphan receive a proper education in this world?
I was about to hurl an insult at his infuriatingly smug face when a low voice interjected into the conversation.
“Come to think of it, you were the second son of the Lichtenbrun Family. Does the Marquis know of the current situation?”
「…」
「…」
For a moment, silence descended upon the three of us.
Without thinking, I glanced at Wolfgang’s expression first.
He was from a prestigious family, just as Rotar had said—and notably, one of the First Prince’s faction.
The Archbishop would never appoint a knight without backing to lead the Holy Knight Order.
Of course, this was not a topic Wolfgang would welcome. He responded with only a slight lift of his lips.
“I see. It is far too personal a matter for His Highness the Prince to concern himself with, given his busy schedule.”
A lengthy way of saying it was none of my business and to drop 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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