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Chapter 11
“Blessings be with you. Please take care of me from now on.”
I bowed deeply with a cheerful little belly bow.
“Grand Duke, are you also happy to see Nana?”
“What?”
The Grand Duke’s expression stiffened immediately.
“Grand Duke smiled when he saw Nana.”
At that, he stiffened his mouth and rubbed the corner of his lips with his thumb.
“That didn’t happen.”
But it did! I definitely saw it!
A Few Days Later
Finally, the official meeting regarding my status was held.
“Little priest, the situation is a bit complicated,” someone said.
“Reawwy?”
“The Church says golden eyes are too important whether or not the child can use divine power, so they’re refusing to release you. After all, your official affiliation is still with the Church.”
I sat on a soft cushion, eating strawberry cake.
They really do care a lot about golden eyes.
After all, I—an orphan from a commoner background—had been admitted into the Church’s academy just because of them.
“I’m okay. Don’t worry.”
At my calm words, Sophia suddenly hugged me tightly.
“Don’t worry, little priest. His Grace will never send you back there again.”
“That’s right. You will never return to a place like that.”
Judy also hugged me firmly.
“Please don’t worry.”
“Thank you…”
Then Judy, still holding me, hesitated.
“About the bruises on your back… were those also done by the children at the orphanage?”
Bruises on my back?!
So that’s why it stings when my clothes rub against me.
“That… happened while playing together.”
Technically, I kept getting pushed down while “playing.”
“P-playing…?”
Judy’s eyes filled with tears.
“How could playing cause injuries like this…?”
“That wasn’t play,” she whispered shakily. “That was…”
“Judy. Stop.”
Sophia shook her head firmly.
Silence fell between them.
Seeing them so sad made me feel sad too.
I didn’t want to make them feel like this…
So I smiled brightly.
“Don’t be sad. Nana doesn’t hurt at all now.”
That only made things worse.
Judy lowered her head and cried.
Sophia, having regained composure faster, gently held my shoulders and looked me in the eye.
“Little priest… did you enjoy those games with the orphanage children?”
“No.”
“Then don’t do them again. If you aren’t happy, it isn’t play. And if it hurts you, it’s not allowed at all.”
I blinked.
No one had ever treated my pain like it mattered before.
My chest tightened slightly.
Sophia took my hand.
“And if anything hurts, please tell us. So we can help you.”
“Why?”
“Because you are precious.”
That was exactly what I wanted to hear.
I want to become a citizen of Sladeite.
Because I want to stay with people who think I’m precious.
Then the Grand Duke’s face floated into my mind.
“The one who lied first dares accuse you?”
Even though I had fallen, the Grand Duke had believed me without hesitation.
He said I was his person.
Maybe he was just angry at the Church… but maybe, just maybe, he was already accepting me as someone of Sladeite.
Maybe I’m already close to becoming a citizen!
Just then—
“El has arrived,” someone said.
“Little priest, His Grace is calling for you.”
Perfect timing as always!
“Yess! Nana is coming!”
I said brightly and waved my hands happily.
At the Grand Duke’s Office
“Good day, Grand Duke!”
He responded only with a slight nod.
As always—cold and intimidating.
“Today I have a meeting with my vassals,” he said.
“A mee-ting?”
“One of the topics concerns you.”
My eyes sparkled.
Finally!
They’re going to announce me as his sponsored priest!
Sponsored priests were basically part of the ducal household, so of course they would introduce me.
Excited, I toddled closer.
Suddenly, he lifted me up effortlessly.
Ah—?!
Before I could even protest, he continued speaking.
“Your knees.”
“Yes?”
“You didn’t injure them, did you?”
My knees were still slightly red from yesterday’s little accident.
Wait… is he worried about me?
Before I could respond, he stood up while holding me.
“From now on, I’ll have you wear advanced shoes that detect falls in advance.”
“…That exists?”
But that wasn’t the important part!
I squirmed.
“I can walk by myself…”
He grabbed my hand instead. His hand was so large mine disappeared inside it.
“Rolling around like fluff is more troublesome.”
That… wasn’t entirely wrong, but still!
So I stopped struggling.
In the end, I was carried like luggage.
In the Meeting Room
As soon as he entered holding me, the vassals froze.
“L-Lord…?”
“There is a child in His Grace’s arms…”
Their reactions weren’t bad.
I politely made a sign of blessing.
“May blessings be with you.”
At that, several vassals looked shaken.
“…So the gods have not completely abandoned Sladeite…”
Just as I was about to step down to approach them—
I saw someone.
A man.
That person…
Memory surfaced.
He was the one Limié had once blessed, saying he fought bravely for her in a den of evil.
He betrayed Sladeite and sided with the Church.
He had leaked information before.
Then…
This explains why Sladeite never secured the strait.
He must have been the one who leaked everything.
“What is it?” the Grand Duke called from afar.
What should I do…?
Even if I said “that man is bad,” no one would believe me.
And that man—Count Scartier—was smiling at me warmly.
“Little priest, do you have something to say to me?”
“U-uh… you look like a good person…”
I accidentally said something like a street fortune teller.
Ahhh…!
The atmosphere turned strange.
Why was everyone reacting like this?!
The vassals looked stunned.
The Grand Duke… looked angry.
Meanwhile Scartier laughed.
“How amusing. It seems the little priest likes me.”
Then—
His expression changed.
The smile vanished.
Cold arrogance filled his eyes.
“With all due respect… as far as I recall, there was only one golden-eyed child priest of this age in the Church.”
The room froze.
“However… she is known to have a large vessel for divine power—but no ability to use it.”
Silence crashed down over the hall.
