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Chapter – 22
Because she was unconscious, it was difficult for her to take in any nourishment. The fact that she was barely able to keep breathing was a miracle in itself.
At that moment, it was the temple that reached out their hand.
“We will use divinity to maintain Lady Sienna’s condition.”
People were moved by the temple’s benevolence.
For generations, divinity and authority had kept each other in check.
The power of gods, and the power of dragons.
Opposing forces by nature, so clashes were inevitable.
And yet the temple was the one to offer help first, saying they would aid the Panteive family.
How benevolent…!
But in reality, things were different.
The temple began using Sienna’s healing as leverage to manipulate the Panteives.
They demanded enormous donations every quarter, made absurd requests, and subtly threatened the family by bringing up “Sienna” whenever they were refused.
There was also a problem in how they treated Sienna.
Normally, when a noble family needed healing, the priest would personally visit the patient.
But in Sienna’s case, it was the opposite.
They told them to bring unconscious Sienna to the temple themselves.
Not to the local temple near the duchy—
but to the Great Temple in the capital…!
Their intentions were obvious.
They want to show off that Panteive visits the Great Temple every month,
and they probably wanted to press down on the Panteives’ pride as well.
Because of that, about once a month, the previous duke had to take Sienna to the Great Temple in the capital.
Because using dragon authority to transport a sick patient could cause side effects, they had no choice but to travel by carriage every time.
To bring a patient back and forth over such long distances…
It must have been terribly difficult.
“L-Lady, please calm down. Yes?”
“I’m not calm!! Temple bad! Really bad!!”
I couldn’t contain my anger and stomped the ground after hearing everything from Kail.
That filthy, petty, shameless temple!
How could they use someone’s life as a hostage?!
As an honorary Panteive myself, I absolutely could not tolerate it.
Sigh. I guess it can’t be helped.
“Kkeil.”
“Yes, my lady?”
“I twust Kkeil.”
“Uh? Th-thank you?”
“Fwom now on, Kkeil ish going to join me in the ‘People Who Hate the Temple Club.’ Got it?”
“…Such a club exists?”
“Yup. I just made it.”
Ah.
I proudly held up my pinky finger to the dumbfounded, impressed-looking Kail.
“Anyway, Kkeil ish also part of the ‘Temple Hate Club’ wif me. No betrayal, okay?”
“Ah… y-yes. I—I will.”
Kail hooked his pinky with mine.
Swish, swish, swish.
I enthusiastically shook our linked hands.
Inside my heart, flames of fury and determination were blazing hot.
“Right. And come to think of it… there’s another reason why the Panteives hate the temple but… hmm, looks like you’re not listening.”
Kail’s timid mumbling didn’t even reach my ears.
Alright. That wretched temple…!
I’ll gather as many ‘Temple Hate Club’ members as I can and someday crush them!
To do that, first—
Study!
I had to study.
To save Calix from that infuriating temple and to gather enough ‘Temple Hate Club’ members to beat them up someday—
Studying comes first.
As always, I went to the duke’s office for the day, sat on his lap, and devoutly read my reference book(?).
I was deeply focused when—
“You’re reading Ice Empire again today. Isn’t that the same one you read before?”
Without lifting my eyes from the book, I answered:
“Again. Angela ish my wole-mowdel. Don’ bother me.”
“My, don’t bother you? This father is hurt, sob sob.”
The duke dramatically pretended to cry, so I glanced up at him.
Was that too harsh?
Maybe it sounded a bit arrogant…
“Well… I wike Duke the mosht. Weally.”
The duke laughed and lightly pinched my cheek.
Good. Seems he wasn’t actually upset.
Phew.
“By the way, is that book really that fun? Fun enough to read it over and over?”
“Yes. Vewy fun.”
I answered firmly.
The Youngest Princess Who Melts the Ice Empire! was entertaining no matter how many times I read it.
It had a lot to learn from too.
For me, it was the perfect guidebook.
“In that case, maybe I should read it.”
“You too, Duke?”
“Yes. If Marshmallow finds it that entertaining, I’m curious.”
The duke flicked his fingers over my head.
My book floated out of my hands and landed neatly in his.
Holding the book with one hand, he casually flipped through it.
“…There are brothers in here?”
“Yes! Angela’s brothers. And her grandpa too!”
“Ah, that reminds me.”
The duke blinked as something occurred to him.
“They should be returning soon.”
“Huh? Returning? Who?”
“Your brothers. Well, cousins, technically. They’re both my nephews.”
…The duke’s nephews?
If so—
“Those the cousins you talked about? The ones who’ll get your title?”
The duke nodded.
“Yes. The kids who’ll inherit this troublesome position.”
He smiled and tugged my cheek before letting go.
“They’re staying at the townhouse in the capital for now, but they’ll be back soon.”
A townhouse in the capital…
Could it be because they accompanied Lady Sienna to the temple?
I felt sympathy and responsibility.
After all, one of the duke’s reasons for taking me in was to protect those nephews.
Since if he got married, he’d be expected to produce an heir.
But he planned to pass the title to his nephews, not have a child of his own.
My role was to serve as a “nuisance to any marriage prospects.”
Hmm. In that case—
“I get along wif them too?”
“That would be great for me.”
“Okay. Then I’ll be friends wif them.”
“Go ahead. Oh, and there’s also a strange old man…”
The duke’s voice dropped a tone.
A lazy, eerie smile appeared on his lips.
“If that old man talks to you, just ignore him. Pretend he doesn’t exist.”
“……”
This time, I couldn’t answer right away.
If he’s talking about an old man…
It must be the duke’s father.
The former duke.
“If that foul-tempered old man barks at you, block your ears and look away. It’s all pointless nonsense anyway.”
But… isn’t that a bad idea?
The former duke was still the true power of House Panteive.
And yet—
A suddenly appearing “secret child” being told to ignore the real authority…
That couldn’t possibly end well.
It’d be a hundred times better to show respect and earn his favor instead.
But because the duke was smiling so brightly, I couldn’t bring myself to argue.
Well, I’ll figure it out when I meet him.
And that encounter came sooner than expected….
