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Chapter 6
Why is Grand Duke Kanox suddenly appearing here?
Isel raised her eyebrows, confused.
“First of all, don’t even make eye contact with him. It would be best if you stay as far away as possible and keep a safe distance.”
Safe distance? He wasn’t some dangerous substance.
Isel made a puzzled expression at the strange warning.
“Why exactly—”
She was about to ask Harris why he hated the Grand Duke so much, but she stopped herself and simply nodded.
From experience, she knew the fastest way to end this situation was to ask no questions and just agree.
There was a reason they were reacting so sensitively.
In principle, bodyguards were not allowed inside the banquet hall.
But even without Alec or Harris, there were still two people around who would make a huge fuss.
“You’ll be with Father and my brother anyway, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
At Isel’s words, Alec and Harris nodded, slightly reassured.
Still, they couldn’t completely shake off their unease, so they once again emphasized their warnings.
As the lecture dragged on, Isel sighed softly, letting it go in one ear and out the other.
She could already imagine her father and brother hovering over her inside the banquet hall.
Their overprotectiveness was no less than Alec and Harris’s… probably even worse.
“Miss, are you listening? Miss?”
Isel nodded absentmindedly.
But there was something else making her uneasy.
“Your name is Isel, right?”
His voice surfaced from her old memories, as if it had been waiting.
That man—the one responsible for all this overprotection…
Isel tightened her grip on the invitation. The gold edges of the paper slightly crumpled.
“Miss?”
Alec’s voice pulled her back to reality.
“…Huh?”
“Are you alright? Your face…”
Alec and Harris were looking at her with concern.
Isel quickly changed her expression and smiled faintly.
“Yes, of course.”
As she spoke, she pushed down the anxiety slowly rising from deep within her.
“I’m fine.”
It was such a quiet whisper that it was unclear whether she was speaking to them—or to herself.
Her delicate hand holding the invitation trembled slightly.
*
Unlike the northern continent, which believed in a single god, the central continent followed polytheism based on its founding myths.
There were dozens of gods, and their stories were detailed enough to fill entire books.
The Ekar Empire was a vast nation, known as the ruler of the central continent.
The most commonly worshipped gods in the empire were:
- Enix, the goddess of healing and peace
- Karmus, the god of war and strength
In the imperial capital, Karpem, there were many temples.
Among them, the most influential was the Great Temple of Enix, located near the imperial palace.
The temple was surrounded by massive marble pillars, each over ten times the height of an adult man.
Each pillar was carved with scenes from mythology, and at the center stood a full statue of Goddess Enix.
Even those who didn’t believe in her would visit when they came to Karpem.
Millions of worshippers visited every year.
With the festival celebrating Enix’s birth approaching in just a few weeks, the temple priests were busier than ever.
The High Priest, Rus, was no exception.
He was currently reporting to the Pope.
“And regarding the festival schedule—”
A woman sat behind a large desk made of white Rakin wood.
The gold ornament draped over her shoulder revealed her high status.
Her name was Riante Anis, the 81st Pope—the closest servant of the goddess.
As she flipped through thick documents, she suddenly looked up.
“What did you just say?”
“The festival schedule—”
“No, before that. What rumor?”
“The rumor about the statue blessed by Goddess Enix?”
At the mention of “blessing,” she frowned slightly and put down her pen.
“Explain in more detail.”
Her sharp gaze turned toward the priest.
“The rumor says… a statue that appeared at an auction three months ago possesses mysterious powers.”
“Mysterious powers?”
“Yes. Recently, all visitors to the temple have been talking about it. They say the sculptor’s works can heal people…”
The High Priest summarized the rumors:
A noblewoman who bought a statue got out of bed after two days.
A crippled man who came to see it was able to walk again.
The Pope listened silently.
Then she picked up a pipe and lit it.
The match flared, and the tobacco caught fire.
Smoking inside a sacred temple—especially by the Pope—was shocking.
But the High Priest simply watched, as if used to it.
After exhaling smoke, she spoke.
“Do you believe this rumor?”
“…Pardon?”
“I’m asking if you believe such nonsense.”
Her voice carried clear pressure.
The High Priest swallowed.
There was a reason for her cold reaction.
Relics blessed by Goddess Enix were extremely rare.
Even those carefully guarded by the Vatican could not completely heal people.
At best, they only helped slightly.
“It may not be entirely false. Perhaps we should send priests to investigate—”
He spoke cautiously.
The Pope let out a small laugh.
“Isn’t it ridiculous? A mere statue having such power? Is the sculptor the goddess herself?”
Her tone was openly mocking.
Riante Anis was nothing like previous Popes.
She was eccentric.
She broke temple rules and even claimed gods were not necessarily merciful.
Yet she remained Pope due to her overwhelming divine power.
“…Why would the goddess choose someone like her?” the priest wondered silently.
After a moment, she spoke again.
“Well, before the rumors grow, it wouldn’t hurt to cut them off.”
She didn’t believe the rumor at all.
She only believed what she saw.
“Select a couple of priests and send them.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Now, enough of this useless talk. How is the festival preparation going?”
She casually changed the topic—
Unaware of the chaos this would soon bring.
*
Leo stood before a dark wooden door and knocked twice.
The sound echoed softly down the hallway.
He had come to his father’s study after being summoned.
“Father, you called for me?”
It was late at night. The room was lit only by a lamp on the desk.
His father rarely called him at such an hour.
Leo felt slightly tense.
Even after he entered, Count Blisha didn’t look up.
He was staring at a paper on the desk.
The flickering lamp cast shadows across his hardened face.
After a long silence, the Count spoke.
“Yes.”
His voice was low, as if suppressing anger.
Leo instinctively felt something was wrong.
“Father?”
“A letter has arrived from the Lesion Ducal House.”
“…!”
Leo’s face immediately twisted.
“That bastard sent another letter?!”
There was a reason for his anger.
The Lesion Ducal House controlled mines in the Varmul Mountains and possessed immense wealth.
And “that bastard” referred to Cesar Lesion.
The only son of the Duke—
A notorious womanizer.
He wasted money, treated human lives like objects—
A complete scumbag.
Yet no one could stop him due to his powerful background.
To Leo and the Count, he was someone who deserved to be torn apart.
Because—
Eight years ago,
the one responsible for the incident that forced Isel to live confined inside the mansion…
was none other than Cesar.
