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chapter 26
As expected, Gray silently followed behind Yurian, fulfilling his duties as a holy knight—even while looking straight at her obvious displeasure.
Just then, a breeze blew in through an open window. The wind swept from behind her to the front, carrying a faint scent that reached Yurian.
—The smell of herbs?
Had this man been rolling around in some field while training? What kind of grass smell was that—. Yurian shot Gray a sideways glance, but when he responded with a gentle smile, she shivered as if struck by a chill and quickly turned her head forward without a word.
“Weren’t you on your way to sleep? Just go.”
“It’s fine. When it comes to carrying out the teachings of God, there is no distinction between day and night.”
“Really? We’re the same, then. I don’t have a sense of day or night either.”
Yurian let out a hollow, self-mocking laugh. Though she wasn’t particularly eager to, she cautiously probed to see if he knew anything.
“I haven’t been able to sleep since the oracle was delivered. Thankfully, for some reason, unlike when I normally stay up all night, my stamina hasn’t suffered—but being awake constantly has made my nerves sharp and frayed. Do you know anything about this?”
“Well… the oracle was announced with as much detail as possible.”
Disappointingly, his answer was no different from that of the High Priest.
Yurian let out a deep sigh and tugged at her hair. Physical exhaustion was manageable, but staying awake without a single moment of sleep for five straight days had pushed her mental fatigue to its limit.
“Damn it. If it were up to me, I’d forget about humanity’s destruction and everything else, sleep like a log, and wake up after it’s all over.”
Even to her own ears, it sounded selfish—but it was honest.
Relentless effort and perseverance had never been her specialty. If anything, she was far more accustomed to giving up.
Don’t cling to what won’t work.
Sleep it off if things get complicated.
Giving up makes life easier.
She’d lived her life clutching those three maxims like talismans. So why—why did all this have to come crashing down after everything was already over?
If that were the case, she would’ve preferred to judge those people’s sins back in Latem before being unfairly branded a villainess and exiled.
As she stood there in anguish, gripping her hair, she suddenly felt a piercing gaze on the back of her head.
“…Why? Did I say something I shouldn’t have?”
“In short, sleep is an escape for you, Lady Anderson.”
An escape.
At Gray’s words, Yurian was briefly left speechless. That wasn’t entirely wrong. Still, having someone point it out so bluntly didn’t sit well with her.
When she didn’t immediately refute him, Gray once again wore that benevolent smile—and proceeded to say something horrifying.
“Being unable to sleep means there’s nowhere left to run. In that case, there’s no choice. You must now face your sins with your eyes wide open.”
There was a note of satisfaction in Gray’s voice.
Yurian made a face like she’d bitten into something unpleasant.
“You sound like you’re enjoying this. Do you have a grudge against me or something?”
“Enjoying it? Not at all. I’m simply—glad.”
What? Was he picking a fight?
Yurian hardened her expression, daring him to try something. The fearsome reputation of a nationally infamous villainess wasn’t just for show—her scowl was sharp enough to resemble a finely honed dagger.
Instead of recoiling or showing fear, Gray embraced even that with the smile of a compassionate saint. Then, in a voice wholly unsuited to his sacred appearance, he spoke something disturbingly twisted.
“To be punished means that once the punishment ends, forgiveness awaits. For God to personally administer punishment and grant you a chance to correct your wrongs is an opportunity most people never receive. In that sense, you are rather fortunate.”
“Fortunate?”
Astonishingly, every word he spoke felt utterly sincere.
Only then did Yurian truly understand what Delsian and the knights had warned her about—the danger of holy knights.
And just as sincerely as he believed it, anger surged within her.
“Hey. You’re telling someone who was struck by lightning out of a clear sky, suddenly branded a sinner, and locked inside a temple that they’re fortunate? What exactly did I do so wrong? What do you even know about me?”
“Of course, I do not know you. But you know yourself.”
Gray’s eyes gleamed with rapture.
Ah. His faith was different from the High Priest’s.
The High Priest’s faith was solid—but safe. It was calm, bringing peace to both himself and others.
But Gray’s faith?
His belief burned fiercely inside him. A fire that sometimes scorched himself—and, just as readily, sought to burn others as well.
Yurian found herself afraid of the man smiling innocently before her, preaching unquestioning belief.
“God is never wrong. If He were, the world would have ended long ago.”
This man was real. Truly not someone to be handled carelessly.
Beyond the window, moonlight bathed Gray’s eyes—and they glowed with a blood-red hue, eerily unsettling.
* * *
“Ah, how unfair. I’m already on edge, and now we’re being told we have to go all the way to the dining hall to eat. Saying probationary priests aren’t servants—I can’t understand that. I can tolerate it myself, but not even extending such a small courtesy to His Highness the Crown Prince? This place is truly unpleasant.”
“Gentle Angela, don’t worry about me. Compared to your discomfort, mine is nothing.”
A pair that resembled cockroaches crossed the corridor leading to the dining hall.
Despite their sickeningly sweet words, the two showed none of the affection one might expect. They didn’t link arms or drape themselves over each other—in fact, they walked with enough space between them for a third person to fit.
As they walked, Theorn’s arm swung back and forth—and accidentally brushed against Angela’s fingertips.
“Ah!”
“Oh—sorry!”
“N-No, it’s fine. Haha… it’s rather warm today, isn’t it?”
Angela hastily pulled her hand back and smiled awkwardly. It wasn’t hot enough to break a sweat from a short walk, yet for some reason she was drenched, her handkerchief soaked through.
In that faintly awkward state, the two pushed open the doors to the dining hall.
“Oh? Quite diligent, aren’t you.”
There were already people there.
Theorn raised an eyebrow as he looked toward Yurian and the Tower Master seated side by side at the long table. Three years ago, those two had stood on opposing sides—since when had they grown close enough to eat together?
Ever since arriving at the Grand Temple, the sight of them together had grated on him.
Unlike Theorn, who made his displeasure obvious, Angela smiled innocently, as if unaware of anything. Making people want to spit at her smiling face was her specialty.
She sat across from them and greeted them warmly.
“Hello, Lucas. And Yurian. Were you eating together? When did you two become so close?”
“Not at all. We simply happened to arrive at the same time.”
Lucas’s reply was colder than ice.
For a brief moment, the corner of Angela’s mouth twitched—but the smile she wore like a mask remained intact.
Watching the two silently grind against each other while chewing their sandwiches, Yurian thought,
So it really did go wrong.
From the first day she’d seen them, something had felt off—but now it was clear. Lucas no longer treated Angela as someone special.
Was it because she’d become Theorn’s fiancée? No. If it were simply a rejected affection, Lucas’s icy demeanor didn’t quite make sense.
Yurian wondered just what could have happened between them to sour things this badly.
Then, suddenly, Angela’s attention shifted to Yurian, who had been deep in thought.
Angela curved her eyes into crescents and smiled slyly—then volunteered information Yurian hadn’t even asked for.
“Oh, Yurian. Sir Bartholomew is training with his subordinates right now. He asked me to tell you that since he has many duties today, he’s sorry but you’ll have to spend the day on your own.”
