IBWMD 54

~Chapter 54~

“How dare you! Such blasphemy!”

The other priests and holy knights distributing food behind him also turned pale.

I deliberately trembled my eyebrows pitifully as I replied,

“But you ignored the scriptures first.”

“Ignored?! When did I ever—”

“You, a vice-priest.”

“…H-How do you know that?”

His complexion turned ashen.
How did I know? The emblem on his belt gave it away.
He must have kept his robe plain but couldn’t give up his belt.

‘He probably felt it was humiliating.’

For a vice-priest—just below a head priest—to personally distribute trash like this.

As I shrugged, murmurs spread.

“…A heretic?”

“Wait, are they really not from the temple…?”

“But she said he’s a vice-priest.”

“For a vice-priest to distribute such food…”

Right. Even the poorest know the difference between edible and inedible food. They just took it out of desperation.

‘That should do it.’

I turned away.
If I kept talking, I’d slip up eventually.
I wasn’t great at verbal arguments.
Even with Karl, I lost every time.

‘I almost got countered earlier too…’

“Let’s go.”

I tapped Clark and Jeremy on the shoulders.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

Clark’s gaze felt heavy. Just moments ago he glared like I’d betrayed him, but now his eyes sparkled like a puppy.

‘What the… This was nothing…’

Well, okay, I did plan to actually cut his wrists if necessary.

As I felt embarrassed, the beggars behind us kept whispering.

“What if they really are heretics…”

“No way. But still… what if the food is drugged…”

People like free food, but if it feels cult-like or shady, suspicion rises.

The vice-priest, hearing their whispers, shouted loudly,

“How dare you! Divine Scriptures, Chapter 15, Verse 1! Though we grant you grace…”

He began a long, tedious sermon.

I turned to leave, then paused.

“Milady…?”

I grabbed Zeon’s broad shoulder. He had been lingering around us, making me wary.

“Sir knight, you’re supposed to be righteous, devout, and noble, aren’t you?”

I gripped both his shoulders firmly. His startled eyes met mine.

“Are you really okay with this?”

“…”

“Isn’t it the temple’s duty to purify monster meat and share it?”

He looked shaken.

“Is this what you came here for?”

His eyes wavered violently.

‘Got him.’

Seeing it working, I leaned in so close our noses almost touched and whispered,

“Is this really God’s will?”

“I…”

“If so, I’m truly…”

“…”

“Disappointed.”

I lightly poked his chest with my fingertip.

“Ugh!”

“Huh?”

Zeon… flew back.

Well, rather than flying, his large body fell backwards with a thud.

At that exact moment, I felt something at my ankle snap—more accurately, disappear.

“U-Ugh…”

Zeon groaned, lifting his upper body.

“What was that just now?”

“Could such a small lady…”

People’s eyes all turned to me. I quickly hid my shock and stepped back.

I had to handle this smoothly.

“Oh my… I didn’t see that… rock… there…”

“Huh? O-Oh… okay…”

Zeon looked up at me, dazed.

“May God watch over you always.”

Good thing he was a dense idiot.

I shoved Clark and Jeremy away from the crowd quickly.

“Let’s really go. We’ve wasted enough time.”

“…What was that just now?”

“Uh…”

“Did you hit the knight because you couldn’t hit the priest?”

“…Let’s go with that.”

Clark’s eyes sparkled even brighter at my vague answer. It was getting uncomfortable.

“L-Lady Elaine, you are far more…”

Crash! Clang! Bang!

A loud noise erupted behind us.

“…S-Sorry. I tripped…”

Zeon’s embarrassed voice came.

He had fallen onto the distribution tables, flipping them over. Food rolled on the filthy ground.

The priests and knights stared at him in shock.

The vice-priest turned pale, looking around frantically before shouting,

“T-These are still edible!”

Bread and meat mashed beyond recognition, milk spilled onto slushy snow…?

“They really are heretics…”

“Why would they feed us that? Is it drugged…?”

The beggars muttered as they fled.

“Brother Zeon! This is grounds for punishment!”

And I saw it.

“I’ll accept any punishment.”

Zeon said calmly, light returning to his eyes.

“But, Father… about that wrist-cutting scripture, Chapter 45, Verse 8…”

“W-Wait, Brother Zeon!”

Hearing the vice-priest’s panicked shout, I couldn’t help but smile faintly.

‘Yeah. Go back to being that gorilla with glasses. Bash them with your questions.’

This brooding knight act didn’t suit him.
He was always the type to charge in regardless of rank.

As we walked away, I felt his gaze on my back.

‘Grateful, aren’t you?’

‘Just… don’t recognise me, okay?’

Or at least pretend not to.

We entered the slum’s alleys. Clark, looking thrilled, exclaimed,

“Ha! Those temple bastards finally got what they deserve!”

“…”

“But it’s still unforgivable! They always do this!”

His burning rage was palpable. As a former temple knight, I nodded silently.

‘Ugh… my conscience hurts…’

“They ignore us until we try to help our people, then steal the credit or dump their garbage on them!”

Jeremy agreed fiercely.

“And they have the gall to call His Grace unclean!”

“Not to mention during the monster crisis, they let our soldiers die before joining the fight, and still demanded their quarterly donations!”

My guilt worsened.

‘No wonder they acted so bitterly earlier.’

Their hatred of the temple wasn’t minor—it was deep and personal.

Clark’s rant continued in the background.

“And what they did to the previous Duke and Duchess…”

“Ahem, Clark. Let’s stop there.”

I almost heard something I shouldn’t.

“…Anyway. Those scum…!”

Clark changed the topic abruptly. I smiled softly and added,

“Trash.”

“Exactly!”

“…Did you really just say that, milady?”

Clark was excited, Jeremy bewildered. I nodded firmly.

“Calling trash trash is only fair. No matter how it tries, trash remains trash.”

“…I didn’t think you’d go that far.”

I wasn’t just agreeing with them.

‘I mean, it’s true.’

Right or wrong transcends background.

Clark looked deeply moved.

“Truly… you are so righteous.”

“…Uh…”

“For someone from the capital, your values are so upright!”

Being called righteous was too easy.
All I did was curse the temple priests with them.

‘Well, I did call them trash repeatedly…’

If Ishtar saw me now, she’d sigh in disappointment.

Still, since I’d earned their favour, why not go further?

“I bet the Duke’s personality turned harsh because of their torment too.”

“Yes, the temple drove His Grace to… become… well…”

“Anyway, it’s their fault, right?”

“…Y-Yes, I guess?”

I really couldn’t reveal I was once a temple knight myself.