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Chapter 15
“Excuse me, but… is Duke Lyxion also going with us?”
It wasn’t just me who felt uncomfortable with Lyxion’s presence.
Lennon, who had been following us, asked cautiously, looking back at us.
Thanks to him, I was able to escape his persistent gaze.
What was even more amazing was that even this young priest knew who Lyxion was.
Once again, I felt like the man standing next to me was a huge celebrity, and I wanted to distance myself even further.
“Is there any reason why I shouldn’t go?”
Lyxion returned the question with a question, tilting his head slightly and raising one corner of his mouth in a smile.
Even his simple act of tilting his head was strangely intimidating.
Lennon looked at me with a face that seemed like he was about to cry. It was a look that seemed to be asking for help.
I raised my hand and rubbed the back of my neck, averting my gaze.
Well, I did get some help from him. Judging from Lyxion’s confident attitude, it seemed that even if I told him to leave now, he wouldn’t listen.
He was also a little reassuring when he stepped in to help me earlier.
‘Anyway, I’ll just ask Jade for the holy water and leave right away, so it’ll be fine.’
I subtly looked away from Lennon’s pleading gaze.
“Jade must be waiting, so let’s go quickly.”
Lennon’s big eyes became even more watery than before, but there was nothing I could do. It’s not like I had a way to get rid of that man from this place.
Lennon walked into the temple with familiarity. He kept looking back as if he was worried, but he couldn’t bring himself to openly express his dissatisfaction with Lyxion.
I followed the path that I had become quite familiar with, visiting once or twice a year.
As we passed a building that served as the entrance, a large garden inside the temple came into view.
The temple in the capital was surrounded by four pure white buildings centered around this garden.
And in the center of the garden stood a huge glass greenhouse the size of a temple, which was where Jade and I usually met and talked.
“You can go in here.”
As expected, Lennon stopped at the entrance of the greenhouse and spoke politely.
He even opened the door for me, but he kept throwing anxious glances at Lyxion.
I couldn’t ignore those glances any longer. I felt uncomfortable with Lyxion following me here, so I looked up at him and said,
“I, I can go alone….”
I tried my best to say it indirectly, asking him to stop following me, but the answer I got was not what I wanted.
“I’m worried, so I want to go with you.”
“I’m just meeting an acquaintance for a moment to ask for a favor.”
“This place is full of suspicious things, so I’m worried anyway.”
As he said that, he looked around for no reason. Lennon trembled and made a crying face.
I glared at Lyxion when he looked away.
I’m more worried about him talking nonsense about the temple.
He might be able to wipe out this place if he wanted to.
‘Please, just stay quiet.’
I swallowed the words I couldn’t say and quietly entered the greenhouse.
I thought I would talk to Jade as little as possible and get the holy water as quickly as possible so I could leave this place.
It was already late in the day, and it was quite warm outside, but it was nothing compared to the inside of the greenhouse.
As soon as I took a step into the greenhouse, I could feel the warmth enveloping my whole body.
I walked briskly into the greenhouse. I could feel Lyxion following me from behind.
It wasn’t that I didn’t care, but my priority now was to meet Jade and get the holy water.
I looked around for the person with the dark black hair among the colorful flowers and trees.
Soon, I found a person who was watering the plants, looking as beautiful as a painting.
The long hair loosely tied up, the gentle eyes, and the atmosphere were all the same.
“Jade!”
I called out Jade’s name loudly, my heart filled with joy.
Although we had exchanged letters occasionally, it had been a long time since we had met in person. This was because Jade had left the Empire and stayed in the Holy Kingdom.
“Liz.”
Hearing my voice, Jade turned around and smiled brightly.
His smile, which seemed to sparkle like the colorful flowers in the greenhouse, greeted me.
At that moment, I felt a strange sense of hesitation from Lyxion, who was following me.
I unconsciously turned to look at him.
His expression, with a question mark raised, was somehow strange.
His gaze towards Jade seemed to be both surprised and openly unpleasant.
Suddenly, I looked up at him with a questioning look and then back at Jade.
But for some reason, Jade’s expression was similar to Lyxion’s.
Should I say that there was an indescribable sense of hostility? The way they both looked at each other was definitely not pleasant.
For a moment, I wondered if they knew each other, but I doubted that a low-ranking priest like Jade would have anything to do with a Duke of the Empire.
“Liz, come here.”
As the atmosphere became awkward for no reason, I just watched the two of them.
“Jade, come on!”
I ran towards Jade, half out of joy at seeing my old friend and half out of desperation to get the holy water.
Then, my foot tripped and my body swayed.
“Oh, I’m glad you’re happy to see me, but calm down, Liz.”
Fortunately, Jade caught me before it was too late, and I was able to avoid falling face-first onto the dirt floor.
Startled for a moment, I quickly straightened up and grabbed Jade’s hand, which was holding my arm. Then, I looked up at him with pleading eyes and said, “Jade, I’m sorry to come here suddenly, but please just get me two holy waters. Please.”
“Holy water?”
Jade looked puzzled at my sudden request without even saying hello.
“Why do you need holy water all of a sudden…?”
His ash-colored eyes, which asked this question, showed a flicker of embarrassment. His eyes darted around, as if he was troubled.
I wondered if he thought I was hurt somewhere because I suddenly asked for holy water. His worried gaze, which scanned me from head to toe, showed his concern and anxiety for me.
“What’s with this blanket? Do you have a cold?”
Jade, who was worriedly looking me up and down, noticed the blanket wrapped around my shivering body and frowned. He even put his hand on my forehead with a serious expression.
I hid the bitten nails of my left hand and pretended to be nonchalant.
“Oh, this is because of some circumstances.”
When I got out of the carriage at the temple, there was a bit of a struggle.
Lyxion saw my ripped clothes, with one sleeve completely torn off, and brought a blanket from somewhere and forced me to wrap it around myself.
One long arm, one sleeveless arm, or a blanket wrapped around me in a strange way. I was worried about which one would be less embarrassing, so I chose the blanket.
In fact, even if I hadn’t chosen the blanket, Lyxion would have forced me to wrap it around myself, so I didn’t really have a choice.
“No, that’s not the problem right now. Can’t you please just get me two holy waters?”
I pulled down Jade’s hand, which was seriously touching my forehead, and said urgently with a serious face. A troubled look reappeared in Jade’s eyes.
“I’m sorry, but right now, you can’t get holy water at any temple on the continent, Liz.”
“Yeah, I know. But… I really need it. How can I get it?”
As I clasped my hands together and pleaded again, Jade’s expression darkened. After thinking for a moment, he asked cautiously in a low voice.
“May I ask where you intend to use the holy water?”
I reflexively tried to mention the children’s epidemic, but I bit my lip.
After all, Jade was also a person of the temple.
As our conversation deepened, I occasionally felt a profound faith and loyalty to the temple that went beyond mere reliance on him. Even if it was a country he had known since childhood, if he had to choose between it and the temple, I felt certain he would choose the temple.
Instinctively, I decided it was better to conceal the matter of the plague and gloss over it. “Well, someone I know was seriously injured this time. The wound is so bad that I think they need holy water.”
“In that case, wouldn’t it be better to formally request a priest from the temple rather than holy water?”
Oh, I didn’t expect him to take it that way.
His words weren’t wrong, but I was momentarily flustered and stammered, when footsteps approached from behind.
“Is it because those who need treatment are not nobles?”
A sneering voice, dripping with sarcasm, suddenly interjected between us.
