OSMLH 05

Chapter 5

The silence dragged on.

The oppressive atmosphere felt as though it might crush her beneath its weight.

Her weakened body was especially vulnerable to stress. Exposed to Geild’s undisguised killing intent, her breathing gradually grew faster and more ragged.

She felt as though she might collapse at any moment, yet she endured, her frail body trembling.

Geild ground his teeth before issuing one final warning.

“Don’t even think about running away without my permission. There is nowhere in this land beyond the reach of my hand!”

Geild was the Duke of Brücke, one of the three most prestigious families in the Eastern Empire. He possessed the largest territory of them all and had even been granted permission to maintain his own private army.

And although the Brücke family’s profits had dropped considerably after Gerst’s departure, they still owned a massive merchant company.

Wherever people gathered, there was a Brücke merchant branch.

Every single merchant working under him would become her father’s eyes and ears.

“If anyone hides you, I will hunt down their relatives as well and tear them all apart. No one will dare help you out of fear of me.”

Unfortunately, Geild’s words were true.

No one would dare help Lulutie with the Duke of Brücke looming over them.

She struggled desperately, afraid of death, but there was no way her strength could overcome Geild’s.

She understood that logically, yet her heart refused to accept his words. Fighting back tears, she clenched her fists tightly.

To his daughter who continued to resist, Geild gave one final warning.

“Your body is already a wreck from squeezing every last bit of magic out of it. At the very least, be useful to the family in the end.”

Swallowing her tears, Lulutie stared straight at Geild.

He had no reason to fear a frail, powerless daughter. He turned away and left without another glance.

Unable to break off the marriage herself, Lulutie had chosen to endure it.

But even that option had been taken from her.

In the end, she burst into tears as she was dragged into the wedding hall like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse.

“Congratulations on your marriage, Commander!”

A few days before the wedding, Lulutie had discovered that the strange, meaningless dreams she frequently had were actually memories of her past life.

She hadn’t had enough time to come up with a proper plan.

So instead of kissing her future husband, she kissed the priest presiding over the ceremony.

As a result, the old man who had been about to become her husband ended up rolling around on the floor, his hand swollen grotesquely.

Something fell to the ground with a little thud amid his frantic movements.

“Oh my goodness. Was that a wig?”

“No wonder he had such thick hair!”

Thanks to the count’s perfectly smooth bald head being revealed to the entire wedding hall, the guests covered their mouths as they struggled not to laugh.

His face crimson with embarrassment, Count Hind hurriedly picked up his wig.

Lulutie, however, had no time to enjoy his humiliation.

She had gotten what she wanted.

The wedding had been called off, and she had avoided becoming the countess.

But—

The commander of the Holy Knights?

Clergymen were supposed to live their entire lives in celibacy.

Very few people willingly chose such a difficult path, knowing they would die without ever even holding someone’s hand.

In reality, most people who became clergymen either sought refuge from poverty or were nobles who had nowhere else to advance and thus devoted themselves to the temple.

If she had accidentally kissed an ordinary priest, he would probably have happily served Lulutie. After all, she was the one who could rescue him from a life resembling imprisonment in the temple and even provide him with money.

But she was screwed.

Of all the priests she could have touched, she had chosen the commander of the Holy Knights!

Only priests who had awakened divine power—and among them, those with exceptional faith and outstanding martial abilities—could become holy knights.

And Lulutie had defiled the chastity of a holy knight.

Not just any holy knight, but their commander.

She might as well have reserved herself a full course of torture in the underground dungeon of the Grand Temple.

Yet contrary to her expectations that she was about to die, the holy knights were practically celebrating.

“I don’t mean to say this about our own commander, but he really is quite handsome, isn’t he?”

“They look absolutely perfect together, as though their meeting was arranged by the gods themselves!”

“It’s an honor to serve someone as beautiful as an angel.”

Judging by the atmosphere, they certainly didn’t seem inclined to drag her off to the torture chamber for defiling their commander.

If anything, they seemed to have misunderstood that she had married their commander rather than Count Hind.

Holy knights could marry if they received special permission from the Pope, but weren’t they getting a little ahead of themselves?

Still dazed, Lulutie finally opened her mouth.

“The wedding wasn’t actually completed properly.”

In the Empire, a marriage was considered complete only after the couple exchanged a kiss during the vow ceremony at the temple and signed the marriage registration.

The registration itself was usually processed after the couple had lived together for a few days, so exchanging the kiss and vows was enough for people to regard them as husband and wife.

“I haven’t exchanged vows with anyone yet.”

You all saw it.

I only gave him a kiss!

“That’s fine. Whenever the Commander says he’s willing, we can finish it then. Until that happens, we’ll just consider you our future sister-in-law.”

“Si-sister-in-law? When did you even see me to call me that?”

“I’ve never met you personally, but I’ve heard about you for quite some time.”

A strange holy knight suddenly acting so familiar left Lulutie utterly bewildered.

Unlike her, however, the knight seemed perfectly comfortable as he guided her away.

“From now on, my lady, you’ll be staying in the Holy Knights’ quarters. Once you make a vow anywhere inside the building that you accept our Commander as your husband, the ceremony will be complete.”

Lulutie raised her eyebrows.

The way he was casually brushing everything aside made him look almost like a con artist.

I mustn’t fall for this.

“They haven’t made any vows either, though, have they?”

“You don’t need to worry about our Commander.”

What exactly is supposed to be fine?

The man was supposed to be the one to make the vow that he wanted to become her husband, yet the supposed commander of the Holy Knights hadn’t said a single word.

Therefore, this marriage was invalid.

No—before that—

Where exactly are they taking me?

“The Holy Knights?”

“That’s right. You’ll be staying with us from now on.”

Everything was happening so quickly that Lulutie could barely process it.

Everyone around her felt like a raging wave.

She needed to clear her head before she was swept away.

But organizing her thoughts in the middle of such a noisy crowd was impossible.

“There is no need to worry too much. The temple has separate buildings for guests who stay for extended periods. You’ll be staying in the Mleise Hall, where female guests reside. Everyone there will welcome and take good care of you, so please don’t worry.”

Another holy knight suddenly chimed in.

“Honestly, isn’t our Commander a much better choice than Count Hind?”

The holy knights who had pushed Count Hind aside gathered around her, chattering excitedly.

With several of them speaking to her at once, Lulutie became even more confused.

To be fair, they weren’t wrong.

The commander of the Holy Knights was certainly a better choice than Count Hind.

But what would her father do?

The moment she remembered how her father had forcibly dragged her here because she had refused to become the old man’s bride, all color drained from her face.

“Enough.”

A deep, dignified voice echoed through the noisy wedding hall.

The excited holy knights immediately fell silent.

Everyone’s eyes turned toward the commander of the Holy Knights.

Beneath the magnificent stained-glass windows, multicolored rays of light poured down over his body.

Standing there, he captured everyone’s attention in an instant.

He looked at Lulutie just as he had when he stood upon the altar.

His eyes trembled faintly.

After letting out a quiet sigh, he turned his gaze toward his subordinates, his brows drawing together.

The holy knight who had been blocking Count Hind hurriedly stepped forward.

“Commander, would you like to escort her yourself?”

Rather than answering, he lifted a hand and brushed his bangs back.

Perhaps he was merely fixing his disheveled hair.

Yet everyone in the hall held their breath as they secretly watched him.

He possessed such a solemn, almost divine presence that no one dared utter another word.

Lulutie, too, found her gaze drawn helplessly toward him.

“Lady Brücke.”

His low, even voice somehow calmed her panicked heart.

He quietly continued.

“What will you do?”

With her mind finally settling, Lulutie remembered who he was.

The beautiful commander of the Holy Knights—

Keinzel Includer.

Like Lulutie herself, he was a secondary male lead destined to die.

She had thought he would be someone with whom she would never cross paths in her lifetime, especially since she was nothing more than an extra who received only a few lines of mention in the original story.

And yet, here she was, meeting him like this.

“I’ll go with you.”

Perhaps that wasn’t the answer he had wanted, because the corners of his mouth stiffened.

Of course.

There was no way a duke’s daughter with considerable power would willingly enter a temple where she would be required to follow countless rules.

Most people only came to temples when they had committed some great crime and needed somewhere to hide, or when they sought spiritual discipline.

He must have expected her to refuse.

But even if he disliked her answer, Lulutie had no intention of changing it.

Keinzel was a man powerful enough to completely alter the atmosphere of the original story.

Perhaps, if she stayed by his side, her hopelessly ruined life might change, even if only a little.

“Waaah! We look forward to serving you, sister-in-law!”

The moment Lulutie finished answering, the holy knights erupted into cheers.

They happily surrounded her and began escorting her with the utmost courtesy.

Guided by the holy knights, Lulutie headed toward the Holy Knights’ headquarters.

Anxiety gnawed at her as she repeatedly rubbed her hands together.

Her father, who considered his experiments more important than his daughter’s wedding, had not even attended the ceremony.

Thanks to that, she had been able to leave with the holy knights.

But what would her father do once he found out?

At least there was one thing in her favor.

The temple was the only place completely beyond the influence of noble families.

Even an enraged Duke Brücke wouldn’t be able to do anything to the temple immediately.

That didn’t mean her worries disappeared.

There were plenty of ominous rumors surrounding the temple.

The Crescentia Temple belonged not to the Eastern Empire, but to the Holy Kingdom.

However, the Holy Kingdom had severed diplomatic relations with the Empire long ago and had since become an enemy nation.

Religion knew no borders, which was why temples still remained within the Eastern Empire.

But recently, the temple had ceased all official activities, and many unpleasant rumors had begun circulating.

Even so, Lulutie had followed the holy knights because—

Whatever happens, it has to be better than staying by Father’s side…

Judging from the way the holy knights treated her, they at least didn’t seem like the type to beat her the way her father did.

She was still terrified.

But now that she had rolled the dice, there was nothing left to do except see the outcome through to the end.