TGHB 21

Chapter – 21

The dirty work of the temple had always fallen to Calix.

No matter what he said, the priests got angry at him, and whatever he did, they would point out that it was “wrong.”

At first, he cried.

Later, he held back his tears.

After that, he forgot how to cry.

And then, everything became a little easier.

Erasing his emotions became a surprisingly effective shield.

A shield that let him survive this harsh life.

He didn’t mind not feeling joy.

Because it meant he didn’t have to feel pain either.

Thanks to that, even crouching alone in this dusty storage pit had become something he was used to.

Calix pulled over an old blanket and curled up under it, hunching his back like a shrimp.

He wouldn’t receive his share of dinner anyway, so he figured he might as well sleep.

At that moment—

“…Ah.”

Something tucked in his arms slipped out and dropped to the ground.

‘Come to think of it… she gave me this.’

Right after the young lady of Panteive fixed his bag with her authority—

“Here. I’ll give you this.”

“…What is it?”

“Star candy. It’s sweet and yummy. I’ll give it only to Ricss.”

At some point, the little noble girl had started calling him “Ricss,” and now she placed a small bottle into his hands.

He tried declining, saying she didn’t need to give him anything.

“Nuh-uh. No. I must give this to you. Absolutely. You have to hide it really well and only you should eat it. Don’t give it to those priests who make you run errands. Got it?”

Her desperate expression had somehow made him nod and accept the candy bottle.

He even hid it deep in his clothes so no one could find it, just like she’d told him to.

‘I even forgot I had it.’

Awkwardly sitting up, Calix looked down at the star candy.

Clatter—

The small, transparent bottle filled with colorful sugar candies rattled softly.

It sounded just like the whisper the child had given him, smiling brightly as she pressed the candy into his hand.

“Listen. I’ll come find you again.”

“…Sorry?”

“I’ll definitely come find you again later. So you have to stay well. Okay?”

…Come find him again?

A lie.

Why would a young lady from a grand house like Panteive come find someone like him?

What connection could there possibly be?

He stared at the bottle of candy for a long time before carefully taking out a single piece and tossing it into his mouth.

“…Sweet.”

Something barely the size of a fingernail was incredibly sweet.

It had been so long since he tasted sweetness that, for the first time in forever, the tip of his nose stung.

“Are you not sleeping well?”

“Nyeng?”

“Your dark circles keep getting worse these days. At this rate, you’ll turn into a spoiled marshmallow.”

A spoiled marshmallow?

‘That sounds kind of horrible.’

But she had no excuse.

Her dark circles had been getting worse, and she had been spending nights wide awake for several days.

The cause of her insomnia was Calix, whom she had unexpectedly run into during her recent outing.

‘I didn’t think I’d meet him so suddenly.’

Since returning in time, she had often thought about him.

Of course she did—he wasn’t just anyone. He was the person who saved her life.

Naturally, he lingered in her mind.

She even thought she’d go find him one day. Just like he’d saved her, she wanted to save him too.

She couldn’t charge into dangerous groups throwing fire like before.

But—

‘I thought I could at least find him early and stop him from being kidnapped.’

That was supposed to be something for later.

Right now, her top priority was staying alive.

She was struggling just to manage the body of a four-year-old child—how could she save anyone?

She had entered the Duke’s household, but her position was still unstable. She could be thrown out at any moment…

‘I was going to go later… much later.’

But then she ran into him so suddenly, and she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

Grr…

And on top of that—

‘If he had at least looked happier, I could’ve been relieved.’

Young Calix looked exhausted in so many ways.

A thin body, poorly maintained clothes.

A blank face, and an overwhelming pile of errands he carried alone.

Temple life clearly wasn’t easy for him.

‘Is that temple rotten too?’

Like the orphanage she once stayed in under another temple.

…No. Maybe all temples were rotten to the core.

‘Ugh, it bothers me. I want to go check how he’s living right now.’

But—

She glanced up at the Duke.

Their eyes met immediately—his blue gaze had been on her the whole time.

“You’re not answering me. What’s got you thinking so deeply?”

“…Ah, uh, I wasn’t thinking anything.”

“Really? It doesn’t look that way.”

Tsk. Sharp as always.

‘Should I say I want to go meet Calix again?’

She opened her mouth a little, then firmly shut it.

‘…No. If I say that, what if he gets the wrong idea and hates me?’

The Panteive family despised the temple.

Not just disliked—they loathed it. That was practically common knowledge throughout the entire continent.

No one really knew why, but that was the way it was.

‘If I tell him I want to visit the temple to see an apprentice priest…’

It wouldn’t look good.

He might even think she liked the temple and throw her out.

Uuugh…

‘That is absolutely not happening!’

Being kicked out would be bad enough, but if it happened because he thought she liked the temple—

‘I’d die of frustration.’

She prided herself on hating the temple more than anyone…!

So unfortunately, as guilty as she felt—

‘I’ll have to postpone meeting Calix for a bit.’

She needed to secure her place in the Duke’s estate first, gain his trust as a “contract daughter.”

At least get a contract signed…!

Then she’d go repay Calix for saving her.

‘…But why exactly do the Panteives and the temple hate each other so much?’

Everyone knew the temples, who possessed divine power, had always kept the three ducal houses in check.

But Panteive, out of those three, had the worst relationship with them—

‘Why is that?’

“Th-the reason the Panteive ducal family and the temple are on bad terms…?”

“Yes. Kayle’sh clever, so I thought you might know.”

To clear her doubts, she sought out Kayle.

She briefly considered asking Hudson but—

‘He’d probably look distressed and refuse to answer.’

More importantly, she could already imagine the Duke hearing about it.

As for Aina—same problem.

So she came to Kayle.

If anyone would know something, it was smart, well-read Kayle.

“I-I know the general idea, but… I’m not sure it’s accurate. I don’t know if I should tell you…”

“It’sh okay! Just tell me what you know! Menroni doesn’t know anything anyway!”

Ughh—

Kayle hesitated, looked around nervously, then finally began to speak quietly.

“I-I think… it’s because of Lady Sienna.”

Sienna?

She tilted her head at the unfamiliar name.

“T-that’s the Duke’s elder sister. To you… she would be your aunt.”

Ah. She vaguely remembered hearing that.

More precisely, she remembered reading about it in “Saturday Gossip.”

“I read that she fell into a coma after a carriage accident…”

“Y-yes! You’ve heard of her, then…!”

“Uh, j-just a little?”

She glossed over it and asked the question that bothered her.

“But what doesh Auntie have to do with the temple?”

“Well, um… it’s like this…”

According to Kayle, it happened four years ago.

Sienna Panteive was gravely wounded in a sudden carriage accident.

The impact was so severe that everyone else riding with her died; she was the only survivor, a miracle in itself.

“Her body is alive, but she has no consciousness. No one knows how long she can last like this…”

Sienna Panteive fell into a coma.

Both the former Duke and the current Duke were devastated.

She was their beloved family member—and Panteive’s brilliant little duke.

The strong successor who would have carried on Panteive’s legacy.

Her existence alone had been a pillar of strength.

And Sienna had two young children as well.

“Her life is still hanging on. Someday, Sienna will wake up. She’s a strong girl.”

The former Duke refused to give up on her.

He believed wholeheartedly that she would open her eyes again someday.

But her condition continued to worsen.