TCBCVF 62

~Chapter 62~

The Great Temple.

It was the headquarters of the Empire’s religion and was considered one of the Empire’s three greatest powers along with the Imperial Family and the Noble Council.

It was also the place where you could see more nobles than even the Noble Council.

The reason was simple.

“Unless you are like the Claudius family and hold multiple titles, second sons don’t inherit titles. They have to find their own way.”

Most second or third sons simply lived on family wealth, but those with ambition would usually join the knights or become clergy.

Some would marry a titled lady to inherit her title, but…

“No family is foolish enough to hand titles to a son-in-law easily. Naturally, they would rather pass them to their daughters.”

…Yes, I was one of those “fools” once.

Anyway, with large donations from nobles wanting favorable treatment for their children serving as clergy and with its high prestige as the religious center of the Empire, the Great Temple was incredibly lavish.

Under the afternoon sunlight, the grand white-marble building glittered so brightly it hurt my eyes.

Lady Sanchez looked extremely excited.

“I heard High Priest Evans works in the main building here!”

She looked around eagerly and suggested,

“Let’s go to the main building first!”

“Wait, Lady Sanchez.” Lady Sherwood sighed.

“The main building is off-limits to outsiders, isn’t it?”

The Great Temple was divided into a chapel and the main building.

The chapel was open to the public for worship and offerings.

The main building was where priests lived and worked, and only authorized personnel could enter.

But Lady Sanchez was persistent.

“It’s fine. I know just the trick for situations like this.”

Then she put on a fake troubled expression.

“Oh no, where did my handkerchief go?!”

I looked at her with cold eyes.

“She’s really going to use the classic ‘I lost something’ trick to get in?!”

“It was a precious gift from my parents, but the wind must have blown it into the main building~!”

She then hurried toward the main building.

Lady Sanchez’s acting skills weren’t exactly convincing…

“L-Lady Sanchez?!”

“Wait, you can’t just—!”

The other ladies, unsure of what to do, rushed to follow her.

I glanced at the princess from the corner of my eye.

Although she was smiling, her stiff eyes and trembling lips betrayed her feelings.

“She clearly wants to scold Sanchez but is holding back.”

Perhaps she was still worried about making the atmosphere awkward, like before.

“Hmm… the princess did say she was uncomfortable with the High Priest, didn’t she?”

I decided to step in before things got worse.

I blocked Lady Sanchez’s path.

“Lady Sanchez, I understand you want to meet the High Priest, but shouldn’t we respect the temple’s rules?”

“Huh?”

“We should visit the chapel and make offerings first. That’s the proper order.”

“But… we probably won’t see the High Priest in the chapel.”

Lady Sanchez looked displeased.

“Did she smear honey on High Priest Evans or something?”

I resisted the urge to sigh.

“If it’s so important to meet him, wouldn’t it be better to formally request an audience next time?”

I shrugged.

“If we trespass into the main building and offend the High Priest, wouldn’t that be even worse?”

“Well… I guess.”

“Since he’s part of the Great Temple, I’m sure he would want visitors to be respectful.”

With my reasoning—and with the princess chiming in—Lady Sanchez had no choice but to back down.

“I agree with Lady Ansi.” the princess said firmly.

“We came here to enjoy ourselves, right? It would be wrong to break rules inside the temple.”

The other ladies also agreed.

Lady Sanchez looked annoyed but didn’t argue further.

As we headed to the chapel, I leaned close to the princess and whispered.

“Princess, are you okay?”

“Huh? About what?”

She looked at me with a calm face, but her tight lips told me otherwise.

Meanwhile, Seraphina had decided to go out for some fresh air.

She wanted to shake off her foul mood from everything going wrong with the Peony group and Gregory.

She sat at a famous coffeehouse near the Great Temple, pretending to read poetry while sipping tea.

Before long, a group of young noblemen approached her.

“Oh my, isn’t this Lady Lopez?”

“You look beautiful as always.”

“We’re so glad to see you here, Lady Lopez.”

“Would you allow me the honor of entertaining you today?”

Hearing their sweet flattery, Seraphina’s mood lifted slightly.

But then—

“Did you hear? The Claudius Princess visited the Great Temple today.”

What?

Seraphina’s eyes narrowed sharply as she stared at the man who spoke.

He flinched and quickly backtracked.

“W-well, who cares about that? The fairest lady in the social world is right here in front of me!”

“Thank you for the kind words.”

Seraphina stood up gracefully.

“But I must leave now. Something urgent just came to mind.”

“What?”

“I’ll see you again next time. Excuse me.”

She walked out quickly, elegant yet swift.

The young men watched her leave with dazed expressions, then turned angrily to the one who had mentioned the princess.

“You ruined everything! Now she’s upset!”

“Do you realize how rare it is to get a chance to be with Lady Lopez?!”

“How dare they mention the princess in front of me?”

Grinding her teeth, Seraphina climbed into her carriage.

“Still… I need to assess the situation anyway.”

The Great Temple would be the perfect place to “accidentally” run into someone.

“To the Great Temple,” she ordered quickly.

The sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows of the chapel, scattering colorful rays.

At the entrance, candles and white gerbera flowers were sold as offerings.

Luxurious flower vases with engraved names were also available for an outrageous price.

“Ah… they’re for rich people who want to show off their donations.”

Since I wasn’t a particularly devout believer, I only bought a single flower.

The other ladies did the same.

As we were signing the guestbook, the priest standing beside it suddenly looked surprised.