CHAPTER 29
“Did you hear? Nero was the first to arrive at dawn training today.”
“Nero? That kid? That doesn’t sound like him.”
“It’s true. The priest in charge was so pleased. By the way, Lady Agnes, wouldn’t you happen to know the reason?”
“…Me?”
Adelle, who had just entered the prayer room, gave a faint smile at the priestesses’ call.
There had to be something behind it.
Just yesterday, the boy who looked up at her had suspicion all over his face.
And if that same boy changed overnight…
“Even God wouldn’t know what goes on in a kid’s mind at that age.”
Adelle swallowed the facts with a sheepish smile. She couldn’t ignore the eager eyes of the priestesses watching her with anticipation.
“Well… Perhaps our Nero is finally answering the call of Enes, the divine.”
“May Nero’s future be blessed by the divine.”
“May the gods be praised!”
Adelle bowed her head with the priestesses and immersed herself in prayer.
It was her seventh day at the Grand Temple. She’d already learned that when you don’t know much, it’s best to just cry out for divine grace.
“Oh great Enes, please bless young Nero’s future with your glory!”
“Ohh!”
After a few times, prayers started to sound the same.
What mattered was expression and immersion—and those were skills Adelle, raised in the merchant guild, had mastered.
As she raised one hand and delivered her heartfelt prayer, earning gasps of admiration from the priestesses, she suddenly met Killian’s eyes at the doorway.
“…”
He saw, didn’t he?
Adelle, always quick to adapt to reality, didn’t delude herself like other heroines with thoughts like “There’s no way he saw me like this.”
She was praying with all her soul. If he had eyes and ears, there was no way he didn’t see.
“Lady Agnes?”
“Ah, yes.”
Adelle, having met Killian’s slightly shaken gaze head-on, finished the prayer she had started. After all, when you start something, you should see it through.
“Oh divine Enes, I pray that our Nero may continue to walk his path. Please take in this young lamb who’s lost amidst the storm.”
“Lady Agnes, your prayer skills are improving day by day.”
“At this rate, you could lead the prayer instead of Sister Rebecca.”
“…Please.”
Even Adelle, for all her boldness, couldn’t handle praise. She quickly escaped to an empty seat, only to falter when she found herself crossing paths with Killian, still standing in the doorway.
“…”
Left, right. She stumbled over her steps a few more times before hastily turning her body away.
Why was a man who never delayed a second standing there, doing nothing?
‘It’s not like I committed a crime.’
What was so wrong about behaving like a proper servant in the temple?
She’d done far worse with a smiling face at the guild, so why did even praying feel awkward here? Especially since just a few days ago, it hadn’t been an issue.
Feeling an unfamiliar sense of unease, Adelle shook it off.
‘I really should go home soon.’
Not just her father and Noella, but Kayden too—he was practically a ticking time bomb.
Before those three collided and caused a real disaster, she had to return and set things straight.
The more she got used to temple life, the stronger the pressure to return became.
‘I can’t forget my true place.’
She had merely been intoxicated by the fresh air for a moment. Adelle had never once forgotten where she truly belonged.
Committing her future plans to memory, she closed her eyes in earnest. Offering a prayer before breakfast was part of the temple’s daily routine.
“Devout prayer will begin soon. Everyone, please be silent.”
“Ah…”
At Sister Rebecca’s voice from the pulpit, Adelle quickly adjusted her posture.
As she absentmindedly looked toward the knights in the front row, her head tilted in confusion.
Killian wasn’t in his usual seat.
She hadn’t meant to check on him, but with a man like that around, her eyes went to him naturally.
‘He was definitely there earlier…’
Adelle bit the inside of her cheek for no reason. She thought it might be best not to run into him right now, but not seeing him at all felt oddly… empty.
He was the kind of man whose best response would be, “Is that so?” Yet that deep voice had a strangely pleasant resonance.
“…Is this seat taken?”
Yes, that kind of sharp yet respectful voice.
His tone, his manners—they were impeccable. But why was this man standing behind her now?
What now?
Adelle, unusually at a loss for words, simply blinked. Killian pointed to the seat beside her.
“I asked if this seat was taken.”
“Ah, no. Not at all…”
“Good.”
He was a man who moved silently and swiftly.
Before Adelle could finish speaking, Killian had already pulled out the chair and lowered his tall frame into it.
The movements were so smooth that she could only hold her breath, unable to say a word.
‘…Why sit here now?’
When I was looking, he wasn’t there—so why now?
Even Adelle couldn’t be completely shameless. She’d just made a bit of a spectacle of herself.
Not that they were even close.
The real issue was that she, a woman pretending to be a devout believer to marry a man like him, was now stuck beside him.
“…Is something the matter?”
“No, nothing.”
Rebecca’s gaze from the pulpit was sharp. As if being watched wasn’t enough, now Killian was sitting next to her—who knew what complaint would come next?
‘If I get kicked out of here, I’ve nowhere else to go.’
Pathetic as it was, she needed to lie low for now.
Subtly, Adelle scooted away from him as much as she could.
“…”
Killian looked at her, baffled, but she needed to stay close to the center if she wanted to stay in the game.
She lowered her head and pressed her clasped hands to her forehead, trying to focus on Rebecca’s prayer.
“There is a Satan among us.”
“…”
Here we go again. Can’t she ever just start normally?
Adelle bit her lip and stole a glance at Killian. Reacting now would only make her look guilty.
And Rebecca hadn’t even started her exorcism yet.
“God Enes said: Satan always hides among us in the most seductive and dazzling form.”
“Oh, we accept the words of the great Sun God!”
Adelle jumped in dramatically, earning a wild glare from Rebecca.
So she was supposed to sit still and be labeled a Satan? Right next to her potential husband?
Rebecca glared at her openly.
“Satan’s greed knows no end. Reaching out even for things that should not be touched—how tragic is the fate that follows, falling into ruin.”
“God, save the wicked!”
“Save them, Lord.”
With her voice slightly louder, Adelle’s interjection was echoed by a few others.
Taking that moment, she pressed her clasped hands to her forehead again, and at last Rebecca had no choice but to resume the original prayer.
Only then did Adelle sigh in relief.
“Haah.”
“…Hng.”
The man beside her made a sound, like he was holding something in.
Adelle squinted and looked at Killian. His large hands were clasped, covering his eyes.
But judging by how tightly his lips were pressed, he wasn’t actually praying.
“Mmm.”
Was that what a reserved man sounded like when trying not to laugh?
And strangely, it didn’t sound unfamiliar. Had she heard it before?
Yet she couldn’t recall any moment where she’d made him laugh.
And really, she thought he’d look good doing anything—but maybe not everything. Unable to hold back, she whispered to him.
“…You can laugh, if you want.”
“Me?”
“…”
“Me, you’re saying?”
Adelle was startled to see his blue eyes under his thumb. His gaze, usually so calm, was trembling.
“If it seemed that way—”
“It’s true.”
“…”
“I think it’s ridiculous too, so of course you would.”
Adelle muttered bitterly and looked away. Or tried to—his gaze clung to her.
“When you said before you had nothing to be ashamed of… I never thought you’d say something like this.”
“You didn’t even believe me.”
“Lady… Adelaide.”
“I know full well how much you dislike me. That’s why you sent me to the children’s training center, right?”
“That wasn’t…”
Killian frowned deeply. Adelle gave a strained smile, as if she’d expected that.
It felt odd, whispering with him like this from the back row.
“It’s okay. I don’t mind, so you didn’t have to come here just to tell me.”
“No. The reason I came is…”
“…Yes?”
Adelle turned toward him more closely, sensing he had something else to say.
She covered her eyes with clasped hands, but behind them her eyes met his—clear and transparent.
“It’s okay. Please, go ahead.”
“The reason I sent you there—”
“…”
Killian turned toward her too.
He narrowed his eyes slightly at how close they were but didn’t move away.
Colored light from the stained glass poured over his silver hair. Adelle swallowed hard.
“…What were you going to say?”
“Lady Agnes!”
“Ah, Sister Rebecca.”
Sigh. Caught red-handed.
Adelle turned her head toward Rebecca, who was clearly calling her out.
She didn’t even have an excuse this time. It wasn’t until she was called that she realized how close she and Killian were whispering.
“To think you had the luxury to do something else during prayer—how very like you, Lady Agnes.”
“That’s not what I— I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need to apologize to me. Clearly you must be confident in your prayer skills.”
“Sorry, what?”
How did we get here again?
Adelle stared blankly, but it was already too late.
Rebecca had made up her mind to humiliate her. What came next was obvious.
“I’ve heard that you’re so good, you could even lead the prayer in my place. Why don’t you do the closing prayer for us, Lady Agnes?”
“…Me?”
With a wicked smile from Rebecca, Adelle quietly clasped her hands.
It’s time to settle this properly with her. I’m reaching my limit.
“What prayer did you have in mind?”
“We were reciting verse 24 from the Record of Darkness and Repentance—Enes’s words as he saved Satan.”
“Oh… that one.”
Adelle had been planning to bluff something vague, but now she was thrown.
So specific.
Seeing Rebecca’s deepening smirk, she bit the inside of her cheek hard.
She could take the humiliation, but if she said she didn’t know, who knew how far Rebecca would go?
‘I’ve heard it before…’
Adelle furrowed her brows slightly.
She had been baptized in this very temple. It was a famous enough verse—she should remember it.
“Oh… Hear me now, who stands before me…”
Rebecca fell quiet, so that part must’ve been right. Adelle closed her eyes and clung to her memory.
God, please, just let me remember.
She hadn’t prayed this sincerely since arriving at the temple.
“Though now it seems to end thus… um…”
“If they return in truth…”
God, are You actually answering me this fast?
Startled, Adelle turned slightly. That gentle voice beside her—he’d been about to say something earlier.
What was it?
If I don’t get kicked out, maybe I’ll hear it someday.
Still facing Killian, she softly repeated after him.
“If they return in truth…”
“…”
Her calm voice spread through the room.
With not a single word out of place, even Rebecca couldn’t interrupt.
“…”
What’s next?
Adelle blinked under her clasped hands. Catching her glance, Killian hesitated for a moment, then moved his lips.
“…They shall be…”
“They shall be…”
“…loved completely.”
