With the news of the arrival of people from the Lianus Temple, my short birthday came to an end.
I looked at Leon, and he looked at me in return.
His gaze became sharp.
When he was about to open his mouth, I shook my head.
“I'm fine.
I'll go meet them alone.”
“No, I will go with you.”
Of course, deep down, I wanted him by my side.
But, realizing that Leon's appearance in front of people might not be good, I shook my head firmly.
Leon started to bite his lips, as if he thought the same thing, so he didn't insist on accompanying me anymore.
I followed Mary into the reception room where the temple people were waiting.
As I approached the room, my fingertips began to tremble against my will.
When I entered the reception room, three priests wearing temple robes emblazoned with the symbol of Governor Lianus rose from the sofa simultaneously.
They smiled kindly, but their eyes were not, and they bowed to greet me.
“Your Highness the Duchess, welcome.
We are from the Llanus Temple.
We apologize for not informing you in advance.
Forgive us for the inconvenience.”
“I was surprised by your sudden visit, but Saint told me briefly.
If you have questions, ask them quickly and leave.”
I sat on the couch and talked.
I watched them sit and exchange glances.
“We did not come to ask you, Your Highness.
We came to take you to the Temple of Llanos.”
"What?"
now?
“We came without informing you because we were afraid that you would avoid the visit.”
I felt like they were treating me like a criminal.
“If I understand correctly, you want to take me now?”
“Not to take you, but we will go together to the temple to conduct a simple investigation.”
“So, let's investigate here.”
One of the priests shook his head firmly.
“In the Lianus Temple, we have a magical tool that tracks the effects of the use of forbidden magic.”
“So, you mean I used forbidden magic and summoned monsters?
If so, why didn’t you bring the artifact?”
“It is forbidden to take it outside the temple.”
Why do I feel like I'm headed toward a different death than the original story?
Now, I had to worry about being accused of witchcraft.
But if the magic tool really works, it might be my chance to easily exonerate myf, unless there's a conspiracy.
A feeling of anxiety gripped me.
“In the end, you take me, right?”
“That's not what we mean...”
“That's exactly what you mean.”
As the argument continued, one of the priests took a shining gold card from his chest and carefully placed it on the table.
This card is what Cassia was talking about when she said that even the Emperor couldn't refuse the temple's investigation.
When the First Emperor chose Llanos as the chief ruler of the empire, he granted the temple such a unique power that no one could refuse when presented with this card.
“Okay.
But since the Duke will be worried, will you give me time to say goodbye?
He thinks I will be subjected to a little investigation here.”
“From now on, you must be with us in everything, Your Highness the Duchess.
We will go with you to meet Your Highness the Duke.”
I closed my mouth, looked at their faces slowly, then nodded.
“Mary!”
I called out loudly to Mary, who was standing outside the drawing-room.
Amy and Mary entered together.
“Ask Leon if he can come here for a moment.”
“Okay, ma'am.”
They answered and left the room.
I sighed deeply, leaned on the armrest, and looked at the priests.
“What kind of personality does a saint have?”
Confusion appeared on the priests' faces at my sudden question.
But no one answered.
I watched their silence calmly.
“Is this a difficult question?”
I scratched my head lightly.
At my words, one of the priests showed obvious annoyance on his face.
“A saint is a being to be revered, not an object of evaluation.
How dare you...”
Another priest elbowed the speaker hard and looked at me warily.
Being such a saint, I wasn't too angry at his impudence.
At that moment, the reception room door opened wide, and Leon entered with confident steps.
“Leon.”
I called him warmly.
Leon looked at me with a stiff face, then lowered his eyes.
He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them, his face transformed into a bright smile.
'Amazing skill in controlling emotions.'
I looked at him with admiration, then regained my composure and pretended to be serious.
I have to agree with the rhythm of Leon's acting.
"Bill Bill!
Why did you call me?
Who are these men?"
The priests got up and greeted Leon politely.
“Your Highness, we are priests from the Temple of Llanos.”
Leon's eyes were staring at the golden card on the table with a sharp gaze.
"Wow, gone!
Gold!"
Leon rushed towards the card with shining eyes, but one of the priests was surprised and quickly grabbed it.
He was faster than Leon.
Leon looked disappointed as he moved his lips.
“Leon, you know that you shouldn’t touch other people’s things.”
I spoke in a stern tone.
"Ah, Belle Belle is scolding me!
Belle Belle, you're bad!"
The priests frowned as they saw us.
I approached Leon and patted his back.
'They might think I don't know, but isn't our rhythm perfect?'
I smiled in relief unconsciously.
Leon raised his head, and when he saw my smile, he frowned.
'Why is he frowning?'
“Your Highness, the Templars are waiting outside.
We can’t give you much time.”
One of the priests urged me, as if he couldn't bear to watch our banter.
“Leon, I have an order at Lianus Temple.
I’ll come back quickly, and then we can continue the birthday party, okay?”
Leon looked at me silently.
He opened his mouth and then closed it.
He seemed to be thinking about what to do.
She held his hand and smiled gently to calm him down.
Leon let go of my hand and stood in front of the priests.
“Pill Pill, you must give them plenty of meat.
Otherwise I will turn into a monster.”
One of the priests laughed as if he was responding to Leon's joke.
“Don't worry.
We'll conduct a simple investigation, measure the use of forbidden magic with a magic tool, and then you'll return.”
Leon's face turned into an emotionless expression at the priest's words.
"Magic?
Who is the magician?"
"That's not what they mean.
They'll check if you used magic."
I answered instead of the priest.
“Wow, it would be great if you were a witch, Belle Belle.
Use magic to make a gold mine for me.”
His obsession with gold mines...
“Okay, I'll go.
If something happens, I'll call you.”
Leon nodded.
Was the shaking of his eyes an illusion on my part?
I left Leon waving at me and went out of the castle with the priests.
“Why all these Holy Knights?”
I opened my mouth in surprise when I saw the Templars waiting for us outside the castle.
Is this Esther level of conquest?
If I had refused to go, they would have taken me by force.
“This... is a necessary measure...”
The priest could not say that they had come to take me by force, so he stammered.
I laughed sarcastically and got into the carriage with them.
I looked out the carriage window, hoping that Leon would come out to say goodbye, but he didn't appear.
'Nothing will happen, but what if something really bad happens and he doesn't say goodbye?
'Huh.'
I waited for Leon to appear until the carriage started moving, but he did not come.
'Okay, that's okay.
We've already said goodbye to each other.'
I tried to calm myf down, but a feeling of resentment settled in my heart.
When the cart started moving, I was overcome with unjustified anxiety.