158

“What on earth is this…?”

Everyone fell silent and froze. I, who was in charge of this operation, forced my stubborn mind awake and approached Angelina. I think I understand why they didn’t even gag them. Nothing would be heard this deep underground.

“Ch-Chancellor?”

“Are you all right, Angelina?”

When I untied her bound hands and feet, she clung to me and sobbed loudly. She trembled so violently my heart ached.

But there was no time. I comforted her and asked what had happened. I had to confirm whether this was the Crown Prince again or a new villain.

“Is this the special baptism you mentioned?”

Angelina sobbed with tears falling. The trainee priests taken with them included men as well as women. The commonality was their striking looks.

“I’m not someone who came to harm you. I swear. I had other business at the mausoleum and found you here. Can you explain what happened?”

They must have found me equally suspicious, but having no choice, they eventually began to tell their story in fear.

“Ch-Chancellor, as you said, we are indeed trainee priests chosen for the special baptism. Because the baptism is to be performed in a holy place, we were instructed to gather at the mausoleum this dawn. But as soon as we entered the mausoleum they led us here and closing the doors on us.”

If they were gathered from this dawn, it means they’d been in this condition all day without proper food. And they’d want to use the lavatory too….

“We were, um, flustered, and the deputy priest came and explained things personally. He said we’d soon meet exalted persons. So we needed to prepare. From then I felt something was wrong… instead of priestal robes he made us wear these… outfits and heavy makeup.”

Even then, it’s pitiful how they still used honorifics when referring to the deputy priest.

“He said… that to receive a special name for the exalted persons, you must, after becoming an adult, offer your ‘first’…”

“What? This is insane…”

Marcella ground his words through his teeth from behind. He looked like he was barely holding back curses boiling up in his gut.

“…He said it would be an experience that would be an honor for life.”

‘What is this, a pleasure house? Tribute in a temple—what bullshit.’

Hearing the explanation, it meant that young, pretty trainee priests were to offer their purity in turn before these exalted persons.

Isn’t this seriously insane?

“Wait, so all the priests who received the special baptism went through this? Then how is it that no one has reported or exposed it?”

I couldn’t comprehend it. Nora the priest next to me added as if equally incredulous.

“One of the important virtues of a priest is neat conduct. And purity. Freeing oneself from worldly pleasures is emphasized as the foremost virtue so as not to be swayed by temptation and to follow Lord Lemer’s words—how could this…”

When Angelina met Nora’s eyes, she hung her head low and lowered her voice.

“He, the deputy priest, said all of this was for the temple’s sake… and that once everything was over we wouldn’t be able to say anything, so don’t worry.”

“You wouldn’t be able to say anything?”

“He said he’d use a gagging magic that prevents speaking…”

What followed was even more grotesque.

“He said that the moment you reveal it, your heart would burst and you’d die. Even if you tried to tell by other means, you’d be ex-communicated…!”

“How… could they blackmail with a priest’s lifeline…!”

Nora clenched her fist and trembled. Excommunication is an extremely deadly stigma for a priest; you can’t go to another temple, and it’s a lifelong label attached to whatever you do.

“He said we couldn’t even quit being priests.”

“Hah!”

The priests who had received the special baptism were, in effect, working in hell. To avoid the worst dishonor as priests. And to stay alive.

I understood why the deputy priest personally explained each step. He was enjoying the situation. After all, they couldn’t speak out.

“Then those who received a new name through the special baptism…”

Ren finished the sentence I couldn’t bring myself to complete.

“It’s like a trophy only for themselves…”

My stomach churned. He went on to confirm a few more facts.

“Do you know who that exalted person is?”

As she spoke, slightly calmer, Angelina tilted her head as if remembering something and said.

“He said they were one of the most exalted persons in the Empire. He even said they’d become the most exalted person later…”

Of course. It didn’t deviate from expectations.

“I knew from the documents that came to the Ministry of Justice that he was rotten from the start.”

Thinking of the bastard who had dabbled in everything from departmental budget manipulation and embezzlement, rigging contractors for large projects, shoddy construction, gambling, to harassing women, I felt foolish for not anticipating this.

“The deputy priest will be here soon. Chancellor, you should get away quickly.”

Angelina, terrified, still worried about us instead. She’s about my age—how could she have such composure? If it were me, I’d have begged to be rescued or taken away.

But who could leave after seeing this scene? If we left now they’d be left with irreparable wounds. By the time someone else was brought in after our escape, everything would have been erased without a trace.

“Thank you for explaining. There’s no more time to hesitate, so let’s get out first and talk afterward.”

I was starting to understand why Lemer himself had shown up just to retrieve a relic.

The others thought the same. There were six trainee priests. It wasn’t impossible to take them out. The brooch wasn’t fully triggered yet. We freed the other trainee priests’ restraints and covered them with cloaks and robes.

When we helped them up, they staggered, legs numb from kneeling all day. Fortunately, Nora used holy power to heal them.

“Follow quietly.”

We began to leave the underground with Nora leading us again. Strangely, I felt more tense than when we came in. Seeing the trainee priests following weighed on me. No, it’s more that the enemy I had to face was even crazier than I thought.

‘How on earth did the Emperor educate his children? If Raven is fine but only the Crown Prince is like this, is it the empress’s fault? But I know most royal education is handled by renowned scholars and professors… Was he just born a psychopath? No, psychopaths can learn to some extent through repeated socialization training. At this level it’s neglect.’

Given the wealth and power he was born into, he should have been educated far more thoroughly. At the very least he should never have been allowed to sit in the Crown Prince’s seat.

Surprisingly, the Emperor’s governance was generally viewed favorably. Apart from the child issue there were no major problems, and he never spared investment in talent. Reluctantly, I was a prime example of that.

He didn’t favor only pro-Emperor nobles; he shared benefits with Crown Prince supporters and moderates too, making for a relatively peaceful era.

‘I heard the dukes and the Emperor get along; politically they seem well-matched.’

But to my eyes, the one who could tarnish the Emperor’s achievements was precisely the Crown Prince. I had no intention of simply letting the deputy priest cover this up.

I couldn’t be content with ‘Thank goodness’ or ‘I’m grateful for that’ just because of Rio’s recovery.

At least we reached the first-floor mausoleum. Perhaps because the danger level had risen, the brooch had been glowing red continuously since we started moving with the trainee priests.

‘He said the deputy priest would arrive soon, so enemies could be everywhere.’

The coffins of past pontiffs, arranged as if noble, pure, and holy, felt grotesque to me.

These people living as priests under a gagging magic. Could everyone really pretend that wound away and live as if nothing happened? Not a single one of them?

“There have been several cases where young priests or squires who went out with him disappeared, and they’re called work accidents though some died. There’s even a rumor that the temple has a ghost at night, which is absurd because such talk never existed before. A ghost in the temple—does that make sense? This rumor is still ongoing. People say they seem benevolent, but I can read faces—this is creepy.”

Suddenly, memories from the consultation came back to me.

‘Wait, then the strange things Osori mentioned… could they be related to this?’

As I exited the mausoleum, I carefully asked Nora the priest.

“Was there, uh… a suicide incident at the Resera temple as well?”

He visibly flinched.

“I heard it was a work accident, but I also heard suspicious things… could it be?”

“It’s worth checking. The Paladin Commander is suspicious too.”

“He came looking for me.”

“…!”

At that moment, a man in silver armor strode in. He showed no sign of surprise or embarrassment.

I knew instinctively. That guy was the Paladin Commander.

“A rat bold enough to barge in.”

Let me correct that. A parachuted Paladin Commander.