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Although it was titled as a means to wash away sins, in reality it was a ledger that left the most vivid evidence of those sins.

Did they disguise themselves like this despite knowing their own sins, or did they believe that, like a confession, confessing would make Lemer forgive them? Were they trying by any means to ease the pangs of conscience?

“What a nauseating hypocrisy.”

But it was important evidence. Irrefutable, undeniable proof. It was worth the risk to follow Lemer’s signal.

“We found it, so let’s get out of here quickly.”

“Yes.”

Nora the priest and I quickly put the items we had searched through back in their places, then opened the door and stepped out.

“They said a rat got in, and it was true.”

But before we could even fully leave the building, we ran into the minister. If Lemer was going to hide us, he could have done so more securely instead of putting us in this situation.

‘Nora, a mid-level priest, won’t be enough. We’ll have to rely on Lemer’s blessing.’

But I never intended to fight head-on from the start. We fled toward the exit as fast as we could. Yet the minister, who was physically more capable than expected, quickly caught up to us.

“Hah, hah.”

“What do we do now, Chancellor?”

“Let’s use Lemer’s blessing.”

The problem was that I didn’t know how to use it.

I put Nora the priest behind me and stepped forward slowly. The minister flashed a fierce look at me—an eye full of worldly corruption and greed, not at all like the kindly minister I might have imagined.

“This doesn’t seem like a time for greetings. What did you take from my room, Chancellor?”

“What do you think I might have taken, minister?”

“We will punish you greatly for causing such a disturbance in this holy temple.”

“You mean the ‘special baptism’ that was a cover for prostitution? The Prince will be waiting impatiently. Whether tonight or tomorrow, he’ll be expecting that day, but the promise won’t be kept—what then?”

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

True to being the Crown Prince’s lackey, he feigned ignorance and couldn’t grasp the situation.

“All it is already out in the open, minister. There are many witnesses and testimonies.”

The minister scoffed.

“Who would believe the words of a young novice priest? They’re not even fully ordained. They must have been frightened and mistaken.”

I met his dismissal with a sneer.

“That’s only before the minister lets his guard down and starts babbling the whole story. Can’t we just lift the gagging spell and interrogate the priests who received the special baptism? Ah, Urael, the Paladin Commander, should be included too. His recruitment was riddled with corruption from the start.”

“T-this is…! H-how could you! It’s an internal matter of the temple! Young Chancellor, this is not something you should concern yourself with…!”

Then you shouldn’t have touched my sibling.

I let a faint smile spread across my face.

“That can’t be. The empire’s citizens openly use the temple, after all. There are no exceptions. Besides… a minister involved in such crimes is likely not a pure man, so you will have to cooperate as well. You might even be excommunicated.”

“W-what! You seem to have forgotten that this is a temple. They could arrest the Chancellor and kill him right away and it could be buried.”

“You seem to have forgotten as well, minister: that the Lord watches all.”

I spread my arms and lifted my face toward the sky.

‘I can’t believe I’m saying something like this.’

It was a sort of signal requesting aid from Lemer.

My pious posture seemed to strike a nerve; the minister’s face flushed. He quickly formed chains of holy power and attacked us.

“Ugh!”

Nora the priest and I narrowly avoided the attack. For a moment I thought it was actually fortunate to face the minister rather than the Paladin Commander.

But moments later, the Order of Paladins who had been pursuing us joined him, and we were quickly pushed onto the defensive.

“Hah, so much for all your talk—how splendid.”

I muttered every spell I could think of, but the brooch only glowed redder and nothing happened.

‘Damn it, I’m going to die like this.’

Is this death more meaningful than death by overwork?

Ah, still, I wanted to at least see Rio fully recover before I went.

I surrounded by the minister and the fake Order of Paladins, I gradually let go of hope, painfully realizing that a strategist should never be on the field.

“Nora, I’m sorry because of me. If you get a chance to explain, say I coerced you into guiding them.”

Nora shook her head.

“Don’t say such unlucky things. Lemer gave a prophecy; someone will save us in one way or another. And even if we die, we’ll have fulfilled the prophecy—there will be no regrets.”

The minister took slow steps forward. His vile smile was an exact replica of Lorence’s.

“I will make sure you and your family are sent off according to the will of the Lord Lemer.”

“Lemer hears you. You’ll regret this.”

“You’ll have time to think about that if you survive. Kill them!”

With those words, the minister’s chains trapped us and the Order of Paladins charged forward with their swords. If they came any closer, sharp blades would pierce my body.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

But I felt nothing.

“W-what! How!”

Instead, a voice of shock burst out from the other side.

“Magic Tower Master!”

‘What?’

When I opened my eyes, Aidan, his lavender hair streaming, had moved Nora the priest and me a short distance away and stood facing the enemies.

“Aidan?”

“Good thing I secretly tweaked the brooch expecting this. Coco is reckless.”

The brooch was glowing the reddest I’ve ever seen.

“So this brooch called Aidan here?”

“It’s a one-time thing, but not a bad effect. Shall I take care of them for you?”

I asked for a blessing and they sent the Magic Tower Master. Whatever it was, they gave me something, so I stopped complaining and steadied myself.

“Handle them appropriately and move us to the exit I’ll show you! We don’t have much time!”

Right now, joining up with Raven was the most important thing. Any killing here would be meaningless.

“Understood. I was worried it would take time to deal with the minister too, so this is fortunate.”

Aidan chanted a long spell, then smiled faintly and snapped his fingers. A large explosion erupted in front of the minister and the Order of Paladins.

Boom!

My vision was instantly clouded with red blast light and dust. Aidan lifted me lightly and Nora the priest snapped her fingers to float up, then we moved quickly. Once a good distance had opened up, I hurriedly gave my thanks.

“Thank you, Aidan.”

“I’m glad I could save you. By the way, where did your fiancé run off to?”

“He’s fighting that corrupt Paladin Commander Urael or whatever his name is.”

“Sounds like a lot was going on.”

Holding me, he sighed softly and the playful expression left his face.

“Coco, I know why you didn’t call me.”

“…”

No matter how urgent it was, I had no right to ask someone who would never accept to join such a dangerous undertaking. It felt absurd that I could kneel willingly before the Crown Prince but couldn’t ask this of him; Aidan seemed to pierce right through that contradiction.

“But if anything had happened to you while I wasn’t there, I would have been more tormented.”

“Aidan.”

“I’m the Magic Tower Master—there’s no excuse for me not protecting one of the few people I treasure. So when danger like this happens, calling me isn’t for Coco, it’s for me. Well, it also gives me a chance to show off this impressive side of mine.”

“…Thank you.”

“Mm.”

He smiled faintly and somehow looked mature.

We quickly saw the rendezvous point. Prince Raven led the way, with Girion and part of the royal Second Order of Knights fighting the fake Paladins. Fortunately, Marcella and the novice priests seemed to have arrived safely.

“Coco!”

They looked at me with relief. But it wasn’t over yet. The moment Aidan set me down before them, he called out.

“The minister and the fake Paladins are coming after us!”

“We should get out of here quickly! Everyone, wrap this up!”

On Raven’s command, the knights slowly pulled back and prepared to flee. I looked around. No matter how I searched, the person I was looking for was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Ren?”

No one said anything.

“Where is Ren?”

Everyone else had arrived; only Ren was missing.

Could he really still be on his way? My last memory of him was charging at the fake Paladins, and unpleasant scenarios began popping into my head.

‘Is he badly injured? Or was he captured and imprisoned somewhere…?’

Cold sweat broke out without my noticing, and my hands started to tremble.

“I shouldn’t have sent him alone after all…”

“Coco, you only ever see him sitting at his desk studying like a bookworm, so you don’t know him?”

At that moment, a sudden step brought me to the surface.

“Huh?”

“The succession ceremony. Didn’t you see him smash through my barrier with his bare hands? His flashy record wasn’t made up. On the battlefield, they say he once held onto one target until he was finished—people even called him a mad dog…”

“A… mad dog?”

“There comes!”

At that shout, I turned my head and saw a dark silhouette. It was Ren.

His clothes were filthy, but thankfully he didn’t seem injured. His red eyes shone with a crazed sharpness, and steam flowed from his mouth as if the temperature around him had dropped. If he weren’t my boyfriend, he would have looked like a hellish lion.

He was dragging something by hand. I squinted to see what it was.

“…The Paladin Commander?”

He was a mess, but it was definitely Urael. Aidan whispered beside me.

“Look at him, you really taught him a lesson.”