Chapter 87:
The child met the boy every other day.
The two of them talked and laughed like close friends. However, they both knew that this couldn’t last long.
After all, they were of different social statuses. The child, once a duchess’s daughter, was now living in the slums, while the boy was a noble, the son of a marquis.
In reality, they were only able to talk so comfortably because of their young age. As they grew older, it would be impossible to have such conversations. So, the boy thought of a way to stay with the child.
After much thought, the boy said, “Lise…”
“Yes, Kaine…”
The child looked at the boy. Kaine smiled brightly and said…
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.The screen disappeared, and an awkward atmosphere filled the church.
“…”
“…”
Everyone’s gaze shifted to Marin and Gerard. The two men, caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, were sweating nervously.
Ange’s cold gaze fell upon Marin, who was standing in front of the podium.
“What’s going on, Valentina Von Marin?”
“This is a setup!”
Marin shouted in response to her question, his face filled with indignation.
“I’ve never had any dealings with the cult! Who is this Andrew, anyway?”
At his words, Gerard nodded in agreement, his face also showing indignation. However…
“Wasn’t the person on the screen just now obviously Marin?”
“That’s right. Does that mean the Ripford and Valentina families have been cooperating with the cult?”
At the nobles’ reaction, the members of the two families furrowed their brows. Meanwhile, Lise was bewildered by the sudden turn of events.
‘Could it be…?’
Kaine?
If so, the current situation made sense.
Based on Marin’s reaction, it was clear that he hadn’t been in contact with the cult. Additionally, Gerard, who had always been calm and collected, was now showing signs of panic.
Therefore, it was likely that they were truly being framed. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have reacted in such a way.
‘Where is Kaine right now?’
As Lise looked around, wondering about Kaine’s whereabouts…
-Gerard, a member of the cult, greets Andrew.
The screen appeared again, this time showing Gerard instead of Marin.
He knelt on one knee in front of a man wearing a devil’s mask, his head bowed. Andrew, who appeared on the screen, spoke in a solemn tone.
-Good. I’ve heard from Marin about the engagement ceremony. Do you think you can make it a success?
-Yes, I do.
At his words, everyone’s attention shifted to Gerard. Unlike his usual self, his face now showed emotion.
-If we succeed in this, the cult will be able to take control of the Leiston continent. So, make sure you don’t get caught by anyone, especially Marin’s fiancée. This matter is of utmost importance.
-Yes, I understand, Andrew.
-Good. Everything is for the sake of the cult.
-For the sake of the cult.
The screen disappeared again. Patrick, the second prince of the royal family, looked at the two men with a serious expression.
‘Could it be that two dukes were involved with the cult?’
In fact, the royal family had been cautiously investigating the cult, but progress had been slow.
The only thing they had found out was the name of the cult’s boss. Aside from that, they had discovered almost nothing.
‘Even the name Andrew is unknown to most of the royal family.’
Therefore, it was highly likely that the sudden appearance of the video was not a fake.
As the people in the church were stunned by the sudden turn of events, the door slowly opened.
-Creak!
Everyone’s gaze shifted to the entrance. A paladin, panting and sweating, entered.
“Huff, huff.”
“Ed, is something wrong?”
At Ange’s kind question, Ed took a moment to catch his breath and then slowly spoke.
“The Goddess of Fate has given a divine revelation.”
“Huh?!”
At his words, everyone in the church, including Patrick, was shocked.
Divine revelation.
A message directly given by the five transcendent beings in the world, known as the Constellations. In reality, this was enough for the Temple to take action.
Ed cleared his throat and took out a note he had brought with him, saying,
“Ahem! The Ripford and Valentina families have been in contact with the cult separately. Furthermore, they intend to use the cult to lead the Leiston continent to its destruction. However, the butler of the Ripford family, Knox, and the victim, the daughter of the Ripford family, Lise, are not involved. Therefore, with the exception of these two, the Saint Ange and the members of the Temple will lead the way to severely punish the two families.”
An awkward atmosphere filled the church. After all, they were being ordered to destroy the two families right now.
Ange, after hearing the divine revelation, looked at the paladin and asked,
“Is this divine revelation certain?”
“Yes, it is. The Grand Paladin is currently leading the paladins and priests towards us.”
At his words, the members of the two families, including Marin and Gerard, turned pale. This meant that the Temple’s forces were on their way.
“Then, I will now act as the Saint.”
Upon hearing Ange’s declaration, Marin quickly objected.
“Wait a moment! This is a setup! I have never been in contact with the cult!”
“That’s right! Our family has never had any dealings with the cult either!”
At the shouts of Gerard and Marin, the members of the two families nodded desperately. Ange, upon hearing their words, widened her eyes in anger.
“Are you saying that the Goddess of Fate is lying?”
“Th, that…”
At her question, they wanted to deny it, but doing so in front of the Saint would be madness. It would cause problems either way.
The two families were now in a dilemma. Denying it would be considered blasphemy, and agreeing to it would mean being captured by the Temple.
Ange looked at the two families and said,
“Then, we will now proceed to subdue them.”
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.
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Meanwhile, I was watching the situation in the church, disguised as a noble. I almost died while trying to act for this shot.
At the time, we had so many NGs while creating the evidence. Kage secretly filmed the video, and I studied it to create the legitimate evidence that was just shown.
To create that evidence, I had to analyze every action of those two people, which I didn’t want to see, for almost a whole day.
So, what should I do now? I had calculated up to this point, but I had no plan for what to do next. After all, it was obvious that things would be resolved on their own from here.
As I was pondering, Marin, Gerard, and the members of the two families eventually denied the divine revelation, claiming they were being framed.
“We have never communicated with the cult!”
“We know nothing! This is a setup!”
Ugh, look at them denying it. Despite the evidence and the divine revelation, they still wanted to act innocent.
Those despicable people. Although they looked genuinely wronged, it was clearly an act.
After all, the circumstances pointed to their communication with the cult. I looked around for a moment.
The fact that two ducal families were in contact with the cult was so shocking that everyone was staring with their mouths agape. Then, one of the nobles, who looked like an extra, spoke up.
“But… they do look genuinely wronged, don’t they?”
I quickly shook my head in response to his question.
“Shh, be quiet. That could also be an act.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
“Of course. With the evidence and the divine revelation, it has to be an act.”
Yes, that’s right. And their acting was no joke. Despite the evidence and the divine revelation, their acting almost shook the judgment of the Temple.
What a cowardly attempt to incite people with their facial expressions. Just as expected of the members of the cult who were trying to take over the continent.
However…
‘This wasn’t the only thing I prepared.’
I infused power into the communication ring and played the video. Then, I adjusted the effect quality to maximize the video quality.
-Huhuhu. If this plan succeeds, we can destroy the Temple, including the Leiston royalty.
Another giant screen appeared in the church. On the screen, Marin was laughing sinisterly.
-Now, the Leiston continent will be dominated by the church.
-Andrew will surely give me a share of the profits.
What a despicable man! For a moment, I, along with the other nobles, almost fell for their act.
“I never said anything like that!”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Who else could it be but you on that screen?”
At his denial, I immediately pointed at him and shouted.
The nobles around me nodded in agreement with my words.
“That’s right! The person in the video is obviously you!”
“Admit it already!”
“How dare you try to deceive us!”
At my words, Marin’s face turned red, and he trembled with rage. Soon, he was captured by the Saint, Ange.
Thus, Marin, Gerard, and the members of the Valentina and Ripford families were all bound by divine chains. Ed looked at them and asked Ange,
“Saint, what should we do with Ripford Von Lise and Knox?”
“The Goddess of Fate has directly stated in her divine revelation that they are not involved. So, don’t touch them.”
Ange looked at Lise, who was standing on the podium with a dazed expression, and said,
“Then, let’s take these people to the Temple.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Ange and Ed took the despicable people out of the church. As they left, they continued to deny everything.
-I never communicated with the cult…
I don’t know anything…
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After the storm had passed, an awkward silence filled the church. The first to break the silence was none other than Patrick.
“Everyone, don’t talk about what you saw here to anyone.”
“Yes, we understand.”
The nobles nodded in agreement with the royal family’s words. Then, Patrick and the other nobles left the church.
However, Skaya and Kaine remained. Skaya hugged Lise, who was still dazed.
“Lise, did that sleazy man do anything to you?”
“No… it’s not like that.”
“Good. That’s a relief. Truly.”
“But, Skaya…”
“Yes?”
“Where is Kaine right now? And who is that person…?”
Skye looked at Lise’s trembling eyes and then glanced at Kaine.
‘That’s right. He was in disguise, wasn’t he?’
I had no idea what kind of disguise he was using, but it was perfect. I’m sure that even if others saw the man in front of them, they wouldn’t think it was Kaine.
‘Could it be that he disguised himself in the video he showed earlier?’
The thought suddenly crossed my mind, but I shook my head.
‘No, even with a disguise, it’s impossible to change his height and build to look like those two people in such a short time.’
Skye thought and whispered to Lise,
“That’s Kaine.”
“Huh?”
What was she talking about? The man in front of us looked completely different from Kaine.
Lise didn’t understand her strange words, so Skaya pushed her towards Kaine. Then, she quickly disappeared from in front of the two of them.
“…”
“…”
An awkward silence filled the air between the two of them. Outside, snow began to fall.
I shifted my gaze to Kaine, who had returned to his original appearance.
“Do, Young Master?”
“Yes.”
“So, you were in the church from the beginning?”
“Well, I did say that I would solve this somehow.”
“Yes… you did.”
After that, another silence fell. It was so awkward.
I thought we would have an emotional reunion when we met again, but it’s been only a few days since we last saw each other, and it feels awkward.
I’m not sure of the exact reason, but maybe it’s because I thought of Lise as a duchess’s daughter.
“So, Lise is of higher status than me?”
“Yes… Well, my family will soon be destroyed.”
As the person who caused that destruction, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.
‘Well, Lise didn’t care about her family’s destruction anyway.’
So… will she now become my personal maid? I don’t know.
Regardless of her current status, she is still a duchess’s daughter.
For a mere son of a marquis to have a duchess’s daughter as his personal maid is absurd. Looking at Lise’s expression, it’s clear that she’s worried about her status.
From reading her expression, she seems to be thinking…
‘Can I really become his personal maid?’
‘Will I be a burden to him because of my status?’
She’s definitely thinking something like this. But status doesn’t matter.
After all, the gag order has already been issued. What matters more is the feelings between the two of them.
I took a deep breath and spoke, and Kaine smiled brightly, just like he did when he was a child.
Upon hearing his words, Lise widened her eyes, and memories of her childhood came flooding back.
-Lise…
-Yes, Kaine…
-Will you be my personal maid?
Lise smiled through her tears, just like she did when she was a child.
“Yes, Young Master.”