I Became The Stepmother Of An Irrevocable Dark Family - Chapter 81

Chapter 81

Obviously, no one cared whether I came or not last time. But now the priests surrounded the carriage like bodyguards.

“…My goodness.”

“What’s wrong, Leona?”

“…It’s like getting swarmed by ants.”

“Ants…?”

“I suppose the temple is full of materialistic people.”

He chuckled when he saw crowds of people just outside the window.

“I see.”

“Then I’ll be back.”

At that time, the carriage gradually stopped.

“Aren’t we going together?”

“Ah! It seems you’re here without the coachman knowing, so I thought you weren’t coming with me ….”

“I’m not wary of the coachman. I was wary of His Excellency. I don’t want him to see me.”

“Oh….”

“He doesn’t allow me to go out, you see.”

Luca reached out to stroke my cheek.

“Why would he do that to Luca?”

“Because he’s jealous.”

“Of us?”

I stared at him as if it was absurd, but he just nodded silently to my question.

“…Isn’t it because you’re skipping work?”

“No. It’s because I’ll be out with you.”

“….Huh?”

“And only the Duke can see through spatial magic that can distort space. That’s what happened recently. At first, he didn’t have the ability to see it.”

Luca looked genuinely disappointed.

“Can he use magic, too?”

“Originally, the Duke of Petri who reached adulthood will manifest that power. However, the current Duke Petri was unable to manifest his power until recently.”

“Ah…”

“Because his power stopped manifesting when he was young.”

“By any chance, would that be an answer to everything that happened so far….? Is it related to what you said before? You said something similar, didn’t you?”

I bombarded him with questions, but instead of answering, Luca took a step closer to the carriage door.

“Shall we get out now?”

Just in time, I heard a knock from outside.

“Madam, may I open the carriage door?”

“…Yes.”

The carriage door slowly opened at my words. From where I alighted, I saw the road spread out all the way to the white marble building. This luxurious entrance was definitely different from the last time I came here to pray.

Luca, who got off the carriage first, reached out his hand to escort me.

“Let me help you, Duchess.”

He embodied the chivalry of a knight right away, as if the figure who brushed my cheeks affectionately just a few minutes ago was a lie.

Meanwhile, the coachman next to Luca just looked at him as if he was stunned.

“Madam?”

“Oh. Thank you.”

Soon, I took his hand and got off the carriage. In the meantime, the priests began to crowd around me. Luca threw a sharp glance at them to protect me.

There was a man who walked with his chest out among the priests.

“May I know which family you belong to?”

“I am Duchess Leona Petri of Petri Dukedom.”

The man’s face beamed when he heard my title. His expression was similar to that of a swindler.

“I knew that someone from Petri Dukedom came when the carriage arrived, but I didn’t expect the infamous Duchess to personally visit.”

Unlike others, the man in a white priest’s uniform made of silk looked up and down at me before bowing his head. His gaze was unpleasant.

“Even Duke Petri doesn’t come to the temple often….so what brings you here, Duchess?”

“Do you mean I shouldn’t come?”

“No. I am very pleased to have you here.”

I looked at the man in silence.

While I was passing by, I found it strange that the priests’ faces looked greasier than any commoner’s. I even thought they washed their face with oil every morning.

I wondered how much weight they gained. It was a very different appearance compared to when they prayed for the lives of the poor.

“Pardon me for my belated introduction, Madam. My name is Raphael.”

“I see.”

I looked at the last person who greeted me for a long time. As I’ve observed before, this man’s clothes were definitely different. This man wore a shiny silk outfit, while the other wore an airy cotton fabric.

“Are you looking for someone?”

“No, that’s not it….it’s my first time coming to the temple.”

“Haha, I see. Don’t worry. People who reside here are either novitiate or junior priests. That’s why I will guide you today. I’m a senior priest.”

“Oh.”

“God seems to have guided me to the Duchess. If it weren’t for me, you would have a hard time entering. A man in his 30’s raised his chin. Then, a unique pattern was seen on his neck collar. As if to show how important that was, the man named Raphael fiddled with his collar with a haughty expression.

“As the senior priest here, I will escort you inside immediately. Hoho.”

“…Thank you.”

His steps looked more enthusiastic than ever.

But it was true that the priests who swarmed us like a wolfpack chasing its prey slowly retreated when Raphael began to guide me. They looked genuinely disappointed that they lost their mark.

“Didn’t you mention that this is your first time visiting the temple? I’d like to show you around…”

“No. I’m not here to pray.”

“Is that so? How peculiar. Usually, the Madam of a noble household comes here to pray for the prosperity of the family by giving a large donation.”

“Unfortunately, our family doesn’t need any of that.”

“…R-Really? But the donation….”

Wow. What the hell? Didn’t you say you’ll guide me?

“Well, I’m here for something else.”

“What would that be?”

“Um, first of all, I’d like to meet the high priest. Can I have an audience with him right now?”

“Oh! Do you want to talk with the high priest? Well, I’m not really sure…but he’s quite busy and he’s also a very private person, so that’d be a bit difficult ….”

His friendly attitude completely disappeared when I told him that I didn’t want to donate.

What kind of priests are they?

Rather than a temple to worship God, I thought it’d be more befitting to call it a temple to worship money. Perhaps that’s why they competed to serve me, who came here as a Duchess. Because they thought I had more money than ordinary believers.

This was not a good sign.

“Is that so? Hmm..that’s too bad. Then I should return now.”

“Yes. I don’t think I can walk you back. I have a lot of work to do as a senior priest, you see.”

It’d be better to just give him money.

“Alright. Then I’ll have to ask someone else. I’ll give the donation to…”

“Hoho. It’d be a different story if you were going to donate money. I’ll make sure to use my name to get you to the high priest.”

Unlike before, his eyes shone disgustingly. From the look on his face, it seemed like he urged me to give him the money right away, so I had no choice but to take out my purse.

“Ohh!”

“….I can meet the high priest if I donate money, right?”

“Of course. I’ll arrange it no matter what with my name on the line!”

Looking at his twinkling eyes, I couldn’t help but give my purse to him.

“Then, I’ll give you this as a contribution.”

“That’s a wonderful idea! Since the Duchess is here, we will serve you wholeheartedly.”

He grinned and suddenly opened the door in front of him.

“Where is this….”

“This is the guest room. If you stay here, I will bring the high priest to you.”

“…Alright. Thank you.”

“Yes. High Priest Caleb is someone who likes to move from place to place, so I ask for your patience to wait a little more.”

After saying that, he hummed a tune as if he was in a good mood and went out. And I stood there speechless for a while.

“Caleb….?”

“Leona? What’s wrong?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Are you uncomfortable?”

“No…that…his name is Caleb. I’ve heard it before.”

As if worried about me, Luca held my hand tightly as soon as the senior priest left the room.

“Are you sure?”

“It may be a common name, but….”

“It’s not a common name. Ever since they vowed to become God’s servant, they have abandoned their real names and only used the name granted by God. All the names of the priests here are said to be a continuation of their past names.”

I frowned at his smooth explanation.

“That means…”

“They don’t use their priest name outside. Because that’s considered a form of blasphemy. Conversely, they don’t use the names they were called outside right here. For example, Raphael, the priest that just left, means that he’s the guardian of the traveler and is only used here.”

“…That’s mean, Caleb….”

“Only one person uses it.”

I gulped nervously. He can’t be the guy I met last time, can he?

“Does his name mean ‘dog’?”

“That’s right. And the only person who has that name is High Priest Caleb Benedict Samuel.”

“….Huh? Don’t tell me he was the person I met last time?”

“Did you really meet the high priest? He’s not someone you can meet so easily, though.”

“…Right? I must be mistaken. Someone must be pretending to be the high priest. Haha. That can’t be true.”

I just waved my hand and smiled awkwardly. Who I met last time was surely a homeless person.

“Leona, are you okay?”

“I’m okay. Seems like it will take some time, so let’s just chill out a little bit.”

To relieve the awkwardness, I walked to the window and opened the door that led to the terrace. But then,

“Argh!”

A man was standing in front of me. When I was surprised, the man suddenly entered with a relaxed smile.

“Oops! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to surprise you like this…”

“Y-You! H-Homeless guy…?!”

“…Haha. I’m not homeless. I’m Caleb.”

Luca bowed his head in a hurry when he saw the homeless guy scratching his head.

“Greetings to the High Priest.”

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