Delilah opened the door. Kirion, who was waiting outside for the result, looked at Delilah’s empty hands. Delilah shook her head with a disappointed expression.

“It’s not here.”

“I guess she didn’t hide it on her body.”

Satin tightly gripped the knot at her waist that Delilah had carelessly tied. Delilah had thoroughly searched Satin’s body.

It was a terrible experience. It took a while to calm her churning insides and digest the humiliation.

“Good work.”

“It’s nothing.”

Delilah lightly kissed Kirion’s lips.

“I’m truly curious. Where could the sacred artifact be hidden to have disappeared so completely?”

Satin replied coldly.

“I suppose there’s a reason why you can forge the oracle but not the sacred artifact.”

“Your courage is remarkable. Aren’t you afraid after going through such hardships because of the oracle?”

“I think you’re the one who’s afraid now. You forged the oracle, but things aren’t going as planned, so you’ve come to harass me, haven’t you?”

At Satin’s defiance, Kirion leaned against the door, standing crookedly. The door closed with his weight.

With a dry gaze devoid of any humor, Kirion looked down at Satin trapped in the room.

“Yes, since it’s just us, let’s have a frank exchange of opinions. You seem to consider yourself quite clever, so you might be able to answer my curiosity. Tell me. Why did the oracle choose Vitalis instead of me? Does even the famous divine sight of the oracle become blurry after two hundred years?”

“The oracle chooses the person who will rule the country better. I suppose you thought you had the qualities to be the Pope?”

“Of course. What do I lack compared to Vitalis? Ambition? Intelligence? Power? Experience?”

Emphasizing each word, Kirion approached Satin step by step.

“I merely corrected the foolish oracle.”

It was a voice without a trace of doubt. Kirion, who had come very close, glared at Satin. Satin didn’t avoid his gaze.

“The reason His Eminence Vitalis was chosen is simple. It’s because fewer people will die if he becomes the Pope.”

“What?”

“Look at the people you’ve sacrificed so far with the intention of ascending to the Pope’s seat. Those sacrifices will continue in the future.”

Among the people Satin knew, a priest and Larie had already died. She didn’t know if Kirion’s men were involved, but even the Pope’s death had been concealed.

Moreover, Kirion had tried to kill Satin and Gjorn. If someone else harbors suspicion or opposes him, Kirion won’t forgive them.

Since Satin had sown the seeds of distrust, if he ascends to the Holy See, there’s a high possibility that more people, including Cardinal Conchent, will be in danger.

Satin continued speaking clearly.

“Ambition, intelligence, power, experience. Of course, you might excel in these areas, but slightly lacking knowledge and experience can be gained through other people. After all, aren’t the guardian families, the Holy Knights, and the priests all there to assist the Pope? The Pope just needs to consider which decision will result in fewer sacrifices. That’s something others can sufficiently help with.”

However, the difference between someone who can unhesitatingly harm others for their own purposes and someone who can’t comes from their innate nature.

This was a value that couldn’t be obtained from others. It was a gap that couldn’t be narrowed by study or effort.

The oracle must have seen the innate nature of both people. It didn’t choose the more excellent person, but the one who would cause less harm.

Crash. The sound of something breaking and collapsing kept coming from somewhere, indicating how roughly they were searching the house. Kirion opened the door and called the knights waiting nearby.

“Find the sacred artifact even if you have to destroy this house. And you all will return to the Papal Palace with me first.”

“Yes.”

Kirion gestured towards Satin with his chin.

“You’ll have to come with me too.”

The knights bound Satin’s arms on both sides. She never had any intention of running away from the start. There was no way to escape. This was a situation she had been prepared for.

Satin was dragged back to the Papal Palace.

* * *

Satin mustered her courage. It would be fine even if she was imprisoned again. She had experienced it before, so she could endure it.

She would warmly wrap her belly to protect the child, and the morning sickness…

As Satin was pulled out of the carriage, diligently considering ways to survive, she tried to hide her rising suspicion when Kirion took her in a different direction instead of to the prison.

“…Where are we going?”

“It would be troublesome if Rublier broke into the prison. I need to keep you in a place I know best.”

Satin was pushed into the Papal Palace.

Kirion’s intention was clear. Even though nobles invited to official events come and go in the Papal Palace, the areas permitted to them were mainly the outer rooms related to banquets and official duties.

Even if the young Rublier had often visited on Kirion’s invitation, he wouldn’t have shared every corner of the Papal Palace.

In any mansion, there are secret places that only the residents know about.

After passing through corridors tangled like a maze and entering the inner rooms, the number of servants noticeably decreased.

Even when they saw Satin, they passed by with their heads bowed, pretending not to see her. They didn’t seem like people who took care of the daily lives of the Pope’s family.

There was a strange atmosphere, as if they had voluntarily blocked their eyes and ears.

It didn’t take long to realize the reason.

Kirion imprisoned her in a narrow secret room on the top floor. With the latch on the outside, Satin couldn’t even open the door.

There was one small window, but due to the high floor and deep location, no people were visible when looking down.

It was perfect isolation.

The only person who came to see Satin here was Kirion.

He came in and out frequently, alternating between persuasion and threats regarding the sacred artifact.

“I really don’t understand. They say they tore apart the house but couldn’t find the sacred artifact?”

Of course. He keeps coming to pry because they couldn’t find the sacred artifact. Satin lay on the bed, maintaining her silence.

“If it doesn’t come out even after turning everything upside down like this, it must not be in the house. If it’s not in the house… did you put it outside the house?”

Kirion threw out clues one by one, openly observing Satin’s expression.

“Well, that house is surrounded by fields and forests, so there are many places to hide if one is determined to do so.”

If she had the acting skills of someone like Delilah, she could skillfully manipulate her expressions to confuse Kirion, but unfortunately, Satin lacked such ability.

At best, she could only maintain a blank expression to avoid falling for Kirion’s intention to test her.

“Did you hide it in the ground? Or throw it in the barn?”

Satin firmly pressed her lips together.

The sacred artifact was in the safest place.

A place that wouldn’t catch the eye and leave no trace. A place where it wouldn’t be noticeable even if a sacred artifact was inside. A place where no one would imagine the sacred artifact would be sleeping.

Satin had agonized quite a bit to find such a place.

The time when she decided that the sacred artifact shouldn’t fall into Kirion’s hands was the day she left the house after the divorce.

The very day she resolved that no matter what, she wouldn’t let Del Mare fall to Kirion.

‘Miss, you said you’d pack the valuables yourself. Have you packed everything?’

‘…Not yet. Send the luggage cart ahead.’

‘What about you, Miss? You should go together.’

‘I’ll go a little later. I want to be alone for a moment. Come back for me in two hours.’

At that time, Satin had sent Larie ahead and remained alone in the newlywed home. Secretly holding the most precious sacred artifact to her chest, she walked around the nearby area.

Of course, she had considered burying it in the ground. But when she swept the ground with her toes, the red subsoil was revealed, so she quickly gave up on that idea.

Now it seems that was a good decision.

Kirion narrowed his eyes, observing Satin. Satin tried not to mind that uncomfortable interference.

“But if you dug up the ground, there would surely be traces left somewhere. However, in my opinion, you’re not the type to carelessly leave evidence.”

There were a few habits she developed while living in the newlywed home.

No matter where you stay for a while, you tend to develop an attachment to certain spaces. It was the same for Satin.

Her legs, accustomed to habit, moved familiarly. Walking heavily while looking for a suitable place, when she unconsciously looked up, Satin found herself at the lakeside.

Nature doesn’t change. The slightly faded color was largely due to the season. Beyond spring, when bright summer comes, the scenery would be painted with vibrant vitality.

By then, she probably wouldn’t be here.

Satin stared at the lake. Everything in the scene was the same. The small boat still swaying gently tied to the fence, the oar carelessly placed on that boat, and the memories of time spent alone with Rublier on that boat.

The lake was calm. The wind touched the surface, drawing gentle ripples. The deep water soon swallowed the waves.

The winter lake was dark and blue, its bottom completely invisible.

An impulse arose in the deeply pooled abyss. If one wanted to hide a secret from the world forever…

Kirion’s voice interrupted her reminiscence.

“I’ve completely grasped the layout of that house, including the blueprints and the surrounding geography.”

Satin replied indifferently.

“So what?”

“Even after searching the house and examining the ground, it’s nowhere to be seen, as if it flew into the sky or sank into the earth. There’s only one answer left. Did you submerge it in the lake?”

She inadvertently flinched. Though she quickly composed her expression, Kirion caught the momentary awkward sign.

“It would be better not to harbor thoughts of deceiving me. The sacred artifact calls to me every day. The voice is getting louder and louder. Telling me to grasp it quickly, that it belongs to me.”

“It’s not there.”

“Your face is saying something completely different, though?”

Kirion’s eye for detail was sharp. Satin buried one cheek in the blanket.

Since she couldn’t tell what expression she was making with her own eyes, it was easier to just cover her face.

“Don’t test my patience.”

“I wouldn’t dare.”

“You seem to be keeping your mouth shut thinking that hiding the sacred artifact will prolong your life that much, but know that you’re forcing my patience to the same extent. Once the sacred artifact is in my hands, you’ll pay the price several times over.”

Kirion abruptly stood up from the chair and stretched his mouth into a long line. His lips were rising, but his eyes weren’t smiling at all, creating an eerie gap between the upper and lower parts of his face.

“I’ll have to scrape the bottom of the lake. It’s not a difficult task to launch a boat and lower a net. We’ll have an answer in two days.”

Satin didn’t say anything.

“I’ll give you credit for your efforts until now.”

The door closed with a thud.