Cynthia instinctively knew Marquis Berto was the culprit, but with only suspicion and no evidence, she could only let time pass resentfully until now.

“Saintess?”

Hearing someone call her, Cynthia ended her reminiscence and quietly gazed at the person sitting before her.

A woman of indeterminate age wearing a robe.

Upon hearing that Adriel was walking around the temple alongside an outside visitor, Cynthia recalled the day when the missing Adriel had returned to the temple.

When asked where he had been, Adriel, who had returned to the temple, said he had slipped and fallen from a cliff while training in the mountains.

He added that, fortunately, he had survived thanks to the help of a woman living in the mountains, but due to memory loss from the fall’s impact, he couldn’t return to the temple for a while.

Cynthia keenly read the subtle changes in Adriel’s expression as he told this story.

Those eyes that momentarily showed a distant and affectionate light when talking about the woman of indeterminate age…

They were clearly the eyes of someone in love.

It was hard to believe.

Love, for Lord Adriel?

Suddenly, she naturally recalled the day when the Captain of the Holy Knights first brought Adriel.

At that time, despite his extremely young age, everyone who saw Adriel thought the same thing.

‘How could such a being be living in the same world as us?’

He was like a living statue. One that seemed meticulously carved by God himself.

Even Cynthia, who was never nervous about anything, found it difficult to meet Adriel’s eyes as her heart trembled.

But that feeling didn’t last long.

‘A rigid man.’

Always focused solely on training as if being chased by something, Adriel was indifferent to everything.

Because of this, some people even wondered if Adriel might actually be a wooden puppet without emotions.

And now this man was walking amiably around the temple with an outsider?

It was hard to believe, but after seeing Adriel flustered and unable to handle one woman, she had to acknowledge it.

“Um, Saintess… Are you listening to me?”

Recalling Adriel’s gaze that never left the woman before him the entire time they were together, Cynthia thought.

She had thought the woman was just the object of Adriel’s one-sided love.

But perhaps she was the benefactor who had brought the key to the problem that had been giving her a headache.

***

“That’s right.”

Cynthia, who had been lost in thought, finally put down the axe beside her.

“As Miss Wit said, the one who stole the sacred relic was Marquis Berto. And the sacred relic is actually… a demon.”

Good…!

I clenched my fist inwardly.

The fact that Cynthia was speaking honestly meant she was willing to trust me.

“But Miss Wit.”

Cynthia looked at me and asked.

“We need evidence to expose Marquis Berto’s crime. Even we who live in the temple couldn’t find evidence, so how can you help us?”

“What if I get a confession from Marquis Berto?”

At my words, Cynthia’s eyes widened.

“Then you, Saintess, would have the evidence to bring the Marquis to a temple trial.”

Cynthia, who had looked surprised for a moment, soon slightly furrowed her brow, her expression questioning what I was talking about.

“You’re not trying to mock me, are you? Getting a confession from Marquis Berto. Do you think that’s possible?”

“Saintess, actually, my life is being threatened by Marquis Berto.”

I continued speaking while watching Cynthia’s slightly trembling eyes.

“Miss Wit, what do you mean…?”

“I’m telling you that I want Marquis Berto to rot in prison for the rest of his life just as much as you want to catch him.”

Our interests align.

So please trust me.

After all, you have nothing to lose by trusting me.

What could be more effective persuasion than this?

Cynthia, who had been looking at me seriously, suddenly jumped up from her seat.

“Please give me a moment to think.”

After pacing around the reception room for a few minutes, she sat down across from me again.

“Alright. Since we’ve come this far, there’s no reason to hide anything.”

What is she trying to say?

I blinked in confusion.

“Miss Wit. Let me be honest with you. I don’t care whether Marquis Berto stole the sacred relic or not.”

“…Pardon?”

“I would have felt rather relieved at the thought of finally driving that thing out of the temple.”

Not just that she felt relieved, but that she would have felt relieved.

Thinking about the meaning of those words, I slightly opened my mouth.

Ah, could it be…?

“Saintess, are you afraid of the sacred relic’s true identity becoming known to the public?”

“That’s right.”

Cynthia nodded.

“I’m sorry, but for me, silencing the Marquis is more important than catching him.”

Isn’t that… too honest?

Honestly, it wasn’t something a Saintess would typically say, so I was rather taken aback.

Well, at this point, what kind of person the Saintess is, or why the temple was keeping a demon disguised as a sacred relic, isn’t important. It’s not my concern either.

Anyway, Cynthia wanted Lucian’s identity as the sacred relic not to be revealed even after he admitted to the crime.

After being lost in thought for a moment, I murmured.

“There is a way.”

“Could you explain in detail?”

I raised my head and looked at Cynthia.

Since she knows about the demon’s existence, she must also know something about the ‘contract,’ right?

“Marquis Berto made a contract with that demon.”

“Goodness.”

And sure enough, with apparent knowledge of what kind of contract it was, Cynthia began fumbling around for the axe beside her.

Though I was startled again by her action, I calmly continued my explanation.

“We can use that to our advantage. If we can get Marquis Berto to confess that he made a contract with the sacred relic, then the Marquis won’t be able to reveal the relic’s true identity. Because making a contract with a demon is a far more serious crime than theft.”

Before coming to the temple, I had researched imperial law.

One of those laws stated that anyone who contracts with or assists a demon is to be executed immediately without any mitigating circumstances.

If he doesn’t want to die, he wouldn’t dare breathe a word about the sacred relic’s true identity.

Of course, Lucian was the kind of person who didn’t value his own life much, considering he didn’t hesitate to make a life-costing contract with Taro.

But even so, he wouldn’t act rashly right away.

After extorting the sacred relic and now targeting Wit, Lucian probably doesn’t want to die immediately.

Someone who wants something wouldn’t carelessly throw away their life.

And I too…

I was momentarily afraid of the fact that I had made a contract with Wit, but quickly regained my composure.

It will be fine.

Once this is over, I can leave the empire right away.

“Indeed… if it works out that way, as you say, Miss Wit, Marquis Berto won’t be able to freely disclose the sacred relic’s identity.”

Cynthia, who had been muttering to herself with her hand covering her mouth, looked at me with surprise.

“You’ve come well-prepared, Miss Wit.”

I put on a determined expression and gave Cynthia a small smile.

“I’ve been through a lot.”

Lucian Berto. He must have thought I was an easy target.

I offered a pious prayer, befitting the temple, that he would remain well until I could repay him doubly for what I’d received.

***

Thud-!

A priest who was hurrying across the Grand Temple corridor fell hard after tripping over someone’s foot.

“Ugh…”

The priest, whose knee was scraped on the marble floor, groaned in pain.

“Who…!”

The priest’s expression went blank as he looked up irritably with tears in his eyes.

“Ah, Lord Adriel?”

It was because Adriel was standing against the wall with his arms crossed, looking down at him coldly.

“Why are you here at this hour, my lord?”

Despite barely managing to ask, the response was an unexpected one.

“Who hired you?”

“P-Pardon?”

The priest asked back with a bewildered face.