Even the final funeral had come to an end.

The funeral, which was expected to be perfect until the very end, concluded with a small commotion.

Carlos, who was catching up on pending work in his office, tilted his head back as though he were having a headache.

Then he recalled what the doctor had said.

‘I believe she may have fainted momentarily due to some kind of pressure. Looking at the previous court physician’s examination records of Her Majesty, it notes that she would occasionally vomit on days when she felt mentally pressured. So with some rest, there shouldn’t be any major health concerns.’

Carlos mulled over the doctor’s words. In other words, it was a psychological issue.

‘Pressure, huh.’

There was something weighing on his mind. The words he had unconsciously uttered while being intimate with Ines the night before.

Whether it was due to the alcohol or not, he had uncharacteristically spoken emotionally. At that moment, he just couldn’t contain the feelings welling up in his chest.

“What’s the point of bringing up past events now…”

Because of that, Carlos couldn’t look Ines straight in the eye.

Looking back now, everything that day had flowed impulsively. Even though it was a funeral in name only without a body, he felt uncomfortable showing his mother his relationship with Ines.

He had considered not inviting Ines to the funeral, but couldn’t do so as it would cause gossip. He knew well how difficult it was to walk on muddy ground with a lame leg.

Just a year ago, wasn’t he in the same condition? Yet he couldn’t bring himself to hold Ines’s hand at his mother’s funeral. He thought that was his final act of respect for his mother. But then.

‘Take my hand, Your Majesty.’

Seeing Ines take the guard’s hand made bile rise in his throat. Though he wanted to slap that man’s hand away, he barely managed to maintain his composure.

Perhaps that was why. That night, his drunken feet had led him to Ines’s bedroom. When Ines, who he thought would surely reject him, accepted him. When Ines, who he thought treated him like a stallion, undressed herself – he couldn’t forget the thrill of that moment.

He should have stopped there. But when he saw the necklace, thoughts of his mother surfaced, and he ended up blaming everything on Ines. As Carlos was regretting his foolish actions.

A servant entered to announce a visitor. It wasn’t a welcome one.

“Who is it?”

“Priest Michael has arrived.”

It was none other than a visitor from the temple.

Due to the recent gold coin theft incident ending awkwardly, he had thought the temple wouldn’t contact them for a while.

With an ominous feeling, Carlos furrowed his brow and nodded.

Not long after his permission was given, a figure in white religious garments appeared.

The middle-aged man with white hair paid his respects to Carlos.

“Have you been well, Your Majesty? This is our first meeting since the wedding.”

He was also the one who had helped with the vows in place of the Pope at Ines and Carlos’s wedding.

“It’s been a while. But what brings you here? I thought all matters between us were finished.”

It meant to skip the unnecessary talk and get straight to the point.

“Hasn’t the Countess been laid to rest? Of course I had to come pay my respects.”

It was a laughable excuse now that the funeral was already over. As Carlos twisted his lips in disbelief, the priest continued.

“Well, I also have something to deliver to Your Majesty.”

“To me?”

At his question, the priest, wearing an enigmatic smile, pulled out a piece of parchment from his robes.

“Recently, the temple received an anonymous letter.”

“…”

“It was sent by your brother, Lord Joseph.”

Carlos picked up the letter the priest handed over. And its contents…

“Ines and I, Joseph, had relations before marriage, therefore they are adulterers and the marriage should be nullified.”

Michael slowly nodded and continued speaking.

“Scandalously, the former king and current queen were intimate until the night before their wedding.”

Carlos, listening to the priest’s words, responded after a beat.

“They were intimate until the night before the wedding?”

“Yes. According to the letter we received, that’s what it states. Look. This is the seal that the former king used.”

The seal impressed on the dry paper was unmistakably Joseph’s mark. In fact, even without the seal, the handwriting alone made it certain that Joseph had written this letter.

Seeing Carlos’s expression, Michael gave a sardonic smile. It seemed he believed that the letter was indeed from Joseph. Michael maintained his expression and continued.

“Even before, rumors of Her Majesty’s promiscuity had spread as far as our Vernar. However, since there was no evidence for such rumors, the Pope permitted your marriage.”

“…”

“But now that we’ve received a letter from the person involved, we cannot overlook this matter.”

Carlos looked at the priest’s face as he played with words. It wasn’t something that should come from the mouths of those who had extorted money by bringing up rumors about Ines before the marriage. He already knew the temple was corrupt, but it seemed they didn’t even have pride.

Speaking with two tongues must refer to the deeply faithful. Whether aware of Carlos’s inner thoughts or not, the temple’s wordplay didn’t stop.

“Therefore, the Pope is currently considering nullifying your marriage.”

There were often cases where marriages were nullified if the bride was still a virgin after marriage. So if a married bride was actually not a virgin, marriage nullification was also possible.

The temple was now pointing this out. Moreover, since Ines’s partner was her current husband’s brother, they could insist it was adultery.

Furthermore, what had only been rumors was now being proven by Joseph himself. There was a different weight between something being just a rumor and the person involved admitting to it.

‘I should have killed him then.’

How regrettable it was that he had let Joseph escape during the rebellion. Carlos ground his teeth.

“But fortunately, not many people know about this. The Pope says that if you seek forgiveness before God, he will no longer pursue this matter.”

At the priest’s words, Carlos laughed inwardly.

As expected.

Their intention in bringing this up now was obvious. If they had received the proper offering, they would have quietly overlooked the letter too. The temple was now blackmailing Carlos. It meant if he didn’t want the marriage nullified over this matter, he should make another offering.

Joseph’s letter had provided them with a good excuse. An excuse to reclaim the money they had lost due to the temple’s mistake.

“So what you’re saying is, bring another offering?”

“An offering is also one form of penitential prayer.”

Michael answered blatantly, having no intention of beating around the bush.

“Though we don’t expect as much as last time. Although we didn’t receive that money, your heart must have reached God. So if you prepare just half of the previous amount of gold coins, God will forgive Her Majesty’s sins.”

“…”

At this, Carlos fell into deep thought. If the temple really made this matter public, Ines’s already precarious position would become even more unstable. The marriage had already been forced through despite much opposition.

It was no exaggeration to say that it had proceeded with the temple’s support. In truth, giving more money would resolve it. However, there was an unsettling feeling that couldn’t be ignored about simply handing over the money.

After being lost in thought for a moment, Carlos spoke.

“But something is truly strange.”

“What do you mean?”

“Isn’t it strange that the letter arrived at the temple only after the gold coins were stolen, when everything was quiet until the wedding?”

“T-that’s…”

Michael trailed off, having no response to that point. The news of their marriage had spread throughout the kingdom since the day of the rebellion. Though in exile, Joseph, who would have been keenly aware of news from Tezever, couldn’t have been unaware.

Yet it made no sense that he remained quiet until after the wedding and only now pulled such a stunt. He couldn’t shake off the intuition that something was going wrong.

“My guess is that Joseph might be the one who took the gold coins.”

“That’s absurd…!”

“The first thing the temple should do is find those who stole the offering. Not throwing ashes on an already consecrated marriage.”

Carlos’s gaze toward Michael grew cold.

“If someone dared to steal from God, they should receive appropriate punishment. If the temple wishes to find the culprit, we in Tezever will actively help. But I cannot accept additional monetary demands. No matter how much the faithful make offerings, who would continue to do so if they disappear before even reaching the temple?”

Carlos used the theft of the offering to threaten the priest. The fact that the offering was stolen was known only to Tezever and the temple.

If this matter leaked out, the number of people making offerings could drastically decrease. Perhaps not having anticipated this, Michael clenched his fists with an angry expression.

“You may leave now. It seems we’re done here.”