Alfarano, a border region of Brillant.

Alfarano was a border town adjacent to Vernar, the holy nation where the Pope resided. It had developed into a small city from being a rest stop for travelers who occasionally crossed the border.

In this small city, there was one small castle suitable for nobles to stay in.

It was an empty castle left behind when its lord, who held a baronial title, died long ago.

And recently, this place had gained a new owner – Joseph, the former king of Tezever.

He smiled so widely his gums showed as he looked at the gold coins before him.

“Well done. This should give that bastard a headache for a while.”

The mastermind who ordered the theft of the gold coins was none other than Joseph. He had targeted the weakness in security due to the superstition surrounding offerings. A knight carefully asked Joseph, who was idly playing with the gold coins.

“But will this really be alright?”

“What?”

“The gold coins, I mean. They were meant to be offerings for the temple. If divine punishment were to strike…”

Joseph snorted at the knight’s words.

“You really believe in that nonsense?”

They say all the thieves who targeted the offerings burned to death. To be so frightened over a tale from who knows when – Joseph shook his head, thinking his subordinates were foolish.

“That’s just bluster the temple made up to prevent people from targeting the offerings. Besides, even if divine punishment were real, this was practically mine to begin with. There can’t be anything wrong with reclaiming what’s mine.”

He leaned back in his chair.

To think that he, who had been a king of a nation just a month or two ago, was now trapped in this old-fashioned countryside. This was all because of that bastard Carlos.

Joseph ground his teeth as he recalled meeting his cousin, the king of Brillant. When he demanded troops immediately, the king of Brillant had shaken his head.

‘Stay quietly in Alfarano for now. Except for sea routes, it’s the farthest from Tezever. Let’s observe the situation and plan for the future.’

His expectation that they would obviously help him reclaim his throne had been spectacularly wrong.

Moreover, to tell him to hide in such a backwater place. Though he held the title of Duke of Brillant, his cousin wouldn’t acknowledge it.

‘The Duke of Brillant title was for an alliance with Tezever. Strictly speaking, the title was given to the King of Tezever, not to you, Joseph.’

He had thought he could at least live as a Duke of Brillant even if he couldn’t reclaim the throne. But even that had vanished like a bubble.

“And what’s more? He ended up marrying Ines?”

It was infuriating enough to have his throne stolen by a bastard, but he had even taken Ines, his former fiancée, as queen. Never in his life had he been so insulted.

How absurd it had been when he first heard Ines would marry Carlos. Not only did he dare steal his brother’s position, but he even married his woman.

“If I’d known this would happen, I should have stuffed that b*tch’s lower hole earlier.”

Should have made him see his wh*re’s c*nt hole all used up.

Joseph clicked his tongue, feeling truly regretful. Come to think of it, that woman did have quite a decent face. Her figure, which he’d thought was just skinny, actually had quite nice curves.

At the time, he hadn’t given her a second glance knowing she was a lowly bastard, but now that she’d been taken from him, he couldn’t help but feel regret.

That was why he had sent the anonymous letter. Who could be happy eating food that someone else had already eaten and discarded? He was sure Carlos would be sickened knowing that he had taken Ines the night before their wedding.

“Or perhaps I should grab that woman now and have my fill before throwing her away.”

Yes, that wasn’t a bad idea either. According to rumors he’d heard, the queen’s position was unstable.

“At any rate, my letter should give them quite a headache.”

Whatever came of it, that letter would stir up winds in the empire. Joseph smiled lazily as his thoughts reached this conclusion.

* * *

In the early dawn, before sunrise, Ines left the palace and arrived at a temple on the outskirts of the capital. Located halfway up a mountain, it wasn’t a crowded place due to its difficult access. And this was why Ines had chosen this temple in Pagos.

Though she had declared she would perform the Prayer of Atonement to keep the secret, she didn’t want people to see her praying.

Of course, she could have used her authority as queen to reserve the chapel. Some nobles, as well as the queen, would often rent temples for private prayer.

However, if she did such a thing, she would surely be criticized as an extravagant queen.

Choosing the Pagos chapel was the best option available to her.

Fortunately, there was a major event at the temple in the center of the capital today. Since this wasn’t an official visit as queen, not many would recognize her even if people were present.

After the plain black carriage had traveled some distance on the unpaved road, Ines stepped out and looked around.

Though they had departed before dawn, the sun was already dimly visible in the sky. Margaret, who followed Ines out of the carriage, carefully asked.

“Are you really planning to perform that Prayer of Atonement?”

Margaret’s face showed concern for Ines.

Besides Michael, she was the only person who knew about Ines performing the Prayer of Atonement.

Originally, Ines hadn’t planned to tell even Margaret about this.

However, Margaret had immediately understood the situation just from Ines’s dark expression after meeting Michael and the disappearance of the necklace she always wore.

‘You don’t need to say anything. I will simply stay quietly by Your Majesty’s side.’

Margaret didn’t ask why she had to perform the Prayer of Atonement. Ines was simply grateful for that.

“Why don’t you discuss this with His Majesty even now? Though I don’t know the circumstances, His Majesty surely wouldn’t want you to do something like this.”

“…I wonder.”

Would he really? As Ines gave a bitter smile, a familiar voice was heard.

“The lady-in-waiting’s words aren’t wrong.”

Michael, who had been waiting at the temple, approached them. After giving Ines a brief bow, he continued speaking.

“Why don’t Your Majesty ask His Majesty even now? Though I suggested the Prayer of Atonement wanting to cover this matter, I’m concerned about the toll it might take on Your Majesty’s noble body.”

Despite his seemingly worried words, he was actually internally flustered that the queen had come this far. He hadn’t actually wanted the queen to perform the Prayer of Atonement in the first place.

What use was requesting a prayer that wouldn’t bring any money from the queen? He had merely thrown out the bait, expecting the queen would somehow find a way to make up the insufficient money to avoid such a humiliating situation.

So he hoped Ines would give up and turn back even now, but it was useless.

“Didn’t you say so yourself, Priest? That His Majesty had declared he could do nothing. So this is the only way I can end this on my own. After all, it was you who said the offering I gave was insufficient.”

“T-that may be true, but…”

He had heard that unlike Duke Claudia, his daughter could be stubborn at times, but to think she would be this unreasonable.

Michael clicked his tongue internally and turned around, seemingly giving up.

“If that is Your Majesty’s wish, there’s nothing to be done. This way, please. I’ll guide you to the chapel.”

Following Michael, they finally arrived at the chapel, and Ines’s face immediately hardened.

The chapel was much larger than she had expected. Ines wasn’t the only one surprised by this. Margaret urgently asked Michael.

“Surely she doesn’t have to fill this entire chapel floor?”

“Regrettably, that’s correct. That’s why I was so concerned… Ahem.”

Unlike Margaret who was shocked at these words, Ines remained expressionless.

Margaret tried once again to persuade Ines.

“This doesn’t seem right at all. Even if you spent an entire day, it wouldn’t be enough to fill this place with prayers. Your Majesty, perhaps we should consider using the queen’s palace budget to make an additional offering instead…”

“If I request next year’s palace budget in advance, it would only reinforce my reputation for being extravagant. I’ve already made up my mind.”

Besides, it wasn’t as if she had nothing to atone for. There were many things she needed to atone for and bow her head about for the rest of her life. With these thoughts in mind, Ines intended to dedicate herself sincerely to the prayer.

Ines walked past Margaret, who was watching her with concern.

The chapel was already prepared for the Prayer of Atonement.

Next to a jar filled with holy water were several small plates for distributing the holy water.

“From here, please kneel and write the Lord’s Prayer.”

At those words, Ines immediately knelt down, dipped her index finger in the holy water, and slowly began to write out the prayer.