In the temple, where even the chirping of birds outside was blocked, only a solemn silence flowed. Ines, who had entered the chapel in the early dawn, was still unable to leave even now, past lunchtime.

Because of this, she hadn’t had even a sip of water since morning. There was a taboo that one must not eat even a piece of bread or drink a sip of water until the Prayer of Atonement was completed.

As Ines silently carried out her duty, those who came to the chapel to pray tilted their heads at the sight of her.

“What sin could that young lady have committed to be praying like that?”

Some couldn’t contain their curiosity and asked Michael. But since he couldn’t reveal Ines’s sin and identity, he could only respond with an awkward smile, saying it was nothing serious.

People withdrew with puzzled looks at his suspicious behavior. Well, it was natural to be curious. The Prayer of Atonement wasn’t something performed for ordinary sins, yet he was saying it was nothing serious.

However, since adultery was the most condemned sin in the Cretian religion, he couldn’t carelessly reveal it.

In the past, there had been incidents of indiscriminate attacks on women performing the Prayer of Atonement for the sin of adultery.

After that incident, the temple kept the sin and identity of those praying strictly confidential to protect their safety.

Once the people asking questions had left, Michael’s benevolent expression changed in an instant.

Tsk.

Michael clicked his tongue briefly while looking at Ines. He was irritated that Ines continued praying when he thought she would give up. Not wanting to watch the queen pray any longer, Michael left the chapel.

He ignored the principle that one couldn’t leave the chapel while a believer was praying. As soon as he got outside, he let out the sigh he had been holding back.

“Such stubborn determination… tsk.”

The Prayer of Atonement was burdensome even for commoners who were used to all sorts of hardships. Yet here was the queen, born to a noble family, enduring for so long.

Honestly, he had expected her to back out immediately upon seeing the large chapel. So this unexpected situation was simply irritating.

“It would be troublesome if she completes the prayer like this…”

If she finished the Prayer of Atonement, he, as a priest, would have no more leverage to blackmail the queen.

As he grew agitated at the thought that this might be the end, someone approached him.

“Priest, so you were here.”

It was Margaret, the queen’s lady-in-waiting. Michael smoothened his vicious expression as if it had never been there and greeted Margaret.

“Yes, I was just getting some fresh air. Did you need something from me…?”

Why had she come out here instead of taking care of the queen? Michael hid his displeasure and maintained a benevolent smile.

“There’s something I wanted to ask you.”

“Me?”

After briefly scanning their surroundings, Margaret carefully approached Michael. Then she asked in a low voice.

“I… hmm. I’m curious about why the young lady is performing the Prayer of Atonement… Though she said she would tell me the reason later, as her lady-in-waiting, I want to be of help to her, so I’m asking first. What exactly happened?”

Since beginning the prayer in the chapel, Margaret had been referring to Ines as ‘young lady’ instead of ‘Your Majesty’ just in case.

Michael carefully studied Margaret. He was trying to gauge whether it would be safe to tell her the real reason. It wasn’t good to have more people knowing the secret when he wasn’t sure if he could extract anything more from the queen.

‘Though she seems to be someone the queen trusts, given that she brought her here…’

He thought it might be acceptable to drop some hints to a trusted confidant who wasn’t an enemy of the queen.

After contemplating for a moment, Michael finally spoke.

“I can’t tell you in detail, but… I’ll just say that most women who perform the Prayer of Atonement have committed sins related to adultery. For anything more, you should hear it directly from her…”

Just as Michael was carefully trailing off, there was a sudden clang along with the presence of someone.

Startled, Margaret and Michael turned around. They saw a common woman looking at them with a shocked expression.

She was a believer serving in the chapel.

Judging by her expression, she had heard their conversation. And this assumption proved correct as the common woman asked with a surprised face.

“Priest. D-does that mean the woman in the chapel now committed adultery?”

“Oh, dear…”

Michael’s expression turned troubled at this. The situation was already delicate with believers showing interest in the unidentified woman praying. If her sin were to be revealed now, the believers wouldn’t simply stand by and watch.

Therefore, Michael hurriedly approached the believer to handle the situation.

“My child. I beg you to let this matter pass quietly. Isn’t she sincerely repenting her sins and seeking God’s forgiveness through her prayers?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Adultery was one of the most sinful acts in the Cretian religion. So the believer avoided answering with an uncomfortable expression.

“Please, for my sake, keep this quiet.”

When Michael pleaded again, the believer nodded as if she had no choice.

“I understand, Priest. Then I’ll go finish what I was doing.”

“Thank you, my child.”

The believer gathered the fallen dishes and left. As Michael sighed in relief after barely managing the situation, Margaret asked with a worried face.

“Will it be alright? What if rumors spread…”

“It will be fine. Most people follow the priest’s words well. And since her identity wasn’t exposed, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.”

“I hope you’re right…”

As Margaret trailed off skeptically, Michael spoke.

“I must return to the palace now.”

“What? But the prayer isn’t finished yet.”

“Though I should be watching over it, I have much to prepare as I must leave Tezever at dawn tomorrow.”

“I see…”

This wasn’t just any prayer, but the Prayer of Atonement. It was already against principles for a priest to be temporarily absent, but now he was leaving entirely. It was clear that he had no interest in the prayer from the beginning.

“Then I’ll take my leave…”

With just those words, Michael left. Margaret, left alone, quietly stared at the empty space where the believer had disappeared earlier. Her eyes held unreadable thoughts.

* * *

At the same time, in the Tezever Palace.

Carlos, who had returned from inspecting nearby cities since the previous night, dismounted from his horse. He had been checking on the repair of a bridge that had been destroyed during the coup.

After handing the reins to a soldier, Carlos asked Jeff, who had come to greet him.

“Still no word from those we sent to Brillant?”

Since learning about Joseph’s anonymous letter to the temple, Carlos believed Joseph was connected to the theft of the gold coins. It made sense, as the timing of everything matched suspiciously well.

Given that there had never been any robberies of offerings heading to the temple before, he strongly suspected the goal wasn’t money but something else.

So Carlos had ordered those he’d sent to Brillant earlier to quickly investigate Joseph’s whereabouts.

“Based on movements detected heading toward the capital with the palace as soon as they arrived in Brillant, it seems certain he met with the king of Brillant. But after that…”

However, it wasn’t easy to track Joseph’s whereabouts as he was under Brillant’s protection.

“Tell them to focus on the capital with the palace and the border regions. There’s also a possibility he might cross into another country.”

“Yes. Understood. And also…”

The servant trailed off as if there was still more to report.

“What is it?”

“Her Majesty the Queen left the palace at dawn today. She took a black carriage instead of the royal carriage, seemingly intending to conceal her identity.”

Carlos’s steps toward his office stopped abruptly at Jeff’s words.

“At dawn? Where did she go?”

“According to someone who secretly followed Her Majesty, she went to the temple in Pagos.”

“To Pagos, when there are temples in the capital?”

It was quite far from the palace. There was already a chapel in the palace, and there was a fairly sized chapel in the center of the capital as well. As Carlos questioned, Jeff answered.

“It seems she went there to pray quietly. I heard that Priest Michael, who was staying at the palace, went with her.”

Carlos’s brow furrowed when Michael’s name came up unexpectedly.

“The queen went with Priest Michael?”

“Yes. I suppose it was to assist Her Majesty with her prayers.”

It was very common for priests to accompany royalty and nobles to assist with their prayers.

However, the timing was suspicious, and the fact that the accompanying priest was Michael bothered him.

‘Surely not…’

As he harbored some inexplicable uneasiness, a familiar voice was heard from not far away.