Her hair, not completely dried due to her hasty exit, remained damp, and her skin glowed with a clear complexion and flush that revealed she had just bathed. She particularly exuded the scent of a woman rather than that of a gaunt, exhausted priestess.

The harmony of yin and yang had clearly been achieved.

“If not that, then what? You’ve taken off your priestess robes and stay in what they say is the largest room in the castle? Planning to quit being a priestess? For that, you’d need to lose your divine power. Do you have some method?”

Though Gabriel’s blatant gaze and mocking provocations were unpleasant, Evelyn couldn’t respond, feeling her core had been struck. 

Denying it would seem like rejecting the Border Count, but confirming it would mean the immediate collapse of her already fragile honor as a priestess.

“As long as you have divine power, you’re a priestess. What? Planning to bear him a bastard and use Norton as your backing?”

“Priest Gabriel!”

Evelyn stood up abruptly, her face hardening.

“Well, with monsters frequently appearing nearby, there can never be enough healing priests. If not for that divine power, the Border Count wouldn’t give you a second glance. But from what I see, you must be planning for multiple children. Right? It’s not an accidental occurrence, but a deliberate plan to raise healing priests?”

“Would you like to participate as well, then?”

The Border Count, who should have been out inspecting the territory, was leaning against the open door of the reception room, his deep voice crushing Gabriel’s sarcastic tone.

“Y-Your Excellency.”

Gabriel jumped up and looked at the castle’s master, whose expression was unreadable. 

All his criticism had been directed at Evelyn for abandoning her volunteer group duties, but he had dragged the Border Count’s name into it, so misunderstandings were possible. 

Having met many powerful figures, Gabriel knew they hated losing face in front of women, so he quickly approached Evelyn and patted her shoulder.

“Hahaha. I came to see how our priestess was doing. She worked hard in the volunteer group, and under Your Excellency’s care, her face has bloomed.”

“I don’t have such grand plans, but if you really want, I could arrange for you to receive plenty of seed in your back hole. Though I’m not sure who would spread your back hole.”

Gabriel awkwardly smiled at the Border Count, who had clearly heard everything.

“Hahaha. No… no, Your Excellency. I was just worried about Evelyn and nagged her a little. It would be unfair for her to be misunderstood about her conduct while performing the sacred duty of purifying Your Excellency’s demonic energy. And in Evelyn’s case, her divine power is so small that she can’t be of much help to Your Excellency…”

“Our Evelyn?”

It was his turn to explain how his abilities were more suitable for His Excellency, but Gabriel’s thoughts froze at the Border Count’s question, and his mind began to jumble.

Though the face before him was clearly unreadable, Gabriel couldn’t understand why he felt such murderous intent. He thought the temperature around him was dropping. Or was it rising?

He felt cold, yet cold sweat broke out.

“We… we were grateful for your attention to the volunteer group, and now you’re taking such good care of Evelyn too. I couldn’t be happier as the leader. It’s all thanks to Your Excellency’s generosity…”

“Indeed. It seems my generous tolerance has made you all too comfortable.”

“Yes, that’s ri… What?”

Norton slowly straightened from his leaning position. Though it was just a slight movement, his figure seemed to grow larger, casting a shadow over the reception room.

Gabriel swallowed dryly as he watched the Border Count approach with heavy steps.

This might be his last chance. He must seize this opportunity to gain promotion!

“It seems priests have no hierarchy.”

“That’s not true. While we may not have the strict chain of command like the knights, we do have our own ranks… Ack!”

In his tension, Gabriel hadn’t realized his hand was still on Evelyn’s shoulder. But instead of politely asking him to remove it, the Border Count pinched one of Gabriel’s fingers and lifted it up, like picking up filthy waste.

The problem was that the force was so strong that despite only having one finger joint gripped, Gabriel felt pain like his bone was being crushed.

“Aagh! Your Excellency, Your Excellency!!”

Gabriel couldn’t do anything with his captured finger and hopped around. Norton, disgusted by this unsightly display, threw the hand away, his desire to tease further completely gone. Gabriel blew on his fingertip and fidgeted nervously.

“Be careful from now on. I may not know about your ranks, but this person is the lord I serve.”

“…Pardon?”

“Well, if you are my superior, I might reconsider your earlier rudeness.”

“…Pardon?”

Gabriel stupidly repeated, completely unable to understand what was being said. Only Evelyn watched cautiously from the middle. Norton blocked her from Gabriel’s view by standing in front of her.

“So, what do you have to say to my lord?”

“…Pardon?”

Norton cracked his neck from side to side. Left, crack-crack-crack, right, crack-crack-crack. The sound of his joints echoed through the reception room.

Evelyn smiled while hiding behind the mountain standing in front of her. Though it wasn’t a situation to smile about, she somehow felt reassured.

* * *

Evelyn headed toward the guard post of the castle. The Border Count would likely threaten her if he knew, but she couldn’t keep pretending not to know how the volunteer group operated.

Partly because of meeting Gabriel, but also because Evelyn’s nature made it hard for her to let go of her duties. She chose the simplest and most comfortable dress among those given by the Border Count and left the corridor, recalling the directions Jile had given her.

Since no one could ride horses or carriages after entering the castle through the walls, Evelyn walked diligently toward the guard post. However, she stopped after only a short distance.

The woman Evelyn was now looking at was probably the most elegant and dignified woman she had ever met in her life.

Though she had never seen one before, Evelyn thought only a saint could possess such an aura.

She saw a woman walking toward the castle, wearing a dress that sparkled like pearl powder had been sprinkled on it, moving with grace.

Her full skirt didn’t sway, and though she wasn’t walking quickly like Evelyn, the woman had already stopped in front of her.

The woman’s complexion was so smooth and radiant that it seemed she might have applied pearl powder to her face as well. Even under the parasol held by her following maid, her skin glowed as though facing the sun.

The woman with small, delicate features slowly examined Evelyn from head to toe. Feeling that gaze move over her, Evelyn somehow felt her throat tighten.

At that moment, the beautiful woman made a small “pft” sound and laughed.

When Evelyn opened her eyes wide in surprise, the woman opened her fan and covered her mouth. However, her eyes, curved with laughter as she looked at Evelyn, remained the same.

“Please bestow a blessing on me, Priestess.”

At the woman’s sudden request, Evelyn composed her surprised expression and put on the gentle face of a priestess. Without any introduction, the woman recognized her as a priestess, clearly someone from a vassal family who knew Evelyn’s identity.

The woman’s face, now revealed as she closed her fan, had lost its smile, leaving only a cold gaze.

“My, I heard mistresses know how to be subtle. Is it because you’re a priestess? You’re quite stiff.”

“Who are you?”

“The person whose hands and feet you’ll have to kiss in blessing every day from now on.”

The small, beautiful face remained the same, but the downcast eyes that looked down on her opponent and the arrogant expression were no longer dazzling.

“Enjoy yourself while you can. Since I’ve decided to become the mistress of this castle, I’ll put everything, whether mistresses or diversions, under my control. So offer a proper blessing from those useless abilities of yours. That’s the only way you’ll cling to this castle even a day longer.”

“That won’t happen, My Lady.”

Evelyn smiled faintly. She had no intention of staying in Norton’s territory to play the role of a mistress, so naturally, things wouldn’t turn out as the woman said. However, the lady before her seemed to understand this as meaning she wouldn’t be put under her control, and she snorted with disbelief.

“I can’t tell if you understand the ways of the world or not. Tsk tsk. Fine then. Keep sucking and biting all you want. In the end, he’ll just take in one bastard child and that’s it. Use that room as much as you want. Why should I empty it for you? It’s just a matter of one person leaving and tearing it down. Isn’t that right, Priestess?”

The woman’s face was smiling brightly, but her eyes remained cold. Though she spoke affectionately like someone bestowing kindness, her words were sharper than those Gabriel had uttered.

When Evelyn’s expression hardened, the woman turned to look at her maid behind her and burst into laughter.