Don't Be Holy! - Chapter 49
‘Lord Shinote rarely carries women in his arms like that, doesn’t he?’
People whispered and exchanged glances as they said this.
Of course, not everyone thought this way, but generally when someone was considered extraordinary, people became curious about how they might falter from that height.
In Rubel’s case, he had so little contact with women that he was rumored to be completely disinterested in romantic matters. Everyone couldn’t help but wonder if this state could be broken, and if so, when it would happen.
While Rubel wasn’t aware of these deeper thoughts, he knew he had caused some misunderstandings. He let out a troubled sigh and ignored the stares as he passed by.
He could have simply said that the woman might be a witch, but strangely, he didn’t want to.
It wasn’t out of concern for putting an innocent woman in danger.
The woman was definitely unusual and guilty of something. But if she were officially declared guilty, she would no longer be just in Rubel’s custody, she would have to endure hardships from various other people.
However…….
“It’s not right to personally possess a criminal.”
He muttered to himself.
He couldn’t explain this feeling of regret. Like leaving a fine meal half-finished.
He tried to convince himself it was just frustration at cornering a criminal only to let them escape. Attempting to shake off his rising sense of possessiveness, he headed toward the grave.
***
When he arrived at Hecate’s grave, Priest Petro was the first to greet him.
“Lord Shinote!”
Petro was a promising high priest next in line to succeed the Grand Priest Himir of Saharam, and one of those who had a deeper connection to Rubel having received priestly training alongside Rubel’s younger brother Abel.
Seeing Petro, Rubel immediately frowned in annoyance. Sure enough, Petro ran to him with tears in his eyes and embraced him tightly.
“Heavens, do you know how worried I’ve been? How could you keep this secret even from your family while staying here? Everyone thought something terrible had happened to Lord Shinote, and the capital was in chaos for a while. Lady Shinote fell ill with worry, and Lord Andreas, though he tried to hide it, grew more gaunt with each passing day. Lord Magnus…….”
“That’s enough. At this rate, you’ll relay news of all my cousins too. Besides, having become God’s hand, isn’t it God’s will when that life might end?”
Normally, holy knights were expected to show respect to priests. However, this didn’t apply to great holy knights like Rubel.
Petro had repeatedly said there was no need for such formality with him, who wasn’t even a high priest and was merely his brother’s friend, but Rubel wouldn’t budge.
Well, Rubel was someone who had started speaking formally even to his own brother the moment he became a priest.
“I understand, but…….”
Petro dragged out his words.
His religious devotion, which brought tears to his eyes whenever he recited prayers, wasn’t any less than Rubel’s.
But it was precisely that capacity for empathy that made Petro unable to understand Rubel’s dedication that treated even his own life as insignificant. He sighed in resignation and changed the subject, as if deciding that would be better.
“By the way, what about your benefactor?”
“She’s awake. Furthermore, I’m investigating some suspicious aspects, so there’s no need to be so careful about calling her a benefactor.”
“Suspicious?”
“She might be a witch. After all, she lived with Hecate.”
“I see.”
While Rubel received overly emotional greetings from passing knights and priests who were tearfully happy to see him, Petro pondered this and nodded.
“In that case, we should send a female priest to check if she has any markings on her body.”
At this, Rubel naturally recalled Eir’s unblemished nape. Though he had only checked part of her upper body, he wasn’t confident that marks would be found even if they checked her entire body.
“Is there no other method besides that? The witches might have developed magic to remove their markings.”
At this, Petro’s eyes widened in surprise.
“What? Well, I haven’t heard of such a thing…… Have you witnessed something like that?”
Rubel thought for a moment before shrugging.
“Well, it might not be true…….”
Or it might be.
