It Seems Like The Infamous Trash Can is Right Here! - Chapter 28
A single letter sent through the temple would be enough for Axion to summon me to the Imperial Palace.
He might not know of my existence yet, but neither had Lionel—so I couldn’t dismiss the possibility as mere paranoia.
So then… What if I just threw caution to the wind and accepted Lionel’s proposal?
If I became the Duchess of Luanax, not even the Crown Prince—let alone the Emperor—could lay a hand on me.
Otherwise, what should have been a personal affair between a man and a woman would escalate into a battle of pride between the Imperial Family and one of the Empire’s great noble houses.
In that sense, marrying Lionel was undoubtedly the best way to avoid Serenia Solen’s tragic fate in A Night of Entwined Serpents.
‘But… marriage. Marriage to him….’
I had absentmindedly lifted a piece of steak to my lips, only to pause mid-bite as I once again looked over at Lionel.
He was raising his wine glass to his lips, and the moment he felt my gaze, he met my eyes and took a slow sip.
The deep red liquid slipped past his lips—lips that were already redder than wine.
I found myself staring, completely mesmerized. For some reason, I couldn’t look away.
I watched as his prominent Adam’s apple bobbed, his throat moving with each swallow. Then, when I finally shifted my gaze back to his face, I was so startled that I squeezed my eyes shut on instinct.
I had—unintentionally—imagined Lionel wearing the same drowsy, intoxicated expression that Dantère had on his face earlier while he was fooling around with that maid.
‘A-am I going insane?!’
It was too…
Far, far too indecent.
Unlike the revolting sight of Dantère. the thought of Lionel looking disheveled like that was something I might never be able to tear my eyes away from.
Would I have to… do that with Lionel if we got married?
My mind instantly spiraled into chaos, flooded with all the elaborate, tantalizing scenes from the countless 19+ novels I had devoured. Every vivid phrase used to describe such acts swirled in my head like a storm.
‘That’s absurd. How could I ever…’
When I hurriedly covered my face with both hands, I noticed that the breath against my palms was much warmer than usual.
“Priestess, what’s wrong?”
His voice carried clear concern as he called out to me.
“Ah… I just felt a little dizzy for a moment. I’m fine, so you don’t need to worry.”
The fact that I had imagined Lionel’s face in such a state, gotten embarrassed all on my own, and overheated to the point of raising my body temperature—was a secret I could never let slip.
In the end, I barely touched my extravagant meal—no. I *did* manage to finish everything on my plate.
But once my imagination got out of control, my brain started placing an unnecessary filter over Lionel, making it impossible for me to look at him properly for the rest of the dinner.
* * *
I barely got any sleep.
‘This is all Dantère’s and Lionel’s fault.’
Dantère Ortatum, who had shamelessly performed such obscene acts right in front of my inexperienced, literature-educated romantic sensibilities, was the worst of the two.
But Lionel, who had thrown a massive rock called marriage into the pure, calm waters of my female mind, causing endless ripples, wasn’t entirely blameless either.
After dutifully shifting all responsibility onto others, as a faithful priestess of the temple should, my heart felt a little lighter.
After cleansing both body and mind, I recited my morning prayers until daylight fully brightened the sky. Then, stepping out into the corridor, I opened the door.
The maids who had been cleaning turned to look at me, startled.
“Good morning, Priestess.”
They quickly bent their knees in greeting. Their attitudes were starkly different from yesterday.
This wasn’t a particularly welcome change for me, especially since my initial goal had been to build a friendly rapport with them.I wasn’t sure what rumors had spread, but it seemed I had suddenly become a guest they had to treat with the utmost caution, watching their words and actions around me.
‘Even so…’
I quickly scanned the maids.
Young, inexperienced maids were bound to accumulate small injuries while working.
Without knowing how to handle their bodies properly, it was inevitable that they would constantly be in pain.
Hadn’t I suffered from muscle aches all day long when I first started doing chores at the monastery?
Sure enough, I spotted a bandage peeking out from beneath the sleeve of the maid scrubbing the floor.
