Alice was riding the carriage with Young Lady Meltain to the temple.
Young Lady Meltain had been going to the temple for ten consecutive days without missing a single day. Alice also had to go to the temple, which was quite a good thing for her. Although Madam Quillianâs blood rises every day.
Fortunately, nothing special happened for the past ten days. Madam Quillian and Young Lady Meltain fought whenever their eyes met, but since they saw each other practically every day, they learned how to naturally ignore each other.
Ah, there was one thing bothering her. That her priest application form disappeared. She returned to her room before sunrise that day Kaillus was seriously ill, and Alice noticed that her application form was gone. At first, she was freaked out when she thought of going back to Kaillusâ bedroom again, but the servant who cleaned the room that morning told her that he didnât find anything strange in the room.
She wondered if the servant was lying and glanced at the garbage bag he was carrying, but she didnât see anything besides dust. She skimmed through the hallway, skipping breakfast, wondering if she had dropped it while she was on her way to get Helkin in his office. But there were no traces of the paper anywhere. Of course, it wasnât even in Helkinâs office. She threatened Helkin in case he stole it, but he cried and insisted on his innocence. She couldnât see the lie on his ugly face.
Alice slightly frowned as she thought of that face. In any case, Alice was anxious as she couldnât find it for nearly two days no matter how much she looked for it. She was afraid that someone would pick it up and deliver it to Madam Quillian. But nothing happened after a few days.
If it was given to Madam Quillian, she would have gone and looked for Alice with her character. So⌠that means that it didnât end up in Madam Quillianâs hands. She didnât know where the paper had gone, but sheâs sure that it had disappeared.
She wondered about the whereabouts of the application form, but anyway, she wouldnât need it unless Madam Quillian found it. This was because she realized how dangerous it was for her to turn in her application form and become a priest.
âWhat are you thinking, Madam?â
Alice stopped thinking in that clear voice. Young Lady Meltain was smiling at her.
âAhâŚ. I just thought the weather was exceptionally warm today.â
âSpring is in full swing now. We have to go out on such a nice day like this. Donât you think so?â
âIt is. But now⌠itâs a pity that mother didnât allow it.â
âWhen the Duke recovered his health⌠even Madam Quillian wouldnât be rude to the Duchess.â Young Lady said regretfully. Her green eyes looked at Alice with pity.
Maybe those eyes werenât lying. Becoming extremely anxious these days, Madam Quillian was openly annoyed with Alice regardless of the surroundings. Alice passed it over as a dog barking, but people around her thought that she was a daughter-in-law being bullied by her mother-in-law. Alice carved her lips into a smile as such a position wouldnât be too bad.
âThatâs because I am not good enoughâŚ. I believe that it wasnât because mother hates me.â
Like an idiot, she pretended that she had trust in Madam Quillian.
â⌠Is that so?â
Young Lady Meltain turned her head to the window as if she had lost interest in her. And the carriage soon stopped.
âWe have arrived,â the coachman said as he opened the door.
Getting off the carriage with the coachmanâs help, Alice looked at him with a strange sense of disharmony. Was his voice always sounded this goodâŚ?
The coachmanâs voice she always hears every time they go to the temple sounded a little different today. He has a lower and more attractive voice. For a moment, she wondered if it was someone other than the coachman. But the coachmanâs face was the same face she knew. What is thisâŚ? Maybe I heard it wrong.
â⌠Whatâs the matter, Madam?â
As Alice got down from the carriage and stared at the coachman, Young Lady Meltain asked her.
âOh, about that. WellâŚ.â
It would be weird to say, âBecause the coachmanâs voice sounded really nice.â Alice couldnât immediately answer and blurred the end of her words.
âIf there is no problem, we can go inside now. The priest will be waiting for us.â
The House of Duke Diorat visited the temple every day these days, so the high priests particularly paid attention. They were trying to get support from them.
The coachman slightly bowed his head and as if Aliceâs gaze was burdensome. It would also be strange for her to keep looking. Maybe he caught a cold. The coachmanâs voice wasnât of any importance, so Alice stopped looking at him.
âYes. Letâs go inside, Young Lady.â
Alice entered the temple with Young Lady Meltain.
(T/N: I am guessing that it was Kaillus in disguise with the help of Siennaâs magic. If it was, how sweet of him if they were already in that stage hahaha)
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Naturally parting ways with Young Lady Meltain as she headed to her respective prayer room, Alice went into her own prayer room.
âNice to meet you today again, Helios.â
Familiarly greeting Heliosâ statue, she headed for the one-person sofa. She then took out a book from the bookshelf.
These days, she was doing an in-depth study about the divine power inside the prayer room. Even though this book was a little narcissistic, it was worth reading as she kept looking at it.
âHmmâŚ. There really is no limit if your divine power is strong. You can also attack.â
It was written that if divine power was trained well like magic, it can develop into a power that can not only heal but also protect the body. Is this also possible for me? Like a scene in a novel, she laughed as she imagined defeating villains with her divine power.
As she read the book with much interest, she looked up at the watch.
âHmm, I think itâs time to arriveâŚ.â
As soon as she finished speaking, a knock on the door of her prayer room rang. Calmly changing her expression, Alice answered, âCome on in.â
The person who opened the door was none other than Violet.
âWould you like to go today as well, Duchess?â Violet asked Alice.
Alice answered with a smile, âOf course.â
Alice left the prayer room. She followed Violet to a place none other than the relief center for the poor. When the evening came, the temple opened its doors for the poor. They distribute food and treat people who are ill.
And Alice began to volunteer here three days ago. In fact, she didnât volunteer here with a righteous heart. The reason she started volunteering here was because of the man in charge of the relief center.
Alice looked at the handsome man who generously uses his divine power to the poor. His golden hair and beautiful face resemble Helios. That man who looked good on his white robe was the high priest Prion. And Alice started to volunteer here to meet him. Although he was still 28 years old and is a high priest at the present, Prion was the future Pope.
As mentioned in the book, Prion was a strong man who reformed the rotten temple with his strong divine power and cold-heartedness. It was said that he looked like God⌠but he was much more handsome than what was described in the book. He is comparable to Kaillus now. And now, Kaillus has completely established himself in Aliceâs standard of beauty.
In any case, Alice wanted to meet Prion because she heard from Violet that he hated Madam Quillian, though it wasnât mentioned in the book. He didnât just hate Madam Quillian but was extremely disgusted with her.
Prime Minister Prion who came from the poor, and Madam Quillian who was a firm elitism*.
(T/N: Elitism â the advocacy or existence that elites are the dominating element of the system or society)
It was said that the two of them had a big clash with each other regarding a problem with the poor. It was said that Madam Quillian, who had come to the temple to pray at the temple, ran into a poor man and killed him on the spot, accusing him of blasphemy to the aristocracyâŚ. Prion was greatly angered by the incident, but because it was the death of someone who was poor, Madam Quillian eventually got away with her crime as a noble. However, as High Priest Prion came from the poor, he couldnât forgive Madam Quillian, who killed the poor as if they were worms.
In any case, the fact that the High Priest Prion hated Madam Quillian became a well-known fact in the temple as well as in the society. And the rumors of the disagreement between the two of them became quite useful information for Alice.
If it was High Priest Prion, he would gladly oppose Madam Quillian. In order for her to become a priest, she needed a strong backer to block Madam Quillian. This was because having divine power doesnât necessarily make her a priest.
According to the Temple Laws for Divine Power, one couldnât be forced to become a priest even if he had divine power. If the Duchess Diorat sent a letter of application as a priest, it wouldnât go unnoticed. And if Madam Quillian learned about it, she wouldnât just stay still. She will definitely stop Alice from becoming a priest â because she knew Madam Quillianâs biggest secret. She will probably kill Alice before she could even go to the temple, or do her best to retreat on her own.
The whole situation was just as clear to Alice that Alice was forced to find another alternative. But to reveal her strong divine power to get the templeâs protection⌠this was everything she had in store so it would be dangerous to reveal it hastily. There was no guarantee that the temple wouldnât harm her.
She heard from Violet that it was common for priests to check on each other, so she wasnât totally at ease. Meanwhile, she learned that High Priest Prion hated Madam Quillian. He has a higher reputation and power than Madam Quillian, and a person who wouldnât waver even if he was under the templeâs pressure.
Who would be more perfect than him? Alice was really desperate for Prionâs help. So she was doing her best in the relief center for the poor for three days.