The doctor was deeply concerned about Riana’s health condition, but when she stubbornly insisted she was fine, he eventually gave up.

“There’s still some fever remaining, but it seems you’ve passed the worst.”

At the doctor’s words, Sched stared intently at Riana.

Under his suspicious gaze, her light green eyes darted away.

That piercing look seemed as if it could see through all the secrets she was hiding.

“Well then, please finish up.”

His deep voice fell carelessly.

Duke Lester looked at her once and left the room.

The old door closed behind him.

Only then did Riana release the breath that had been tightly knotted in her chest in a thin stream.

With a thud, his broad back leaned against the wall.

‘Damn it.’

Sched Lester dryly rubbed his face.

Riana had woken up.

As if the ropes that had bound his entire body were suddenly cut, his tense muscles relaxed.

It had been three days. She had only been unconscious for three days, but he felt as drained as if he’d been on a battlefield for a week.

While she hovered between life and death without waking, he hadn’t been able to sleep at all.

As if she had stolen even the sleep he should have had, he couldn’t even close his eyes.

He thought countless times with bloodshot eyes. If she never woke up like this, he would…

‘Damn.’

She was truly a clever devil.

The moment she threw herself in front of the sword, the tower of reason he had meticulously built and the blade of revenge he had honed for so long all crumbled and shattered.

He had wished for her death more than anyone, yet he felt such relief that she had woken up.

His calloused fist clenched tightly.

The image of Riana receiving treatment wouldn’t leave his mind.

Dark red blood clots dripping from her wound, barely managing to sit up while her body swayed weakly from lack of strength.

The sight of Riana biting her pale lips, habitually enduring the pain, twisted his insides.

Her trembling cold hands, the cold sweat soaking her entire body, stirred up his emotions.

Sympathy? For her?

Sympathizing with the daughter of the enemy who killed my brothers and comrades?

Feeling sorry for her who betrayed my devotion and trust?

All his emotions and thoughts were mixed up, impossible to sort out.

He only wanted to ask.

Why. Why on earth did she jump in to save him?

“My lord.”

At that moment, the knight Carlyle approached from the other end of the hallway.

Sched straightened his body that had been leaning against the wall, shaking off his tangled thoughts.

“We’ve completed the cleanup of the annex for now. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but that attack was clearly…”

Carlyle knew who was behind the commotion that had just occurred.

Sched nodded, pressing his throbbing temples.

Carlyle looked back and forth between Sched and the closed door, then carefully parted his lips.

“That woman, has she woken up?”

Sched nodded once again.

“What about the priest?”

“He’s setting up a protective barrier, but it doesn’t seem to be complete yet. Part of the barrier was also destroyed in the recent attack.”

To allow such an intrusion because they couldn’t even properly set up a protective barrier.

He knew they were incompetent, but this was beyond his expectations.

“The High Priest should come soon.”

Even Carlyle had to acknowledge the priest’s incompetence.

No, everyone had long since lost faith in him.

“Has there been no messenger from the High Priest yet?”

There are only a handful of people in the empire who have received the title of High Priest.

And Sched wanted to avoid at least two of them.

“Nothing has been communicated accurately. For now, we have no choice but to wait until the priest arrives…”

“I see. You may go.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“…Thank you for your hard work as always.”

At Sched’s words, a faint smile crossed Carlyle’s stern face.

He bowed his head loyally and left.

“It’s, it’s been a long time since I’ve been to Ideana…”

The silver-haired High Priest gazed at the old, worn-down mansion visible in the distance as he took off his white robe.

The faded mansion, covered in ivy vines and dirt stains, somehow exuded a gloomy atmosphere.

Parts that had not been repaired, broken and collapsed, were also noticeable.

It wouldn’t have been strange if ghosts or demons lived there.

But as he approached the entrance of the mansion, bright energy greeted him instead of a chilly aura.

“High Priest Dietrich!”

The people who had come out to greet him welcomed him with open arms.

Their faces were filled with relief and hope as they looked at him.

The priest who had accompanied Sched to Ideana bowed deeply with a face that looked about to cry.

“May the gods be with you! We have been desperately waiting for your arrival, High Priest.”

“Oh, my, such a warm welcome is rare…”

Dietrich saw the bright, emotional eyes directed at him.

As a High Priest, he had been welcomed with grand ceremonies in various places, but this was the first time he had seen such sincere hospitality.

‘Something must have happened here.’

His blue eyes behind his glasses quickly scanned Ideana.

A clumsy protective barrier had been set up around the mansion.

It was clearly something the priest who had come with Sched had struggled to create over several days.

‘Setting up a barrier like this and receiving a formal priest appointment. The level of priests these days has really fallen… Is the monastery giving out priest qualifications carelessly after getting a taste for money?’

Like an old man looking down on the young, Dietrich shook his head inwardly.

The decorations were a mess here and there, the prayer texts were inconsistent, and the overall completion was sloppy at best.

With a protective barrier like that, it would break if just one or two large magical beasts attacked.

At that moment, a tall man walked out from among the lined-up people.

“High Priest Dietrich.”

Dietrich recognized him and quickly bowed his head.

“Oh, it’s been a long time, Duke Lester. May the gods be with you…”

Sched Lester. The adopted son of the former Duke Lester, Joseph.

Joseph and Dietrich were half-brothers with a significant age difference, and in terms of family lineage, they were Sched’s uncles.

However, every time he met his nephew who was younger than him, he would swallow nervously.

“I’ve, I’ve always been at the Munher Temple, so, it’s been difficult to see your face even once.”

Dietrich, hiding his nervousness, greeted his nephew whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.

“It’s thanks to the vassals who have taken good care of the territory even without me.”

Sched spat out a boring, stereotypical answer as if reading a dull book.

“By, by the way, I came running right away when the scripture from the Great Temple arrived, and, um, it seems I did well. The, the situation doesn’t seem very good…”

“We have much to discuss. Let’s go inside and talk.”

Sched took High Priest Dietrich and entered the mansion.

Thanks to the servants who had been diligently cleaning, the interior of the mansion was quite tidy.

All cobwebs and dust had disappeared, and broken windows or old, broken railings had all been repaired.

However, in the empty mansion where furniture had not yet been brought in, footsteps and small sounds echoed.

Sched led Dietrich to the conference room with a fireplace.

The room with chairs, a large round table, a big map, and strategy pieces seemed quite well-equipped, perhaps having been used as a strategy room for Sched and his knights.

“By the way, High Priest, you should be guarding the Munher Temple, so how did you come all the way to Ideana?”

Sched asked as he guided him to his seat.

“Per, perhaps you are not pleased that I came?”

When Dietrich asked, Sched shook his head.

‘Well, not really…’

Dietrich knew that Sched was not very welcoming towards him. For reasons unknown, Sched had always kept his distance from him.

Was it because he found his passive personality laughable or disliked his stammering speech?

Dietrich had thought of several reasons, but he could not understand the mind of Sched Lester.

“I thought it would be difficult for High Priest Dietrich to leave his post as the chief priest of the Munher Temple.”

Sched said as he sat down.

“We, well, I suppose there’s no one who knows as much about forbidden ancient sorcery as I do.”

Eight years ago, it was Dietrich Lester who took charge of the aftermath for a year after Ideana’s rebellion.

Although he was easily underestimated due to his timid, introverted nature and stammering speech, he was a High Priest in name and reality.

In particular, Dietrich Lester’s nickname among the priests was famous.

The mad dog that catches heretics.

The oddball who never lets go once he bites.

Even during his training as a priest at the monastery, he had a tendency to dig deeply and persistently into one thing.

That persistence was enough to make other monks and priests at the monastery shudder and recoil in fear.

As such, Dietrich had a few outstanding qualities like a sharp needle, one of which was his research on heresy.

He created prayer texts – also called techniques or spells in sorcery – that were effective in purifying the contamination of Ideana, halving the time it took to purify a wide area of land.

In addition, he achieved remarkable results in dealing with heretics judged to be contaminated by black magic.

“High Priest Dietrich shows no mercy to heretics. It’s said that black magic is stronger than holy power or aura, but well… I doubt any heretic could stand a chance before the High Priest.”

The priest standing behind Dietrich said.

The Great Temple had dispatched three ordinary priests in addition to Dietrich, all of whom had previously participated in the purification of Ideana and showed deep trust in Dietrich’s abilities.

Perhaps embarrassed by the priests’ praise, Dietrich’s ears turned red.

“So… everyone looked anxious, did something happen?”

Dietrich asked, turning the awkward topic back to the main point.

“There are heretics using black magic remaining in this land. They attacked our party and even infiltrated the mansion.”

“He, he, heretics remain…?”

Dietrich’s eyes widened in surprise, as if such a thing couldn’t be possible.