“Do you have any idea where we might be going?”

At Hazel’s question, Belladonna quickly scribbled in a notebook she had prepared.

[How about the library?]

Hmm… No!

She looked down at what she had written, then crossed it out in black.

[Since he said he was moving somewhere, how about we go where the carriages are gathered?]

It was true that Fabion frequented the library to decipher the ancient language notebook he had left behind, but if that were the case, there would be no need to check out of the hotel.

Perhaps he had finished decoding all of the records.

“Understood. Let’s see, the place with the most people around here is…”

Hazel stretched his neck and looked around, then pointed somewhere.

“Shall we go to the front of where the market is held? There might be many carriages there.”

Good! Belladonna nodded and followed him.

As they approached the center of Astanya where the market was held, the crowd rapidly increased.

Belladonna held tightly to Hazel’s clothes in front, careful not to lose sight of him.

“Brother!”

At that moment, a child’s voice that sounded familiar rang in her ears.

Belladonna reflexively turned her head.

‘This voice is…?’

“Tina, be careful.”

Soon after, an all too familiar voice followed.

Belladonna turned around, tugging hard on Hazel’s clothes in front of her.

“Oh? My lady…?”

Hazel was caught off guard as she pulled him back the way they had come.

Belladonna unhesitatingly moved towards where the sound had come from.

As soon as they turned the corner, she saw Timothy and Tina holding hands tightly, looking at a market stall.

It really was Timothy…! How lucky!

Belladonna ran towards them with a joyful expression.

She had thought she wouldn’t run into anyone she knew in such a large city, but unexpectedly meeting Tina and Timothy gave her a good feeling.

“Huh?”

Timothy’s eyes widened as he noticed Belladonna approaching them confidently.

“Uh… Ho-Holy Maiden…”

Belladonna quickly put her finger to her lips towards the surprised Timothy.

She was currently wearing her robe inside out to avoid people’s attention, so she had to avoid revealing her identity in a loud voice.

“Ah…! Ju-just a moment. Why are you in Astanya… No, I mean…”

Timothy seemed quite surprised by Belladonna’s sudden appearance before him.

He uncharacteristically stuttered and rolled his eyes, unable to hide his bewilderment.

At that moment, Tina, who had been watching her brother, shouted in a loud voice.

“Let’s go somewhere else to talk!”

She looked much calmer than Timothy.

Finally coming to his senses, Timothy looked around belatedly. He seemed to be searching for a place that would draw less attention.

But this was Astanya, one of the largest cities in the Elinerus Empire, and it was in the heart of the market district.

There didn’t seem to be anywhere they could comfortably converse with Belladonna.

Eventually, unable to find a suitable place, he scratched the back of his head and asked.

“If it’s not too presumptuous, may I invite you to our home?”

[This is the timeline separator]

“My lady, that man doesn’t look old at all.”

“…”

“He doesn’t seem to be a magician either. And his gaze towards you is unnecessarily polite.”

What’s wrong with being polite…? Belladonna gently pushed away Hazel, who kept whispering in her ear.

He continued to speak, eyeing Timothy and Tina suspiciously as they walked ahead.

“Are you sure he’s truly trustworthy?”

Ah, Timothy is innocent and only kind, I tell you!!

Belladonna glanced at him in exasperation, then silently continued walking.

“It’s humble, but… please come this way.”

Timothy, who had finally guided them to a small house in eastern Astanya, opened the door.

Nodding her head in gratitude for the invitation, she stepped inside to find a space that, though not spacious, looked cozy and warm.

In the end, they hadn’t found Fabion, but…

Since she also wanted to confirm that Timothy and Tina were safe from the Pope, she had ended up following them somewhat unexpectedly.

Timothy, seemingly unused to inviting someone to his home, awkwardly pulled out a sturdy-looking chair for Belladonna.

“Please, sit here.”

What about Hazel? As she turned to look at him, he shrugged and said,

“I’ll patrol the area nearby. Don’t mind me, please speak comfortably.”

With that, Hazel turned and went outside.

Belladonna nodded and straightened her posture. Tina scurried over and sat across from her.

“Holy Maiden! It’s an honor to meet you again!”

Her manner of speaking, unlike that of a child, was rather cute, making Belladonna burst into laughter.

Timothy, sitting next to the child, chuckled helplessly at the sight and stroked Tina’s hair.

After briefly tidying Tina’s disheveled bangs, he turned his head.

“Holy Maiden, I thought you had returned to Griblata last time. What brings you to Astanya?”

Belladonna took out the notebook she had prepared.

[I came back briefly on business at the Papal Office. But the doors were closed. Do you know what happened?]

“What? They won’t open the doors even for you, Holy Maiden?”

Timothy asked with wide eyes after reading the text.

He furrowed his brow as if recalling something, then spoke.

“It was quite noisy from yesterday evening. How should I put it… It seemed like they were preparing to welcome an important guest, or perhaps hiding someone. I usually leave the Papal Office in the evening because of Tina, but when I tried to go back in this morning, they had completely locked the doors and wouldn’t let me in either. So I had no choice but to spend time with Tina.”

So… they suddenly closed it off.

Belladonna narrowed her eyes.

[Even if it’s something very small, can you tell me what you saw yesterday?]

“Ah… I was in such a hurry to pick up Tina that I didn’t have time to look around. I can’t remember anything. I’m sorry…”

Timothy lowered his head with a pained expression.

Oh, I didn’t mean to blame Timothy…! She reached out to comfort Timothy, who had suddenly started blaming himself.

She gently patted his dejected shoulder, then picked up her pen again.

[By the way, did your meeting with the Pope go well last time? The one with Tina.]

“Ah, about that…”

It was a question thrown partly to change the subject and partly to probe into something that had been on her mind.

At her question, Timothy trailed off.

He glanced down at Tina, who was playing with her fingers beside him, then spoke again.

“Actually, at first I thought that might be why access to the Papal Office was restricted. I had disappointed the Pope.”

[Disappointed?]

“There was something the Pope wanted to confirm with Tina, but what she could do well when with me, she couldn’t do properly in front of the Pope. I think she was very nervous…”

That was explanation enough.

Tina had not shown her healing power to the Pope that day, and the Pope had ultimately been unable to confirm whether she was truly a saint with holy power.

‘Thank goodness…’

Belladonna looked at Tina with a faint smile.

She had merely barged into the office and shook her head, insisting that holy power was absolutely not allowed, but Tina had cleverly understood and ultimately not shown her ability. Belladonna felt very proud of her.

‘How can she be so smart?’

Tina wouldn’t have to be dragged away by the Pope and endure harsh treatment like she had.

Belladonna touched her cheek lightly with a fond expression.

“Still, the Pope is indeed benevolent and magnanimous.”

Huh? Who’s what now?

Belladonna failed to manage her expression at Timothy’s statement, which ruined the atmosphere with just a few words.

But Timothy, not noticing her furrowed brow, continued speaking.

“He could have been greatly disappointed in me, but he doesn’t give up.”

Doesn’t give up…? An ominous feeling washed over her.

Could it be that he intends to keep watching Tina?

“He sends a magician and a special teacher to our house once a day, trying to open Tina’s heart.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than there was a knock at the door.

“Ah, it seems they’ve arrived just now! Holy Maiden, they’re all from the Papal Office, so you can return with them later.”

Timothy smiled, oblivious, as he rose from his seat.

Belladonna watched blankly as he approached the door.

So who’s here…?

“Welcome!”

Timothy flung the door open.

But it wasn’t someone from the Papal Office who entered, it was Hazel, covered in blood.

Hazel had apparently been leaning against the doorframe, unable to stand properly, because as soon as the door opened, he collapsed forward.

“Ugh…”

He curled up on the floor, groaning in pain as he fell with a thud onto the carpet.

“…!”

Belladonna jumped up from her seat in shock.

Wh-what… Who did this? She couldn’t believe that he had returned in this state after saying he would patrol the area.

Just as she was about to rush over to Hazel, a familiar voice struck her ears.

“Ah, Holy Maiden Belladonna. So you were at Priest Timothy’s house. What a precious coincidence this is.”

Raising her head in the midst of her dizzying gaze, she saw Cardinal Nicholas and several unnamed men holding pointed clubs standing behind the fallen Hazel.

[This is the timeline separator]

Towards Escalion, who was frowning and brushing back the black hair that had fallen over his forehead, Graham whispered discreetly.

“Tonight might be our chance. Let’s just sneak in and get Scarlet out.”

“We don’t even know the layout of the Papal Office. We might end up needlessly provoking the Pope.”

“Then what’s your idea, Captain? Are you really going to try negotiating with that con artist Pope tomorrow morning, with Scarlet as leverage?”

“…”

At that moment, one of the knights who had come with them from Griblata cautiously approached them.

Unable to easily insert himself between Escalion and Graham, who were engaged in a serious conversation, he quickly spoke up as soon as he saw an opening.

“Captain! Someone has come looking for you. I told them you were busy and to come back later, but they were so insistent…”

“Who is it?”

Escalion turned to the knight, scowling as if annoyed.

At his sharp question and even sharper gaze, the knight swallowed hard before stammering a reply.

“We-well, I’m not sure… They’re very old, with an incredibly long beard… A ma-magician, sir.”