103.

“Everyone from the kitchen maids on down kept saying the same thing. That no one’s arrived recently.”

“……Is that so?”

Ro tried hard not to show excessive disappointment. If everyone said so… maybe the compass had malfunctioned. Or perhaps Calypso had been a vicious fraud from the start. Yet her instincts screamed that Cardier Montrosa was on this island. She felt certain some darkness lurked here, watching and waiting for them—but she couldn’t even begin to grasp what it was, and the helplessness filled her with disillusionment.

“However.”

Turner glanced around cautiously and lowered his voice.

“I heard a rather strange story.”

“Strange story?”

“There was apparently a guest staying at the governor’s western villa.”

“Is it reliable?”

“I saw servants secretly removing furniture from the west wing. They were hurrying, as if trying to erase traces of someone’s presence.”

“When?”

“Early this morning.”

Turner seemed about to add something, but closed his mouth upon sensing movement. A maid entered carefully and placed a tray on the table between them.

“The governor sent this for you to enjoy during your conversation.”

It was an open warning. Whatever they were doing, the governor was watching. No matter how bold a noblewoman she was in the capital, here on this island, Governor Reyeu was like an emperor. Ro suppressed her twisting emotions and smiled sweetly.

“Please convey my thanks.”

The maid bowed politely. And just before completely withdrawing, she subtly brushed her hand against Turner’s firm bicep. Once the maid’s footsteps had faded, Turner blushed and hastily explained.

“She gave me information. She said to check out the villa area at dawn…….”

Ro gave a knowing look. She was so used to Cardier’s appearance that she hadn’t noticed, but objectively speaking, Turner was indeed a smooth-faced beauty. No wonder he’d managed to loosen the lips of a shy little maid like that… Turner cleared his throat under the weight of Ro’s suspicious glare, as if he’d been caught doing something wrong.

“In any case, I’ll look into it further on my own. I have more freedom to move around than a noble lady.”

“That may be true… but if you make some innocent girl cry, I’ll really kill you.”

Turner raised both hands in submission.

“Oh, and someone said they’d like to speak with you.”

“Who is it?”

Turner’s words sounded as if someone who knew her well had come looking. But there couldn’t possibly be anyone on this island who knew ‘Lea’. After all, Lea was a noblewoman who had never left the capital.

“Seemed to be a priest. He’s downstairs. Would you like to meet him?”

“Why not.”

It wasn’t long before creaking footsteps ascending the stairs were heard. Whoever it was seemed to have a severely lame leg. Soon, a presence appeared at the doorway, and an elderly man with a face deeply lined and snow-white hair stepped forward.

“My lady.”

The old man, dressed in priestly robes, bowed deeply to her.

“Please, sit.”

The priest respectfully inclined his head and then hobbled over to take a seat. Shortly after, the maid returned, carrying a fresh tray with newly brewed warm tea. The priest moistened his lips with tea and immediately offered a warm smile.

“It’s truly been a long time since we’ve met like this. This is the first time I’ve seen you since you left Madcel Island to become a missionary. Ah, by the way, Archbishop Ganymedes has also come.”

What… what did he just say? Ro desperately tried to catch up, halting the conversation.

“You may not know, but since I recovered from my illness, my memory hasn’t been fully intact. I don’t recall you at all.”

“I’ve heard you haven’t been feeling well. The archbishop is quite concerned.”

“So you’re saying I had a connection with the temple?”

An ancient fear suddenly surged within her. Inquisitors and the Holy See. Ro paled, clenching and unclenching her fists. If she were connected to them, it would be even easier for them to sense something strange about her. Priests were always able to see what ordinary people could not.

“First, may I briefly take your hand……?”

Ro wiped the damp sweat on her skirt hem and placed her hand in the priest’s wrinkled one. His skin felt like tough bark. Holding her hand, the priest did something she sensed but couldn’t quite understand. He remained silent for a long while, then whispered in a barely audible voice.

“There’s a dissonance in your holy power.”

“Holy power…?”

“Since that force is deeply tied to the mind, that may be the issue.”

Ro opened and closed her mouth, unsure how to respond. Holy power? Holy power? Did that mean this woman—Lea—had originally been a saintess? But typically, a saintess would have to renounce noble status and take lifelong vows as a priestess. Seeing her confused expression, the priest whispered again, softly.

“Come to the temple alone. The archbishop will have more to tell you.”

“…Alone?”

“Yes. Then you will find the answer to your question. As you always have.”

* * *

An answer to her question? Ro turned those words over in her mind for days after the priest left. But the more she pondered, the more bewildering they became—just like prophecies and advice from priests always were. They probably thought the more cryptic they sounded, the more mysterious they appeared.

Ro grumbled inwardly, but now she had no other choice. Only two days remained until the week the governor had promised. The governor was already ecstatic, having started loading their belongings onto the ship.

Being exposed to the Inquisitors was terrifying… but if the temple truly felt a bond with Lea, they might reveal the information the townspeople were hiding.

“I’ll go to the temple tonight.”

When she declared this, Melvin, who had been struggling with the list of items to ship at the table, looked up.

“Tonight? You’re not going alone, are you? Be sure to take an escort.”

“If two of us move around at night, we’ll draw more attention.”

“Still… it would be better if you took someone.”

Ro sensed hidden unease in Melvin’s words.

“What’s wrong? Why do you look like that?”

Melvin chewed on his quill, hesitating for a long time before finally speaking.

“To be honest, I’ve been debating whether or not I should tell the captain.”

“What is it?”

“I think I saw Nick… near the governor’s office.”

Nick? Saw Nick? Near the governor’s office? Ro couldn’t immediately grasp what Melvin meant. Why would he suddenly appear here? But then, like scattered puzzle pieces clicking into place, everything began to make sense. The Marquess Blake’s daughter, the trap Nick had set, and the governor.

Perhaps the governor had found Cardier. Maybe he’d secretly detained him under the guise of protection at the western villa. He would have silenced the townspeople and the maids. And if traces of someone’s living there were hastily erased, then either he’d been moved, or he’d escaped by his own means.

Ro waited for the sun to set. Once darkness had thickened to the point where shapes blurred, she neatly arranged a pillow to make her bed look as if she were sleeping. She’d been groaning about a headache since lunch, and claimed she was too ill to eat dinner. Thanks to her prior setup, neither the maid nor the governor suspected anything.

Ro put on riding pants and firmly strapped a gun to her thigh. Over it, she wore a maid’s uniform she’d secretly stolen from the laundry. She’d slit the side of the skirt to allow quick access to the weapon. Pulling a dark hood over her head, she looked like an ordinary maid.

Ro slipped out of the governor’s residence, blending in with the maids heading home after work. Since the residence stood atop a hill in the island’s center, the maids usually shared a carriage. All were too exhausted to pay her any attention. Ro parted ways with them at the village entrance.

The temple was quite far from the main square. Ro quickened her pace. For some reason, she felt an odd sensation of someone following at a distance. But mingled with the bustling crowd, it was hard to clearly identify.

When she turned into a quieter alley, she sensed it more distinctly. Someone was following her.

Damn it, she thought. No wonder escaping felt too easy. The governor had seen through her lie from the beginning. She hesitated between two choices: kill the pursuer or shake them off. The former risked drawing attention; the latter risked being caught.

No, perhaps… this wasn’t a spy sent by the governor, but just a common criminal.

She calmly turned a corner, pretending nothing was wrong, then the instant her body disappeared from the follower’s sight, she sprinted toward the temple. Even the most brazen criminal wouldn’t dare enter the temple grounds. The temple was under Deus’s protection. Gasping for breath, she ran up the hill. Footsteps behind her grew louder.

Fortunately, the temple’s surroundings were thick with bushes. She ran frantically, not even noticing when one shoe slipped off. Ro waited until her body was once again hidden from view, then crouched down into the dense foliage serving as the temple’s natural fence. Pressed flat against the ground, she suppressed her breathing as much as possible.

The pursuers seemed to have lost her. Their loud voices passed nearby and gradually faded. Just as she began to exhale in relief—

“……!”

A strong arm snatched her around the waist, and a large hand clamped tightly over her mouth. Ro instinctively tried to struggle, but then all strength drained from her body—not because she was injured, in pain, or exhausted. She recognized it instantly: the intoxicatingly familiar, fresh scent and the solid warmth of his embrace.

He whispered to her from the darkness.

“Ro.”