After a two-and-a-half-day carriage journey, Kisa’s group reached Bonzmos when the western sky was tinged red with the evening glow.

They first headed to their designated accommodation.

Kisa was grandly welcomed at the Pavella Hotel, which boasted the best facilities in the area and was named after the nearby monastery.

The local dignitaries of Bonzmos were waiting for Kisa there.

“Oh my, Lady Vanspelt! Welcome! We’ve been waiting for you!”

“Was your journey very tiring? We hope you’ll get plenty of rest.”

“We heard that Duke Hillan couldn’t come due to sudden circumstances. How disappointing! It can’t be helped this time, but next time, if he could come together, we would have no other wishes.”

“That’s right. Our Bonzmos may not be very developed, but it’s such a nice place. The Duke must miss this place quite a bit.”

“These days, the Duke is doing such good things for Bonzmos. Although we haven’t had the chance to connect until now, we’d like to join in on those good deeds from now on.”

“By the way, you’re truly as beautiful as we’ve heard! I completely understand how the Duke fell for you at first sight. Ah, the romantic love story of you two is very famous in this region.”

“Oh, are you hungry? We specifically instructed the hotel to prepare a feast garnished with herbs, a specialty of Bonzmos.”

They spoke so rapidly to Kisa that it was almost deafening.

It was obvious that they were desperate to somehow create a connection with the Hillan duchy.

When they even expressed their desire to have dinner together with Kisa, she firmly refused, saying she was tired and wanted to be alone.

She really was tired, and their behavior was quite displeasing to her.

‘Now they’re trying to flatter and curry favor.’

Having heard about the past from Seyerd, Kisa knew that most of the nobles in Bonzmos had neglected him in the past.

Of course, from their perspective, getting involved with Seyerd would only invite the displeasure of the Hillan duchy, so ignoring him completely was probably the best strategy.

It’s not that she didn’t understand. Even Kisa wasn’t sure if she would have acted differently if she had been in their position.

However, that didn’t mean she wanted to cooperate in their attempts to curry favor with Duke Hillan.

Seyerd was already contributing to the revival of Bonzmos, so what more did they want?

‘Greedy people.’

Vowing not to meet them no matter how many times they came in the future, Kisa entered her room.

The best room in this hotel showed clear signs of effort put into satisfying important guests.

It was cleaner and more luxurious than expected, and the bed was soft.

After changing into indoor clothes with Lily’s help, dinner was delivered on a trolley.

The pork dish, with its gamey smell removed by herbs, was quite edible.

Suddenly, she wondered if Seyerd ate a lot of food like this when he lived here.

Thinking she should ask him later, she finished her meal, and Lily asked about tomorrow’s schedule.

In fact, there was no need to ask, as Kisa’s answer was already decided.

“We’ll visit St. Pavella Monastery. I had already mentioned that we’d drop by tomorrow.”

That was the purpose of coming to Bonzmos in the first place.

She would have liked to visit there as soon as they arrived, but since a typical day at the monastery started early in the morning and ended early in the evening, she had to wait until tomorrow.

‘Finally, it’s right in front of me.’

As night fell and Lily withdrew, Kisa lay on the unfamiliar bed, staring at the ceiling.

She only hoped that tomorrow all her doubts would be resolved and peace would return to her heart once again.

Only then could she face Seyerd without any worries.

Hopefully.

The next morning, Kisa set foot in St. Pavella Monastery.

“Welcome, Lady Vanspelt.”

The abbot, who had come out to the main gate to greet her, welcomed Kisa warmly.

“We are nothing but grateful that Duke Hillan has not forgotten this place and has provided valuable help. Although it’s unfortunate that he couldn’t come, we hope you’ll stay as long as you wish, my lady.”

The abbot, with his kind appearance, said this while introducing a young monk beside him to Kisa.

“This is Brother Visius. Although he’s still a novice, he’s a fellow with excellent faith and diligence. He’s also quite talkative, so you won’t be bored.”

The young monk with distinctive freckles greeted cheerfully.

“Nice to meet you, my lady! I’m Visius. Please ask me anything you’re curious about.”

“I’m pleased to meet you too, Brother Visius.”

After the greetings were over, the abbot asked Kisa to stop by his office before leaving and then withdrew.

Kisa walked side by side with Brother Visius along the brick path that crossed the entire monastery, with Lily following a few steps behind us.

St. Pavella Monastery, built with red bricks, was a place exuding a pastoral charm.

Brother Visius, perhaps to ease Kisa’s awkwardness, mentioned Seyerd.

“Actually, I was quite close with Brother Hillan, or rather, Duke Hillan. I suppose young people just get along well.”

Brother Hillan. Although she knew that his nominal status when staying at the monastery was that of a monk, hearing such a title felt new.

Suddenly, a curiosity related to that arose.

“Brother Visius, did the Duke also wear monk’s robes like other brothers when he was here?”

“Yes, of course. Though he changed when going out to the village, saying it attracted unnecessary attention.”

I see. So Seyerd also wore this black plain robe with a white belt.

To be honest, I didn’t think it was a stylish outfit at all, but for some reason, imagining him wearing it made me think it might look cool.

‘Maybe the ascetic atmosphere of the monk’s robe would oddly suit Seyerd?’

Wondering if it was an impious thought, Kisa still asked Brother Visius another question.

“Did the Duke also pray like other brothers?”

“That too, of course. Although he missed quite a few times, he generally attended the services fairly well.”

Kisa tried to imagine him in monk’s robes, immersed in prayer, but stopped halfway. It seemed like an impious thought after all.

Brother Visius guided Kisa to various places within the monastery.

We toured not only places like the main building or assembly hall, but also the vegetable garden, stable, and even the blacksmith’s shop, listening to Brother Visius’s humorous yet surprisingly informative explanations.

Of course, when we shouldn’t disturb the people using those places, we just briefly looked at the exterior and moved on.

As it was her first time entering a monastery, Kisa continued her tour with quite some interest.

However, she hadn’t forgotten the original purpose of coming here.

Kisa occasionally asked questions about Seyerd in relation to the monastery’s facilities, and Brother Visius answered diligently without much suspicion.

He probably thought the questions were rooted in innocent curiosity about a lover, and perhaps he felt a sense of duty to explain in Seyerd’s absence.

“What kind of person was Duke Hillan?”

The young monk answered without hesitation.

“Well, he was a good person. He had a cheerful and straightforward personality, and he knew a lot about news from outside, so it was enjoyable to talk with him. And this is a secret, but I even learned some card games from him. Sometimes we would gather secretly among the young ones and play a game.”

The talkative young monk was an excellent source of information.

“Once, we got caught by the stern Brother Besano, and I was the only one who got scolded harshly. He grabbed my wrist like this, checking if I was lying about whether we were betting money or not, and my heart was beating so fast from fear that he misunderstood it as a lie. We only bet alcohol, not money.”

Listening to his story, a memory suddenly came to mind.

A few months ago, in the garden of the Vanspelt mansion, Kisa had heard Seyerd talk about his memories, and he had mentioned someone similar to Brother Besano that Brother Visius spoke of.

“One of the monks I knew often used to detect people’s lies in this way. Whether it was really that the heart beats faster when lying, or if he knew in some other way, he was someone who could see through people’s hearts. Once, a young monk who had just entered the monastery harbored a grudge after being scolded by him…”

Ah, Kisa exclaimed and looked at Brother Visius, asking,

“Then, was it you, Brother Visius, who harbored a grudge after being scolded by Brother Besano and hid all his shoes?”

Brother Visius affirmed Kisa’s question by turning his face as red as a radish.

“Oh no, did Brother Hillan even mention that? That’s too much! It’s already unfair enough that he escaped while we got caught playing cards together!”

“Haha, let’s just say I happened to hear about it.”

Feeling like she might have said something unnecessary, Kisa scratched her cheek.

Brother Visius grumbled for a moment but soon cheered up and started talking about memories from when Seyerd stayed here.

As she listened to his words, warmth gradually spread through Kisa’s heart.

Contrary to Daniel’s speculation, the Seyerd in these stories was just an ordinarily good person.

Meanwhile, Kisa remembered part of a conversation she had with him about the monastery.

“On days when I didn’t feel like drinking much or it felt a bit off to drink during the day after first following Coby, I would spend some time at the gambling den.”

Curious about who this Coby was, who reportedly frequented gambling dens with Seyerd, Kisa asked Brother Visius if she could meet him.

“Ah, Coby.”

But the young monk gave an unexpected answer.

“That would be difficult. He’s currently missing.”