At those words, Brother Vicius spoke to Brother Besano as if defending Seiard.

“It’s understandable they didn’t get along well. Brother Makio is knowledgeable and virtuous, but he… tends to be overly strict with himself and others.”

Brother Besano nodded in agreement.

“Well, that’s true. Hillan already had no intention of being a real monk, so their personalities clashed. And Makio was in charge of his education since he was a teenager, so it’s not surprising their relationship soured.”

But, he continued.

“Having clashed so much, he probably knows Hillan better than any of us. He’d certainly judge him more objectively than you, who’s received so many favors from Hillan.”

The young monk bristled.

“What? What favors have I received? That’s unfair.”

“You often snacked on money from Hillan’s pocket.”

“Come on, it was just sharing some snacks.”

“And weren’t you instructed to only say good things about Hillan to the Abbot?”

“That never happened! Don’t make things up!”

“As if the Abbot, grinning ear to ear over the donation from House Hillan, wouldn’t have done that.”

“Seriously, if you keep saying strange things, I’ll report it all to the Abbot.”

“Oh my, you’ve really grown up now, haven’t you?”

Listening to the two monks’ argument with one ear and letting it go out the other, Kisa sank deep into thought.

Honestly, she was a bit surprised. She couldn’t have imagined Seiard, who always seemed so mature to her, had such a past.

It seemed Seiard hadn’t been exaggerating when he called his past self a rebel.

‘Seiard’s master.’

From what she’d just heard, he sounded like quite a fearsome person, but she still wanted to meet him.

If, as Brother Besano said, he really knew Seiard best in this monastery, he was likely the person who knew him best in the world.

In fact, even Gilliam, who currently serves closest to Seiard, only began working as his secretary in earnest a few months ago.

Of course, Gilliam had worked at House Hillan for many years, so he must have seen young Seiard as well, but they had been apart for much longer.

In other words, Brother Makio was the ideal person to provide answers to Kisa, who harbored suspicions about Seiard.

‘Alright. Let’s meet him.’

Having made up her mind, Kisa asked the two monks if she could meet Brother Makio.

But their reactions were somewhat peculiar.

“After speaking about him myself, it feels a bit awkward to say this, but…”

Brother Besano scratched his cheek with an embarrassed expression, and Brother Vicius explained instead.

“Actually, Brother Makio is someone who dedicates himself thoroughly to ascetic practices even within the monastery, so he rarely comes out of his private room. He hardly speaks with us, let alone outsiders.”

Standing beside him and leaning slightly against the wall, Brother Besano muttered.

“He wasn’t that extreme when he was teaching Hillan, but he’s becoming more and more reclusive.”

“…I see.”

Perhaps because Kisa showed visible disappointment, Brother Besano patted Brother Vicius on the back.

“Still, why don’t you try asking? If you say his disciple’s bride has come, he might change his mind.”

“I wonder if he would.”

“Just try asking.”

“Well, if it’s just asking…”

Somewhat pushed by Brother Besano, Brother Vicius finally led Kisa towards the private room where Brother Makio was said to be staying.

“Goodbye then. If it’s alright, please give my regards to Hillan as well.”

“Of course. Take care, Brother.”

Kisa exchanged friendly farewells with the middle-aged monk and followed the younger monk.

“Please wait here for a moment.”

Upon reaching a certain room, Brother Vicius asked for Kisa’s understanding and carefully knocked on the door.

After a few seconds, when an equally careful response was heard from inside, Brother Vicius quietly opened the door and went in.

And more than ten minutes passed.

Just as Kisa was beginning to hope that not being immediately rejected might be a good sign, Brother Vicius walked out of the room.

Then, with an apologetic expression, he said:

“I’m sorry. I asked, but he says he won’t meet you.”

“Is there no way?”

“It’s impossible. I’ve never seen Brother Makio change his mind once he’s made a decision.”

It was quite disappointing, but there was nothing to be done if the other party refused.

If Kisa insisted on meeting him here, it would only seem suspicious, and in fact, she herself questioned whether it was really necessary to go that far.

To be frank, Kisa’s suspicions about Seiard had no concrete basis.

She didn’t want to disturb the devout practices of an austere monk just to satisfy her curiosity.

“Well then, let’s move on to the next place.”

Afterwards, perhaps to cheer Kisa up, Brother Vicius led the way with an intentionally cheerful attitude.

Soon, they arrived at an empty room in the same dormitory building.

In fact, this was the fundamental reason they had come to the dormitory.

It was the room where Seiard had stayed.

Entering the room, Kisa slowly looked around the fairly spacious interior.

Apparently considering Seiard’s circumstances in various ways, the monastery had allowed him to use this room alone since he was young.

Standing at the doorway, Brother Vicius said:

“After Hillan became a duke, people from the ducal house came and took all his personal belongings, so the room feels rather empty.”

As he said, all that remained in the room were a few pieces of furniture that seemed to have originally belonged to the monastery.

A desk, a chair, and a bed. But that was enough.

Gently sitting on the bed, Kisa tried to imagine Seiard living here.

His ordinary daily routine flashed before her eyes and disappeared: waking up early in the morning, washing, changing clothes, eating, praying, occasionally going out to Bonzmos, and then returning here to sleep.

Kisa ran her hand over the bedding, which had probably been thoroughly washed after he left.

Seiard. What thoughts did you have lying here?

She couldn’t help but wonder.

With Seiard’s room as the last stop, Brother Vicius’s tour of the monastery came to an end.

However, as per the Abbot’s request when she first arrived, Kisa headed to the Abbot’s office in the main building to meet him.

“Did you have a good look around the monastery?”

“Yes, it was an informative time.”

“It would have been nice if Duke Hillan had come too.”

It seemed the Abbot hadn’t called Kisa for any particular business.

He simply asked her to convey his thanks to Seiard, along with the message that the donation from House Hillan was being used appropriately.

Afterwards, various casual conversations followed for the sake of socializing.

His intention to build a rapport with the future Duchess Hillan was apparent.

This was exactly what Kisa had hoped for.

Kisa responded sincerely to his words and guided the flow of conversation in the direction she wanted.

“By the way, in your view, Abbot, what kind of person was the Duke when he stayed here?”

This was the question she had been waiting to ask.

“Hmm, well…”

The Abbot, who seemed favorably disposed towards Kisa, sank into thought without showing any signs of suspicion.

“To be honest, I focused more on external affairs than internal monastery matters, so I left the Duke’s affairs to another monk.”

He seemed to be referring to Brother Makio.

“Because of that, I didn’t have the leisure to interact with the Duke privately. I’m afraid I can’t give you an answer that would satisfy you, Lady Banspelt.”

Just as Kisa was about to feel disappointed, the Abbot uttered his next words.

“But I can tell you this much. I had always imagined that he would leave this place someday, in some way. He wasn’t the type to serve God in a monastery for his entire life.”

Having said that, he looked out the window at the distant mountains, as if recalling the past.

“Because his eyes were always fixed on some far-off place, not here.”

“You’re always welcome, so please come again! Next time, I hope Hillan will come with you. Please tell him I’d like to see his face after so long.”

Leaving St. Pavela Monastery with Brother Vicius seeing her off, Kisa returned directly to the hotel.

Her body was tired after walking around the monastery all day.

While eating dinner delivered to her room again, Kisa quietly pondered today’s achievements.

How should she put it? She had learned quite a few new facts about Seiard, but strangely, she felt more confused.

With testimonies from various people mixing together, she felt like she understood even less about what kind of person he was.

At that moment, Lily, who was attending to Kisa’s meal, asked:

“Miss, what are your plans for tomorrow?”

“Well, maybe I’ll take a look around Bonzmos.”

Although the chances of obtaining information about Seiard seemed slim, having come this far, it felt wasteful to return without trying.

However, the next morning, as Kisa was preparing to go out, an entirely unexpected person came to the hotel looking for her.

“I am Makio.”

It was Brother Makio.