Rather Than Be Taken, I Will Take - Chapter 12
“Understood.”
The attendant bowed politely and withdrew, and Cabelased’s gaze turned back to Jieselgrante.
As their eyes met, Cabelased smiled gently and gestured with his eyes to the plate of food in front of her.
“Please eat before it gets cold.”
Cabelased unfolded the newspaper he was holding.
“Ha……”
Finally, a laugh escaped from her lips. However, he seemed completely unfazed, maintaining a calm demeanor.
Perhaps it was fortunate.
Between her and him, the thin newspaper was positioned like a partition.
‘By the way, where did those mother and daughter go?’
Jieselgrante looked around the hall.
However, the figures of the Viscount Swyder mother and daughter were nowhere to be seen.
Given how they were clinging to her earlier, it seemed unlikely they would leave Cabelased’s side so easily……
“Are you looking for that viscountess and her daughter from earlier?”
Had a hole appeared in the newspaper?
Jieselgrante thought this as she looked at the newspaper faithfully serving as a partition between her and Cabelased.
“……Yes.”
Then Cabelased continued.
“They won’t return until you finish your meal, so please eat at ease.”
She was a bit curious about how he had managed to separate the two. But instead of asking about that, she picked up her utensils.
It seemed better to eat quickly and leave. If she went to her room like this, he might think she was running away from him.
“……”
As she continued eating silently, she caught sight of the front page article and her eyes widened.
「Trinity Princess’s Assassin, Baroness Oppenheimer, Dismisses with ‘I’m Innocent’.」
The article continued, stating how shameless it was to claim innocence when evidence was abundantly clear.
‘……Innocent?’
It was rather shocking to hear such words from someone who had killed a person.
But Jieselgrante pondered what might have caused Baroness Oppenheimer to say such a thing.
‘Either it truly wasn’t her doing and she was falsely accused, or she’s making excuses to avoid responsibility.’
It had to be one of the two.
Seeing her hand holding the utensils pause as she was lost in thought, Cabelased asked.
“You don’t seem to be enjoying your meal. Is the cuisine here not to your liking? Or is it……”
Cabelased put down the newspaper he was holding on the table and pointed to the article about Baroness Oppenheimer.
“……because of this article?”
“What do you think about this article?”
Cabelased, who had been quietly observing Jieselgrante as if trying to understand the intention behind her question, slowly opened his mouth.
“Well…… My answer would differ depending on who did it, why, and for what reason.”
The trial hadn’t started yet.
So he seemed to have chosen to refrain from unnecessary speculation.
Jieselgrante judged Cabelased’s choice to be quite wise.
And additionally, she concluded that he didn’t trust her.
If he did, there would be no need for him to keep his mouth so tightly shut.
Not that she particularly needed to gain his trust.
But there were some certainties.
That Cabelased didn’t refer to Baroness Oppenheimer as a criminal, and that he realized she had a special interest in Princess Trinity’s death.
[This is the timeline separator]Princess Trinity’s memorial service was held at the Great Temple.
As it was open for anyone to attend, there was an endless stream of mourners.
Since entry to the Great Temple was permitted regardless of status during the mourning period, there didn’t seem to be any particular control.
They had only stationed priests wearing clerical robes here and there.
And among that procession was Trinity in the form of Jieselgrante.
The ceiling and walls of the Great Temple were filled with murals by renowned artists, and the iridescent five-colored light pouring through hundreds of stained glass windows illuminated Princess Trinity’s coffin placed at the front.
It was a sacred atmosphere that could instill reverence even in those who didn’t believe in God.
For the death of a member of the imperial family, and one who was expected to be the next emperor at that, this level of production was appropriate.
This would further imprint the imperial family as mysterious beings in the minds of those who visited the Great Temple.
She tried to find familiar faces among the grieving people.
But almost all of them were people she didn’t know.
More precisely, people who had little connection to her regardless of who became the next emperor.
Jieselgrante placed a white flower on top of the coffin of Princess Trinity, who she had been until recently.
“……”
After a brief moment of silence, she turned to make way for the next person.
Soon, another person waiting behind placed a white flower on Princess Trinity’s coffin.
“It might not be appropriate to say this in such a situation, but it’s really too beautiful……”
Lindsey kept exclaiming in admiration as she looked around the Great Temple.
Jieselgrante scanned the interior of the Great Temple with unemotional eyes and then moved her feet.
“But miss, where are you going?”
“To drink some water.”
In this Great Temple, there was a spring said to cure illnesses, and quite a few people came specifically to drink from it.
“Ah……”
Lindsey seemed to understand and followed closely behind her.
Jieselgrante left the spacious hall of the Great Temple and entered a small side path.
As she turned into one of the many paths branching out like an ant colony, she heard faint voices coming from somewhere.
“So is Baroness Oppenheimer going to be executed now?”
“They said there will be a trial, but with such clear evidence, it can’t be overturned, right?”
Inside the Great Temple, there were many private rooms for one-on-one sessions with priests or for quiet individual prayer, and it wasn’t uncommon for nobles to have secret conversations in these places.
The voices seemed to be leaking from one of these rooms.
“That’s true. But I still don’t understand.”
“What don’t you understand?”
“Baroness Oppenheimer wasn’t the type of person to do such a thing, was she?”
“Wait…… I think someone’s coming.”
With those words, the sound of a door creaking shut echoed.
‘It seems they didn’t even have the presence of mind to close the door properly.’
Given the nature of the place, whenever two or more people gathered, they would gossip about the princess’s murder case, so there was no need to pay much attention.
After advancing for a while along the narrow path, a priest was seen standing guard in front of a room.
When Jieselgrante directed her gaze at him, the priest intoned in a monotonous voice.
“My apologies, this area is currently restricted.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Jieselgrante gave a light nod and passed by.
After walking a bit further down the narrow corridor, Lindsey cautiously asked.
“Miss, do we really need to go this deep into the Great Temple just to drink water?”
“There’s somewhere I need to stop by first.”
“When you say stop by…?”
After walking a bit further down the narrow corridor, Jieselgrante stopped as they reached a dead end.
“Here. This is where I wanted to stop.”
And she opened the door.
“…Here? What is this place with so many priest robes?”
Lindsey’s eyes widened as she looked at the priest robes covering the walls.
“You could call it… the priests’ wardrobe.”
Jieselgrante walked in with familiarity.
And she picked up one of the priest robes hanging on the wall.
“What are you going to do with that?”
“I’m going to wear it and go out.”
“…Pardon?”
“It’s not often we get the chance to come to the Great Temple.”
“But if we’re caught, it could be a big problem… Is this really alright?”
Lindsey asked with a worried expression, but Jieselgrante hurriedly put on the priest robe over her dress.
The priest robe was just long enough to barely cover the dress she was wearing.
“Lindsey, wait here for a moment.”
After pulling the hood low to cover her face, Jieselgrante walked towards the door.
Lindsey’s lips quivered with a confused expression.
“…Pardon? No, miss…”
“You can sleep if you want.”
With those words, Jieselgrante closed the door.
[This is the timeline separator]Stepping outside, she headed towards the depths of the Great Temple, away from the large hall where the mourners had gathered.
The place she headed to with familiarity was a small prayer room cum wine cellar adjacent to the High Priest’s office.
Unlike the Great Temple’s large wine cellar, this place stored only very old and valuable wines, which were used to satisfy the High Priest’s personal desires.
In truth, she didn’t want to know. The High Priest’s secrets that could never be revealed to the devotees visiting the Great Temple.
In fact, she hadn’t known until she was repeatedly confined here after falling out of the Emperor’s favor.
It was during the time when the previous High Priest was leading the Great Temple.
One day when Trinity was confined here by the imperial knights for a time of reflection.
The High Priest, who had gone out, returned.
Contrary to his usual habit of being absent, that day the sound of him having a private conversation with someone in his office could be heard.
The content was a request to strongly argue against divorce if his wife came to the Great Temple for divorce counseling.
That was when she first learned.
The fact that the High Priest was accumulating personal wealth by accepting private requests in the name of God.
That he was a person who could easily lie in God’s name if there was adequate compensation.
And that corrupt High Priest recommended the current High Priest before he died.
It was rare for the Emperor and Empress to visit the Great Temple like today, and judging that the High Priest wouldn’t miss this opportunity, she confined herself to this small prayer room.
And her prediction was not off the mark.
“The High Priest says he has something he must report to Your Majesty before the memorial service.”
At the chillingly familiar voice, Jieselgrante raised her head.
And she pressed her face close to the small gap to peer inside.
Inside the High Priest’s office, which was so luxurious and large that it was hard to believe it was inside the Great Temple, were the Emperor, the High Priest, and the Empress.
“High Priest, what is this urgent matter you speak of?”
The Emperor asked.
“After the unfortunate incident befell Princess Trinity, I was worried about the future of the empire.”
“And?”
“I have been continually praying to God for Princess Trinity’s peace and for a bright future for the empire.”
The Empress let out a soft sigh and lowered her gaze at the High Priest’s words.
“Continue.”
“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. And then, as if receiving a divine revelation… I urgently requested to see you.”
*
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Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
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The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
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