This Is Not Adultery—It Is Romance
Cabinson looked at the two men Jenkinson had dragged in with a worried expression. “Brother… aren’t you being a little too rough?” No matter how you looked at it, rampaging like this inside the royal palace was a bit much.
Whoosh!
“Do you know where a man named Seamus is?”
Ah, he’s gone into work mode.
Jenkinson tossed the two men to the floor and spoke. Only then did Cabinson realize his brother had fully switched into his official duties. He already knew from experience that once his brother reached this state, there was no point trying to talk to him as a younger sibling.
“Seamus? He went to eat, I think?”
…To eat?
Jenkinson immediately checked with his eyes, but he couldn’t locate the man. In truth, Jenkinson didn’t even know who Seamus was. He only had a vague idea that the man was a knight.
“If you find him, let me know.”
Jenkinson said this while scanning for someone else. Given her personality, she would definitely… do something like that.
“Huh? Yeah.”
Did that guy do something?
Cabinson felt a flicker of suspicion at his brother’s words but still nodded. It probably wasn’t anything serious. That was what he told himself.
The square buzzed with murmurs. In the center, a massive pile of firewood was steadily growing, guarded by an enormous man. The sight caused the gathered crowd to stir with unease.
Firewood being stacked in the middle of the square. The meaning was painfully obvious.
Is there going to be a burning today?
If so, who was it for? It meant there was a heretic… but where could a heretic dangerous enough to warrant burning have been hiding? And who was the Inquisitor who had sentenced them to the stake?
Before long, people began clustering in the square, whispering their speculations to one another. Naturally, they had gathered for one reason only: to watch the heretic burn.
“I’m sorry. My mother asked me to treat Lady Asa well, though I don’t know the reason.”
Is this… a trap?
Asa sipped her tea, feeling genuinely flustered. So the queen was behind this. To anyone looking, it was an obvious scheme by the queen to separate her from the priest…
But there’s no way the priest wouldn’t have known.
That monstrous priest would never have sent her here without knowing. Which meant…
Is this entire situation something the priest orchestrated?
What a terrifying man. Perhaps the moment the queen made her move, he planned to capture and interrogate whoever she sent. Asa trembled at the priest’s frightening judgment, far beyond what she had expected, yet she continued drinking her tea.
Then I’ll just stay still.
If that was the case, this was actually helping the priest’s work. With that thought, Asa decided to relax. No matter how she considered it… there was no being she could imagine capable of harming that priest.
A dark secret room. Seamus, who had been urgently summoned there, fidgeted restlessly.
“Cezanne. It’s dangerous for us to meet like this. The Inquisitor is looking for us right now…”
He seemed deeply anxious about the situation itself. The guest Cabinson hadn’t mentioned was none other than an Inquisitor! And that Inquisitor was moving under the king’s orders—how could they arrange a meeting like this?
He was afraid. Especially because he had already stained his hands with blood to hide this relationship. He worried more for her than for himself.
Tap.
“Shh. You’re still such a coward.”
Cezanne placed a slender finger over Seamus’s lips, then leisurely began unbuttoning his uniform.
“Right now? The Inquisitor is—”
Seamus panicked at her actions, but Cezanne remained perfectly calm. She pressed her finger to his still-trembling lips once more.
“I sent someone. They’re probably already dead. So there’s no need to worry.”
Again…
Seamus squeezed his eyes shut. More people had died? The thought filled him with self-loathing for his own actions, yet…
“Alright, darling.”
It was already too late. That was what he told himself. He had fallen for her, and there was no turning back. If she fell into the abyss, then falling with her was simply his responsibility as the man who loved her.
With that thought, he buried his face in her chest. Soft. He let himself be consumed by the pleasure she gave him.
“Haa… that was good. Shall we leave now? You go first. I’ll wait a while before following.”
Cezanne rose with her hair thoroughly disheveled, combing it with a brush as she spoke. Even as he admired the glimpse of her skin through her loosely worn clothes, Seamus nodded while dressing himself in his uniform.
“Understood.”
He erased her scent with a heavy dose of perfume and carefully checked for any presence.
There shouldn’t be anyone.
The moment he lightly activated his magic and stepped outside, Seamus felt no trace of anyone and breathed a sigh of relief. But…
“Did you enjoy your meal?”
He simply hadn’t noticed. A guest had already been waiting for him outside.
“…!”
Seamus startled at the voice coming from behind him. At that moment, the handsome man leaning against the bookshelf offered a gentle smile.
The magic circle leading to their secret meeting place was located in the royal library. A corner of the library. A place rarely visited by others.
“H-how…”
Seamus couldn’t understand how this man had found the location. This man… had clearly been waiting for him.
In response, the man—no, the Inquisitor—smiled and answered.
“You cannot deceive the eyes of God. What incredibly foolish heretics you are. Both you and Cezanne.”
Sring!
Upon hearing those words, Seamus drew his sword without hesitation. This man had to be eliminated. He had to end it himself. Otherwise, this Inquisitor would harm her. It was pure instinct.
Seamus made his decision instantly and swung his blade. But—
Splat!
“!”
In that instant, his arm was torn off and rolled across the floor. The blood spraying from the wound tried to splatter onto the bookshelves, but it was blocked by the defensive barrier the Inquisitor had deployed in that split second, streaming down instead.
“We can’t have the books getting dirty.”
He said this with a smile. The overwhelming gap in power left Seamus unable to believe what he was seeing.
What the…
Seamus was too stunned to process the situation. The Inquisitor—Jenkinson Beckett—crouched down in front of the man who had collapsed from blood loss, meeting his eyes.
“Don’t resist. This will all end if she dies.”
Jenkinson had no intention of killing him as well. He only planned to excommunicate him. Rucella would not shelter an irredeemable heretic, so he would likely be exiled from the country. That would be enough. There was no need for this man, who had been used by that foolish woman’s vanity, to risk his life.
In Jenkinson’s judgment, only one person deserved to burn at the stake.
But…
Sring.
“…I cannot leave the person I love behind.”
Seeing the resolute determination in those eyes, Jenkinson was momentarily at a loss for words. Love? Wasn’t this man already married?
“Are you aware that what you two share is adultery?”
When Jenkinson asked with a hint of disgust in his voice, the man boldly refuted him.
“…I simply found her a little too late. This is not adultery.”
Seamus swung his sword as he spoke. Yes, this was not adultery. This was… simply romance. A romance that had arrived a little late.
“…Ha. How tiresome.”
Clang.
Seeing this, Jenkinson gave up on trying to persuade the man. There was no point in saying anything more. As the sword the man swung shattered against his body, Jenkinson grabbed Seamus’s head.
Crack!Crunch!
He tore it clean off. Blood poured out in streams. It didn’t splatter onto the books, but it soaked the floor and the surrounding area thoroughly.
Jenkinson dragged over a chair, sat down, and waited for her to emerge. To bring an end… to this story.
I took too long getting ready.
Cezanne meticulously checked her body. She had erased the scent with perfume, and she had made sure not to leave any kiss marks. There were no problems. Once that Inquisitor disappeared, she would later kill that stupid king and live happily in this kingdom with him.
With those thoughts in mind, the moment she stepped outside—
“…Huh?”
She instinctively shuddered at the thick smell of blood. Blood was splattered everywhere. And…
“You’re late.”
“S-Seamus?”
There sat Jenkinson Beckett on a chair, holding Seamus’s severed head in his hand.
“Why…?”
Cezanne could not comprehend the situation. Why was he dead? Why? The man who should have died was still alive? It made no sense. The shock was so overwhelming that it froze both her mind and body.
Click.
“I hereby sentence you to burning at the stake for the crimes of instigating murder, adultery, blasphemy, and the attempted murder of a priest.”
Jenkinson calmly snapped a pair of handcuffs onto her wrists as he spoke in a detached tone.
Burning… at the stake? Me? Why?
Cezanne still could not understand what was happening. She was to be burned? By whose authority? How dare they! By whose will?
“Do you… do you even know who I am? You insolent—”
“I know very well. Heretic Cezanne.”
Drip.
At that cold voice, her entire body stiffened. In that moment, she understood. He was smiling, but… his eyes were not smiling at all. On the contrary, they were filled with contempt for her. They burned with rage toward her.
It was the first time. The first time someone had looked at her with such contempt. The first time she had to bear someone’s hatred all on her own.
She had been able to possess everything. The man she liked. The jewels she liked. It had become even easier after marrying that fool of a king. If she didn’t like someone, she killed them. If she wanted something, she took it. But was that a problem? She was the queen. The queen who received the king’s favor, untouchable by anyone. In this country, no one except the king could judge her. No—even the king would not dare judge her. She was, in practice, the true ruler of this kingdom.
And yet this man was saying… she would burn at the stake?
“D-do you really think that will happen? His Majesty will never permit—”
“His permission is unnecessary.”
Jenkinson dragged her along without mercy, speaking coldly.
“What I need is the Goddess’s permission, not that of mere humans.”
“!”
At those words, Cezanne trembled. She had been completely overwhelmed by the subtle madness radiating from this man.