The Person Who Doesn't Find Me Disgusting #4
“Priest Emil. Father wishes to dine with you and asked me to bring you, sir.”
A few days after the birthday banquet, the moment Daisy delivered that message, Emil knew instinctively.
It was done.
He had been appointed as an exclusive priest.
It wasn’t merely because Alon Ricgard—who normally refused to share a table with priests—had extended an invitation. One look at Daisy’s glowing face told him everything.
The young lady called his name with a brighter, happier voice than usual, her face wreathed in smiles, and his own mood lifted in response.
The exclusive priest of the great Ricgard family. Not just any position, but the personal priest to the lord’s only daughter. It would hardly be an exaggeration to call it a direct path to wealth and glory.
“I wonder why Father suddenly invited you to dine with us?”
Daisy tried to feign ignorance, but she couldn’t quite hide her smile.
Emil deliberately played along. “Perhaps the lord has developed an interest in the teachings of God.”
“My father? No, surely not.”
“Or he may be appointing me as your exclusive priest.”
“Oh, uh, well… that could be it! I mean, I’m not sure! Surely that can’t be it, right?”
Daisy stammered and averted her eyes.
It was an adorably clumsy performance.
Oh ho. This is a perfect chance to tease her.
A mischievous idea sparked in his mind.
Emil spoke with feigned solemnity. “Does the thought of me becoming your exclusive priest displease you so much, my lady? To speak in such a way…”
“N-no! That’s not what I meant at all…”
“Then why did you say there was no chance of it? Do you perhaps believe my humble origins make me unworthy of you?”
“No, Priest! Absolutely not! Never…”
Daisy waved her hands desperately in denial, but his relentless questioning soon brought tears to her eyes.
“It’s truly not like that, Priest… I only said it without thinking… Please believe me. I beg you.”
“Hahaha!”
A delighted laugh burst from him.
Startled by the sudden sound, Daisy looked up with glistening eyes. The sight was utterly charming.
She really is a girl who makes teasing worth every second.
“I know, my lady. I was only joking as well. Shall we go? We mustn’t keep the lord waiting.”
He gently stroked Daisy’s hair as she nodded with effort, then set off.
When they entered the hall, the lord’s family sat at the long dining table. Or rather, they sat before the prepared meal. None of them had touched their food; they had clearly been waiting.
Appointing an exclusive priest was apparently a matter of sufficient importance to warrant such ceremony.
“Ah…”
At that moment, the same sweet fragrance he remembered brushed against Emil’s nose. Following the scent, his gaze settled on a girl seated at the far edge of the table.
Leni Ricgard.
The red-haired girl whom Cately had called the “bastard child.”
Why is she here?
If there was anyone less likely to be invited to the Ricgard family table than Emil himself, it was this girl.
Noticing his stare, Leni turned her head and met his eyes.
Then her lips moved.
Disappear from my side.
The same words he had heard that first day.
“Father, the priest has arrived!”
Daisy’s sudden cry from beside him snapped his attention away from the girl.
“Lord Alon. May peace be with you. I was told you summoned me…”
Alon gestured toward an empty seat. “Priest Emil. Come, come. This is a meal, so there’s no need for such formalities. Sit here.”
The moment Emil took his seat, Alon spoke directly.
“In truth, this gathering is for you.”
“What do you mean, my lord?”
“You know I have a daughter. It is customary for a girl of suitable age to be assigned a trustworthy priest as her exclusive attendant. And everyone in Iredain knows exactly which priest is worthy of such trust… isn’t that so?”
Of course, Alon Ricgard himself likely had no personal interest in Emil, but that was irrelevant. What mattered was the position of exclusive priest.
Say it. Say it now.
Promise me gold, fragrant wine, and a feather bed. Speak those words.
“Like the others, I believe you are the most fitting choice for the role.”
“By the radiance of God, I can imagine no greater honor, my lord.”
“Very well. Therefore, Emil of Tyssos, I hereby appoint you as exclusive priest.”
Yes. Exactly!
Emil barely managed to maintain his dignified smile when Alon continued.
“From this moment forward, you shall serve as the exclusive priest of my daughter Leni. You must guide her, teach her, and care for her according to God’s will. Can you swear, in God’s name, to devote yourself to this service?”
Wait—what?
What name had Alon just spoken?
Daisy. Daisy. Daisy.
Alon’s daughter was named Daisy. But the name he had just uttered was unmistakably different.
My daughter Leni’s exclusive priest… Leni. Yes, Leni. Not Daisy—Leni!
When he glanced sideways, the red-haired girl was watching him with an utterly blank expression.
As if she had known this would happen.
“Priest, why do you hesitate? Have you no answer? I shall ask once more. Emil of Tyssos, I appoint you as the exclusive priest of my daughter Leni. Do you accept?”
In that brief moment, Emil looked toward Cately. She too appeared stunned by her husband’s declaration.
And Daisy…
“What are you saying, Father!”
She shrieked.
“Leni? That stinking little wretch? You’re appointing the priest as her exclusive attendant? That’s absurd! Wasn’t the priest supposed to be mine?”
“Be silent, Daisy. Is Leni not older than you? It would be improper for the younger sister to receive an exclusive priest before the elder.”
Even amid the uproar, Leni remained perfectly still in her seat.
Daisy pointed at her and screamed in that shrill, childish voice. “Elder sister? That disgusting creature is my elder sister? You might as well tell me to treat a pig as my sister! She’s the spawn of a filthy whore!”
“Daisy!”
Alon slammed his fist onto the table with a roar. The entire surface shuddered as though it might split.
Emil had never once seen Alon Ricgard raise his voice at Daisy like this.
She immediately burst into tears.
Yet Alon only grew angrier. “Is no one there? Take this child to her room at once!”
“I won’t go! You can’t separate me from the priest! Send her away instead! Father, why are you doing this to me—!”
The maids who came running quickly soothed the sobbing girl and led her away. Daisy continued to wail, but her voice gradually faded into the distance.
Once the storm had passed, Alon exhaled several long breaths to calm himself, then spoke again.
“It’s quiet at last. I ask you one final time. Priest Emil. Will you become the exclusive priest of my daughter Leni?”
Refusing now would likely result in immediate expulsion. Emil could feel it in his bones.
What choice did he have?
“I swear upon the living God that no greater honor could exist. Lord Alon, I accept with gratitude.”
Yes. It was slightly different from his original expectations, but upon reflection, it wasn’t such a bad outcome.
In any case, he had become the exclusive priest of the Ricgard family. That was far better than remaining a mere guest, wasn’t it?
Now, when others asked, he could name one of the greatest houses in all of Rosdea.
The Ricgard name carried that much weight.
It was unfortunate that Daisy was upset… but there was nothing to be done. Alon had been utterly resolute.
Besides, he would now receive a proper salary.
Of course, compared to the gold he earned by pleasing Lady Cately, it was a pittance. Still, honest coin was always welcome.
Therefore, the most urgent matter at hand was…
“Lady Leni. May I enter?”
Gaining Leni Ricgard’s favor.
She despised him.
He didn’t know why, but that much was certain. Otherwise she would never have ignored his knocking for hours on their first meeting and left him standing outside her door.
Thankfully, the maid delivering the meal allowed him to enter with her.
But if only that single act could solve everything.
Even after stepping inside, Leni said nothing. She refused to even glance at him, her eyes fixed on the tall stack of books as she read in silence.
“My lady, reading is excellent, but you should eat first. The food will lose its flavor once it grows cold.”
She gave no sign of having heard him.
He repeated the suggestion several times until, at last, Leni lifted her head.
Hope flickered—only for her to repeat the same words she had spoken before.
“Disappear from my side.”
Then she turned back to her book.
A sigh nearly escaped him.
So this was the girl he would have to care for from now on.
Compared to Leni’s cold demeanor, even the mischievous Daisy seemed angelic.
Still, there was no changing it. He was not Daisy’s priest. He was Leni’s.
Therefore, I must find a way.