A Threat in the Sanctuary
The atmosphere around the man felt ominous. “Is there anything else you wish to say?”
“Priest.” The man’s voice was low and chilling. “Why don’t you reconsider?”
His eyes alone told me everything. This man intended to kill me right now.
Is he insane?
Assaulting a priest inside the temple was madness. If caught, the Holy Empire would never let his country off lightly.
The problem is, how would anyone know he was the one who killed me?
This was the perfect crime. How could anyone prove he was the culprit?
I really shouldn’t meet people in empty places like this.
I hadn’t realized it until now, but I’d been far too careless about my safety. Cold sweat ran down my back, yet I kept my expression neutral. Panicking would only play into his hands.
“No matter how many times you ask, my answer won’t change.”
“Even if it puts your life in danger?”
His gaze slid slowly to my throat. Was he threatening to strangle me? This was the first time I’d ever received such a direct threat. Patients had shouted about killing me before, but that had always meant they were in so much pain they wanted to die, not that they wanted to murder me. After all, who would be shameless enough to kill a priest?
Well, the shameless man standing in front of me right now, apparently.
“That won’t happen. My safety is guaranteed inside the temple. The Sun God protects me.”
“From where I stand, you look extremely vulnerable. You’re the only one denying it.”
“……”
“I could kill you right here and no one would ever know. Even the Sun God you believe in wouldn’t know you were about to die.”
He claimed to believe in the Sun God, yet his words were nothing short of blasphemous.
“Threaten me all you like. My decision won’t change.”
If my guess was right, he couldn’t afford to kill me. He had to know that murdering a priest would blow up into something he couldn’t handle. But that was only a guess. If he was truly insane, he might actually do it.
“Then I suppose I have no choice but to silence you permanently. It would be troublesome if this matter reached Princess Canaby.”
“!!”
His hand shot out and seized my throat in an instant. Air caught in my chest.
Am I really going to die?
Fear finally broke through. No matter how calm I tried to appear, no one could face death without trembling.
BOOM!!!
The moment I squeezed my eyes shut, a deafening crash rang out. I nearly collapsed onto the floor in an undignified heap. My ears rang, and regret flooded in—I shouldn’t have provoked him.
…But why doesn’t it hurt?
I took a deep breath to steady myself and opened my eyes. A broad back stood in front of me.
“?”
I rubbed my eyes once, wondering if I was seeing things. The man who had been threatening me lay unconscious on the floor without so much as a groan. The person with their back to me must have done it.
“Who… are you?”
“I’m sorry you had to go through something so dangerous because of us.”
“Sir Knight?”
The voice was familiar. It belonged to the knight who always stood at Princess Canaby’s side.
“I’ll take care of this man. You needn’t worry.”
“Uh… um… yes.”
I didn’t know what to say. Relief at having survived? Resentment at having been put through this in the first place?
The knight glared at the unconscious man with a murderous look in his eyes. “From here on, it will be a sight you’d rather not see, Priest.”
He was telling me to leave so he could get to work in earnest. I nodded.
“…I should go eat lunch. I’m starving. You should eat something proper as well, Sir Knight.”
“Yes, I will. Thank you, Priest.”
The moment I closed the door and took a single step, my legs gave out and I sank to the floor. The strength had drained from them completely.
If it weren’t for the knight, I would have died.
The realization felt hollow. How hard had I worked to become Chief Healer? All of that effort could have been erased by one simple action from that man.
Did they think the Holy Empire was a joke?
Anger surged through me. Even if their family was in chaos, even if they were a dysfunctional mess—
“How dare they lay hands on a priest?”
Rage boiled up. It had been a long time since I’d felt this furious.
I reported the incident to Bishop Haman and Sir Lapel. Both were shocked that someone had dared to threaten a priest inside the temple. Sir Lapel immediately declared he would assign more knights to guard the temple, saying he should have done so sooner. Bishop Haman was equally outraged and said he would report the matter to the Holy Empire.
After meeting with each of them, a knight came looking for me. I had already missed lunch, so I went straight to Princess Canaby’s room without eating.
She didn’t seem to know what had happened yet; the knight hadn’t reported to her. No need for me to bring it up first, I decided.
Once treatment was finished and I stepped out, the knight was waiting by the door.
“Thank you for saving me. I felt I should at least say that much.”
At the time I hadn’t thought about it, but now that I looked back, several things didn’t add up. Still, I couldn’t ignore the fact that he had saved my life.
“It was only my duty. In fact, I asked for this meeting because I owe you an apology. I’m sorry you had to go through something so dangerous.”
He was apologizing voluntarily, even though I hadn’t yet mentioned my suspicions. That told me this wasn’t a simple apology for the incident itself.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t shaken. But thanks to you arriving at exactly the right moment, I wasn’t hurt at all. It was almost uncanny how precisely you appeared.”
“……”
“Sir Knight.”
“Yes.”
“How did you know to come? No one knew I was meeting that man. I didn’t tell anyone.”
The knight guarding Princess Canaby showing up at the perfect moment to protect me? That couldn’t be coincidence.
He answered calmly, as if he had expected the question. “Her Highness ordered me to protect Priest Arthur in case something like this happened. She said a suspicious person might approach you.”
“Then you already knew I had gone to meet someone suspicious. You didn’t intervene earlier because you wanted to see whether I would accept or refuse his offer.”
“…That is—”
Any excuse now would be meaningless. He had watched while I was threatened and nearly killed, only moving after the fact.
“You should apologize for putting me through that, and also for doubting me. I have never once neglected Princess Canaby’s treatment.”
I had done nothing wrong, so I had every right to be angry about being suspected so excessively. I wondered if he would deny it, but he accepted the fault without hesitation.
“An apology from me won’t be proper compensation. I will report everything that happened to Her Highness without omission.”
“Reporting without omission means she’ll punish you for this, doesn’t it? Even though you ultimately kept me safe?”
“What I did wasn’t protection. It was a test. Her Highness despises having her orders disobeyed. Since I broke her command, she will punish me severely. You, however, will receive ample compensation for what you endured.”
Seeing him admit everything so honestly eased some of my anger. He seemed to think I would prefer compensation over an apology. I needed to correct that misunderstanding.
“I have no intention of letting this matter end at the Princess’s level.”
“Pardon?”
“The Holy Empire will formally publicize this incident with the Deltrack Empire. I’ve already informed my superiors.”
“!!”
The knight’s usually impassive face turned pale. “You can’t do that!”
“A priest was threatened inside the temple. If it had only been about me, I might have let it go. But if we overlook this, another priest might be dragged into something similar and killed next time.”
“Priest!”
“So the only thing you need to apologize for is doubting me. There’s no need to tell the Princess and receive punishment.”
“If this becomes public, it will put Her Highness in a difficult position!”
It was unfortunate for Princess Canaby, but those who dared to harm a priest had to pay the price.
“This won’t end with just me. The Deltrack Empire tried to silence a priest of the Holy Empire by killing him. Inside the temple, no less.”
“……”
The knight finally seemed to understand that this matter couldn’t be resolved at Princess Canaby’s level. He bit his lip, his face ashen.
“Those behind this incident will have to pay the price for provoking the Holy Empire.”
I could tolerate being underestimated. But I would not tolerate the Sun God and the Holy Empire being disregarded. They would pay. I hoped this incident would serve as a clear warning to every nation: touching even a single priest would bring consequences.
“He nearly died because he got caught up in a succession struggle? Inside the temple itself?”
“Yes. It appears a member of the Deltrack imperial family was secretly hospitalized there. They threatened the priest in charge of treatment, demanding to know the location of the room. When bribery failed, they resorted to threats.”
“How dare they try to buy a priest with money?”
The urgent report from the Labyrinth Temple had traveled swiftly upward until it finally reached the Pope’s ears in the Vatican. That alone showed how seriously the incident was being taken.