The Inquisitor's Intervention
If the heretics were entering the Labyrinth out of sheer greed for money, they would dismiss my warning even more readily. They would simply decide to squeeze every last drop of profit from the place before the trap finally sprang.
“So you have no intention of speaking up?”
“I have nowhere to speak to.”
“Good.”
Princess Reciel seemed to be hoping that Prince Loras would fall into the Labyrinth’s trap and die. “Even if he does get caught in it, he won’t die. But it should at least prove fatal to the subjugation party.”
“……”
“Because of him, I had no choice but to hide. And yet he dared to run his mouth about my sister. He mocked her, saying she was so incompetent that she got scared and ran away.”
Her pride must have been deeply wounded. Especially since he had touched on Princess Canaby, whom Reciel relied on so heavily—it would have struck her harder than any direct threat to herself.
“I don’t know how well he’ll lead the subjugation party, but after hearing that, I can’t help but look forward to it.”
The princess licked her lips, clearly hoping the day the Labyrinth trap would activate would come soon. I had offered the advice after thinking it through carefully, yet seeing her eagerly anticipate the deaths of many people made me realize that even a young member of the imperial family was still, at heart, royalty.
◎ ◎ ◎
A day after the princess left, something surprising happened.
“You wish to attend the service?”
“Yes. Would that be possible?”
The heretic inquisitor, who rarely showed her face at all, had suddenly appeared and asked to attend worship. I couldn’t help but wonder why she would suddenly want to join a service. Still…
“Of course it’s possible. There’s no reason it wouldn’t be.”
I told her it was fine. After all, there was no reason to refuse. The temple always kept its doors wide open. Even so, I was intensely curious about why she had suddenly decided to attend.
“But weren’t you busy? I was wondering why you’d want to attend the service.”
“I’m simply attending the service.”
She clearly had no intention of satisfying my curiosity. I suppose I can’t ask any more.
I usually made a point of attending services whenever possible, but now I felt I absolutely had to go to the one the heretic inquisitor would be at. I needed to see exactly who she was watching. Don’t tell me a heretic has slipped into our temple? If that were the case, it would be a disaster, so I had to confirm it.
When the time for the service came, Sister Melody appeared exactly as she had said she would. However, her presence was so faint that it was easy to overlook her entirely. I scanned the faces of the attendees, trying to figure out who was present.
Could she be following the prince? The thought crossed my mind, but I decided not to jump to conclusions. I would simply memorize each face and keep a close watch. If someone suddenly disappears, that person must be the culprit. That would mean the heretic inquisitor had moved in secret.
“The service will now begin.”
The priest in charge of the service entered. Since I had come to attend, I decided to focus on the service itself. Concentrating during worship was simply what a priest was supposed to do.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“The sermon today was wonderful. It was very comforting.”
After the service ended, the time for offerings and socializing began. Normally, this was when the prince would grab me and strike up a conversation. Today was no different—he came looking for me again.
“What is all this?”
But this time, the prince had arrived with both hands full of something substantial.
“Since you said priests can’t leave the temple, I brought some things for you to enjoy.”
“Your Highness, you shouldn’t be giving me these.”
“What’s the problem with giving a gift to a friend?”
Usually, people tried to maintain a priest’s dignity by framing gifts as offerings, but the prince—perhaps because I had rejected him once before—openly declared it a gift. Then again, there was no reason for him to care about my dignity in the first place. Especially since I had been the one to refuse first.
“It’s not even that grand a gift. Are you really going to make an issue out of something like this? I’ve never seen a priest as devoted to his faith as you. With treatment like this, aren’t you even a little disappointed?”
He praised me while subtly jabbing at the higher-ups. He was criticizing the Holy Empire for not recognizing my efforts despite how well I was doing. A devil’s tongue, that’s what it is. A true devil’s tongue.
It was only natural to feel good when someone acknowledged your abilities. At the same time, his subtle criticism of the Holy Empire for failing to recognize my hard work was a calculated move to plant seeds of discontent. How many people had he swayed with that cunning tongue?
“You’ve got a devil on your tongue.”
“!!”
“!!”
I was startled for a moment, thinking I had spoken my thoughts aloud, but thankfully that wasn’t the case.
“Was that directed at me?”
The prince frowned as he turned to identify the sudden intruder. The stranger’s suspicious appearance and blunt, almost insulting remark had clearly caught him off guard.
“Who are you?”
The prince asked me, unable to hide his displeasure. How should I introduce her? Is there any need to give him that information? There was no reason to reveal that she was a heretic inquisitor. When I remained silent, she stepped forward as if to say I had done well.
“Do you intend to deny it? You tried to sway the priest with gifts and honeyed words, and you attempted to shake his trust in the Holy Empire.”
“…And who are you to show such rudeness? Are you confident you can handle the consequences?”
The prince’s face flushed red, clearly embarrassed that his underhanded scheme had been exposed. Then again, when would a prince ever experience such disrespect? The heretic inquisitor really doesn’t care whether someone is royalty or not—she just charges straight in. Well, she knows the Holy Empire will protect her.
A prince versus a heretic inquisitor. On the surface, the prince held all the power. But that didn’t mean he could actually do anything to Sister Melody. Touching a heretic inquisitor was no different from offending the pride of the Holy Empire itself.
“On the contrary, I’d like to ask you. Are you confident you won’t regret laying a hand on a priest of the Holy Empire?”
It was shocking enough that she had provoked the prince, but Sister Melody didn’t even blink at his threat. Instead, she took another step forward, asking if he wouldn’t regret it. The prince seemed to sense that something was wrong and glanced around before speaking.
“It seems there’s been a misunderstanding. I was merely speaking out of concern for the priest. I don’t understand why you would interpret it that way.”
He had clearly meant something by his words, yet he was now pretending otherwise. It seemed he had realized that acting emotionally without knowing Melody’s true identity would be a mistake. However, there was someone else here who was also good at staying calm and acting rationally—Sister Melody herself. I wondered how she would respond to the prince’s words.
“Act with caution. Unnecessary misunderstandings could lead to unpleasant experiences.”
She was implying that she could personally ensure the prince had an unpleasant experience. Since the prince didn’t know her identity, he seemed to have a lot on his mind. As for me, I could only shrug from the sidelines.
“It seems today isn’t the right day, so I’ll be taking my leave.”
“Thank you for the gift, but I would appreciate it if you took it back.”
“If the priest won’t accept it, just throw it away.”
The items he had given me were probably quite valuable, yet he told me to discard them rather than take them back—his pride must have been wounded.
“Understood. In that case, I’ll treat these items as a donation.”
The prince looked like he had plenty to say in response, but he soon closed his mouth and left.
“Why did you do that?”
This time, I couldn’t help but ask Sister Melody.
“He acts like a good person, but you seemed to have noticed he isn’t. You provoked him too much.”
He would definitely try to retaliate for this incident.
“That’s why I did it on purpose. So he would try something.”
“Ah?”
As I suspected, the person Sister Melody was watching was indeed the prince. My mouth itched with questions. Was the prince really connected to the heretics? Throughout history, heretics had repeatedly interfered in succession struggles and caused chaos. History had a way of repeating itself, and it wasn’t hard to imagine them meddling in the messy, dysfunctional imperial family of the Deltrack Empire.
“Are you still in the suspicion stage? If he’s involved with them, things could get complicated…”
“……”
When she remained silent, unable to answer, I quickly continued.
“Ah, I won’t make any hasty assumptions. I’ll just keep watching. But if you ever need my help, please let me know. I want to assist you.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
I wasn’t sure if Sister Melody had taken my words seriously. Still, if she could remember them when she needed help, that would be enough. Honestly, I wonder if she’ll ever actually need my help.
Come to think of it, there was something I needed to tell her.
“Oh, right—since you’re here, I should mention what I couldn’t tell you before. It looks like we’ll be entering the Labyrinth in two weeks.”
“Understood.”
“Are you sure that’s all right? You seemed busy.”
“It’s fine. The reason I’m here is to protect Priest Arthur. Nothing takes priority over that.”
“Then I’ll let you know the exact date once it’s confirmed. And please be careful.”
I was still someone the prince was trying to win over, so he hadn’t made a move against me yet. But Sister Melody’s situation was different. A suspicious person had suddenly appeared—she had no reason not to investigate. Once he realizes she’s not anyone important, he’ll probably take action.
Why wouldn’t the heretic inquisitor be considered important? Even if the prince investigated, Melody’s true identity wouldn’t be exposed. After all, even if a mere prince—not the emperor—sent people to investigate, there’s no way he could uncover the identity of a heretic inquisitor.
That was exactly why I was worried.
“We don’t know what the prince might do.”
“That’s why I provoked him. So he would make a move.”
I had no idea why the prince had chosen to provoke someone he absolutely shouldn’t have tangled with. Should I pray for his soul? His future didn’t look very bright.