The Mad Dog in the Cage
The lord of Pailon Island greeted her with a polite bow.
“I never expected guests from the empire.”
“Welcome. I am Hailon Dale, the lord of Pailon Island.”
He was a middle-aged man with a rather frail, timid appearance. Standing beside him was another man…
That must be the high priest, right?
She had hoped otherwise, but it seemed her guess was correct. The man was so massively built that his white clerical robes looked ready to burst at the seams.
But those eyes…
His gaze was utterly filthy.
Canna could feel the lust lurking in the high priest’s stare.
“This is His Eminence, High Priest Carleon.”
Canna hid the disgust rising within her and offered a courteous greeting.
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Eminence. I am Canna Valentino, here in my capacity as a physician.”
“May the divine protection of God be with you, madam.”
The high priest dabbed at the greasy sweat on his face and bowed deeply.
“It is truly an honor, madam. You are exceptionally beautiful. It is quite surprising that someone as lovely as you would choose to work as a physician.”
“Hahaha!” The high priest laughed heartily and continued. “A beauty like the duchess has no need for the healing arts.”
“…Pardon?”
“Just looking at your beauty would cure even a decade-old illness. Haha, perhaps you became a physician through your looks alone?”
In an instant, Canna’s face turned as cold as ice. She made no effort to hide her displeasure and stared at him with a stony expression.
“No. I did not become a physician through my looks.”
“Excuse me?”
“One’s appearance is irrelevant to practicing medicine, Your Eminence.”
The lord, Hailon, who had been listening nearby, visibly paled.
“Duchess. His Eminence was merely offering you a compliment. Please do not misunderstand.”
“…A compliment?”
“Yes, of course.”
At those words, Canna’s frozen expression melted away. She smiled sweetly.
“Oh? It was a compliment?”
Only then did the confusion vanish from the high priest’s face. He laughed boisterously and offered another “compliment.”
“Hahaha! Of course! I simply meant that someone as stunning as the duchess is far too beautiful to be doing such dirty, laborious work as medicine.”
“I see. And that is a compliment?”
“Pardon?”
“To my ears, it sounds like an insult.”
Yet the high priest failed to notice her hostility and merely tilted his head in bewilderment.
“No, no, it is not an insult. Please do not misunderstand.”
Canna chose not to respond.
Asking if I became a physician with my looks. In Juhwa’s world, she would have slapped anyone who dared say such a thing.
I really want to hit him just once.
What would happen if she actually slapped a high priest?
Blasphemy.
And blasphemy would likely result in…
Burning at the stake.
It was a law that applied even to nobles.
To think this is what a high priest is like. How disappointing. I was hoping for someone like Raphael.
Perhaps people like Raphael were rare.
Come to think of it, that made sense. The Great Temple was a disgusting organization built on incestuous marriages. Of course it would be rotten.
They call themselves descendants of the ancient holy priests, yet they sit around committing incest… How horrified their ancestors would be if they could see it.
The Great Temple. A sacred, inviolable domain that stood above imperial law.
Just as the Addis and Valentino families were descendants of the ancient holy knights, the priests of the Great Temple were descendants of the ancient holy priests.
Moreover, the Great Temple housed a strange being known as the Holy Spirit. According to history, he was supposedly a divine messenger born from the World Tree about five hundred years ago.
Well, that’s just the Great Temple’s one-sided claim. Plenty of people don’t believe in the Holy Spirit’s existence.
Nevertheless, publicly it was said that the Holy Spirit merged with the World Tree to purify demonic energy and protect the Western Continent from the Black Fog. That was the very reason for the Great Temple’s existence.
Yet despite its supposedly sacred purpose…
Peel back one layer and it’s nothing but a dumpster.
All the priests of the Great Temple shared the same bloodline. For a very long time, they had maintained their order solely through incestuous marriages.
They claim it’s to preserve their holy power, but it’s still revolting.
Thanks to those efforts, however, the priests could naturally wield holy power without needing a baptism ceremony.
On the other hand, the descendants of holy knights who did not practice incest—the Addis and Valentino families—were different.
They could only awaken their holy power after undergoing a baptism ceremony.
Holy power. It was a truly coveted force, but it had been permitted only to male descendants for generations.
Neither Canna nor Isabel had received the baptism.
“Duchess, you must have had a difficult journey. If there is anything you require, please do not hesitate to ask.”
The lord quickly changed the subject. Since Canna had no desire to speak with the high priest any longer, she asked the lord a random question.
“Lord Dale, do you happen to know the whereabouts of Sir Orsini Addis?”
She had asked expecting him to have no idea. However—
“That bastard deserves to die!”
Canna flinched in surprise and stared at the high priest who had suddenly roared. He was raging like a wild boar shot in the rear, bellowing at the top of his lungs.
“God will surely punish him! That wretch, that wretch dares—!”
At that moment, the great bell of the castle rang out clearly. Ding— Ding—
The lord quickly intervened at the sound of the bell.
“Your Eminence, it is time for prayer. Please do not disappoint the believers.”
“…In any case, I will report Sir Orsini’s blasphemy to the Great Temple in full detail! Keep that in mind!”
The high priest waddled away.
“Lord Dale. What was that about?”
“Ahem.”
“I asked about the whereabouts of Sir Orsini Addis.”
But the lord could not answer.
He bit his lip as if thorns had sprouted in his mouth, fidgeting anxiously before finally speaking with great caution.
“Hmm… The truth is, he is currently…”
“…?”
“He is in prison.”
Canna found Orsini.
“…”
Was that really Orsini?
That vagrant?
In the underground prison beneath the lord’s castle, Orsini was sprawled shamelessly on a pile of straw.
Why on earth was he in such a state? Even Claude seemed at a loss for words.
“Hey.”
Canna called out to him.
Only then did Orsini slowly open his eyes. He must have noticed their presence long ago but had chosen to ignore it.
Yet the moment his eyes met Canna’s, he shot upright like a spring.
Good grief, look at the straw stuck in his hair.
His already disheveled red hair was now decorated with bits of straw.
Canna smirked crookedly and sneered.
“Looking good, Orsini. Should I call you a vagrant? Or perhaps—prisoner?”
Orsini stared at her with an uncharacteristically dazed expression before letting out a small snort of laughter.
“You vicious bitch. Came all this way just to torment me again?”
What nonsense was this?
A bewildered Claude and Canna exchanged glances.
“Yeah, do whatever you want. Anything’s better than being stuck on this damned island. Even a nightmare would be preferable.”
“…”
Surely he wasn’t mistaking this for a dream.
Still, it was a plausible assumption. Her sudden appearance must have seemed unbelievable.
He really can be such an idiot sometimes.
Tsk tsk. Canna clicked her tongue.
“Who said you could drag me into your dreams? How unpleasant.”
“What?”
“Stop talking nonsense and get a grip.”
Silence fell. A moment later, Orsini sprang to his feet and approached the bars.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
He looked back and forth between Canna and Claude with eyes that bordered on hatred.
“Why are you two here?”
“That’s what I want to ask.”
Canna kicked the iron bars with a dull clang.
“To think the great Orsini Addis committed a crime so heinous he deserves death and ended up locked in prison.”
“Why the hell are you here?!”
She nearly jumped.
“Get out! If you don’t leave right now, I’ll throw you into the sea!”
He then shouted at Claude.
“Sir Claude! I distinctly warned you not to send any knights!”
“Sir Orsini, there are circumstances. Please calm down first…”
“Shut up! Take this wench and get out right now!”
Rage surged up her throat.
Fortunately, she still had her reason. She gave a dark command.
“Sir Claude, leave us.”
“Pardon?”
“We have something to discuss as siblings. Leave us.”
“Understood.”
Claude was a knight who followed orders without question. He left the prison without another word.
Clack. The sound of the door closing echoed.
“Haa…”
Finally, they were alone.
Canna let out a deep breath and swept her hair back. Then—
“You son of a bitch!”
She grabbed the bars with both hands and screamed.
“You think I wanted to come here?!”