Chapter 96
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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Chapter 96
A glance revealed his deeply uncomfortable expression.
Apparently, because his biological mother hailed from the Imoet Kingdom, he was familiar with the absurd greeting: "Are you considering marriage to Crown Prince Kiaros?"
In any case, that wasn't all. Nobles came flocking to greet me as well.
"Minister of Scrolls, that was truly impressive. I thought such magic could only be performed at the Magic Tower..."
But there was a problem. I didn't know any of the high-ranking nobles. Noticing my momentary confusion, Kiaros smoothly introduced each one to me.
"This is Beron Vegana, the second son of the Vegana Countess family. He's also part of the Imperial Knight Order and is already engaged."
Each time high-ranking nobles approached, Kiaros introduced them to me one by one.
"This is Aaron Adams, the third son of the Adams Marquess family. His face is decent enough, but he's been dumped twice for infidelity."
"Ah... yes."
"This is Iark Aeron, a viscount. His wife and children are abroad. Don't be fooled if he pretends to be unmarried."
"Ah... yes."
"This is Caron Colsbein, the eldest son of the Colsbein Countess family. His future father-in-law is vicious, and his future mother-in-law is terribly wicked. You absolutely shouldn't marry into that family."
"Ah... yes."
Of course, only he remained composed while his conversation partners struggled to hide their bewilderment.
Speaking freely without regard for others' reactions was a privilege of Imperial Servants. Though Kiaros had never wielded this privilege quite so brazenly before.
It was then.
A red-haired man in priestly robes stepped before me, his golden eyes gleaming.
"It is an honor to meet you, Minister."
Slightly flustered by this stranger's appearance, I watched as Kiaros smiled and made the introduction.
"This is the High Priest, Oliver Ailsen. As you'd naturally expect, priests cannot marry."
"It is an honor to meet you, Minister. I am Oliver Ailsen, a humble servant of the divine."
Despite his position as High Priest, his attire was remarkably plain.
"It has been quite some time since I was invited to the Imperial Palace, and even longer since I attended a gathering like this."
True to his words, his invitation to the Imperial Palace was an exceedingly rare occurrence.
Since the first Emperor of Imperial Servants established the Empire, the Temple's authority had steadily waned in this long era of peace.
With the brilliant advancement of medicine and prolonged peace, divine power—that force of wide-scale healing—had long fallen into obscurity.
Now, scarcely anyone among the common folk held genuine faith in the divine, and religion was merely regarded as folk belief.
"So I was unaware that Scrolls had advanced so remarkably in the interim."
Today's event was literally for "Castle Kairo"—the festival of the ancient saint—which was why he had been invited. In ordinary times, the High Priest was merely a peripheral religious figure whom no one bothered to notice.
'Wait... but after the war broke out, the situation completely reversed, didn't it?'
Naturally, during the war, the role of wide-scale healing had been tremendous.
It didn't cure any particular disease, but it restored vitality and brought people into a state of heightened awareness.
That divine power, unnecessary in times of peace, suddenly began to attract attention.
'And then their influence suddenly surged.'
For this reason, in the original work, Jayden too suspected the Temple of being behind the war. Yet he ultimately never uncovered any connection to the Temple. But then...
'The adult Jayden who sought out the High Priest—his name was also Oliver Ailsen.'
And here was something that sent chills down my spine.
That Oliver Ailsen had been described as appearing to be in his forties. With the description of red hair and golden eyes, the Oliver before my eyes now was unmistakably the same person.
'But right now, he looks exactly like he's in his forties.'
According to the original story, Jayden doesn't meet the High Priest until twenty years later. That would make him a grandfather in his sixties, yet his appearance is identical?
'That's suspicious!'
Moreover, Jayden said that was the first time he was meeting the High Priest.
So in the original story, the High Priest didn't attend this banquet?
'If the Temple had been backing the Gaejo Faction....'
Fifteen years ago, even after the Emperor annihilated the Gaejo Faction's leadership in the Southern Region, the remnants survived and rebuilt their forces—that would explain it.
Since priests possessed healing powers, they could have unofficially revived the Gaejo Faction's operatives who had become corpses.
And with temples spread across the entire Continent, they could easily hide the Gaejo Faction while evading the Imperial Palace's pursuit.
'Right. That makes sense with my suspicion that there was a larger force behind all this.'
A High Priest who hadn't aged a day in twenty years.
Could he have also joined hands with the Gaejo Faction and become an experimental subject himself? Like the Tower Master's Daughter?
While my mind spun furiously, Crown Prince Kiaros and the High Priest were conversing lightly.
"Indeed. Even when the Imperial Palace sent invitations, you almost never attended, did you?"
"Haha.... A servant of the divine doesn't belong in such splendid places. But after so long, I impulsively decided to attend, and I must say I'm quite impressed."
The Royal Family had always shown appropriate respect to the Temple, a religious organization that existed even before the Empire's founding.
Though they didn't provide special care, they always invited the Temple to such events and treated them as honored guests.
Of course, in most cases the High Priest humbly declined. He understood that he couldn't exert influence at such gatherings anyway.
'He rarely even comes to the Capital normally. That's why even I, a civil servant with considerable vacation days, am seeing the High Priest in person for the first time.'
In any case, Crown Prince Kiaros was currently extending the utmost courtesy to the High Priest.
For someone generally indifferent to people, he was maintaining this trivial conversation quite persistently.
"The last time we saw you was five years ago, wasn't it? Your appearance hasn't changed at all since then."
"Is that so? At my age, there's no greater compliment. Thank you."
Yes.... Five years could pass off as mere flattery, but twenty years is definitely strange!
As I continued to ponder, the conversation went on.
"Are you currently staying at the Grand Temple in Parens?"
The High Priest didn't stay at just one temple but wandered between multiple temples.
Parens was a city in the Southern Region, home to the Grand Temple built before the Empire's founding. The largest in scale on the entire Continent.
It was close to the region where Huan Loapi Sr. and I lived, and I'd mentioned visiting it later if time permitted. That "later" never came, though.
"Yes, that's correct. Since I've come up for the banquet, I plan to stay at the Imperial Palace's temple for about ten days before heading back down to Parens."
There was a small temple within the Imperial Palace itself. In truth, it was less a temple and more a small chapel built formally out of respect for ancient religion.
In any case, it was a temple, so the High Priest had justification to stay there.
I smiled quietly to myself while glancing at the High Priest.
'A sudden visit to the Imperial Palace....'
This never happened in the original story. But if the High Priest, who could mobilize the entire Temple, moved personally....
There was definitely some grand scheme behind it.
There was someone right beside me who clearly wanted to deal with him.
'Last time he wanted to deal with someone too, but there's one person who survived because of me!'
That was Crown Prince Kiaros.
With just one proper Imperial Servant, they have no choice but to restrain themselves.
'I'm sure this time, he'll plan another assassination attempt on Crown Prince Kiaros.'
Crown Prince Kiaros used his heartbreak as an excuse to remain confined within the Imperial Palace, avoiding the outside world.
The High Priest, however, was someone who could linger in the Imperial Palace without any particular reason—perhaps he had moved directly himself?
While I remained lost in thought, Crown Prince Kiaros spoke with measured courtesy, as if to say it was time to move on.
"We have taken great care with the banquet fare. I shall have the Attendant recommend some suitable dishes for you."
At this, the High Priest shook his head in response.
"Ah... that won't be necessary. My stomach isn't feeling well."
What is this, some kind of indigestion epidemic these days?
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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