Chapter 36 - The Priest's Conflict
"First, regarding Miss Rachel's kidnapping. Your father and brother are involved, aren't they?"
"If you already know, then why not simply arrest me?"
"Because you didn't follow their orders, did you?"
"I am a member of the Watteau family. I will not betray them."
Theodore-sama stood before the Master Priest, his usual carefree demeanor replaced by a mask of gravity. The Priest, however, maintained his smile, meeting Theodore-sama's sharp gaze head-on.
"Cyril, bring those letters here."
"Yes, sir."
Theodore-sama reached out, and Cyril handed him a thick stack of correspondence.
What kind of letters were they? I turned toward His Highness, my eyes asking the question. He only offered a faint, ambiguous smile. It seemed he intended to let Theodore-sama handle things as he pleased.
Theodore-sama had shifted completely into work mode. The teasing glint had vanished from his eyes, leaving them cold and distant. Combined with his porcelain, doll-like features, he felt suddenly unapproachable.
"You made sure we found this evidence, didn't you? You used Miss Rachel's kidnapping to lead us right to it."
"Evidence? I have no idea what you mean. Those are merely letters from my family."
"Cyril, what was written in them?"
"First, that the Spirit of Darkness must be eliminated. They claimed the spirit-killing technique was nearing completion. They instructed him to make contact with Rachel-sama once she returned to her territory. He was to report back immediately upon finding the dark spirit. That covers the gist of it."
Spirit-killing!
The words drained the color from my face. My grip on Kuro tightened instinctively.
I had heard of such a thing, but it was supposed to be a forbidden art.
Noticing my distress, His Highness wrapped an arm around my shoulder to comfort me. He let out a small, troubled sigh and looked down at me to explain.
"It seems a faction within the Church harbors a deep-seated hatred for the Spirit of Darkness. Their faith centers entirely on the Spirit King of Light. To them, light and darkness are polar opposites. They equate light with good and darkness with evil. Within that faction, the belief exists that a dark spirit should not, and must not, exist."
"That's..."
"When you consider that his family has produced the previous High Priest, we have to account for the possibility that such radical views are ingrained in their lineage."
"The previous High Priest?"
"His grandfather held that position."
My eyes widened at the revelation. I knew he came from a family of priests, but I never imagined he was from such a powerful house. That explained why he had mentioned his family being at the core of the Church. It also explained how he knew about Kuro and the difficulties surrounding my engagement.
"I apologize for failing to anticipate this outcome," His Highness murmured, his brow furrowing as he looked at the floor in regret.
I was aware that the Church's stance on the Spirit of Darkness was a delicate issue. However, living with Kuro, I had never once considered him a harmful existence.
But what about those who had never seen him? To those who only knew the concept of a 'dark spirit,' he might indeed seem like a threat. Especially to those devoted to the spirits of light.
Regret gnawed at me. Why hadn't I realized this sooner? Even so, trying to erase a spirit was unforgivable.
The people of this kingdom lived under the protection of the spirits. To try and twist that existence, to murder a spirit based on a personal dogma... it was intolerable.
"If only I had paid more attention to your surroundings, Rachel..."
"No, Your Highness. You were attentive. It was I who failed to understand the gravity of the situation."
I should have been more mindful of the Church as an organization and its long history.
"Your Highness, I've been so self-centered. I thought coming to the territory had broadened my horizons. But in the end, I've done nothing but rely on you and Theodore-sama."
"That's perfectly fine. If there are things you cannot do, let those beside you fill the gaps. In return, you can do for them what they cannot. You don't have to carry everything alone."
His words struck a chord within me.
Fill the gaps?
I see. I had only been thinking about what I had to do myself. But relying on others isn't a bad thing. We support each other where we are weak. His warm smile made my chest tighten with emotion.
"In short," Theodore-sama's cool voice pulled me back to reality. "Your father and brother plotted to eliminate this little black cat. They learned that Rachel-sama was heading to the territory—the very place where your church is located. At their request, you needed to confirm if the dark spirit was with her. That's why you became close to her, isn't it?"
"Precisely. I approached her at the request of my father and brother. Though the incident with Mina was a coincidence, I thought it served my purposes well."
The Priest turned his gaze toward me. His eyes wavered with a hint of sadness. Memories of our days at the church flooded back, making my heart ache. Suddenly, His Highness's hand covered my eyes.
Confused, I heard a grumpy voice from above. "Don't look at him so much."
"But," Theodore-sama continued, "you were the one who anonymously tipped off the Order of Mages about 'suspicious ritual traces in the borderlands,' weren't you?"
"Why would I..."
"It's the most logical conclusion. Your brother has been touring regional churches for weeks. Then, suddenly, this tip reaches the Order. Someone close to him must have leaked it. You knew that if the ritual was analyzed, Rachel-sama's circle would be alerted to protect the cat. Furthermore, when Louis and the others went to the church, you left the evidence out for them to find."
His Highness muttered something, deep in thought. He looked at the Priest as if seeing him for the first time.
"Your words and actions are contradictory. Are you saying you intend to shoulder your family's sins?"
"I have committed a crime. That is the result."
"You didn't stop your family's actions openly, but you moved in a way that ensured Theodore and I would notice. Isn't that right?"
"What merit would that have for me? I committed a crime of my own volition. The moment I kidnapped Rachel-sama, I put myself in a position to be judged."
Theodore-sama's gaze sharpened further. The Priest merely shrugged.
"Yes, that's the question. Why didn't you contact us in a more straightforward manner?"
"If you had, you wouldn't be facing judgment. In fact, the Church would have been grateful to avoid a direct conflict with the Royal Family," Cyril added, agreeing with Theodore-sama.
Why would the Priest act this way?
I thought back to his words. Family... family...
He had spoken of his family several times. He had described a cold, loveless household that stood in stark contrast to his own gentle nature.
"You couldn't? Master Priest, you said you were raised being told over and over to be useful to your brother, didn't you?"
"What?" His Highness looked at me, puzzled.
I pushed my thoughts further, addressing the Priest directly. "If that's the case, you must have been in a state of terrible conflict. You were changing the values and behaviors you had believed in since birth by your own will."
The Priest's expression vanished for a moment.
"I see. I suppose I did tell you that..."
He let out a long, resigned sigh and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he looked straight at me.
"To be honest, I had no intention of betraying my family. Even if I found them loathsome, I had no means to resist them. I thought this whole plan was absurd, but I intended to go along with their whims."
"Then why?"
"My head thought that way, yes. But the days at the church, the smiles of the children... before I knew it, they had become irreplaceable to me."
"There are so many people who admire you, Master Priest. That is something you built yourself, without a doubt."
"Thank you."
I pictured him at the church, facing each person with sincerity. He was the very image of what a priest should be. I remembered the faces of those who arrived in despair and left with a glimmer of hope, and the gentle smile he gave as he saw them off.
What would they think if they saw him now?
He had found a place for himself through his own strength over many years, long before I arrived in this territory. Sadness washed over me, and I looked down at Kuro. He sat silently in my arms, watching the Priest.
"And then, there was you."
"Me?"
I looked up. The Priest's face was etched with a loneliness that suggested he was mourning something lost.
"Your straight, honest eyes... the days spent with you were radiant to me. It was no lie. I was truly drawn to you."
My heart constricted. I couldn't look away from such a direct confession. I felt His Highness's hand tighten on my shoulder.
An indescribable swirl of emotions churned within me. The image of the Priest with the children, a scene that had been so commonplace until now, felt burned into my mind, making the pain in my chest even sharper.
Why did it have to end like this when he had something so precious? He didn't need to carry this burden.
He had finally found a peaceful life. Why would he throw it away?
As if sensing my gaze, the Priest let out a small sigh, his face full of resignation.
"Even so, I cannot abandon that family. I know I am a hopeless man for thinking so."
"So you intend to shoulder the sin with them?"
The Priest neither confirmed nor denied His Highness's question. He simply stared into the distance with a lonely expression.
To him, family was not something that could be easily explained. Only he knew what his family meant to him. Even knowing they were wrong, he couldn't correct them. Even seeing ruin ahead, he couldn't cut them off completely. There were likely good memories alongside the bad, feelings for his parents and brother that could not be erased.
Those memories were like chains around his feet, keeping him from moving. Or perhaps, he was the one refusing to take the chains off.
I couldn't know for sure.
"There are people who simply cannot change, Rachel-sama."
His quiet murmur was the only sound in the long silence that followed.
"Your Royal Highness, this will lead to the arrest of my father and brother, correct?"
"Yes. The use of forbidden arts is a crime. Attempting to harm a spirit is a grave offense."
"They will surely hate me. They'll call me a failure of a son, a failure of a brother. I've stolen their beliefs and their future. But to be bested by such a 'failure' of a son... it's almost funny, isn't it?"
"If that's the case, you could have just watched them destroy themselves."
"No. Even so, they are my family. That is why I wish to atone for the crime alongside them."
"How foolish."
"I agree."
The Priest gave a self-deprecating laugh. To an outsider, he certainly looked foolish. He had the means to save himself, yet he chose the path of guilt.
But perhaps that was his own form of justice.
"I have one more request."
"What is it?"
"My successor... the children have nothing to do with this. Neither do the people who visit the church. Please, ask the Great Church headquarters to select a good successor for them."
"I will see to it."
The Priest's face broke into a gentle, peaceful smile of pure relief. A single tear escaped his purple eyes and rolled down his cheek.
I, too, could not stop my tears as I thought of his suffering.
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