Everywhere else was perfectly intact—only the temple had collapsed. Now that was odd. The news that the Imperial Palace’s temple had crumbled made feel so terribly unsettled.
The High Priest thought, It didn’t even collapse that badly...
I thought if I could just receive so divine power, maybe I’d feel a little better.
Really, the excuses never ended.
She was summoning the High Priest as if he were so dressmaker from the tailoring district.
Who knows? Maybe if I give high praise to your divine power, they’ll build a sturdier new chapel inside the palace~
The priest reading the letter beside the High Priest let out an angry huff.
“Isn’t this way too much? She’s acting like she’s already the Crown Princess.”
The High Priest scowled at the letter and replied,
“She’s only able to act like this because she isn’t the Crown Princess yet.”
“Pardon?”
“Namia Roafi hasn’t accepted the Crown Prince’s feelings. She keeps stringing him along like she might, but hasn’t actually said yes.”
“Er... huh?”
“At the banquet, she accepted his partner invitation but refused to dance the first dance with him and left. And now she’s living in the best room in the palace.”
In his mind, Namia had already beco a master manipulator in the art of love.
“No wonder even a Dragonblood like him is flustered. He’s probably never t soone like her before.”
“Well... if it were a normal woman, she’d have started planning the wedding the mont she accepted his partner request.”
Eventually, the High Priest clenched his teeth and wrote a reply.
He said he would visit as soon as she let him know a convenient ti.
“No helping it... For the greater cause, I’ll just have to endure her arrogant nonsense for a little while longer.”
If he could just pump out so divine power for a few days and subtly ask for a private eting, he could still grab the opportunity.
Now that the temple’s undergoing safety inspections and the original plan is useless, this was the only option left.
“Tell her... I’ll co in person.”
After that—
Namia started calling for the High Priest every day, treating him like so personal servant, all while gushing about how wonderful his divine power was.
***
I spent a long ti at the bottom of the Scroll Managent Departnt.
Which ant: I knew how to piss off subordinates with just one opening line.
“So, High Priest.”
Of course, the High Priest wasn’t my subordinate.
But if he kept coming to every day because he wanted sothing, then he was practically one.
The temple collapsed, and without using , he can’t get a private eting with Kiaros anyway.
I smiled brightly at the High Priest, whom I’d been summoning daily.
“We’re close enough now that I can say this, right? Just a little personal advice.”
The High Priest’s expression soured instantly. Adults tended to hate the word “advice,” especially when it was directed at them. I followed up with the finishing blow.
“I an this completely for your own good, so don’t take it the wrong way, okay?”
By this point, I didn’t even need to start my main point—he was already in a foul mood.
For reference: yesterday’s line was “Next ti, maybe try showing up early and waiting,” and the day before that was “You were probably bored, so this gave you sothing to do, right?” Every ti, the High Priest looked thoroughly displeased.
“I think... you should try to show a little more effort when you use divine power. Right now, it just feels... kind of half-hearted.”
It was even better if the instruction was vague and indirect.
I glanced into my hand mirror and added in a half-bored tone,
“Of course, I know you’re sincere. I wouldn’t be able to say these things if I didn’t feel close to you. I really do want things to go well for you.”
And receiving the divine power wasn’t the end of it.
After that, I’d grab him and ramble on about whether I should accept Kiaros or not for quite a while.
“Of course, His Highness the Crown Prince keeps saying ‘my dragon bro will do anything for ~’ every ti he sees . But I don’t know if I should trust that.”
“Mm... still, you should trust him.”
“But I think he only fell for because of how I look. What if soone prettier shows up later?”
“...Er. In that case, maybe don’t trust him.”
“But then again, not trusting him feels a bit much. You know, this one ti...”
After about an hour of this, the High Priest would always end # Nоvеlight # up looking completely exhausted.
This kind of irritation was a necessary part of the process.
I needed him to feel like he’d invested so much patience that he had no choice but to go through with his plan.
“Ah, that was fun again today.”
After a long chat, I stretched and casually threw in,
“Oh right, High Priest. When did you say you’re leaving again? You ntioned you weren’t planning to stay long.”
Then the High Priest smiled thinly and said,
“I’ll be leaving in two days, Minister.”
“Ahh, I see.”
“And... as you probably guessed, the situation at the temple isn’t great. The royal family doesn’t seem to care much either.”
“Oh my~”
I smiled and rested my chin on my hand.
“If you’re with , maybe His Highness will grant your request. Since you’re leaving so soon, I’ll try to arrange sothing quickly.”
At that mont, I was sure both the High Priest and I were thinking the exact sa thing:
Gotcha.
I glanced back at the figure standing like a shadow behind .
I tried to smile brightly when I t Kibon’s eyes, but... for so reason, he looked dazed.
He’s been like that ever since the day we were trapped in the warehouse together.
Since that night, Kibon had honestly seed a bit out of it.
Could he be planning to confess? That’d be cute.
While keeping a calm face as I saw the High Priest off, I quietly smiled to myself.
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