Chapter 52: An Uncomfortable Person

 “I thought rumors couldn’t be trusted, but seeing the relationship between the two of you, perhaps the secret story between that lady and the crown prince might be true.”

 Hayden, the district head in charge of the capital’s temple, was still observing the situation with a smiling face.

He was busy measuring what was true and what was false among all the news reaching his two ears.

 “When I saw with my own eyes, the Crown Prince clearly seemed to have feelings for her.”

 To him, the truth and falsehood were very clear.

 It wasn’t difficult to distinguish that the Crown Prince being thoroughly enchanted by the rumored woman was true, and that the rumored woman was a terribly wicked villainess was false.

 But the most important thing here was something else.

 “It’s between the Hersher ducal family and that audacious young lady, isn’t it?”

 The Odoi family was one of the staunchly aristocratic families.

 That’s why Hayden had only heard about Clea’s existence until now, meeting her for the first time.

 He recalled a lady who had visited the temple seeking him quite a long time ago.

 “In the eyes of the believers, between Aria Hersher and Clea Odoi, who do you think is the kinder person?”

 The believers who heard the question wore expressions as if he had asked something too easy.

 Seeing their expressions, Hayden inwardly sighed, anticipating what they would say.

 “Obviously, it would be Lady Aria. It’s hard to find a noble lady as kind as her.”

 “That’s right. Just look at the amount she donates to orphanages and temples, it’s quite different from other nobles.”

 “She should be the one to become the Crown Prince’s consort.”

 Hayden maintained his smiling face.

 While thinking to himself,

 ‘How can they be so blind.’

 He doubted whether the people before him were truly devoted to God like himself.

 The discernment of the believers who immediately chose Aria between the two was that severely flawed.

 Certainly, Aria had a very good public impression.

 But Hayden knew that was merely image-making.

 ‘That lady once visited the temple, avoiding people’s eyes, a long time ago.’

 Hayden vividly remembered the past event.

 She, who had appeared at the temple directly while still attending the academy, was someone who easily gained others’ favor on the surface.

 However, he saw something emanating from her inner self.

 At that time, Hayden wasn’t confident in what he had seen. He tried to dismiss it as a misperception.

 But eventually, he had to acknowledge the truth from what Aria directly said.

 ‘If she becomes the Crown Prince’s consort, this empire would probably be like a candle in the wind.’

 The person with more greed than anyone wasn’t Clea.

 Conversely, the person with less greed than anyone wasn’t Aria either.

 That’s why Hayden was very pleased with the current situation.

 Because if Aria Hersher truly became the Crown Prince’s consort, the empire’s future would become bleak.

 “Then let me ask the opposite. Does Lady Clea seem as wicked as you’ve heard?”

 He preferred kindly explaining rather than reproaching others.

 Because explaining in this way rather than scolding them for not knowing wouldn’t hurt each other’s feelings.

 The believers who heard Hayden’s question didn’t answer immediately like before.

 They organized their thoughts in silence before answering.

 “She doesn’t seem that bad.”

 “Rather, her impression is so different from the rumors that I wondered if she was really the Lady Clea I had heard about.”

 Despite their answers, the believers’ expressions weren’t particularly good.

 Hayden remained quiet while knowing what they were concerned about.

 In the end, it was the believers who spoke first.

 “But wouldn’t it be better if he matched with Aria Hersher?”

 The marriage partner people wanted for Edmund was still Aria Hersher.

 It was a question of whether people’s perceptions would change even if she showed them that she had repented for her past sins through this event.

 “By that logic, isn’t Aria Hersher a woman who stole someone else’s fiancé?”

 “High Priest?”

 “Precisely speaking, since she never had him, it’s not stealing. But Aria Hersher also has the fault of not pushing him away.”

 He emphasized fairness while expressing neutrality.

 Saying that they shouldn’t just focus on one person’s fault, but also point out others’ faults.

 The believers couldn’t help but be bewildered by his words.

 The image Aria Hersher had built was close to that of a saintess.

 People couldn’t even think that someone who soothed others’ faults could have faults herself.

 While they were confused, Hayden quietly sank into thought.

 ‘I wonder if the person who poured evil onto Clea Odoi is really the one I know.’

 Thinking it would be difficult to be certain without seeing her again, he was considering stepping outside the temple after a long time.

 To confirm the truth.

 But before that, a piece of news reached Hayden’s ears.

 “No, what business does that person have coming here?”

 It was the first moment the smile disappeared from Hayden’s face.

 * * *

 Clea woke up with disheveled hair, realizing that the temple was very noisy.

 She arranged her hair and looked beside her.

 Edmund was still sleeping soundly next to her.

 Clea smiled pleasantly at the warm temperature emanating from him.

 ‘How unusual that he’s still sleeping.’

 Except for the first day, Edmund had always woken up first, but now he was sleeping deeply, oblivious to the world.

 Finding it curious, Clea poked his cheek with her finger.

 Seeing him frown, she couldn’t help but laugh.

 She tried to get up first. But someone pulled her wrist as she tried to rise. She fell back onto the bed without resistance.

 She turned her head to look at Edmund, whose eyes were fully open, and said.

 “You’re awake.”

 “I was already awake.”

 “Then you should have gotten up earlier.”

 “I didn’t want to be apart.”

 With those words, Clea tried to get up again.

 But Edmund still held her wrist and wouldn’t let go.

 “I want to get up.”

 “Why?”

 “I’m curious about the situation outside.”

 There was still some time before the penance.

 The reason was that this penance, unlike usual ones, needed to be showcased in front of people, so there were many preparations to be made.

 But now, rather than preparing something, it seemed noisy in a different sense.

 Edmund suggested ignoring it.

 “Wouldn’t it be better to check it out anyway?”

 Since Hayden had recognized the curse, she wanted to examine the temple in detail while staying here. Clea quietly got up.

 Edmund, worried about her, started changing clothes, following Clea.

 Clea, who had already changed into indoor clothes, went outside without waiting for Edmund.

 It was an action taken with the thought that no major problems would occur since this was a temple.

 “Clea.”

 “Ha, to think I’d see you here.”

 “I missed you, Clea.”

 As soon as she opened the door, Clea immediately realized she had made a wrong judgment.

 The figure immediately visible to her made her feel unpleasant.

 Lloyd Persi, the man who was once her fiancé.

 He was now in front of Clea.

 And he was saying very disgusting things.

 Looking around, she could see quite a number of believers with troubled expressions.

 The place where she was currently located was accessible only to temple officials.

 ‘Yet he’s here, which means he must have forced his way in.’

 Clea crossed her arms and assessed the situation.

 How Lloyd had come this far was simple.

 Since it would be difficult for temple officials to drive away the son of a grand duke, he must have just pushed his way in.

 Clea had another question.

 “Did you perhaps hit your head? I believe I told you before. Let’s never meet again.”

 “Clea, you and I are engaged.”

 “That was broken off the moment I left the Odoi family.”

 “No, before the contract between families, our relationship was good.”

 Hearing Lloyd’s absurd words, Clea’s expression contorted.

At the same time, she suspected he might have eaten something wrong.

 Because it was the first time he had spoken this way.

 It was always the original Clea who claimed their relationship was good, while Lloyd always denied it.

 Even after her possession, she had never once been desperate for a relationship with him.

 Not only was Lloyd not worth that much to her, but she was the one who wanted to end this relationship more than anyone else.

 “I don’t know what your purpose is, but if you think that was a good relationship, you don’t deserve to experience love.”

 “Clea.”

 As Lloyd called her name, Clea’s expression grew even colder.

 Not just her expression, but she felt her body, which had been warm, turning cold from her fingertips.

 The pain that she hadn’t felt for a brief moment while being with Edmund now fully manifested in her heart.

 Despite Clea’s icy gaze, Lloyd tried to approach her closer.

 The believers were anxiously pacing, not knowing what to do.

 They didn’t want to block the son of a grand duke and deal with the aftermath.

 “What exactly is going on here?”

 Just then, a chilling voice came from somewhere.

 “Edmund.”

 Edmund, who had come out fully dressed, was asking in a cold, subdued voice as he saw the situation unfolding before him.

 While directing his gaze precisely at Lloyd.

 “I asked what is going on here.”