PRKE 30

CHAPTER  30………………………………………………..

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**September 30, 2023**

Having decided to cooperate with Giovanni, I fixed my gaze intently on the priest.

“Judging by the pale color of the gem, he must be a priest with little experience.”

“The color?”

“You can tell a priest’s career by their necklace. Inexperienced priests mostly stay in the temple praying, so you see them around quite often.”

“For that, he’s getting a lot of people’s attention.”

“There’s a superstition that if you get rained on by a priest, good fortune will come. That’s why there are so many people.”

No sooner had I spoken than the priest spread his arms toward the empty air. It was similar to the posture Aris and the maid Veil had taken at the royal palace.

The people clasped their hands and bowed their heads. Some even knelt and bent forward.

The sacred atmosphere made my mouth close on its own.

The priest shouted in a booming voice.

“O Marta, goddess who bestows abundance upon the people of the kingdom, look down upon us!”

“Look down upon us.”

“O Marta, source of all water, holy and pure in essence, this humble Benya Burto offers a prayer.”

“We offer a prayer.”

It was like a chant, almost a spell.

“…Is all that really necessary?”

I replied with an awkward smile.

“Young priests tend to be a bit ceremonial.”

Why was I the one feeling embarrassed?

At last, the incantation rang out loudly.

The priest looked up at the sky. Sunlight poured in through the wide-open ceiling, glittering.

And just as I thought a fresh, clean scent was spreading—

Plop.

A raindrop fell onto the priest’s head. It wasn’t particularly large, but it seemed to be enough for the people.

A fine drizzle began to scatter.

“Ohhh!”

People wept as they were bathed in the rain.

Some closed their eyes tightly, others opened their mouths to drink it, some clasped their hands and bowed repeatedly—everyone reacted differently.

One person even tore open their clothes.

As we watched the frenzied spectacle, Giovanni and I remained silently still.

Something felt off. It wasn’t just the pressure of having to steal the priest’s aquamarine.

What the priest was praying for was no different from usual.

It was clearly a mysterious, sacred situation—so why did it give me goosebumps?

‘Strangely enough…’

“It’s like mass hypnosis,” Giovanni muttered.

Ah—that was it. Exactly what I was feeling.

I was about to respond when something caught my eye.

Pushing through the people blocking my way, I headed toward the platform.

“Igrain Lorenst?”

Ignoring Giovanni calling my name, I kept moving.

I wasn’t the only one heading for the platform.

Devout believers, desperate for luck, moved closer to receive more rain, more blessing.

Unlike the people who were focused on the rain falling from the sky, my eyes were locked onto the priest alone.

On the back of his hand glowed a blue droplet-shaped mark.

My eyes widened.

‘That mark—Veil had one too!’

A blue light that bewitched people.

The glow was so radiant that it was hard to understand why people were focusing on the rain instead of that droplet.

The light itself was weaker than Veil’s, but perhaps because I’d been thinking about it ever since that day—

‘Beautiful…’

Nothing else was visible. In my vision, there was only the blue droplet.

I wanted it.

Desperately wanted it.

‘That’s mine!’

I reached out. The beautiful droplet that had seemed so far away was suddenly within my grasp.

I thought it would feel smooth and cold like a gem, but the moment my hand touched it, the droplet melted away and vanished.

My fingertips briefly turned blue, as if soaked with water, then returned to normal.

A refreshing, clear energy spread through me in a rush. It felt strange—like I might burst into tears.

A blue droplet appeared on the back of my hand, then disappeared not long after, leaving behind an ordinary hand.

‘Huh?’

It was like waking from a dream.

My eyes darted rapidly between my hand and the priest’s.

The priest’s hand was pale.

The blue droplet that had just bewitched me was nowhere to be seen.

Had I been possessed by a ghost or something?

‘No.’

The sensation of something cool being drawn into me was still vivid.

‘What just happened?’

I blinked blankly, confused, forgetting where I was and what was happening.

A chill ran across my scalp.

‘Ah?’

…What was this ominous feeling?

Sweat formed on my brow.

When I lifted my head slightly, the priest was looking down at me with a cold expression, arms crossed.

“Guards!”

At his irritated voice, my shoulders stiffened.

Temple guards with clubs at their waists rushed over aggressively.

‘There were guards in this temple?!’

No—that wasn’t the important part. Only then did I fully realize my situation.

“What did she do?”

“She wasn’t trying to harm the priest, was she?”

“Is that woman insane?”

People whispered as they looked at me. My face burned red.

‘When did I even come all the way up here?’

I had intended to sneak the aquamarine, but I never planned to make such direct contact.

I couldn’t hide my fluster.

Out of all the people gathered there, I was the only one standing on the platform. Needless to say, it was rude behavior.

I straightened my back and put on a faint smile.

Like a count’s daughter should.

“Hello, I am Igrain Loren—”

“Guards!”

The guards grabbed my arms from both sides.

“No, at least let me introduce—”

“Move!”

Even the faint smile I’d perfected as a noble’s daughter was useless.

Sandwiched between the burly guards, I was dragged out.

“Never cause a disturbance in this sacred temple again!”

With an irritated shout, I was thrown outside like a piece of luggage.

As I stood there in a daze, footsteps approached.

It was Giovanni.

Seeing me standing there, he gave a slight nod.

“I saw it well.”

“…Saw what?”

“How to be disgracefully chased out of a temple.”

I sighed.

“Don’t tease me.”

I brushed off the crumpled hem of my dress from being dragged.

“What was that about? Shouldn’t we have moved quietly?”

To steal the gem—those words went unsaid. His expression clearly didn’t understand.

I let out a deep sigh and held out my hand. When his gaze fell on it, I carefully opened my palm.

A translucent blue gem appeared.

I’d been entranced by the mysterious droplet mark, but I wasn’t about to miss the opportunity.

I shrugged at him as he stared wide-eyed at my hand.

“There are many methods in this line of work.”

Of course, I’d originally planned to move quietly like he suggested, but I grinned as if this had been the plan all along.

That was when—

“Hahahaha.”

I stared at him blankly.

He was laughing out loud. It was the first time I’d ever seen him laugh like that, and I was at a loss for words.

Contrary to his blunt face, his laughter was big and hearty, matching his build.

His dark eyes sparkled as he looked at me.

“I didn’t notice at all. At this level, your technique has reached an impressive height.”

“My father was a thief too.”

The words slipped out without thinking.

As soon as I said it, I realized my mistake. I’d revealed too much to someone I needed to stay on good terms with!

But Giovanni only laughed more.

“Is that so? That explains it.”

It felt strange. It was good that he wasn’t looking down on me, but—

‘Does this man have no prejudice at all?’

Even commoners would be wary if someone said their parent was a thief—yet he was royalty.

As I stared at him in disbelief, Giovanni grinned.

“I thought you’d suddenly gone mad when you touched the priest.”

That snapped me back to reality.

‘Ah, right. I touched the priest’s hand.’

Thinking back, my heart began pounding again. Aside from that, my physical condition felt unbelievably good.

No—I’d never felt this good before. It was like I could do anything, light and unburdened.

Come to think of it, it was the same when I touched the priest’s hand.

Gulp—I swallowed.

‘What just happened to me?’

“What is it?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Of course I was aiming for it. Thanks to that, I got the aquamarine.”

I brushed it off clumsily, secretly clenching my fist.

My heart was still racing.

—

“I had a pleasant time today.”

It was just a polite remark, but he answered.

“I did too.”

‘All we did was look around the temple?’

I looked at him skeptically, and he nodded.

Instead of satisfaction, I felt uneasy. A strange sense of déjà vu crept in…

“I’ve never seen a woman dragged out like that, even in the empire.”

“……”

“Your face twisted.”

I’d failed to control my expression.

“It was an honor to accompany you today. I’ll see you again.”

After giving the proper farewell to royalty, Giovanni nodded smoothly.

Moments like this reminded me—royalty really was royalty.

I didn’t lift my head until the carriage began to move.

The clatter of hooves sounded, and only after a few seconds did I straighten up.

A sigh escaped me.

“I feel like I’m only building a stranger image the more we meet.”

As soon as I turned toward the mansion with that uneasy feeling, my eyes met a pair of blue ones.

I flinched.

Through a half-open door, Aris was watching me.

A chill ran through me, and I instinctively pressed a hand to my chest.

‘How long has she been watching?’

Creeeak.

The door opened with an eerie sound.

“Wow, Aris was surprised.”

“B-by what?”

“A crown prince personally escorting you all the way here. You must’ve had a lot of fun, huh?”

True to being someone’s ward, her tone was just like Madam Emern’s. I clicked my tongue inwardly.

With her hands on her hips, Aris lifted her eyes sharply.

Her suspicious gaze swept over me from head to toe.

‘Does she not realize how rude that is?’

If this were Amtein, I’d be worrying about poison in my sleep. Holding grudges there meant sneaking into someone’s house was child’s play.

They go on and on about refinement, yet apparently refinement is judged by whether a ballroom floor is smooth enough for dancing.

“So that barbarian even laughed—looks like you two got really close?”

Did he laugh?

I thought for a moment, then felt her piercing stare and smiled.

I wasn’t sure if he smiled at the end, but if that’s what she thought—

‘Should I irritate her a bit while I’m at it?’

I covered my mouth with one hand, pretending to be surprised.

“Oh my, did it look that way?”

“……”

“It seems all my careful preparations paid off. I didn’t expect him to like it that much.”

She narrowed her eyes. Annoying. Saying it like that.

And seeing her expression—somehow, it felt good.

‘You’re my meal, after all.’