<Chapter 4>

*  *  *

Five minutes before Alice arrived, Temenos was reading through the genuine clues that Dr. William had submitted with David.

“Amnesia?”

Temenos recalled when he had visited Inosensia.

‘Now that I think about it, I didn’t even see her face.’

He didn’t particularly feel the need to examine her, even now. How could he care for a woman who had jumped from a high place, preferring death over marriage? It was an arranged marriage by the Emperor, with no personal feelings involved. He hadn’t wanted to pay any attention to her.

‘…To think she’d pull off such a cheeky move.’

Temenos tossed the report he was holding onto the desk with frustration.

“Everything else seems fine, but she lost her memory? Are you asking me to believe this?”

David nodded in agreement, but the words that came from him were not of complaint, but a factual report.

“According to Dr. William and the maid’s report, it doesn’t seem like her claim of memory loss is a lie.”

“Evidence?”

“Both Alice and Dr. William pointed out her gaze and demeanor.”

Anyone who had seen Inosensia before she had thrown herself from the top of Winstein Castle would never forget it.

Her body trembling with fear, the resignation and despair swirling in her eyes.

And now, all of that had vanished.

Temenos couldn’t bring himself to believe it. After all, he had witnessed her fear and hatred up close.

*  *  *

“I-I-Ino…”

How could he marry a woman who couldn’t even say her own name, let alone make eye contact with him?

But no matter how much he disliked it, she was the Emperor’s chosen bride. Without a solid reason, he couldn’t just dismiss her.

‘Perhaps I can use this incident as an excuse to send her back to the capital…’

Would the Emperor accept it, though? Would he send another strange woman to the north as the fourth candidate for the bride?

Temenos was lost in thought when Alice arrived.

“The prospective duchess would like to visit the chapel. May I escort her there?”

“The chapel? Hah, I guess she hasn’t forgotten how to pray despite the memory loss?”

David looked exasperated.

After all the warnings she had received to stay in her room, she still wanted to wander around!

If Temenos hadn’t been right there, David would never have allowed it. But with Temenos beside him, David clamped his lips shut and gave his mustache a twitch.

“Alright. You may escort her to the chapel.”

“Y-Your Grace?”

“However, I will assign knights to guard the prospective duchess. She must not go alone.”

“Yes, understood.”

Alice nodded readily, as though she had expected this.

Once Alice had left, David, looking confused, asked Temenos, “Your Grace, are you certain? What if she does something strange?”

“If she has other motives, we need to push her into action to gather evidence.”

“Ah… I see!”

Temenos thought it was for the best. As long as there was a legitimate reason, he could send Inosensia back to the capital without the Emperor objecting.

‘…A monster like me getting married? This cursed bloodline should die out.’

Temenos dismissed his frustration and ordered David, “Assign Kei and Cesare to her. If she does anything suspicious, permit them to subdue her immediately.”

“Yes, Your Grace. I will summon them right away.”

Temenos had no doubt that something would happen in the chapel.

As expected, the two knights returned later that evening, their faces pale or drained of color.

But the words that came from them were completely different from what Temenos had expected.

“Yes, the prospective duchess has received a prophecy!”

That was an absurd statement. The idea that Inosensia had received a prophecy meant she wasn’t just a candidate for sainthood; she was the Saintess herself.

*  *  *

After returning from the chapel, having dinner, and taking a hot bath, Inosensia still couldn’t shake the shock.

‘How could it be a prophecy?’

Even more confusing was the fact that it had been the ‘Best Comment’ on the platform she’d last used.

Not a book, but a real-time serialization on a famous platform. In other words, it was one of the top comments for a specific chapter, not an overall review of the work.

BEST
LowSun

I knew it was suspicious when they offered a sudden way out… Turns out it was all a ploy by the Emperor.

‘This must be referring to the incident when Beatrice first came to the north.’

“The World That Lost Its God” started when Beatrice arrived in the north to become the male lead’s bride. But when Beatrice arrived, the male lead was absent, and their first meeting didn’t happen. She then planned to escape, using the absence of the male lead as an opportunity, to return to the capital where her lover, Jeno, was waiting.

‘The lack of romance between the lead couple had something to do with that lover…’

Beatrice wanted to return to the capital but had no one to help her in the north. No one was willing to aid her, and naturally, Beatrice hadn’t expected help from anyone.

But in the northern territory, someone did offer to help her…

Knock knock.

Deep in thought, Inosensia was nearly startled into a scream by a knock that shattered the silence. Quickly shoving the blanket into her mouth to stifle the sound, she cautiously rose from the bed.

‘At this hour, knocking on the window instead of the door…?’

It was indeed a knock at the window, not the door.

She stared at the dark window and cautiously made her way to the window, pulling it open.

Plop.

A folded note fell to her feet.

I believe you wish to return to the temple.
I will help you escape from the Monster Duke.

“What is this?”

Escape? What on earth…

*  *  *

In a dark, sealed room where no wind could slip through, a man with his hood pulled low stared at the communication window and spoke:

“As commanded, I left a note by the window to contact the saintess candidate.”

“You left just a note?”

“Many knights are watching her. It was best to make contact without revealing my identity.”

“Tch, I thought she’d just die on her own, but she stubbornly came back to life… Now she’s being a bother.”

There was a short sigh followed by a questioning voice.

“But didn’t she throw herself off the tower? How did she survive?”

“She’s a saintess candidate, after all. She must have healed as soon as she took damage.”

“Even as a saintess candidate, it’s unlikely she’d recover from such fatal wounds so quickly…”

When priests or holy knights are injured, their wounds are healed by their divine powers right away, but that only happens when the wounds aren’t too severe.

To survive near-fatal injuries, one would need to be either a pope or a saint.

“She must’ve just been lucky. I heard she was found on a soft patch of grass.”

“Lucky? No, that’s bad luck. She probably jumped thinking she’d die.”

A sound of tongue-clicking was heard, followed by an indifferent voice.

“She probably won’t mind it. At least she won’t feel wronged. Finish her off at the right time.”

“Understood.”

The communication cut off, and the shadow of the person faded as the light disappeared from the orb.

In the pitch-black darkness, the man skillfully retrieved the communication device and thought to himself.

‘This mission will be over quickly.’

Due to the suicide attempt, those in the Duke’s faction weren’t exactly friendly to Inosensia. In truth, she was being monitored and trapped.

What could that foolish woman, who is practically imprisoned and under surveillance, do on her own?

Of course, she’ll gladly accept our offer of ‘rescue.’

Little does she know, the one who appears as her rescuer is actually the assassin who will take her life.

‘At most, it’ll be over in two weeks.’

The man twisted the corner of his mouth into a smirk.
 

<To be continued>

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