“...Jainer?”

“Yeah. Long time no see.”

Like hell it’s been a long time! We saw each other not that long ago!

Watching him greet me like nothing was wrong, my mind went completely blank.

Why was he sitting there? And why was he doing it so boldly?

“This is the first time since you came over from there, right?”

“Ah...!”

So he wasn’t here as the Master of Khan.

His follow-up made me realize my mistake.

Only then did the situation click into place. He’d come here as the Duke of Escra’s son, as the eldest son of that house.

“My father told me to come.”

Sure enough, Duke Escra’s name came out of Jainer’s mouth, exactly as I’d expected.

“Tsk.”

The moment Duke Escra came up, the Duke of Sorpel, who’d been sitting across from him to host the guest as the master of this house, frowned out of habit.

As if he’d been reminded again that there wasn’t a single thing about that man he liked, from start to finish.

“Don’t tell me you came to take my daughter away, too?”

“I was only given an order to stay by my younger sister’s side and protect her.”

“Younger sister?”

“Ah, if that bothered you, I apologize.”

He spoke politely with a faintly forlorn smile, and the Duke of Sorpel’s icy expression eased a little.

“Camilla is already a precious younger sister to me as well. If it offended you, please forgive me.”

But at what he said next, the Duke of Sorpel’s face hardened again. So he wasn’t going to take back the ‘younger sister’ line to the very end.

Still, he seems far more polite than the man who calls himself his father. I’ll give him that.

Don’t fall for it!

That’s all acting!

Wow. I knew he had two faces, but to that degree? At this rate, he’ll start crying.

He could be an actor.

Looking at Jainer wearing the kindest expression in the world, Camilla shook her head.

“So you intend to stay here.”

“Am I not allowed to be at my younger sister’s side?”

Jainer put on that pitiful look again.

“One bastard leaves, and then...”

Everyone there knew who he meant. Clicking his tongue, the Duke of Sorpel stood up.

He glanced at Rube, the butler standing at his side, and gave a simple order.

“Give him a room.”

“Yes, my lord.”

He didn’t like it, but he couldn’t just throw him out, either. Either way, he was a guest who’d come to see Camilla.

“Still, he seems better than his father.”

Father! Don’t fall for it! 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

“Thank you.”

Jainer rose with him, then bowed deeply with courtesy to the very end, smiling brightly.

“Will you wait here a moment? We’ll prepare the room you’ll be staying in.”

“Please.”

Rube left the reception room at once.

“What? What is this? What happened?”

As soon as the two of them were gone, Camilla hurriedly fired off questions.

“Why are you here?”

Duke Escra did it, and now this sudden appearance too. She couldn’t tell what they were trying to do, taking turns like this.

“Hm.”

Camilla let out a short sigh as she looked at Jainer sinking deep into his chair, wearing a languid smile.

At some point, the polite young nobleman had vanished completely, and the Master of Khan was there instead, smiling like he was amused.

“You caused quite a stir.”

“A stir? Who? Me?”

“At House Jevillan.”

“That was...”

“I didn’t expect you to step in and handle it yourself like that.”

Jainer kept chuckling like it was entertaining, and Camilla shook her head again.

Father really should’ve seen that side of him.

“You really do break expectations every time.”

“I didn’t have a choice.”

Even now, the Duke of Jevillan still groaned every time he saw her because of that incident. He still couldn’t decide what to do about the Guardian’s Sword.

It felt like a waste to give it up, but not giving it up would be disrespectful to the sword, or so he thought.

But then...

What about my opinion? Why is nobody asking my opinion?!

Who’s soothing who? Why is he even agonizing over it?

No matter how many times she told him she didn’t need it, the Duke of Jevillan didn’t even pretend to listen.

“But seriously, why are you here?”

“Did Father not say anything?”

“About what?”

“He heard you got pulled into something dangerous the moment you returned to the Fable Empire, and he was pretty concerned.”

“That man?”

He hadn’t shown it at all. While he was here, he hadn’t mentioned House Jevillan’s incident even once...

Ah, is that why?

The Duke of Jevillan had come to the house to see the Duke of Sorpel, and there had been a brief scuffle.

From the moment the Duke of Jevillan showed up, he’d been looking at him like he didn’t like him, and in the end they’d started bickering.

*****

Do you have something to say to me?

I was wondering what kind of repayment you gave.

Repayment?

A child risked their life to help you, so I’m curious what repayment you offered. You didn’t shamelessly wipe your mouth clean and pretend nothing happened, did you?

Sh-shameless?

*****

People around them had intervened, so it hadn’t escalated into a bigger fight.

Back then, she’d shot him a furious glare, asking why he was picking a fight over nothing, but... had he been worrying about House Jevillan’s incident the whole time?

“He said he’d feel better if at least I was by your side.”

Only then did Camilla realize who the “that guy” he’d dropped right before leaving had been. It must’ve already been decided by then.

“So you’re saying you’re not just here for a short stay. You’re going to be glued to this house for a long time.”

“Father told me to stick right to your side.”

“Ha.”

“Looking forward to it.”

Camilla pressed her fingers hard into her brow to calm the throbbing in her head.

With the corner of his mouth lifted in a grin, he looked unbearably smug. Should she charge him a ridiculous lodging fee?

“Besides, I got a request in this area anyway. Going back and forth by magic circle every time was exhausting, so this works out.”

“A request?”

If it was a request you took...

“Don’t worry. It’s not about killing an innocent person.”

“So someone dies.”

At Camilla’s question, Jainer’s eyes curved prettily.

“They want me to find a bad guy and deliver punishment.”

“Just don’t get caught.”

Camilla let out a short sigh.

What would people say if they found out the head of Khan was staying at the Ducal House of Sorpel?

It’d be chaos on the spot, obviously.

All she could do was sincerely hope he’d keep his head down, not cause ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) some huge incident, and quietly go home.

Then again...

After seeing him pull off that proper-young-nobleman act earlier, it did seem unlikely he’d be found out easily.

Right then, word came that the room for Jainer’s stay had been prepared.

“It’s been a while for you too.”

At Jainer’s greeting, Dorman, who’d been crumpled into a corner trying as hard as possible not to stand out, flinched.

“Carry my luggage for me?”

“Y-yes!”

Like he knew very well what sins he’d committed, Dorman immediately scampered over at Jainer’s single sentence.

He moved with absurd speed. Watching him, Camilla tilted her head slightly.

Yeah. Better than getting assassinated, at least.

It was oddly admirable that he at least understood his life was basically a candle in the wind.

*****

“Here?”

On the day of the Harvest Prayer Festival, Camilla attended the Harvest Rite with Chris.

But when she was guided to where the ceremony would be held, Camilla couldn’t help feeling puzzled.

“It’s not a chapel.”

Wasn’t that where they usually did things like this?

Since it was a rite held at the temple, she’d assumed it would take place in something like a grand chapel overflowing with solemn atmosphere.

But the ceremony site was a vast garden behind the temple.

“Why are they doing it here?”

As expected of a place the temple managed, the garden wasn’t flashy, but it was impeccably neat, and it carried an unmistakable sense of grandeur.

More than anything, it was packed with ancient trees whose age was impossible to guess, making it feel like she’d stepped into a dense forest.

“It’s because of that tree.”

“The tree?”

Where Chris pointed, a single enormous tree stood. Even among the old trees, it drew the eye.

“Isn’t that a dead tree?”

The tree was so massive that an adult would have to stretch both arms out to wrap around it, yet not a single leaf could be found.

Unlike the surrounding trees thick with foliage, only dry, withered branches shot upward without end. That made it stand out even more.

“It is the Lord God’s Tree.”

“The Lord God’s Tree?”

Why is everyone so obsessed with grand names these days?

The necklace the temple sells supposedly grants eternal rest...

Now they’re slapping the Lord God’s title onto a tree too?

“At this rate, they’ll say even a stone rolling down the road is a holy relic.”

Neither Camilla, the original owner of this body, nor she herself had ever had any interest in the temple side of things, so she didn’t know much.

Naturally, she’d never been invited to or attended a temple event like this, and today was the first time she’d ever seen or heard of a “Lord God’s Tree.”

“You’ve arrived.”

Just then, Priest Daniel approached and greeted her warmly.

“Thank you, truly, for attending.”

“Thank you for inviting me. It’s an honor.”

“I hope today becomes a meaningful day for you.”

“Thank you.”

After exchanging the formal greetings, Camilla’s gaze shifted toward one spot. People were suddenly falling silent and bowing their heads toward something.

It was the arrival of the Pope, the figure at the heart of the order.

Huh?

Camilla also started to bow respectfully—

What is that?

Her face twisted hard. A presence wandering around right beside the Pope caught her eye instantly.

A woman who looked to be in her early twenties, dressed in spotless white priestly robes, was clicking her tongue over and over at the Pope’s side.

She kept muttering something, but from this distance, Camilla couldn’t make out the words.

That’s... not okay.

Even ghosts should have a conscience. This wasn’t just anywhere—it was a temple, and she was literally hanging around right next to the Pope. How was that even possible?

Judging by her clothes, she must’ve been a high-ranking priest.

A priest dies, becomes a ghost, and causes a scene? If what they preached was true, she should’ve been judged and gone to heaven or hell.

“I greet His Holiness the Pope.”

The closer the Pope came, the clearer the priest ghost’s figure became.

“Haa.”

A sigh slipped out of Camilla on its own.

And then, as the distance closed, the priest ghost’s voice came through clearly.

[This one’s hopeless too. Hopeless.]

This one? Did she just call the Pope a kid?

At that, Camilla looked at the Pope’s face again. He was an old man well past sixty, and she was calling him a kid.

Only after looking more closely did she realize what, exactly, the priest ghost was staring at with such displeasure.

That is...?

A necklace that glittered with an especially vivid red light hung at the Pope’s neck as he smiled kindly and looked around at the people.

It was the very holy relic necklace she had received.