Don’t Be Holy! - Chapter 133

Eir said in a serious voice, and he slightly frowned as if bored.

“Let’s not bring that up anymore. You’ll be staying here anyway.”

But she didn’t meekly close her mouth. Instead, she raised her eyes defiantly and exclaimed.

“That’s how it is, isn’t it? You said you were going to see Lord Del Gatos. While you’re gone getting permission, I’ll be locked up anyway, so I might as well be in the central temple where there won’t be any issues.”

There was much he could say in response. If you go to the central temple, you’ll suffer tortures far worse than having your legs torn off by dogs, the method you devised to torment witches—does that really seem like no issue to you?

He could have said something like that. But for now, he remained silent.

Because there was something else that captured his attention first.

Lord Del Gastos?

Only temple people referred to God’s proxy with such a title. Nobles would call him Master of Doctrine, Proxy, and so on in private settings, and when facing him directly, they wouldn’t dare use any title, treating him with the utmost respect as if facing the actual deity.

Since neither witches nor even imperial citizens commonly used such a term, her words couldn’t help but be perplexing.

“Why do you call the proxy by such a name?”

“What?”

Eir tilted her head as if she didn’t know what she had said.

Rubel felt something fundamentally off, something strange. And he thought there had been instances like this before, but soon after, he brushed it aside.

It was unlike him.

Normally, if something seemed even slightly odd, he would dig into it until he discovered what it was. But this time, he instinctively avoided it.

“It’s nothing.”

Then Rubel began leading her inside with a serious expression.

At first, Eir had planned to stubbornly insist on going to the central temple, but she soon found herself distracted by the scenery of the house.

During their walk through the long corridor and past several doors, various rooms unfolded before her.

A small reception room, a corridor lined with paintings, even a glimpse of what appeared to be a study. As they continued walking through seemingly endless spaces, Rubel spoke.

“I use this floor alone. Even the servants don’t come except in the early morning, so don’t worry about encountering anyone. Feel free to move around while you’re staying here.”

Eir looked around, somewhat dazed.

Why would she worry about encountering anyone? The place was so vast that even if fifty people were wandering around simultaneously, chances of running into each other would be extremely rare.

Moreover, it wasn’t just spacious—everything was exceedingly lavish.

How many gold-framed pictures had she passed while being dragged along by her wrist? The furniture occupied their spaces with elegant postures like debutante noblewomen at a social gathering, and the carpet beneath her feet was so soft that walking on it with shoes felt like a sin.

Then Rubel stopped in front of a large painting.

Eir thought she was meant to admire the picture, so she finally gathered her wits and focused on what was before her. It was a painting of an unidentifiable woman fanning herself at the side of a banquet hall. Though gorgeous and beautiful, it didn’t seem particularly meaningful. Apart from its size, she had seen hundreds of similar paintings on their way here.

“Ah! Could she be your great-grandmother or relative? She’s beautiful.”

Having barely found some connection, Eir pointed at the woman’s nose. She clapped her hands, noting that they shared similar straight nose bridges.

But Rubel turned to look at her as if she was talking nonsense. He touched some decorations beside the painting a few times, and the large frame made a click sound as it opened.

Only then did Eir realize it wasn’t an important painting but merely a hidden door.

And she had been going on about similar nose bridges without knowing.

While Eir stood there dazed with embarrassment, Rubel naturally led her inside. At first, there was a small, unremarkable room, but after opening a door in the corner, crossing a narrow corridor, and opening yet another door, they finally reached what appeared to be their destination—a large bedroom.

A spacious white bed was spread out, with a fireplace in the center. Sunlight streamed in through a large window to the left of the bed, and Rubel finally released Eir’s hand.