Don’t Be Holy! - Chapter 153

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After finding a wagon tucked away in the corner of the stable, Abel told Eir to get in where straw was piled high.

Eir, who was coughing from the dust that filled her lungs just from approaching, suddenly wondered if this selection was deliberately intentional and asked, “Here?”

Abel, who was bringing a horse to connect to the wagon, retorted irritably, “Would you prefer to ride on the same horse as me instead?”

“That’s not it. It’s just a small question of why we need this particular one when there are many perfectly fine carriages.”

She carefully expressed her opinion, not being in a position to complain. Abel soothed the horse that had been startled from being suddenly dragged out in the middle of the night and met her eyes.

“Because we need to be as inconspicuous as possible. Don’t you think my father will certainly chase after us?”

“I get it, I get it. Do as you please.”

Of course, Eir thought it would be better to connect two horses to a decent carriage and travel as quickly as possible, but she had absolutely no intention of arguing with Abel here about what was right or wrong.

She didn’t want to risk being abandoned by offending the young master’s sensibilities.

While Eir struggled to climb onto the wagon, which was made higher by the piles of straw, Abel just stood beside it, waiting sullenly. Strangely, he seemed to act even more coldly since hearing that they had a connection in the past. She hoped it wasn’t just her imagination.

Well. It makes sense. If someone you knew in the past turned out to be a fugitive criminal from the temple, that would certainly make things more uncomfortable.

Eir accepted this internally as she used all her strength to climb onto the wagon. The moment she managed to practically throw herself onto the cargo bed, Abel immediately mounted his horse and started it with a “Hyah!” sound.

“Ack!”

Eir nearly tumbled backward from the sudden start.

The servant’s clothes she wore smelled musty from being stored away for a long time, and the straw everywhere caused her to cough continuously. She heard Abel shouting something from the front.

“Make sure you hold on tight. I don’t want to have to clean up after you before I even get you there.”

“By cleanup, you mean disposing of my corpse?”

Eir shouted back with a resentful tone, having nearly fallen backward and seriously injured herself. Abel sighed.

“Didn’t you want to go quickly? Even when I’m doing exactly what you want…….”

He was about to say it’s still causing trouble, but at that moment, something happened.

Shortly after they had left the Shinote Duke’s private grounds, Abel was startled to see a flock of black birds rushing toward them.

Could this be divine punishment for setting out for the Central Temple with a criminal? The alarmed Abel closed his eyes tightly, but the birds flew past him toward what was behind him. Soon, Eir became completely covered by the flock of black birds.

The startled Abel stopped the horse, turned around, and shouted, “Hey! Are you alright?”

Not long after, Eir suddenly popped her head up, and the flock of birds that had certainly appeared alive had transformed into black envelopes. Eir rummaged through the envelopes as if she were familiar with them and raised her upper body.

“I’m fine. I have a friend who does this sort of thing.”

“Seriously, what the! I thought you’d died from some divine punishment or something…….”

Abel had started speaking informally out of shock but hastily switched back to formal speech at the end. Though his attitude had been dismissive since earlier, his forced attempt at politeness felt even more awkward.

It was almost as if he was embarrassed to know her and was pretending not to by forcing politeness.

Ignoring this underlying feeling, Eir said, “Just speak informally. It’s easier for me too. It feels strange to be formal when your face is familiar.”

As she spoke, she began examining the letters that had transformed from the birds. Abel was about to pout his lips, thinking it was ridiculous that she found his face familiar when they hadn’t met for over a decade, but then he realized such an expression was unbefitting of a priest and composed himself.

Eir had suspected from the moment the birds didn’t attack her, but upon opening the letters, she confirmed they were indeed from Chrome.