One Hundred Nights with the Devil - Chapter 8

Just before she suffocated to death from boredom, the voice she was waiting for was heard along with the sound of the door bursting open. Elena welcomed her attendant priest, Bella, with genuine joy.

“Bella. You returned early.”

“Yes! You were bored without me, right? Right?”

“Of course I was. How did what I asked you to look into go?”

“It was exactly as you said, Miss Elena. An audience request came in early this morning from the Imperial Palace, but they say they barged in even before the messenger could be sent back. They say even the Imperial Knights came.”

“So the morning mass was cancelled because of that guest.”

“Yes. And the Knight Commander went out huffing and puffing, ah. There he is.”

Bella looked around from the window and pointed to the middle of the garden. There, a member of the Temple Knights in a white formal uniform with blue epaulets was arguing with the Imperial Knights, who were splendidly adorned in black and gold.

“They brought a lot.”

“Yes. There’s talk that the Imperial Palace brought a swarm on purpose to provoke the Grand Temple, but seeing as there’s talk that he is in a private meeting with His Holiness the Pope, perhaps there are that many people because a high-ranking person came.”

“A high-ranking person.”

Elena smiled. If it was a person high enough for the Holy Knights and even the Pope to step forward directly……. There was one person who came to mind.

“Bella. Can you get my shawl?”

“You intend to go?”

“Yeah. I’m curious.”

“But, what if the human from the Imperial Palace bothers you, Miss Elena? Even without that, nobles have been coming one after another these days spouting nonsense.”

“Then I can just chase them out.”

Bella could not break Elena’s stubbornness and set out to prepare for the outing. Saying that since it came to this she would do it perfectly, she piled up a heap of items needed for going out and began to adorn Elena.

Once she put on leather shoes, carefully covered her shoulder line with a shawl imported from another continent across the sea, and even draped a mass veil that slightly covered only her forehead to emphasize her glamorous face, Bella looked proud with a flushed face, as if she had never been sullen.

“As expected, flashy things suit you well, Miss Elena!”

Elena agreed with her praise with a laugh and left the bedroom. As soon as she opened the door, a tall young knight acknowledged her.

“Saintess.”

“Sir Zenobio. It’s been a long time. Was it before I went to Wellington that I last saw you?”

“That is correct. It is an honor to serve you again, Saintess.”

The Vice Commander of the Eclard Knights, Sir Zenobio, knelt straight before Elena. He was originally a knight famous as the flower of the Holy Knights, but in a few years, his lines had become bolder, becoming a handsome man with a mature masculine beauty.

And still, it seemed he was not on good terms with Elena’s attendant priest.

“I don’t know what business the Vice Commander has here, but the Saintess currently has busy matters to attend to. If you have business, why don’t you go over theeeere and apply for an audience with the apprentice priest first?”

Bella, who quickly interjected between Sir Zenobio and Elena, pointed to the stairs heading to the lower floor, telling him to get lost quickly. Then Sir Zenobio rolled his eyes and gauged Elena’s mood.

“I apologize, Saintess. If perhaps you are intending to go out, could you please postpone your schedule for a moment?”

“Are you trying to stop my outing right now? Whose instruction is it? No. There is no need to even ask who it is.”

There was only one person in this Grand Temple who would block the Saintess’s path.

“……His Holiness is currently dealing with those who rudely came seeking to see the Saintess. The uselessness of the Knights who could not stop them will surely be condemned later, so please, I ask for your understanding so that we may protect you, Saintess.”

It was the request of none other than the Vice Knight Commander. Furthermore, he was from a prestigious noble family, had solid backing, and was a big shot followed by many in terms of character, so he was an opponent even the Pope could not treat carelessly.

So if it were the past, Elena would have accepted his request while maintaining appropriate decorum.

But now she was ‘Elena of Wellington’.

“Sir Zenobio. Does this situation look like protection to your eyes? I feel threatened.”

Elena pointed to the back of Sir Zenobio with a glance. The 5th-floor corridor, where originally only a few guarding knights existed, was full of soldiers brought by Sir Zenobio. Far from being angry at the Saintess for reprimanding their superior knight, they were afraid that the anger would spread to them.

She struggled to suppress the corners of her mouth that kept trying to rise thoughtlessly.

“I cannot help but ask whether you intend to be a sword for me, or a dog of the Pope.”

“Saintess!”

Sir Zenobio stood up in shock, then hurriedly bowed his body again. The startled soldiers also knelt like sinners.

“How could I, who belongs to the Holy Temple, not prioritize the Saintess’s noble opinion over another’s opinion. I was merely blinded by the greed to serve you safely, so please, forgive me.”

“…….”

“His Holiness is in the North Hall. I will escort you.”

Sir Zenobio kissed the top of her foot, saying he would prove his sincerity. Elena decided to forgive him with a generous heart. The soldiers volunteered to follow behind her.

Ah. How sweet power is.