Chapter 54
The Cardinal’s chambers weren’t far from his office. Daphne remembered that clearly — close enough that even in the heat of their roughest kisses, it had only taken a few staggering steps to cross over.
At least, that’s how she remembered it.
“Is that really true?”
A sudden voice jolted her, and she quickly ducked behind a column. She hadn’t expected anyone to be passing through, not in this corridor that led directly to the Cardinal’s bedroom. Yet, unexpectedly, there were people. Two priests, from the look of their robes, each carrying a box in their arms, were walking briskly in her direction.
Because their hands were full, they didn’t seem to have the attention to spare to notice her crouched behind them.
They looked troubled — grim, even — as they spoke.
“I heard it clearly on my way here. He had a private audience with His Holiness. For over three hours!”
“Oh dear… Then he really means to go through with it. But you’re saying His Holiness still wouldn’t be swayed?”
“That part isn’t clear. But… if he’s having us clear everything out like this…”
“I can’t believe it…”
The two continued down the corridor, heads bowed, voices low and heavy. Daphne didn’t move until their footsteps and hushed tones had completely faded. Only then did she peel herself from the column, pressing a hand to her chest to calm the riot in her ribcage.
‘Why are there so many people walking around here? At this hour, they should all be heading to the dining hall for supper.’
Still, she was close. Just around that corner, and she’d see the door etched with matching patterns on both sides. She’d recognize it without a doubt.
As expected, Daphne found the door carved with fig leaves and pomegranate fruits — exactly as she remembered. Her face lit up, and she eagerly reached for the handle.
“—You there!”
She froze.
The sudden voice cracked through the air like a whip, and her heart pounded in her chest so violently it felt as though it might leap right out through her ears. Who was that? The voice wasn’t unfamiliar. She was sure of it.
Footsteps thundered behind her, echoing off the corridor walls like approaching doom. Cold sweat broke out along her back and dripped down the bridge of her nose. Then, just behind her, came a voice she knew far too well.
“We’ve been short on hands, and here you are, just in time. Come lend us yours.”
Daphne bit down on the inside of her cheek.
When she didn’t turn around, the voice grew sharper.
“What are you waiting for? I told you to come help.”
Damn it. It was Bishop Caleb.
‘Of all people, it had to be him.’
He already resented her for being a three-star-born novice. Getting caught snooping around outside the Cardinal’s chambers by him, of all people, would end in disaster. There would be no explaining that away.
‘What do I do? Should I just pretend I didn’t hear him and run for it?’
But if he caught her running, that would be even worse.
She chewed at her lip in frustration, her pulse a drumbeat of dread. Behind her, Bishop Caleb’s voice sharpened, tinged now with visible irritation.
“Are you deaf? I said come here!”
If he got any closer, he was bound to recognize her. Daphne clenched her jaw. If Caleb realized it was her, a novice hovering at the Cardinal’s bedroom door, he’d raise hell without a second thought.
‘I can’t get caught here.’
She hadn’t come all this way just to sabotage her only chance at staying. If she was found now, everything — her dignity, her future, her plan — would go up in smoke.
“Hmm? You’re not…?”
Bishop Caleb’s voice twisted with suspicion as she remained frozen in place. The tone in his voice shifted, like a man who had just solved a riddle.
Oh, shxt.
There was no more room to think. Fight or flight, and she wasn’t in the mood for a sermon. Daphne lunged toward the door, ready to throw it open and disappear inside.
But before her hand could reach the handle—
“Ah, ahem—!”
The bishop’s footsteps suddenly retreated at a full gallop. Gone in an instant, like he’d seen a ghost.
“…What?”
She blinked, stunned.
He’d looked so certain that he’d recognized her just moments ago, yet now he was nowhere to be seen. Slowly, cautiously, Daphne peeked down the corridor. It was empty. Completely empty.
Relief crashed over her. She slipped through the door and shut it quietly behind her.
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