Chapter 56
“Haa…”
First and foremost, Daphne needed to think carefully about what kind of attitude she should adopt in order to gain the upper hand when Theodore arrived.
Just as she began to calm her racing thoughts and fanned her flushed face to cool herself down, a sound broke the silence. A flurry of footsteps echoed down the once-quiet corridor. Daphne stood by the door, listening intently. Someone was running, their steps urgent and rapid, shattering the stillness.
“Wait, please…! Please wait a moment!”
A voice called out in desperation, footsteps drawing nearer by the second.
“Your Eminence! Cardinal Theodore—Your Eminence!”
Damn it.
The moment that desperate voice rang out, Daphne moved away from the door.
Theodore was coming. And not alone, by the sound of it.
Judging by the urgency in that voice, whoever it was might even chase him all the way into the bedroom. Daphne scanned the room once more for a hiding place. But with even the few remaining pieces of furniture cleared out, there was nowhere she could conceal herself.
Just in case, she checked under the bed, but no luck. The bed frame sat flush against the floor, leaving no space to crawl into.
Quickly tossing the bedcover back onto the mattress, Daphne started toward the door. But then she hesitated.
‘No. If he sees the door is locked, that might make him suspicious.’
To keep the upper hand in her dealings with Theodore, it was vital that no one else discovered she was here.
Far worse than being seen loitering around the cardinal’s bedroom by Bishop Caleb earlier would be getting caught inside waiting for him.
A priest’s bedroom was strictly off-limits to members of the opposite s*x. And a female novice of all people? One born under the prophecy’s ominous “three stars”? There would be no excusing that.
Even if Cardinal Theodore could secure absolution, there would be no such reprieve for her. She would be branded a harlot and cast out without hesitation.
‘What do I do?’
While she was still wrestling with the question, the steady sound of footsteps abruptly stopped. He had reached the door. Daphne took a few steps back. The footsteps of the one chasing him still echoed steadily behind.
Just then, the doorknob began to turn.
Click.
In a flurry of panic, Daphne’s elbow struck something along the side of the wall-mounted desk.
Whirr—
“…!”
The view before her shifted in an instant.
* * *
Theodore’s footsteps as he left the Pope’s private office were lighter than they had ever been.
Since entering the Grand Temple, Theodore had always carried himself with composure and solemnity. But now, just this once, he could not contain his joy. It felt like he was floating.
Ironically, the Pope, who caught a glimpse of Theodore’s uncharacteristically buoyant stride, nearly keeled over clutching the back of his neck.
“Ugh…!”
“Y-Your Holiness—!”
The priests waiting outside for Theodore to finish his private audience rushed forward in a panic at the sight of the Pope collapsing. Their cries rang out through the corridor, but Theodore didn’t stop walking.
‘At last.’
He couldn’t wait to tell Daphne the good news.
That finally, they could be together.
The Pope hadn’t taken Theodore’s declaration of laicization at face value. He thought it a tasteless joke. But when Theodore confessed that he had broken his vow of chastity and could no longer serve as a priest, the Pope clutched the back of his neck in shock.
“Your Eminence! Cardinal Theodore, please—! W-Wait…! Cough, cough! Wait a moment, please!”
Bishop Decimus, the Pope’s personal secretary, came scrambling after him. With his short legs, he couldn’t catch up to the Cardinal’s long strides. It wasn’t until he neared the Cardinal’s private chambers that Decimus finally called out, breathless but loud:
“Is it because of that novice?!”
Theodore stopped in his tracks.
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