Chapter 25
“Do you have something to say?”
“No, no, no…”
It was a familiar face.
Wondering where she had seen him, Ashtel realized it was one of the two knights who had previously blocked the way to protect Payne.
The man, with his strikingly black, waterfall-like hair and skin as cold as plaster, blinked his rose-like eyes slowly.
Unknowingly, Ashtel stared up at him, mesmerized. As their standoff prolonged, Payne approached quickly and touched her shoulder.
“Miss Sue?”
“Ah, ah! Father Payne, I was looking for you!”
“So you’ve been lurking around.”
Behind Payne, the knight with silvery hair stepped forward, smiling slightly at Ashtel.
He was as handsome as the black-haired man, causing Ashtel’s gaze to waver.
‘Does Katzel prefer handsome men?’
Of course, there were also those whose faces couldn’t match up to these knights.
Priests with faces like unsellable potatoes or knights who looked like discarded chunks of cheese. But the faces of these knights were so striking that they obliterated the memory of the others.
‘But still, our Payne is the best.’
Thinking this, she nodded. Payne bit his lip and then spoke to the knight with silvery hair.
“I apologize, Sir Duvalcan, but let’s continue this conversation later.”
“Yes, let’s do that. Van, let’s go.”
“Understood.”
The knight, referred to as Duvalcan, winked at the black-haired man named Van before moving away.
Watching them leave, Ashtel’s eyes followed them, but suddenly, Payne leaned in close to whisper in her ear, making her jump on the spot.
“Miss, let’s move somewhere else. It’s too crowded here.”
“Oh, oh. Yes! That sounds good!”
Finally, she was with Payne.
Since she had to return his body to normal within a month, Ashtel resolved to follow him.
‘Pheromones, heat, pleasure! I’ll extract them all!’
They eventually arrived at a secluded storage room filled with cleaning supplies.
Payne quickly surveyed the area before turning to Ashtel and lowered his head.
“I need to apologize first. I am truly sorry for my behavior before.”
“….Excuse me?”
“I mean, I treated you… that is, I was too forward with you.”
Payne should have apologized sooner rather than later, but his mind had been in turmoil.
With his eyes tightly shut, he bowed his head.
“Because I behaved inappropriately towards you.”
At his sudden gesture, Ashtel tensed.
It was an apology she had heard since they first met in her guise as a maid.
Yet, she hadn’t expected him to bow down to his waist, and her mouth fell open slightly in surprise.
“No, no, I told you I enjoyed it at the time…”
“Still, the fact that I treated you inappropriately hasn’t changed.”
“If it was good, then it’s okay, isn’t it?”
“Excuse me?”
“Never mind!”
Payne, unaware of Ashtel’s rebellious thoughts, was wrapped in his own guilt.
‘Why doesn’t she demand accountability from me?’
In the doctrine of Katzel, premarital purity is a fundamental expectation.
If a woman were to sleep with a man without being betrothed, it could be considered scandalous, leading her to cut her hair and pledge a lifetime of service to the temple.
However, that is usually when the man deserts the woman. Normally, the expected course of action would be a swift marriage.
So, if Payne was any ordinary priest, proposing marriage might have been the correct next step after taking Ashtel’s innocence…
“I have no intention of marrying you.”
“….Excuse me?”
“I’m sorry. So, you may report me or seek your revenge. I will not stop you. It is my sin.”
He had no interest in sharing his life with anyone.
More precisely, he had no intention of sharing ‘love’.
His black eyes, deep as a lake under a night sky, stared down at the ground.
‘She must be sad.’
He was prepared to bear all her sorrow. Because that seemed just.
As Payne swallowed his anguish and slowly raised his head to look at Ashtel, he was struck by an unexpected expression on her face.
“Marriage?”
Her small face blossomed with emotion.
Her eyes, wide and innocent, pulled taut and expanded, and the crimson eyes within them sparkled with astonishment.
“I, I hadn’t even thought that far.”
And with that, she trembled with shyness.
Ashtel hunched her shoulders, blushing, then chuckled shyly and looked away. It was a charming yet absurd sight that left Payne slightly agape.
“…”
He was at a loss for words.
Why did he feel this way?
“…What I mean to say is, it’s better not to get involved with me.”
It’s better to clear away inappropriate emotions.
Payne’s expression became flat again, returning to his neutral demeanor.
“I may not have been clear yesterday, but it’s better if you do not try to help me…”
“But you clearly said you’d accept my help.”
“I did not agree to that.”
“We even exchanged names.”
“That doesn’t mean I gave my permission.”
That’s a lie. He seemed almost ready to lean towards her help.
Ashtel looked up at Payne, her face filled with injustice.
Her cheeks puffed up slightly as she pouted, making Payne feel even more uncomfortable.
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