I Won’t Pick Up The Trash I Threw Away Again

According to the report, Cecily fell down a high cliff with a rough torrent below it.

Furthermore, it was said that on that day, it rained cats and dogs that it was impossible to see an inch ahead, and the water in the river increased significantly.

As a result, Cecily's body, which fell down the cliff, had not yet been found. But the soldiers chasing the escaped Cecily witnessed her fall down the cliff.

Cecily, who fell from such a place, was then presumed to be dead because of the slim chance of surviving.

That woman is dead.

I felt dejected.

I wanted her to work hard in the mine and suffer for the rest of her life, so it was hard to believe she ran away to death that easily. It was absurd, but at the same time, I wondered if that woman was really dead. After all, she was a woman who fooled everyone without blinking an eye.

As she was so skillful at trickery enough to easily kicked me out from the Duke of Williot, I couldn’t believe she died that easily.

They said they would keep searching until they found her body, so let’s wait and see. Whether she is really dead or not.

While I was thinking about this and that, the carriage stopped. It arrived at its destination, the temple.

Let’s put aside Cecily’s matter for a moment and settle this first.

As I was taking a deep breath, reflecting on the plans I had made in advance in my head, the carriage door opened.

“Welcome, Baron Aster.”

I thought it was Hans, but it turned out to be Baron Delrond.

“Now, here.”

I took Baron Delrond's hand and got off the carriage.

“Did you wait long?”

"No. I also just arrived.”

"That's a relief."

We passed through the marble archway while chatting.

Because it was the weekend, the temple was crowded with people. A long line of people waiting to enter the temple stretched to the front door.

All those waiting were commoners. The nobles could enter right away without waiting.

"What should we do? Should we wait?”

"No. They'll find out once we write our names on the visitor log anyway, so let's just go in.”

“Then the temple will recognize us at once.”

“But there's nothing we can do.”

As long as we wrote the visitor log, we couldn't hide the fact that we were nobles even if we wanted to hide it. And so, we strode forward through the long queue.

The priest, who was guarding the entrance, held out a quill and politely asked us to write our names on the log.

Baron Delrond took the quill and wrote his full name and mine.

“…!”

When the priest saw the names that Baron Delrond had written down, he looked at us in bewilderment. Then the other priest hurried into the temple.

“Could the two of you please sit here and wait for a moment?”

The junior priest, who was surprised to see us, smiled awkwardly and offered a seat.

“Soon a priest will appear to guide you two.”

“We aren’t going to wait long, are we?”

When Baron Delrond asked sternly, the junior priest shook his hands.

“Of course not. He will be out in 10 minutes, so please wait."

“I see.”

The junior priest sat us in the privileged seat.

“As you expected, they recognize us right away.”

As soon as Baron Delrond sat down, he spoke in a low voice that only I could hear.

“Seriously, it seems we can’t look into it quietly.”

"I know, right?"

As I replied calmly, Baron Delrond looked at me strangely. He seemed to ask with his eyes how I could be so calm.

The reason I could stay calm was simple. It was because I expected this to happen and planned accordingly. Rather, I would have been bewildered if the temple had not recognized us.

After a while, a priest rushed to us to the point where the hem of his robe fluttered.

The priest's white robe was embroidered with a blue border. It meant that he was a senior priest.

It was hard to believe a senior priest appeared to guide two barons, who were nobles but had the lowest rank. I could see how much the temple was watching us. 

The senior priest placed one hand on his chest and bowed politely.

“I am Millon, a faithful servant of God. It is a great honor to have you two here today.”

“Nice to meet you, Priest Millon.”

"Nice to meet you."

“Then I will show you around the temple.” 

Priest Millon took the lead and walked. I slowly followed Priest Millon and scanned the entire open hall.

The structure of the open hall was not much different from what I saw in the book. Then the Secret Hall would be the same, right? 

“Baron Aster.”

I kept looking around to find the way to the Secret Hall when Priest Millon called me.

When I turned my head, Priest Millon smiled kindly. But there was a deep vigilant in the way he looked at me.

“Is there something you are looking for?” 

He was pointing out that I kept looking around.

I knew Priest Millon's intention, but I pretended not to know and asked.

“Why do you think so?”

“I asked because you kept looking around.”

"Ah, I see."

I nodded as if I understood only then and added.

“I'm not looking for anything. It was just my first time coming to the temple in the capital, so I was looking around in curiosity, but if it offended you, I won’t do it anymore.”

“No, I don’t mean it offended…”

Priest Millon was slightly flustered and hurriedly changed the subject of the conversation.

“If it’s your first time visiting the temple, you must have never seen the Blue Dragon statue, the symbol of the Empire. It is a very ornate statue made of crystal.”

I could clearly see what intention he had by saying that, but I pretended not to know. Because if things got bigger, I would be in trouble too.

“A statue made of crystal? I want to see it.”

“Haha, I knew you would. I will show you right away. Come this way.”

I was following Priest Millon again. Baron Delrond, who was ahead of me, slowed down, narrowed the gap, and asked me in a small voice.

“Are you going to keep following the priest? We won’t get the information we want then."

"It's okay."

Because I’ve thought of everything.

I swallowed my next words and walked ahead of Baron Delrond.

Baron Delrond's intense gaze was felt through the back of my head, but I ignored it. This was because I couldn’t tell him about this plan.

It wasn't that I didn't trust Baron Delrond. I just couldn’t tell him because I was sure he would stop me once he found out about this plan.

He will probably be very surprised when I carry out the plan.

I’m sorry, Baron Delrond. I'll apologize for everything later.

It was when I almost arrived at the Blue Dragon statue along with priest Millon. 

“Please, please I beg you!”

A loud voice begging for someone was caught in my ears.

It actually wasn't that loud because it was buried by other sounds, but it was particularly loud in my ears.

I turned to where the voice was coming from and saw a short-haired woman clinging to a man.

It seemed that they were both priests as they were both wearing priest's robes.

The woman had a purple border, meaning that she was an intermediate priest, and the man had a blue border, meaning that he was a senior priest.

“If it stays like this, we could all be in big trouble! Please show your mercy!”

“How can you ask for more mercy here?”

The man shouted fiercely and shook off the woman's hand. The woman who lost her balance fell to the floor helplessly.

“Don’t keep bothering me with such useless things! If you do this again, I have no choice but to tell the Archbishop!”

The man said coldly and left.

"Heug… heug…”

The woman then cried, sitting down. Her slender shoulders trembled.

"Please wait."

I can't leave her alone.

I apologized to the others and approached the crying woman.

"Here."

I took out a handkerchief from my bag and held it out to the woman.

The woman looked up at me with tears on her face.

“Wipe your tears with it.”

“…thank you."

The woman stood up and took the handkerchief.

At that moment, I could see the woman's hands were a mess, with split nails. Becoming an intermediate priest at a young age meant that she had studied at the temple since she was very young. 

But why are her hands so messed up?

Just by looking at her hands, she looked like a person who did rough work such as manual labor, not a priest.

“Seems like I have shown you an unsightly look. If you tell me your name, I will definitely repay you next time.”

I shook my head at the woman's words.

"No. It's okay, just wipe your tears away."

The woman hesitated, thanked me with a light bow, and wiped her tears again.

“Priest Adrina?”

Priest Millon, who came up behind me before I knew it, called out the woman.

Priest Millon’s eyes looking at the woman were not nice. There was a lot of irritation mixed in it.

“What are you doing here?”

"That…”

The woman, Priest Adrina, was about to say something, but then she looked at me. She thought for a moment, biting hard enough to crush her delicate lips, then shook her head.

"It's nothing."

“Then don’t stay here and go to your assigned work. I know there’s a lot of work to be done.”

His voice was also full of thorns.

At Priest Millon's words, Priest Adrina nodded helplessly and looked at me.

“This handkerchief…”

"It's okay. You can take it.”

"Thank you. May God's grace always be with you."

Priest Adrina bowed politely and then retreated quickly with a quiet step.

Priest Millon, who was snorting while looking at her, looked at me.

“May I ask what you talked about with Priest Adrina?”

“I only handed her my handkerchief, and we didn’t talk about anything.”

“I see.”

Priest Millon was visibly relieved.

“Then shall we go? The Blue Dragon statue is in front of us.”

"Okay."

Before I turned and followed Priest Millon, I looked in the direction where Priest Adrina had disappeared.

If my memory was correct, and if it was correct that this temple was designed as written in the book, then that was the way to the Secret Hall.