Chapter 97

* * *

Dad, who had returned late at night due to business preparations, climbed onto the bed with a haggard face and pulled me into his arms.

“Ugh. My princess.”

“Yeah!”

“Do you want to go see Uncle Joseph tomorrow?”

“Huh?”

Joseph, with me?

I was taken aback and scrutinized Dad’s face.

Wasn’t this the Dad who, in an attempt to keep me from worrying, tried to prevent me from even thinking about the business—written as 'business' but read as 'rebellion'?

“Huh? Our princess, you liked Uncle Joseph quite a bit, didn’t you?”

“Well, yeah.”

If I were to meet Joseph, we would definitely talk about business, and yet he wants to bring me along.

I wondered if he had some ulterior motive, but I couldn’t read his expression.

‘But this isn’t a bad thing for me, right?’

If I could just hear Dad and Joseph’s conversation.

Maybe?

There might be something I can help with.

“Yeah! I want to go too!”

“Alright, my princess! How about we go to the sea as well?”

“Huh? The sea?”

* * *

The sea!

To thoroughly hide their communication, they chose a southern coastal estate as their rendezvous point.

This famous tourist spot was filled with people enjoying the beach.

“Ah, Dad! I, I can’t touch the bottom!”

“Ahaha! It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m here, you know.”

The sun shone brightly on the sea.

Today, James Brown, in disguise, was floating next to me on a yellow duck float.

“Our princess, if we go any further, there will be sharks! They’ll eat you!”

“No, no! Stop!”

Dad chuckled and pushed me further into the deeper water.

But it only went up to Dad’s waist.

“Ugh!”

It’s fun! I dangled my arms over the duck float and kicked my short legs vigorously.

“Oh? It’s Uncle Joseph!”

After floating for a while, I saw Joseph waving from the beach.

Wearing a neatly pressed Hawaiian shirt, Joseph looked like any other tourist on vacation.

“Let’s go, let’s go!”

Dad pushed me towards the shore.

As soon as my feet touched the ground, I ran to the beach with the duck float still attached to my belly.

“Uncle!”

“Lilith!”

Joseph picked me up happily as I ran towards him.

“Wow, you’ve grown so much!”

“Ugh!”

Joseph pinched my cheek and smiled contentedly.

“It’s been a while!”

“I hope you’ve been well.”

Dad and Joseph seemed to have become incredibly close in the time I hadn’t seen them.

“You’ve already won over many of the local lords. I’m impressed.”

“Don’t even mention it. I haven’t been sleeping well lately because of that.”

Okay, business talk starts.

‘If he’s talking about the local lords, it seems he’s been working on winning them over.’

I pretended to look at the sea while listening intently from Joseph’s arms.

“We need to start influencing the temple side soon.”

“The temple, huh.”

Indeed, Joseph. This is the right time for the temple to come up.

“As you know, as long as the New Church has the upper hand, the Emperor’s position will be secure. It will take a long time, but we need to strengthen the Old Church. In the end, we need to place an Old Church figure in the position of High Priest.”

Dad nodded silently.

“The current state of the Old Church is dire. It’s uncertain whether it can even survive. I hope you can lend some support here.”

“In what way?”

“First, help the believers put food on the table. They’re starving to the point of dying.”

“I’ll do that. We don’t need to be secretive, right? If the Old Church’s financial situation improves with support of unknown origin, people will certainly become suspicious.”

“You’re right. It’s not unusual for nobles to donate to temples, so you can openly provide financial support under the guise of donations.”

Joseph added with a smile.

“No one who knows you would find it strange for you to help the Old Church. Just make sure it doesn’t seem like you’re only helping one side. Do it for both.”

I found Dad and Joseph, who were speaking so fluently about complex matters, incredibly cool.

‘Awesome. I’m witnessing a real-time conversation between the protagonist and the strategist….’

If I weren’t a child hiding a secret, I wouldn’t understand this conversation.

“Alright.”

Dad suddenly smiled.

And then he said,

“So, what you’re saying is, I should go to the Old Church temple, where good people gather, and help them? And then, in the end, make sure a High Priest from the Old Church temple is appointed?”

……?

What is this? Why is he suddenly explaining things so simply?

“Since there’s a Seraph Temple that belongs to the Old Church, we can go there! But if we only help the Seraph Temple, it will look strange, so we should also make equal donations to the Pavil Temple, where the bad people gather!”

Joseph blinked.

“Ah, yes, that’s right.”

He seemed confused by Dad’s need to restate what he already understood.

But I realized something.

‘Is he doing this for me to hear?’

It was clear. He was explaining things in simple terms so I could understand!

‘But why?’

I tensed up, swallowed hard, and glanced at Dad.

His face was full of innocent smiles.

I couldn’t guess his intentions just by looking at him.

“Fortunately, the ‘revelations’ have long since disappeared. Whether the New Church or the Old Church is right, even the gods have not chosen a side.”

Joseph continued with a rather sinister smile.

Then—

“Aha! The revelations that appear in dreams? In the old days, those who received revelations often became High Priests!”

“Ah, yes….”

Another explanation bot!

“Yes, that’s right. The gods are silent.”

—But then, Dad’s tone suddenly became sharp as he looked out to sea.

“So.”

His voice was firm.

“What I believe in is justice.”

I swallowed hard, looking at Dad’s handsome face.

Fortunately, he ended with a protagonist-like aura….

* * *

A few days later, Dad took me to the Seraph Temple without delay.

When I got out of the carriage, I was stunned by the dilapidated temple.

‘Wow.’

A building that looked like it could collapse at any moment.

Under makeshift shelters made of cloth, many people lay groaning, on the brink of death.

‘Well, I had an idea…’

I knew the temple was taking care of sick commoners.

But I didn’t expect it to be this dire.

“……”

The hand I was holding tightened, and I glanced up to see Dad’s face filled with deep thought.

Then,

“Ah!”

A boy carrying a large basin ran over to us.

‘Oh! It’s High Priest Zadkiel!’

With his fine pink hair and silver eyes, he was a beautiful boy, like a spring flower.

I recognized him immediately.

High Priest Zadkiel.

#Virtue #Sacrifice #Incarnation of an Angel

—One of the kindest characters in the novel *Rebellion of Doss*.

“H-hello, are you His Excellency, Duke Rubinstein? What brings you here?”

Recognizing the crest on our carriage, Zadkiel asked in surprise.

“Nice to meet you. I’d like to see the High Priest of Seraph. Is he available now?”

“Oh, the High Priest….”

Zadkiel’s face darkened for a moment before he smiled brightly.

“I’ll show you the way. This way, please.”

Zadkiel led us into the nearly collapsing building.

“I am Deacon Zadkiel Terrot. I’m sorry, but I didn’t have time to prepare anything for such distinguished guests.”

“It’s a place for prayer. I didn’t come here to be entertained, so don’t worry about it.”

“Oh!”

Zadkiel blushed and smiled when Dad answered kindly.

“This way.”

The room Zadkiel led us to had only an old bed.

On it lay a middle-aged woman, as thin as a skeleton.

“Mother, you’re awake?”

Mother?

“Are you the High Priest of Seraph, Lady Ramisa? I am Enoch Rubinstein.”

Zadkiel quickly brought a chair to the bedside, and Dad introduced himself as he sat down.

“Please, sit down, Miss!”

“Hehe, thank you.”

Zadkiel, smiling like an angel, brought a chair for me as well.

“Oh, cough. Duke Rubinstein…? What brings you here….”

“Mother, Mother! Just a moment. I’ll help you sit up.”

Busy, busy. Zadkiel, who had brought us chairs, quickly helped the High Priest sit up.

“So, are you and Deacon Zadkiel related?”

“Oh! No, not at all. The High Priest is like a mother to me.”

When Dad asked, Zadkiel smiled and said,

“She found me abandoned in front of the temple when I was young. She fed me, clothed me, and raised me. She’s not just like a mother; she is my mother.”

“I see.”

Zadkiel’s eyes were full of affection as he looked at the High Priest.

But unfortunately, the High Priest’s face, pale and sickly, was overshadowed by the shadow of death.

“You seem very ill.”

“Cough, cough. Ah, yes…. I’m sorry to receive you in such a state…. Cough. Please forgive my rudeness.”

“No, don’t worry about it.”

Dad’s kind response made the High Priest, despite her cracked lips, try to smile.

‘What’s wrong with her…’

The deep illness was so obvious that I felt guilty for making her sit up.

Dad and Zadkiel, seeing the High Priest, were also at a loss for words, filled with pity.

‘What’s wrong with her?’

It was hard to tell exactly.

In this world, with its primitive medical knowledge, even common injuries were hard to diagnose.

‘But I can probably heal her.’

Feeling guilty, I bowed my head.

It was something I could do with my abilities.

But for a deep illness, I would need to use a lot of life force.

There were many people as sick as the High Priest, and I couldn’t help them all.

So, it was inevitable….

But the reality of having to ignore someone I could save was painful.

‘Let’s see how much it would cost.’

Thinking this, I glanced at Oscar’s bracelet.

10sec

…Huh? 10 seconds?