Mess 144
by Cristae144.
The blanket wound tightly around Carolla from head to toe just barely kept out the cold, but it could do nothing for the child’s anxiety.
“…!”
After a long bout of whimpering, Carolla drew in a sharp breath. Through the firmly shut door came the sound of footsteps.
She tried desperately to draw the trembling in her body deeper into the blanket.
Soon, the door opened.
Light poured into the dark room. Carolla squinted at the sudden brightness. The people silhouetted in the doorway were hard to distinguish.
But the expensive shoes they wore were perfectly visible.
“…This is the child.”
One of them strode in and seized Carolla’s small face with rough hands.
“Ugh!”
Carolla fought to stifle the scream rising in her throat.
“To look more like that woman, she must appear even sadder and more pitiful.”
“We’re giving her only the bare minimum for meals.”
At that moment, Carolla’s stomach rumbled loudly. She had no chance to be embarrassed.
“Poor thing.”
A man the others called “High Priest” spoke to her in a kindly voice. Carolla could not answer. The eyes fixed on her were simply too frightening.
He seemed rather pleased that her hunger made her look so pitiable.
“Just hold on a little longer.”
“……”
“All of this is the will of the gods. It’s for your own good—God has chosen you so that you may live in a better place.”
“Th-the will of God…?”
“Yes, it’s all God’s will.”
The high priest released her face. Before Carolla could even register the pain in her tingling cheek, the high priest and entourage left, closing the door behind them.
Left alone once more, Carolla could only stare blankly after them.
“What of Validus’s movements?”
Outside the room, the high priest cleaned his hands with a handkerchief as he spoke. Then he discarded it on the floor; the last of the acolytes trailing behind picked it up.
“Several days ago, she visited the prison.”
“Trying to verify if the bastard is real, perhaps?”
“And the next day, she went to the imperial palace.”
“Hmm….”
For the first time, the high priest reacted. Yet as soon as he heard the next part of the report, he grew troubled.
“All the spies we sent were discovered and dealt with after the last royal ball. We have learned nothing more.”
Those who’d sneaked into the palace during the Mars incident had been exposed and punished.
Tongues cut out, hands removed, or else death—or both.
“……”
The high priest fell silent for a moment, thinking.
“She likely went to discuss the poor law…”
His voice had grown significantly heavier, and the acolytes all bowed their heads with the weight of it.
Even without spies, they already suspected why Seraphie would seek out the emperor.
‘Damn that poor law!’
The very reason the temple manufactured this bastard scandal to publicly disgrace Validus was that law.
“That law is persecution for us, the faithful.”
“A deed trampling on our noble resolve.”
“We must preserve the clarity of our divine calling.”
Those who followed the high priest gave their fervent assent.
Within the temple, the prevailing view was that the poor law would steal the temple’s centuries-old charitable role. Yet there were some who saw it as an occasion for the temple to root out and reflect on its own silent abuses.
‘Utter nonsense.’
The high priest ground his teeth quietly.
This mess was all because that uneducated wretch had stolen an undeserved title.
He was appalled that one woman alone could bring so much chaos.
But Validus possessed the land abandoned by God. The temple could not openly attack a woman so favored by the Divine.
No matter how great their power, the temple had to present a neutral face to the world.
Nor could they antagonize the emperor, who favored the law, or the mighty Pelikia, who supported it.
That was why they had settled on the bastard scheme.
‘Even if we cannot stop the law…’
The Validus bastard would at least preserve the temple’s sacred sphere.
‘Because…’
A sly smile curled the high priest’s lips.
It was the night before Seraphie’s audience with the Emperor.
“They’re trying to create a link with me.”
In the deep darkness covering the Validus estate, only the head of house’s study shone with light.
There, Seraphie was discussing the reasoning behind the temple’s incomprehensible actions.
“In this empire, even a bastard can inherit.”
By law, monogamy was the order of the land, but as long as one carried the blood of the house head, a bastard could be entered into the family registry as an heir.
The tangled, topsy-turvy messes that such arrangements created for families were, of course, another issue entirely.
“But still…”
Loony tilted her head, puzzled.
“…If you and Sir Pelikia have a child in the future, that child will inherit. The bastard’s claim would be set aside.”
Orchis glanced briefly at Seraphie, who gave him a small nod when she sensed his gaze.
“My heir will be the child we will one day have. That much is certain.”
Seraphie answered with utter confidence. Orchis quickly covered his mouth with a hand, trying in vain to hide a foolish grin.
“Ugh…”
“Disgusting…”
Loony and Pura both grimaced.
“But the temple won’t care about that.”
Seraphie brought them back on topic.
Not even the mighty temple had the gall to touch the devout Emperor or the self-assured Pelikia. And they certainly could not recklessly oppose Validus, widely believed to be beloved of the Divine.
So their cunning solution was to fabricate a bastard.
“All the temple wants is for people to associate them with having ‘discovered’ the Validus bastard.”
That alone would forge a bond between Validus and the temple in the public’s mind.
“A child who’d suffered in squalor turns out to be a noble—Validus’s heir, no less, the most famous lineage in the empire?”
And the miracle was thanks to the temple?
No more need be said.
“……!”
Loony’s fist clenched and trembled.
“The three peach sisters…!”
Seraphie nodded—exactly so.
Just as Loony had woven stories around her wares to help her shop prosper, so too had the temple crafted a narrative advantageous to themselves.
“They intend to portray themselves as a temple that performs good deeds.”
Karl murmured somberly.
“If that happens, passing the poor law will be even harder. If public sentiment rallies to the temple thanks to the bastard, we’ll have a serious problem.”
“Seraphie, if you get tangled with the temple now, your future plans will be difficult.”
Worry colored Loony’s face.
“Don’t worry.”
Seraphie gave a bright smile.
“Besides, this situation isn’t all bad.”
Severe as it seemed, Seraphie regarded this damned predicament as an opportunity.
There was a sly, plotting smile creeping onto Seraphie’s lips.
“Pura.”
Pura, who had been stifling yawns out of boredom, jolted at the sound of her name.
“I wasn’t asleep!”
“You could sleep if you wanted…”
Seraphie had a soft spot for Pura, simply because she was the youngest of them.
Watching this, Loony pouted—“That’s discrimination…” She herself would’ve been scolded about her pay if she’d nodded off.
Karl, meanwhile, soothed grumbling Loony by patting her head.
“Pura, head to the place Kith gave you and bring back just one person.”
“Who?”
“The bastard’s mother.”
“And if she’s not there?”
“In that case…”
Orchis supplied another location connected to the temple.
“She might be at ‘Paradise.’”
“Paradise?”
Seraphie cocked her head at the unfamiliar name.
“There’s a building where the concubines of certain clerics are kept.”
“…And just how many ‘certain’ are there?”
“……”
“Wow, they really are depraved…”
Though she hated even to imagine it, Seraphie gave Pura orders to infiltrate Paradise if necessary.
“But the construction site on the outskirts takes priority, understood?”
“To look for traces of Glacé?”
Karl asked.
Seraphie shot him an irritated look. She’d meant to tell Pura about that separately, later.
As expected—
“…Is that for real?”
Pura growled, fixing Seraphie with a glare—not out of anger, but fired by the hope that the missing Glacé might be found.
“You promised you’d help me find her.”
“……”
“But I can’t be sure she’s there.”
If anything, it was unlikely. The crown prince wasn’t fool enough to keep Glacés taken for his murderous desires alive anywhere near the capital.
“I’ll go with her.”
“Karl!”
Loony seized Karl’s arm in alarm. Karl only smiled gently, as if to say she’d be fine.
But as she turned to Seraphie, her expression was more serious than ever.
“My mother’s sins are mine as well. So I too must atone.”
“This was the work of the former Marchioness of Iris, not of you…”
“But I lived in comfort because of my mother’s cruel deeds.”
Even if she had not committed the crimes herself, she had reaped the benefits. She had to atone, to some extent.
It was a matter of pride for Karl.
“…Pura?”
Seraphie deferred the decision to Pura.
“All right.”
Pura met Karl’s gaze steadily.
“At least you had the courage to face your mother. I’m not fool enough to confuse the two of you.”
You’re not like your mother.
At Pura’s words, Karl’s expression finally relaxed.
The appointed day arrived.
“It’s a bit muggy today.”
The sky above the temple was strangely overcast, as if keeping watch. After cloudless blue skies yesterday, the change was unsettling.
“The air is sharp.”
Riding in the carriage together, Orchis straightened every detail of Seraphie’s attire.
Seraphie tilted her head toward the hand brushing back her hair behind her ear. At that, Orchis gathered his large fingers and gently caressed her cheek.
“How are you feeling?”
“Cold, tired, worn out.”
And angry.
Seraphie shared her feelings honestly.
“This time I really might end up burying a few of them. Don’t stop me.”
“My mother already marked a few suitable patches of ground. Rest assured.”
“Mother-in-law…!”
Seraphie pressed her hands together in reverent gratitude to her future mother-in-law.
The temple was bustling, even in the early morning.
‘It reminds me of last year.’