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The man had a gentle appearance, nothing out of the ordinary, but my instincts kept sending out warnings. I could trust those instincts implicitly because they had never been wrong.

Without further hesitation, I turned on my heel and ran forward. I needed to get back to Rose and Daisy. 

But with my child-sized legs, I didn’t get far before the man caught up to me. He grabbed the back of my neck and lifted me off the ground with ease.

As I saw the basket filled with four-leaf clovers fall to the ground, I screamed loudly.

“No! Let me go!”

With so many vassals around, not to mention Rose and Daisy, someone was bound to help me. But strangely, it seemed like no one could see or hear me.

“It’s no use, Saintess,” the man whispered into my ear as I struggled.

“You’ll need to come with me quietly to Kydsha. And get along with Cardinal Bael.”

‘What?’

From the way he spoke, it was clear he was a priest from the Church, sent from Kydsha.

‘Are they trying to kidnap me? I was planning to go to the temple soon anyway!’

What on earth were these fools thinking…?

I was utterly baffled. If they had just waited a bit longer, Bael and I would have gone to Kydsha’s temple of our own accord. But the central Church had apparently lost patience and devised a plan to kidnap us instead.

‘Of course, our plan to go to Kydsha was a closely guarded secret.’

As I processed the situation, the man who had grabbed me quickly ducked into a room with an open door. It was a sitting room.

He skillfully pushed a bookshelf in the corner, revealing a hidden door behind it—a secret passage!

‘Aren’t secret passages like this only known to family members, and even then, just the key figures?’

That made the situation clear. Someone within the Elpinard Duchy was colluding with the Church.

If I eliminated those who were definitely not involved, the culprit became obvious.

Gallio Elpinard.

As soon as the realization hit me, the man whispered again.

“From now on, you’ll need to stay quiet, Saintess.”

‘Huh?’

I was already being quiet, wasn’t I?

Just as I had that thought, the man struck the back of my neck hard. My vision went dark in an instant.

* * *

“So, what happened is…”

Rose and Daisy knelt trembling before the Duke of Elpinard, their faces already streaked with tears.

“It all happened so quickly. She suddenly disappeared from sight… The vassals who were there said they didn’t see where she went at all.”

“We can’t understand it. How could something like this happen so suddenly… How could it be…”

Rose and Daisy were half out of their minds. They had only lost sight of her for a brief moment, hidden by the crowd, but when they pushed through, all that was left was the basket of four-leaf clovers.

The Duke listened to their account in silence, his mind deep in thought.

In noble families, a child’s fifth birthday party was of great significance. Long ago, when poor living conditions and inadequate medical care led to high child mortality rates, there was a belief that if a child survived until their fifth birthday, they were likely to live to adulthood. 

There was also a superstition that too much attention at an early age could shorten a child’s life, so especially precious and delicate children were often kept hidden away. Then, on their fifth birthday, they would be introduced to society with great fanfare.

The Duke of Elpinard had followed this tradition. He had planned to formally introduce Reshia to the vassals at this year’s birthday party, officially declaring her as the duchy’s heir. 

He had realized that his silence had only fueled speculation, so he intended to make a grand announcement to put an end to the rumors. 

But now, on the eve of that party, Reshia had disappeared.

‘If Cardinal Bael has also gone missing, the Church must be behind this,’ the Duke concluded.

Just as he finished his thoughts, his trusted retainer, Logan, hurried to his side.

“Your Grace,” Logan said urgently, “we haven’t found the young lady yet, but we discovered that the secret passage in the annex’s sitting room was used.”

“The secret passage?” The Duke’s eyes gleamed dangerously.

“Track the route from that passage to Kydsha and have the escort follow them,” he ordered.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“And bring Gallio here. Immediately.”

* * *

Gallio was startled by the Duke’s sudden summons. He had always known that his actions would eventually be discovered, but he hadn’t expected the Duke to identify him as the culprit so quickly. This wasn’t part of his plan.

Now, he wasn’t sure if the priests from the central Church would be able to escape the duchy safely. 

If he had done nothing, that would be one thing, but since the deed was already in motion, it had to be seen through to the end. 

If things fell apart now, he would be seen as nothing more than a fool who defied his father’s warnings and turned traitor.

‘I have to stall for time,’ Gallio thought as he swallowed nervously, following Logan down the corridor.

The central Church had promised him that they would ensure Reshia Elpinard was discredited as a false saintess. They had assured him that this would benefit them as well, and that they could be strong partners.

‘That is, as long as I can help them safely take the saintess and Cardinal Bael to Kydsha.’

His hands grew clammy with sweat as he grew more anxious.

Soon, Gallio arrived at the Duke’s office. Logan didn’t announce his arrival but simply guided him in front of the Duke.

The Duke’s expression was icily cold.

Of course, Gallio’s father always had that stern expression, but today, Gallio could tell that the Duke’s aura was even more intimidating than usual.

“You summoned me, Father,” Gallio greeted, trying to appear calm.

He attempted to act as if he had no idea why he had been called, but the cold sweat running down his forehead betrayed him, failing to make much of an impression on the Duke.

“Tell me, Gallio,” the Duke began, signing an unknown document with his pen, “how long has it been since I last warned you? Has it been a week? A month?”

“That is…”

“The days can still be counted on one hand,” the Duke said, placing the pen down with a sharp click.

To Gallio, that sound was like thunder shaking the entire world.

“Why are you acting so recklessly?”

“Well… I’m not sure what you mean…”

“Gallio Elpinard. Do you think I summoned you here on mere suspicion?”

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about… Ack!”

Gallio recoiled in shock as something whizzed past his face, causing him to fall backward onto the floor.

A dull thud echoed behind him. Trembling, Gallio turned his head to see what had happened.

The pen his father had been using just moments before was now embedded in the wall behind him.

“Hah!” Gallio gasped, sucking in a breath.

The thought that the pen could have struck his head made his knees go weak, and he felt like he was on the verge of losing his mind.

“F-Father! I…!” Gallio stammered, biting his lip.

He realized that one wrong word here could be the end of him. Abandoning his previous plan to feign ignorance, he immediately dropped to his knees and prostrated himself on the floor.

Logan, the Duke’s trusted retainer, watched from the side, but Gallio was too consumed by fear of his father to feel any shame.

“I only wanted you to see through that sly saintess’s true nature, Father! If we continue to harbor a false saintess, our entire family will become a laughingstock!”

The Duke stared at Gallio, as if daring him to continue.