83 – Masquerade Ball (3)

Following Estelle, they arrived at a hidden room in a corner of the imperial palace.

“······Was there a place like this in the imperial palace?”

“Anyway, it’s the imperial palace. There are quite a few spaces to avoid people’s eyes.”

“How does the saintess know about a place like this?”

“The Crown Prince told me about it?”

“····.”

The name of our proud protagonist who appeared this time without fail.

How far did Mikhail tell Estelle the secrets of the imperial palace?

In the yard, rumors are already circulating that the relationship between the imperial family and the church is not very good these days. I wondered if it was okay for the two main figures in the imperial family and church.

As if anticipating my reaction, Estelle took off the mask that had been covering her face until now and said.

“Don’t worry. There’s no way the Crown Prince will tell you this, so only Gongja and I have to keep our mouths open.”

“That’s a very encouraging word.”

“I guess so?”

“······No kidding. Now tell me what you really mean.”

I was really curious when things went this far.

What Estelle had to say to me while avoiding the eyes of others, and why Mikhail said I had to hear this from the saintess.

If it was for a trivial reason, there would be no reason to go this far.

“To put it simply, this is by no means a fun story.”

“I wasn’t expecting that.”

“It’s also something you can’t easily believe.”

“This situation itself is not easily believable, so please just tell me.”

“Okay. Looks like you’re all set.”

Estelle, who had spoken up to that point, took a deep breath as if she were talking about something really important, then she opened her mouth again and continued with her words.

“······Now the church is thinking of rebelling against the imperial family.”

“Yes?”

At first she thought she heard it wrong.

Of course. Because treason is never easy.

I never thought that the word that the church was preparing to rebel would come out of the mouth of a saintess who was no one else.

“You might think this is a bad joke, but it’s not a joke, Prince Albert.”

“····.”

However, with her mask off, Estelle’s face, revealing all her expressions, was by no means the expression of someone who was lying or joking.

Estelle’s divine eyes, which made her viewers even feel mysterious, were staring straight into mine.

There was no trembling or hesitation in the body that should have been present in a person who lied.

“How did you know that the cult was preparing to rebel against the imperial family?”

“Do you believe me?”

“I can’t believe it.”

I literally had no choice but to believe it.

As the saintess prepared this far, there was no way that her message was a lie.

Moreover, it’s not like I didn’t know that the relationship between the imperial family and the church was bad.

It’s hard to believe, but it wasn’t unacceptable at the point of knowing that the relationship was bad.

“I’m glad. I was wondering what to do if Gongja-nim didn’t believe me.”

“······What were you going to do if you didn’t believe it?”

“Well, since you’ve heard something you shouldn’t have heard, I think you should have locked it up somewhere.”

“····.”

“You know I’m kidding, right? There’s no way I’m trying to imprison Prince Albert.”

Looking at the actions we’ve shown so far, I think it’s a fully feasible future.

I tried to put the sentence that was about to come out through my closed lips somehow.

“Anyway, I’m really glad. Young master-nim believed in me.”

“······So why did you say that I had something to do with this incident?”

“I was just about to explain it even if you didn’t say so.”

Estelle lightly stretched her body as if she had been relieved of a heavy load.

“Do you remember that Young master continuously received treatment from the church in the past?”

“Yes. I don’t remember that time, but I do remember what you said the other day.”

“Currently, the church is trying to secretly gather people who have received divine power treatment for a long time in order to complete a certain magic.”

“Divine power…You mean those who have been healed?”

“Yes. I found out about the situation you asked earlier when I was looking through the treatment records of Young master the other day.”

“····.”

“Actually, I expressed rebellion in an easy-to-understand way, but this is not direct rebellion. The church is simply plotting to gather people who have been treated with divine power without the royal family knowing.”

“······Unbeknownst to the imperial family, that must be the problem.”

“Yes. You understood it correctly.”

To sum it up, it was like this.

Estel looked through my treatment records and discovered that the church was trying to gather people similar to me who had received divine power treatment for a long time.

Through the conversation with Mikhail, he even discovered that it was a point that had not been discussed with the imperial family at all.

“If the reason for gathering people is a legitimate reason to disclose, it would have made things a little easier by making a legitimate request to the imperial family.”

“Yes. I and the Crown Prince feel the same way.”

If the church had a good reason for gathering people, they would receive help from the imperial family.

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No matter how bad the relationship between the imperial family and the church was, it wasn’t serious enough to reject the church’s request for help, which basically acts for the people.

There was no way the pope, the head of the church, would not know that, so the reason he didn’t ask for help from the imperial family was because, no matter how you look at it, the reason for gathering people was disrespectful.

“Do you know anything more about the magic the church is preparing?”

“I’ve told you everything I know.”

“Does the Crown Prince know all this?”

“Yes. I have already told you that the church is plotting something, and that Young master may be among the people gathering.”

“····.”

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Now I can understand what has happened so far.

The reason why the prince suddenly changed the regularly held ball to a masquerade was so that Estelle could approach me secretly but easily.

The reason Estelle found such a deserted place was, of course, that this information should not be released to the general public.

And, now that I know all these facts, the important thing is this.

“······What can I do?”

After hearing all this information, I, who may have been included among the people the church is secretly collecting, what should I do.

There must have been a reason for Mikhail and Estelle to share information with me while doing this kind of play.

“I’ve been waiting for you to say that. I thought that Prince Albert, whom I know, would definitely say that.”

“Yes. So what am I supposed to do?”

“Young master don’t have to do anything?”

“Yes?”

Of course, after hearing Estelle say that you don’t have to do anything, that thought disappeared as if it never existed.

It seems that I often hear auditory hallucinations these days.

It was the same before, and it is the same now. I feel like I keep hearing sentences that I can’t hear.

“It’s true. There’s nothing Prince Albert needs to do.”

“······Then why did you tell me this story…”

“It meant that you should be careful because you might be dragged by the church without even knowing mice or birds.”

“····.”

Although the problem was that those inaudible sentences really came out of the saintess’ mouth.

“Isn’t the reason why the lower prince turned a ball into a masquerade to tell this story?”

“Probably not? The last time you told me, you said you did it because you wanted to enjoy the prom comfortably.”

“····.”

Really, after this masquerade was over and the bet with Rebecca was over, I made up my mind once again that I would visit the prince’s office first.

I’ll make it clear that all the mean things up until now were just a prank.

“······Are all the stories over?”

“Yes. That’s all I have to tell you.”

“Then let’s go back now.”

I got up from my seat, thinking that I didn’t need to be here any longer.

Estelle also picked up the mask she had taken off as if she had done her job.

“You’re in a hurry. Is it because of a bet with Princess Rebecca?”

“Yes. Thanks to someone, the time was delayed.”

“It’s a pity. I thought it was a serious story.”

There was nothing wrong with Estelle’s words.

The conversation we had here was very serious.

It’s just that the ending was futile.

“I’ll get up first.”

“Go in first, Prince Albert. I enjoyed talking today.”

“I wasn’t very happy.”

“At least one person had fun, so wouldn’t it be okay?”

“I will go for real.”

I had an ominous feeling that if I continued talking, I would end up angry, so I grabbed the doorknob to return to the banquet hall.

Kikik-

The doorknob turned without hesitation, and the door, which looked like it hadn’t been maintained for a long time, opened with a rather loud noise.

As I took a step toward the open door, I heard Estelle’s voice behind her, where she was still sitting.

“Oh, I was supposed to help Gongja with his bet, right?”

“····.”

“As far as I remember, Princess Rebecca said that she didn’t like flashy accessories… Really?”

“······Yes. It is.”

“That’s enough. My help ends here.”

“Yes?”

“Isn’t it boring if Prince Albert wins easily because I’ve told you too much?”

I also feel sorry for Princess Rebecca.

Is it an illusion that I heard laughter in Estelle’s last sentence?

“I’ll see you later, Prince Albert.”

“····.”

Leaving behind such an uncertain meeting, I went back to the banquet hall where the masquerade was still in full swing, brooding over Estelle’s unlikely advice.