‘What… … he said it as if it was of course.’
Then Gunner realized: She was a woman who had significant influence over Lucerne.
‘Really… … . what if they really don’t let me back in like this?’
Gunner was sweating profusely. Unlike when he came out with such strong momentum, now he was rather shabby and disheveled.
‘Wait a minute— what am I hearing, right now?’ [t1v: LAWL oh lord]
His shock didn’t end there. It was because the silence beyond the door soon ceased, and soon there was a rattling, an exclamation, a hum, and a faint moaning sound.
– Hm.. Huu uhh, ah, ahh… … . … … yes! Luce… … .
Vaguely it sounded like that. But no details were heard. It was because the door of the tea room was surprisingly thick.
‘Uh… … . Huh… … ? What is this situation?’
And Gunner was long forgotten.
***
Splash.
Elisha poured hot tea into a glass. Lucerne waited to receive his tea, but she threw all the tea into the empty kettle.
“Why did you throw it away?”
He asked softly. A corner of Elisha’s lips twitched.
“This is the tea that Gunner drank, so what is in this kettle is not suitable for you to drink Lucerne.”
“That’s what I’m curious about.”
“It means he’s not worth your time.”
As expected, Lucerne nodded.
“How is Gunner?”
“In what way?”
“If we bring down Merha, he would probably be the only candidate for the Grand Pope. Do you think he deserves to be the Pope, wielding all the power of the temple?”
Elisha calculated and expressed her evaluation without hesitation.
“If Merha is the highest level of trash, Gunner is the lowest level of scrap.”
Lucerne enjoyed talking to his wife more and more these days. He savored the pleasure for a moment.
“We have the same thoughts. We get along so well.”
“Oh, right, what a coincidence.”
However, Elisha was in a formidable mood today. She casually received his remark without a thought.
“But now it’s the kind of garbage we need.”
“That’s right, didn’t you want me to collude with the Gunner?”
“That’s the situation. After all, it doesn’t matter if a dog or a cat becomes the Pope as long as it is not Merha.”
Lucerne agreed.
“Gunner is not a long-lasting card.”
“Indeed. There are too many flaws.”
“What for example?”
“Everyone who grew up in my monastery knows. Gunner… … . embezzled money allocated to help the poor.
“Ah. I see.”
There were two types of accommodation in the monastery where she stayed. One was the dormitory for young nobles who had been abandoned like Elisha, and a dormitory where illegitimate children and commoner orphans lived. Regardless, there was not much difference between the two dormitories because, in the temple, everyone lived poorly.
However, noble girls like Elisha donated money from their families when they entered the institute. And many young girls were sent money from home every month. So, noble girls could survive and eat well in any situation.
When the situation worsened, the first to suffer were the accommodations of the commoner children. Those children had to subsist off the donations from the temple.
“That year, the country was going through turbulent times, so donations were less than usual and there was no government support. Gunner pocketed more than half of the special donations of the great lords at that time. No one took issue with it because he took money from an orphanage for common children.”
“Did Archbishop Rosaria let it pass?”
Archbishop Rosaria was the head of the monastery where Elisha was. At the same time, he was also a famous soldier from the temple army.
“He protested, but Rosaria-nim’s strength was not enough.”
The temple was quite corrupt. If you stood up for the right thing, you would make enemies. Rosaria’s purpose was not to elevate his name or achieve a higher status. All he strived for was to protect at least one more orphan under him. So, despite his high reputation, Rosaria did not make much headway or go out of his way to take part in the temple’s business. He was a man of patience.
“So we, the aristocratic girls, supported the commoners by cutting back on our meals.”
“Everyone must have been disgruntled.”
“There were children like that, but people aren’t that evil. If in front of you, children next door are starving, there aren’t many people who could fill their stomachs. Even if they didn’t like it on the inside, everyone put up with it, and most of the kids genuinely agreed to do it. The quality of the meal may have deteriorated, but at least we weren’t starving.”
“Indeed, people from the temple are nice.”
“Yes. Except for you.”
“Everyone in the world knows we are in the same boat, but you’ve drawn a line between us. Your husband is sad.”
Elisha knew he was now joking. But knowing that he would one day leave her without looking back, she tried not to give his words too much weight. She sipped her tea and slowly put down the teacup.
“Anyhow,”
“… … .”
“I think you should make him the Pope this time. A one-time use card, then throw away or whatever.”
Lucerne agreed with a nod. She was very nonchalant.
“Shall we?”
“It’s alright to convey it that way.”
Elisha, face to face with Lucerne, concurred.
