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The day they stopped by the jeweler, Marco had came to the jeweler to pick up Arien.
When they returned to Merha’s private residence in the temple, she had bursted into tears.
“Arien, why are you crying?”
“I ran into the Lucerne couple at the jewelry store. He triumphantly bought jewelry for his wife. But I can endure such humiliation as long as it is with you.”
As Lucerne and Elisha said, their relationship was quite different. Because of Arien’s stupid blunders, the couple hated each other and fought.
But the couple’s quarrels were like cutting water with a knife, and the relationship changed overnight.
Despite the fact that Arien committed a great offense and her family seemed to be on the precipice of falling into ruin, Marco did not abandon her. Arien was moved by that. It seemed that he was out of his father’s shadow for the first time, and faced Arien.
“Don’t cry, Arien. I’ll definitely protect you. We have no choice but to overcome this hurdle together. I will definitely restore my father to his rightful place so we can forget the humiliation of that day. Lucerne is illegitimate. He doesn’t even have the right to be a potential successor like myself.”
The overwhelming peril to his survival made Marco strong for the first time in his life. Although she was in a desperate situation, Arien was pleased when Marco showed his strength.
“More than that, Marco, if you came to pick me up at the jeweler, did something urgent transpire?”
“Ah, yes. Arien. My father sent me a note from prison.”
“Oh my! How is he?”
Marco was grim. This morning, a priest in charge of taking care of Merha at the temple came. Instead of handing over the letter from his father, he demanded compensation.
‘You have to give me at least 100 gold coins if you want this message.’
Marco slapped the priest across the cheek while grinding his teeth. But he still had to pay a huge sum of money.
“But the content of the letter is a bit strange.”
He showed Arien the message:
[Marco, the environment here is terrible.
Save me somehow. Grab on to Lucerne’s weakness and attack him. We must free the temple from his hands. Go to the relic vault. Among the priests who supported me, there must be someone who can reach me.]
“The relic vault?”
Arien tilted her head. The relic vault of the main temple was called the temple’s treasure trove. There were antiques of many gods. But what did he mean that they should go there now?
Bang bang. Then there was a knock on the door. Their faces turned gray.
***
Outside the door, the priests surrounded the private residence.
“I have already given you a notice. I’m sorry, but now you have to leave the premises since High Priest Merha has been released from his post.”
Marco and Arien lived a life completely supported by others from one to ten. When they were young, they were taken care of by the Cartier family, and the priests.
But overnight, the world changed. Merha’s crime was too great. Because he assassinated the Prophet, people were no longer allowed to mention his name in the temple.
‘I never thought we would become homeless overnight.’
The two gritted their teeth.
“Alright! Alright! Today we will pack up and empty the mansion.”
“If you don’t leave here by tomorrow, I’ll call the paladins.”
Marco was so furious that he couldn’t stand it. This was only one of the hardships he had to face.
‘What will happen when we get sued for the temple business?’
Marco was still rich. The Head had passed on a small fortune and property to his grandchildren. That alone was a huge asset.
However, the problem was that Marco and Merha made riches by using the temple business as a proxy. Moreover, the agency that auctioned Risralpho’s body and handled the event was in Marco’s name.
Now, it was only a matter of time the temple would file a large lawsuit. Then Marco might really be broke.
The first financial hardship experienced by a Cartier member was met with despair. He would rather die than not live in luxury.
“Marco! Calm down and pack your bags. That way we can get a hotel room today,”
Arien instructed sternly. Her order to send a priest to pack and haul their luggage had long since been ignored.
Marco rolled up his arms and started packing.
“Huh, huh.”
Marco had terrible stamina. Arien was also in a similar state. Before long, they took off their cumbersome clothes and packed their things in the most modest clothes they had.
“Marco! Come here. Let’s siphon some stuff out of here.”
Merha led an exceptionally haughty life in the temple. He regularly took sacred objects and collections of the temple, and moved them to his mansion and displayed them. He used to brag about the exhibition room by calling it a private museum.
“But Marco. Your father told you to go to the relic vault. But aren’t all the items in this room stolen from the same place?”
“Indeed. It is.”
“Besides, he told us to take advantage of Lucerne’s weakness. Maybe there is some hidden meaning behind it?”
“Where is Lucerne’s weakness? He’s a monster and a demon. Does the devil have a weakness?”
Then Arien suddenly froze. She recalled the sight of Lucerne and Elisha at the jeweler.
‘The General really loves her wife!’
The clerks had been noisily gossiping. Yes, she was certain.
“Even the devil loves,”
Arien noted.
