The Courtesan

Chapter 66

ELAYNE

“... You want to meet the saintess?”

“Yes. Is there a problem?”

“Nothing. She’s just a little… off. Wait, why are you looking at me like that?”

“Nothing…”

“... I’ll set up a meeting.”

“No, not like that. I want to catch her off guard. How do I get to her?”

“Hmm… Let’s see, you could donate money, you could become a nun or a knight and I could recommend you to work at the cathedral…”

“How do I become a knight?”

“Dearest, that was a joke. Women do not become knights of the church.”

“I thought Zerramond was a nation where gender inequality wasn’t a concept.”

“It was. Bastards are changing everything.”

“Can’t I just go in a disguise?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“It’s risky. If you’re caught, you might get burned at stake and I know how scare you are of that. And, you already changed your identity once. I can’t have you forgetting who you are.”

“Fine then, I won’t change my name.”

“You know this isn’t what I was talking about. Look, can we just… meet her normally? I hate the church as much as you do but this is too risky. I can’t let you do it.”

“So, you’re going to control all my actions till the very end? I’ll cut my hair, run away and become a knight. Then I’ll meet the saintess while destroying the church from inside.”

“I’m not trying to control you. I just want you to be safe. I would support all your decisions if you didn’t always make reckless ones. Besides, this is my problem. I know you offered to help but you don’t have to do this. We’ll do this another way. If this is about gaining enough strength to fight in the battle at Turia, then I promise to train you to the best of my ability. I beg of you, don’t make this request ever again.”

“... I’ll find a way.”

“Ariana, please don’t run away. I can’t stand losing you again. If you do, I’ll have no choice but to take you to the capital.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“I am but I am not. In fact, it would seem like you have too much time on your hands.”

And so, I was stuck doing his paperwork. It wasn’t hard but there were piles and piles of it, stacking up from when he refused to sort them out. I really wondered how he was the prince when he had so much undone work.

However, as I went through it, I discovered the bloody bastard left me with his problematic paperwork. It took me several hours to get through them. Also, staying too long in Zerramond has made me assimilate even their swear words.

“I want to go home.” I sighed to myself, collapsing my upper body on the desk. There was an attendant in the room with me, who oversaw my work. He guided me for the first few times and rarely saw any problems with my work after that.

“You can take a break if you’re tired, my lady.”

“I already am, Tyler. Anymore and I’ll be seeing bloody words in my dreams.”

Tyler laughed, continuing with his work.

“Is your prince really this lazy?”

“Actually, his highness has a tight schedule. He usually runs off somewhere when he gets time off but since his work is completed, they have no arguments. I always wondered if it was worth it but now I can see why.”

For some reason, that made me blush and I turned away.

“So, you’re saying this is just a part of his work?”

“The ones he considers unimportant and troublesome. Most of them are from the church and the rest from minor nobles asking him to resolve disputes.”

“The church? Tell me more.”

“Well, they have been sending him letters addressing him to get married and giving him bride recommendations. Not to worry my lady, he has taken none of them.”

“I’m not worried,” I grumbled. Of course he would be receiving something like that. He had a high position in society, was good looking and capable. He was also a lunatic with a penchant for chaos.

“They also send him letters for honorary titles, request for knight recommendations and child donation.”

“Child donation?”

“It’s this thing that the church does where they request children from aristocrats and vassal lords to serve as nuns or knights in the church. They are indoctrinated and most often turn loyal to the church.”

“That sounds incredibly suspicious.”

“The complaints from the aristocrats have started to secretly reflect that. There are even rumors of a religious takeover.”

“Tyler, do you believe in the church?”

“I believe in Zerus. He is a benevolent lover and giver. As for the Church of Light’s practices, I condemn them as much as anyone with a working brain.”

I never knew there were genuine worshippers who despised the workings of the church.

“My lady, have you ever gone for a worship in the capital before?”

“No.”

“In the cathedral, they speak of a religious crusade. They wish to spread the good news of Zerus to the heathens of the continent. They also wish to extend this grace to the rest of the world.”

“A crusade?”

“A decorated word for a takeover by religion. They are slowly realizing this dream in Zerramond and if they are not stopped now, nothing will stop them in the future.”

“But there is a war going on now.”

“My Lady, it is rumored that the King of Uramuth is a devout believer in the doctrines of Zerus.”

“So they support that side of the war?”

“Not openly.”

“How do you even know this?”

“I used to be a knight in the church. I was given to the service of his highness.”

“As someone who was indoctrinated, would you really claim to hate the church?”

“To be honest, I used to believe the word of the pope was law and directly from Zerus. Until his highness made it clear that he wouldn’t have a delusional fool work for him. He quite literally beat the senses into me. I still think he was relieving stress.” He laughed.

You know what, I think that too.