MHMMS 15

Chapter 15

Cales stared quietly at the ticking clock hands.

The collar of his priestly robes felt tight and suffocating all the way up to his neck. He wanted to undo a button, but knowing that his usual behavior wasn’t particularly proper, he tried to at least keep his attire in line with the rules.

“This morning, you have a meeting with the Imperial Knight Commander regarding sea monster subjugation. After that, you’ll have lunch with His Imperial Majesty.”

Lizard droned on about the day’s schedule while Cales rested his chin on his hand, looking completely uninterested.

Whether he was listening or not, Cales kept his eyes fixed on the clock.

And in his mind, Tilda lingered.

‘I received word that she visited the ducal residence yesterday and stopped by a temple in the outskirts.’

His informant had reported that. Her expression and mood had been poor at the time as well.

If only he hadn’t had that damned visit to the seminary yesterday, he could have seen for himself what emotional change she had undergone.

“In the afternoon, you have swordsmanship instruction for the apprentice priests. The monster subjugation season is coming up, so you’ll have to visit many places for a while. You also need to inspect the harbor soon—you should think about when would be good. And…….”

Lizard continued reporting the schedule.

Cales was still lost in other thoughts.

‘It’s about time for a reaction.’

‘That woman will torment you to the very end, like a worm gnawing at the entrails of a corpse.’

He hadn’t said that just to provoke her.

If it was Acleare, she truly would keep shaking the deceased Belmont family members until her dying day.

Even Tilda Ballinea, who denied revenge, wouldn’t stand by and watch her do that.

Her conscience, her sense of responsibility, her altruism—all of it would make her act.

What would Tilda Ballinea, consumed by rage, look like?

Just imagining her turbulent blue eyes made the back of his neck prickle.

Cales wanted to see her crying, unable to control her emotions, and soaked in desire.

The tears he’d once tasted were as sweet as precious honey harvested with difficulty, and her disheveled state was excessively sensual.

‘Though her expressionless face and cold gaze are unbearably charming as well.’

Even by his own estimation, it was an odd preference.

He felt nothing for sensual women who dominated men, yet he lusted after this woman who seemed like a cold winter wind.

‘……You’re a pervert.’

Looking back, that might have been exactly right.

“In the evening, there’s a service. You’re leading this service, Lord Cales. You need to decide what blessing you’ll deliver before starting.”

“…….”

“There’s no other high priest who’s delivered the same blessing more than three times, so if you say the same thing again, people will whisper that you’re being insincere.”

To abandon such a wife and remarry a woman like Acleare—Windsor Nokkillah was the biggest fool under heaven.

Suddenly, he thought of Tilda, who seemed to care about him.

‘……Well, no matter how foolish he is, he was once her husband. She couldn’t possibly feel nothing.’

Though he understood Tilda intellectually, the heat that had been focused in one place instantly cooled. Likewise, the intriguing gleam in his eyes soon turned cold.

Just then, Lizard, apparently finished with the schedule report, approached and nagged.

“Did you actually hear any of the schedule?”

There was no answer from Cales.

He merely tapped the desk with his fingertips.

‘I wonder what she’s doing today.’

Surely she hasn’t gone to see her ex-husband, has she?

Even knowing that wasn’t the case, just assuming it made him feel like he’d eaten spoiled food, his stomach churning.

He suddenly wanted to see Tilda Ballinea.

Rising from his seat, Cales finally undid one of the buttons on his priestly robes that had been choking his neck.

“……Why are you suddenly getting up?”

“There’s somewhere I need to go immediately.”

“You can’t! Didn’t you hear me say you have a meeting with the Imperial Knight Commander soon?”

“Tell them I’m postponing it due to an urgent matter.”

At the irresponsible order, Lizard pinched his brow.

He knew his superior’s nature was arrogant and rude, but he had at least made an effort to look like a priest up until now. Now it seemed he was letting even that go.

“What about the other schedule? No wait—did you actually hear any of my report?”

Cales was already striding over and grabbing the doorknob.

“I’ll do the harbor inspection the day after tomorrow, so tell the priests in advance. The blessing will be: ‘May the goddess’s benevolent spirit bring you peace.'”

Lizard pursed his lips.

At least he had been listening, it seemed. But as Lizard grumbled inwardly, he realized the blessing was the same as before.

You can’t deliver the same blessing more than four times! Then the priests really might start gossiping that the High Priest is being insincere about a sacred service.

Lizard looked at Cales with a desperate expression, but he had already left the office.

—

Tilda neatly brushed down her long hair and pressed her clothes cleanly.

Then, as if basking in the sunlight that shone especially brightly today, she sat properly by the window and closed her eyes gently.

Today was the day she would leave Cales’s private residence.

It was also the day she would announce to the world that she was not dead.

Tilda was no longer afraid of the gazes of those she would face upon her return, or of the events that would unfold. Yesterday’s confession to the goddess had armed her heart.

She simply felt a slight regret.

Tilda calmly looked around with open eyes. During her stay here, she had slept in late, and had walked around with her hair tied up without brushing it.

It was the first time she had lived so casually with anyone. Tilda felt a pang of regret at not being able to see the Edzell siblings for a while.

Her gaze, scanning the room, lingered on the bed. Then the long, drawn-out lovemaking she’d shared with Cales came to mind.

It had been a first for her. The experience of her body responding so intensely, of emotions running so high that she couldn’t control herself.

Since confessing to the goddess, her heart had felt lighter, but the only thing that remained like a burden was that man.

Cales Moin.

Tilda knew that to achieve what she wanted, she needed his help.

But he was not an easy person to deal with—just thinking about him made her head throb.

‘I want to watch you fall.’

She couldn’t tell what was going on in his mind.

However, one thing was certain: he was favorable toward her. So she needed to make good use of him.

‘And my eyes haven’t fully recovered either.’

Just as Tilda let out a sigh, the door burst open without permission.

There was only one person in this place who would enter so rudely.

“You’re awake.”

Cales Moin. Tilda felt her brow automatically furrow at the sight of him and relaxed her face.

Come to think of it, Stella had definitely said Cales wouldn’t return until late in the evening, so why was he back already?

His sudden appearance was strange, but Tilda thought it was rather fortunate.

“I was actually planning to see you.”

“To think you wanted to see me—what an honor.”

Cales approached, drew Tilda’s hand to his lips, and gave it a brief kiss.

She knew it was a gentleman’s courteous greeting to a lady, but knowing his true nature, Tilda disliked such intimate greetings.

“I have something to say.”

Tilda stood and looked at Cales.

His slightly curled lips and strangely alluring eyes were indeed unsuited to a priest.

But……

“I need your help.”

As he had said, Acleare was ruthless.

She had already built up her image over a long time, gaining support from newspapers, nobles, and even commoners.

Becoming a duchess despite her obscure birth, and earning reverence rather than wariness and jealousy—that was no easy feat.

It meant she was thoroughly meticulous and calculating.

To face such a woman, Tilda still lacked information, connections, and protection.

So realistically, she needed Cales’s help.

Though Tilda didn’t add any other words, Cales smiled with immense satisfaction.

“I’ve been waiting for those words.”

For a moment, Tilda felt a strange sensation, as if the hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end.

As if she had stepped into forbidden territory.

“So, what do you need?”

Cales asked, wearing a relaxed smile on his lips. Tilda looked straight at him and answered.

“Information.”

“Information?”

“Like you said, to solidify my position as the Pope’s heir, I need to build a power base.”

The major factions in the Margery Empire are divided into the Papal Faction and the Noble Faction.

The Papal Faction consists of priests and members of the Imperial household. Since the Pope holds the authority to appoint the Emperor, the Imperial household naturally follows the Pope.

The Noble Faction, led by the Belmont ducal house, includes nobles who have greatly contributed to industrial development.

The priests of the Grand Temple and the Imperial Knights protected the seas from sea monsters, allowing the nobles to engage in trade and amass great wealth, and the nobles’ wealth enriched the Empire.

Though it was a symbiotic relationship, the sensitivity over gains and losses meant the distance between them was not easily bridged.

There was a time when Tilda’s biological father, Duke Belmont, and her biological mother, Celestia, married, and the boundaries between them seemed to weaken—but after Celestia’s death, the sharp confrontational structure resumed.

Therefore, Tilda needed the support of the Papal Faction, which stood in opposition to the Noble Faction led by Acleare.

Only then would she be prepared to face Acleare.

Starting with that, she would reclaim the Belmont ducal house and strip away everything Acleare possessed, leading her to the edge of a cliff.

This was just the beginning.