STE 11

Chapter 11

Their trembling gazes met.

Although Tethys had been engaged to Romain for a long time, even he had never looked at her with eyes like these.

From the day she became engaged to him, she had consistently received education about sexual relations, so she was not ignorant of what a man and woman did together at night.

But it had all been theoretical.

No one had ever told her that a man about to have relations with her would look at her like this, as though he intended to devour her.

Yet Tethys was now facing exactly that situation.

“What, what should I… do? Should I lie down?”

She tried to sound calm, but because she was so tense, the end of her voice broke into a thin tremble.

Realizing her mistake, Tethys bit her lip and lowered her head. When she finally managed to calm herself and raised her face again, Eden had his back turned to her.

“Wh-why…”

Was he perhaps expecting her to help him with his clothes as well?

She had heard that the mistresses of nobles and members of the imperial family learned techniques for becoming skilled at nighttime affairs from the high-class courtesans of Fleur Street.

But married couples in formal unions merely had sex in a businesslike manner for the purpose of producing an heir.

As a result, Tethys had never learned how to please a man.

As she hesitated, not knowing what to do, he gave her an instruction in a calmer voice than before.

“Put it on.”

“…Pardon?”

“Tell me when you’re fully dressed.”

Tethys had been about to ask why when she looked around.

Come to think of it, this was a prayer room. It was far enough from the Central Temple that there was little danger of them being discovered, but…

‘He wouldn’t be someone who wanted to have relations in a place like this.’

Only then did Tethys realize that, just as this space was unfamiliar to her, it must also be unfamiliar to Eden.

He was the ruler of a powerful nation that was called a “duchy” in name only, boasting a vast territory rivaling that of the Carnes Empire. There was no way she was the first woman he had taken, but regardless, having an intimate encounter in such a shabby place was surely unfamiliar to him.

Having sorted out her thoughts, Tethys quickly put her clothes back on.

“…I’m dressed.”

Only then did Eden turn around.

The unmistakable air of a male driven by hunger and desire had completely disappeared from his face.

“What do you want?”

At his question, Tethys stared blankly for a moment, unable to understand his intentions. Then she belatedly remembered how the two of them had arrived at the situation they had been in moments ago.

Could she take this to mean that he had confirmed her resolve?

Was that why he had decided to help her?

Her mind was complicated, but Tethys concealed all of it and answered him.

“I need people.”

“What purpose?”

“Since it has already passed through your hands, I suppose it will reach your ears anyway. Do I really have to explain everything one by one with my own mouth?”

Even if he had decided to help her, Eden was not her ally.

The two of them had merely made a deal.

When Tethys cut the conversation short, Eden did not ask anything further.

And so, their deal was established.

‘Every Friday night, at the prayer room of Pakale Temple.’

Either he would come himself, or, when he was not in the Carnes Empire, one of his knights would come instead.

That was what they had agreed upon.

Even so, the reason Tethys visited Pakale Temple every day was to prevent Romain’s spies from detecting any particular pattern in her behavior.

It would be ideal if she could throw them off completely, but for now, it was better for them to simply think she was quietly practicing her religion while keeping a low profile rather than doing anything conspicuous.

After all, it also looked like the only thing an Empress who had lost her family and had nowhere left to turn could do.

“My, Your Majesty, the Empress.”

But even Tethys had never expected to encounter this person today.

“I never thought I would meet Your Majesty in a place like this. It seems God’s guidance has led us here.”

Pakale Temple was the quietest and least crowded of the three temples in the capital.

It had been half destroyed by a fire about two years ago, and because the restoration work was still not progressing smoothly, people had turned to the other temples nearby.

And yet, of all people, she had encountered him here.

Tethys felt dismayed, but somehow managed to keep her expression under control before lowering her head.

“…Archbishop, I never expected to see you here either.”

At that, a peculiar light appeared in the Archbishop’s eyes.

Perhaps it was because he knew that she had elevated his status by addressing him as Archbishop rather than Viscount.

The relationship between the Archbishop of the Aria faith and the Emperor of Carnes had always been rather peculiar.

A monarch governed the country in practical terms, while the head of the religion wielded spiritual influence, capable of bringing people’s hearts together and controlling them.

Perhaps because of this, conflicts between royal families and religious leaders never ceased throughout the various nations of the Para Continent, with the exception of Romdora, which had established a perfect union of church and state.

Carnes, however, had established its balance of power by granting a title to the Argen sacred house, which had produced the archbishops for generations.

The title bestowed upon the Argen sacred house by the royal family was merely a hereditary viscountcy, one that came with neither territory nor political power.

Even an Archbishop who ruled like a king within the temple became nothing more than one of the Emperor’s subjects the moment he entered the Imperial Palace.

Thus, unlike in other countries, the hierarchy between the Emperor and the Archbishop in Carnes could be said to be perfectly clear.

Yet moments ago, Tethys had elevated him by addressing him as Archbishop rather than Viscount.

“I was looking for somewhere to pray to God, and I ended up coming all the way here. Fortunately, thanks to your consideration, I have been able to stay quietly until now.”

“I see. …Ah, did you have a peaceful stay at Armus?”

“Yes, thanks to you.”

Tethys answered briefly and lowered her head.

She did not want to attract the Archbishop’s attention by carrying on a lengthy conversation with him.

But he did not seem inclined to let her go so easily after encountering her today.

“Icarus also spoke quite a lot about Your Majesty, the Empress. He said you were different from what he had expected.”

Keeping her head slightly lowered, Tethys shifted her eyes.

…Icarus Argen.

The Archbishop’s adopted son, and her secret helper.

But was the Archbishop bringing this up because he knew about the relationship between her and Icarus?

Unable to determine his intentions, Tethys decided to play dumb for the moment.

“He spoke about me? I merely received the Oracle from him. We did not have much contact beyond that…”

“Icarus entrusted himself to the religious order when he was very young. Meeting someone outside the faith must have been something special for that child.”

“Ah, I see.”

This time, Tethys answered even more indifferently, intending to end the conversation for good.

But the Archbishop did not bring the conversation to an end.

Instead, he simply gazed at her.

His behavior was so blatant that Tethys eventually pretended to relent and added another remark.

“It is rather curious. I wonder how Priest Icarus came to see me differently.”

“It is certain that he viewed you favorably. You must have realized that simply from the fact that he respected Your Majesty’s wishes when deciding the date and location for the proclamation of the Oracle.”

What happened between you and Icarus?

The Archbishop’s glassy eyes seemed to be asking exactly that.

But Tethys lowered her head and spoke in a gentle, obedient tone, as though she knew nothing.

“I suppose I should thank you. However, choosing the date and location of the proclamation was meant as a gesture of respect for the state religion.”

“What do you mean?”

“If the Oracle had simply been quietly conveyed to the Imperial Family, His Majesty would have tried to bury news that could have brought blessings to the people of the Empire. It is true that there were some impure personal motives mixed in, but fundamentally, I wanted to support Aria, who had comforted me when I was going through difficult times.”

A formal smile appeared at the corners of the Archbishop’s mouth as he stared intently at Tethys.

She knew she had not given him the answer he wanted, but Tethys had no intention of giving him an opening by adding unnecessary words.

After a brief silence, the Archbishop finally spoke.

“Your Majesty’s sincere faith moves me.”

“You flatter me. Well… I do not have much time left before my prayer time, so I believe I should be going.”

“Ah, it seems I have kept Your Majesty for too long. It has been such a long time since we last met that I committed an discourtesy. Please forgive me.”

“Not at all. May God’s protection be with you.”

Tethys made the sign of the cross first, and the Archbishop nodded before doing the same.

“May God’s love be with you.”

After giving him a small bow, Tethys immediately passed by him and hurried away.

…She thought that, for the time being, she should reduce her visits to Pakale Temple altogether.