I’m A Villainess, Can I Die? - Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Lucas noticed Ian looking at Isaac and the dust on Ian’s clothes… and he assumed Ian’s status from the word ‘idiot’ that Isaac called Ian while mumbling earlier.

Ian was either being tortured in this temple or being ignored.

Well, actually, that would be it.

His place of residence, or the place where he spent most of his time, must’ve been a dusty place befitting that kind of treatment.

Whatever the cause or reason, it had nothing to do with it. It was an advantage for Lucas and Aaron that Ian and the temple had a bad relationship. He thought he would have to bear the heavy burden of needlessly calling the temple, but it worked out in the end. A temple infested with fools like this was only a blemish for the Duchy.

“We skipped tea, so Priest Isaac needs to step aside, as well.”

“What? Ian is just a priest. Such a child could not answer the Lord and Sir Lucas well…”

Lucas, who had been listening to Isaac speaking arrogantly with his prideful eyes squinting at Ian, cut his words off.

“Priest Isaac. I think you don’t know.”

Aaron, who noticed earlier, only tilted his head this time and tapped his fingers.

When Isaac’s eyes met with the purple twinkling orbs within Lucas’s curved eyes, he stopped talking.

His eyes were as powerful as his status.

“I don’t like to say things twice. There is nothing more exhausting than that. I think our wise Priest Isaac has fully understood what I mean.”

Isaac took a deep breath at the melodious voice. The tone was the same as before, but Isaac felt strangely choked. He shifted away his eyes, dominated by the urge to kneel, and smiled, pretending that it was nothing.

“Hahaha, right. Then, Ian, be careful not to become a bother to the two of them.”

“Yes… yes.”

As Isaac’s sharp eyes glanced at Ian, Ian flinched and bowed his head.

Eventually, after hearing the sound of the door closing, Aaron and Lucas looked at each other as they saw Ian lift his head in relief.

“Go on, sit down.”

Lucas and Aaron were already sitting down, but Ian was still standing awkwardly, unmoving. After Aaron spoke in a friendly manner, Ian pressed his butt to the chair.

“I heard a story. You treated my sister’s leg. Thank you very much.”

“‘Thank you…’ I just did what I had to do. I was moved by watching her bravely come out to save a commoner child from afar. I’d be glad if anything I did was helpful.”

When all the priests were gone, Ian’s stuttering stopped. As he spoke in a steady voice, to the point where the two thought he was acting earlier, Lucas regarded this speculation as fact:

In the face of tamed violence, people tend to wither.

As Lucas recalled that day, when he wanted to tell Selena himself, he smiled shallowly, relieved by Ian, who uttered all of the words that he didn’t dare say.

Lucas, who leisurely tapped his toes, saw the figure and decided to get to the point.

A violent temple and a princess who left a good impression.

No matter how much he thought about it, there was no reason to refuse.

“My sister saved a commoner child?”

“Yes.”

“Oh…”

Obviously, Lucas only explained that she ‘fell down’… When Aaron turned to Lucas, asking what Ian was talking about, Lucas smiled and avoided his gaze.

“Nevertheless, I am very grateful that you healed the Princess’s legs. So… Why don’t you reconsider the proposal I made that day?”

“If it’s a proposal… Are you saying the one where… I could join the Duchy and become its exclusive priest?”

“Yes. The Young Master also wants it very much. Right? Young Master.”

Aaron, who glanced at Lucas skillfully shifting the subject, turned his head and nodded.

“Right. Duchy White doesn’t have an exclusive priest yet… It would be really reassuring if such a wonderful person fills the void. How does that sound? If there are any conditions you want, we will meet them all.”

He meant it. If Aaron was going to pay money to get such a priest, he could give any amount.

He was worried about Selena’s concerns, but not only could this be a huge loss for her, but also from a political standpoint.

In particular, it was an opportunity to help the emperor’s authority rise even higher than Duchy White, an imperial faction… He was, in many ways, a man who dared not be valued in money.

However…

“…I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s possible.”

Again, words of rejection came out of Ian’s mouth.

“May I ask why?”

Lucas asked sternly, as if he was appeasing a child. Aaron frowned slightly at Lucas’s pretentious voice, then looked at Ian.

“That is… I won’t be of any help. There are many priests with abilities far superior to mine… If a low-level person like me enters into a noble family, it will only harm that family.”

“Are there many priests with superior abilities?”

“That is… Yes. I’ve heard that most of them have already left this temple as direct priests of noble families. And in a country where there are doctors, what is the use of a priest with healing powers?”

Lucas and Aaron’s brains spun faster than ever.

This man was overly pressured. He was oppressed and ignored in the temple. It must have been from such an environment that he was truly lowering himself despite possessing this formidable ability.

For whatever reason, the temple decided to hide this person. Why?

If this man’s abilities were precious, wouldn’t it be better for him to show up at a young age and have the temple claim the power? If they hid this person for protection, at the very least they shouldn’t be treating him like this… This situation was close to brainwashing.

‘Your abilities are useless. You are a nobody, someone to be ignored, and a shame for the temple.’

Why? …A moment of silence fell as Lucas and Aaron continued their thoughts in different positions. In the sudden silence, Ian shifted his eyes in anxiety.

“Who told you that?”

Lucas, who noticed his anxiousness first, opened his mouth to say so. Ian responded with a more relaxed look to the stern voice.

“Why is that…”

“No, it doesn’t mean to say anything else. But from just observing… It seems that the other priests are showing hostility towards Priest Ian.”

Ian took a small breath. He was a seriously fragile man.

“I’m, I’m sorry if I offended you.”

“No… what you said is true. But they are all good people.”

“Yes. If this is the case with Priest Ian, then it must be so. Then let’s talk about something else. Priest Ian said earlier that your abilities are useless because there are doctors, right?”

“Yes, it is.”

Lucas stabbed Aaron in the side. He kept telling him to open the water and build the road himself. He didn’t even have a fixed line… Aaron frowned as he pinched Lucas’s finger that pierced his side.

“Actually… My sister is ill.”

“What? That… The princess?”

When Ian asked again in surprise, Aaron nodded his head with a gloomy face. Lucas also turned his head slightly to match and bowed his head.

“This story is a secret. Can you keep the secret under Ariana’s name?”
Ian paused for a moment. Not necessarily because he felt he didn’t need to hear this secret story. The secret stories of high-ranking people were apt to be poisonous for low-ranking people. However… He nodded, drawn by the gloomy yet serious atmosphere to dismiss it as poison.

“My sister Selena has a sickness of the heart. It can’t be cured by a doctor, and it can’t be cured by any medicine. That sickness of the heart is eating away at her.”

‘My God’, a small voice of regret erupted, and Lucas lowered his head even more while rubbing his face with his hands.

“Only the healing power of the priest can cure that disease. Therefore… We definitely want to have the priest.”

In an atmosphere that made it difficult for Ian to refuse, Aaron bowed his head after spitting out the reasons that made it so. Selena’s face gleamed in Aaron’s head, half sincere and half lying.

“However… I…”

“Is it a problem to be someone because you were useless? There is no one more helpful to the Duchy than Priest Ian. Please think again.”

Lucas spoke to him in a polite but sad voice. In desperation, Ian bit his lip.

He was always treated as a fool in the temple. He was harassed every day, saying that his abilities were nothing to look at, his face was gloomy, and he couldn’t do anything right. Only High Priest Vanessa, the only one who said good things to such a fool… He respected High Priest Vanessa. He wanted to be like High Priest Vanessa, who was capable and trusted. It was a small wish that he couldn’t say in words. However, the dream was so high that his hand would never be able to reach it.

Ian, who bit his lips with bitterness, looked at the Young Master sitting in front of him and Sir Lucas, who was famous as a knight.

If he went to a noble family, wouldn’t he be a bother?… He didn’t deserve being on the same level as other priests, so would he really be of any help? If he was really helpful, would he be able to follow in the footsteps of the High Priest even slightly… As he was thinking about it, the door suddenly opened. The three eyes focused on the door that opened without a single knock.

Soon, the situation escalated.

Surprised by Aiden’s sudden appearance, the three stood up at once, and Aiden called for Aaron with a trembling voice.
By the time they were drenched in the tension of an unusual atmosphere, a carriage pigeon flew in and delivered the news.

[The princess is in critical condition. The duke asks to bring the priest right away.]

Aaron, who read the note, stumbled greatly, and after supporting him, even Lucas’s face, who read the note, hardened.

The two people’s eyes, wrapped in shock, turned to Ian.

“Priest… I need Priest’s help.”

“Yes? What is it…”

“Selena……Selena is in critical condition.”

Aaron, who lost his composure with an urgent voice, walked towards Ian. As Ian stiffened and crouched, Lucas frowned and grabbed Aaron’s shoulder.

“Aaron! Calm down!”

“Calm down…? How do I calm down?”

Ian just blinked at the chaotic situation that was happening in front of him.