Cantares’ expression hardened after hearing the report. Arendt, who had been watching him quietly, clicked his tongue.

“I see that Your Highness did not expect this either.”

“I knew that there were frequent clashes of opinion between the High Priest and Priest Lumiel… but I never thought it would turn out like this.”

Cantares, who was touching his chin in thought, looked really upset.

“Are those two not on good terms? I heard that Priest Lumiel was almost appointed as the High Priest from Senior Arthur. Is that why?”

“That would play a part. Besides, since the two of them have such different personalities, it’s inevitable that they’ll clash over every little thing. I heard that they knew each other since their apprenticeships.”

Cantares lowered his gaze.

“I heard that Priest Lumiel was quite free-spirited since her youth. She traveled from place to place and visited foreign countries quite often… Priest Theodore devoted himself more to studying and training in the temple.”

“Aha, then I guess they might have differences of opinion because of the way they operate.”

It was only recently that Arendt had sworn his allegiance to the Crown Prince, abandoning his family in front of everyone. It was obvious that the High Priest had already heard of the fact that Arendt and Priest Lumiel had met separately.

It was a situation where it was safe to say that Priest Lumiel had used Arendt to declare war. It was obvious how the High Priest, who was not very cooperative with the imperial family, would react.

Cantares clicked his tongue.

“I was completely caught up in the priest’s actions. He really is a formidable person.”

“Priest Lumiel said it was a suggestion, but… it feels like there was no right of veto from the beginning.”

Arendt, who had been silent for a moment, frowned slightly.

“It’s not really a situation I like.”

“Hey, open your eyes nicely. I’m a little creeped out right now.”

“What did I do?”

Arendt responded indifferently to the voice that was showing its displeasure.

High Priest Theodore was a character who did not have much importance in the novel. Even during the war, the person who was struggling in the rear, running here and there, was Priest Lumiel.

However, if you think about it the other way around, it would have been only possible for Priest Lumiel to be so active because High Priest Theodore tolerated it.

If the High Priest had actively opposed it, or if he had been displeased with his subordinate, Priest Lumiel, for stepping forward, it would have been obvious that even that would have been impossible.

Therefore… it could be assumed that the relationship between the two was not this bad originally.

‘Did my intervention make things worse?’

The results of this meeting seemed to have added fuel to the fire and increased the animosity between the two. Even Priest Lumiel would not have thought of involving the royal family unless it was a serious matter.

‘Things don’t look good, but… maybe it’s a good thing.’

Arendt, who had been pondering for a moment, made up his mind.

“How about thinking simply?”

“What?”

“What Your Highness is worried about right now is if it is okay to interfere between the two of them, right?”

Arendt continued speaking nonchalantly, crossing his arms.

“Yes.”

“Now that things have come to this, it will actually be difficult to back out. Then let’s just say it’s a foregone conclusion that you will intervene anyway, and this is what Your Highness needs to worry about now.”

Arendt raised two fingers.

“Are you going to side with Priest Lumiel or the High Priest?”

“…”

Cantares blinked slowly.

“Honestly… yes.”

“If you side with High Priest Theodore, the situation will pass quietly. Priest Lumiel will not rebel against the High Priest.”

Cantares nodded, indicating that he should continue.

“Then peace will be maintained. However, the problems within the temple will never be resolved. To be honest, His Highness the Crown Prince knows very well that the current situation is not desirable.”

Arendt tilted his head slightly, expressionless.

“If you accept Priest Lumiel’s proposal, there will probably be an uproar. If you are not careful, you may incur resentment if the imperial family intervenes. First of all, there will be great opposition from High Priest Theodore.”

“Yes.”

“Instead, if you can identify the underlying problem, you’ll gain a strong ally in the form of Priest Lumiel.”

Of course, that was if things went well.

If he was not careful, the relationship between High Priest Theodore and the imperial family might worsen, and the relationship could reach its worst point.

This was quite a gamble.

But.

“Covering up a problem doesn’t solve it.”

Cantares, who had been lost in thought for a long time, muttered.

“What do you think?”

“I don’t know why you’re asking for my opinion.”

Arendt shrugged his shoulders proudly.

“I always prefer the one with the benefit.”

“That’s right..”

Only then did a sly smile burst out on Cantares’ frozen face.

He had made up his mind.

“Then…”

“And one more thing. Since you insisted on asking for my opinion, I’d like to add something.”

But then, Arendt irreverently interrupted the Crown Prince mid-sentence. A faint smile appeared on the lips of the knight, who still had a youthful appearance.

“I prefer to hold both rather than just choosing one.”

“…”

Cantares blinked blankly.

“To be honest, I don’t really want to get involved in the plan that Priest Lumiel has set up. Of course, joining hands with the priest is a good thing, but it will also cause a rift between us and the High Priest.”

“You don’t really care if someone hates you or not.”

“That’s true, though.”

Arendt shrugged as he responded calmly to the Crown Prince’s absurd mutterings.

“It would be a shame to miss out on the other half. It’s no fun being caught between two old people fighting.”

It was absurd.

The only place in this empire that could be said to be as important as the imperial palace was the Great Hall in the Imperial Capital, and the two elders there were being treated as big fish that must be caught.

“In fact, both of them are too big of a deal to just settle the matter by taking one side.”

“That…”

But on the other hand, because what Arendt was saying held so much common sense, Cantares couldn’t just ignore him.

Even though he felt himself getting more and more caught up in Arendt’s ideas, the Crown Prince had no choice but to nod.

“That’s true.”

“If things continue like this, the relationship between the two will only get worse, and if we’re not careful, Priest Lumiel might end up turning her back on the High Priest and end up riding on the coattails of the royal family.”

It was a somewhat extreme example, but it was not wrong.

Cantares’s brow furrowed slightly.

“I get what you’re saying, but what’s the bottom line?”

“What matters is the appearance.”

Arendt stood with his arms crossed.

“We need to join hands with Priest Lumiel and win the heart of the High Priest at the same time. I think that’s the best we can do for now.”

“That’s easy to say… but is it possible?”

“If it doesn’t work, then make it work.”

Arendt answered the Crown Prince’s question, full of doubt, with a candid tone.

“First of all, I think we need to clear up the misunderstanding with the High Priest. Since Priest Lumiel probably didn’t tell me everything that happened between them, I’ll need to find out the inside story first.”

“What are you going to do once you know the inside story?”

“If there is a problem, solve it, and if there is a loophole, dig into it. Isn’t that the basics of solving all problems?”

Those confident words left Cantares speechless for a moment.

Finally, the Crown Prince, who had been silent for a long time, rubbed his temples and made up his mind.

“Let me tell you in advance, if it’s like that, I can’t take responsibility.”

“It’s okay. You can just give me some support every now and then.”

Arendt chuckled.

Looking at his appearance, it seemed like he had already made some kind of plan in his head.

There was no way to stop Arendt once he got into that state.

He had no intention of doing that in the first place.

“Do as you please, but don’t go too far. You’ll put a hole in your seniors’ stomachs.”

“It’s okay because they’re all so strong that they don’t even seem like humans.”

It was a moment when he felt sorry for the Third Knights who had to deal with that guy all by themselves.

Priest Benno, who was sweeping the garden, suddenly raised his head at the sound of someone’s presence.

A familiar young man was seen trudging into the temple garden. Benno, who easily recognized the dark blue uniform of the Imperial Knights and the fair blond hair that seemed to glow, smiled brightly.

“Is it Sir Richt? It’s been a while.”

“Priest Benno, how have you been?”

Richt nodded awkwardly. However, Benno, who was simply overwhelmed by joy, smiled brightly without even noticing the strangeness.

“I heard you were busy, but I haven’t seen you in a while, so I was curious. I guess things have settled down a bit now?”

“Yeah… what.”

When he looked at the innocent priest’s face, he felt a pang in his stomach.

Richt slowly let out a deep sigh for no reason.

‘How did I…’

The knight, more knightly than anyone else, recalled the events of the previous night.

… …

After work, he was suddenly summoned to the captain’s office. When he went there without knowing what was going on, Arthur and Laius were already waiting for him…

Arendt called them together and immediately unleashed a torrent of words.

“Wherefore…”

The soul gradually drained from Richt and Arthur’s eyes. Even Laius, who was trying to remain calm, felt no different from his two subordinates.

But regardless, Arendt was simply confident.

“I need to dig into the temple. Please help me.”

“…”

“First, please take action, senior.”

“What if I refuse?”

“Wouldn’t it be better than me going out and digging around here and there? Even from the perspective of a senior.”

“…”

Arthur and Laius looked at him with pity as Richt’s fist began to tremble.

He knew human weaknesses all too well. It would have been a thousand times better to just get involved than to see the temple he loved trampled under Arendt’s muddy feet.

In the end, there was only one answer Richt could come up with.

“…I get it.”

Damn.

… …

Back to the present

Richt, who had entered the temple as if he had been half-pushed, had no choice but to head straight towards the target that Arendt had designated, Priest Benno.

After hesitating for a while, Richt spoke the prepared line.

“How has Priest Lumiel been lately?”

“The priest has been as busy as ever. It is difficult to even meet her face to face.”

“Is there anything going on?”

“Yes?”

In his haste, he blurted out those words without any thought.

As Benno widened his eyes, Richt, who realized his mistake belatedly, coughed briefly.

‘Did you say naturally?’

It seemed as if he could hear Arendt nagging right next to him.

Richt, who had tried hard to clear his mind, finally brought out the lines he had prepared.

“I saw her briefly at a meeting a while ago, and she seemed very worried.”

This was the secret that Arendt had told him before he came.

“Moreover, what His Highness the Crown Prince announced was unusual. She’s usually a busy person, but she seemed to have a dark look on her face recently, so I’m worried.”

“Ah…”

A clear conflict appeared on the priest’s face.

“I see you also noticed.”

Did it work?

Richt was rather taken aback when Benno responded with a dark look on his face.

This reaction meant that Arendt’s guess was correct: something had happened between the two outside of the meeting.

After a short silence, Benno sighed heavily.

“We are also very worried. Actually, it is not something I can’t tell Lord Richt.”

In that way, the priest’s mouth opened with absurd ease.