Even though none of them truly intended to offer prayers to the gods, their lunch began with a number of such blessings as finely mellowed whisky was brought out. As the amber-colored liquid was poured into each person’s cup, its sweet scent spread through the room.
Glaz took the first drink to demonstrate that the whisky had not been poisoned. Bezewanst, seeing that, brought his own heavy silver cup to his mouth. The thick liquid rolled over his tongue, making it sting a little. He moved his tongue around to enjoy the sensation, then eventually swallowed. He felt the burn of alcohol in his throat and let out a sigh of satisfaction. The whisky was of a very high quality; Glaz had no doubt strained his coffers to satisfy his guests’ palates.
“By the way, Lord Bezewanst. Where might the commoner shrine maiden I asked for be?” asked Gerlach, breaking the ice once he had waited for everyone to take a sip of their drinks.
Bezewanst took another sip of his whisky, feeling all eyes focus on him. They had asked him to bring the mana-wielding commoner so that they could purchase her, but she was nowhere to be seen.
“I have not brought her.”
“A-And why might that be?”
Bezewanst snorted at the nobles looking at him with wide, surprised eyes. “Why must I tolerate a carriage ride with a commoner such as her? I would not like to breathe the same air as her, and I am not about to prepare a separate carriage just for her.”
“I could have prepared a carriage myself, had you asked...”
The nobles bemoaned the missed opportunity, but it was difficult for Bezewanst to take Myne away without the High Priest noticing. He had considered using Delia to draw her out, but the sharp-eyed attendant who once served the High Priest never allowed the two of them to be alone. The plan would likely end in failure, serving no purpose but to put the High Priest more on guard.
...Why must I, of archduke blood, expose myself to danger for their sake in the first place? Bezewanst thought as he prepared to shift the blame onto Giebe Gerlach, having already planned out his excuses.
“They are much more on guard now due to the failed attempt during Spring Prayer. You should be thankful for the disaster I averted here.”
“...Ah, that is quite a shame. The plan was to use Devouring soldiers borrowed from Count Bindewald to attack her carriage, but alas.”
The plan to kidnap Myne during Spring Prayer had proven fruitless. Kidnapping an apprentice shrine maiden of commoner origin should have been trivial for magic-wielding nobles; the fact that they had failed was no doubt due to the High Priest, Ferdinand, accompanying her. He was also a noble who could wield magic.
“We can blame that meddlesome High Priest for this.”
“It truly is a shame. I had hoped to make that commoner girl suffer, inflicting as much pain onto her and Lord Ferdinand as possible,” spat Viscountess Dahldolf, overflowing with rage toward both Myne and Ferdinand. Her beloved son had been punished after being assigned to guard Myne during a trombe extermination mission in autumn.
Bezewanst had, at her request, complained to Ferdinand and asked his older sister to lessen Shikza’s punishment, but in all honesty, he didn’t really care what happened to him; Bezewanst had been frustrated by Shikza’s good luck in being able to leave the temple when the Sovereignty’s purges caused a political shift.
“Lord Ferdinand is a more formidable foe than we anticipated, it seems. We could have pinned the blame on the Leisegangs had we only been able to kidnap her while she was staying there...” murmured Gerlach, looking regretfully at Bezewanst.
Useless fool, Bezewanst spat on the inside. Had they successfully kidnapped Myne during the Spring Prayer, he would have freed himself of that irritating commoner girl without dirtying his own hands, all while pinning the blame on the High Priest. Bezewanst had been eagerly awaiting news of trouble occurring far from the temple, but in the end they had safely returned by carriage. It truly was infuriating.
“We had even stirred the citizens near the border of our provinces to attack, but not a single one returned. They were all vaporized in the attack, despite the fact that half of them were Ehrenfest citizens,” Bindewald said, which made Viscount Seitzen—the giebe of the province bordering Garduhn’s—frown anxiously.
“That said, Viscount Garduhn has said nothing of the citizens that disappeared en masse. Perhaps he didn’t notice the attack due to its proximity to the border...?”
“That is quite strange indeed...”
Perhaps his attack had only harmed those from foreign duchies. Was that even possible? They wanted to know the details, but Viscount Garduhn was on friendly terms with the Leisegangs; he wasn’t currently present and hadn’t been informed of the Spring Prayer ambush. And as no survivors had returned, it was impossible to know what had happened there.
“Citizens were not the only ones who died. I lost half of my Devouring soldiers. Some of them were fine men capable of using magic tools and wielding mana on the level of a laynoble. They were for doing dirty business while keeping my hands clean. Their failure truly is a shame. I had been hoping to buy the apprentice shrine maiden to restock their numbers,” Bindewald said before giving a throaty laugh. It sounded horrible, like a burping frog. Bezewanst gave a slight grimace, a sign he would rather not sell Myne to him.
The nobles gathered around Bindewald looked at each other, then all tried to persuade him with fake smiles.
“Lord Bezewanst, I would greatly appreciate your help as High Bishop in acquiring a submission contract with the commoner shrine maiden. Your information and position would prove invaluable,” said one noble.
“We can imagine that the commoner upstart is unbearable for you to be around. This is a deal in which we all benefit. Am I wrong?” said another.
It was true that Myne was both unbearable and dangerous. Bezewanst would be relieved to
