Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 843

◈ 843. Three Letters

Rembrary was bewildered by Kentrell’s question but soon burst into laughter.

“It’s not dangerous. I’m fine.”

Kentrell, frustrated by his nonchalant answer, thumped his chest.

“The Duke has failed to harm you several times. He’ll send a stronger assassin. Why aren’t you worried?”

“There was someone who came as my sister’s escort, remember?”

“That person standing there like a ghost? He looked so weak!”

“He’s the youngest commander of the Royal Guard.”

Kentrell was so frightened that she covered her mouth. She had been annoyed earlier because that person kept tugging at her cloak, asking, ‘Where is the youngest Highness? Where is the youngest Highness?’

“Still, you only came with him, except for the coachman.”

But no matter how much she thought about it, Kentrell was scared and worried, whispering again.

“It’s okay. My sister is strong too.”

Rembrary answered coolly and smiled proudly.

“Soon, Her Majesty and His Majesty will find out about Duke Ladderun.”

Unlike the calm Rembrary, Kentrell couldn’t close her open mouth. Even if her sister was strong, she was still a child! Wasn’t he too carefree?

* * *

Rembrary’s confidence was well-founded.

Although she was attacked, the Princess returned home safely, only 15 minutes later than scheduled.

“Oh, Your Highness! Where have you been! His Majesty is completely furious!”
The nanny rushed over, jumping up and down as the carriage entered the palace.

“That’s not the problem right now.”
The Princess said firmly as she hurried through the main gate.

“You’re not trying to avoid getting scolded by saying that, are you?”

“Really, it’s not. Rembrary is in danger.”
The Princess went straight to the office and told her father and mother what Rembrary had told her.

While the Princess conveyed the story, holding a notebook and speaking clearly, the commander of the Royal Guard kept chiming in, ‘That’s right, yes, that’s right.’

When the story was over, the Emperor slammed his fist on the desk and shouted.

“Bring Duke Ladderun here immediately!”
The chancellor, who had listened to the story nearby, stopped the Royal Guard commander from leaving and said urgently.

“Your Majesty, we need evidence first. We can’t just arrest him without cause.”

“Arrest him first and then search his house!”

However, the Emperor did not back down. The Royal Guard commander glanced at the chancellor and immediately went out into the hallway.

The chancellor sighed, feeling helpless. Of course, he also believed in Prince Rembrary.

He wasn’t a docile child, but he wasn’t one to make up stories either.

But would Duke Ladderun have left any evidence while plotting such a terrible act as assassinating the Prince?

* * *

Duke Ladderun was tormented by the thought of Jeremi, who had disappeared from time to time.

There were times when he would be living as usual, but then suddenly the thought of the child would come to mind, and he would be tormented. Today was one of those days.

The Duke sat on a wooden chair on the balcony, pondering where the child had gone, when he noticed a commotion beyond the wall and stood up.

“What is that?”

The Duke frowned at the crowd gathering at the front gate. They looked like soldiers – about fifty to sixty of them.

The Duke stood up abruptly, grabbed the railing, and leaned his upper body forward. The soldiers seemed to be approaching the Duke’s residence gate… then briefly argued with the guards.

Soon, he saw the guards being pushed aside and the gate being forcibly broken down.

“What’s going on! Go out and find out immediately!”
The Duke hurriedly shook the bell to call the butler. He had to stop those intruders before the gate was destroyed.

“I’ll go and see! Your Grace, please evacuate through the secret passage first!”
The butler shouted, only halfway through the door. The sound of footsteps faded away.

The Duke fidgeted anxiously, then heard a loud bang and went back out to the balcony.

The massive iron gate was smashed and collapsed, and soldiers were pouring inside.

The Duke grabbed a candlestick to escape through the secret passage. There was also a separate secret passage in the Duchess’s room, so his wife would have gone that way.

However, as the Duke was about to open the door, he remembered the black magician’s secret chamber in the basement and felt the blood drain from his body.

He didn’t know what was going on… but if those soldiers saw the traces of black magic in the basement…

It was no use running away. The public image of black magicians was at its lowest right now. If he disappeared without explanation, he would instantly become a wanted criminal.

* * *

“Remi, did you hear about it?”

Ninring spoke to Jeremi, who had just finished training and returned to his room exhausted.

“Hear about what?”

“You said you’re from Libulen, right?”

“So?”

“Then you must know who Duke Ladderun is, right?”

Jeremi, who was gathering his bath supplies, flinched and looked at Ninring. What did she know?

Ninring was lying on the bed, reading a book. She didn’t seem to be probing.

“I don’t know. I think I’ve heard of him. Why?”

Jeremi asked, pretending not to know. Ninring slammed the book aside and sat up abruptly.

“They say a lot of evidence of black magic was found in the basement of that Duke’s residence. So now the Duke, the Duchess, and even the servants have all been dragged away and imprisoned!”

Ninring was enjoying herself, as if delivering interesting news. Jeremi was not amused at all.

“That’s ridiculous! Don’t lie!”

“I don’t know if it’s true or not. That’s what everyone’s saying. It was in the newspaper.”

“!”

Jeremi immediately went out into the hallway and ran towards the instructor’s office.

None of the novice paladins subscribed to the newspaper. But some of the instructors might.

Jeremi entered the instructor’s office and found a Libulen newspaper with the name of Duke Ladderun prominently displayed on a desk. He opened it on the spot.

Before he had even read half the newspaper, Jeremi was breathless.

“What’s wrong?”

When the instructor who owned the desk came over and asked, Jeremi put down the newspaper and ran out.

He didn’t even have time to think that others would look at him strangely.

Jeremi ran to the training ground. There was no one there. Jeremi punched the wooden practice dummy with his bare hands and shouted.

“Rembrary! Rembrary! I’m going to kill you! I’m going to kill you!”

There was actually Mullu in the place where he thought no one was.

He had been training alone late into the night and was sitting in the shade of a tree where even the moonlight didn’t reach.

Mullu opened his mouth blankly as he heard Jeremi’s shout. His clever mind immediately figured out the context.

‘That kid, is he related to Duke Ladderun?’

Mullu had been focusing on the news of Duke Ladderun for a different reason than Jeremi.

According to the newspaper, Duke Ladderun had not only dabbled in black magic but had also targeted Prince Rembrary with it.

No one knew the reason, but it was speculated that the fact that Prince Rembrary had become a leading candidate for high priest at the Redrin Temple had provoked him.

‘Duke Ladderun’s only son ran away from home a few years ago and was the only one not caught.’

Mullu quietly got up and went to his room.

Rembrary had helped his sister several times anyway.

Mullu wrote about a trainee named ‘Remi’ in the letter and immediately went to the central entrance and put the envelope in the mailbox.

Jeremi stared at the scene with fierce eyes.

* * *

Rembrary received two letters. One was from his family, and three Royal Guards brought the letter directly instead of the mailman.

They hadn’t found any evidence of assassination from Duke Ladderun, but evidence of his involvement with black magicians had poured out.

But Rembrary wasn’t surprised because he had already guessed that his family would handle the matter of Duke Ladderun well.

What surprised Rembrary was another letter.

“Why? Who sent it that you’re so surprised?”

“Jan-di’s younger sibling.”

“You have a sibling too?!”

Rembrary avoided Kentrell, who was trying to look at the letter with him, and went into the room to open the envelope.

‘Did news of Sir Cheru come? Or did they find out about the window I gave as a gift?’

Neither. Unexpectedly, Mullu’s letter also contained the story of Duke Ladderun.

It said that there was a boy named ‘Remi’ in the paladin trainee training camp, and that he seemed to be the missing only son of the Ladderun family.

‘That kid was good at swordsmanship from before.’

Rembrary recalled Jeremi’s appearance when they last met and opened the drawer to reply.

However, before he could write even two lines of the letter, the highest priest sent someone to call Rembrary this time.

‘Redrin, people are realizing more and more that I’m talented. It’s hard to hide being good.’

Rembrary quickly went to see the highest priest.

But the request the highest priest made was also unexpected.

“Rembrary, about your feathers that show the way. Could you lend me a few?”

“Of course.”

Rembrary took out all the feathers in his pocket and looked at the highest priest.

“How many?”
The highest priest hesitated and said cautiously.

“Forty… nine.”

“I don’t have that many.”
The highest priest was embarrassed and stammered.

“Could you lend me all of them?”

When Rembrary made an openly disgusted expression, the highest priest was embarrassed and confessed.

“Actually, there’s a place where forty-nine priests disappeared at the same time. I’m trying to find those people. Priests have been disappearing here and there, and one demon summoning circle has been completed, hasn’t it? I’m worried that this disappearance is also related. I’m really sorry. I’ll bring all the feathers back to you if there are any left. Definitely.”

“That’s a given.”

“!”

Rembrary reluctantly handed over all the feathers to the embarrassed highest priest.

The highest priest was so moved by the child’s attitude of readily offering a treasure that could be called a sacred object that he continued to look down at the feathers for a while after the child left the room.

‘Redrin must cherish such a child.’

* * *

Rembrary went back to his room and sat at his desk to write a letter again. But as soon as he picked up the pen, the secretary priest appeared again and called Rembrary.

“Rembrary, the highest priest wants you to come back again?”

Rembrary hesitated between annoyance and curiosity and went to see the highest priest again.

“Here, I’m returning them all.”

Unexpectedly, the highest priest handed Rembrary all the feathers he had just borrowed.

Rembrary counted the number. They were all there, untouched.

“Why?”

Rembrary asked as he took back the feathers, and the highest priest answered weakly.

“They don’t work with my divine power.”

“Another priest used them before.”

“But I can’t. I even had a few secretary priests try, but no one could use them.”
The highest priest looked devastated at the thought that he had lost the way to find the missing people.

He was worried about their lives and safety, and he was also worried that a second summoning circle would be completed because of them.

Rembrary watched the scene and suggested.

“Your Holiness, then I’ll use the feathers myself.”

“No. It’s dangerous.”
The highest priest refused firmly.

“If we can’t stop the completion of the summoning circle, we’ll all be in danger anyway.”

Even when Rembrary said it again, the highest priest was silent, lost in thought.

* * *

After much deliberation, the highest priest decided to take both Rembrary and Lydal to the site.

As Rembrary said, Rembrary and Lydal would be the most affected by the summoning of the demon in Redrin Temple.

So, he was trying to train these two, who were as good as high priest candidates, strongly while taking them around.

When the trip was decided, Rembrary wrote a reply to Mullu first.

-Thank you for letting me know. But Jeremi has nowhere to return to right now. Please pretend you don’t know, Sir Mullu. And I’m going to the Cliff of the Departed soon. I won’t be able to receive a reply even if you reply here.

* * *

The mailman left the letters he had brought in front of the dormitory proctor’s office and left.

This was because the proctor had left his seat after hearing someone breaking a window.

Since it was a place where paladin trainees gathered, there was almost no theft, so the mailman didn’t even worry about the letters being stolen.

However, when there was no one in front of the proctor’s office, Jeremi quietly came down the stairs.

Jeremi looked around and quickly examined the letters, then found the letter sent to Mullu from the Grand Temple and immediately put it in his pocket.

Jeremi, who hurried back to his room, took out the letter before Ninring came.

‘Mullu must have told Rembrary about me.’

The hand tearing open the envelope was nervous and fast.

However, Jeremi stopped for a moment after seeing the short letter at a glance when he unfolded the letter paper. His eyes shook at one part.