Chapter 274 (1/2)

Chapter 274: Chapter 274

I was confused for a moment about what he meant by “the possibility,” but I thanked him because I immediately realized it. He seemed to try to reassure me that I might not be infertile.

By the way, why did he mention ‘deal” with the emperor?

“Your Eminence, what kind of deal did you make with the emperor…?”

“Oh, you didn’t know it as I expected. That’s why you had such turbulent feelings deep down. Well, it’s fun to keep looking at you, but I feel I can’t just leave as I am constantly reminded of my old memories…”

“Pardon? What do you mean…”

“In fact, before you offered a deal to me, I met a person who offered the same deal. He was none other than the emperor.”

Then, did he also have it in mind? When I reported to the emperor about the intervention by the temple, I felt very sorry for him because he rejected my idea out of hand, saying he could not interfere with the authority of the temple recklessly.

“Even though I am confronting the top priests, I am also a priest who serves Vita. I felt scared when I thought about the possibility of our temple’s authority crumbling, so I tried every way to seek his help…”

“…”

“Well, the emperor first offered a deal to me. He asked me to do him a favor in return for giving me the full authority over the priests involved in this incident.”

What was that? What did he try to gain at the risk of losing the golden opportunity to cut off his relations with the temple that tried to interfere with the central politics, which the late emperor was so wary about? As he was not aware that he was being poisoned, he probably didn’t have anything to strike a deal with the High Priest.

No matter how hard I tried to figure it out, I could not recall anything.

Watching me pressing my temple firmly, he said with a faint smile, “It looks like you don’t remember it. Well, it was the same with me.”

“I don’t know.”

“What the emperor wanted me in return for covering up all the dirty things of the temple was my blessings.”

“Pardon? Blessings?”

“Yes. It’s not my one-time blessings, but my periodic blessings.”

Periodic blessings?

I tilted my head. Why did he ask for that? Did he think my blessings were important enough to cover up the temple’s wrongdoing? Given that the emperor received periodic blessings for himself, the blessings were apparently not for himself.

Blessings. Periodic blessings…Wait a minute. Periodic blessings?

“No way…” My eyes opened wide.

There was one who received the High Priest’s blessings periodically, and that twice a month when ordinary people could hardly receive even one from for the rest of their lives.

I was the one who received such blessings.

“Yes. He wanted my blessings for you. Blessings are originally intended to prevent one’s bad energy. He said he would like to pin his hope on it, even if the possibility was low.”

“But why didn’t he tell me…?”

“He asked me to keep it secret, saying he didn’t want to hurt you with false hope. Of course, I owe a debt of gratitude to your late mother, but I didn’t give you blessings just because of that.”

That’s why I brought Sextus here. I needed some plausible cause to continue to stay in the empire.”

“Oh my…” I sighed out.

Well, I felt something strange when the emperor talked about my mother too much. Then, was it because of his secret deal with the emperor that the High Priest gave me blessings whenever I entered the sacred place or he came as far as my house to give me blessings?

When I was publicly insulted as an infertile woman in front of others at the political meeting, I raged with anger because of my offended pride. Despite his reassurances that he would protect me, I burned all my dresses, vowing to give up my life as a woman. He begged me not to make a quick conclusion, promising to solve the problem when I asked him to break off my engagement with him. He even said that, telling me he would willingly take the risk of his supporting base shaken by the noble faction.

Biting my lips with mixed feelings, I hurriedly pulled back my body because the High Priest already came close to me. Watching me calm down my troubled heart, he said in a comforting voice, “Sorry, Lady Monique. I think I said something that I should not have because of old memories.”

“…”

“Don’t be so heartbroken. As I made a beautiful lady feel depressed, I must raise a prayer for repentance for my sin right now. ”

“… Your Eminence.”