The Precious Sister of The Villainous Grand Duke

"Hmmm."

I jumped over the body of Oslo who was fast asleep in the drawing-room and entered the bedroom.

The escape box, which I had taken out in advance last night, gently made its presence known under the sofa.

'I'll have to take some money.'

Hiding the light baggage under my coat, I rushed back to Dietrich's office.

I had to take care of things before he woke up so I had no time to waste.

'Though I did put enough to even put a bear to sleep.'

I carefully approached Dietrich, who had a rare peaceful look on his face, as he slept face down on the desk.

The sun-lit face boasted of his sharp beauty. Still, I felt like he was looking quite gaunt, so I swept my hand over his hair, feeling sorry.

"You must have been busy these days that you don't even seem to get much sleep."

"..........."

"Get some sleep."

Because of me, you got some well-deserved sleep. Wasn't that nice? As expected, I didn't do anything wrong.

After some natural rationalization of my actions, I pasted a note I had written in advance on his hand.

'Hm. Since it's cold, should I place some blanket on him?'

I felt sorry even if I was doing it for him. Just then, a glossy velvet blanket caught my eye lying on the sofa.

I skimmed the carpet and checked the magic circle, then placed the blanket I took over his shoulders.

"Hm."

The moment I turned my back to leave with no regrets, he grabbed my wrist.

I pressed down on my sinking heart and turned around. Dietrich hadn't gained full consciousness yet and he could barely open his eyes.

I was startled to find his slitted obsidian eyes looking at me.

'That medicine was enough to put a bear to sleep!'

How resistant was he?

I shook Dietrich's hand and rushed to the warp magic circle.

"........?"

"Warp!"

".....Anissa!"

Dietrich, who regained his senses belatedly, urgently called my name but I was already in the magic circle. I smiled at him brightly inside the radiating light.

"I'll be back. Wait for me."

────── 〔✿〕──────

Finding the temple hidden in Mount Limeria wasn't difficult, the problem was how to enter it.

'If only my eyes weren't red, then I wouldn't draw so much attention.'

I pulled on my robe, trying to hide my eyes.

Thanks to that, I couldn't see well in front, but it was better than spreading the rumor that the Princess of Lagrange visited Hera's temple.

'If I just walk a little more I'll arrive soon.'

The little demon, who persistently followed me, rolled his tail and ran away as soon as we entered the mountain.

'If it had followed me more, it would have been completely melted.'

Fortunately, I was fine. I looked down at my intact hand and took out the map to check the location again.

The red star which served as the indicator of the location pointed towards the direction and fluttered.

The map that Damon handed over in exchange for a series of traitors was more detailed than I had expected and was an artifact itself.

It also lets me know my location, so no matter which place I fell, as long as I had this map, I wouldn't get lost.

'If I sell this, it would be really expensive.'

"Ah, I'm here."

Even if it was a temple hidden in the mountain, the road was quite well-paved that one would think there weren't any believers coming and going.

In the North, it was already winter, but because the mountain was in the South, I felt embarrassed in adjusting my coat as the light wind touched my cheeks.

"What brings you here up to this mountain?"

"I just came to offer a prayer to reach God's hand."

Humility was one of the virtues that the believer of the sun god should possess.

I bowed deeply and put my hands together to offer the money bag I had brought to the priest.

I also didn't forget to take out the fake identification that Damon gave me and secretly presented it.

"I heard that it is the most beautiful temple of Hera on the continent. It may be a small offering, but please do not turn it down as it is a means of thanks for the hard work of the priests."

'There's no way they would refuse.'

I had heard that the Solis temple was facing financial difficulties due to the doctrine that upholds humility for nothing.

The priest smiled at the sound of coins hitting each other.

"Ah. I see you're the niece of Marquis Deus. How can I reject the heart of a believer? Please come inside."

The priest guided me inside with a kinder voice.

"Our temple is a place of elegant beauty. Oftentimes, noble married and young ladies come here to relieve their anxiety."

He glanced at the lace hem of the skirt sticking out of the robe and made his own guess.

'It makes it convenient for me if he misunderstands.'

"Yes, you're right. I had been so tired these days."

I had been very busy establishing the orphanages and preparing food for winter.

"Are you busy preparing for an engagement?"

The priest guided me to a bedroom attached to the temple and asked carefully. In the South, around fifteen years old was considered the right age for engagement.

'I don't know if it's true or not, but Marquis Deus' niece was around the same age as me.'

"Ah. I guess it was a rude question. Forgive my rudeness, my lady."

When I hesitated to answer, he opened his mouth first and apologized.

"Since I've only been staying on this mountain, whenever I meet new people, I do tend to talk a lot. I hope I did not offend you?"

'He's quite a thoughtful person.'

"Not at all. It's all right."

"This is the room which you are going to stay in, my lady. I apologize that it's quite unrefined."

The room that the priest gestured with open palms wasn't fancy, but it was a neat room where sunlight leaks through the butterfly-plated curtains.

'It's not shabby, it's elegant.'

I felt like I could understand why the noble ladies enjoy visiting the temple since it boasted elegance without the smell of money.

"Then, please rest comfortably."

The priest left the room with a kind smile on his lips until the end.

'Thanks to Charlotte, I felt a little bad for having a prejudice against the Solis priests. And I'm also about to steal their relic as well.'

"Hmm."

As soon as the priest left, I closed the door and opened the map on the table. A flashing red star points to the center of the temple.

I received information on the location of the relic and that it would be in the form of a weapon, but I felt nervous because I didn't know exactly what it looks like.

'Though he did say I would recognize it once I see it.'

However, I wasn't a believer so I didn't know if I could recognize a relic that contained the breath of the sun god.

I didn't plan on staying for long, so I had nothing to unpack, and thus I decided to look around the temple and left the room.

'It's a bit uncomfortable since I can't clearly see what's in front.'

There couldn't only be one person in the world with pale pink hair and red eyes, but since Dietrich would have woken up by now, he must be looking for me right now like a mouse.

'I also tend to stand out a little bit.'

"Ack! What the!"

As I was walking while barely looking at the floor since I pulled my robe downwards, somebody bumped my shoulder.

"Keep your eyes on where you're going!"

He was the one who bumped into me, and I was the one pushed out of the way, but he was the one who raised his voice in anger.

"Ah."

"Ah? No apology but ah?! Do you know who you bumped into?!"

Of course, I didn't. And his identity wasn't my business.

I was already busy enough and the thought that I was being interrupted annoyed me, but I couldn't attract any attention. I gritted my teeth inwardly and gave a short apology.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm dying from the heat and you're wearing a robe?! You must be quite ugly, right?"

They were some words that made one lift their head to check just how beautiful the other person was.

I could bet my right hand that whoever he was wouldn't be able to measure up to Dietrich or Yuric's toes.

'Just go!'

I even apologized but the man bent his waist to try and check my appearance. I was surprised that I bowed even deeper.

"Sir, what's going on?"

"Ah, it's nothing."

If you're not reading this at blogspot, you're probably reading from an aggregator site. Read this translation at /.

I was more surprised than the man who received the question coming from the side.

'Hermann?'

I couldn't raise my head so I couldn't confirm his appearance, but I clearly remember that aura and that voice.

"Duke."

My suspicion was now confirmed by the title he called him. I clung to the hallway in surprise.

"You there! This is Duke Euclid! Where are your greetings?!"

"......I greet the most glorious sun of the South."

It was a little funny that the greetings for the Emperor and the Duke of Euclid were similar. But, how arrogant he must be for being a Duke.

And, how weak was the imperial family for them to be in a tight corner.

"Are you going to cover your face while facing the Duke?!"

Euclid's knight raised his voice as if I was some criminal. Fortunately, Hermanns stopped him as if he was bothersome.

"Stop. I'll apologize in his stead, my lady."

"Ah, I'm sorry, Your Grace."

My fists shook at the docile attitude that the knight only showed to Hermann. Instead of answering, I lightly nodded my head.

"Let's go. We didn't come here to make a scene"

Hermann briefly said and disappeared with the knight.

'They didn't come here to make a scene?'

I wanted to ask what they came here for.

'Did they come here aiming for the relic?'

Damon had said that Euclid didn't know of this information yet.

Hermann's appearance made me a little more impatient and I hurriedly moved.