Be Fascinated

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Chapter 30

Three years ago, Claude visited the temple. He was unknowingly looking at a woman in white, her long hair tied half up as she prayed.

Beneath the sun’s rays, her pale blond hair shone like gold dust.

Claude had no idea when he looked at the woman. To put it bluntly, she was like one of the stone sculptures in this temple. Considering the relationship of the Imperial Family with the temple, the Crown Prince comes to pray with the children of the powerful family, and the saint prays… Or conducts a ritual.

People neither liked nor disliked stone sculptures. Claude was the same. The woman felt like a stone sculpture in a temple.

Claude didn’t even know that her name was Philia. Claude was originally not interested in people, but he was seriously uninterested in Philia.

It was just fun to see all the men in the temple clinging to that one woman.

The priests loved and protected her and supported her with affectionate eyes. The various emotions he saw from them were rather interesting.

The woman with a hazy impression seemed to have lived her life under such protection and care.

“As we live the life our Lord has bestowed upon us, repenting of the sins we have committed…”

In her clear, soft voice, she memorized the prayer. The voice was nice to hear.

Then, her voice stopped. The saint turned her head and looked at Claude. Huh? The saint stared at Claude, then looked at the man standing behind her.

When the prayer suddenly stopped, people’s eyes naturally turned to the saint.

The son of the Deoral family turned his head. When Philia turned her head again, the second daughter of the Sevoll family also avoided her gaze. All of her gaze was directed to those who did not focus on prayer. As people noticed, they bowed their heads in shame.

Claude looked into her eyes and smiled. A woman with a hazy impression as if she had lost her color, her eyes were just as blue as the sea. When the situation was settled, she began to pray tediously again.

Her voice was soft—low and pleasant to hear.

‘Is that the fake?’

It’s a doll created by the temple. Then it started to get a little fun.

The fake saint.

As the power of the temple weakened, there were only a few cards left in their hands. Occasionally, the priests would use a fake saint to satisfy their stomachs, saying that an oracle had been given to them. Religion was also another kind of big business.

The Imperial Family knew this, but tolerated it anyway. With the ordinance of atonement once every ten years, it irritates the Imperial Family, but the temple matches the Imperial Family’s power to a certain extent. In other words, they were the dogs of the Imperial Palace.

What interest would he have in the doll presented by the dogs of the Imperial Palace?

Claude looked at Philia. As he looked at her slender back, he suddenly wondered what the scent of her hair would have.

After the prayer, Claude went out to the corridor on the way to the dining room, and there, he witnessed an interesting scene.

“Hey, Saint. Take it easy. Does it make sense to give us such a disgrace?”

“We were forced to go. You have to be aware of this and be considerate.”

In the prayer room earlier, the noble children, who had been humiliated by her, were protesting against her.

The saint didn’t say anything. She had a gentle smile on her face, just like a painting. It was as inhuman as a statue, and these young nobles would have thought they could say anything to her.

“By the way, you are not in a position to call us out like that.”

“Yes. If you think about it, you’re not even a high priest…”

The saint had a soft smile as she heard the words of the Sevoll family’s second daughter.

“I didn’t think about it.”

It was a very bland answer. However, they continued to question the saint as if it didn’t go well with them.

“Think before you act. Do you know how much our family has donated?”

“I know the saint is very strict, but it shouldn’t be like this. Bow your head and apologize.”

Claude came out.

“No matter what, she shouldn’t apologize. Don’t you know any shame?”

Their faces turned pale as Claude stepped forward. Claude was famous for his unknown character.

“No matter how young you are, to tell the saint about her status and position and ask for an apology.”

Claude looked at them.

“This instigated a battle between the temple and the Imperial Family. It is a clear revolt against the Imperial Family.”

Although the logic was somewhat skewed radically, Claude was the emperor’s son and his mother was from an unrivaled affluent family, so he was truly the pinnacle of legitimacy and power.

If Claude made up his mind and drove them to ruin like that, he could have done it.

“How is it? Saint, shall we strike their necks right now?”

Claude said this as he looked at the saint. The saint widened her eyes in surprise, and then she lowered her eyes with a calming light again. She wasn’t fun. Still, why was he looking at her blue eyes like that…?

“No, I don’t want that.”

Said the saint carefully. The answer was no different from what he expected. Kind, compassionate…

As Claude blinked, the young nobles disappeared.

“Thank you for your help.”

Philia smiled brightly, like a painting. It was a perfectly elegant smile. But it wasn’t that attractive of a smile. Claude reached out and grabbed Philia’s chin.

“…….”

Philia blinked. She didn’t seem offended by this insulting act. She just opened her eyes, as if surprised.

The face she made in the unexpected situation showed the face of a young girl. The non-puppet-like expression looked better than the always-benevolent smile of a saint.

Claude let go of the hand that was holding her chin. He politely bowed his back.

“I apologize.”

“Apologize?”

“It is true that I also neglected to focus on the prayer meeting.”

“…….”

The saint didn’t answer anything. Claude recalled the jewel he had brought to present to the high priest and took it out. It was a butterfly-shaped jewel made of red rubies and blue sapphires. When he opened her box and showed her, Philia was perplexed.

“This is…”

“What’s wrong with this? It’s probably not that the saint didn’t have one of these…”

“I don’t.”

The saint looked at him blankly and answered. Claude was equally perplexed. No? The saint? She didn’t have anything like this? No matter how important it was to uphold humility, the high priests dip their toes into their own luxury. Did this saint have nothing like that?

“It can actually be used for multiple purposes. If you attach a brooch pin, it’s a brooch, like this…”

Claude reached out and placed the butterfly jewel on Philia’s faded blonde hair.

“If you attach a hairpin, it becomes a hairpin.”

“…….”

“It suits you.”

“…….”

Still, when Philia hesitated, Claude said.

“You make my apology embarrassing. This isn’t too much of a burden. The Imperial Family can procure anything like this.”

Of course it’s a lie. It was made with the hands of a craftsman for several days with the highest quality cut gems as it would be given to the High Priest.

But it wasn’t a waste for Claude. He just wanted to give it to her. He wondered how she would react if he gave it to her.

“Thank you.”

The saint said with a very uncomfortable expression. She is literally a picturesque saint. She was entirely virtuous.

Claude quickly lost interest. The look of surprise when he suddenly grabbed her chin. That expression was only slightly fun.

No scent, no desire. How can such a person be fun?

“Then, excuse me.”

Claude left with a short goodbye. The saint was still there when he turned back, realizing that he had come in the opposite direction.

Why is she still standing there?

Claude stopped as he tried to take a step. Philia stared at the butterfly-shaped jewel for a long time.

Then of course. Claude’s face lit up with excitement.

However, it was not greed that was vivid in those eyes. It was pure wonder and joy.

“Wow, the color is so pretty.”

She didn’t even know that she was talking to herself with excitement.

“I didn’t know there was such a pretty color.”

She murmured, approached the small artificial pond next to her, and looked down at it. She seemed to hesitate a lot, but eventually, she reached up and put the accessory on her head.

In fact, there wasn’t much difference. Her modest outfit was the same, and her hair was neat, but that was all. Her face was also paler than the others, so what’s the difference if she put on one hairpin?

However, she was clearly different.

Claude felt that way. She looked at her jewelry and smiled broadly, and she became a person of vivid color. Claude felt something intense when he saw it.

He wanted to keep seeing that.

Did he find it fun? Is it a perverse evil heart that rejoices at the small corruption of those who make humility a virtue? Or does it make him feel better when he sees an innocent woman rejoicing as she admires jewelry?

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