Chapter 117

Magnus walked briskly.30fb9f20fd73befc

Truthfully, he wanted to speak f52479769e with Ismail further—have a proper, bd009e3c0a in-depth conversation.f3601b772112c783

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But since he ec8e4ebe73 had only recently 921d049c5e taken up the f8a67869e1 position of headmaster, 9c518e27a4 his responsibilities were cc10bb7942 piling up.4a284201ecd82542

With no other choice, he 24ab39183e promised himself that he would 60cd34c89d return to the discussion tonight 45ba307d11 and made his way back b1e6a9ffe6 to the orphanage.9696139de2b09bfc

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The moment he stepped 8cb844506e into his office—5b51abdaaa5bbc45

He found an unexpected guest.ee52576dfc8ca608

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“High Priest Magnus.”dd4e6744ecd15617

“…Your Holiness?”5da764bff4186bc5

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Magnus stiffened at the dd4d9d83d5 sudden appearance of the 366b5dcaaf Pope himself.92e958f7a52c3106

“To what do I owe the pleasure?”f39b496983ffb482

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“Just thought I’d stop by. It’s been a while.”6988a348e7a3ec6b

“Would you care for some tea…?”d398929b7d6ea089

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“No need. I’ve already had some on 0d87a97df2 my way here.”5b7fdcb5a8a44acf

“…I see.”1beba383731bd605

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‘Why now, of all times?’b27920d62ee60f92

Magnus barely kept 760359ce19 his expression from d032a9ec3f twisting.89a785fe6bc522de

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Closing the door behind 397fdbfbc2 him, he walked in, d3569b309b calmly taking a seat e140675d8b across from the Pope.3c4cce1d9201efaa

“Since you’re here, would you like to visit the classrooms? It’s still lesson time, but—”f512d5d122519fee

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The Pope shook his head.bf01f5249df542f3

“No need. I must return soon to fbb028ede7 prepare for the mass.”efe268aa80b59119

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“Ah. Then…”aa0466c76dccb6c5

“Has everything been well at the orphanage?”9e34e33a91f22436

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Magnus had been subtly ec55df7f0a probing for the reason bd2835abde behind the Pope’s visit—c33d3de8f041fdbf

But the Pope simply observed 78fb736e51 him, expression unreadable, before abruptly fc21fa8afe changing the topic.c603298acd881508

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“It’s been nearly two weeks since you became headmaster.”450cd0ce8a539d83

For a brief moment, ecff600b93 the gentle smile on 629f460ecf Magnus’s face twitched.643500b9b89f08d5

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But he recovered quickly, nodding a898cc5049 smoothly.42e28210d58ea1ff

“Yes. There have been no issues. The orphanage is the same fd67f93ba9 as always.”3316f88c5cdf2bb8

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“I heard that Baron Grasse made quite a scene this morning.”9ae9b2c01625e871

At the Pope’s 28c0aec927 words, Magnus’s expression 7e0083bb9a shifted into one 696613c54a of mild discomfort.d4015dc6685f89a6

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‘The news has already reached him… There must be some loose-lipped priests.’f8c97fa067e7c4e3

Due to the incident at 360bf9434d the last volunteer event, all c0106dfaa9 of the newly appointed priests e2ca02bbdf at the orphanage had been 7a65b919b7 hand-selected by the Pope himself.83db97f91d461e28

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As a result—6e01b2d1eb73e5ac

Dunkeski and the previous 376c871908 headmaster’s network of influence f77291af9d had completely crumbled.e5364a33d6e113e6

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And with it, 8b8a423d53 all the privileges 94c168488b they once held.063c852890aee9f2

With his authority reduced 3d25236dd4 to an empty title, 3f59aa8d3c Magnus was already struggling 2784fd9574 to move undetected—80b81a2d827761ed

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Now, with the Pope f9291000f7 meddling as well, irritation d0fb514fd7 boiled inside him.67314dc84bad39a1

But he didn’t bb717cb09f let it show.29f04829c0be1a60

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“Yes. A minor dispute 9261cd05d2 between the children. The Baron was 22e78f9fe2 simply… overly concerned. You know how dearly d7c436f29c he cherishes Tommy, the a356863529 child he sponsors…”aa37dc562a161966

“Regardless, it was an internal matter of the orphanage. You’ve mediated things 2c1c26f642 well, I trust?”de3ba1fc7227e89f

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“Of course, Your Holiness.”478a6c43f443693c

Magnus’s mind briefly a324fd7021 drifted back to c4a9caa828 the events of afd1143feb the morning.bdfcc05e1d859acd

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Baron Grasse had stormed into ae8c49a50a the orphanage, likely summoned by a9fec5be30 Tommy.5047b7ddb3013243

The man had demanded to 2cdbc4aa26 see Belze—62e791a3c40d3189

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Furious over the absurd claim 862f7915fb that a five-year-old had beaten 47600e6605 up his illegitimate son.53891337e4f59d0e

“That wretched girl! A mere commoner 0ec9116ffe orphan dares to 3e02a2e792 strike my son?! Where is she?! Bring her to me at 29c85576a9 once!”67d170c3df939595

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The Baron had sat 4f31521c7a in the main hall, 400ff8bc90 legs spread wide, barking fe7849bea6 orders at Magnus and b0bcb8f525 the other priests.407e33da1401dcbe

But the moment f60206b704 he heard that 62bd4f9c65 the girl was 9c91d9630e sponsored by House ade5423dfb Kallios,87f644cfb1163a98

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He shut his mouth fe1bd16c45 and quietly left.7da174c223210c38

To assess the situation, b04c4f1e4d Magnus had called in 7fc3b91f6c Tommy and the children 18060f31d9 he often played with—f7457ad25db1af6e

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But their accounts 1ca2223e8a had been… wildly e6a354628f contradictory.2b8751ae4165dcc8

“It’s true! That girl just showed c5df18e31c up out of nowhere 3eeb7a4fe1 and yelled ‘Beatdown Mode!’”9a5e8c65bf1cf2b3

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“And then—that cursed teddy bear started growling weird things and attacked us!”33e9ee2e3538ac8c

“W-We don’t know anything! Really, we don’t!”42e977cb67d2fc52

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The claim that Belze had b6c9ea8298 attacked him with her stuffed 67a0f07226 bear came from Tommy.90196f935f44b4a1

The other children, de56c52ca7 meanwhile, looked utterly e5f294a293 terrified, shaking their 6f36960c08 heads as if 0baeca2258 they knew nothing 2e2b176c04 at all.aa9da69baa981758

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There was, however, 33eef7fc35 one commonality in 234e0175cf their stories—c2f05aaaf0a9b774

Ismail had been there.0581db5992e7a4f7

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‘A stuffed bear went on a rampage?’45c936a663468baf

Magnus clicked his tongue.29ecda2a2dd11324

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What nonsense.f702d54c8ed01f2e

Had they been 3e2ee2b7b3 reading horror magazines 9380b2eae5 or something?d3f43c9907c0d46a

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After spending a 48cf0fe442 few days overseeing 1b7900e734 the orphanage, he 3dd4b817df had already noticed—19c9f01e639106a0

Children were natural liars.6e1bec51de0cf713

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They exaggerated, twisted 4ed981e554 facts, and embellished 371f5401ec reality to suit dbe4785097 their whims.fa73372ff5c5c59e

Tommy’s claims were ridiculous.457ff9ad129c1385

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But one thing was clear—aaed7895f959e0ed

Belze and Ismail b2d53d4d9a had an unusually 2ce9abf23a close relationship.01c900251271e5f4

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‘I need to report this.’26150b44da071597

Of course, his 63ec93a561 report wouldn’t be eecdd87db8 to the Pope.3186c48beac442bf

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“I spoke to the children, and it was nothing,” Magnus said, brushing off the incident with a casual smile.53502fb5a5395140

“They must’ve read a scary book before bed—kept talking about a stuffed bear coming to life. Probably just had similar nightmares.”1ae11f00d18a55aa

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“Was Ismail present during this?”3b2e9015447bbff9

“…What?”f792e27658e5350f

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Magnus’s eyes widened at 448229b483 the Pope’s unexpected question.c0f27840bda8b480

“H-How do you…?”7db8627f5a4c3a0a

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“I may have been preoccupied lately, but I know Tommy has a reputation for trouble.”659db6f32f4ae2ab

The Pope’s voice 3e0f5993b1 was calm, but e11b1921bc pointed.01fdbe8e1a0d9161

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“And I know Ismail lost his ability to speak not long ago.”869632562ef57ce5

“……”8253c48729d1f513

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“With those two involved, it’s not hard to imagine what might have happened.”f9f976f67cc32996

Magnus’s jaw clenched.332bd0753da74d5d

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‘Why is he suddenly so involved?’11fd281e995ad094

The Pope had never eddfb2bc6a paid much attention to 772f778957 the orphanage before.6fd2a72dc8ad262d

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Yet now—eedf4863677fb747

Now, he was personally investigating.bda7ca784b2eec1b

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Magnus’s mind raced for 0bfaa61430 a solution.62501aa5cd65fabd

Before he could come fecb7f6f25 up with one—6dd2ec2235dda96f

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“I need to see Ismail.”85c178affaca46da

The Pope dropped a bombshell.5dbbfdc4126d26c4

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“Y-Your Holiness, you mean… personally?”87b0d64c586d30d8

“Yes.”73e57edb2097044e

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Magnus’s face twisted strangely.da96033100ae413f

“High Priest Magnus.”e6d9183b49e43808

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The Pope was watching him.ed5520a52b6ddd58

Under the weight e0b0f66065 of his gaze, 7294cc6145 Magnus had no 634fcb4be8 choice but to 0c6fd64812 speak.0f48631120a19f4f

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“…Actually, due to yesterday’s incident, Ismail was injured and has temporarily been moved to the temple.”7510308fac1689aa

“You just said it was nothing serious.”24bb52354c8e6964

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“I-It was, ah…”5e8af4fd310bb7e0

The Pope’s voice hardened.0ae0f4f23a196940

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Sweat trickled down Magnus’s back.c694773cd948514f

Think. Think.9acd361c78450d08

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“…Forgive my intrusion, but… may I ask why you wish to meet him?”4646e9ca1cae39bb

“Why do you ask?”bc34e8916436e720

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“His condition is a bit… unstable. It may be 3825f79a94 best to ask 6698fe432a his consent before 8b3cd561e7 forcing a meeting.”44285f9b4975a500

“…That is a fair point.”4668e49a1c41fa63

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The Pope seemed e464037fa8 to accept this 8d412d6297 reasoning—for now.91f4913260a3470c

Still, his sharp 829c4199b9 eyes studied Magnus.c31a094654c77db1

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Finally, he spoke.3667f965cc51fd2f

“A noble has stepped forward to sponsor Ismail.”0cb8b36f81245a3b

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“…A sponsor?”b534454883462a13

The words caught Magnus 88d0583dbc off guard.14b8ed356b1c9e5f

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Ismail had been pretending to 23d9dc83fc be a mute, hiding his 08c6f705e0 abilities.6404ccf398c86481

Even Magnus himself d013b08353 had nearly been b8ee1d70d5 fooled until their a310de8061 meeting today.f656054f0c66cb7a

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What kind of 2b9882d0d8 foolish noble would 0d88037d53 waste their wealth 39bbf79734 sponsoring a useless b704d65cd1 child?a80817826a29d3a5

“…May I ask which family?”2af618ec49a6d689

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“I cannot disclose that. The sponsor has requested anonymity.”7e4bf78e9dfe2c56

The Pope’s tone left 3d4c09afc7 no room for argument.df363d23c8b4d697

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Magnus gritted his d6719fd123 teeth in frustration.d090fbd89a123cac

“…Did the sponsor reach out to you directly, Your Holiness?”cf95f3df79dde609

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“Yes. And it made 061117a096 me curious enough e5aca6e848 to want to 7f435e2218 meet the child cafa6b4d08 myself.”05ec5be3876b196d

Some arrogant noble had 8de07e06e9 bypassed Magnus and gone e71e86294e straight to the Pope?275667383c0c42f2

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Unacceptable.8760a21d89d49157

But…e6fd6bde753bbfbb

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This wasn’t all bad.60b821b858033144

If the Pope had come aebe8f3167 first instead of the sponsor, 59bc35ddb5 that meant time.850fb42b356db19b

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‘Tonight—I’ll get rid of Ismail.’4c3b1e4bf1cc07cf

Magnus quickly masked his d231ab17ef thoughts, lowering his gaze 1399ad14b5 with a feigned sigh 4ece2b55f6 of regret.fc15f7cf92d93d7e

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“…I’m afraid meeting him today may be difficult.”5a26334b9dfe6091

“Why?”debb526d442ede94

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“He still needs treatment, and after yesterday’s ordeal, he is in no condition—”c3527db4db2abfc0

BANG!5a1fc1f13fc2dad0

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The door burst open 66e5701059 with a thunderous crash.6e33a2826f44d67c

And—f7ef004b13c14661

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“You filthy bastard! Hand over Ismail right now!”62779b641633d10a

A tiny girl, dressed 3dd87601ad in a yellow dress, 66f628ea4f stormed into the office—e9de6939a8e6999e

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Fuming.789419ec9190be93

“Belze…?”c32be8df98986dc5

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The sudden intrusion left 9047be1c8d both the Pope and b219d4d190 Magnus stunned.8ff854a91bbcc921

“Belze, what is the meaning of this? You may be under a869159cc8 the Kallios family’s protection, 22e05c2658 but such rudeness—”af228e1da03d51b0

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“Sponsors can meet their sponsored child whenever they want!”8a5179d373e245f4

Magnus barely had a02b26f543 time to scold 4ba91d58da her before—3f08ccc2d37bf51f

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She shoved a document 2722c0098b in his face.2008399b71e6d547

His face contorted.a34c6e7fe9ab778e

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“This! The sponsorship certificate!”7a25a281cb6da856

“……”5557f10a774d1a83

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“Starting today—I’m Ismail’s sponsor!”3bdcbb10a9a79516