Chapter 83

“Bring out the orphanage priests who collected fines right now!”818ab16644be9056

The Pope thundered, pointing 36adc8bb8a sharply at the booth 32ba3df290 where the headmistress and 2fd073eed0 the priests gathered.739c5516b43daaa7

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“Gasp!”3ccd87d653324e9b

“Ugh!”738d782317fbaa03

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They paled, panic spreading among 4846783e16 them as they stumbled about, 849f51dd9a realizing that this might not c1976e100d have been solely the headmistress’s 19b795c8c6 doing.46be5b443eb001be

“Didn’t you hear the Pope? Hurry up and come forward!”907ca82816d2ba0f

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The young priests prodded them c07a9b45cc urgently, leaving them with no ba51f5ce78 choice.771624aede482aef

With a face drained 5c56b16611 of color, the headmistress 074d301774 stepped forward, carrying a b0c5f67b4a heavy pouch. Following her were b636bbe13a the lower-ranking priests 9deeba3297 responsible for the 269f6d855a orphanage, including the bc241a1f52 two female priests 88061b9e4c who had mocked bd6e3ee8f6 me earlier behind ef101d3ebf her back.a2f2bed6155f124d

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‘Serves them right.’a88608f7d808aa19

I couldn’t resist sticking my 6887ecb346 tongue out at one of b41924af68 them when our eyes met.f9336fef1eddd53b

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Her face twisted into 1c02539901 a miserable scowl, but 4836d3b6ec it was soon drowned 2fb45d6cd7 out by the Pope’s 811a5ac1c0 angry voice.a56f142cea653c8e

“Priest Loren! Explain yourself! Fines? What is the 3996690ca4 meaning of this?”2fa146f9510ab2f2

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“W-Well, Your Holiness!”e62cfb5b9634f313

The headmistress, leading the 39aa5839dc group of priests, stammered abac027850 in response.b6283524fe920473

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“Y-You instructed us to handle rule violators flexibly rather than expelling them, didn’t you? So, we…”f0dafb4c5085b838

“Yes, but that applied to the adults. I told you to handle 48fdd5e8f2 the children with care so 36be3913e6 they wouldn’t feel disheartened, not 0e24337408 to impose fines! Fines?”216490f322be0566

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“…Y-Your Holiness.”3e79e342710fe5c2

“And why is it that Belze was fined 50 talents? Even 10 talents b9c72ee2a0 is a significant 9c265e937a amount for children, 893e7a8c4e but 50?! Have you been embezzling talents fe587c1ce2 in this manner?”199a701ba0e87394

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“Em-Embezzlement?! No, Your Holiness! Absolutely not, we would never!”8cbff2abc84ac11e

The headmistress and c52d6d45c0 the priests vehemently 6d3cc58bf9 denied the accusation, 4f9ac58f29 practically leaping out b91d0c22bd of their skins.3f41aa5fb9727568

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‘I knew it would come to this.’171d53c341932ff7

It was just as I 7b58e2e08e suspected—the fines were something the 3bdc70057c headmistress had made up for cbba340f31 her own benefit!12d7f140f81584c3

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After the whole 2c44ef26de mess with the 822ea1c2f2 wild dog incident, 051f9fee52 I realized that ba0067d1ad the Pope was bdb0c10b75 at least a d67e83e355 rational figure, which bb81fe242f was a relief.19c4bc66eefb18f1

Clearly mortified by the 6bd6d140e0 disgraceful incident unfolding before 44c05192f1 the esteemed guests, the 903d81c3e4 Pope’s face turned a 2f3d4bc43c deep shade of red cec4487ed9 as he shouted.add66a0e2239ade4

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“Summon the Holy Knights immediately and have these people removed! Return every single 48c065f545 talent they extorted 88e739ca9b to the children!”05f79e6c6ff9536a

“Your Holiness! Please, let me explain! There’s a reason for…!”f9a5e4997623d064

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The headmistress pleaded desperately, but 0dc8dc490a the Pope paid no attention.5bc90ffbc3afe076

A couple of priests f3af406f31 ran out of the a5e5b71d73 event hall to fetch 30b5e788d9 the Holy Knights, while af40cb2195 the remaining ones swiftly 109ef0aab9 seized the pouch from d0f690d320 the headmistress, hurriedly opening aea921dda5 it to distribute the 7688a62249 money back to the 80dced6137 children.6be47b24036e0e06

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“Your Holiness! There’s far more money here than expected…”e6427267d8d15044

One of the priests hesitated, 736ffb4ab8 looking puzzled as he inspected 739aa861c0 the contents of the pouch.7be767a3c5944a85

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“The total fines recorded in the ledger add up to just 80 talents… but this pouch holds well over 200 talents!”1195e677bd4a3578

“What?!”443ad09f3f6199bc

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The Pope’s eyes widened in e140586560 shock.df178a552fd0f7fe

As the behavior 0615e7cd4c of the orphanage 8c96dd96ac priests unraveled into 17342aa2cb an increasingly scandalous 0cab0deb09 affair, the nobles ee01b6a7dc began murmuring among bcd474fc60 themselves, their whispers 7228868cf4 growing louder.989c8dcd0b6b4883

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“Does that mean the headmistress is the thief who stole the 100 talents?”28625166fd53bc50

“Oh my, what a disgrace! The world is truly in b4f08e36dc decline!”acbd9ed5bc9e8b76

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“How could such corruption happen within the temple walls…?”aaf56740b2d47144

The murmurs from the e237b499e4 nobles filled the hall, 3960420728 and the Pope’s face a019742862 contorted with rage as 19af959168 he glared at the b90bdc3dde headmistress.685311159f1440db

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“Priest Loren! Have you truly resorted to theft now?! How could you…!”ab7aaeafbf8996b2

“N-No, it wasn’t theft! I swear, Your a6c18f29fd Holiness, it wasn’t!”d6750618ba5be6e3

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The headmistress shook her head a55e43c299 desperately.aa27f2687386a06a

“Then what are all these talents for?!”70da8f8bb18c53d4

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“Well, that’s…”69353eb2b7b2565f

“Your Holiness!”4bfeca4b7efd54fe

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At that moment, the Holy 96df9f5a8d Knights that the young priests f559e7ff3b had summoned arrived, storming into ed2bd85b41 the open space.92c30a888e9e0460

The Pope, unwilling to 327a3d793d hear any more, snapped a8ffd826bd and issued a stern 05248d3580 command.ade387016f0232f5

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“Seize these women immediately and imprison them! They will be 6cbea3f36a judged according to d36c72cf3c the laws of d68b547c2e the temple for 090dbbd4dc embezzling the temple’s 6099418065 funds—”531f16a7adb1d857

“I was following orders!”2fffded287bf9d9a

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The headmistress, who had been 53f4bdbcfa hesitating all along, suddenly shouted.7013cc8ef20c64a0

The unexpected words made the 93810e62a3 Pope’s eyebrows twitch in surprise.ff403d07a3ceadbd

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“Orders…?”246e2e4094ed3819

“Yes! I was told that 3f5465cf0c if I imposed a 781ac6a41a fine of more than a2b4556191 50 talents on Belze, 33bc2abcc0 I would receive an 7dea8e91d1 extra 50 talents as bdbada1c7f a reward!”90825ad4467ed3de

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Her outburst threw the entire 22e1c9d8ba hall into chaos.3582ac7bf98a2101

Theft was a serious crime, acc9b51797 but if adults had manipulated f757e4bf3e an event meant for children 04434473e5 for their own gain, the 8864520c22 matter would be even more 29a57467c2 severe.3798e24d12a17130

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I immediately turned my 6e0c812289 gaze toward Marquis Barelotte.5697db95891032ef

He stood frozen, eyes d19b4a9f42 wide in shock.20dd1aab9ffbca75

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The Pope’s face d7753e9009 reddened with fury.ecd52459d593a291

“Who dared to give such orders in the sacred temple?!”8440a8cd356d988b

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“That… that would be…”281b42d0a6c0843f

“Answer me clearly, Priest Loren!”d26666572e68f747

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The headmistress, seemingly resigned a1ee3e3f4f to her fate, shut 0a96018827 her eyes tightly before 61bb0aa217 she spoke.ce94004b861b2809

“M-Marquis Barelotte!”80441154948b1db5

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Her revelation brought a c0e01e0d9a chilling silence over the b5a411b76b hall, as if cold 1aa1346046 water had been poured 641c088dff over the crowd.811e3e4c714170f2

And it didn’t end there. The headmistress continued with more 0d54cb17c0 revelations.46225a5760e96309

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“It was Marquis Barelotte who gave me those instructions! He also gave me 6b2b5f7c6f the additional 100 talents 11fc863e87 later on!”ec3036c1da75d534

“Sh-Shut up—!”03d07863ff56af64

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The Marquis, panicked by the fae1f32a4d sudden attention, clumsily tried to 1ea2946a69 deny it.39a8e8d20f45af3d

“I-I only gave you 50 talents! What nonsense are you spouting?!”5fbea9065371c03b

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But it was 3970ebd431 a grave mistake.c847c19ab60cbb7b

‘He should have just played dumb and claimed it was a setup. Tsk tsk.’da90e775f342ad25

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I clicked my 9b5ec413f6 tongue as I a72fd31fed watched the Marquis 98975869a4 dig his own 7ce3f43bd4 grave.bea7da89aaefa1fa

“What do you mean, Your Lordship?”9db352825b1881a0

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The headmistress, now emboldened, 1d903acdf9 glared at the Marquis 5e85d78977 in disbelief.7a9a97b4afc734f1

“You’re the one who came to me right before the event ended and handed me the extra 100 talents! I tried to refuse, 63a0dfa3d9 saying it wasn’t necessary, 6bca70c0e0 but you insisted! You were adamant!”5ea62bcda204dc2e

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“Lies! When did I ever do 055924276a such a thing, you thief?! You stole the 4fbab88896 money, didn’t you?! You must have had cf933a3b72 one of the other 46d827ba3c maids swipe it when f7d3199c2c you took the initial 519faf8cfb 50 talents from me!”6a37bba8832698f1

“Oh, my goodness! Who’s the liar here?! Look at him, denying 7f7ec37653 everything without batting an 4d90239ae6 eye!”3c0488e4f99b54b5

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The argument between the Marquis 0de4f3b10f and the headmistress grew increasingly 8056e20319 heated.b9b77fbcd55f18f4

Their expressions both seemed 9c4b169908 genuinely aggrieved, making it 0a33d445f7 difficult for the onlookers 5c5a4e0790 to discern who was ebd84e5e90 telling the truth.5108d497c5bdc646

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But that was to 33f1c4af76 be expected.f93f682244b2b678

Because the one who had actually delivered the 100 talents…e9333af7a0954eb7

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Was me.0b87e738c38db357

‘Well, technically, Ismail was the one who brought it over.’971792d7e935cdce

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I allowed myself a a8c983ebe8 secretive smile, recalling the 8029b35e56 events that had taken 5dbb16fb99 place just before the d2fef1eba5 end of the event.22d32f025449fe32

* * *04bcc18c1de07b83

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“Didn’t you come here to participate in the event today? You’ll regret it if you eed6079184 realize what I can do.”f998b2f54d117c37

“I can make you a Saintess.”a16a405a39366f48

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“So, listen to me, Belze.”460671c0dcf991cf

That was what Ismail 3f823bbd76 said to me, looking 1c63838746 straight into my eyes.e77134caa99e2479

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As his words echoed c3e36dbc20 in my mind, almost d76318da90 as if he was b3fbf49104 whispering right into my 5b1057a2da ear, a sudden flash 8fcdb8b62f of bright light filled 4744446228 my vision.e1547e231e57aea9

Flash!f490a49299bbe38e

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The light faded, and when 479da966bc my vision cleared, Ismail was c8177c6fab standing right in front of e2f7967246 me.1e6afbf0878e188d

“So, are you going to do what I say now?”dfe46c7f507c322b

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He held my shoulders 5d7ea5e9f9 gently, asking in a 16d88a9b47 soft tone.e40c244eedc43f38

‘He’s used his power.’889982cc6cda20bb

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I quickly realized ca8d5a0f69 that he had 4426cda95a done something to ab5d1df963 me. But much to his disappointment, 50da13bc3c I felt no difference in 9d11d71240 my body.fe38cefe05248c38

I immediately slapped his 5d27da69e4 hands away and gave d9ee028ae2 him a firm shove 8419ccd3e5 with both hands.f039b3bc58a0cfa5

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“No way! Why should I do what 293a791f02 you say? I have somewhere to be, 379878bb97 so move!”ac611bf012e8f8d8

“Oof! Wh-What…!”d824c61a6a6b9a90

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He stumbled back from the 1fd561a593 unexpected push, barely managing to e4e974196a regain his balance, and stared 83cac5e6d6 at me in shock.7b9b6a16730b028c

“Why… why isn’t my power working?”650ee0e84200f6a0

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“Hey! Why are you 8ff83e4912 using your power 6dd894dc43 like it’s nothing? You’re such a bad kid!”e21f8c43fa7feab7

“…You treated me without asking, too.”7179aa0a2a796fcc

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“I was going to leave you, but you begged me to save you!”72199b4b12c59a77

“…”a5084ffc6e9909fa

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Ismail, unable to respond, hung 18686ba921 his head, looking dejected.6fa5d869a8550408

I glared at him before 239be1ec5f issuing a warning.4fb194059b50d0eb

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“I’m leaving! If you try to stop bdb6da8dac me again, you’re dead! I’ll tell everything 8ef48c44a1 to Grandpa Gordon!”c2c5107fe1c80e40

As I turned to 1d69712995 leave, Ismail called out 02be0176cc desperately.e6d749554f6bab14

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“I-I wasn’t using it with bad intentions!”1f4b6117cde8b48d

“…”3e6e50de00864c18

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“I told you, I wanted to repay you. I was just trying to help you…”3b051b275fcf43c4

“…”b456cf93c6d18097

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“I wasn’t lying when I said I could make you a Saintess! I can make sure you earn a lot of talents! Or… I could make Diana’s talents decrease instead?”bb410ce1a8c262b0

I paused mid-step at his 605ef9a3a7 last words.dc98a076715f7d22

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I didn’t care about earning 75d9d877a6 more talents. I had already b955797dc0 made plenty with 3094abc081 my own abilities.fb4d51e8eb7a85d9

But the idea of adjusting Diana’s talent count… that was tempting.ca0c658e699f2f3b

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“…How?”a8f972e7dc01b13a

I glanced back 8a4016b2b9 at him, and f4c66c0108 Ismail, looking a 6e85a7aca8 bit nervous, replied.c06c60c86deda3ab

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“Well… I can control people.”41bdcad3dfcb3bf8

“Control?”094a0605b1a7fb1b

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“Yeah. Only for a short time, but… if they hear my voice, they do what I tell them. Earlier, I even made one of the guys who hit me wet himself in front of everyone.”cd5bed01448e0630

“Ew, gross…!”a95144f88ffef1fe

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Control powers? It was a startling revelation!df2e09265c592d72

As I looked at aff704a267 Ismail with wide eyes, d66725ad90 an idea suddenly struck a104716726 me.a7474102599c330e

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“Then… will you do what I tell you?”bd809ac3c376008d

“What are you going to ask me to do…?”049d4048caa4e227

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“So, like, if you go to Diana’s booth, there’s this really ugly, fat guy called Barellutte.”b0f7738e5f5e70f2

“His name’s Barellutte?”f1e3e7b11eeee644

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“No, it’s Barellotte!”923eaa31608f4e90

“Barell… lotte?”c77905b53c55c518

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“No! Barell! Lotte! Looootte!”1f5d71da2ca69874

“…”87a1ceb304ce0bfe

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It seemed like I 7634494e53 had a plan in aa44b7fe4a mind, and the gears 25d747a546 in my head started 7bb842e3e0 turning as I considered 5e220966bf how to turn this ce5aeebbc5 situation to my advantage.18a26fea4c0440d7