Published: August 3, 2025
I am Arnaud, the chief attendant to the high priest. I believe I am about 22 years old. It has been five years since Lady Marguerite, whom I served before becoming the high priest’s attendant, passed away, so I’m fairly certain I’m 22.
Yesterday, nobles from another place entered the temple, causing a huge uproar. The lord came and dismissed the head priest. All the attendants, including myself, were sent away during the discussions, so I had no idea what was going on until dawn broke.
“Arnaud, tell Myne’s attendant to deliver this to the Gilberta Trading Company. It’s urgent.”
“Yes, understood.”
I received the invitation from the high priest calling me early in the morning, almost right as the second bell after breakfast rang. The high priest, issuing invitations and moving about at such an hour, looked like he hadn’t slept.
“If anyone else asks about last night’s commotion, say that we will explain everything later.”
“Yes.”
Just before leaving the room, the high priest said that.
Yesterday, while the high priest was holed up in the workshop, Fran came by saying she wanted to talk to him. I was told to pretend the high priest was absent, but if I wanted, I could have contacted him in the workshop. I deliberately ignored it, and outside the door, all hell broke loose.
It could have been excused as inflexibility, but if Fran found out I deliberately ignored her, I wonder what expression she would make.
“Good morning, Fran.”
I approached Fran and Gil, who were drawing water from the well. It seems the shortage of hands at Lady Myne’s place is serious if even the chief attendant is busy with chores like this. Seeing the hardship after Delia’s departure, I couldn’t help but faintly smile.
Pouring the drawn water into the bucket Gil was holding, Fran looked at me with surprise. She has grown tall and sturdy enough now to disappoint even Lady Marguerite, but when I glance at her lightly like this, her delicate boyish image from the days she served Lady Marguerite comes vividly to mind.
“Good morning, Arnaud. What brings you here at this hour...?”
“I have a message from the high priest. He wants this invitation delivered to the Gilberta Trading Company immediately.”
Fran took the invitation I handed over and quickly passed it to Gil.
“Understood. Gil, change your clothes and take this…”
“Got it. I’ll go right away.”
Gil started hurrying toward the building with the invitation in one hand and the bucket of water in the other. Seeing that mischievous troublemaker work like a normal attendant is quite a strange sight.
“It must be tough with so few people.”
“They’re supposed to bring in more starting today, so hopefully it will be a bit easier.”
Since Delia left, it seems they plan to hire new attendants. I thought they deserved to struggle a bit longer, then turned my back to Fran.
“Well then, thank you.”
As I headed back to the room, Egmont, an azure priest who knew about the disturbance, spotted me and ran over.
“Arnaud, what on earth happened yesterday?! The head priest’s room was locked, there was no gray priest standing guard at the door, and no one seems to know anything. The head priest must know something!”
Egmont, who often showed a haughty attitude toward the high priest when around the head priest, shouted at me so close that I could almost feel his spit. Suppressing the urge to wipe my face, I replied exactly as the high priest told me.
“We’ll be given a full explanation later. Unfortunately, even I was sent away and don’t know the details.”
“If you say ‘don’t know the details,’ then you must know something! Come on, what happened!?”
“I don’t know the charges well, but the lord and the knights came, and it seems the head priest was arrested. What could have really happened?”
Tilting my head as I observed his reaction, Egmont turned deathly pale. His haughty attitude was only possible because the head priest was there. With him gone, the high priest will become the head priest. I wonder how Egmont’s position will change. I felt a sense of satisfaction and relief.