Our carriage stopped in front of the main gate of the Great Temple of Divinum. We had to walk from here so we had to get off our carriage. Not long after, the Holy Knights guarding the main gate approached and asked us to be disarmed.
The Great Temple of Divinum was the first temple that Saint Prosia and the Seven Saintesses had built in the world. In other words, it was the holiest temple in the world. Except for the Holy Troops guarding the place, nobody could be armed when entering. Otherwise, it would be considered as sacrilege.
“Oh, Lord Hubeo. Please come in.”
As the Holy Knight guided Hubeo into the Great Temple of Divinum, I followed them as well.
The Holy Knight gave me a sidelong scowl.
“A low-class person is not allowed to enter.”
“I am not a low-class person. I’ve also made my reservation.”
“Who are you?”
“I am Yan Sergio Carl. And I am the eldest son of Carl’s family.”
Being surprised, the Holy Knight checked my appearance. I looked even shabbier than a low-class person. So, he couldn’t believe that I was the eldest son of Carl’s family.
“Is it tr… true, sir?”
The Holy Knight looked at Hubeo distrustfully. And Hubeo nodded his head back and forth.
“Yes. I can guarantee you.”
“Oh, I understand. If you say so, it must be true sir.”
With a triumphant face, I went inside the temple.
It was a perfect decision for me to wait for Hubeo. When I ran away from my home, I took only my ceremonial robe. I didn’t even take my identification card. But luckily, thanks to my friend Hubeo, everything was solved at one stroke. Good friends are always valuable.
‘It is still very huge.’
The Great Temple of Divinum was enormous. I could see numerous number of fancy buildings. And the distances between those buildings were very far so it covered a very extensive area. What a waste of land and space.
Although the Great Temple of Divinum was the holiest temple in the world, how could they build all these buildings here? Of course, the priests would surely love these fancy buildings but laborers would definitely have gone through a lot of hardship. But with money, nothing was impossible. The richest groups in the world were the Churches. Every week, they received money for offering from the whole continent, and also they were earning a tremendous amount of income from their business such as the Hall of Divinity.
“Please enter this way.”
The building which the Holy Knight guided to us was an office where they handled tasks for pilgrims to the Great Temple of Divinum. Unlike other offices, this office only handled tasks for high-rank aristocrats who believed the religions of Light. Thus, it was not busy at all.
Hubeo and I entered inside together.
“Welcome. Please come over here.”
A mid-age priest, who was doing his office work, looked at me when I took my seat. Then, He tilted his head to one side. He certainly thought my clothes weird.
“Who are you sir?”
“I am Yan Sergio Carl. You know me, right?”
As the Holy Knight who’s following me nodded his head, the mid-age priest wreathed in smiles.
“Oh! You are the Grand Prince Carl, your highness!”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
At that moment, mana distortion occurred in the building. It seemed that the mid-age priest turned on a magical beeper. I got a little bit nervous but nothing really happened so I let it roll off my back. When there’s a valuable guest, a special treatment should be done. They probably tried to call a priest who would personally guide me for my convenience.
The mid-age priest went over documents.
“Oh well… Your reservation has been canceled, your highness.”
It was something I already expected. So I checked my pockets but soon I balked. Actually, the pocket in which I put my money was in the baggage that Shura took.
“I don’t have enough money right now. Can you do it on credit?”
“Money for the offering is not an issue, your highness. The Great Duke Carl didn’t refund his money.”
My father would never ask for a refund from the temple because it would hurt his pride. Also, the temple would never refund money received for the offering.
“Oh really? That’s great.”
“I guess you should wait for a moment, your highness. To be registered again on the ceremony attendance list, many different kinds of documents should be processed.”
“I don’t have much time.”
“It will only take a minute, your highness.”
He actually lied to me. And it really took only a minute for me to find it out. Once he finished his sentence, a group of armed Holy Knights rushed into the office simultaneously.
Hubeo got scared, quickly stood up, and stepped back to the wall. I scratched the bridge of my nose and stared at the mid-age priest.
“Hey, what’s happening right now?”
Not long after, a man with blond hair came into the office with a group of knights. He had a sword too. He was Count Myer and the knights were from the Great Duke Carl’s Territory. I thought I completely got away from them but I was wrong. They set up their camp here as well.
“Great Prince, your highness. It’s time to go back.”
Count Myer stared at me with an odd mix of emotions. He couldn’t believe the fact that a despised Grand Prince like me was able to arrive at the Great Temple of Divinum, avoiding the search network of the whole Imperial Army and the Great Duke Carl’s troops. But it was more surprising for me to see that Count Myer, still holding his sword, actually came into the Great Temple of Divinum which was the holiest temple in the world.
I seethed with anger and grabbed the priest in front of me by his collar. I thought I could accomplish my goal now since I already came this far. I could’ve never imagined that Count Myer would show up at this place.
“Wow~ you’re killing me right now. Hey, here is the Great Temple of Divinum which is mankind’s greatest temple. Why do you guys get involved in our family matter? And why is Count Myer with his sword at this place?”
“Great Prince, your highness. Technically speaking, this place is not a part of the Great Temple of Divinum. Once you go through the door over there, you are in the Great Temple of Divinum.”
The priest pointed towards a small wicket gate that led outside. It was the door out to the Road of Repentance. I was so dumbfounded and shook his collar very hard.
“Then, what was the door I just walked through? And what place is here? Perhaps a doghole and a doghouse?”
“Great Prince! Watch your language!”
Feeling insulted, the mid-age priest yelled in an angry voice. Then, I grabbed him by the collar and kept shaking it.
“Hey! Watch my language?! How much money did you receive from them? Or did they promise you to grant some kind of rights or interests in the Yosrahim Empire?”
“Great Prince!”
“Oh, I see. With money and power, you can do anything, right? Well, maybe I could even have sex with the Pope. Sounds great~.”
“Great Prince! That’s a sacrilege!”
I chuckled.
To be honest, I didn’t hate people who worshipped divinity. And I didn’t hate the most corrupt people as well. But I really hated corrupt people who forced other people instead to worship divinity.
“Divinity? Oh, I also know it very well. It’s just worth half a penny, isn’t it? And I don’t give a shit about it at all.”
“He’s a heretic!”
The Holy Knights drew their swords simultaneously. Once I violated the sanctity, it seemed that I crossed the line which I shouldn’t have.
As the situation was getting serious, Count Myer interfered in a hurry.
“Great Prince, your highness. Please stop.”
I threw the mid-age priest away and looked back at Count Myer.
“Count Myer, please just leave for now. I have quite an urgent matter that I need to take care of right here.”
“I can’t just leave, your highness. I got a strict command from the Emperor and the Great Duke to bring you back as soon as I find you.”
“It would only take a few hours, your highness.”
Count Myer shook his head cold-heartedly.
“The current situation is not so great. Because you ran away, there’s some kind of crack in the relationship between the Yosrahim Imperial Family and the Great Duke Carl’s family. Don’t you know this as well, your highness? What your lineage means.”
I also knew what my lineage meant. That’s why I pledged that I would never return home when I ran away. So, I made my concession until now. Actually seventy years ago, the Great Duke Carl’s family surrendered to the Great Duke Cloud’s army. Until then, Carl’s family was the royal family of the Carl Kingdom which was one of the mainstays of the Power of Darkness. Therefore, many noble families from the Carl Kingdom missed those days and secretly pursued their independence.
Unsurprisingly, the Yosrahim Imperial Family was very sensitive about this issue as well. There’s one viable option though. It was me. I was an unquestionable member of the Yosrahim Imperial family and at the same time, I was also the heir of the Great Duke Carl’s family. If I became the Great Duke, those who were eager for the independence of the Carl Kingdom would lose their pivotal figure.
“Oh, I see. It’s because of politics again?”
“Politics is also a part of reality.”
I gently bit my lips.
“Just leave, Count Myer. I have nothing to do with you.”
“Great Prince, your highness. I explained to you very thoroughly. I thought it was duly noted.”
“Whatever. Just leave. My father and uncle can take care of what has happened until now. But they can’t take care of what I am going to do from now on.”
Once I made a serious face, Count Myer drew his sword.
“I will stop you, your highness.”
“Haha, do you think you can stop me with those little punk knights?”
“That’s why I came too, your highness.”
“Oh, other people can’t stop me but you can stop me? I’ve met many people like you before. They can’t even take care of their business and actually they let a bunch of their poor subordinates die due to their stubbornness.”
“Great Prince, your highness!”
I just ignored Count Myer and looked around the Holy Knights who were standing and making horrible faces.
“Hey, you guys. Don’t worship divinity too much. It looks very hallowed and fancy right now. But soon, you guys will curse that divinity. Once that day comes, I bet you guys will rip out the mouth of a person who talks about divinity.”
“You heretic bastard! Shut your mouth!
One of the Holy Knights lost his temper and rushed towards me. He was holding a sword in his hand so I grabbed and twisted his hand. Then I yanked his hair and rammed his head down on a table.
The table broke with a crushing sound. The Holy Knight got blacked out and fell on the ground. So, I took his sword and cut off an arm of another Holy Knight who was drawing a sword against me.
Blood was scattering all over the places and the mid-age priest, stuck in the corner, spat out curses at me.
“How dare you cause bloodshed in the holy Great Temple of Divinum… Great Prince, you will be cursed by God!”
“What the f***! I’ve just heard that this place is not a part of the Great Temple of Divinum!”
“Great Prince, your highness!”
At the same time, Count Myer and his knights rushed to me with one accord. Then I launched myself towards the wicket gate leading to the Road of Repentance. With a crunch sound, the wicket gate was broken and I could see the Road of Repentance behind the gate. The Road of Repentance surrounded by a high wall. The Holy Soldiers guarding the gate quickly pointed blades of their spears against me. So, I stood up right away and just kept running forward.
“It’s an intruder!”
From every direction, I could hear them shouting to notify others about an intruder. And it seemed like Magic Alert turned on because all the warning lights in the Great Temple of Divinum were turned on at once.
Just at that moment, one Holy Soldier was passing by the Road of Repentance so I beat him down and stole his spear. Using the spear as a prop, I did a pole jump and flew over the wall around the Road of Repentance.
“Great Prince, your highness!”
Over the wall, I could hear Count Myer’s desperate cry. I just made such a huge trouble in the Great Temple of Divinum which was mankind’s biggest Holy Land so he must be disconcerted for sure.
However, I could not give up on Yojo. I could give up my life or anything but Yojo which was my sole partner in my life. And I just realized this fact again from my conversation with Count Myer. Without Yojo, I become all alone.