Volume 5 Chapter 43 Edgar And The Others Aren't Breathing？ It's Okay, Their Stage Is Still Ahead... Probably
It's okay, their stage is still ahead... probably.
While Livia was heading to the academy, Randy, led by Annabelle, had arrived at the square in front of the Cathedral.
As usual, the area in front of the Cathedral was crowded with many believers and ordinary people, but Randy felt a tense atmosphere.
Of course, the cause of the tension was the unusually high number of Church Knights and the dark side keeping watch around the Cathedral.
Looking around, he noticed a significant number of dark side members guarding the Cathedral.
(Could there have been some kind of attack here that Annabelle doesn't know about?)
The security was so tight that it made him think that way.
"Lady Annabelle, the security from the Church Knights seems stricter than usual,"
Randy asked Annabelle, who was walking beside him. She looked around nervously and replied, "Y-You're right...
"Oh, speaking of which..."
Annabelle clapped her hands as if remembering something and began to tell him that she had heard from her father, Archbishop Ridley, that Church officials from the Empire were visiting.
According to Annabelle, one of the Cardinals involved in the kingdom's overthrow was coordinating with the Empire, and currently, the Empire's top leaders were also absent.
Even the Church as a whole was without a Pope, and the Cardinals who were supposed to take over had all been captured.
It wasn't unusual for Church officials from various countries to come to meet Archbishop Ridley.
"Wow. Is this the kind of security they always have during times like this?"
Randy tilted his head, asking not just about the Church Knights but also about the dark side.
However, Annabelle was unaware of the dark side's presence...
"Ah, yes. It was roughly like this, I suppose──"
Annabelle only responded with details about the Church Knights' deployment.
It was a slight misunderstanding, but in Randy's mind, even if they were Church affiliates, they were still foreign guests.
He found himself oddly convinced by that reasoning.
And so, as Randy followed Annabelle and stepped through the Cathedral doors, it happened.
The air grew tense for just a moment.
It was as if a fight to the death was about to break out.
Only for a split second, but in that instant, Randy understood it was a warning from *them*.
(This ain't gonna be simple.)
With a bitter smile, Randy sensed countless presences inside the Cathedral.
Because of the many believers inside and the dark side lurking outside, he hadn't noticed their presence before.
But now, he could feel it all too clearly.
The Cathedral was on full alert.
Not only were there Church Knights against the dark side, but there was also a third force──powerful individuals who didn't appear to be part of the dark side.
Randy judged they weren't part of the dark side because they seemed more like they were keeping each other in check rather than cooperating.
The tension was so thick, it felt like a battle was about to break out at any moment, and even the Church Knights seemed unusually on edge.
"Ah, about Father. The Archbishop is──"
Annabelle, chatting with an acquaintance, still hadn't noticed the atmosphere.
"R-really?" she continued talking with the male priest, who seemed to be an acquaintance.
It was no wonder Annabelle didn't notice.
The ones creating this tense air were professionals, after all, and they were careful not to let ordinary believers like Annabelle sense it.
But even with their control, someone like Randy could tell.
Especially when some of those wary gazes were directed straight at him.
(This reeks of trouble. And a massive one at that.)
Randy furrowed his brows, but from the perspective of the Kingdom's dark side, who were eyeing him with suspicion, it was a case of "Look who's talking."
After all, to the dark side, Randy was nothing but a person of high concern.
And here he was, showing up at this place at this very moment.
From the dark side's point of view, they probably envied the Church Knights and the other faction, who seemed blissfully unaware.
That said, there was no hint of them seeking cooperation from either of those 2 groups.
(I see. Maybe I should reschedule.)
Without a doubt, someone important was here.
And it was someone so significant that even the dark side had no choice but to allow their escort into the royal capital.
This was definitely no ordinary Church official.
Sensing nothing but trouble in the air, Randy called out to Annabelle, who had just finished her conversation.
"Lady Annabelle──"
"Ah, Sir Randolph, I'm sorry. It seems we still have guests..."
"That's fine."
In fact, it was convenient, Randy thought, suppressing the urge to speak up... He also remembered he had business to attend to, so he decided to let it go.
Before he could say anything else, the door at the far end of the chapel opened, and a group of men and women walked in.
Among the two men walking in the center, one was Annabelle's father, Bishop Ridley, the current interim head of the Church.
But the other man was someone Randy had never seen before.
He wore the robes of a clergyman, with a hood pulled low over his face, but the air of nobility around him was unmistakable.
The men and women around him, also hooded, were clearly casting wary glances around them.
Randy wanted to say, "Your bodyguards are way too obvious," but the believers around them didn't seem to notice.
(So that's the source of all this trouble...)
Randy sighed as he observed the man, though he had no intention of willingly getting involved in any mess. If the trouble was going to leave on its own, he'd just wait quietly.
So Randy and Annabelle stepped aside to let them pass.
As he moved to the side, Randy kept his head down, avoiding eye contact with the man.
He was determined to stay silent and let the trouble pass by without incident.
But it seemed the trouble wasn't going to leave Randy alone.
Randy, staring downward at an angle, felt the man's gaze shift toward him.
Of course, Randy could feel the stare right around his forehead.
However, he wasn't about to back down.
As he stared down, likely hoping the gaze was directed elsewhere, he whispered to Annabelle beside him, "Hey, do you think someone's watching me?"
"Oh, yes. The person next to Father is looking at Sir Randolph," Annabelle replied.
It seemed it wasn't a mistake—this time, the man's gaze was indeed fixed on Randy.
Randy barely lifted his eyes, catching sight of the man whispering something to Archbishop Ridley beside him.
'That's right.'
From the slight movement of Ridley's lips and his nod, Randy could tell the man was affirming something.
Then the man whispered again.
'Is that alright?'
Watching the movement of Ridley's lips, Randy muttered bitterly to himself, "Not alright at all."
Annabelle tilted her head, asking, "Wh-what's going on?" but Randy lowered his gaze again, avoiding the returning stare.
The man had clearly shown an interest in Randy, and the people around them—both men and women—seemed to be growing noticeably flustered.
"Lady Annabelle... I have a bad feeling about this. Do you mind if we leave?"
"H-huh? Leave? What do you mean by trouble...?"
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