The Knights' Punishment and What Comes After

After Benno left, Daumel moved toward the empty seat. It was the lower seat, so I started to stand, thinking I should give it up, but the Chief Priest stopped me.

"Mine, stay where you are."

"But...?"

I glanced at Daumel, but he narrowed his gray eyes slightly, let a gentle smile surface, and sat down without hesitation. It would be strange to make him stand just so I could retake the seat, so I did as the Chief Priest said and settled back into my chair.

Once everyone had taken their seats, the Chief Priest looked over the assembled group.

"Then, Mine. I will now explain the punishment the Lord has handed down regarding the misconduct of the knights during the recent Trombe subjugation."

"Punishment, Your Grace?"

I knew that the knights assigned as guards would face some kind of penalty, but I hadn't particularly thought about wanting the details. As long as I wouldn't be dealing with them going forward, that was good enough.

As if reading my thoughts, the Chief Priest lowered his gaze.

"...You probably have no desire to know the specifics, and we debated whether to disclose noble affairs to you. However, this may be information you need going forward."

The Chief Priest let out a light breath and turned his eyes toward Karstedt and Daumel.

"During the Trombe subjugation, the knight assigned to guard duty harmed the Shrine Maiden Apprentice he was protecting and allowed the situation to deteriorate. The Lord was furious about this. First, Karstedt, as the Commander of the Knights, was ordered to intensify recruit training and will face a three-month pay reduction. He will also be responsible for one quarter of the cost of your ceremonial garments. As for Shikikoza..."

The Chief Priest explained in a detached tone.

Within the Knights' Order, disobeying orders and abandoning one's duties are serious offenses. If subordinates cannot follow commands, operations fall apart. Furthermore, the Lord ruled that harming the person one is assigned to protect is an unforgivable act for a knight.

"The sentence the Lord passed on Shikikoza was execution. The crime would have extended to his entire family, but considering that would only deepen the resentment and anger directed at you, the Lord gave Shikikoza's father two choices: either have the entire family bear Shikikoza's crime, or swear an oath to have no further contact with you and pay a fine. If he swore the oath and paid the fine, no blame would fall on the rest of the family, and Shikikoza would be treated as having died in the line of duty, preserving his honor..."

I swallowed hard. I had heard that punishment would be handed down by the Lord, but I never imagined it would go as far as execution. Even considering that Shikikoza was a noble and I was a commoner, I had assumed it would amount to a light penalty.

"Shikikoza's father paid the money and swore an oath that he would have nothing more to do with you. The amount he paid was half the cost of your ceremonial garments. Shikikoza's death was officially recorded as having occurred during a Knights' Order mission."

Realizing that the execution had already been carried out, I instinctively looked at Daumel. The fact that he was sitting here meant he had escaped execution, but perhaps he had received a severe punishment nonetheless.

The Chief Priest noticed that my attention had shifted to Daumel and likewise turned his gaze in that direction.

"Daumel will bear one quarter of the cost of your ceremonial garments, and will be demoted to the rank of apprentice for one year. The reason his punishment differs from Shikikoza's is that you spoke on his behalf."

"I did?"

I had no memory of making any special appeal on his behalf.

Daumel's face brightened with a pleased expression as I tilted my head in confusion.

"Lord Ferdinand told me that the Shrine Maiden Apprentice had defended me. That you had been kind to him, tried to help, and even spoken words of warning to Shikikoza. Thanks to that, I was not treated as an accomplice to Shikikoza and was spared a harsher punishment."

He had finally reached adulthood and earned his place as a full knight, only to be demoted back to apprentice rank. But compared to Shikikoza, who had been executed, it was an incredibly lenient sentence.

"My family is low even among the lower nobility, and we've had no choice but to swallow the injustice of the status difference. Until now, virtually no one has ever come to our aid. So when I learned that you had asked Lord Ferdinand to reduce my sentence, I was truly happy."

I felt he was perhaps making too much of it, but in a society where such unfairness was allowed to run rampant, being called a noble while stuck in the lower ranks must be a miserable existence.

"And so, Daumel has been assigned to serve as your guard during his one-year apprenticeship period."

"Huh?"

"Your life is truly in danger, Mine."

The Chief Priest narrowed his eyes and fixed me with a steady gaze. "Let me explain it in a way even you, with your lack of caution, can understand," he said, turning to Karstedt.

Karstedt, noticing the Chief Priest's gaze, nodded slowly and looked me straight in the eye. His pale blue eyes had turned slightly stern.

"Among the higher nobility, the perception has spread that the Shrine Maiden Apprentice has value to be exploited. The fact that a commoner was granted the Blue Robe, accompanied the Knights' Order, and carried out her mission splendidly—this, combined with the Lord's approval in granting the Blue Robe, is what's driving this interest."

The Knights' Order was composed of nobles. If they looked down on me as a commoner and their treatment of me brought harm to their own families—as had happened with Shikikoza—they needed to stop it. If they conveyed to others what they had seen with their own eyes regarding my Magic Power and the Chief Priest's words, then it was only natural for nobles to consider whether they might be able to use me to their advantage.

"Although you are a Self-Eating commoner with no contract, it has also come to light that you are under Lord Ferdinand's protection. A certain number of nobles will likely approach you with the intention of using you for their own convenience."

The Chief Priest continued, picking up where Karstedt left off.

"Should a faction hostile to me use Wolf to make a move, they might kidnap you and sell you to the lord of a rival territory, or even claim that you were actually their own child. ...If they claimed you as their own child, your original family would become an inconvenience. They would likely be silenced."

The Chief Priest's grim prediction made me catch my breath. The thought of my family being dragged into danger sent a chill down my spine. I gripped my hands tightly in my lap, but I couldn't stop the small tremors.

Daumel then offered his perspective as a lower noble, explaining how nobles viewed me.

"Among the lower nobility, contempt for the Shrine Maiden Apprentice remains strong. They don't want to acknowledge that a commoner Self-Eating has such enormous Magic Power. In fact, even I didn't believe a commoner Self-Eating could possess that much power until I saw it with my own eyes."

Among the lower nobility, rather than scheming to use me, envy, jealousy, and resentment seemed to take priority. And, as Daumel pointed out, the most dangerous adversaries were those who held personal grudges.

"Shikikoza's father and his heir prioritize protecting the family above all else, but his mother is not the same."

Daumel lowered his eyes, looking pained.

"My child, who had to be entrusted to the Temple due to low Magic Power and financial difficulties, has finally returned thanks to the political upheaval in the capital—she was overjoyed about that, I hear. ...She harbors deep resentment toward the Shrine Maiden Apprentice."

A shiver ran through me. I could well understand the anger and hatred one would feel at losing a family member. If I lost my family, I couldn't even imagine how much rage I would direct at the person responsible. And that very resentment was now aimed at me.

"...A noble dangerous enough to resort to assassination."

At the Chief Priest's words, I clenched my fists on my lap. If the anger and resentment were directed at me alone, I wouldn't care. What frightened me was that it might be directed at the people around me.

"If she actually went through with harming the Shrine Maiden Apprentice, she would bring down the entire family with her. But when it comes to a woman's emotions, there is no way to predict what they might lead to."

"Even taking the family down with her—if she's determined to vent her grudge, that could be more serious than we can imagine..."

Karstedt furrowed his brow. The thinking of a noble was apparently that having a family to anchor you would prevent you from doing anything too reckless.

"I knew Shikikoza's mother was like that, but I didn't think Wolf of the Ink Association was that dangerous a person."

Coming to the Noble District to sell ink was exactly what Wolf would do. Since nobles were the ones purchasing and using the most ink, his name was somewhat known among them. However, none of the nobles gathered here had imagined he was someone rumored to be willing to dirty his hands with criminal dealings to build connections with nobles.

"I had intended to raise you as a Blue Shrine Maiden Apprentice and eventually arrange a match with a noble, but it seems best to change those plans."

"Huh?"

...Arrange a match with a noble? They hadn't even asked for my consent, let alone proposed it!

I couldn't immediately process the Chief Priest's words and tilted my head. Please stop deciding my life's plans without asking me. Marriage especially was a matter of the utmost importance. If the Chief Priest decided it by virtue of his authority, wouldn't it be cruel to whatever poor soul I was matched with?

"I don't recall agreeing to any such plan?"

"Even if you have no intention of entering into a contract with a noble, I told you that you would eventually bear a noble's child. I intended to have you educated, accumulate experience as a priestess, and find you the best match possible—but the situation has changed."

When we had been discussing whether to make Rosina my Attendant, I had received a similar observation. It seemed the Chief Priest had been planning to serve as my matchmaker. How much did this man enjoy taking on other people's troubles?

Overwhelmed to the point of admiration at the Chief Priest's overwhelming sense of responsibility and earnest personality, I watched as he narrowed his eyes and turned to Karstedt.

"Mine, there is a high likelihood that both you and those around you will be caught up in danger. We must make you an adopted daughter of the nobility as soon as possible."

Becoming a noble's adopted daughter as soon as possible meant severing ties with my family and living with strangers as my family in the Noble District.

...Separate from my family again?

A tremor rippled through the depths of my chest. During the long days spent shut away in the Temple, anxiety had been building that my bond with my family was growing thin. Now all of that swelled up at once.

"If you were to become Karstedt's adopted daughter, you would be somewhat protected. I can vouch for his character. Would you take her in, Karstedt?"

"If it is Lord Ferdinand's request, I would be happy to."

While I sat there in a daze, the conversation was already racing forward.

Karstedt leaned in slightly to peer down at me. A reassuring figure with kind, narrowed eyes—he was a higher noble. Given the deep trust the Chief Priest placed in him, I couldn't imagine a better adoption arrangement.

"Mine, will you become my adopted daughter?"

"No."

I rejected that wonderful offer in an instant.

Everyone around me stared wide-eyed, as if they couldn't believe what they had just heard.

"Shrine Maiden Apprentice, do you have any idea how rare an opportunity this is!? How could you turn down Lord Ferdinand and Lord Karstedt's generous kindness!?"

"Daumel, calm down. Mine, what do you mean, 'no'?"

I could hear anger in the Chief Priest's quiet voice. Even so, I couldn't agree.

"I can't. Even now, stuck in the Temple for the winter, I'm lonely and emotionally unstable enough as it is. Separating from my family is out of the question. Absolutely not."

As I shook my head back and forth, I felt the surging emotions stir my Magic Power as well. Along with my rising feelings, Magic Power welled up from the depths of my being.

"I want to go home! I won't leave my family—not ever!"

"Mine, calm yourself!"

The Chief Priest rose to his feet with a clatter and pressed a transparent stone about the size of a thumb against my forehead. In an instant, the stone changed to a pale yellow.

The Chief Priest glanced at the rapidly changed magic stone, and his face drained of color.

"Karstedt, Daumel—do you have any empty magic stones!?"

"Y-yes!"

Karstedt and Daumel frantically produced magic stones. The Chief Priest grabbed them, hoisted me up, and strode toward the hidden room.

"To minimize the damage, we'll shelter in the workshop!"

He pushed aside the curtains draping from the canopy and entered the hidden room.

Once inside, the Chief Priest sat on the long bench, had me stand in front of him, and pressed magic stones against my forehead one after another, just as before. I could feel the stones changing color and my wavering Magic Power being steadily drained away.

"You've accumulated far too much Magic Power, you fool."

"...Lately, I've been shut up in my room and haven't been making any offerings, so..."

Along with the Magic Power, it felt as if my emotions were being drawn out as well. I wiped the tears gathering at the corners of my eyes and let out a long breath. Even so, the heat churning inside me hadn't completely subsided, and I didn't have the strength to push it back down.

"Even so, you've become remarkably unstable emotionally. Did something happen?"

The magical tool the Chief Priest had used had made me recall with painful clarity a time I could never return to. Seeing my mother from the Reina days had made me keenly aware of the family I had lost. I had been so busy with life here that I'd tried not to think about them, but those memories had been dug up, leaving a hollow ache in my heart.

I had resolved to cherish my family, to be a good daughter, so I would never lose them again. And yet, right at that moment, I had been sent to the Temple. Before I could fill the hole in my heart, I had been separated from my family, and I still couldn't fill that sense of loss.

"It's the Chief Priest's fault. For digging up my memories..."

"...Is that so."

The Chief Priest winced slightly and averted his gaze. I remembered that he hadn't used the magical tool because he wanted to—he had been caught up in my emotions too—and I bit my lip at my own thoughtlessness.

"I'm sorry. I was lashing out. The Chief Priest had to do that to confirm how dangerous I am, and it saved me, so I have no right to complain. I know that."

I grabbed the sleeve of the Chief Priest as he pressed magic stones against my forehead one after another.

"...When I thought about family I could never see again, I felt so strongly that I absolutely didn't want to be separated from the family I have now. But I have to stay in the Temple by myself, and it's unbearably lonely. And then, if I started thinking that I might never see them again, I just..."

As I poured out my feelings, my chest began to ache and tears welled up. Through my wavering vision, I saw the Chief Priest's face twisted with distress.

"Mine, control yourself!"

"If I become a noble's adopted daughter, I'll never see my family again!"

"Mine!"

The Chief Priest raised his voice sharply, grabbed my arm, and pulled me close. I was enveloped in the loose drape of his long sleeve as he embraced me.

Not knowing what was happening, I blinked and looked up at the Chief Priest, meeting his deeply reluctant gaze.

"Would a hug like this help you calm down a little?"

"...Yes."

It was the exact opposite of what he'd done with the magical tool. The word "hug" from the Chief Priest's mouth was oddly endearing, and I let out a small smile.

The standing embrace was uncomfortable, so I hoisted myself with a little effort onto the Chief Priest's lap, searching for a more settled position.

"...Aren't you already calm?"

"Not yet."

Unlike when I hugged Lutz or Turi, having the Chief Priest as my partner meant his arms couldn't reach around my back. Like my father would, I straddled the Chief Priest's thigh and leaned against his chest.

"This is fine. Please hug me."

"I find this entirely unacceptable."

He said it with a grim expression, but the Chief Priest neither pushed me away nor stopped me, allowing me to do as I pleased.

When he judged that I had truly calmed down, the Chief Priest let out a sigh of exasperation, muttering, "Honestly, you..." Then, as if spelling it out for a child who refused to listen, he began to explain why I had to become a noble's adopted daughter.

"Unlike a ordinary Self-Eating, your Magic Power is far too vast."

"...Is my Magic Power really that much?"

From the Knights' Order's reactions during the healing ceremony, I had guessed it was on the higher side, but I hadn't thought it was so much that it could be called "too vast."

The Chief Priest set his expression firm and looked down at me.

"Even entering into a contract, ordinary nobles wouldn't be able to handle it. Going forward, your Magic Power will only increase as you grow. You must learn techniques to control and use such immense power for productive purposes."

To do that, he explained, I needed to become a noble's adopted daughter, attend the Noble Academy, and study magic. Once contracted, that noble would need to prepare magical tools that could absorb my Magic Power without endangering anyone nearby. However, there were apparently no nobles in the area who possessed magical tools requiring such immense power.

"Your Magic Power is not something an individual noble can possess. It must be used for the territory—for the country."

"...I don't really understand."

I had been told that nobles extracted Magic Power from Self-Eating, and that Self-Eating entered into contracts with nobles to survive. Being given such a grand explanation, I couldn't relate to it at all, and it didn't feel like it had anything to do with me.

"Mine, realize this. Just letting your emotions run wild is enough to put those around you in danger. If you cannot even control your emotions, you could drag your precious family into harm."

"...If—if I have my family, I'm fine. If I weren't lonely, I wouldn't be this unstable."

It was because I didn't have them that it wasn't okay. If I were with my family, I could live in peace.

"So please don't separate me from them."

At my words, the Chief Priest knitted his brow and shut his eyes tightly. Seeing him in apparent pain from a headache, I felt a small pang of guilt. I knew I was being unreasonable, but I became unstable without my family. Even my own heart wouldn't cooperate.

"...You're ten."

A low murmur suddenly specified an age. I tilted my head, and the Chief Priest let out a resigned sigh.

"The age at which you must attend the Noble Academy is ten. Until then, you may continue to rely on your family as you have been. However..."

The Chief Priest's expression hardened as he drew an unyielding line.

"After that, your opinions will no longer be heard. If you are judged to be dangerous and harmful, you will be punished. Your family along with you. Remember that."

"...Yes."

It seemed that becoming a noble's adopted daughter at the age of ten was already a decided matter in the Chief Priest's mind.

I quietly pressed a hand to my chest at the thought of a countdown imposed on the time I had left with my family.