I, reincarnate as the leader of the villainous knight order

Chapter 123: Events in the Holy Kingdom 2 [SIDE Eleanor]

By the time we arrived at the main temple in the Holy Capital, the atmosphere inside the carriage had now turned into that of a women’s sanctuary. It was filled with a peculiar sense of camaraderie. Alma and Ines, the apprentice priests, are just a little over twenty years old. They are not much older than me. I was delighted when they started calling me Eleanor-sama instead of Saint-sama.

When the carriage stopped in front of the grand temple, it was not Vice Commander Orel who escorted me out. It was Captain Axel. I guess he deferred to Axel because we were on the temple grounds. Such attentiveness showed his maturity, and I found it quite impressive.

“Welcome to the Holy Kingdom, Saint-sama. I wished to come out and greet you myself, but this old body can’t handle long journeys… We are truly honored by your visit.”

The person who said this was an elderly man dressed in more luxurious robes than the head priest of the Grand Temple. His eyebrows and beard were long and completely white. It looked like it would be hard for him to eat with all that facial hair—shaving it off would probably make things much easier for him.

“This is François-sama, the head of this main temple. At seventy-four years old, he is the oldest head priest in history,” explained Fernan, the high-ranking priest who had accompanied us on our journey, with a smile.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Eleanor.”

I quickly remembered that when addressing temple officials, you’re supposed to cover your navel with your right hand and bow from the waist. I glanced at Alma and Ines, who watched over me with smiles that seemed to say, “Well done.” If Jeanne and Vice Commander Orel hadn’t suggested that these two ride with us, we probably wouldn’t have become so close.

“You must be tired from your long journey. Let us escort you to your room at once…” said the temple head, raising his hand as a female priest (not an apprentice) stepped forward.

I suddenly felt a pang of sadness, wondering if this meant I would be parting ways with Alma and Ines just after we had grown close. But before I could dwell on it, Jeanne stepped forward. She positioned herself protectively in front of me.

“Hold on. Do Alma and Ines not know their way around this temple? We spent the journey together, so if they are not too tired, I would like them to continue looking after Eleanor. Also, I do not intend to stay in this country for long, so Eleanor and I will require a two-person guest room.”

“You must be… the dragon mentioned in the reports?”

The head priest addressed Jeanne, though it was clear to me that he was quite nervous.

“Indeed, I am Jeanne the Dragon. Let me make one thing clear… If the Holy Kingdom detains the Saint, it will result in delays to the subjugation of the Evil God and subsequent harm. If that were to happen, do you understand the kind of blame that will fall upon your country?”

“…! N-no, of course not. Our only intent was to present the Saint with a sacred jewel that has been passed down in this temple for generations, which amplifies her power. We merely wanted to ensure that this was done discreetly by having her come directly here. The Holy Kingdom offers many ways to support the Saint’s powers.”

Is that really true? We had plenty of time to discuss this in the carriage on the way here. Perhaps the priests who accompanied us weren’t informed either.

“Hmph, to support the Saint’s power, you say? Tell me, which of us—your human priests or I, a dragon—do you think is closer to the gods? Who do you think can better aid her? If all you needed to do was hand over that jewel, I could have flown Eleanor here myself.”

Jeanne’s triumphant smile made her look incredibly reliable and impressive.

“Then we shall prepare a room for the two of you. Alma, Ines, you two will continue to attend to the Saint.”

“Yes,” they responded in unison.

In the end, we rested in the room that had already been prepared for me until we were summoned to move to the two-person room. There was a bit of a commotion over whether Vice Commander Orel and the others should stay in the room next door, but I happened to witness something.

One of the priests argued that it was inappropriate for male knights to stay next to the Saint’s room. In response, Vice Commander Orel cornered the priest against the wall, trapping him with both hands so he couldn’t escape. He then leaned in close to his ear and spoke in a low, rough voice.

“We are here under royal orders to protect the Saint. As long as the Saint remains a citizen of the Kingdom of Rafios, it’s only natural that we prioritize the king’s orders over the words of this temple. Or are you saying you want us to defy the king’s orders and die for it? Do you have the authority to make that call?”

I had just been sneaking a peek down the hallway when I saw this, and I couldn’t help but feel my heart race at the sight of a completely different side of the usually gentle Vice Commander Orel.

When Alma and Ines noticed I had frozen in place, they crouched down to peek with me. They were giggling excitedly at what they saw.

Because of that, Vice Commander Orel realized I had been watching.

“How embarrassing… You were watching? Guys like that aren’t used to rough language, so copying my subordinates is the most effective way to shut them up.”

He said this with a shy smile after the priest had left. For some reason, my heart started pounding even louder than before.

“My, my, it seems Eleanor’s heart is quite noisy. Could it be that you’ve fallen in love with someone? Hohoho.”

Jeanne started teasing and my cheeks instantly grew hot.