MPBAGS Chapter 86

As they headed to where Bishop Marik was staying, the assistants following her greeted Gabriel.

"Sir Gabriel. The Bishop has been waiting for you. Please come inside."

"Did she not call for Sir Michel?"

When Gabriel asked with a slight frown, the priest lowered his eyes at the intimidating air. When the priest stammered and couldn't make any excuse, another man beside him answered with flattery.

"There seems to have been a misunderstanding. She did summon Sir Michel, but that was for the post-incident audit. That's something we have to do, not the Bishop."

Michel realized that the situation was taking a strange turn and watched Gabriel's expression. What a truly remarkable subordinate he was, dragging down his respected superior's feet, just as Raphaela had said.

"Haha. The Knight Commander knows that post-incident audits are ceremonially mandatory."

"That's right."

The priest who had been frightened now regained his momentum and chimed in.

It seemed a month had already passed since Nofedi's painting was burned. As the priest said, serious incidents were usually subjected to post-incident audits after a month's interval. It was Gabriel's mistake for not recognizing the purpose of Bishop Marik's summons due to his dulled sense of time.

Bishop Marik calling Michel was bait.

When Bishop Marik had summoned Gabriel, he had delayed the meeting with all sorts of excuses, so she had used an appeasement tactic. That's probably why she didn't reveal the reason for summoning Michel. If she had said it was a post-incident audit, Gabriel obviously wouldn't have accompanied him.

And by using this method, she could also avoid criticism for summoning Gabriel without justification.

"Since you came together, how about having a conversation with the Bishop until Sir Michel's investigation is finished?"

"It's late at night, so I cannot commit such discourtesy."

"Discourtesy? It's my goodwill. Don't you have something you want to hear from me too, Knight Commander?"

When Gabriel refused, another voice interrupted. Hearing the commotion outside, Bishop Marik herself had come out. She was wearing a veil today as well.

"Don't you have time to sit and chat over a cup of tea with me? I always have tea before bedtime. It's tea that's very helpful for relieving fatigue and getting a good night's sleep. The busy Knight Commander also looks like he needs sleep, and the tea will help."

It was a very gentle coercion. The priests beside her looked at Gabriel with great envy, as if he would have the honor of sharing refreshments with the Bishop. Gabriel finally couldn't overcome the persistent invitation and reluctantly agreed.

"Thank you for your kindness. I've been quite fatigued lately."

Gabriel exchanged glances with Michel as they parted. He had explained before how much to reveal to outsiders, so Michel wouldn't have forgotten.

Raphaela said Michel's brain had gone bad, but in Gabriel's view, his object of blind faith had simply shifted from God Rahel to Evangeline. As could be seen from their recent conversation, Michel was quite composed. So he would never utter anything harmful to Evangeline. He could be trusted in that regard.

"It's humble, but please come in."

Gabriel entered the office.

As she said, the interior was modest for a respected bishop to stay in. Even Bishop Jabanya's office, which had a reputation for being relatively frugal, had several fancy decorations, but Bishop Marik's office was very barren. It felt exactly like being in a monastery.

Bishop Marik had originally been a nun, so it seemed to be a habit from those days. When they sat down, Bishop Marik personally brewed and served the tea.

"This is the first time I'm having a conversation alone with the Knight Commander like this."

Bishop Marik, who had finished filling her own cup, sat across from Gabriel.

Bishop Marik slightly lifted her veil to drink her tea. On the lower part of her face that was briefly revealed, there were burn scars where the flesh had melted.

"It's unsightly, isn't it?"

"It's not."

"You don't need to say empty words. I myself am reluctant to look at my own face, so I cover it with cloth."

The fact that Bishop Marik had burn injuries and covered her face was quite well known among the temple people. As was the fact that Bishop Marik was reluctant to show her face. That's why Bishop Marik rarely dined with others.

He hadn't known he would be included among those rare people. Gabriel followed Bishop Marik's lead and brought the tea to his lips. It was lukewarm tea, not particularly hot.

"So what did you want to tell me?"

"You should have leisure in dealing with people."

When Gabriel pressed her, Bishop Marik admonished him not to rush. Bishop Marik only brought up the main topic after drinking all her tea and covering herself with the veil again.

"Something congratulatory has happened to the Knight Commander."

"To me?"

"Haha. You have a face that says you can't guess. Why, there's been a lot of talk about you being Lady Rohanson's debutante partner."

"Yes. That's correct."

So she had called Gabriel to get information about Evangeline? Gabriel nodded. The rumor had spread while they were obtaining invitations to the birthday banquet hosted by the Crown Prince.

"A debutante at twenty..."

"Since Lady Rohanson was sickly, I thought it would be good to do it now, even if belatedly, now that her health has recovered."

"The Knight Commander took care of it for someone he admires? Well, Lady Rohanson has no one to lean on but the Knight Commander."

Bishop Marik seemed to be praising Gabriel's thoughtfulness, but she was actually mocking Evangeline's situation.

"Lady Rohanson has no mother, so she has no one to depend on. She had no interaction with other nobles at all, and she was estranged from her maternal family too, right?"

That was also a famous rumor. Moreover, even her father, Count Rohanson, wouldn't come home for all sorts of reasons, so even more rumors clung to Evangeline.

"I didn't know the Bishop would listen to circulating rumors."

"When your eyes are dim, your ears become sharp."

Gabriel pretended to be composed as he observed Bishop Marik. Since she was covered by the veil, he couldn't read her eyes.

"So that's why Marchioness Totten agreed to be the chaperone?"

The fact that Lady Totten had agreed to be the chaperone was something only the parties involved knew about. Where had the story leaked from?

The Dolly Phonor side was well silenced, and the story couldn't have leaked from the employees of the Rohanson mansion. Had she attached more surveillance because she couldn't trust only Bishop Jabanya, whom she used like a limb? She might have been watching the Rohanson mansion's carriage. Or conversely, it might have leaked from the relatively loose Totten side.

"But things seem to have gone awry. After the young lady visited the marquis's residence, Marchioness Totten has been staying secluded, hasn't she? She's not coming to the temple either, so she probably won't receive the Knight Commander's contact either."

How much did she know? Could she possibly know about Gabriel and Lady Totten's deal? And what was the reason for deliberately showing this to Gabriel?

"Shall I be that chaperone?"

Gabriel stopped moving in surprise. Bishop Marik sat upright in proper posture. She had no particular habits nor was she taking any special actions now, making it impossible to guess what she was thinking.

"It's nothing special, I just feel sorry for Lady Rohanson's situation."

Bishop Marik's voice was very kind.

"Don't you dislike going out into society? I cannot impose such trouble on you."

"I'm also recommending it for my own purposes. Since it's a banquet by His Highness the Crown Prince, our future glory, shouldn't the temple side also pay our respects? I too have received an invitation and decided to attend."

Future glory. Who among the empire's people wouldn't know that the Emperor was reluctant to pass the throne to his son and was still remaining in power? However, Bishop Marik had a talent for presenting lies as if they were truth.

"If not Lady Totten, then I'll take on the chaperone role."

Gabriel thought the eyes hidden beneath the veil would be gleaming.