The return journey back to my room was fast. There was no one around to stop me, so I was able to make my way around quietly and enter my room.

I put Fenrir back to bed and closed my eyes as well. As soon as my head touched my pillow, sleep claimed me, and I was off to a world of dreams.

The next morning, I woke up as soon as the sun woke up. My body seemed to know that I had work to do.

I freshened up quickly just as the guard came to take me. Duchess Isabella was also waiting outside my door, dressed in heavily embroidered clothes. Each of her steps caused her clothes to ring due to her accessories.

Just watching her walk felt like a hassle. It was a miracle she was even able to move under all that weight.

The duchess gave me a nod of acknowledgment, her older and wiser eyes telling me that she trusted me, no matter what.

'It was a good move on my part to tell her about the betrayal beforehand. I feel much calmer because of that.'

At least I no longer had to stress that I was going to get killed by the duchess or something. I was able to enter the next hall with a calm look on my face.

The guard stopped before we entered the last hall and gave both me and the duchess a small bow.

"From here on, we will enter the sacred grounds. As our guests, you will be given the best seats in the hall to view the ceremony. Please follow the procedure to help us out."

The guard told us, his tone carrying both a warning and a plea as he spoke.

"Don't worry. We will make sure to uphold our honor."

The duchess assured as we entered. She took a seat where the guard led her, but another guard stopped me.

"Sir, Cardinal Joshua has called for you to join him. Please, follow me."

The man told me, and the duchess paused. I gave her a small nod to show that it was time for me to 'betray' her.

I turned toward the new guard who came to fetch me and gave him a calm and charming smile.

"Of course—Cardinal Joshua is someone I truly respect. It would be my honor to join him. Duchess Isabella, please pardon me for a minute. I will be joining the Cardinal for now."

I told the duchess in front of everyone, and they all gasped. They looked at the duchess, pitying and curious about how she would react to being 'abandoned' by me.

They were all waiting to see whether she would rage or not because of what had just happened.

But the woman kept her cool as she turned around and sat down where the guard pointed her.

"Of course. The shopkeeper is free to go to whoever he wants to. Please, do not hesitate on my account."

She told me as she showed she was unbothered. It caused everyone else to keep looking at her in worry and awe.

I got a lot of dirty looks from the commoners gathered around, as well as curious looks from the guards, for choosing someone else over the duchess.

Most of the people here likely thought of me as a gold-digger and saw my betrayal as me changing patrons to go to the bigger fish.

But I did not care as I went ahead and took my place beside Cardinal Joshua. He gave me a bright smile as he welcomed me by his side.

"It is nice to have you by my side, shopkeeper. I hope we continue to have such a great partnership in the future as well."

The man told me as I stood beside him at the altar. I finally had access to it.

Across the room, the door opened, and the three kids came inside. They looked terrified, and I wanted to flash them a smile.

But as soon as they saw me, they looked away. It seemed as if they also thought I had betrayed them.

Their guardian griffin was dragged behind them as well, and he was clearly injured. But under those heavy binds, he could do nothing but follow his charges.

Cardinal Joshua moved toward the kids, his arms outstretched toward them as he closed in.

"Stay back! I won't allow you to hurt Nyx and Erebus. If you come closer… then I'm going to attack—"

Eon forced himself in front of the twins as he looked at the Cardinal with a defiant expression on his face.

But Cardinal Joshua just looked at him from his position.

"What blazing spirits. You kids are truly a blessing bestowed by our dear goddess upon us. However, your souls have been split apart. To right this tragedy, now is the time."

The man spoke, and somehow, his words sounded reasonable. No one questioned him or what he meant by that.

[Your faith has resisted the effects of foreign faiths.]

[Your followers have resisted the effects of the foreign faith due to their strong sense of self.]

The system told me as I swiped at the screen.

I could fill in the blanks myself and realized that the reason no one else questioned anything was because they were under that power's influence.

The cardinal reached toward Eon's face, but the kid jumped back.

"Stay away from me! Someone—anyone—help me out!"

I had a feeling the child was looking at me when he said that. But his eyes lingered around a little before he gave up.

I truly felt sorry for the kid, but there was nothing I could do to help him. At least, not yet. I still needed some time.

"Hmm, you are speaking like this because you do not know the embrace of our dear goddess. Once you and the others are one once more, you shall know true bliss. Now come, and rejoice in your rebirth."

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