The Villainess Has Proposed a Contract Marriage

66 – The Godly Heart of Harlte

Evia listened attentively to Harlte’s description.

Red hair and crimson eyes. And a lavish yet restrained, elegant dress. The woman, who seemed to be a high-ranking noble, also possessed exceptional athletic abilities.

It was rare to find someone who possessed all these qualities. Therefore, Evia’s answer came quickly.

“Is that… not Duke Luminel?”

“If it’s Duke Luminel… are you talking about Elpisia Luminel, whom you mentioned earlier?”

“Yes, I remember well. But why?”

“… I think I made an absurd mistake. No, I did make a mistake.”

“What do you mean?”

Evia’s astonished face resurfaced for the first time in a while.

She wasn’t disappointed in Harlte, but rather curious about what he had done to warrant such treatment from someone who didn’t deserve it. It was unimaginable that Harlte would harm anyone.

“Harlte, what did you do to the duke?”

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“That’s…”

Harlte couldn’t bring himself to tell the truth. Nor could he lie, so he was left with no choice but to remain silent.

“… I can’t say.”

“What’s going on… can’t you tell me so I can help you?”

“No, it’s okay. This is a problem I have to face alone…”

“What’s going on, anyway…”

Evia wondered if Harlte had committed a crime against Elpisia. If so, it would be an impossible problem to solve without outside help.

However, Harlte would never harm anyone.

As a man who had sworn to be chaste before God, he had always treated women with respect. Evia liked that about Harlte.

“I suppose… even if I saw him naked, he wouldn’t bat an eyelid. He’s just that kind of person.”

Evia was aware of her own power, thanks to her stunning beauty. Whenever she attended national events, she would be gazed at with reverence, and it would be a sin to pretend not to notice.

Harlte, who had always been by her side and maintained a friendly relationship, was abnormal. Evia believed that firmly.

“Ah, yes!”

The memory of being seduced by the emperor, which had been buried in her lake of memories, began to surface. Evia sat across from Harlte, pouring out her grievances.

“Harlte! Listen to me. Didn’t I regret sending you away back then? The emperor kept trying to seduce me, and even the empress was present! You can’t just go around seducing people like that!”

“…”

“Ugh! If only the third prince had become the emperor, it would have been better. Why do we have the principle of separation of powers? If not for that, I would have appointed the third prince as emperor in an instant.”

“…”

“Ah, if the Pope had been present, would I have been scolded? Anyway, I was so…”

Even as Evia vented her frustrations, Harlte quietly nodded his head.

‘Elpisia… Luminel…’

The problem was that he was listening to Evia’s words with one ear and letting them go in the other.

Harlte was originally someone who listened to others with reverence. It was a virtue that people should uphold. Therefore, Harlte, who had abandoned that virtue, was clearly abnormal.

As they failed to notice each other’s abnormality, the bell rang.

It was the bell signaling the end of the Holy Knights’ worship service.

The moment the clear voice touched their ears, the two people parted ways.

Each going their own way.

◇

Indeed, Harthe was diligent. No matter how urgent the task, he finished all his work as the captain of the Holy Knights.

As a result, the time Harthe left the temple was six o’clock in the evening.

It was still early in the summer, and the sky was still blue. Harthe created shade with his hand and looked up at the sky, and the temple gatekeeper was astonished.

“Wow… Captain Harthe?!”

“Gatekeeper? Is something wrong?”

Harthe asked calmly. The gatekeeper quickly shook his head and apologized.

“No, nothing. I just… saw you come out without the Saintess for the first time…”

It was a remarkable sight to see Harthe, who never left the temple except for national events, reveal himself to the outside world.

Harthe accepted the gatekeeper’s words with a smile.

“I’ll come out more often from now on.”

“Okay…”

Harthe left after speaking, and the gatekeeper bowed to see him off. The gatekeeper who had conversed with Harthe was an elderly man who had worked at the temple since Harthe and Euvria were young.

He spoke in a low voice to a younger rookie gatekeeper.

“Wow… I must be getting old.”

“What’s wrong with going out? If people feel suffocated, they can take a breath of fresh air outside.”

“You’re right, normally.”

The man revealed a fact that the rookie would soon learn, with an expression as if he was saying something extraordinary.

“If they were human, that is.”

◇

It didn’t take Harthe even an hour to arrive at the Luminele Duchy from the temple. With his superhuman physical ability, he ran at a speed three times faster than a horse.

As soon as the Luminele Duchy came into view, he gradually slowed down and walked to the front gate.

Just like the temple, the Luminele Duchy had a gatekeeper. Especially since the Luminele Duchy was a family of warriors, the gatekeeper’s gaze was sharp.

Of course, to Harthe, who didn’t know the ways of the world, a house was just a house.

He thought that if he visited and asked for permission, the door would open wide. Until the gatekeeper made a request that made Harthe’s face turn pale.

“Show me your invitation.”

“… What?”

“If you don’t have an invitation, a letter of permission to visit will do.”

“Uh… uh?”

Harthe was quite perplexed.

Did he need to make an appointment in advance to become a guest of the mansion? He was bewildered by the new moral code he had just learned.

The gatekeepers facing Harthe were also bewildered.

They were simply asking for common sense and propriety, but their opponent was sweating profusely. Even street vendors and peddlers didn’t behave like this. It was as if they were shocked like a child who didn’t know anything.

‘Looking at their attire, they’re not even street vendors or peddlers… This is the uniform of the Holy Knights.’

‘They can’t be unaware that this is the duchy’s mansion.’

The two gatekeepers were staring at Harthe, who was taken aback, when a knight patrolling the mansion’s interior saw them.

The knight waved his hand in greeting and approached the gate.

“Ah! You’re the one who’s visiting today, Sir Knight?”

“Yes? I did come to visit…”

“I heard rumors. Please come in quickly. The doormen won’t suspect anything, so it’s okay to let them in.”

The doormen exchanged glances, looking at each other suspiciously.

They soon concluded that the knight’s workplace was indeed the workplace, so there was no deceit.

“If the Duke says so…”

“That’s right, let’s go.”

Harte was almost dragged by the knight’s hand as they entered the mansion. His mind was in chaos, and he couldn’t open his mouth to speak.

‘What, what’s going on…? Did Euvia take measures beforehand after hearing the rumors today? If so, I’m in trouble…’

Somehow, he felt a strange flow.

Harte was led to the reception room, where a steaming cup of tea was placed in front of him. Seeing how kindly Euvia was treating him, it seemed like she had really done a good job.

“The Duke will be down soon. You must behave properly, okay?”

“Yes, of course. Anyone would do the same.”

“Wow, you’re really getting the hang of it! Although it’s our first meeting, I really like you. So, I’ll be rooting for you.”

“… Okay.”

The man patted Harte’s shoulder and encouraged him before leaving.

Now, Harte was the only one left in the quiet reception room.

In this environment, Harte was shocked by the comfortable couch he had never experienced before.

“This is… so comfortable.”

Regaining his composure, he looked around and saw that the interior was extravagantly decorated. The walls, adorned with gold, were the basics, and the delicate glasswork lighting emitted a strong light, unlike the temple that relied on lanterns.

He thought this kind of luxury was only possible in the palace.

The fact that a noble’s mansion could display such wealth was almost a cultural shock.

Then, there was a sound.

Tap, tap.

The sound of footsteps got closer. Soon, the owner of the mansion, who was approaching the reception room, opened the door without hesitation.

At the same time, Harte quickly stood up in attention.

‘Ah…’

He barely managed to hold back his gasp.

Elpisia Ruminel, the woman, was exactly the same as the night they met at the palace.

Her curly, auburn hair cascaded down her back, and her red eyes burned with a passionate color. The slim, tight dress that wrapped around her waist and hips seemed to touch the place where his hand had…

…

……

Harte pushed aside his thoughts and shouted loudly.

“Ah, nice to meet you, Your Excellency!!!”

“… Huh?”

Elpisia uttered a short question, stumbling and stopping in her tracks.

By the way, the one accompanying her was the butler of the mansion, who was also trembling unknowingly.

‘Is Your Excellency… taken aback?’

Elpisia, who always controlled her emotions and showed an inhuman side, was like the former king who was compared to a machine that ruled the country.

It was no wonder that the butler, who had been in charge of the Ruminel mansion for a long time, was surprised.

On the other hand, Elpisia’s expression had a crack in it, and it was reasonable.

‘… The commander of the Holy Knights is personally conducting the interview for the new knight of the Imperial Guards?’

That’s right.

This was the final interview for the Imperial Guards, and Elpisia was only involved in the final stage of the hiring process. Therefore, she didn’t even review the related documents and came to this meeting.

As a Holy Knight, the identity of the person was certain, and pre-interview documents might create biases.

… But the man in front of her was too certain, and his very existence created biases.

Even Elpisia, with her brilliant mind, couldn’t help but be stunned, and her brain was unable to process the situation.

“… What’s your motivation for applying?”

She threw a question that was too pure, as if she hadn’t even sat down yet.