### Chapter 73: Church Visitors
“Is this my pet?”
“Yep, you used to love it!”
“But it’s the one that delivered a message from Edward…”
The lady froze at my words.
“So, Edward captured it?”
“…Maybe? I don’t really remember.”
But I figured that’s how it went.
Edward knew it was my pet, and this raven was surprisingly clever. From its behavior, it seemed to be extremely loyal; after three years, it still remembered I was its owner. So Edward probably used this to send me messages.
I couldn’t even guess what his intentions were when he kept my former pet around…
Oh well, it wasn’t really important.
“Pepé—”
A raspy, unpleasant caw rang out again, and I frowned.
“Shut up.”
“Pepé, you idiot—”
That dumb bird either understood some human words or could just feel emotions; it flapped its wings and flew over to my shoulder, giving my head a couple of pecks.
“……”
I wasn’t mad.
You can’t get angry at a bird.
Suddenly, I heard the crunch of wheels rolling over the snow beside me. The lady and I turned our heads to see a new war chariot approaching.
The pure white carriage was decorated extravagantly, and the light gold patterns on it were all too familiar. After all, I had spent plenty of nights in there.
The war chariot stopped a short distance away. An arm that wasn’t exactly beefy lifted the curtain, and the expected relaxed figure stepped down, breaking into a smile upon seeing me.
“Little Shay.”
I was a bit surprised and immediately called out his name, “Carlos—”
But then it hit me that I hadn’t decided to acknowledge him yet, so why was I making this face…? I quickly put on a stern look and silently watched him approach, my mind buzzing with confusion.
What was this guy doing here at such a time? And why was he in silver armor…?
Next, I saw two more people emerge from the carriage, and I instantly felt a little breathless.
One of them, with white hair and a long beard, had a rigid expression that made him look like he was at least sixty. He was wearing clothes identical to that of the old man in the robe I first encountered. He even looked somewhat similar… it honestly gave me chills; I had developed a psychological shadow from that image.
The other was even stranger; he wore a bird-beak mask that covered his entire face except for his wine-red hair. His oversized cloak resembled the one Carlos was wearing—it was the Pope Knight’s Iris cloak.
“The journey must have been tough.”
The duke greeted them as they approached. Carlos, not slowing down, cheerfully responded, “Not at all; we were the ones who were a bit slow on the uptake.”
Then, to my bewilderment, he reached inside his coat and pulled out a bundle wrapped in brown paper… ah, it was snacks!
Awesome!!!
“Give it to me!”
Before he could even stand still, I snatched the brown paper from him, eagerly tearing it open. The sweet aroma wafted up to my nose, and I gulped down a mouthful of saliva.
I hadn’t eaten anything since noon, and my stomach was practically a pancake…
My little hands rubbed against my skirt a few times as I reached for the snacks, only to have them swatted away with a “smack.”
“Your hands are filthy.”
The lady shot me a glare and then extended her ivory-white fingers, pinching a piece of snack to bring to my mouth.
“Open wide.”
I obediently opened my mouth right away.
“Ah—”
Once inside, the rich flavor burst out, and I happily squinted my eyes together, quickly chewing a few bites and swallowing, staring at her expectantly.
“Ah—”
The lady chuckled helplessly, “Are you starving?”
She lifted another piece of snack, and I quickly “ah-oomed” it into my mouth, chewing while nodding my head vigorously.
I really was starving.
“Mr. Carlos is quite thoughtful, even I didn’t think of this… rushing in too eagerly.”
The lady maintained her smile, but her words possessed a hint of depth, and her gaze on Carlos seemed scrutinizing.
“Oh no, I just happened to pass by,” Carlos replied.
He retained a carefree demeanor, his sapphire-blue eyes, which should have shone brightly, were half-hidden beneath droopy eyelids. After finishing that sentence, he yawned, scratching the back of his head, completely lacking the assertiveness a knight in a story should have.
But at this moment, he looked utterly adorable to me.
“Just happened to pass by? Carlos, your ‘happened to pass by’ nearly had us making two extra turns, almost losing the Shanter Castle’s war chariot.” A young man’s voice came from behind Carlos, dripping with flair. I glanced over, my eyes catching the bird-beak mask, “Let me see what kind of little beauty can… whoa—”
Upon noticing me, the masked knight exclaimed dramatically, lifting his cloak as he deeply bowed.
“This beautiful lady, I am Chris Labres, honored to meet you.”
“…chew chew… chew chew… uh-huh.” I nodded flatly at him and looked back at the lady, opening my mouth again, “Ah—”
“Someone’s trying to greet you; how can you be so rude?”
Greet me? He was just interrupting my snack time.
“Ha ha! No worries, my lady, Miss Silvya is an exceptional person; please don’t blame her.”
“Very sorry, Doctor Chris. She’s just really hungry.”
“Not at all, she’s very cute; I like her a lot.”
…you’re the one who’s very cute.
But hearing the lady’s title for him, this bird-beak knight turned out to be a doctor? That surprised me! Can a doctor also be a Pope Knight?
“Eat slowly.”
The lady wiped the crumbs from my mouth, her lips curling up in a loving smile.
“Miss Silvya, where are those heretics from the Gate of Truth?”
Finally, the old robed man spoke. Despite his aged face, he had an intimidating aura. He spoke straightforwardly, diving into the topic, clearly a person who only saw things in terms of business and wasn’t easy to deal with.
I pointed toward the battlefield, and they all turned, seeing the area standing silently among thin ice mist, coated with countless ice shards.
“Are they dead?” Carlos asked.
“Uh-huh.”
I nodded.
“Let’s go check it out.”
“Little Shay, you’ve worked hard.”
Carlos smiled at me, only to receive a rolled eye in return.
At this moment, I couldn’t be unaware of these three’s purpose for coming here. Carlos had been extremely busy lately, probably for this mess; otherwise, he wouldn’t have rushed here. Of course, he wasn’t here to rescue me; he must have gotten wind of the heretics’ movements and simply wanted to check things out.
How annoying… they’re really unreliable.
Carlos must have sensed my thoughts because he rubbed his forehead and gave me a wry smile, “This matter is quite complicated; let’s go over and see. Once you finish eating, come to our carriage; there are some things I need to discuss… lady, you don’t mind, right?”
“Mr. Carlos, if I said I mind, what would happen?” The lady’s smile had a teasing edge, “You gentlemen sure need a girl to help with your work, huh?”
Though she said it jokingly, it was still rather impolite. Carlos hesitated to respond, and then the lady winked at him.
“This shows our Pepé is pretty amazing.”
She playfully poked my nose.
“Miss Silvya, having such strength at a young age is indeed impressive… my lady, this matter is serious; please allow us to excuse ourselves.”
“Of course, Bishop Hobbes, you are free to go.”
