The Lord Just Wants to Have Fun

‘Who is it? An assassin?’

Karl’s face turned pale.

He had dismissed the royal guards, saying he wanted to be alone in the chamber where his grandfather’s coffin was enshrined to sort out his thoughts. But now, he realized that might have been a mistake.

‘How did they know I was here? Even the High Priest didn’t notice my arrival!’

Karl decided to think about it later and hurriedly reached for his waist.

However, the intruder moved faster.

In a flash, they surged forward, pressing a sword against his neck.

“Don’t do anything reckless, kid.”

The aura flickering around the blade was deadly. The sheer pressure was overwhelming, to the point where he didn’t even dare to call out to the guards outside.

‘But… I don’t sense any killing intent.’

If this were an assassin sent by Volzard or the High Priest who had sided with him, they would have stabbed his neck without hesitation.

It seemed the intruder had a different purpose.

“What? There’s someone here!”

“I never said there wasn’t.”

At that moment, two more figures appeared in the corridor.

A girl with an expressionless face and a young man who appeared to be in his early twenties.

They were none other than Liberta and Philip.

“My lord, what should we do with this one?”

Terry, who had subdued the boy with ease, turned to Philip for instructions.

Philip hesitated for a moment.

‘What do I do? No one must know we entered the Great Temple today.’

The best way to ensure silence was to eliminate him. However, the boy’s lavish clothing peeking through the monk’s robe caught his attention.

“He looks like he’s from a rather prestigious family… Let’s not do anything we’ll regret. I didn’t see you, and you didn’t see us. Understood?”

Karl slowly nodded at Philip’s suggestion.

Terry, however, still looked uneasy and asked, “Are you sure it’s fine to let him go like this?”

“Don’t worry. He’s in the same boat as us.”

Though Philip didn’t know the full details, the fact that the boy had disguised himself as a monk meant he had also snuck into the Great Temple in secret.

With that certainty, Philip turned to leave without worry.

But just as Terry withdrew his sword from Karl—

The doors of the chamber burst open, and knights stormed in.

They had sensed the unusual disturbance inside.

“Your Highness! What’s going on?”

“Who are these people?!”

‘Your Highness? No way… is this boy—’

Philip’s eyes widened as he stared at Karl.

The extravagant clothing, the title “Your Highness,” and the silver armor of the knights, gleaming with the royal crest.

It didn’t take long to figure out the boy’s true identity.

“They’re suspicious! Protect His Highness!”

‘Damn it. Now we’ll be accused of being assassins.’

Philip clicked his tongue in frustration as the royal guards charged at them. He instinctively reached for the pistol at his waist.

But he didn’t have to use it.

With lightning speed, Terry moved.

His aura-infused blade sliced through the knights’ swords in an instant.

“H-Huff!”

“Be careful! His skills are… Aagh!”

The guards faltered.

The supposed “assassin” was an Expert-level swordsman, superior to them by at least a rank or two.

If the Captain of the Royal Guards or the former commander, who were both Expert-High Rank, had been here, they might have stood a chance.

But unfortunately, neither was present.

Karl had secretly left without informing them, bringing only his closest bodyguards.

In the end, all five royal knights were swiftly subdued by Terry.

‘A-Amazing… To have someone this powerful under his command…!’

Even an Expert-Mid Rank knight was considered elite.

Yet, this man had taken down five of them in seconds!

Karl couldn’t help but admire the feat.

Meanwhile, Philip let out a bitter smile and bowed slightly toward Karl.

“My apologies, your highness. We’ll be taking our leave.”

“Wait, hold on a moment…”

Staying here any longer would only increase the risk of being discovered by the temple priests.

Ignoring Karl’s words, Philip and his companions disappeared in an instant.

Karl stood there in a daze as the fallen royal guards groaned and struggled to their feet.

“Ugh… Your Highness, are you unharmed?”

“I’m fine.”

But who were those people?

The knight had called the young man lord. From what Karl knew, there weren’t many young lords of his age in the kingdom.

‘His speech had a strong western accent. A young lord from the west… could it be…?’

A deep sense of regret lingered in his chest, but he quickly shook it off.

‘The funeral isn’t far off… I’ll see him again then.’

******

The capital was in an uproar.

Overnight, the divine power enshrined within the Temple of Water had completely vanished.

Shocked, the temple priests desperately tried to keep the news under wraps, but rumors spread like wildfire.

The already somber atmosphere of the capital, weighed down by the king’s passing, plummeted even further.

“What? How did this happen…?”

“Does that mean we can’t be healed by the temple’s holy water anymore?”

“I heard the funeral is being postponed. The Ascension Ceremony requires the holy water imbued with divine power, and without it, the ritual can’t proceed.”

Panic spread among the citizens.

Many feared they would no longer have access to healing for injuries and illnesses. Merchants who thrived on temple-related trade were distraught.

Ever since Arkina’s divine power descended, the Temple of Water had drawn countless pilgrims each year, bringing in substantial wealth.

But now, that lucrative industry had come to an abrupt halt.

“What are we supposed to do now?”

“Why did this happen?”

“I knew this would happen. Those greedy priests have been hoarding wealth and committing all sorts of corruption!”

As unrest grew, the incident quickly turned into a political battlefield, weaponized against a certain figure vying for the throne.

“This is all because of Duke Volzard!”

“What are you talking about? What did His Grace do?”

“Rumor has it that he bribed High Priest Paolo to secure his claim to the throne! He desecrated a holy temple with money—no wonder the goddess is furious!”

“Now, now, that was merely a donation! A noble offering for the late king’s soul to find peace in the heavens…”

Princess Amelia’s faction seized the opportunity to attack Volzard’s reputation, while Prince Karl’s camp subtly joined in while simultaneously criticizing Amelia’s faction for stirring political conflict during the mourning period.

“There are testimonies that suspicious figures infiltrated the temple on the night of the incident. Could it be that their impious actions provoked the goddess’s wrath?”

“This is clearly a conspiracy to slander Duke Volzard! He has nothing to do with this event!”

As expected, Duke Volzard’s faction denied any involvement, calling it a baseless smear campaign.

To reinforce his innocence, Duke Volzard publicly visited the temple to express his condolences and even placed a massive bounty on the unknown intruders.

But despite his composed front, internally, the duke was in turmoil.

The Church of Water and Healing was the most influential religious order in Arteria Kingdom.

“Your Grace, some nobles in our faction are wavering…”

“Idiots! To be swayed by such baseless rumors!”

Volzard was livid.

If his own supporters were having second thoughts, then the reaction from the neutral nobles was all too predictable.

At a time when he needed to secure more allies, this incident was nothing short of a disaster.

Seething with frustration, he suddenly remembered something.

“By the way, what happened with Baron Brandel? Didn’t he ask for a day to think it over?”

At this, Viscount Musette smirked inwardly and replied, “Viscount Beron visited him again, but he refused. It seems he intends to side with Princess Amelia.”

“That backwater baron dares defy me?! Just because he’s gained some power and wealth, he thinks he can challenge me?!”

Volzard didn’t even bother questioning why Philip had rejected him.

Duke Volzard was infuriated by the fact that a mere young baron from the countryside had turned him down.

“When I become king, that brat will be the first to be dealt with.”

“Yes, it will serve as a fine example to the opportunistic western nobles.”

Shortly after leaving Duke Volzard’s presence, Viscount Musette was approached by a knight with a stern demeanor, who spoke in a low voice.

“Viscount Musette, we’ve found the woman who manifested divine power.”

“Oh? Where is she?”

“She is staying at an inn in the capital. It seems she’s receiving aid from a noble who came for the mourning.”

A sinister glint flickered in Musette’s eyes.

A servant of the heavens, someone who could interfere with the organization’s grand scheme.

His master had ordered restraint, but he had no intention of letting prey slip away when it was already within his grasp.

“Summon the assassination squad. We hunt tonight.”

Currently, the organization’s assassins had infiltrated the capital, disguised as retainers and attendants of Volzard and his allied nobles.

Even the knight standing before him was one of them.

“Will they be enough?”

“They will. The priestesses and apostles of the Water Church are not particularly strong.”

Unlike Valian, the god of war, the Arkina Church specialized in purification and healing.

Against the assassination squad, a newly emerged saintess would stand no chance.

“Ha! What a stroke of luck. I expected to catch small prey, but we’re about to bag something big!”

Imagining the success of their nighttime hunt, Musette sneered wickedly.

******

At the inn where Philip’s group was staying, Philip, having safely returned from the Great Temple, heard a disturbing rumor from his retainers.

Without hesitation, he sought out Liberta.

However, Liberta barely acknowledged him, sitting with perfect poise as she sipped the coffee Helen had served her.

“Exquisite. I never knew that brewing Maka fruit in cold water could produce such an aroma.”

“Hey! Stop acting all casual and answer my damn question.”

Philip was certain that Liberta was involved.

Otherwise, why would she have been in the sacred sanctuary, and why had all the priests been lying unconscious?

“Spit it out. You know I don’t have much patience.”

“Is there a need to say it? You already know the answer. Besides, the relic has gone where it truly belongs, so you needn’t concern yourself.”

“It really concerns me!”

Had he known this would happen, he wouldn’t have saved her in the first place!

But now, he couldn’t exactly kick her out either.

If she got captured and revealed what had happened, he’d be implicated as an accomplice.

“I understand your cautious nature, but don’t worry too much. The priests won’t remember what happened.”

“You erased their memories?”

Liberta spoke as if reassuring him, but Philip’s scowl did not fade.

“Prince Karl saw us. Given the circumstances, he’ll suspect we stole the relic.”

“He might. But he won’t say anything. He’ll find it advantageous if the blame falls on Volzard’s faction.”

“Now that you mention it… that makes sense.”

On top of that, Karl had also snuck into the temple in secret.

If anyone found out, he would be questioned about his involvement in the relic’s disappearance, which meant he had every reason to keep quiet.

‘This woman… She’s not just about looks—she’s cold and calculating. Who the hell is she?’

Philip had felt her divine presence the day before, so he was sure she was a saintess.

But strangely, she didn’t seem close to the Temple of Water at all.

And yet, she knew about a secret passage in the temple that even the priests were unaware of.

As Philip was lost in thought, trying to piece together her identity—

BANG!

The door burst open, and Terry stormed in, his face tense.

“My lord, we’re surrounded. Suspicious figures have encircled the inn!”