The temple where the Archbishop was located was on the outskirts of the capital, at a considerable distance from it.
This was partly due to the doctrine that advocated the need to distance oneself from the secular world, and partly for practical reasons to try to establish a certain distance from the Emperor's sphere of influence.
In the capital there were several small temples that were frequented by commoners. However, when the nobles had time they would visit this temple, which also had beautiful and picturesque landscapes.
Even the Imperial Family had to come here for some important sacraments.
This was also one of the ways to confirm the authority of the temple.
Cedric went into the forest with several knights under his command to go to the temple.
A carriage was at a strange angle in the middle of the road.
"Woah!"
Freyl, who was in the lead, tugged on his horse's reins to stop. Cedric also stopped after him.
"What's going on?"
Freyl asked. The coachman took off his hat and bowed his head in shame.
"Forgive me, knights. The wheel of our carriage has come off."
"The wheel came off?"
Freyl looked at Cedric and when he nodded, Freyl got off his horse.
They were riding horses, so they could perfectly well stray from the path and pass by.
But neither Cedric nor the knights were that kind of person. Nor did they have a reason to hurry.
Cedric watched the situation for a moment.
The bracket connecting the axle to the wheel had come loose for some reason, causing the wheel to come off.
"This is unusual. How were you handling the carriage?"
Freyl chided the coachman vigorously. The nervous coachman wiped his forehead with his hand.
"I was driving carefully, I don't know how it happened."
"Can you fix it?"
Cedric got off his horse and went over to Freyl.
"It's not that hard. You just need to mount the wheel and put the bracket back. That takes a bit of strength, but it looks like the people inside the carriage were women, so they couldn't fix it."
Freyl reported and Cedric nodded his head.
A girl standing in the shade of a tree a short distance away approached him with her maid. She seemed to be the owner of the carriage.
"Thank you for your help."
"You are welcome."
Cedric responded and turned to look at her. In that instant, he was stunned.
She had the same face he had seen in his dream.
She was younger, much prettier, but certainly still the same woman.
The girl said quietly.
"I was worried about having to walk from this place to the temple."
"How could a beautiful lady walk from here to the temple? Don't worry. We'll fix it right away."
Freyl intervened, beating his chest.
Cedric looked down on him, this is not something he could guarantee. It was a bad habit of Freyl to show off in front of pretty women.
The girl smiled softly. It seemed like a bitter smile and at the same time it seemed that she was trying to contain her laughter.
A crying face was superimposed.
Cedric looked away from her face, feeling disconcerted. The carriage was quickly repaired.
The girl thanked the knights one by one, and said.
"I'm sorry to have disturbed you."
"You do not have to apologize. It is our duty to help those who need it. You are a beautiful lady, it is dangerous for you to go out without an escort."
Again, Freyl spoke in Cedric's place. The girl answered.
"It's just a midday trip to the temple. We're in the middle of the road so it's not convenient now, but when we get to the temple I'll thank you properly."
"No, you do not have to."
Freyl responded, but Cedric nodded in agreement.
Then he opened the carriage door himself, Artizea seemed embarrassed.
"Please get on."
He spoke briefly and extended his hand.
Artizea hesitated and her cheeks turned red, but she finally took his hand and got into the carriage.
Cedric's party on horseback split in two.
Some were a little ahead of the carriage and others a little behind it.
Artizea realized that it was because they intended to serve as escorts.
When the doors of the temple were in sight, Cedric's party accelerated and moved away. They were not going directly to the temple, but planned to visit the personal residence of the Archbishop.
Once Artizea's carriage stopped at the main entrance of the temple, the priest ran out to receive her.
"Welcome, Lady Rosan."
"Thank you for coming to receive me despite my unexpected visit."
Artizea ordered Alice to take out a small box she had brought.
"I have brought scented wax candles. I would like to offer them to the statue of the Son of God."
"Follow me, please. I'm sure the Son of God will be very pleased by your great devotion, Lady Rosan."
The priest was delighted. The scented candles inside were negligible, but the box was a valuable item with a ruby inlay in the center, after being molded in gold and covered with satin.
This was much better than making a direct donation.
Although the temple had been secularized a long time ago, they still wanted to pretend to be poor and honest.
Artizea slowly followed the priest with the box.
The priest did not take it to the main hall, but to a small chapel with the statue of the Son of God.
Artizea approached the statue and knelt down respectfully.
She opened the box and took out three candles. Then she placed them in front of the statue of the Son of God, lit them, and put her hands together.
As a child, she prayed a lot, but she never prayed sincerely to God again since she turned 16.
But now she wanted to do it with all her heart.
'I used magic and sacrificed my body for it, but please forgive me. Though he is serving the foolish and the wicked, Grand Duke Evron, he is a just man, please take care of him. Finally, protect your Saintess daughter, Licia.'
For every candle, she made a petition.
When she stood up after a short prayer, the priest asked her politely.
"Would you like to see the Archbishop?"
"No. I'll just have tea and rest before I go back."
"Then I prepared the gazebo for you."
"And one more thing, please."
Artizea winked at Alice.
Alice quickly took a silver coin out of her pocket and gave it to the priest. The priest grabbed the coin casually and tucked it into his sleeve.
"Some knights helped us to repair the wheel of our carriage on our way to the temple. I'd like to thank them properly, so would you please guide my maid to them?"
"If it was knights, it must have been the party under His Grace, the Grand Duke Evron."
The priest called a server and asked him to lead Alice.
Then he himself led Artizea to the gazebo.
Artizea followed the priest slowly through the temple.
Because the temple was located in a beautiful place, many of the people who came also took advantage of it to rest.
In addition, some noble ladies who were deeply religious lived nearby and came to the temple daily.
For this reason, several gazebos were built on the extensive grounds of the temple, so that visitors could enjoy the beautiful natural scenery without interruption from others.
Artizea waited a while alone, sitting in the gazebo where the priest had guided her. The stream that flowed by the side of the gazebo produced a harmonious sound.
It was about half an hour before Alice returned with the server.
The server was holding a tea kettle of hot water and a wicker hamper, while Alice was holding a box of tea set.
"My lady, I handed out the lunch boxes as you instructed. They liked it."
"Well done."
The food served at the temple does not include meat products. So, it wouldn't be enough for the knights.
Artizea had planned this from the beginning, so she had packed a lot of food.
"I also invited the Grand Duke as you ordered. My lady, you should also eat something."
While Alice was talking, she opened the tea set box she had brought and took out the things that were in the wicker hamper.
Artizea didn't have much of an appetite. But she had to set the table because she had invited him.
Alice put some plates on the table, with small slices of sandwiches, scones and jams.
Meanwhile, Artizea prepared the tea herself. A refreshing citrus scent drifted through the air.
When Artizea poured the tea into her teacup, Cedric finally reached her gazebo.
Artizea got up from her seat. Her heart was pounding, she had never felt this way before.
She was not sure if it was due to tension.
"I greet you again, Your Grace, Grand Duke Evron. I am Artizea Rosan."
She bowed her head respectfully. Cedric added a few words to confirm what she had just said.
"The Marchioness Rosan…"
"Yes, I'm her daughter."
"If you knew I was the Grand Duke Evron, and planned all this to establish a connection with me, you should also know that the Marchioness Rosan is not to my liking. Is that not so?"
"You realized that."
"I'm not that stupid. How could the wheel of a perfectly good carriage have fallen off like that?"
Cedric continued.
"You even had lunch boxes prepared, as if you'd planned it all from the start."
Artizea was a little embarrassed.
"There's something I need to tell you. If I hadn't made that little connection, you would have turned around as soon as you knew I was Miraila Rosan's daughter."
Cedric looked at her silently.
In spite of everything, he wouldn't have given it much importance, if it hadn't been for the terrible dream he had last night.
Artizea looked him straight in the eye.
Cedric thought her turquoise eyes were like precious stones.
Unlike the sad look he had seen in the dream, her eyes shone warmly.
So he sat down.
"I hope what you have to say to me is valuable and you're not wasting my time."
"Thank you."
Artizea bowed her head again respectfully.
As Artizea poured the hot tea into his teacup, Cedric hesitated for a moment. He didn't really feel comfortable. He knew that Artizea was trying to do something, even though he thought that in the worst case, it was a bad joke, he also could not ignore that she was the daughter of the Marchioness Rosan.
Nevertheless, he decided to at least drink his cup of tea. He could get up and leave at any time.
"Please propose to me."
"C-Cough!"
He choked on the hot tea.