Gabriel, knowing that he was an enemy of Carlyle, did not understand why Asha was even recommending medical baths to him.
'Is she trying to poison the water?'
However, if she did that, she would turn not only the imperial family but also the Elahe sect into enemies. Asha didn't seem like the kind of person who was that stupid.
"Why are you making such a suggestion to me?"
"As I said earlier, there is someone who saw the effect of it… …"
"No, I understand that, but… … to put it bluntly, there is no reason for you to be kind to me. I am a person sent by the Empress."
Gabriel also knew very well that if she wanted to win Asha's favor, he should just say thank you without saying such things. However, Gabriel, who had lived in a ruthless world, was too curious not to ask.
It seemed that he would only be at ease if she confirmed that this was a shallow trick.
To such Gabriel, Asha asked back with a more puzzled expression.
"… … When it comes to saving lives, what is your side and my side?"
At those words, Gabriel felt like she had been hit hard in the back of the head.
She definitely remembered reading similar words somewhere in the scriptures.
[… … Saint Balohan said, "The humans on this land are the beloved creatures of the Lord who gave them life, so I do not distinguish between Galenic and Parowan when I heal their sick… …"]
It was the story of a saint who was eventually branded a traitor and executed for saving the wounded without distinguishing between enemy and friend.
'I thought only a saint could have such a thought… …'
But the woman called 'the Barbarian Princess' was calmly uttering the words of the saint.
He kept seeing Asha Pervaz in a new light.
"I am ashamed that I asked why."
"No, well… … It wasn't meant to be embarrassing. Anyway, I think it would be good to try medical baths."
"What kind of herb do you use?"
"It is the root of a grass called 'Lumen' that grows in the border region. Lumen is a grass called a panacea in Pervaz."
Listening to Asha's story, Gabriel accepted her offer because it didn't seem like a particularly difficult herb.
'It's not bad to get closer this way.'
There was also an intention to get closer to Asha and find Carlyle's weakness.
While Asha hurriedly received the herbs from the infirmary and prepared the bath water, the servants, worried about her health, asked several times why she was taking a lumen bath.
Every time, Gabriel was nervous that Asha would reveal his secret, but Asha lied calmly.
"It's not for me, it's for the High Priest It must be his first time in the northern cold, and it would be a big deal if a distinguished guest caught a cold."
Asha meant that Gabriel was a high-ranking guest, but the servants understood that it meant that he was a person sent by the Empress and should not be caught.
However, Carlyle was different.
"What? Countess Pervaz is even taking care of that little bastard's bath water?"
"It happened only once."
"Once or twice, the fact remains that it was taken care of, right?"
"Well, it was for the sake of hosting a high-ranking priest visiting the castle, under Lord Pervaz's supervision."
At Lionel's explanation, Carlyle's brow furrowed harshly.
'Whether he's high-ranking priest or whatever, why would a lord personally take care of a guest's bathwater! A servant could have done that. Does that make any sense?'
Of course, it didn't make sense.
Asha never took care of her own bathwater, so why would she take care of Gabriel's?
'But it seemed like Gabriel was the one who suggested Asha should take care of it…'
He tried to remain calm, but the words on the document Lionel handed him didn't show it.
Ever since Gabriel came to the castle, Carlyle had been worried about the frequency of his interactions with Asha.
Excuses were plentiful. Blessing the castle, holding prayer meetings for the castle's rooms, blessing the sick… They were all things Asha couldn't easily refuse as they were for Lord Pervaz's people.
'Now that the annulment plan has failed, is he trying to seduce Lord Pervaz into having an affair?'
If the Crown Princess were to be accused of having an affair with the High Priest, it would undoubtedly become a major scandal that couldn't be resolved without a divorce.
While it was a risky approach, there was also a certainty that it couldn't be true.
'There's no way that Gabriel would be loyal to the Empress to the extent of tarnishing his honor.'
If that were the case, there was only one assumption left.
'Could it be… Countess Pervaz actually likes that bastard…?'
No, that couldn't be true.
'But he's a type of beauty that can't be seen in Pervaz… '
No, that wasn't important.
'Countess Pervaz has a subtle innocence about him… Maybe he bought her favor by saying flattering things, unlike me… '
No, he couldn't have overlooked something like that.
But even as he denied it, doubts kept creeping in.
'He's… completely different from me…'
Gabriel seemed, 'on the surface,' humble, calm, righteous, supportive of the weak, and even his appearance was like that of an angel, standing in stark contrast to Carlyle.
'From Asha's perspective, who throws herself into saving the abandoned territories and their people, Pervaz looks much better than me.'
In one way or another, it all came down to a matter of 'taste.'
In other words, Carlyle Evaristo was a man whose taste was so far from the norm that he spent money like water and only opened his heart to Pervaz after safeguarding the Pervaz people from the savages, while Gabriel Knox was a man whose taste was so strong that she wanted to take care of bathwater even though she had seen it only in a few times.
'No, maybe she doesn't just want to bring him bathwater, maybe she wants to get in the bathtub with him.'
But that didn't mean she could open up to Gabriel, who seemed more dangerous than the Empress.
After all, Asha was in a covenant relationship with me.
'Do I have to bring up that damn contract again?'
Carlyle's jaw clenched.
"Your Highness…? Have you read all the documents I gave you earlier?"
Lionel asked with a puzzled look on his face, as there was no sound of paper turning.
However, all that came back was the sound of a pen breaking.
"Your Highness…?
"Wait, I'm going to go get some air."
Carlyle left only those words behind and stormed out.
***
"Hoo.... This is unexpectedly good...?"
Gabriel muttered with a satisfied sigh as he took a lumen bath as Asha had instructed.
The lumen bath, which he had thought was just a simple folk remedy from the countryside, was much more effective than he had expected.
He had thought that the symptoms caused by black magic could not be cured, but after just one bath, the excruciating pain had been reduced to a bearable level.
'What effect did the energy of the abandoned land have on this lumen grass? In any case, I should buy as much lumen as possible before I leave.'
He had never expected to find a way to alleviate his terrible pain in Pervaz, but it was an unexpected gain.
'Indeed, God is guiding me on the right path. I was not wrong.'
Gabriel once again offered a prayer of thanks to God for bringing him to Pervaz.
Feeling like he could even hum a tune after finishing the warm bath, he felt the need to go and thank Asha as well. It was also important to keep seeing her face and become friends.
However, he stopped when he heard Carlyle's voice coming through the crack of the door to Asha's room on the first floor.
"...Is that your type of man?"
"What are you talking about, Your Highness?"
It seemed that Carlyle had only recently arrived at Asha's room.
His voice sounded angry.
"I've never heard of a lord personally preparing a guest's bathwater."
"Bathwater...? Are you upset because I prepared the Grand Duke's bathwater?"
"Why? Have you prepared the bathwater for other men besides the Grand Duke?"
Gabriel almost burst out laughing when he heard that.
'Does he seriously think that I have a strange relationship with Countess Pervaz?'
Carlyle Evaristo was a notorious womanizer who let women come and go as they pleased. It was ridiculous that he was so angry that his wife had prepared a priest's bathwater.
Gabriel was annoyed by Carlyle's audacity, but Carlyle didn't stop there.
"No, you wouldn't do that. That's why I was wondering. Do you like handsome and gentle men?"
"Oh my! What kind of misunderstanding do you have?"
"Rather than a misunderstanding, I'm wondering if my wife is betraying me. If it's a misunderstanding, you'll have to explain it to me so that I can understand."
Gabriel's teeth chattered at the sound of Carlyle's voice, which was pressuring Asha.
'As they say, pigs can only see other pigs...!'
The Asha he saw was a clean and sincere, true believer in God. Such a person should not be insulted by such a pig.
Gabriel clenched his fists and knocked on the slightly open door, then immediately opened it and entered.
"You should keep your door closed, Countess Pervaz. I came to say hello, but I ended up eavesdropping on a marital spat."