Surviving As A Cannon Fodder

CHAPTER 62

The terrace became silent.

Neither I nor Nathaniel uttered a word for such a prolonged time that I started to feel squirmish.

To clear my thoughts, I looked up at the sky. The sun was peeking through the dark clouds as if it was playing hide and seek.

It was unusually cloudy today despite it not being the rainy season. While I'm not very familiar with the weather changes in the capital, by the looks of it, I could guess it might rain tonight.

I could see the back garden from my position. It stretched till it reached the huge wall beneath the small mountain.

On my first week in the Frost Estate, I walked till I reached the wall to check if it was climbable. And I would have done it if it weren't for the private army that stood behind me.

To divert from the awkward atmosphere I picked up the book I brought along with me and started to flip through the pages. All the while, Nathanial stood by the door with his hands behind his back.

There was a light breeze and the faint smell of the camellia tea lingered in the air.

I couldn't concentrate as my mind continuously kept thinking about Nathanial's sly way of saying stuff after calming me down with familiar things.

At that moment, there was a light knock on the door. A middle-aged-looking knight entered and whispered something into Nathanial's ear.

I peeked through the book and tried to read their lips since I couldn't hear anything because of the distance.

After a brief conversation with the butler, the knight bowed towards me and left. I quickly averted my eyes when he turned towards me and pretended as if I was immersed in the book.

'Mana outbreaks could happen due to prolonged sealing of mana by a curse or by any other external means. Precaution needs to be taken... blah blah blah'

The book was more detailed than I had expected. Edward's condition was more complicated than I had initially assumed.

In short, if the snake doesn't get him, then the blast will. But Edwaed's got nothing to worry about since he was the male lead of a cliche romance novel. And that position is enough to survive a nuclear apocalypse.

'Methods of handling outbreaks include purification using holy power...'

That is where the heroine would come to save the day, so what's next? I read the next line.

'...or expulsion of pent-up essence. The latter could be dangerous due to the disastrous nature of mana essence...'

We won't be needing that too since Edward has the next Saintess by our side, so next...

Right then I spotted Nathaniel walking toward me. So I tried my best to act like I had not seen him.

'Keep it casual..... keeep it cassualllll......'

*thud*

In a momentary panic, I flipped the book instead of the pages. Usually, I'm not the type to be on pins and needles all the time, but I have been on edge ever since the assassin was caught. I would rather he escaped than rat me out.

When I reached down to pick up the book, another pair of hands picked it up first.

"Here you go Madam" 

Nathaniel held out the book to me. For a split second his eyes widened after reading the title of the book. But he quickly reverted back to normal as if there was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Ahaha thank you... My hands have been a bit slippery lately"

Instead of sitting there staring at each other's faces with an awkward atmosphere hanging around, I decided to return to my room aka Edward's room so I could at least exercise and stretch my arms for a bit.

"Madam. There's an emergency" Nathanial said with a serious expression on his face.

"Because of the incident yesterday, the priests were denied access to the residence. We suspect there might be a spy among them"

Another spy? And among the priests this time?  I frowned.

"I did notice that the priests weren't here even though it was already past noon. So that's the reason huh...." I remarked as I tapped my finger on the table. 

It was a habit I took after my father. 

'And now... I miss him'

I stopped tapping my fingers and heaved a sigh.

"His Grace needs to be blessed timely or else there might be complications"

'I know. He's basically a resident nuke'

 "So..."

So? I looked at him with suspicion in my eyes.

"We need a blessed artifact and holy water to continue His Grace's treatment. So your visit to the temple has been moved up to the afternoon"

"What?" I exclaimed in surprise.

"Afternoon as in today afternoon? Why wasn't I informed of it earlier?"

Is he being serious?

"There was a sudden change of plans since the temple kept denying our appeals for an exception. Since it is a critical curse only close family members are allowed to handle any objects. And so..."

"I need to go collect it in person as I'm the closest kin in the capital"

"Yes Madam. High Priest Thesser insisted on your arrival by today. There will be a prayer that needs to be attended before the artifact is handed over"

'So it's Santa's fault huh? Next time he starts chatting when he sees me, I'm gonna make sure he bleeds some of his holy blood' I clenched my fists.

"So you need to prepare now if you want to reach the temple before nightfall"

I'll probably have to stay the night if I leave now. Still, it felt like I was missing something.

'Wait a second...'

I jolted up from the chair, sending it back flying when I realized something important.

"Where is the temple located?" I asked, banging my hand on the table.

"The Temple of Eir is on top of Mount Zion on the northern borders of the capital"

"Madam... Is there a problem?" Nathanial inquired, confused by my sudden outburst.

"No! No no there is no issue. Nothin' at all" I answered him with a sheepish grin, embarrassed by my own behavior.

"I was just surprised by the sudden news"

"Then I shall make the preparations" Nathaniel bowed and left the terrace leaving me alone to my thoughts.

I sat down dazed as my mind started putting all the pieces together.

According to the book, Edward's wife died when her carriage was attached within a month of her marriage. However, the book did not specify any details about the when and the where. 

My visit to the Temple would be the first outing I was going to make after coming to Frost Estate. And if my calculations are correct, it has been a month since our so-called marriage was sealed.

'In other words, my carriage will be attacked on the way to the temple tonight!'

I had completely forgotten about it! I covered my mouth with my hands. 

How could I forget something so important?

The long-awaited judgment day has come at last.