On the afternoon of February 10, Duke Landen Gallop of Night-Kirin City, Duke Richie Red Dragon of Dragon Tooth City, Eastern Marquis Duma Dragon, and the Southern Marquis appeared together outside the Temple of Life on Dragon Terrace Mountain.
The crowds and the patrolling Knights had surrounded several blocks around the Temple, leaving no room to move. Only after the Griffin Knights arrived and set up a cordon outside the Temple's main entrance were more than a dozen carriages belonging to great nobles able to approach.
At around 2:30 p.m., a carriage bearing the Red-Dragon crest entered the Temple grounds. With Landen and Duma fawning over him, Richie stepped down from the carriage. The nobles then escorted the future King to offer all kinds of tribute before the statue of Lucia, the Goddess of Life.
Last summer, the Temple had acquired several nearby courtyards and established an orphanage to care for children left unattended after several rounds of gang warfare.
By December, the number of children at the orphanage had reached its peak. More than a dozen clergy members, including Priestess Oona, cared for the children while raising funds for the orphanage.
Unlike the orphanages run by the Knights in other regions, however, the children at Priestess Oona's orphanage all came from gangs. They included Humans, Beastmen, and even Devil Race youths.
Many families feared damaging their reputations and did not dare donate. Even the nobles who had often visited the Temple to donate and pray now chose to go to the Grand Cathedral of the Temple Alliance instead of this Temple.
That was why Richie had come in person today, accompanied by Landen and Duma. They had brought a large amount of Gold Coins and food, and they also intended to announce to the nobles of the Royal Capital