<h4>Chapter 734 The reason why…</h4>


    I was certainly surprised to find the priest waiting outside for me.


    But at the same time, I was also feeling guilty since I was the one that had bailed on him before.


    So I came forward and said, "Father, there was no need for you to wait for me. Let''s go in and talk."


    The priest shook his head and seemed like he wanted to say something, but he stopped himself with a difficult look on his face.


    In the end, he just gave a nod and led the way in.


    Seeing this, I couldn''t help being surprised and confused.


    After all, I didn''t like the way that he had stopped himself from speaking just now.


    It was like there was something that he was having difficulty saying, or there was something that he didn''t know how to say.


    When that happened, it usually meant bad news...


    So there was a part of me that wanted to ask him right away what the problem was, but I didn''t do it in the end. I knew that doing this would just make it harder for him, so at the very least, I had to wait until he was ready to tell me.


    We went into the office of the priest and he sat down after bringing some tea over.


    Though we had sat down, we just sat there in silence for five minutes as the priest just sipped his tea and gave sighs as if he was struggling with something.


    Finally, I couldn''t take it anymore and asked, "Father, is there something wrong?"


    The priest opened and closed his mouth a few times before slowly shaking his head and saying, "Well, it''s not that there''s something wrong, it''s just that..."


    When his voice trailed off, I couldn''t help slightly knitting my brows as it really felt like there was something wrong.


    So I said, "If there''s something wrong, you can tell me. Could it be that it''s rted to the main church headquarters? Have they given you some kind of order that you can''t refuse?"


    The priest was surprised to hear this before quickly shaking his head and saying, "No, no, it''s nothing like that. The church does not get involved in private matters that easily, so there''s no need for you to worry about that. Not to mention, you are a man with the Mark of God, the church wouldn''t turn against you that easily."


    I was relieved, but also a bit surprised by thetter part of what he said.


    Still, I was confused why he had said what he had said.


    So I asked again, "Is it a personal issue that you have with me? Is it because I went to the capital and blew off our study sessions? If it is, then let me apologize to you."


    The priest once again shook his head and said, "No, no, it''s not that either. I know that you are busy my lord, I would never hold that against you."


    I just looked at the priest with a confused look after hearing this.


    If it wasn''t this or that, then I really had no idea why he would say something like this.


    After all, I couldn''t think of another thing that I had done wrong…


    The priest could see the look on my face, so after struggling a bit more, he said with a sigh, "My lord, it''s just that this is something that''s hard for me to say because it can be considered a personal matter for you. It''s not a matter that others should be asking about, but I have to talk to you about this."


    I was even more confused when I heard this, but I gave a nod of acknowledgement before waiting to see what he had to say.


    The priest took a deep breath before saying, "My lord, are you and the madam trying to conceive a child?"


    A look ofplete shock appeared on my face when I heard this.


    After all, this was thest thing that I expected the priest to say.


    There was a blush that appeared on my face since this was indeed quite the personal matter, but I didn''t hold it against the priest for asking me something like this. It was clear by the look on his face that he had a reason for asking me this.


    So I slowly gave a nod and asked, "We are, is there a problem with that?"


    The priest shook his head as he said, "No, of course not. Children are the gift of god and everyone should have the chance to have one." Then after a pause, he said, "But…that is where the problem lies."


    "Huh?" I was once again confused when I heard this.


    Problem?


    What problem could there be?


    The priest paused for a minute before taking a deep breath and saying, "There''s no easy way to say this, but I''ve been reading some of the texts about the Mark of God and I''ve learned something disturbing."


    I raised a brow with a questioning look when I heard this.


    If it was disturbing, then that was bad since I was the one with the Mark of God on me.


    The priest gave another sigh, but he didn''t finish that thought as he asked, "My lord, have you and the madam been trying for a long time to have a child?"


    Once again, I was surprised by this change in topic since I was more concerned about the disturbing thing that he found. However, I still gave a nod in response.


    Seeing this, the priest said, "As expected…"


    "As expected?" I repeated in a questioning tone.


    The priest gave a nod before saying, "There''s no easy way to say this, so I''ll be frank. My lord, the reason why you and the madam are having difficulty conceiving is because of the Mark of God."


    "What?" I asked in a shocked voice.


    After a pause, I asked, "Are you certain about that?"


    The priest gave a nod before standing up to go get some books that he had on his table.