Responses
I think the preist didnt trust the King that he will be on the Queen's side(MC). He said that for the country the King might side with the Empress Dowager thats why he didnt tell the King. You might not have followed the story well because of how it was constructed.
I still dont trust the priest! If the priest trust the king he should tell it on him about keeping her safe but no he choose to hide it and not to tell on the king which I'd very suspicious in the very beginning! So I dont trust the priest at all