“Thank you, Het.”
Het bowed his head to the King of the Cana Kingdom as a courtesy. The King quietly took a step inside the temple.
“I don’t have much time to offer you. I must finish everything before dawn, so let’s hurry.”
“Understood.”
Het looked around through the gap in the open door as if searching for someone. He made a disappointed expression, seeming to realize that the High Priest wouldn’t open the door at such an early dawn. However, true to his rational nature, he abandoned his personal wish to see the High Priest and resolved to faithfully fulfill his role as a guide.
Yan hurriedly guided them to Jes’s room. Jes, as if he had been unable to sleep due to worries, immediately opened the door. Then, seeing Yan and Het’s appearance, he was startled, wondering what strange thing the Emperor had demanded this time, but was even more shocked to see the King of Cana.
“Your Majesty.”
Jes greeted him, skillfully hiding his bewilderment. The King gave a refreshing smile and waved his hand as if to say not to do that.
“Sir Jes. If you distance yourself from me like that again, I’ll be disappointed. Didn’t I implore you to call me by my name?”
The King of Cana approached with a friendly smiling face. From him wafted the leisurely atmosphere characteristic of people from the southern region.
“……Sir Theodore.”
That friendly attitude pricked Jes’s conscience. So Jes called him in an uncharacteristically cautious voice. The King glanced at him with eyes half-buried between snow-white eyebrows, as if trying to guess Jes’s intentions. Jes immediately showed a gentle smile, but the King had already raised his guard.
Meanwhile, Rou, who had been immersed in sweet sleep, felt the Goddess’s energy strangely close by. It felt as though the Goddess had descended herself, or as if someone She cherished was nearby—the Goddess’s breath seemed to be felt from a close place.
Rou mustered his strength and half-opened his eyes. Just before falling asleep, even though he had offered prayers while dozing off, perhaps the Goddess had taken pity on him, as the wound on the nape of his neck had disappeared like a lie.
‘Did She really descend?’
Rou rose from his bed with a joyful heart. That energy was wafting from Jes’s bedroom. Thinking that perhaps he had offered a great prayer and received the Goddess’s response, Rou pulled the doorknob, intending to congratulate him.
The first thing Rou saw was light purple eyes resembling violets.
Unaware of the subtle current between the two humans, Rou was purely surprised. With even rounder eyes, he looked Theodore up and down several times. Perhaps Rou’s gaze was too blatant, as Theodore, who had narrowed his brow and turned his head, discovered him and let out a low “Ah” of admiration.
“It’s my first time meeting the High Priest. I am Theodore III, King of the Cana Kingdom. May the Goddess’s abundance and summer be with you eternally.”
Theodore greeted him with perfect etiquette. This was his first time meeting the High Priest. No action that could be criticized was permitted.
“……Gosh, really fast.”
“……Pardon?”
“No. It’s nothing. May the Goddess’s blessing be with you as well.”
The King of Cana had a face full of questions, but Rou had no intention of resolving them. He had his own confusion to deal with.
One day, the Goddess had rejoiced, saying that a soul She cherished had been born in a warm kingdom. She had proudly shown him the infant, saying it was born as a member of the royal family, and that image was vivid before his eyes, yet he had already ascended to the throne.
‘Well, Brukisel has also grown up so much since I last saw him……’
Human time really was fast. Like a spirit who had lived for hundreds of years with a vague sense of time, Rou suddenly found himself thinking about how much time he had left. Rou alternately looked at Jes, who was diligently continuing the conversation, and Theodore, who was responding appropriately.
A child growing up was but a moment. Then would a grown child becoming like Jes also be just a moment?
Rou’s cheeks, which had always been a soft rosy color, lost that healthy glow and became somewhat pale. He wanted to make Brukisel happy, but the short spring was already coming to an end.
‘Surely his hair won’t turn completely white within a year.’
Having heard somewhere that a human in extreme suffering had their hair turn white in just one year, Rou began to feel a bit anxious.
While Rou was lost in thought, Jes and Theodore entered into a probing match disguised as a peaceful reunion.
“Though I did send you a letter, I didn’t expect to see you this quickly. As expected of someone cherished by the Goddess, you hurried to come see the High Priest.”
In the letter Jes sent yesterday, he ultimately left out the story about the holy relic. It was a decision made judging that if he brought up that story, the King would never come up to the Empire. He only wrote expressing gratitude for the generous hospitality of the past and asking him to come pay his respects to the new High Priest. Since he had succeeded in summoning the King as a result, he thought it was a good method.
However, upon hearing those words, the King of Cana’s expression was not very good.
“As I thought…… You haven’t received a single one of my letters.”
“Pardon?”
“I contacted you several times wishing to meet the new High Priest, but there was no response. In the end, I came here in such a hurry out of concern for Sir Jes’s safety.”
Only then did Jes begin to think something was a bit strange. That was because while there were many who sent letters wanting to come to the temple, not a single one had come from high-ranking nobles or royalty of other countries. At most, there were merchants who could read and write, or moderate wealthy individuals whose influence was too weak to reach the north.
Even that amount was more than Jes could handle, so he was organizing them together with Yan, who could barely read, and in the midst of being frantically busy, he hadn’t paid attention to the status of the senders.
“The Grand Duke of the Western Duchy and the feudal lord of the southeastern island nation also have not been granted a meeting. I was wondering if you were being held captive and was lingering around the area, but with Het’s help, I was able to enter all the way inside like this.”
Het avoided everyone’s gaze.
What Brukisel had demanded from the High Priest soon reached Het’s ears as well. Though he thought it was unreasonable, he hadn’t been able to say so directly because he valued his life. He had thought about placing the letter from the Cana Kingdom in a spot that would catch the Emperor’s eye, but whenever he actually entered the Emperor’s office, he was too eager to leave quickly and didn’t have the opportunity.
While returning to his quarters after finishing today’s work, he saw suspicious movements. Occasionally, there were reckless individuals who took advantage of the dawn to climb over the tall walls erected between the quarters. Though overshadowed by Brukisel, Het, who was by no means lacking in ability, swung his scabbard with the purpose of capture, and someone tumbled down from the top of the wall.
During the day, they would be discovered by the guards and dragged away on their own, but the atmosphere they gave off was somehow unusual. The material of that robe that covered their entire body was a rare luxury item. The boots, though worn, also looked light and sturdy.
Approaching with the thought of at least seeing their face, he came face to face with a familiar face he seemed to have seen somewhere. Thinking he had seen it at least once in a portrait, Het lifted the unconscious man’s eyelid to check his pupils for confirmation.
Light purple eyes were the symbol of the Cana royal family.
“Nnngh……”
Perhaps because he had arbitrarily flipped his eyelid, the man groaned and tried to regain consciousness. Het quickly turned his mind. His choice right now could completely change the High Priest’s course of action. If he brought this person before the High Priest, the High Priest might be able to obtain ‘Patricia’s Belt.’
Het was the Emperor’s right-hand man. Though he had pledged loyalty as a knight, before being a knight, he was a person. It was hard to suppress his desire to help the High Priest. The High Priest was kind and beautiful, and also possessed an inexplicable power that made people follow him.
If he sent the King of Cana back now and the High Priest later failed to obtain ‘Patricia’s Belt,’ he felt he would be tormented by guilt and regret for the rest of his life.
He didn’t know for what reason the King of Cana had come here, but for now, he was resolved to take him to the High Priest. ‘Patricia’s Belt.’ Though it wasn’t an item that could be easily received, the High Priest was always someone who solved problems in extraordinary ways.
Even if he failed, he had to give him the opportunity.
Having brought him here with that thought, he now felt he had done the right thing, but separately from that, he was afraid. As it was only a matter of time before the Emperor found out, he probably wouldn’t be able to serve the Emperor closely from now on and might have to hide and live inside the temple, where his power was relatively weak.
However, Het, who had already witnessed the High Priest’s miracle in the greenhouse, thought about it with some peace of mind. Thinking of the High Priest’s benevolence, an inexplicable belief arose that he would somehow take him in.
‘No. It might actually be better to live while escorting the High Priest……’
Het had such disloyal thoughts. He occasionally checked outside the window, and very rarely turned only his eyes to carefully take in the High Priest’s image. The High Priest had such a pure appearance that it was hard to believe he had just woken up, and was listening to the conversation between the former High Priest and the King of Cana.
“I didn’t realize you were such a devout believer. Thank you, Het.”
“Well…… I only did it for the High Priest.”
Het looked at him with expectant eyes, hoping the High Priest might stroke his head like before, but unfortunately, such a thing didn’t happen.
As soon as Het, who had been listened to by Jes and the King of Cana, closed his mouth, they opened the discussion.
“Is there anything I can do to help the High Priest?”
“Haha…… I’m sure you meant that Theodore’s faith will be a great strength to the High Priest. By the way, climbing over the Imperial Palace wall. Was there perhaps an urgent matter requiring you to visit the temple? If it’s something possible, the temple will prepare it, so please just say the word.”
“Of course not. As I mentioned earlier, I was only worried that perhaps the Emperor was holding the High Priest captive. So, Sir Jes, if there’s anything you need my help with, please don’t hesitate.”
It sounded like a heartwarming conversation on the surface, but neither one brought up their purpose first.
Though Jes was not accustomed to politics or aristocratic speech, even he was beginning to notice that something was strange. If he had come because he was worried about captivity, now that he had confirmed safety, he should receive a blessing prayer and return, yet the King of Cana was maintaining his position as if he had another purpose.
He didn’t know what he wanted, but it was certain he was hiding something.
Once that thought occurred to him, he had a bitter taste in his mouth. The King of Cana had always been courteous to him as High Priest, and he too had cherished the King of Cana, who was like a grandson, as more than an ordinary believer. But he hadn’t expected they would become a relationship where they hid their intentions and tested each other like this.
At the same time, he could understand Theodore’s feelings. The Kaine Religion was a religion that had flourished centered in the south, and unless there was a special purpose, there was no reason to stay in the persecuted north. His concern likely stemmed from worry that perhaps the High Priest’s stay in the north was because he had formed an alliance with the Emperor.
The Empire was still the strongest on the continent even now. Potential allied nations that could oppose it had been utterly defeated in the current Emperor’s merciless conquests, and the Empire, whose balance had been broken, continued to expand its power southward. In this situation, he was clearly wary that the Emperor might be trying to swallow the entire continent by drawing in even the religious leader.
‘The High Priest is not such a person……’
Jes felt like stomping his feet in frustration.
