Those who had been waiting in Jes’s bedroom for the High Priest and the King of Cana were eavesdropping on the calm footsteps and quietly continuing conversation. Worried that another war of nerves might be breaking out, Jes hurried out into the corridor, only to see Theodore looking quite different from before.
“Then does that mean the existing interpretation of Eliyan, the Great Prophet, was wrong?”
“Rather than being completely wrong, the direction was a bit different. The number seven that Eliyan mentioned is more deeply related to the eternity the Goddess grants, rather than truly meaning that number itself.”
Theodore was listening with sparkling eyes, and Rou was gladly answering his passionate questions. The endless stream of questions could have felt annoying, but the High Priest seemed pleased, perhaps inwardly delighted to meet such an enthusiastic believer after such a long time.
When the two reached agreement, Rou laughed aloud, and a gentle smile graced Theodore’s lips as well. Jes hesitated, unable to approach further due to the subtle atmosphere emanating from them. Het, who now had to send Theodore back, followed behind Jes, finding it suspicious that he was blocking the doorway.
What passed between the two wasn’t just conversation. When the High Priest had difficulty walking due to his clothes and hair soaked through with Goddess’s Dew, the King was personally escorting him. The combination of an incredible beauty and a kind, upright-looking young man was quite plausible, enough to make even Het, who was ignorant of such things, think “perhaps…”
“If I tell that child I came to see the High Priest, how happy they’ll be…”
Theodore trailed off meaningfully. He looked around like someone checking their surroundings before revealing a secret, and discovered Jes and Het watching their conversation through the half-open door.
He might have expected it from Jes, but apparently not from Het as well. With disbelieving eyes, Theodore looked in turn at the former High Priest who had lived close to a century and at the right hand of the Emperor who ruled a vast empire.
Jes, whose face was as thick as the years he’d lived, continued to brazenly stick his face forward as if he had nothing to be ashamed of, but Het, still feeling a bit embarrassed, averted his eyes and pushed his head back into the room.
Theodore calmed his flustered feelings. Though overshadowed by Brukisel, he too was a promising talent in the South and a young leader full of ambition. He felt deeply reluctant to leave such a capable High Priest—young, and handsome enough to instantly win people’s favor—behind in the northern lands.
If he could win over the High Priest and make his heart entirely his own, it would probably be the greatest power that a small southern kingdom could possess.
Moreover, Theodore’s lingering attachment wasn’t solely due to political ambition. The High Priest had maintained a consistently detached attitude throughout. If he knew everything but wasn’t saying anything, it must surely mean he was keeping silent for Theodore’s sake.
The Goddess had always been on Theodore’s side. So Theodore wanted to believe—and was already half-convinced—that this man called the Goddess’s representative would also become his ally with just a little coaxing.
“You must know everything, High Priest. What kind of… what kind of child they are to me.”
“Mm. Family, aren’t they?”
“…That’s right.”
Rou nodded quietly. It wasn’t a particularly difficult deduction, so it wasn’t very surprising. All animals on earth held blood relations dear. Even animals living in the fields would pity their injured siblings and bring them food—how much more so for humans?
“I see.”
Rou nodded to show he understood, but even so, Theodore’s passionate eyes wouldn’t leave him. Thanks to Theodore’s handsome appearance, his staring wasn’t unpleasant, but it was still quite distracting, so Rou hesitated and took a small step back.
“I understand. That child’s situation must be very different from yours.”
If they were pleasing in the Goddess’s eyes, he would have already known. Seeing as he had no idea at all, it seemed they were neither a soul nor a body the Goddess cherished. Rou had said it without much thought, but for some reason, Theodore’s cheeks flushed upon hearing it.
Since Theodore seemed to want an answer, Rou meant to say yes, that it was true his sibling was ill. But Theodore’s eyes lit up brilliantly with delight.
“…As I thought. You already knew. Yet you kept silent.”
Rou was about to say he’d only just learned of it, but Theodore leaned in with such overwhelming intensity that he missed his chance to correct him. And Theodore, mistaking Rou’s shrinking back as a nod, was deeply impressed.
After briefly hesitating, he began his story with the agonized face of someone making a confession.
“I want to confess everything to you, High Priest. The child I asked you to pray for is my one and only full sibling.”
“I see.”
For Rou, who could gain anywhere from dozens to hundreds of siblings from a single Queen Bee, this wasn’t particularly surprising. Rather, it was Jes who was shocked by his confession. His eyes, half-buried in his eyebrows, widened so much they seemed ready to pop out.
The late King and Queen of the Cana Kingdom were famously devoted to each other. Given how devoted they were, it had seemed odd that Theodore was their only child together. Even when the couple died at the same time for unknown reasons, it became the subject of a minstrel’s song, romanticized as such.
But had the visible appearance differed from the true circumstances?
Theodore deliberately didn’t face Jes. Though he seemed to be trying to calm himself, the tremor in his voice clearly revealed his agitation.
“The only family I have left is that child. A pitiful, lovable child whose heart has been weak since birth, who struggles even to stand under warm sunlight. So… if only my sibling can be happy… I want to do anything for them.”
“My friend.”
Theodore looked as if he might burst into tears at any moment. Rou called to him gently, but once emotions ran high, they didn’t easily subside.
“Even if it’s by the Emperor’s side, there’s no reason for you to stay here while being treated so poorly! The Cana Kingdom will treat you better than this—no, you’ll enjoy so much that you’ll have nothing to envy! If you come, High Priest, it will be the greatest happiness for my sibling.”
Yan, who had been listening to everything through the open door, screamed internally. The High Priest was the Omanea Empire’s one and only treasure! And now this King of Cana, not satisfied with receiving the High Priest’s prayers, was trying to poach him to his own country.
Of course, the Emperor still ignored the High Priest, left wounds on him, and was shameless enough to demand impossible things. In contrast, this King of Cana was respectful and deeply faithful, so considering the High Priest’s frail body, it might be right for him to go south with the King.
‘No, but still! Still!’
Yan steadied his momentarily wavering heart. What mattered most to him was the High Priest’s will. As long as he wanted to help the Emperor, Yan would help him with body and soul. Though he could live more peacefully and comfortably if he went south…
‘What am I even thinking!’
He wished Jes would at least give a refreshing rebuke, asking what kind of nonsense this was, but for some reason he remained quiet. Yan wanted to whisper to Jes asking what he was doing not stopping the King right now, but he couldn’t convey this important message because Het was blocking him by sticking close behind Jes.
And Jes’s thoughts differed somewhat from Yan’s. He still very much hoped Rou would go south like this. The Goddess’s Blessing and the High Priest’s prayers were luxuries wasted on an Emperor who didn’t even know how to properly attend to the High Priest.
“Even just a few days would be fine. Please, please grant my sibling the blessing of meeting you in person.”
Yan couldn’t just keep watching any longer. He grabbed Het’s sideburns like a rope with one hand and whispered in his ear in a menacing voice.
‘Are you just going to watch that? A man who’s supposed to be the Emperor’s right hand?’
Only then did Het snap back to his senses. Theodore’s gaze at the High Priest had been so earnest that Het had momentarily forgotten he was the King of Cana. Watching those tender eyes, it was confusing whether he was a foreign king holding onto the High Priest or just a man yearning for someone.
Could even that be calculated? Het, who had hesitated thinking he shouldn’t interfere with courtship, suddenly burned with a sense of duty. Holding onto the High Priest was all for the national interest. Just as Het was about to say that the promised time had come and he should return now, Theodore moved cleverly.
“High Priest.”
Theodore knelt before Rou in front of everyone. And as a sign of absolute obedience, he kissed his pure white instep. For a monarch of a nation, even a small one, to pledge obedience—it was the moment everyone realized Theodore’s request to come to his kingdom wasn’t a light one.
Yan, who had been squeezing himself through the doorway, forgot to breathe, forgot his resolution to follow the High Priest’s will, and simply watched the scene before his eyes. Het, who had forgotten his sense of duty, could only watch the situation unfold as well.
The sight of the king on both knees, prostrate on the floor pleading with the High Priest, looked so sublime it wouldn’t be strange to embroider it on a temple tapestry.
