“Master, Rowy!”
At dawn just beginning to break, Van searched all over the temple looking for Rowy. He definitely wouldn’t have gone far. However, Rowy wasn’t in the office where Seilan mainly worked, nor in the back garden where Rowy had been reading sacred language the whole time.
‘Where on earth did he go… He shouldn’t know any places.’
Don’t tell me he went outside the temple entirely… And if he’s hidden somewhere he’ll never be found… Van’s expression gradually hardened.
‘Losing Rowy like this? …No, that absolutely can’t happen.’
Van, his face hardened frighteningly, ran somewhere again. The last place he visited was the prayer room. That very place where Rowy had wanted to see the Mammon painting. Fortunately there… he was able to find Rowy crouched in a corner.
“…Rowy.”
Van, who let out a sigh of relief inwardly, slowly approached Rowy, who had his face buried in his knees.
“Master.”
“……”
There was still no answer from Rowy. However, Van keenly noticed that even a little bit of strength had drained from Rowy’s body. Van, who had approached with large steps, pulled Rowy into his arms at once. While doing so, Van, who had been tense wondering if Rowy might push him away, fortunately let out a big sigh while embracing Rowy who hugged him back.
“…Why did you only come now?”
“I’m sorry.”
Rowy burrowed deeper into Van’s embrace. Van stroked Rowy’s back with a careful touch. The two held each other like that for quite a while.
* * *
“Mm, I want to go out now.”
Rowy, who had quickly calmed down after being held and patted in his embrace, pushed Van away with an embarrassed face. Van turned his back to such a Rowy.
“Get on my back.”
“It’s fine though…”
Even so, Rowy pretended to be unable to resist and clung to his back.
“…I don’t want to go back there again.”
“Don’t worry.”
Van slowly walked while carrying Rowy on his back. The place the two arrived at like that was a reception room for visitors. Van, who carefully set Rowy down in the softest seat, poured him water.
“Here, have some water first.”
“Mm.”
Though he’d already calmed down long ago, since Van taking care of him so preciously wasn’t bad, Rowy still showed a tearful face and carefully sipped the water.
“Drink slowly.”
Since it was still early and the space was empty, only the sound of Rowy swallowing water could be heard. Van watched by his side with affectionate eyes.
“…What happened?”
“……”
When Rowy seemed to have calmed down a bit, Van asked carefully. However, Rowy said nothing. Van, who had been waiting for an answer, pulled Rowy’s shoulder into an embrace.
“…Don’t want to talk about it?”
“…No, just…”
Rowy, who had been mumbling in a small voice, buried his face in Van’s embrace. How much time had passed like that—suddenly Van apologized in a gloomy voice.
“…I’m sorry.”
“Huh?”
“I’m the one who brought you all the way here, but I only made you suffer… In the end, nothing was resolved.”
“…What?”
“Perhaps you being cursed might be my fault too. Because I didn’t properly deal with the demon…”
“Hey, how is that your fault?”
Rowy, flustered at Van who suddenly started blaming himself, patted Van’s back to comfort him instead.
“No… In the end, I couldn’t even do the exorcism, and only ended up upsetting you for nothing. Even though I’m by your side, I’m no help at all, and only cause harm… Nothing has changed from before. I’m just a loser. In the past too, I was busy running away, turning my back on the temple just because it was hard for me… And then again…”
Crazy… At the skill of digging tunnels on a different level, Rowy was shocked.
“Hey, stop it! Fine. I’ll tell you!”
“No. That’s not why I’m saying this, I’m really beyond help…”
“Mom! Mom appeared!”
“…Yes?”
“That exorcism ritual or whatever! I saw Mom while doing that!”
* * *
Princess Estelia, who was born in the Irad Duchy, a household where women were precious, grew up receiving special love from childhood. …Or so he’d heard. Rowy began to unfold the story about Princess Estelia in an uncertain voice.
“Um, I don’t know much either. They don’t tell me much…”
“Huh? Even though she’s your mother?”
“Well… I told you before that she died giving birth to me, right?”
“Yes.”
“This… it’s the first time I’m telling this to someone else with my own mouth.”
Rowy, who had paused for a moment, let out a “huu” sigh and started the story. One day, Princess Estelia was kidnapped. It was the day before her coming-of-age ceremony.
“Find her right now!”
“Deploy all the knights!”
The enraged Irad Duchy turned the entire Empire upside down to find Princess Estelia. However, she couldn’t have flown into the sky, yet even after more than half a year, not even a single hair of Princess Estelia could be found.
Then one day, Princess Estelia suddenly returned. With a child in her belly. Naturally, the duchy was turned upside down. However, they ultimately couldn’t find out who the culprit was, because Princess Estelia’s mind had already collapsed. The princess, who had been ailing like that, eventually died while giving birth. And…
“That child is me.”
“……”
Van, speechless at the tragic story, just quietly embraced Rowy. Rowy, who had leaned his body into that embrace, continued speaking.
“It’s a tragedy. The beloved princess suffered something terrible from an assailant, but that great Irad Duchy couldn’t even uncover who the culprit was. In the end, rumors circulated that it must have been a demon’s doing.”
And those rumors went round and round… and solidified into fact in an instant.
“…So maybe that’s why I was so curious about demons.”
Because I might really be a demon’s child…
“That, how could that be? Absolutely not. I’ve spent my whole life hunting demons according to God’s will. I can recognize demons just by looking at them! And I’ve never heard of such a pretty demon!”
Van, shocked at Rowy’s words, poured out his words in a rush. At that, Rowy smiled slightly.
“I know. I’ve met several demons too. I’m human.”
But…
“But why did my mom look like a demon in the exorcism ritual? Her eyes were like a demon’s. Just like that Mammon painting in the prayer room.”
At Rowy’s words, Van’s expression hardened coldly.
* * *
“What on earth does this mean!”
Bang! Van slammed the table in great anger. His eyes were blazing so much that he seemed to see nothing. The sight was so fierce that Rowy flinched unnecessarily and read the room for the Head Priest instead. The reason Van was so angry was…
“Calm down.”
“Do I look like I can calm down right now? Proceeding with an exorcism ritual without holy relics!”
Because he had only now learned that the temple had no holy relics.
‘So what the hell are those holy relics anyway…’
Honestly, even after experiencing the exorcism ritual firsthand, he didn’t properly understand the principle. Much less holy relics. Rowy, who had no idea what was so important about holy relics, couldn’t even dare to join this conversation. That meant… there was no way to appease the angry Van. Rowy shook his head at the Head Priest who was looking at him desperately.
‘I can’t stop him…’
The shoulders of the Head Priest, who had been placing his hopes on Rowy, drooped. Even during that, Van was still venting his anger.
“Interfering with the exorcism ritual! This is definitely the work of a high-ranking demon! Where on earth are the holy relics? If only we had the holy relics, the demon couldn’t have interfered with my master’s mind!”
Van’s reprimand gradually reached its peak. The Head Priest sweated as he tried to calm the jumping Van. Even Rowy, who was watching from the side, was pulling at his sleeve saying “Hey, stop it…”
“We don’t have holy relics, but the exorcism ritual was carried out perfectly…”
“So what if it was? It failed! Shouldn’t we hurry and find the holy relics again! I already told you about the demon summoner targeting the holy sword! Isn’t it a big problem if it falls into a demon’s hands!”
“Ahem, you don’t need to worry about that. The holy relics are in a safe place.”
“You know where the holy relics are right now?”
“Of course. The holy relics are now…”
Huu, the Head Priest wiped the sweat that kept flowing even though it wasn’t hot and opened his mouth.
“The holy relics were borrowed by the Empire’s Solanis Order.”
“…What?”
…Solanis? At the name of a different order that popped up out of nowhere, Van’s heat cooled inadvertently. Solanis Order? Why would Solanis Order need Elion’s holy relics? No, above all, lending holy relics to another order—why on earth?
“…Is it okay to lend out holy relics like that?”
Van asked, truly unable to understand. At that, the Head Priest even reddened his face and said in a small voice.
“…They gave a lot of money.”
“……”
