~Chapter 32~
“Miss, a letter arrived from the Sollen family.”
Astia closed the book she was reading and used a paper knife to open the letter Annie handed her.
There was no seal from the Sollen family, so it was clearly a private letter, not an official one.
Astia smiled as she read it.
I’m visiting the Zilte Temple near Rovellito’s lands soon. Would you like to go with me? I know it’s sudden, but I go there often and really wanted to visit with you.
The careful handwriting showed how much Cecilia had thought about her invitation.
Zilte Temple.
It wasn’t as big as the Grand Temple, but it was still a fairly important one near the Sollen and Rovellito families.
‘Was this the temple Cecilia visited often in the original story?’
The name sounded familiar, but she couldn’t remember exactly.
Anyway, she and Cecilia had been exchanging letters and growing closer.
Now, the day had come when she’d go to the temple with Cecilia!
She had never been to a temple before, but since Cecilia would become a saint, maybe she’d start to enjoy visiting these places too.
Astia dipped her quill in ink and wrote a careful reply, full of happy, casual stories.
“Annie, please give this to a servant to deliver.”
“Yes, miss! It’s so nice seeing you and Lady Sollen becoming friends after the tea party…”
“Yes. She and I get along much better than I expected. She’s really kind.”
“I’m glad… I’m so happy you have a friend now, miss…”
Annie’s face was full of joy. Astia smiled back at her.
“Annie, didn’t you say you had good news too?”
“Ah… y-you heard?”
“Yes. Haron told me.”
“It’s embarrassing…”
Annie blushed and covered her cheeks.
“Thanks to you, we cleared up our misunderstanding and now we’re getting married.”
“I’m happy too. Good things happening to people I like always make me happy.”
Astia’s bright tone touched Annie.
“Miss…”
“Alright, I’m going to meet Cecilia now. You’re coming too, right? We’re going to the Zilte Temple.”
“Of course, miss! I’m always your personal maid.”
All that was left was to get Damian’s permission.
Astia wondered if her brother—who didn’t like temples—would allow her to go.
Luckily, Damian agreed right away, as long as Annie and Haron went with her.
That was reasonable. A noble lady couldn’t go to a temple alone, and Astia didn’t need as many guards now that she was an adult.
Before leaving, Astia drank her Hineloti flower tea.
‘It still tastes awful.’
She hadn’t coughed up blood lately, but she still got dry coughs and felt tired often. That’s why she couldn’t stay outside for long.
She still took her medicine, even though she wasn’t cured yet—it was the only treatment, so she kept drinking it, even if she was uneasy after all these years.
Astia waved to Damian and took a carriage to meet Cecilia.
“So this is the Zilte Temple…”
Astia looked up at the temple, surprised at its size.
There were a lot of visitors, and the place seemed well run.
“Miss, I’ll wait for you here.”
“Alright, Annie. Relax with Sir Haron. Temples are safe, so don’t worry.”
The temple was a place for worship, with holy knights everywhere—it was safe.
“Yes, miss!”
“We’ll be waiting.”
Haron and Annie nodded. Astia slowly walked toward the temple.
As she reached the entrance, Cecilia greeted her with a bright smile.
“Lady Astia!”
“You’re already here. Did you wait long?”
“No, I just got here too. Was your trip okay?”
“Yes. It’s close to my family’s estate, so it didn’t take long.”
Astia entered the temple with Cecilia.
Cecilia smiled and said,
“I’m so happy to come here with you. This temple is very special to me.”
“Really?”
“Yes. High Priest Clay was the one who first discovered that I had holy power.”
“Did your families know each other before?”
“My mother often comes here to pray. The High Priest visited us once, and when he saw me, he said he felt a very pure aura from me…”
Astia listened carefully.
‘So High Priest Clay was the first to see Cecilia’s potential.’
Now she understood why Cecilia visited the Zilte Temple so much.
For Cecilia, High Priest Clay must be the one who recognized her gift—a real benefactor.
If the High Priest’s chosen candidate became a saint, the temple would become far more important in the empire. So, they would want to keep strong ties to Cecilia.
“…The High Priest is always very kind to me. That’s why I think I’ll keep coming here.”
“Oh, so we’ll meet the High Priest today?”
“Yes, I’ll introduce you! He’s been curious about you too.”
“…Really?”
“There are so many articles about you, Lady Astia. He wanted to meet you!”
Astia nodded at Cecilia’s innocent words, but suddenly felt uneasy.
‘He’s interested in me?’
Priests usually lived inside the temple, focusing on their faith.
Especially the High Priest—he was the top authority, running the temple and leading the believers, but usually avoided deep involvement with the social world.
High Priest Clay seemed different, though. He’d visited noble families and was knowledgeable about society.
‘Strange…’
Was she just being suspicious? She couldn’t tell.
She’d just have to meet him herself.
Astia followed Cecilia to the reception room.
“Welcome, Lady Astia.”
Clay greeted her with a big smile. He had short blond hair and dark brown eyes.
“Hello. Cecilia told me a lot about you.”
“Did she? That’s an honor.”
“You asked to meet me. May I ask why?”
Astia kept her polite smile, but sized Clay up.
With a big jeweled ring and hair styled like a noble, he looked more like an aristocrat than a priest.
‘Is he really a high priest?’
He gave her a strange feeling. Clay laughed, brushing off her question.
“I heard you’re close to Cecilia, who’s about to become a saint. I wanted to use this chance to get to know you too.”
“Thank you, but I don’t visit temples often.”
“That may change soon. Maybe you’ll come more often. Would you like to try confession? If you have any worries you can’t share, our priests will listen—always confidential and free of charge. A lot of people say they feel better after visiting.”
He explained the temple like a salesman.
Cecilia jumped in to support him.
“That’s right. The Zilte Temple is really popular. They help a lot of people.”
“Ah, you know us well. That’s why I like you best, Lady Cecilia!”
Astia listened and finally accepted Clay’s offer.
“Then, may I try confession? I’m curious.”
“Of course, we’d be honored. I’ll take you to our first confession room.”
Astia didn’t know what made it special, but she followed Clay.
Cecilia whispered reassuringly,
“I do confession here too. They really listen and are very kind.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
The first confession room was impressive. Clay bowed deeply.
“We’ll be waiting for you. Please feel free to come any time. Zilte Temple is always here for you.”
“Thank you.”
Clay left.
“I’ll see you soon, Lady Astia. I’ll go pray for a bit.”
Cecilia went to the prayer room, and Astia prepared to enter the confession room.
It was very quiet and solemn inside.
Just then, she heard a voice.
“I-I promise I’ll have the money by next week. I just don’t have it now…”
She turned to see a man who looked like a commoner, bowing deeply to a priest in pure white robes.
“…I’ll have the money by the end of the week.”
“Tsk. Don’t you know it takes a price to wash away your sins? I’ll give you some more time.”
The priest snapped, then turned away with an annoyed look.
“Th-thank you.”
The man bowed repeatedly, grateful.
The priest looked disgusted, then met Astia’s eyes. He jumped in surprise and hurried away.
Astia’s violet eyes darkened.
