Chapter 07
I stood in front of Fabian’s door.
After taking a short breath, I turned the doorknob.
Creak.
As the door opened with a faint sound, Fabian came into view.
When I stepped inside, our eyes met. I forced my stiff lips into a smile.
“I heard that Your Eminence was looking for me.”
“Haha. It seems our Saintess is quite impatient. I asked you here because there are matters I need to discuss. Please, have a seat.”
We sat across from each other at the table. He poured me some tea and looked me over, as if measuring me.
“You may speak now, Your Eminence.”
“Ahem. Now that you have officially become the Saintess of Melissa, I would like to explain the duties you must carry out.”
I nodded lightly.
“One of those duties is to visit places that require the Saintess’s presence and bestow blessings.”
I already knew this.
Here, it was called the Saintess’s pilgrimage.
I answered calmly.
“Where is the first place I must go?”
“The Helen Kingdom. An invitation has arrived for the Crown Prince’s appointment ceremony.”
Was it because I had lived like a puppet, only doing what they told me?
Or because this memory was buried too far in the past?
Until Fabian said it out loud, I had forgotten that Helen Kingdom was the first place I visited.
It felt as if my breath was caught in my throat. My pupils trembled.
“Saintess?”
At his voice calling me, I erased my thoughts and looked at Fabian.
“Ah, yes.”
“Will you go?”
I didn’t want to follow their wishes.
But Helen Kingdom was different.
“Of course.”
“I look forward to working with you, Saintess.”
After leaving the temple head and returning to my quarters, I trudged over and collapsed onto the sofa.
What kind of expression did I have in front of him earlier?
I didn’t know.
“Helen Kingdom…”
Would Kardin be there?
Well, knowing him, he might not attend.
In this life, it would be better not to meet you.
Then why do I feel disappointed?
Even if we meet, we won’t exchange a single word.
We’re just strangers now.
The memories we shared belong to me alone.
Until I meet him and finally let go of my lingering feelings, my heart will probably remain tangled like this.
* * *
My expectations were wrong.
Even as I suppressed the emotions that rose up whenever I thought of him, wishing time would pass quickly, a part of me wanted it to stop instead.
Even now, inside the carriage heading toward the Helen Kingdom.
My wandering hands fidgeted uselessly with my white dress.
Seeing the familiar road carved into my old memories made my heart pound even harder.
“Saintess?”
At the voice calling me, I lifted my head. Amy tilted her head as she looked at me.
“Saintess, are you feeling very unwell?”
“Hm?”
“You keep frowning. Ah! Is it because this is your first official schedule as a Saintess? Are you nervous?”
At her words, I lifted one corner of my lips and let out a small laugh.
“…Maybe.”
“No way! You weren’t nervous at all when you were appointed! And it’s not just you going—there are other people coming along too, so don’t worry so much!”
“Yes. Thanks to you, I feel a little more at ease.”
On behalf of the Pope, several high-ranking priests were accompanying me to the Hellenic Kingdom.
Since the banquet would continue late into the night, we would stay there for one night.
This time, it would be a night I spent alone.
Before I realized it, the carriage had reached the main gate of the Helen Kingdom’s royal palace.
Seeing so many carriages lined up, it finally began to feel real.
Even now, my eyes searched through the line of carriages on their own—
looking for the grand ducal carriage.
“…It’s not here.”
My disappointment slipped out before I could stop myself.
“Huh? What isn’t here?”
“Oh. It’s nothing.”
The carriage slowly entered the palace grounds and came to a stop.
When I stepped down, the sky—still not yet dark—welcomed me.
A maid approached.
“Saintess of Melissa, was the journey difficult? Since the banquet has not yet begun, I will guide you to your room.”
I nodded with a smile.
“Please do.”
Though it wasn’t the room I had stayed in with you, memories of you still surfaced.
“Then I will come to escort you when the banquet begins. It will start late, so please rest comfortably until then.”
“Yes. Thank you for your kindness. May God’s grace reach you.”
Once inside the room, I went straight to the vanity.
They told me to rest—
Yet I found myself looking into the mirror, holding onto a faint, foolish hope.
I examined my braided white hair from every angle.
Without realizing how much time passed, I did nothing but stare at my reflection.
When I turned my head to look at the sky, darkness had already fallen.
It was a night sky that reminded me of his eyes.
“The banquet hasn’t started yet… Should I take a walk?”
I stood up, opened the door, and stepped outside.
With familiar steps, I headed toward the garden.
Like someone chasing old memories.
As I reached the garden, his voice passed through my mind.
“This place is good for a walk. No one comes here.”
“Is that so? You must come here often.”
“Yes. I hate crowded places.”
The memory of his tone softened my lips into a gentle smile.
“Who’s there?”
But why was a voice I had only kept in memory now reaching my ears?
Slowly, I lifted my head.
A man with eyes like the night sky and golden hair like starlight was walking toward me.
Tilting one eyebrow, he spoke again.
“Ah… are you the Saintess of Melissa?”
Tap.
Tap tap.
Thud. Thud.
I thought you wouldn’t come.
You didn’t exist in my memories of this day—
But you were here after all.
I simply hadn’t seen you.
Oh God.
Is it now that you answer my desperate prayer to see him just once?
I looked at you as you walked toward me with a frown, my vision blurred by tears.
If I were to see you again, I wanted to look beautiful.
But it seemed my wish would not be granted—
The tears wouldn’t stop.
As I hurriedly tried to wipe them away, he held out a handkerchief.
“Ah. Thank you.”
Dabbing my eyes with the cloth, I finally opened my tightly pressed lips and introduced myself.
“And… it’s nice to meet you. I am Saintess Shallen Melissa.”
With tears clinging to my lashes, I smiled brightly.
At my awkward, ridiculous smile, the man—still flustered—introduced himself in return.
“Kardin Lord Ferdian.”
