Chapter 026………………………………………
You Died
– Philip hesitated as he stepped inside through the door Amy had just left.
“I see you were in the middle of a meal. I’ll come back later.”
I stopped him as he turned to leave.
“It’s fine. Please come in.”
“I rushed over as soon as I heard you had returned, so I fear I’m intruding.”
“Not at all. I was actually waiting for you, Father.”
Philip glanced over the untouched food on the table before speaking again.
“Does the meal not suit your taste?”
I followed his gaze to the food laid out before me.
“I just don’t have much of an appetite.”
“I’ll have some warm soup prepared. At least try to have that.”
Soup—something I could finish quickly—did seem better right now. If I didn’t eat anything, I’d just keep hearing the same nagging remarks.
My eyes drifted to his empty hands.
I’d been told that while I was seeing guests, he would search for information in the Pope’s office.
Fabivan was currently using that office, but since he would be busy with the funeral mass, I thought Philip might learn something—anything.
Suppressing my disappointment, I looked up at him.
“Couldn’t find anything?”
“I did.”
My eyes widened at his reply.
Philip took out some documents hidden inside his sleeve and handed them to me.
They were rolled tightly, and fairly thick.
“I wrote down exactly what I saw there.”
As soon as I received the rolled papers, I unrolled them.
They were filled with dense writing—records of the pilgrimage routes taken by previous Saintesses. It was mostly just a list of the countries they had visited, but that alone was enough.
It was all organized so clearly. Had no one else known?
I recalled the faces of the cardinals who had attended the meeting, but they hadn’t seemed aware that such records even existed.
Frowning at the small notes written beside each country’s name, I asked,
“What is this?”
“I’m not entirely certain, but…”
They were things I felt I’d heard of somewhere before.
“Are these holy relics?”
“According to what I found, yes.”
I couldn’t understand why the names of relics were written beside the countries.
Biting my lip, I turned the page.
The next sheet appeared to record details about each former Saintess—their age, place of origin, when they entered Melissa, the date they became Saintess, and when it all ended.
If I hadn’t seen the Pope at the end… if I hadn’t returned to the past… I might not have thought much of it.
The amount of divine power each Saintess possessed was described using metaphors of containers, written almost like a research log.
But now, it felt disturbingly like records of test subjects.
Without realizing it, I frowned.
Philip lowered his eyebrows—perhaps reading my expression, or perhaps feeling a faint sense of guilt as someone of the temple.
I looked up at him and smiled faintly.
“Thank you.”
“There’s information about you on the back as well, Saintess.”
At his words, I quickly flipped to the last pages.
Just as he said, my name was written there.
“Since I was organizing everything I found, just in case…”
It recorded that I was an orphan, how my name was chosen, when I entered Melissa like the other Saintesses, and when I ascended to the position.
However, compared to the others, there were many blank spaces. I had only just become a Saintess, after all.
My pilgrimage route had already been decided.
It was an old memory, but seeing it written out like this brought it all back.
Whether it was the Pope’s doing, Fabivan’s, or something the two of them decided together, the pilgrimage route chosen for me was exactly the path I had walked in my previous life.
Beside it were the names of relics, once again full of unanswered questions.
“It seemed to be the Saintess’s pilgrimage route.”
“Yes. Since the Helen Kingdom is listed first, that must be it.”
So my life really had been that of a puppet. I really had lived that way.
Confirming it with my own eyes didn’t feel good at all.
Why were relics written next to the name ‘pilgrimage route’?
Objects I had never seen with my own eyes, never touched.
“Father.”
“Yes, Saintess.”
“Is there some kind of price to be paid for a Saintess’s pilgrimage?”
He frowned, as if hearing this for the first time.
“I’ve never heard anything like that.”
“I see.”
“But after seeing this document, I can’t say I’m certain anymore.”
“Hm. I feel the same.”
I placed the papers on the table and fell into thought.
Would Harold know the relationship between a Saintess’s pilgrimage and these relics?
Tap. Tap.
The sound of my index finger touching and leaving the table was the only noise in the room when Philip spoke.
“Saintess.”
“Yes?”
“Once the funeral is over, there will soon be talk about the vacant papal seat.”
“I expect so.”
“Do you plan to watch?”
I answered with a slightly bitter smile.
“Probably.”
“How do you plan to stop it?”
“For now, I’ll just observe.”
Without even preventing the Pope’s death, the future had been pulled forward in a direction I didn’t want. Without noticing, I had stepped into the future Fabivan had drawn.
I had tried to stop him, but there was still so much I didn’t know.
So I decided to see his plan with my own eyes.
To see just how ugly it was.
It was a choice made because there was no other way. Philip, seemingly unable to think of a way to stop Fabivan immediately either, didn’t press further.
I told Philip to become one of Fabivan’s people—so he could catch Fabivan’s eye and monitor him more closely than before.
Once again, he nodded simply because I was the daughter of God. I didn’t ask about his feelings.
His regret didn’t matter to me. I was simply grateful.
The funeral mass was underway.
Alec guided me somewhere else instead.
“He’s here.”
While everyone else was gathered in the temple square, Harold was in a secluded prayer room.
“I’ll wait outside.”
I slowly closed and opened my eyes in response.
When I pushed open the door, shattered stained glass scattered light over a faded statue of God.
It seemed unused; moss had grown along the walls.
I spotted Harold sitting in front of the statue.
At the sound of my shoes, he turned his head slightly.
We sat apart, with the aisle between the long benches separating us.
“I didn’t know there was a place like this in Melissa.”
“What brings the Saintess to such a secluded corner?”
“I heard you were here, Your Excellency.”
When I first heard he was here, I wondered if he might be mourning the Pope’s passing alone.
But there was no sorrow or regret in his eyes.
“May I ask why you made that request back then?”
“As I said, I was concerned about His Holiness’s condition—”
“Wasn’t it because you wanted to show me something?”
As he turned his head, I shifted my gaze to the statue of God.
“Do you wish to stop him from becoming Pope?”
Harold looked as though he was gauging how much I knew.
I could tell just from his eyes. This man was neither the Pope’s nor Fabivan’s.
Perhaps he had been waiting for someone who thought the same as he did.
Harold adjusted his monocle and swept his gaze across the inner walls.
“This prayer room was the beginning. The beginning of the Melissa Temple.”
An abandoned prayer room.
As I followed his gaze, I realized his eyes had settled on me.
“Can you stop him from becoming Pope, Saintess?”
I shook my head.
For a fleeting moment, Harold failed to hide his disappointment.
“If I can stop him, I will. If I can’t, then I’ll drag him down after he becomes Pope.”
Harold smiled bitterly, as if he already knew the ending.
“Do you think that’s possible?”
“If you stand on my side, wouldn’t that possibility increase?”
He withdrew his gaze from me and looked up at the statue of Gloria, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
“I don’t know if I can be of any help.”
No. I needed him.
Even if Philip became a cardinal, he lacked experience. Compared to this man, we knew far less about Melissa and Fabivan.
“Shouldn’t you grasp me as your last hope? You care about Melissa.”
The reason he disappeared from my memory.
The reason he sought me out in this life.
When I thought about it, there was only one answer.
Unable to bear watching the Melissa Temple become tainted, he had stepped down from his position as cardinal and left this place. What he needed was hope.
“So take my hand. And help me.”
