Chapter 82……………………………………..
The sanctuary, the place for the final awakening of the Healing Power, was ready.
All that remained was for me to go there myself and take the trial.
Since there was no reason to delay, I quickly set a date, and soon it was time to depart for the Empire.
This time, Sertina would accompany me. In principle, a trainee priest couldn’t leave the Holy Kingdom, but as the princess, she was an exception.
Before departing, I spoke with Cassius in his office.
He had been reading a newspaper but set it down.
I glanced at the paper he had been reading. In large letters, it said “Healing Sanctuary.”
“Does it seem like many people want to visit the Healing Sanctuary?” I asked.
“Yes. Ever since the article about the Morning Star was published, it seems to have increased quite a lot. Thanks to that, we also had a reason to renovate the sanctuary. Ah, of course, I personally supervised the renovations, so don’t worry about safety.”
The Healing Sanctuary was located on Imperial soil. Anything there required the Emperor’s permission.
If it were said that the Sanctuary itself was being visited just to clean up the mess, the Emperor would surely have been reluctant.
So Cassius omitted that he went himself and apparently visited incognito.
“Since Your Highness personally oversaw this, there’s nothing to worry about,” I said.
If the sanctuary had been renovated under the Emperor’s direction, it would have felt flimsy, leaving doubts about its quality.
But knowing Cassius had managed it himself was reassuring.
Watching me, brimming with excitement and clenching my fists, Cassius said,
“Come to think of it, we’re going back to the Empire. With so many Alphas, we’ll have other things to do as well.”
“What kind of things?”
“Pheromone infusion.”
Last time, I had agreed to accept Cassius’s Alpha pheromones in exchange for permission to go to the Empire.
But now, after becoming aware of my feelings, pheromones were no longer an uncontrollable burden—they had become my strength.
“Now I can handle pheromones well.”
“That’s a pity,” he muttered, looking a little disappointed.
Because of our conversation, the memory of accepting Cassius’s pheromones came back to me.
When those lips touch the nape of my neck, the faint smell of rain—like a gentle drizzle—rises. The cool fragrance spreads through my body, and my heart pounds.
It had been a while since I’d smelled his pheromones.
I wanted to breathe in that refreshing scent deeply.
No.
The exchange of pheromones between an aware Alpha and Omega isn’t just about the scent. If you exchange it, it could form a bond, a mark.
Last time, when our pheromones mixed, I had been overcome by instinct.
Intoxicated by the scent, I had rushed at him and kissed him.
This time, I might just pounce on him.
Really!
I decided to change the subject.
“You can’t feel disappointed. By the way, you said there would be a party this time too, right?”
The real purpose of going to the Empire was the final awakening, but officially, it was to bless the renovated Healing Sanctuary.
Because the Emperor would personally bless the sanctuary, Cassius could go without hiding his identity.
There was much to prepare in order to bless the sanctuary.
Even though we were already busy with preparations for the blessing, the Emperor had also arranged a welcoming party.
“There will be a party on the last day. What will you do, Sonia?”
“I won’t attend the party. It’s better to keep my visit a secret.”
Shane had tried to kill me before. If he learned a Healing Priest was part of the delegation, who knew what he would do?
“Understood.”
Cassius nodded, acknowledging my wishes, and began planning.
On the first night in the Healing Sanctuary, I would sneak out secretly to go with Cassius.
And I decided to disguise myself.
Only Cassius, his guard Jürgen, and Sertina knew I was going to the Empire, and I departed with Cassius.
On the first day after arriving at the Empire, we decided to rest in the palace provided by the Empire to recover from travel fatigue.
Since I was not officially visiting the Empire, I had disguised myself from the moment I left the Holy Kingdom.
After unpacking, I looked in the mirror.
I wore ordinary priest robes, not the High Priest’s attire, dyed my hair brown, and tied it up short.
I put on glasses with no prescription and painted freckles on my cheeks.
I look like a completely different person.
If I couldn’t even recognize myself, no one else would notice easily.
After finishing preparations, I sneaked out of the quarters and headed to the meeting place.
It was near the storage where the paladins’ horses were kept.
I found Cassius without difficulty.
He wore the paladin uniform.
Unlike the predominantly white priest robes, the black uniform blended into the darkness. Yet his brilliant blonde hair and handsome face seemed to shine naturally.
It suits you well.
Unlike the loose High Priest robes, the paladin uniform fit snugly.
Even compared to the paladins undergoing extreme training daily, Cassius’s firm muscles were revealed in full.
Intimidating, yet the belts and black leather wrapping his body gave him a disciplined, austere aura.
Whoever designed this did a great job.
I hid my thoughts and looked around—there was no one else.
Since arriving in the Empire, Jürgen had stayed close to Cassius.
I assumed he would come along.
“Is it just the two of us? What about Sir Jürgen?”
“He’s guarding my room. If anything happens, he will send a messenger of the wind.”
Cassius said he was tired from the long journey and would refuse all meetings for the day.
But Jürgen remained to guard Cassius’s room in case someone sought him out.
“By the way, if you hadn’t spoken, I might not have recognized you as Sonia.”
I adjusted my glasses.
“Hehe, perfect, right?”
It was my first time disguising myself, but even Cassius thought I looked different, so it must have worked well.
“I should finish preparing as well,” Cassius said, pulling a black robe over himself, shadowing his face.
I had wanted to see him in uniform a bit longer, but I felt a tinge of disappointment.
He adjusted his black leather gloves and brought a horse tied nearby.
Neigh!
A massive steed, almost like a warhorse. Cassius stroked its muzzle.
“I’ve heard that in the Empire, children learn to ride from a young age. Have you ridden before?”
“Before becoming a priest, a few times, but I was too young to remember.”
Under the robe, his lips curved slightly. He seemed pleased with the situation.
“I’ll serve you properly. Hold out your hand.”
He extended his gloved hand as he mounted the black horse.
I grabbed it and climbed on.
It was higher than expected, so I hugged his waist tightly in fear.
He guided my hands to his front.
“Hold tight.”
“Yes.”
Fearing a fall, I held his waist firmly with both hands, and our bodies pressed closely together.
Now, we were truly departing. I felt my heart race.
“Are you very afraid? Your heart is beating fast.”
I had once worried about ghosts and traps in the sanctuary after reading Lucius’s diary, but I had shaken that off now.
This was the trial Cassius had prepared.
I hugged him and smiled.
“No, I’m excited.”
Much would change once I underwent the final awakening.
A future unknown to me awaited.
The red-haired man, Lloyd, master of the Magic Tower, saw the Earth-element sacred gem in his room glow yellow.
“Someone has entered the sanctuary again.”
The Healing Sanctuary had been buried deep underground using the power of the Earth.
The sacred gem fragment used at that time would glow brightly whenever someone visited the sanctuary.
Soon, the Healing Sanctuary would be open to the public.
It would shine constantly, so it was best to discard the gem.
Lloyd acted immediately.
He threw the glowing gem into the trash and read Sertina’s letter.
“I will cancel the deal.”
She meant she would not buy the medicine to fix her leg.
“Tch.”
Lloyd used his holy power to create flames and burn Sertina’s letter.
The deal had been almost complete, but something about the Healing Priest near the princess must have made her change her mind.
Whatever she said, it seemed unlikely the princess would achieve her goal.
“Even with the final awakening, you can’t fix your leg.”
Healing divine power cannot grow stronger, even with the final awakening.
It had been designed that way.
Lloyd opened a drawer and took out a worn bundle of papers. Written in ancient divine language were these words:
“Divine power is a force lent by the god Magnus. Magnus lends power to those with the potential to become priests. If a priest who has borrowed the power walks the righteous path, the god will lend even greater power through the final awakening. When a priest who has reached the final awakening dies, the power returns to the god. It is then lent to a new priest, and thus divine power circulates.”
It was the latter part of Lucius’s diary.
As long as the souls of all Healing Priests were bound to the mortal realm, awakening could not grant them great power.
