CHAPTER 63…………………………………..
“Were His Holiness the Pope and the Temple Master not close?”
Alec questioned whether it was really appropriate for me to have come here to pay my respects to the Pope.
“What do you think, Commander?”
He furrowed his brows at my question. I couldn’t help but chuckle at his puzzled expression.
“He was His Holiness’s man.”
Alec’s face crumpled even further. From his expression, it seemed he could not understand at all why I had come to this prayer hall.
“The author is already dead, so he isn’t part of our objectives. But he might still be a means to an end.”
“So, the more people who come to pay respects, the more we can delay the selection of the new Pope?”
“Yes. Exactly. It’s about buying time.”
When I no longer heard his footsteps, I turned around. Alec was staring intently at me, with a look that seemed to ask, How do you know that?
“Gloria told me not to just stand by and watch this place any longer. That’s all I know.”
The devout holy knight nodded even at my vague explanation.
“I thought so.”
“I want to discuss something with you, Commander.”
He glanced around and reassured me.
“You don’t need to worry about being watched. Even inside the temple, I’ve arranged to keep an eye on you under the pretext of guarding the Saintess.”
“I see.”
A small laugh escaped me. He probably wanted to speak with me without the Temple Master noticing.
I stepped into the forest where I had entered with Cardin.
“Commander.”
“Yes, speak.”
“If Lady Aria leaves the temple, where would be a safe place for her to stay?”
“She wants to leave this place?”
“Yes. Melissa is suffocating for her.”
He looked down at me, as if questioning the reason.
“Do you remember the place you swore to me, Commander?”
“Yes. I remember.”
He had said back then that it was the first time he had come to such a secluded spot.
“That building, seemingly designed to hide something, is where the Saintesses were imprisoned.”
“……I don’t understand what you mean.”
“They lock up the Saintesses who have lost their holy powers there. Perhaps it was awkward to release someone who was once a Saint, or maybe there’s another reason. But that place is nothing short of hell, to the point where one doubts if the people who worshipped us were truly faithful.”
Alec ran his hand over his brows, momentarily speechless.
He must have been recalling the lingering image of Aria, who appeared after a long time the day I was enthroned as a Saintess.
Breaking the silence, I asked,
“So she’s one of the few survivors who knows about that place. Was there no threat from Fabivan?”
“She knows the backstory but cannot speak of it. It’s as if some restriction is placed upon her.”
“……”
“Because of that, there hasn’t been much of a threat so far. But if Lady Aria leaves Melissa, anything could happen.”
“Does she have a particular place she wants to go?”
I shook my head. Where could she possibly go to avoid even Fabivan’s gaze?
Alec muttered as if to himself,
“The Kingdom of Nicholas.”
“Excuse me?”
He looked at me, seemingly convinced.
“How about the Kingdom of Nicholas?”
The kingdom where Raymon resides—it was a place I had also considered.
Even from the information Philip had brought, a visit to the Kingdom of Nicholas had not happened for nearly ten years. Perhaps because there were no sacred relics.
It seemed suitable, yet I hesitated—I owed him so much from a previous life that I didn’t want to entangle Melissa in it.
Seeing my silence, Alec spoke as if recalling something,
“Prince Nicholas would be someone you can trust. Especially since the Saintess is also a lifesaver.”
Perhaps he had developed trust while on the frontlines. Alec said he could trust Raymon.
Though he viewed the temple with disdain, he showed trust in me.
Still, I hesitated. Could I burden him again?
Noticing my thoughts, Alec quietly addressed me,
“Saintess.”
“Yes, Commander?”
“Do not fear asking for help. Isn’t it a request made to protect her? If she is in danger, then protect her as well.”
What if I fail to protect her? That thought crossed my mind.
Yet, there was only one answer, and I nodded.
“Perhaps I wanted reassurance from you just now, Commander.”
“Anytime. Saintess, whatever path you choose, you may walk it with confidence. I will follow and trust you.”
His face, filled with certainty about me, was bathed in the evening glow beneath the high ceiling.
Late at night, under a faintly moonlit sky, I saw Harold waiting ahead.
“Your Excellency. You arrived first.”
“Did you have a particular reason for coming here?”
He glanced at the building and then turned to me. There was no sign of surprise.
It was as if he already knew this secluded building existed.
“Have you been here before?”
“Not really. But I know it was built to imprison those who had been punished long ago.”
“……Punished?”
Harold’s words immediately wiped the smile from my face.
“Yes. Though it hasn’t really been used.”
I bit my lower lip and stared at the building. So this was the intended purpose.
A self-deprecating laugh slipped through my lips.
“Saintess?”
There was a reason I wanted to show him this place.
Though he sided with me, he still lacked the conviction I had that this place could change. Unlike Alec and Philip, he lacked enthusiasm.
“Do you think the Saintesses deserved to be punished, Your Excellency?”
He raised an eyebrow.
“What are you implying?”
“You noticed first, didn’t you? That Melissa is a rotten place.”
“……”
“You also know that the Saintesses were merely puppets of the Pope and Temple Master. If our sins were exploited due to ignorance, do you think they deserved punishment here?”
Harold scowled and looked at the building.
“You’re saying the Saintesses were here?”
I walked to the building’s entrance and opened the stiff door.
“Yes. From long ago.”
Harold’s mouth fell open in disbelief. He realized Melissa was even more vile than he had imagined.
“Do you want to go inside?”
I smiled faintly, and he stepped in with heavy footsteps.
I led the way through the narrow, pitch-black corridors.
When our eyes adjusted to the darkness, we reached the area where the Saintesses had been imprisoned.
Inside the tightly spaced bars was only a cold, rough floor. The long corridors were all prison cells for the condemned.
“All they gave was dry, twisted bread. Often, even that was withheld, so many starved to death.”
“……So the Saintesses spent their final days here?”
“Except for Lady Aria of course.”
She, too, had died the same way in her previous life.
“How did you know?”
“I saw it. I lived it.”
Harold gripped the bars with trembling hands. I smiled faintly and walked beside him.
Even in that brief moment, the sound of our footsteps echoed softly.
“This is where I was dying when Your Excellency sees it. Lady Aria was beside me then.”
Harold lifted his monocle.
“Is it foresight, or is her lifespan different from ours?”
“The flow of life is different.”
Though it was hard to believe, he chuckled wryly and rubbed his nose.
“The Melissa I experienced had no intention of being a temple. Fabivan, that man, sought to become a king under the Pope’s name.”
He looked around silently, taking in the surroundings, and finally spoke with difficulty.
“So what happened? Did Melissa become a holy nation?”
I nodded without hesitation.
“There’s a reason I showed this place to Your Excellency.”
It wasn’t just to make him feel the filth of it.
“Please become the Pope of Melissa.”
