~Chapter 2~
Since entering the temple at the age of eleven, Selen’s days had always been the same.
Waking at dawn, meditating, praying three times, and having three meals.
And from early morning until the sun set, hearing the confessions of nobles.
“I confess my sins to the goddess Athenis. Yesterday, I—”
“Yesterday?”
“I couldn’t resist my instincts and committed adultery!”
Perhaps it was because this country worshiped Athenis, the goddess of freedom.
The Arthenian nobles were quite free with their lower halves.
Today, the noblewoman who came to confess was Miss Chloe of the Ancy Viscount family, betrothed to the eldest son of the Glown Count family.
Yet, despite having a faithful fiancé, she was having an affair with her guard.
“Why does God put me through such trials? This raging whirlwind of love never ceases.”
Through the thin wooden wall of the confessional, Selen could hear Chloe sobbing.
Hearing it made Selen’s heart ache…
Not at all.
Chloe had been coming to confess for several days now…
Yesterday, the day before, last week even.
She had gone to the temple with the novice priests and confessed the same sin repeatedly.
“Miss Chloe, yesterday you promised to send the guard away, didn’t you?”
“I just can’t. The mere thought of not seeing him makes me feel like I’ll die.”
“Would it not be better to confess honestly to your fiancé?”
“Absolutely not! If I break off the engagement, my father would kill me. The marriage with the Glown Count family has finally been arranged…”
“This is deceiving your fiancé.”
“I know! That’s why I said I would end it!”
Selen knew.
She knew Chloe would come to confess the same sin tomorrow as well.
She was merely performing the ritual, preaching out of procedure.
In the past, she had tried to sincerely persuade them.
She had prayed earnestly, thinking that perhaps she lacked the saintly qualities, or that repeating the same sin meant they could be changed.
She had been naïve.
Thinking her prayers could actually change them.
“Saint, will you ask forgiveness from the goddess on my behalf? I donated a lot today too.”
Selen wanted to say no, but such words were forbidden to a saint.
“Yes, Miss Chloe. I will pray to Athenis on your behalf for forgiveness.”
It was the saint’s role to ask forgiveness from the goddess on behalf of nobles visiting the temple, and in return, receive donations.
A saint had to maintain her purity until leaving the temple, ensuring that no worshipper’s sins went unforgiven due to the saint’s own impurity.
“I am grateful for the mercy of the goddess Athenis.”
Chloe smiled brightly and threw herself into the arms of the guard waiting outside.
Believing she had already been forgiven by passing her sins onto the saint.
Selen also smiled at the back of Chloe’s head.
Next, it will be you.
“Goddess Athenis, please allow me to be a righteous informant today as well.”
Selen offered a brief prayer to the goddess.
As usual, the goddess did not respond.
That meant permission was granted.
Athenis was famous for not giving direct oracles.
She seemed to say, in her own way, that Selen should handle it herself.
Selen did not record every detail she heard in the confessional into the Bluebird Letter.
There were rules.
Only serious crimes.
Only if there was a victim.
Only if letting it go would cause more harm.
If any of these conditions applied, Selen would pick up her pen.
The protagonist of this Bluebird Letter was Chloe Ancy.
Selen decided to write for Chloe’s future.
She had seen the Countess Perser in her, after all.
—She has already been forgiven for a double life; we need to prevent a triple one.
Selen would help prevent Chloe from going down that path.
She opened the safe hidden behind her desk.
Inside were blue stationery and envelopes, along with magical powder.
Divine power and magic were similar but different.
Magic used the mage’s mana, while divine power borrowed the god’s strength.
Normally, they could not be used together.
However, with the recent increase in magical tool trading, Selen could now use magic as well.
“This letter began as a system within the temple and circulates once a year, revealing the truth to its recipients. The letter in your hands must leave your side within four days. Including this letter, send seven letters to those in need of truth. Miss Chloe of the Ancy Viscount family is having an affair with her guard, despite being betrothed to the eldest son of the Glown Count family.”
After finishing the letter, Selen sprinkled pink and yellow magical powder.
Then she activated two magical scrolls using divine power.
One would replicate the letter six more times after being read, and the other would ignite it once it reached the intended recipient.
She placed the letter in a blue envelope and sealed it with sealing wax mixed with black magical powder.
This ensured that no one but the recipient could open it.
“The recipient… let’s choose the fiancé’s closest friend.”
There was another rule for the Bluebird Letter: the letter was never delivered directly to the person involved.
It was sent to someone close, then passed along several hands before reaching the target.
This complicated method prevented the incident from being covered up and obscured the sender’s identity.
“Perfect.”
Selen gazed at the completed letter with satisfaction, then put it in her drawer.
She could not send it immediately.
She could only go out once a month.
All she could do was hope Chloe repented before her next outing.
“Saint, it’s time to meet Duke Kyros.”
Selen heard Mia’s summons and hurriedly opened the door.
She tried to hide her surprise.
“Oh my. Is that today?”
It was a performance.
She had already memorized his schedule.
Selen adjusted her composure and stepped outside.
There she found Mia, wearing a distressed expression.
“Mia, what’s wrong? Is something happening?”
“Saint… I’m sorry.”
“Huh? For what, suddenly?”
“The Blood Wolf… I gently suggested you receive healing from another priest this time, but you flatly refused.”
The Blood Wolf.
People called Duke Kirien Kyros that, because of his terrible reputation.
He was rumored to have killed his father and seized his title.
Rumors said he smuggled drugs through his harbor and maintained an assassination squad.
“Mia, I’m fine.”
Of course, she had been surprised at first.
He was the first person to request healing from the saint.
But after nearly three months of seeing him almost every week, she had gotten used to it.
Or rather, she liked it.
Healing him was almost like a game.
He was different from other nobles.
He never bragged about how much donations he gave, never ogled exposed limbs, and never confessed sordid personal affairs.
Kyros quietly received the healing and left.
His symptoms were minor: headaches, gastritis, fatigue.
Selen sometimes dragged the session out, reluctant to see it end.
Being alone with him felt like resting under a calm night sky.
Black hair with a bluish tint, pale skin, deep navy eyes, a calm low voice, and polite manners.
“Why does the Duke keep singling me out?”
“I don’t know either.”
“Could it be that he likes you?”
“Absolutely not.”
Men often came under the pretense of confession to declare love, but Kyros had never shown such signs.
“Well, would he even love anyone? Just looking into his eyes makes it feel like he has no love for humanity.”
Selen tilted her head.
Are his eyes really scary? They’re kind of pretty when you look closely.
The long eyelids and the mole beneath his right eye…
It’s somehow alluring.
“Being so curt all the time is scary too. It means he thinks it’s not worth talking to you.”
Then she could just look at his thick lips while he remained silent.
The slightly upturned corners gave a strangely sensual impression.
“All the rumors are scary, too. A few months ago, he reportedly fired all the staff at his mansion at once.”
Selen did not dislike Mia’s chatter.
It was actually helpful sometimes.
She could not leave the temple herself.
“They say the Kyros family dismissed the butler who had worked there for over twenty years—just because they didn’t like him.”
However, everything had to have the right time and place.
As they approached Teberon Palace, Selen called Mia aside politely.
“Mia, even if those rumors are true, a priest must treat all worshippers equally.”
Mia, don’t pay attention to people’s rumors; just trust what’s visible. And it’s visible that he’s handsome.
“And be careful with your words at Teberon Palace.”
Mia finally realized they were near the palace and quickly bowed.
“Saint… I’m sorry. I wasn’t careful enough.”
At that moment, the gates of Teberon Palace swung open, and four knights came out carrying a stretcher.
Selen immediately ran over.
She thought a critical patient had arrived, but the person on the stretcher was the eighty-year-old high priest, Hiss.
Selen was not particularly close to him.
They were almost adversaries.
Hiss constantly compared her to former saint Lea, always nitpicking.
Still, considering his age, she felt sudden concern.
“Oh my! Hiss! Are you alright?”
Hiss did not answer Selen.
He only looked up at the sky and sobbed.
