~Chapter 07~
Kirien moved closer to Selen to support her.
Then his characteristic refreshing scent reached her.
Smelling it, she felt tears welling up.
She felt so pathetic for coming all this way with only lewd thoughts in mind.
“Is Arpiel your younger brother?”
At such a somewhat absurd question, Kirien obediently nodded.
Now that she thought about it, aside from the age difference, their distinctive eyes did seem similar.
“How long has Arpiel been ill?”
“About six months.”
“Shall I introduce another priest? There are some famous ones at the main temple.”
Healing depended heavily on the skill of the individual priest.
Some priests could heal even severe illnesses in one attempt, while others could barely manage mild ones.
Selen could say her divine power was fairly strong, but she could not boast that it was the strongest, and Kirien was the only patient she had ever treated.
“I’ve already met all the priests who are said to be skilled at healing in the main temple.”
“There are four senior priests overseeing the healing department…”
“I’ve met all four.”
“Then… what about potions? I can try to get some tomorrow.”
While most diseases could be purified by a priest’s divine power, some patients were occasionally incurable.
In such cases, potions were the standard solution.
Though expensive, Selen had never heard of a potion failing to help a patient—until she met Kirien.
“I’ve already given him countless potions.”
Hearing this for the first time, Selen’s knowledge seemed to unravel completely.
“You… you mean the potions didn’t work?”
When Kirien confirmed it again, Selen felt her mind go blank.
So, an unusually foolish question escaped her lips.
“What do you plan to do now?”
Normally, she would never ask such a thing—it was an unwise question.
In the Arthenia Empire, the national church was responsible for healing its citizens, and asking a priest what he intended to do for a patient was tantamount to admitting the church’s incompetence.
Even so, Selen could not propose any alternative. She had never learned a solution beyond potions.
Kirien kindly answered even her confused question.
“I plan to visit the Seth Temple soon.”
The temple in the Seth region, surrounded by mountains, was regarded as an oddity within the national church.
Rather than relying solely on divine healing, they claimed that making their own remedies was more effective, and indeed sold some treatments.
Yet it was not profitable.
There were makeshift healing stations all over the empire run by the national church, where commoners could be treated for free. Who would pay for remedies?
“They say young priests at Seth Temple are researching potion improvements.”
Selen was shocked by this.
Potions were made from a single drop of holy water from the Arthenia Hall and a priest’s divine power.
To point out flaws in a potion was almost considered sacrilege.
Was the Seth Temple insisting on unprofitable work considered heretical?
Yet she couldn’t bring herself to tell him not to go.
Telling him to prioritize principle over a family member’s life—could that really be the attitude of a true priest?
Wouldn’t a priest’s role be to try everything and do their best to help?
“Saintess, I will do anything if it can save Arpiel.”
Looking at Kirien, she naturally thought of her own brothers.
If she were the sick one, wouldn’t her brothers act like this too?
Conversely, if her brothers were ill, wouldn’t she act like Kirien?
Thinking this way made her want to help in any way possible.
“Duke, is there anything I can do to help?”
It wasn’t a strange question, yet his expression was one of great surprise.
But he quickly hid it and bowed his head.
Kirien fiddled with a fancy glass bottle containing a translucent white liquid for a long while before finally speaking.
“How could the Saintess help?”
“Um… there’s a section in the Grand Library that collects old healing records. I can start there. There may even be some material from the Seth Temple. And…”
Kirien continued to twist the bottle in his hands.
Selen felt somewhat nervous but said nothing.
“And I can try to find more potions. Potions made by priests with strong divine power are more effective.”
Kirien let out a faint, weary laugh.
“You won’t need to look any further for that.”
Selen quickly realized what he meant.
Bringing even the Saintess meant he had already seen all the senior priests at the main temple.
“Do not be too disheartened. From the beginning, I did not bring you here hoping you would heal him.”
“Then why… me?”
“Arpiel wished to see you, Saintess, so we brought you here with difficulty. I thought it might cheer him up a little.”
Selen felt frustrated that what he expected from her was only to brighten his mood.
And a little indignant.
“Now that you seem more at ease, let us return.”
Kirien lifted Selen in his arms and started running quickly.
The gentle, hand-in-hand walk along the night beach felt like a dream compared to the rough, rapid journey back.
Selen squeezed her eyes shut against the intense vibrations.
When she opened them again, they had already returned to Eleanor Palace.
“Thank you for today. Now rest.”
Even after she thanked him, Kirien hesitated to leave.
He kept moving his lips as if he had something left unsaid.
Yet he ultimately left without finishing his last words.
After Kirien left, Selen collapsed onto her bed.
The familiar white sheets smelled of soap, relaxing her tense body.
“Ha… sleep. Let’s just sleep.”
She had only a few hours to rest.
To endure her monotonous daily life, she needed at least some sleep.
Yet sleep wouldn’t come.
Closing her eyes, Arpiel’s bright smile would appear, making her chest ache as if it were being pricked.
Kirien’s last glance also lingered in her mind.
What was the final thing he wanted to say?
Unable to stay in bed any longer, Selen got up and ran to the Saintess Chamber.
“Sisters! I’m here!”
The spirits of all previous Saintesses immediately gathered.
Usually they were slow to appear, but today, none of them were missing—they all arrived at once.
“Little one, did it happen? Did it?”
“The king’s chest? All men must have the king’s chest.”
“No, the thighs. That’s where the strength comes from.”
“Since when are you here?”
Giana, the third Saintess, asked last. Selen smiled awkwardly.
“Actually… I just got back. I fell asleep in the middle…”
The older Saintesses all covered their mouths at once.
My goodness! She passed out in the middle of it!
“How was it? Did it feel good? Was it amazing?”
Hannah, the seventh Saintess, was blunt and unreserved in her questions.
Selen looked down, sad.
“It hurt.”
At her answer, the Saintesses covered their mouths again.
Goodness! This reaction is serious!
“The first time always hurts.”
“Yes, it hurt for me at first too.”
Just as the older Saintesses were about to share their own first-time experiences, Selen hurriedly stopped them.
“No, that’s not it. My younger brother was the one who was sick.”
Selen recounted everything she had seen at the palace.
“It seems like it’s Rakazka disease.”
“Rakazka disease? What’s that?”
For the early Saintesses unfamiliar with Rakazka disease, Selen explained.
Selen’s hobby was reading—though it had started out as forced.
Before she knew of the older Saintesses, she had no friends to chat with and could not go out freely. So at night, she had nothing to do but read.
This routine had lasted nine years.
By now, she had read almost all the books in the Grand Library.
“Rakazka disease was first discovered in Empire Year 589.”
The older Saintesses all looked at Daphne, the eighth Saintess.
“So it started in Daphne’s time. Not long since it was discovered.”
Now it was Empire Year 660.
By the time Selen became the eleventh Saintess, there had been no reports of a complete cure for Rakazka disease.
“I didn’t know. I was too busy collecting statues.”
Daphne, a devotee of the king’s chest, had collected male nudes as art.
Her spirit resided in the bronze statue with the largest chest.
“Is it really that terrible?”
Bella, the sixth Saintess, asked.
Selen calmly explained:
“At first, it just drains the body and causes fatigue. Gradually, severe headaches and fever appear. At this stage, vomiting starts, and in severe cases, patients even cough up blood. Black spots appear on the skin, and the condition rapidly worsens.”
“The patient suffers from high fever and vomiting and eventually…”
Selen could not finish her sentence, biting her lip.
Thinking of Arpiel made her chest ache.
Since dark spots had started appearing on his body, there wasn’t much time left.
“Did you give him potions?”
“He’s had countless doses,” Selen replied.
Fourth Saintess Felia asked in shock, “Countless?”
Then Hannah interjected,
“He’s from the Duke Kylos family. With their wealth, surely they’ve tried everything possible?”
After that, the older Saintesses fell silent.
A somber atmosphere filled the Saintess Chamber.
“Sisters, isn’t there anything we can do?”
At only twenty years old, Selen was still young in the eyes of the older, long-lived Saintesses.
Seeing her, the youngest, asking for help but unable to act themselves, they began bickering out of frustration.
“You Saintesses spend all your time reading those books!”
“But that’s the book you left behind, sister!”
