Chapter 169……………………………………….
Religious trials were normally closed to the public, so I could not attend either, but I was able to hear a rough account from Arcia.
“He didn’t defend himself at all. He just stayed still, like a marionette with its strings cut.”
Among her descriptions, Arcia’s portrayal of Liena in court left a particularly strong impression.
She said Liena remained silent from the start to the end of the trial.
Even to the ceremonial questions from the judges, she didn’t utter so much as a conventional excuse.
This was in stark contrast to former Cardinal Morton, who had fled first, was caught, and tried alongside Liena.
Morton stubbornly insisted, to no one’s belief, that he had merely been used by Liena and even had his mind controlled through sorcery.
Being next to Morton, Arcia said, made Liena’s posture—staring blankly at the floor as if her soul had left her—stand out even more.
“Perhaps she had lost the will to live.”
I could still see Liena, who had blamed me like a wounded beast after hearing the truth from the goddess.
At that moment, I realized that Liena had endured solely on the belief that she was loved by the goddess.
She had been abandoned by Cassius, separated from Mihail, condemned by the entire nation, and lost everything she had built. There was no way she could be unscathed inside.
Yet the reason Liena could cling so stubbornly without giving up was the hope that, loved by the goddess, she would one day surely rise again.
But that foundation had always been an illusion.
Her past successes were only due to luck, and the delayed side effects of overusing her blessings.
Now, for Liena, nothing remained but a fall—the fall that would be called execution.
“It’s all thanks to you, Duke Lucibius.”
Today, with five days remaining until Liena’s scheduled execution, I had an audience with the Emperor.
“Now you hold not only the highest-grade magic stone mines but also the Miella Church.”
The Emperor had already learned from Terence that the divine beast followed me, back when the Empress tried to seize my magic stone mines.
So I had no choice but to reveal the truth behind the recent saint verification to the Emperor.
However, the Emperor interpreted my decision to support Arcia through Lucy differently.
“The current Saint Arcia has earned overwhelming support from the people and strong influence thanks to the divine beast. Even the temple cannot interfere. And you have great influence over the Saint.”
Though he used the refined word “influence,” it essentially meant I had found Arcia’s weakness.
In other words, Arcia controls the temple, I control Arcia, and the Emperor… controls me.
“Ah, this is a different matter, but when are the two of you planning to marry?”
He held a grand plan of connecting me with Terence.
‘Such a calculating person.’
Before all this, the Emperor had not shown it outwardly, but he did not particularly approve of our relationship.
It wasn’t hard to understand. Who would welcome a future heir dating a divorced woman from a humble family?
Had I not owned the highest-grade magic stone mines and commanded the divine beast, the Emperor would have removed me from Terence’s side long ago.
But with the divine beast’s grand appearance at the saint verification, the situation changed.
From the Emperor’s perspective, the divine beast was previously an unplayable card.
If its existence had been revealed prematurely, the temple might have denied it or claimed ownership, causing headaches.
In that sense, the saint verification was the perfect opportunity to reveal Lucy to the world.
Without time to react, the temple could not prevent many from recognizing that Lucy was the divine beast.
Moreover, Arcia, long revered by the people as a saint, guaranteed the truth.
There was no chance for the temple to intervene.
“I’m not rushing you, but it’s a personal curiosity. I want to see my grandchild soon as well.”
It seemed I had transformed, in the Emperor’s eyes, from someone unsuitable for his son’s partner to someone he could welcome.
“Father.”
At that moment, Terence, who was beside me, smiled and spoke.
“I understand what you mean, but we will handle our own matters.”
His tone was polite yet carried a sharp firmness.
“No, I meant…”
The Emperor seemed to sense it and looked flustered, but quickly regained composure.
“…Right, I realize I was being overbearing. You’ve always handled things well yourself. And besides, I have no right to meddle in your love life.”
I soon understood why—because of Terence’s mother.
Though Terence rarely showed it, he could not have entirely forgiven his father for ignoring her.
So, while he might accept other issues, he would not welcome the Emperor interfering in his love life.
The Emperor also seemed to refrain out of guilt toward Terence.
‘Perhaps this explains why the Emperor had been so silent until now.’
I finished the audience and returned to the star palace with Terence.
His demeanor was as usual, but his expression was subtly somber.
Perhaps thinking of his mother’s situation?
I wanted to comfort him, but hesitated to speak first about such a sensitive family matter.
Instead, I sat beside Terence and rested my head gently on his shoulder.
“Idel?”
Terence looked somewhat surprised.
It was almost the first time I had approached him like this in broad daylight.
I boldly declared,
“I appoint you as my pillow.”
He smiled faintly and adjusted his posture so that my head could rest on his lap.
“An honor. How is the comfort?”
“A bit firm, which I like.”
“Glad to hear that.”
Terence’s hand then gently stroked my hair, and I closed my eyes, feeling his touch.
It was a peaceful moment.
My act might have been a frivolous comfort, but fortunately, it seemed to lift his mood.
Then, Terence noticed the basket on my table and spoke softly.
“Raspberries.”
“Oh, on the way to the Grand Temple earlier, I suddenly wanted some, so I bought them.”
I had gone to the Grand Temple to meet Arcia that morning.
“They’re a winter-bearing variety, cultivated purely in nature without magic.”
“I didn’t realize you liked raspberries.”
“Hmm, I do like them, but I ate them a lot as a child.”
To be precise, the real Idel often ate them with her closest friend.
The prison within the Grand Temple.
How many days had it been since Liena was imprisoned here?
Huddled on the cold floor, Liena tried to count but quickly gave up.
What was the point? Her time had stopped that day.
“I never thought I was special.”
That last remark from Idel echoed in her mind.
How could someone say so calmly, as if it meant nothing?
That she was not special to the goddess, that she would not be loved.
For Liena, it was impossible. Without love, she was nothing.
She wanted to be loved. She had used all the blessings given by the goddess to be loved.
Though a small doubt lingered—“Is this love really because of the blessing?”—her desire to be loved suppressed it.
Because she acted as someone loved by the goddess, she believed she could not be wrong.
But she was wrong. Those who loved her all left.
All the love Liena believed in had been illusions or false love built from blessings.
No one had truly loved Liena.
Even the Duke of Cassius had visited her twice despite her imprisonment for fraud, but that, too, must have been the remnants of blessings.
Of course, without blessings, her two brothers or Mihail would never have loved her.
“Ah, I wish the execution day would come soon.”
A life unloved has no meaning.
Then, with a clatter, the prison door opened through a small hatch at the bottom.
The guard at the door said something, but half-delirious Liena only caught a few words:
“The merciful Saint, special meal, lucky, before execution…”
It didn’t matter. She was going to die. She was unloved. Why care about food?
It had been a long time since she had last felt appetite.
Just as Liena tried to divert her attention from the new presence in her cell, a sweet and sour scent teased her nose.
Her gaze fell on the contents of the basket.
Raspberries. Bright red, luscious raspberries.
The ones she had eaten on the hill behind the orphanage as a child.
The ones they had always shared even when so hungry their stomachs ached.
The ones they had even made a secret code for between the two of them.
Though they looked slightly different now, the fruit before her was unmistakably raspberries.
Liena quickly realized that the person who sent her these raspberries was not Arcia.
Hot tears filled Liena’s eyes.
“…There was only one person.”
There had been only one person in the world who had loved Liena, before she had blessings, before she had a dazzling background or any crafted personality.
And Liena had betrayed that person.
