CHAPTER 25………………………
Since he had given me permission to touch him, I placed a hand on his chest, closed my eyes, and began reciting the prayer.
As I focused my power, a forgotten memory suddenly resurfaced.
This happened once before, didn’t it.
Back then, I had kept my healing ability a secret, afraid of getting dragged into troublesome situations.
The Magnus doctrine didn’t require anyone to declare what type of divine power they possessed, so it was easy enough to hide.
Was I ten years old at the time?
Just once, I had healed an apprentice priest who had collapsed from divine power depletion. I didn’t even know his name.
There had been no one around. He was unconscious. No one but me ever knew what happened. Yet for some reason, that incident drifted into my mind now.
Even though I couldn’t remember his face at all—I’d run away right after healing him—just like I was doing now.
Probably because the situation felt similar.
As the memory bubbled up, the divine power I had just gathered scattered.
No, focus…
Unlike that apprentice priest from years ago, Jurgen possessed an enormous amount of divine power. With what I had now, there was no way I could fully restore him.
Still, I had to do what I could—focus and replenish as much as possible.
There was no room for stray thoughts.
I whispered the prayer again. Deep blue light burst from my hand and enveloped Jurgen.
Jurgen spoke.
“I am not fully healed, but a considerable amount has returned.”
He opened and closed his fist, then summoned the power of wind. A small green whirlwind appeared above his palm, then faded.
He clenched his empty hand tightly. Then he rose to one knee and bowed formally to me.
“This much is enough. I should recover in no time. Thank you for your aid.”
This wasn’t the reaction I was hoping for when I healed him…
I extended a hand.
“Please rise, Sir.”
Before Jurgen could take my hand, Cassius had already stepped up beside me.
“Sonia. Let us move inside now.”
Ah. Right.
Unlike me, who had nothing urgent to do, Cassius needed to return to the Holy Nation quickly and resume state duties. He didn’t have time to stand around idly.
“Yes. Where is the fixed holy stone?”
Cassius lightly touched my shoulder and pointed toward the tallest of the exposed pillars.
“There. I’ll go first—follow me.”
The weight of his hand left my shoulder. He must have pressed harder than I thought; I could still feel the imprint of his touch.
Maybe he was irritated that I spent too much time talking to the knight.
I need to move quickly.
Rubbing the spot where Cassius had pressed, I hurried after him.
The pillar containing the fixed holy stone wasn’t far. But the sand was deep, and with every step my feet sank, making walking difficult. Cassius, who had been leading, paused.
“Your hand.”
His touch still lingered faintly on my shoulder.
He must have found all of this frustrating.
I wanted to move faster, but it was impossible to gain speed on the dunes. I felt awful—like I was wasting his precious time.
“Ah…”
After a moment of hesitation, I reached out and took his hand.
“I’m sorry. I’m not trying to slow you down… it’s just hard to walk.”
He stared directly at our joined hands.
“You’re not slowing me down. …There’s no need to rush.”
Cassius gave exactly the answer I had been secretly hoping for—like scratching an itch I didn’t know I had.
Some of the heaviness in my chest lifted. But another question remained:
Why?
The way he pressed my shoulder earlier didn’t feel like it came from a kind place.
He held my hand firmly and guided me forward.
With his steady strength pulling me, even the dunes were easy to walk on.
Then he murmured,
“I was in a bad mood.”
“…?”
“When you almost took someone else’s hand. Anyone’s hand but mine.”
His answer relaxed me—yet also stirred a different confusion.
Why does it bother him if I take someone else’s hand? Isn’t that… jealousy?
The words hovered at the tip of my tongue, but I didn’t let them out. To be jealous of Jurgen, Cassius would have to like me first.
If we were anything more than superior and subordinate, maybe I could understand. But as we were now? The idea of him being jealous seemed absurd.
Impossible.
Cassius would never like someone like me. And yet… he did separate Jurgen and me because he didn’t want us getting close.
It’s… not a bad feeling.
Actually, it made my throat feel warm and ticklish.
He fell silent. Since he was leading and facing forward, all I could see was his back.
A breeze blew just then, stirring his bright blond hair and revealing his ear—slightly flushed.
It suddenly felt wrong to stare too closely at it, so I lowered my gaze to our joined hands instead.
Ah… he really was holding me tightly.
Warmth spread from our fingers, sinking deep into my chest. My heart thumped. If we stayed like this any longer, he might hear it hammering like crazy.
“We’ve arrived.”
His hand slipped from mine. I felt a pang of regret.
Huh? Why am I disappointed?!
He guided me the entire way—I should be grateful.
Feeling embarrassed by my own strange emotions, I tapped my head lightly and followed him to the pillar.
A tall white pillar jutted out of the red sand. Embedded in it was a holy stone—green and yellow swirled together, almost like the color of my eyes. Shattered fragments of a stone tablet were scattered around it.
The pieces were too broken to read, but it was probably ancient holy script.
I looked up at the towering pillar—roughly three times my height.
“Do I just… pour power into it?”
I’d never used a fixed holy stone before, so I had no idea what to do.
“You only need enough to activate it. No need for excessive force.”
Following his words, I placed both hands on the pillar and slowly directed power into it.
Once I touched it, I could tell: this holy stone held healing power.
I thought this was useless…
Excited at the idea that it could finally be helpful, I poured in a large amount of power.
Vwooom— The pillar vibrated, glowing a soft green. I withdrew my hands and stepped back, watching the light pulse outward.
I hoped something would change. I hoped my ability wasn’t doomed to remain weaker than holy water—hoped it could actually heal many people.
But when the light faded, nothing happened.
“Hmm?”
I had pumped so much energy into it—shouldn’t something have changed?
I frowned and tapped the pillar with my fingertips, but still, nothing.
So all I had done was confirm—again—that my power was useless. Embarrassing.
“…Should I try once more?”
Though I doubted anything would change.
Cassius went quiet. When I turned toward him, I almost yelped.
Soft green lights—like fireflies—were racing toward him and gathering around his body.
Not healing power.
The colors were similar, but subtly different.
Healing power had a touch of yellow, like spring buds. But these lights around Cassius were pure green—deep and rich like the full summer canopy.
They were wind-attribute divine messages sent by priests.
And their number kept growing.
Cassius listened silently to each message before finally speaking.
“There has been a major development in the Imperial investigation site.”
“The Empire’s side?”
Cassius had said there were two sites—one in the Holy Nation and one in the Empire. The Imperial one was supposedly part of a massive structure whose entrance had yet to be found.
“A giant building has risen from the ground. They believe it is the Sanctuary of Healing.”
* * *
While Cassius was away, Cardinal Isaac acted as regent in his stead.
His workload increased, but his mood was excellent.
Everything is going smoothly.
When he was ordered to accompany Sonia to the investigation site, he had racked his brain for ways to refuse. Fortunately, only a few hours later, Cassius changed his mind and insisted on going with Sonia himself.
Your Holiness really can’t be honest with yourself.
Raised as the future Holy Sovereign, Cassius had been trained to suppress his desires.
He learned to refrain from saying he wanted something—even if he did.
Because of that, even when he liked a woman, he hesitated.
Part of it was his ability, of course…
If Sonia’s heart had been filthy or corrupt, they would’ve separated long ago.
But the fact that she was still at his side meant things might work out.
It would be wonderful to hear the announcement of her becoming Holy Queen soon.
Still, there were many hurdles before they could marry.
First, Sonia was not just a priest—she was a noble from the Empire.
Releasing her from her priesthood was easy enough, but the real problem was her nationality.
Even if it wasn’t illegal, the nobles of the Holy Nation might object to the Holy Sovereign taking an Imperial-born partner.
To smooth things over, Sonia would need to take on many duties.
By doing so, she could prove that she was someone who cared for both nations—someone with the heart of a true priest.
If she contributed greatly to both countries, the nobles would eventually accept her.
Just as he was thinking this, a green light rushed toward him.
The voice carried on the wind belonged to Jurgen, Cassius’s guard.
Something must have happened at the investigation site.
