Chapter 70…………………………………………………
‘Sonia said she doesn’t like it when I act scary.’
If I stormed into the Holy Kingdom and grabbed the Holy Emperor by the collar, Sonia would definitely be frightened.
“Damn it!”
Cursing under his breath, Schwartz changed his plan. Instead of barging in recklessly, he decided to follow proper procedure.
He had a perfectly good pretext to meet Sonia: finishing the counseling prayer they hadn’t completed.
To do that, he needed an appointment first. Last time, he’d had a subordinate handle the reservation—but this time, he wanted to do it himself from the start.
He figured it wouldn’t be bad to spend some time and effort just for her.
“I want to request a private consultation with a priest of the Holy Kingdom. What preparations are needed?”
The maid, pale with fear, cautiously moved and brought him some stationery.
“You write down your desired date… and send a letter to the Holy Kingdom.”
“And after sending it, can I go right away?”
“You must receive a reply for the reservation to be confirmed. Only then can you go.”
The distance between the Holy Kingdom and the Empire was considerable. Letters took quite some time to travel back and forth.
Should he just throw this aside and head to the Holy Kingdom right now?
Up until now, that’s exactly what he’d done—send a letter and immediately depart.
But every time that thought crossed his mind, the image of Sonia looking horrified surfaced, and his resolve softened on its own.
Annoyed at his uncharacteristic behavior, Schwartz wrote the reservation letter and sent it. While waiting for a reply, he thought about what she might like and prepared a gift.
Even after finishing all his preparations to meet her, no reply came.
Thinking it might have been lost, he sent another letter—only for it to be returned unopened.
It was a clear refusal.
Something had been strange lately.
“Oh my, Priest Sonia. I managed to get some snacks that are popular these days—please try some.”
“Priest Sonia, let me carry that for you. I’ll take it.”
“These candies are limited edition. I wanted to give them to you, Priest Sonia.”
The priests had become noticeably kinder to me.
Some secretly handed me snacks, while others snatched away my broom mid-sweep, insisting they’d do the work instead.
Thanks to that, my pockets on the way to the Holy See were bulging on both sides like a chipmunk stuffing its cheeks.
What on earth was going on?
Puzzled, I went to work at the Holy See and heard from Isaac about an article in an imperial newspaper.
‘If I undergo my final awakening, a morning star will rise?’
The morning star was a golden-hued star that already adorned the night sky every day. It was just faint and hard to see except in winter.
“The morning star is already there… Could it be a metaphorical meaning?”
Perhaps another star that could be mistaken for the morning star would appear.
“I’m not sure. Either way, I suppose we’ll only know once Priest Sonia achieves her final awakening.”
We had decided to read the diaries of Cassius and Lucius together. That should help us find the method for final awakening.
“Yes, I’ll look into the final awakening as well.”
Isaac nodded, looking pleased.
“I, of course, and His Holiness as well, are greatly looking forward to Priest Sonia’s final awakening.”
“I’m looking forward to it too.”
Because I’d be able to help many people.
“If you awaken the power of healing, Priest Sonia, you may even be granted the title of Saintess. There’s talk of it among the cardinals.”
“A Saintess…”
“Since we’re on the topic, I should ask. What do you think, Priest Sonia? If you do achieve final awakening, would you accept the position of Saintess?”
The position had been vacant for centuries, and there had been no Saintess in modern times, so I didn’t really know much about it.
I couldn’t just accept something I knew nothing about.
Lowering my voice, I whispered,
“I’m sorry for asking something like this, but… I don’t really know much about Saintesses.”
“That’s understandable. It’s been vacant for centuries, so it wouldn’t be covered much in theology. Is there something you’re curious about?”
“Yes, I’m really sorry to ask something like this, but…”
“Please, ask anything.”
If you say so…
“Does the position come with an allowance for maintaining one’s dignity?”
Setting aside helping people after my final awakening, it was obvious the Holy See would work me hard like any other organization. If that was the case, shouldn’t the pay at least be good?
Even the Lord said one should be properly compensated for honest labor!
If the amount wasn’t great, I was prepared to kick aside the Saintess position and aim for a high-ranking priesthood instead.
“It’s equivalent to a cardinal’s.”
At that, my eyes lit up. Seeing my greedy expression, Isaac didn’t scold me. Instead, as if tossing food to someone, he began explaining the benefits of being a Saintess.
“And if you have children, the Holy Kingdom will even provide you with a special palace.”
“Saintesses can get married?”
“Yes, they can.”
In the Magnus faith, priests were allowed to enjoy most worldly pleasures—but marriage alone was forbidden. If a priest fell in love, they had to abandon their priesthood and return to secular life, which was no easy task.
Upon secularization, they had to repay all the money they had received as a priest.
So unless one came from a well-off family, they lived as priests for life.
Cassius alone was an exception to that rule.
He had the justification of being of the bloodline of the Magnus God. As for Saintesses, I didn’t know the justification, but it seemed marriage was allowed.
There was no marriage in my life plan.
To escape the clutches of obsessive male leads, I needed to remain in a high-ranking priestly position for life. Since childhood, I’d aimed to become a high priest and had carefully laid out my future.
Once I became a high priest, I planned to travel around the Holy Kingdom, doing charity work and spending my remaining years that way.
They said final awakening would allow marriage, but…
‘I can’t picture that future at all!’
Me getting married and having children? With whom?
Well, marriage wasn’t mandatory anyway.
More than the perks, I was far more interested in the fact that the salary was on par with a cardinal’s.
“That sounds really nice.”
The salary, that is!
“If I do awaken my power, I’d like to accept it.”
At my words, Isaac said I’d thought it through well and left, saying he’d prepare a separate proposal.
‘Isn’t this a bit rushed?’
According to Lucius, the ancient ghost, the method for final awakening was written in his diary. But that diary had been written two thousand years ago.
The records were so old that things might have changed, and I might not awaken properly even if I followed them.
I felt it would be fine to think about all this after I actually awakened—so wasn’t it a bit premature to prepare everything already?
After parting with Isaac, I was on my way to see Cassius in his office.
A priest cleaning the floor of the Holy See spoke to me.
“Hello, Priest Sonia.”
“Hello.”
It was our first conversation, but his face was familiar. I’d often run into him back when I was a trainee priest. His name was…
“Priest Jekyll, right?”
“Yes. I’m honored you remember me. You’ve only just returned from the Empire—are you already back to work?”
“Yes. I was away for a bit, so work piled up.”
“Oh dear… With so much work, you probably can’t take on confessions right now.”
I shook my head.
“No. I’m not doing confession duties because I haven’t received a single reservation letter.”
At that, Jekyll tilted his head.
“That’s… strange. Could someone be intercepting your letters?”
“Who would intercept my reservation letters? There’s nothing to gain from it.”
If letters went missing, wouldn’t I be the happiest one? I’d have less work.
As much as I disliked working, I wouldn’t do something that malicious.
To begin with, I hadn’t even seen a reservation letter.
Jekyll spoke again.
“There may be no one who benefits—but there is someone who would be saddened. The person who sent you the letter.”
“……”
“Or maybe they’re extremely angry?”
He shuddered slightly, as if imagining someone in a terrifying rage.
“That can’t be it. Other priests are receiving plenty of reservation letters. I guess no one is looking for me.”
Seeing I was the only one without any, it seemed my prayers had earned a reputation for being ineffective. Ignoring Jekyll, who looked puzzled, I walked on.
Before long, I ran into Jürgen, who was guarding the entrance to Cassius’s office. He bowed deeply with exaggerated formality.
“Lady Sonia has arrived.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I thought I should practice calling you that in advance.”
I narrowed my eyes and looked at Jürgen, who was smiling slyly. He clearly knew something.
“The priests have been excessively kind to me lately. You know something, don’t you, Sir Jürgen?”
I recalled my conversation with Isaac.
Had rumors spread that I might become a Saintess after my final awakening?
I didn’t even know for sure whether I could awaken at all. If I failed after being praised and expected so much, I’d be the one embarrassed.
“Well? I can’t just tell you for free.”
Instead of answering, Jürgen shrugged.
‘If you won’t talk for free, then I’ll bribe you.’
I reached into my pocket and pulled out some candy—the snacks the priests had given me along the way.
“They say this candy was only sold in limited quantities.”
Jürgen didn’t budge even at the sight of it. I unwrapped the candy myself and pressed it against his lips like inserting a coin into a vending machine.
He snapped it up, one cheek puffing out as he chewed.
“I’m not supposed to eat while on duty, but I couldn’t resist Priest Sonia’s boldness.”
“I’ve given it to you, so tell me what you know.”
