~Chapter 101~
The Offering Ceremony of the Holy Mother was proceeding more perfectly than in any other year.
It would continue until the evening star rose in the night sky, so it was not over yet. Still, the stories already spreading were unusual.
The noblewomen praised the Empress for her carefulness, saying she had followed every procedure and rule exactly.
The religious order also expressed satisfaction, saying the ceremony followed the laws of the scripture without even the slightest error.
In other words, it meant there was no chance at all for the “problem” the Emperor had tried to point out.
“Your Highness.”
Edwin, who had been sitting alone in a small prayer room, was pulled out of his thoughts by someone calling him.
A priest entered carefully and sat beside him.
“I apologize for being late. Something unexpected happened.”
“What is it?”
“Princess Rosalind’s marriage has just been decided. However, the partner is…”
Edwin disliked people avoiding the point.
Under his sharp gaze, the priest went straight to the answer.
“It is Charles II, the boy king of Fabia.”
“Charles II? Isn’t he a follower of the New Faith?”
That was obvious, but Rosalind was a believer of the Argenbach Orthodox Church.
For her to marry into the Fabian royal family, conversion would be unavoidable. Yet Fabia was not an especially important country.
That was why, in most lives, Rosalind became the crown princess of Marsen.
In truth, aside from the royal family of Marsen, there were very few houses that truly matched the imperial family of Baldin.
And yet—Charles II of Fabia, out of nowhere.
“Have the royal marriage procedures already begun? How did no one know until things reached this point?”
“No. This was just decided in the audience chamber.”
The priest explained that this was why he was late and described what had happened in detail.
The Fabian ambassador, who had arrived only today, met Emperor Vittorio IV. During that meeting, the Emperor personally proposed the marriage between Princess Rosalind and Charles II.
It was something no one on the Baldin side had known either.
“Fabia… won’t refuse.”
“Yes. The ambassador said he needed to confirm the king’s intentions, but he clearly welcomed the proposal.”
By coincidence, Katerina—the half-sister who threatened Charles II’s position—was currently taking refuge in Baldin.
Last winter, Empress Mariana had pitied her wandering life across the continent. She arranged a small residence for her and allowed her to enter the court.
If this marriage were to be finalized, Katerina would be expelled from the country once again.
“I will report immediately once more information is confirmed.”
“Very well.”
After finishing his report, the priest quietly left the prayer room.
Left alone, Edwin rubbed his chin.
“This is troublesome.”
Was the Emperor truly planning to convert?
Such a disastrous choice?
Thinking back on the past, it was hard to believe.
But interfering with the Offering Ceremony today, and now proposing a royal marriage with Fabia—the Emperor’s intentions were clearly moving in one direction.
If Vittorio IV was not speaking lightly, and truly declared conversion—
“Ellie won’t stay still.”
To be honest, her faith was not especially deep.
Her beliefs were not directed toward religion, but toward the people.
That was exactly the problem.
The north was a region where the Argenbach Orthodox Church held strong power. If the Emperor declared conversion, fierce resistance was inevitable, and large-scale religious persecution could not be avoided.
Of course, there was also the option of declaring a holy war and separating the north from the empire—but that would also cost far too much blood.
Either way, she would suffer.
Edwin could not bear to see that, even in death.
“……This is suffocating.”
He had lived countless lives.
After wandering endlessly through worlds in search of the vanished Else, he had lost all attachment and interest in any world.
In his early lives, he had tried his best to become a great ruler.
But at some point, he gave up.
Because the world would disappear anyway.
“But this life is different.”
She was here.
At first, simply knowing she existed in this world felt like a dream. But as time passed, Edwin grew greedier.
He wanted to grow old together with Ellie.
He wanted to finish his long and exhausting life completely, right by her side.
“Then I can’t afford to stay idle either.”
As Edwin murmured this, his eyes shone more clearly than ever.
Leaving the prayer room, he answered the page who asked for his destination.
“Duke Heidelberg, Jero.”
Outside the window, it was completely dark.
The Offering Ceremony, which had begun during the day, was nearing its end.
Ah, I want to lie down. Can’t I just go crazy and lie flat on the floor? If it were Elicia, it might actually work.
Eight hours had passed since my back last touched a bed. My mind had started to blur then.
Now, after twelve hours, I just wanted to faint.
And yet, I still had to endure about three more hours.
I felt like grabbing the evening star by the collar and demanding why it was taking so long to appear.
“Mother…”
“Shh, Joseph.”
Compared to me, who was dozing while pretending to pray, six-year-old Joseph was much more composed.
It was obvious how carefully Mariana had taught him.
Still, even he was reaching his limit. He began to squirm, clutching his mother’s sleeve. His breathing carried a faint sound of tears.
No matter how much education a prince received, he was still just a child.
Barely holding on, I finally lifted my heavy eyelids.
“Look here.”
Using the small bookstand holding the scripture as a backdrop, I made small animal shadows with my fingers.
A rabbit twitching its ears.
A running puppy.
A fluttering butterfly.
Joseph’s eyes widened in amazement.
“Wow… Sister, how did you do that?”
“It’s not hard. I’ll teach you later.”
“Are there more?”
“Of course.”
Being good with children, I showed him a few more animals.
When I raised the difficulty, Joseph’s mood quickly improved. He whispered excitedly.
“Sister, sister, this one is a deer, right?”
“Smart boy. It was worth sacrificing my finger joints.”
Making antlers with human fingers required some suffering.
Joseph’s expression shifted slightly from amazement to shock—but still.
Then, a small scoff came from Rosalind beside us.
“Sister, you’re not a child. What are you doing?”
“You just laughed too.”
“T-that’s different! I just thought what you were doing was funny—!”
“That’s what laughing is.”
“……”
She got defeated with one sentence, yet she still tried to provoke me.
Rosalind had picked a fight from our first meeting, but it wasn’t worth sharpening my words against her. Our levels were simply too different.
This is why greenhouse flowers don’t work.
I ignored Rosalind, who was fuming without a reply, and quietly avoided Mariana’s gaze as she looked over, wondering what the noise was.
The moon tilted lower.
At last, the evening star rose, and it was time for the Eucharist—the final stage of the ceremony.
As bread and wine were distributed, the hall grew slightly noisy. Those who had been nodding off—including me—jerked awake and wiped the drool from their mouths.
Mariana carefully woke the child sleeping against her.
“Joseph, wake up.”
“I’m so sleepy, Mother…”
“It’s almost over.”
Just then, bread and wine reached our seats.
In Lombard, even great nobles ate dry rye bread during the Eucharist. But the southern bread was soft white wheat bread.
So this was the power of a fertile land where double and triple cropping was possible.
Thinking bitterly how jealous I was, I chewed a small piece of bread—
“Kh—!”
Joseph suddenly clutched his throat and let out a weak sound.
At first, I thought he had simply choked.
But his red, chubby cheeks suddenly turned pale in an instant.
