CH :02
“Are you satisfied now, Priestess?”
The only one on this land with black hair and black eyes. Even if she no longer used the name Escliff, Amelia was a name unique to one person. Even if Ivan had no interest in the temple, it wasn’t difficult to realize that the woman before him was Amelia, the priestess.
“How did you….”
Amelia, startled that her identity had been discovered, took a step back. It was only natural, so why was she so surprised? Perhaps it was because she had only lived under the temple’s protection—there was something naive about her.
“Because the name ‘Amelia’ is permitted only to you.”
At Ivan’s reply, Amelia let out a short, dumbfounded “Ah.”
“…Right.”
Her words trailed off.
During that moment, Ivan closely observed the woman’s face, which somehow looked sorrowful. At the same time, he sharpened his senses, checking for anyone nearby or any approaching presence.
There was no one. Once that certainty settled in, Ivan lightly leapt down from the wall.
“My goodness.”
Amelia’s red lips parted slightly in surprise. The wall was taller than Ivan himself, let alone her. And yet, unbelievably, he landed as softly as a cat.
“Why are you so wary of me?”
At Ivan’s question, Amelia flinched. Only then did she realize she had instinctively been preparing to step back.
“I am a servant of the gods, and thus your servant as well. There’s no need to be afraid.”
It was a lie. Smiling, Ivan took a step closer to Amelia. His hand was fiddling with the handle of the dagger hidden inside his robe.
“It’s not that I’m wary….”
He was thinking—if he stabbed that frail-looking woman right in the heart, he could at least find out whether or not she would truly die. And if she did die, all the better.
“…Just surprised.”
He was only a few steps away, within striking range, when Amelia smiled as she spoke. It was a soft, almost childlike smile.
“……”
Ivan unconsciously stopped walking. The sharp hostility he had raised shattered in an instant.
“So, did you go outside the temple today?”
As if sensing this shift, Amelia casually asked the question, with no trace of tension or fear.
“Yes.”
Amelia’s eyes sparkled at his answer. Then, without hesitation, she took a step closer to him. She stood right in front of Ivan in a matter of seconds. Ivan nearly stepped back, but stopped himself.
“What was it like out there?”
Her eyes gleamed like black grapes—so dark, yet sparkling with excitement, they resembled precious jewels. Even though the world had never known such pitch-black, beguiling gems.
“It was the same as usual.”
Ivan couldn’t bring himself to look away from those expectant eyes. He wasn’t enchanted, yet somehow he couldn’t turn away.
“What’s it usually like? Are there a lot of people? Did you walk through something like a night market? What do they talk about?”
Amelia fired off questions, her interest overflowing. Ivan, caught off guard by such curiosity, fell silent. The priestess was the most revered woman in Escliff. More honored than the Empress. He had never imagined she would wonder about such trivial things.
“I went to a tavern.”
Ivan confessed, and Amelia’s eyes widened.
“A tavern?”
“……”
“A tavern?”
Then, she burst into a small laugh. Ivan blinked, not understanding what was so funny about his answer.
“You’ve completely gone astray.”
Only then did Ivan’s face show a flash of realization. A temple attendant in a tavern—that was, indeed, proof of straying. He had even assaulted an apprentice priest at that tavern to steal his ID tag, and hadn’t even thought it strange.
“Ah, that was….”
Ivan began, flustered.
“It’s fine. As long as I keep it a secret, right? That’s why you jumped the wall to come here?”
Amelia spoke casually, her expression unconcerned. Her attitude truly showed that it didn’t matter to her. Because of that, the tension Ivan had felt earlier now seemed absurd.
“So what was it like?”
She was subtly trying to extract more details about the outside world.
“Priestess!”
A voice called out, looking for Amelia. Her eyes widened just as the sound of footsteps brushing through grass grew closer. Ivan quickly pulled his hood back up over his head.
“Come here.”
Amelia hurriedly grabbed Ivan’s hand. She led him to a rarely used prayer room.
“This room is close to my quarters, so unless I’m using it, no one comes here. And even if someone were to come to pray today, they’d use the main hall. No one will come here.”
She pushed open the heavy door and shoved Ivan inside, speaking rapidly.
“Priestess! Where are you?”
The voice calling for Amelia was getting closer.
“The guards will be back soon too. I’ll take my maid and return to my room right away. You slip out quietly and go back to your quarters. Got it?”
“……”
“Did you hear me?”
When Ivan nodded silently, Amelia gave a relieved smile and closed the prayer room door.
“Oh, but one more thing.”
The door creaked open just a crack, and Amelia’s black eyes peeked in again.
“Next time, tell me more about the world outside. I have so many questions. Around midnight, the guards tend to be distracted during shift change. That would be a good time.”
Her eyes curved into a soft smile. Her face, filled with anticipation, looked so innocent and lovely. Ivan simply nodded. Satisfied with his unspoken answer, Amelia shut the door and turned away.
“Priestess!”
“I’m here.”
Amelia responded to the call.
“Must I not be left alone for even a moment?”
“You left without saying a word. The high priest told us to check if something had happened.”
“I just went for a walk. I felt suffocated.”
Before long, the sound of footsteps outside the door began to fade.
And when there was no trace of movement left, Ivan quietly opened the prayer room door. The conversation with Amelia felt like a dream. The garden was empty.
I should leave before the guards return. Before exiting the prayer room, Ivan took a moment to look around inside. There was a statue of the priestess, hands clasped, eyes closed in prayer.
“……”
According to the plan, he should’ve greeted her by driving a knife into that heart. But he hadn’t. Simply because those black eyes, which he had seen for the first time in his life, fascinated him.
“Hah…”
A small, inappropriate laugh slipped from Ivan’s lips.
“……”
Of course, it vanished almost immediately. Ivan turned his head straight and walked calmly. While the temple knights were still away, he leapt over the wall.
“Your Majesty.”
“I told you not to follow me.”
“This is my duty.”
“Such stubbornness.”
Rodan greeted him with a bow. Ivan clicked his tongue and tossed him the robe he’d been wearing.
“How could I not wait, when Your Majesty jumped the temple wall?”
Rodan draped the robe over his arm and added that his actions weren’t out of rigidity but necessity.
And he was right. Ivan’s resentment toward the temple wasn’t mild. Earlier, after overhearing the conversation in the tavern, he had wanted to slit the priestess’s throat right then and there. Rodan had no choice. Ivan understood that.
“I didn’t kill her.”
At Ivan’s relaxed reply, Rodan’s face showed faint unease. If he didn’t kill her, had he perhaps hurt her?
“I just had a peaceful conversation.”
Rodan furrowed his brows, as if hearing nonsense.
“But you set a fire.”
“……”
“You beat an apprentice priest nearly to death and stole his ID tag.”
He calmly listed Ivan’s misdeeds. It could’ve been taken as impertinent, but Ivan didn’t scold him. Despite their status difference, Rodan had grown up with him—he was the son of Ivan’s wet nurse—so they spoke freely.
“Did I?”
Ivan turned his head with shameless composure and continued walking.
“Still, it wasn’t all in vain.”
He hadn’t confirmed whether the priestess was truly immortal by harming her, but it didn’t feel like a loss. Amelia had been alone, and even the guards had been lax. Such a miraculous opportunity might never come again, and yet he had let it pass.
“Next time, tell me more about the world outside. I’m really curious.”
Eyes sharply tilted upward, yet filled with poorly hidden curiosity toward a late-night intruder. Her interest in the world beyond the temple. It was all too obvious what that meant.
Innocence. Naïveté. Purity.
“And this gain you speak of…?”
“There’s a curious little girl out there who wants to know more about the outside world. I made a friend.”
A child yearning for attention and affection.
“Ivan. You must become a strong emperor.”
And things like that… are usually the easiest to use.
ChatGPT said:
“Are you satisfied now, Priestess?”
The only one on this land with black hair and black eyes. Even if she no longer used the name Escliff, Amelia was a name unique to one person. Even if Ivan had no interest in the temple, it wasn’t difficult to realize that the woman before him was Amelia, the priestess.
“How did you….”
Amelia, startled that her identity had been discovered, took a step back. It was only natural, so why was she so surprised? Perhaps it was because she had only lived under the temple’s protection—there was something naive about her.
“Because the name ‘Amelia’ is permitted only to you.”
At Ivan’s reply, Amelia let out a short, dumbfounded “Ah.”
“…Right.”
Her words trailed off.
During that moment, Ivan closely observed the woman’s face, which somehow looked sorrowful. At the same time, he sharpened his senses, checking for anyone nearby or any approaching presence.
There was no one. Once that certainty settled in, Ivan lightly leapt down from the wall.
“My goodness.”
Amelia’s red lips parted slightly in surprise. The wall was taller than Ivan himself, let alone her. And yet, unbelievably, he landed as softly as a cat.
“Why are you so wary of me?”
At Ivan’s question, Amelia flinched. Only then did she realize she had instinctively been preparing to step back.
“I am a servant of the gods, and thus your servant as well. There’s no need to be afraid.”
It was a lie. Smiling, Ivan took a step closer to Amelia. His hand was fiddling with the handle of the dagger hidden inside his robe.
“It’s not that I’m wary….”
He was thinking—if he stabbed that frail-looking woman right in the heart, he could at least find out whether or not she would truly die. And if she did die, all the better.
“…Just surprised.”
He was only a few steps away, within striking range, when Amelia smiled as she spoke. It was a soft, almost childlike smile.
“……”
Ivan unconsciously stopped walking. The sharp hostility he had raised shattered in an instant.
“So, did you go outside the temple today?”
As if sensing this shift, Amelia casually asked the question, with no trace of tension or fear.
“Yes.”
Amelia’s eyes sparkled at his answer. Then, without hesitation, she took a step closer to him. She stood right in front of Ivan in a matter of seconds. Ivan nearly stepped back, but stopped himself.
“What was it like out there?”
Her eyes gleamed like black grapes—so dark, yet sparkling with excitement, they resembled precious jewels. Even though the world had never known such pitch-black, beguiling gems.
“It was the same as usual.”
Ivan couldn’t bring himself to look away from those expectant eyes. He wasn’t enchanted, yet somehow he couldn’t turn away.
“What’s it usually like? Are there a lot of people? Did you walk through something like a night market? What do they talk about?”
Amelia fired off questions, her interest overflowing. Ivan, caught off guard by such curiosity, fell silent. The priestess was the most revered woman in Escliff. More honored than the Empress. He had never imagined she would wonder about such trivial things.
“I went to a tavern.”
Ivan confessed, and Amelia’s eyes widened.
“A tavern?”
“……”
“A tavern?”
Then, she burst into a small laugh. Ivan blinked, not understanding what was so funny about his answer.
“You’ve completely gone astray.”
Only then did Ivan’s face show a flash of realization. A temple attendant in a tavern—that was, indeed, proof of straying. He had even assaulted an apprentice priest at that tavern to steal his ID tag, and hadn’t even thought it strange.
“Ah, that was….”
Ivan began, flustered.
“It’s fine. As long as I keep it a secret, right? That’s why you jumped the wall to come here?”
Amelia spoke casually, her expression unconcerned. Her attitude truly showed that it didn’t matter to her. Because of that, the tension Ivan had felt earlier now seemed absurd.
“So what was it like?”
She was subtly trying to extract more details about the outside world.
“Priestess!”
A voice called out, looking for Amelia. Her eyes widened just as the sound of footsteps brushing through grass grew closer. Ivan quickly pulled his hood back up over his head.
“Come here.”
Amelia hurriedly grabbed Ivan’s hand. She led him to a rarely used prayer room.
“This room is close to my quarters, so unless I’m using it, no one comes here. And even if someone were to come to pray today, they’d use the main hall. No one will come here.”
She pushed open the heavy door and shoved Ivan inside, speaking rapidly.
“Priestess! Where are you?”
The voice calling for Amelia was getting closer.
“The guards will be back soon too. I’ll take my maid and return to my room right away. You slip out quietly and go back to your quarters. Got it?”
“……”
“Did you hear me?”
When Ivan nodded silently, Amelia gave a relieved smile and closed the prayer room door.
“Oh, but one more thing.”
The door creaked open just a crack, and Amelia’s black eyes peeked in again.
“Next time, tell me more about the world outside. I have so many questions. Around midnight, the guards tend to be distracted during shift change. That would be a good time.”
Her eyes curved into a soft smile. Her face, filled with anticipation, looked so innocent and lovely. Ivan simply nodded. Satisfied with his unspoken answer, Amelia shut the door and turned away.
“Priestess!”
“I’m here.”
Amelia responded to the call.
“Must I not be left alone for even a moment?”
“You left without saying a word. The high priest told us to check if something had happened.”
“I just went for a walk. I felt suffocated.”
Before long, the sound of footsteps outside the door began to fade.
And when there was no trace of movement left, Ivan quietly opened the prayer room door. The conversation with Amelia felt like a dream. The garden was empty.
I should leave before the guards return. Before exiting the prayer room, Ivan took a moment to look around inside. There was a statue of the priestess, hands clasped, eyes closed in prayer.
“……”
According to the plan, he should’ve greeted her by driving a knife into that heart. But he hadn’t. Simply because those black eyes, which he had seen for the first time in his life, fascinated him.
“Hah…”
A small, inappropriate laugh slipped from Ivan’s lips.
“……”
Of course, it vanished almost immediately. Ivan turned his head straight and walked calmly. While the temple knights were still away, he leapt over the wall.
“Your Majesty.”
“I told you not to follow me.”
“This is my duty.”
“Such stubbornness.”
Rodan greeted him with a bow. Ivan clicked his tongue and tossed him the robe he’d been wearing.
“How could I not wait, when Your Majesty jumped the temple wall?”
Rodan draped the robe over his arm and added that his actions weren’t out of rigidity but necessity.
And he was right. Ivan’s resentment toward the temple wasn’t mild. Earlier, after overhearing the conversation in the tavern, he had wanted to slit the priestess’s throat right then and there. Rodan had no choice. Ivan understood that.
“I didn’t kill her.”
At Ivan’s relaxed reply, Rodan’s face showed faint unease. If he didn’t kill her, had he perhaps hurt her?
“I just had a peaceful conversation.”
Rodan furrowed his brows, as if hearing nonsense.
“But you set a fire.”
“……”
“You beat an apprentice priest nearly to death and stole his ID tag.”
He calmly listed Ivan’s misdeeds. It could’ve been taken as impertinent, but Ivan didn’t scold him. Despite their status difference, Rodan had grown up with him—he was the son of Ivan’s wet nurse—so they spoke freely.
“Did I?”
Ivan turned his head with shameless composure and continued walking.
“Still, it wasn’t all in vain.”
He hadn’t confirmed whether the priestess was truly immortal by harming her, but it didn’t feel like a loss. Amelia had been alone, and even the guards had been lax. Such a miraculous opportunity might never come again, and yet he had let it pass.
“Next time, tell me more about the world outside. I’m really curious.”
Eyes sharply tilted upward, yet filled with poorly hidden curiosity toward a late-night intruder. Her interest in the world beyond the temple. It was all too obvious what that meant.
Innocence. Naïveté. Purity.
“And this gain you speak of…?”
“There’s a curious little girl out there who wants to know more about the outside world. I made a friend.”
A child yearning for attention and affection.
“Ivan. You must become a strong emperor.”
And things like that… are usually the easiest to use.
ChatGPT said:
“Are you satisfied now, Priestess?”
The only one on this land with black hair and black eyes. Even if she no longer used the name Escliff, Amelia was a name unique to one person. Even if Ivan had no interest in the temple, it wasn’t difficult to realize that the woman before him was Amelia, the priestess.
“How did you….”
Amelia, startled that her identity had been discovered, took a step back. It was only natural, so why was she so surprised? Perhaps it was because she had only lived under the temple’s protection—there was something naive about her.
“Because the name ‘Amelia’ is permitted only to you.”
At Ivan’s reply, Amelia let out a short, dumbfounded “Ah.”
“…Right.”
Her words trailed off.
During that moment, Ivan closely observed the woman’s face, which somehow looked sorrowful. At the same time, he sharpened his senses, checking for anyone nearby or any approaching presence.
There was no one. Once that certainty settled in, Ivan lightly leapt down from the wall.
“My goodness.”
Amelia’s red lips parted slightly in surprise. The wall was taller than Ivan himself, let alone her. And yet, unbelievably, he landed as softly as a cat.
“Why are you so wary of me?”
At Ivan’s question, Amelia flinched. Only then did she realize she had instinctively been preparing to step back.
“I am a servant of the gods, and thus your servant as well. There’s no need to be afraid.”
It was a lie. Smiling, Ivan took a step closer to Amelia. His hand was fiddling with the handle of the dagger hidden inside his robe.
“It’s not that I’m wary….”
He was thinking—if he stabbed that frail-looking woman right in the heart, he could at least find out whether or not she would truly die. And if she did die, all the better.
“…Just surprised.”
He was only a few steps away, within striking range, when Amelia smiled as she spoke. It was a soft, almost childlike smile.
“……”
Ivan unconsciously stopped walking. The sharp hostility he had raised shattered in an instant.
“So, did you go outside the temple today?”
As if sensing this shift, Amelia casually asked the question, with no trace of tension or fear.
“Yes.”
Amelia’s eyes sparkled at his answer. Then, without hesitation, she took a step closer to him. She stood right in front of Ivan in a matter of seconds. Ivan nearly stepped back, but stopped himself.
“What was it like out there?”
Her eyes gleamed like black grapes—so dark, yet sparkling with excitement, they resembled precious jewels. Even though the world had never known such pitch-black, beguiling gems.
“It was the same as usual.”
Ivan couldn’t bring himself to look away from those expectant eyes. He wasn’t enchanted, yet somehow he couldn’t turn away.
“What’s it usually like? Are there a lot of people? Did you walk through something like a night market? What do they talk about?”
Amelia fired off questions, her interest overflowing. Ivan, caught off guard by such curiosity, fell silent. The priestess was the most revered woman in Escliff. More honored than the Empress. He had never imagined she would wonder about such trivial things.
“I went to a tavern.”
Ivan confessed, and Amelia’s eyes widened.
“A tavern?”
“……”
“A tavern?”
Then, she burst into a small laugh. Ivan blinked, not understanding what was so funny about his answer.
“You’ve completely gone astray.”
Only then did Ivan’s face show a flash of realization. A temple attendant in a tavern—that was, indeed, proof of straying. He had even assaulted an apprentice priest at that tavern to steal his ID tag, and hadn’t even thought it strange.
“Ah, that was….”
Ivan began, flustered.
“It’s fine. As long as I keep it a secret, right? That’s why you jumped the wall to come here?”
Amelia spoke casually, her expression unconcerned. Her attitude truly showed that it didn’t matter to her. Because of that, the tension Ivan had felt earlier now seemed absurd.
“So what was it like?”
She was subtly trying to extract more details about the outside world.
“Priestess!”
A voice called out, looking for Amelia. Her eyes widened just as the sound of footsteps brushing through grass grew closer. Ivan quickly pulled his hood back up over his head.
“Come here.”
Amelia hurriedly grabbed Ivan’s hand. She led him to a rarely used prayer room.
“This room is close to my quarters, so unless I’m using it, no one comes here. And even if someone were to come to pray today, they’d use the main hall. No one will come here.”
She pushed open the heavy door and shoved Ivan inside, speaking rapidly.
“Priestess! Where are you?”
The voice calling for Amelia was getting closer.
“The guards will be back soon too. I’ll take my maid and return to my room right away. You slip out quietly and go back to your quarters. Got it?”
“……”
“Did you hear me?”
When Ivan nodded silently, Amelia gave a relieved smile and closed the prayer room door.
“Oh, but one more thing.”
The door creaked open just a crack, and Amelia’s black eyes peeked in again.
“Next time, tell me more about the world outside. I have so many questions. Around midnight, the guards tend to be distracted during shift change. That would be a good time.”
Her eyes curved into a soft smile. Her face, filled with anticipation, looked so innocent and lovely. Ivan simply nodded. Satisfied with his unspoken answer, Amelia shut the door and turned away.
“Priestess!”
“I’m here.”
Amelia responded to the call.
“Must I not be left alone for even a moment?”
“You left without saying a word. The high priest told us to check if something had happened.”
“I just went for a walk. I felt suffocated.”
Before long, the sound of footsteps outside the door began to fade.
And when there was no trace of movement left, Ivan quietly opened the prayer room door. The conversation with Amelia felt like a dream. The garden was empty.
I should leave before the guards return. Before exiting the prayer room, Ivan took a moment to look around inside. There was a statue of the priestess, hands clasped, eyes closed in prayer.
“……”
According to the plan, he should’ve greeted her by driving a knife into that heart. But he hadn’t. Simply because those black eyes, which he had seen for the first time in his life, fascinated him.
“Hah…”
A small, inappropriate laugh slipped from Ivan’s lips.
“……”
Of course, it vanished almost immediately. Ivan turned his head straight and walked calmly. While the temple knights were still away, he leapt over the wall.
“Your Majesty.”
“I told you not to follow me.”
“This is my duty.”
“Such stubbornness.”
Rodan greeted him with a bow. Ivan clicked his tongue and tossed him the robe he’d been wearing.
“How could I not wait, when Your Majesty jumped the temple wall?”
Rodan draped the robe over his arm and added that his actions weren’t out of rigidity but necessity.
And he was right. Ivan’s resentment toward the temple wasn’t mild. Earlier, after overhearing the conversation in the tavern, he had wanted to slit the priestess’s throat right then and there. Rodan had no choice. Ivan understood that.
“I didn’t kill her.”
At Ivan’s relaxed reply, Rodan’s face showed faint unease. If he didn’t kill her, had he perhaps hurt her?
“I just had a peaceful conversation.”
Rodan furrowed his brows, as if hearing nonsense.
“But you set a fire.”
“……”
“You beat an apprentice priest nearly to death and stole his ID tag.”
He calmly listed Ivan’s misdeeds. It could’ve been taken as impertinent, but Ivan didn’t scold him. Despite their status difference, Rodan had grown up with him—he was the son of Ivan’s wet nurse—so they spoke freely.
“Did I?”
Ivan turned his head with shameless composure and continued walking.
“Still, it wasn’t all in vain.”
He hadn’t confirmed whether the priestess was truly immortal by harming her, but it didn’t feel like a loss. Amelia had been alone, and even the guards had been lax. Such a miraculous opportunity might never come again, and yet he had let it pass.
“Next time, tell me more about the world outside. I’m really curious.”
Eyes sharply tilted upward, yet filled with poorly hidden curiosity toward a late-night intruder. Her interest in the world beyond the temple. It was all too obvious what that meant.
Innocence. Naïveté. Purity.
“And this gain you speak of…?”
“There’s a curious little girl out there who wants to know more about the outside world. I made a friend.”
A child yearning for attention and affection.
“Ivan. You must become a strong emperor.”
And things like that… are usually the easiest to use.
