Chapter 78
I only blinked as I looked at the Head Priestess, who responded to what I said.
‘The reason I deliberately put the seed inside the doll… was partly to make it hard to find, but it also had to be inside it. Only then could it sprout… and its growth would be slow.’
An object that was always warm because a child held it.
Filled with cotton, wrapped in thick fabric, structured so that once moisture got inside, it wouldn’t easily escape.
Plants need water to grow, but they also need light. Through that, they carry out synthesis and eventually grow. But inside a doll would have been an environment where it could not grow any further.
“If it sprouts… what becomes the problem? Is it that it mustn’t grow beyond the sprout stage?”
“That’s right. Rather, once it becomes a flower, there’s no problem.”
“But if a sprout lasts too long… doesn’t it rot?”
“No. It doesn’t rot or anything like that. That’s why, when maintaining this plant, there’s a saying that it is deliberately grown in darkness so it won’t grow any further.”
I see. So that’s why it was put inside the doll. It must have been the perfect condition.
“What on earth is it?”
“From the moment it becomes a seed, it emits a strong anesthetic component. If properly processed, it can become a sleeping drug, but in its raw form, it has an anesthetic effect. It’s a very dangerous substance. Under normal circumstances… it would be potent enough that one might have already lost their life. And this is something whose import has been completely banned.”
“If its import was banned… then conversely…”
“It might be easy to track. But we must also consider the opposite case. For this seed, the germination conditions are both easy and difficult. That means it could have been imported a very long time ago.”
For a brief moment, I saw hope. If it was difficult to import, then we might at least find out who imported it. But because of its peculiar traits, it was actually more difficult.
“However, it’s been over ten years since this seed was banned.”
“Ah. Then it must be one of three. Either it’s a seed that’s over ten years old, or it was imported despite being difficult to import, or… someone kept making it flower from imported seeds and then producing new seeds from those flowers, supplying themselves alone. It’s probably one of those.”
“Aisha is certainly clever.”
The Head Priestess stroked my hair.
“Still, it’s frustrating that we can’t reveal anything right away…”
“Don’t think about it too hard. In the end, the path will lead to one. The more you overthink and fall into despair, the less likely you are to reach the ending you want. I was the same. Aisha. I thought too much, and I was intoxicated by those thoughts, convincing myself I was doing well. That was the cause of my defeat.”
“Yes…”
“So let go a little and think lightly. In times like that, better ideas can come.”
I nodded 크게. Then I realized belatedly that the Head Priestess could not see, so I answered out loud as well.
“Yes!”
“You’re such an adorable child, Aisha.”
“Thank you for looking at me kindly.”
“No. It’s true. In any case, Aisha, it will be difficult to find information about this flower itself. The flower’s name is Ruzuela. Its flower meaning is Eternal Dream. The anesthetic component makes one fall asleep without pain and never wake again. In the distant past, it is said this was used to grant a painless death to those who desired death. It was favored by those suffering from incurable illnesses… but in the end, it was abused.”
I bit my lip without saying anything. The words about falling asleep without pain and never waking sounded unbearably sad. As if forcing death upon someone.
“Still, it is said that while under its influence, one dreams happy dreams. But… usually, the life after awakening is not happy… and so people can collapse…”
“So Rari has been subjected to that continuously.”
“Yes.”
So that’s why no one entered the room while we were sleeping. Perhaps the Grand Duchess had hoped that through this, it would affect not only Rari but also Rohen and me, who slept beside her.
But Rohen was stronger than Rari, so it only made him drowsy, and as for me, my body must have healed itself, so I was fine.
‘That’s why the Grand Duchess didn’t strongly oppose me sleeping in the children’s room.’
Thinking that way made it even more chilling.
“I think it’s fine for Aisha to investigate the rest. Its appearance, the environment it grows in, the symptoms that appear when someone is affected by it.”
“Yes!”
That must mean the remaining information wouldn’t be difficult for me to investigate alone. I nodded and held the Head Priestess’s hand tightly.
“I’m always grateful. For sending Riren as well…”
“I just hope Aisha won’t be unhappy like me. I hope you remain happy, again and again.”
“I’m very happy right now.”
“That’s a relief, then. Shall we call the others in now?”
“Yes!”
When the Head Priestess raised her hand, a priestess who had been standing not far away walked toward the door leading here.
“At least you’re not being confined or anything, it seems.”
“Were you worried that I might be used by others and locked away?”
“Yes. Usually…”
In bad novels, there are many people who lock up the Head Priestess and try to use her for their own purposes. That was why I said it, but she let out a small laugh.
“You don’t need to worry. Our God is powerful, after all. That is why miracles are occasionally bestowed upon the world, and because of that, those who follow the God steadily increase. Their faith is firm. So there is no need to worry. Even if an impure person appears, they cannot overcome the true power of God.”
At those words, the female protagonist from the novel suddenly came to mind. In the novel, she had risen to the position of saint candidate. But the Head Priestess in the novel refused her, saying that a saint is not made that way. Though she possessed the same power to heal people as the Head Priestess, the moment the Head Priestess said she was not one, she was eliminated from the saint candidate position.
‘The reason she was so firm back then, and why others followed the Priestess’s words, must all be because of this, right?’
“Of course, there are those in the temple who claim to believe in God but harbor different thoughts. But such people cannot wield great power. So do not worry.”
As if to soothe my continued concern, the priestess spoke in words that were easy to understand.
‘But in the novel… in the end, for the sake of the female protagonist, the Crown Prince stepped forward. Rather, the Crown Prince caused a commotion, saying that if someone with such power doesn’t become the Head Priestess, then who would? And in the end, he said he took the Head Priestess’s power away—treating her as a heretic.’
Back then, the novel had unfolded unfavorably for the Head Priestess. But now that I was inside the novel, it was nothing like that at all.
‘I don’t like it in many ways.’
I haven’t even met the female lead yet, but I truly don’t like how she used my twins for her tragic narrative… and how she turned the Head Priestess into that.
“Aisha.”
“Y-Yes?”
“It seems Aisha’s friends have arrived. Would you guide them?”
I saw the Grand Duke and Rohen standing at a short distance. Rari was still sleeping soundly in the Grand Duke’s arms.
“Yes!”
Perhaps he had become more like a young lord now, because Rohen didn’t come running over. He simply stood at a distance, watching us. I walked over to them.
“The Head Priestess said you may come in!”
At that, Rohen looked at Rari in the Grand Duke’s arms. As if he had something to say, for quite a while. Even as the Grand Duke, holding Rari, approached the Head Priestess. And it was only when they stood before her that Rohen spoke.
“Could you… wake my sister…?”
So that’s why he had been so quiet.
“Hm?”
“She keeps… sleeping. I thought maybe… if it’s the Head Priestess… you might be able to… I’m afraid she might never wake up. I want to run and play with Rari… and talk together… I thought the Head Priestess might be able to… but you’re not someone we can come see often… so please.”
This was the first time I’d seen Rohen ask someone for something so quietly. Rohen must have been scared. Even though he said he trusted me, he must have still been afraid. Afraid he might never see his sister again.
I walked over to Rohen and held his hand tightly.
“I’m sorry, Aisha.”
“You don’t need to be sorry.”
“When Rari’s cheeks grow warm… it feels like she might wake up… so I get impatient. I want to see her soon.”
“Yes. I know. I’m more sorry.”
Rohen would understand what I meant.
And so he lowered his head toward the floor. The other half he had been with since birth. His everything. I could only feel sorry for Rohen, who had been pretending to be fine.
“The Young Lady of the Grand Duke seems to be a very happy person. She has an older brother and sister who worry for her like this. And a father as well.”
With a gentle smile, the Head Priestess looked at the Grand Duke.
“Grand Duke, were you worried too?”
“Yes. I sent letters to a tiresome extent. Asking if you could wake my daughter. Saying I would grant anything you desired.”
At those unexpected words, both Rohen and I stared at him in surprise.
“Head Priestess! That—”
“You didn’t ask me to keep it secret, so it’s fine to say, isn’t it, Casimir?”
“That’s really… not something…”
The Head Priestess let out a small laugh and nodded to the priestess pushing her wheelchair. The priestess pushed it closer to the Grand Duke, who was holding Rari.
“There is a time for everything. And it seems that time has come. It’s time to wake up now, little lady.”
The Head Priestess held Rari’s hand tightly and smiled. The warm and radiant light flowing from her body streamed swiftly into Rari’s body, like paper absorbing ink.
