Chapter 102………………………………………………….
A few days had passed since the “Mammon’s Maze” incident at the royal palace banquet hall. In the meantime, news of the palace banquet incident had spread throughout the entire capital.
“They say rumors travel a thousand miles, but…”
I never expected the news to spread this quickly—and in such detail.
It was said that, in the process of the rumors spreading, stories about the Lilith Church and its saint—me—had become quite widespread.
That the saint of the Lilith Church had saved countless people and defeated demons and monsters in the devil’s maze.
Moreover, there were even rumors that our escape from Mammon’s Maze had all been orchestrated by the will of the god Lilith.
“Thanks to that, the rumors that Lilith is a demon have quieted down…”
Of course, that was certainly a good thing. Favorable rumors about the Lilith Church continued to spread, and the temple was bustling with visitors.
The number of believers had roughly doubled compared to before, so the temple was busy every single day.
As a result, the priests were busy attending to the believers, and the workload for Seria and Pelles had also increased.
“Naturally, my own work piled up like a mountain as well.”
I let out a small sigh as I looked at the stack of documents in front of me. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to do temple work.
It was just exhausting and tiring because the work kept piling up.
“I want to rest a bit.”
That said, I wasn’t trapped inside the temple the entire time. I had gone out yesterday, after all.
Of course, it was for work, though. Yesterday, I had visited the royal palace to speak with Princess Selena.
Princess Selena was investigating the recent “Mammon’s Maze” incident.
She had questioned all the nobles who had been present at the banquet hall, both inside and outside. Finally, she called me to discuss things.
According to her investigation of the nobles, no conclusive answers were found. The nobles were, like us, simply victims of the incident.
After briefly discussing the investigation, Princess Selena subtly brought up Prince Landes.
At first, Prince Landes seemed concerned about the emperor and the princess, but then he began to grill Princess Selena on how she had survived.
I immediately felt something was off. Prince Landes’ attitude was as if he believed that those who should have died had somehow returned alive.
Princess Selena had also found this suspicious and was investigating Prince Landes. That was the end of my conversation with her.
She said she would share any information I needed to know in the future. I bid her farewell and returned to the temple.
“This incident… Prince Landes must be involved somehow…”
It was just my guess, but now that the current emperor had recovered his health, it seemed plausible that Prince Landes might have tried to harm him by some other means.
“For now, that’s the most likely possibility.”
In any case, Prince Landes was certainly suspicious.
Moreover, after the Mammon’s Maze incident, I had prayed to Lilith herself and asked directly.
Lilith told me what she had discovered about the incident: it was indeed the work of Mammon.
“And Mammon is still hiding, so he’s difficult to find,” she had said.
Mammon was a great demon with powers similar to Lilith’s. If he wished, he could erase all traces of himself, so even Lilith would find him difficult to locate.
Besides that, I had also been diligently searching for any clue about S. But I had found nothing.
“In other words, it’s an utterly hopeless situation.”
I let out a low sigh and looked out the window. The sunlight outside was not as strong as before.
The sky was unusually clear, and not a single cloud marred its height. The trees, always lush and green, were gradually turning red.
Time had passed quickly: summer had ended, and the early signs of autumn were beginning.
“Life being busy, getting closer to Theron… it’s all good, really, but…”
My mind was still tangled. Unresolved matters felt like a ball of knots, leaving me constantly frustrated.
And today, I assumed it would be just another day like any other.
Knock knock.
Until I heard the sound coming not from the door but from the railing, I hadn’t expected a visitor. As soon as I heard it, I looked up sharply—and there was Theron.
“Theron…?”
Perhaps because he had unexpectedly come to see me during a slightly gloomy moment, a smile unconsciously spread across my face.
Theron smiled at me and entered the office. He carried a picnic basket that looked quite cute in his hands, the contrast making it even more endearing.
“Ellie, are you very busy?”
I slowly nodded and replied,
“Yes. There’s quite a lot left.”
I wasn’t particularly focused today, so work was progressing slower than usual. Theron approached with a smile and said,
“Then I’ll help you finish quickly, and we can go on a picnic together.”
He raised his eyes in a gentle expression and shook the picnic basket. Ah, that’s why he brought it. Somehow, my heart felt as if it were swelling like cotton candy.
“Yes. That sounds great.”
Thanks to Theron’s help, work finished faster than I had expected. I informed Pelles and Seria that I would be going out, then left the temple with Theron.
We took a cart belonging to the Pieret family and headed to a park with a large lake.
When we arrived at the park entrance, unusually quiet today, Theron held the picnic basket firmly in one hand and extended the other to me.
I smiled and took his hand. His large hand enveloped mine, and we walked into the park.
We walked quietly for a while, enjoying the breeze. Somehow, it seemed as if there was no one else in the park today.
“Theron, it seems like there’s no one in the park today.”
I said this, wondering if something was amiss. Theron smiled at me and replied in his usual calm tone,
“Yes. I rented the entire park for today.”
His serene expression and tone left me even more shocked. I was left speechless by the sheer scale of his wealth. Then he kissed the back of my hand and said,
“I just wanted to make sure you could have a relaxing day, Ellie.”
He looked at me with eyes that seemed genuinely concerned. Then, placing my hand against his cheek, he added,
“You’ve seemed low on energy lately.”
“Oh… really?”
“Yes. Every time I see your face, it seems like there’s a shadow over it.”
Even these days, Theron would often visit at night to walk with me around the temple. Despite the brief time in such dim light, he noticed my current state.
A wave of overwhelming emotion surged through me.
“I see.”
I replied softly, letting go of his face, and held his hand, pressing my lips to the back of it, as he often did for me.
“I’m sorry for making you worry, and thank you for always caring about me.”
At last, Theron’s expression brightened slightly, and he smiled at me.
“You have nothing to apologize for. I only wanted to make you happy.”
“Yes. I know. Theron always prioritizes me.”
I wondered if I would ever meet anyone like him again. Theron had always gone out of his way to care for me.
And I knew well that all his actions came from the depth of his feelings.
So I always waited for the day I could openly share my feelings with him.
“I feel bad making Theron wait even longer.”
Thinking that, we continued walking and eventually arrived at the quiet lakeside.
Theron and I sat on the grass in front of the lake, and he opened the picnic basket and set everything up.
Neatly made sandwiches, fruit juice, and even a salad.
“Wow, this looks delicious.”
I whispered in admiration, and Theron smiled as he handed me a sandwich.
“Really? I made it all myself.”
I gaped. He made all of this himself?
