~Chapter 20~
“Huff… This confessional… is farther than I thought… Huff…”
Floria ran as fast as she could toward the confessional, pushing herself with a small amount of divine power.
From the moment she reached the end of the hallway, she had to brace herself at the sight of the crowd packed in front of her.
As she got closer, the noise became unbearable, loud voices almost hurting her ears.
Many believers were arguing with the priests. And this was supposed to be the second most sacred and quiet place in the temple, after the prayer room.
‘Wait, could it be because of… me?’
Eyes darting around like a spy, Floria pressed herself against the wall and carefully crept forward.
Maybe, just maybe, she could sneak into the confessional unnoticed in all this noise.
Step by step, she moved forward. She was almost there.
But then—
“When is Priestess Floria coming?!”
“Where is Priestess Floria…?”
The moment she heard her name, she was hit with a wave of guilt.
Seeing the mad faces shouting her name made her feel afraid.
No way I’m sneaking in now.
She couldn’t just pop up like she’d been there all along.
Still pressed against the wall, Floria clutched the hem of her robe. Not ready for all the stares, she shut her eyes tightly.
“I-I’m so sorry!”
Silence.
The noise cut off all at once.
Everyone stopped talking and turned their heads.
Suddenly, hundreds of piercing eyes locked onto her like predators spotting prey.
But instead of the yelling she expected, everything went oddly calm.
People smiled warmly, as if nothing had happened.
The priests who had been struggling to control the crowd clapped their hands and began organizing things.
“Alright, everyone! Sister—no, Priestess Floria is here! Let’s all get back in line!”
Without another word, the believers calmly returned to their places.
Strangely, no one blamed Floria at all—not even the priests who had just been overwhelmed.
Just like that, the chaos completely disappeared with Floria’s arrival.
***
…Why?
At the dining hall, Floria still couldn’t shake off her confusion.
Just earlier, she had told a believer:
“Your father is trying to marry you off to a stranger? And he abused you? If I were you, I’d run away. He’s the one who should be asking for forgiveness.”
And to another:
“You want to confess to someone who already has a lover? Well… give it a try. Face reality, though. Apologizing afterward would be ridiculous.”
She had gotten used to saying things like that without meaning to.
Since she couldn’t stop herself anyway, she had just gone along with it, like flowing water.
So that wasn’t what was bothering her.
The temple’s lunch hour was officially at 12 PM, but Floria could never get to the dining hall before 2 PM due to her confessional duties.
She would usually gulp down cold soup and dry bread and then rush back to the confessional for afternoon work.
But today was different.
Even though there were more believers waiting than usual because she had been late, the other priests had made sure she went to lunch exactly at noon.
They even specifically said it was “Priestess Floria’s lunch time.” (One of them accidentally said “Saint Floria” before correcting themselves.)
On top of that, instead of eating quickly and leaving like they normally would, the priests actually gathered around Floria.
She was so surprised that she couldn’t even pick up her spoon.
‘We’re not even close enough to eat together.’
No, they weren’t close at all. Most of them had never even had a proper conversation with her.
Even after people started calling her a saint, their interactions had been limited to polite greetings.
But before she could even touch her food, the other priests began eyeing each other and hurried to take the seats closest to her.
The seats on both sides and across from her were taken in an instant. Floria had never seen anything like it.
‘They’re not doing this just to scold me for being late… right?’
If that were the case, someone would’ve said something by now.
Honestly, they all looked like they just wanted to make eye contact with her.
Even though she was clearly at fault for being late, Floria lowered her head deeply, unable to lift her spoon.
“I really am so sorr—”
“Is it true you moved to the annex dormitory, Priestess Floria?”
But her quiet apology was cut off by someone’s excited question.
‘…?’
Floria looked around, confused.
Strangely, no one seemed to care that she had been late at all.
“Yes, I did. I’m sharing the room with Rose now.”
“I heard the room is huge. Lucky you! Have you seen any high-ranking priests or nobles walking around the annex?”
“Is it the room right next to the annex prayer room? That prayer room is always closed, isn’t it?”
The priests began firing off questions rapidly, as if they had been waiting for a chance.
“…Yes, it’s the room next to the annex prayer room. It’s quite large for two people. I haven’t seen anyone else yet.”
Floria decided not to mention that she had met Caspar.
She was about to add that the prayer room had actually been wide open today when she noticed something odd.
Based on what they were saying, they didn’t seem curious about her room—they seemed more interested in the annex itself.
But since she had no close friends among the priests, she didn’t know much.
“Um, is there something wrong with the annex?”
When she cautiously asked the question, the buzz of conversation stopped immediately.
The dining hall went deathly quiet.
Even priests sitting far away froze mid-bite.
“…”
It was a chilling silence. Floria rubbed her goosebumped arm discreetly.
Anyone could tell something was off.
She glanced around, trying to catch someone’s eye.
The priest, who had just been leaning on the table with their chin in hand, quickly turned away.
Everyone was suddenly pretending they knew nothing.
‘Hmm…’
Floria narrowed her eyes.
Then she quickly grabbed the hand of the priest sitting to her left.
‘In situations like this, it’s best to pick one person and ask directly.’
The priest flinched at her touch, visibly startled. Floria could feel the tremble through their hand.
“Priestess Railey. I really don’t know anything about the annex. Could you please tell me?”
“W-Well…”
Railey avoided eye contact, but Floria tightened her grip and gave her a pleading look.
“Sweet little Rose is staying alone in that annex room. I’m really worried.”
“…Ah, well. The annex…”
See? Everyone talks when you ask them directly.
Floria smiled softly, though her eyes remained innocent and serious.
Railey glanced around for help, but no one came to her rescue.
Eventually, she shut her eyes tightly and blurted it out.
“There’s a graveyard behind the annex!”
“What?”
…Yeah, I know that already.
Floria loosened her grip, a little disappointed.
She had been startled when Caspar told her, but thinking about it now, it wasn’t that shocking.
Even in her previous life, large temples and churches often had graveyards for their believers.
Some even kept the graves inside the buildings.
Was that really something to be so secretive and dramatic about?
It seemed like it. Everyone looked surprised that Floria wasn’t reacting more strongly.
Well, it’s a different time period, after all…
Sigh.
She turned back to her food, deciding to be satisfied with simply being able to eat with others.
She picked up her spoon to finally try the cold soup.
Clack—!
Suddenly, Railey grabbed Floria’s hand again.
Her eyes had a firm, serio
us look—as if she had made up her mind.
“They say a ghost lives in the annex. A ghost with long white hair.”
