Side Story Chapter 8
He spoke as if he weren’t in pain.
“Both the gods of the seasons and their faiths must hold equal positions for the world to operate according to its natural order. Furthermore, there is the oracle bestowed by the God of Winter, so as his servant, I have no choice in the matter.”
I could clearly see him subtly rubbing his head. There’s no way he wasn’t in pain.
Apart from the pain, he looked distinctly uncomfortable. I could sense exactly which part of this situation he found awkward, and it made me feel uneasy as well.
If the oracle had been delivered directly by the God of Spring, I would have carried it out without question. But this oracle came from the God of Winter. Moreover, it was announced in a way that seemed intended for someone other than the Winter temple or its priests, as if anticipating that another temple would interpret it first.
Now that I think about it, that’s pretty much just gangster behavior.
The deputy, pretending not to fuss over his head, instead pressed firmly at his temple.
“Considering that Lady Alicia spent a long time at the Spring temple, we should provide more physical support. Though naturally, spring cannot arrive without winter—it’s only logical.”
“Do you regret accepting me into the temple?”
“You speak frightening words, Lady Alicia. You don’t wish for me to be punished by the heavens, do you?”
Handing back the sealed oracle just like at first, the deputy gave a faint smile.
“So you’re not denying it.”
Since he didn’t outright say “absolutely not,” he was a surprisingly transparent person. Still, I preferred this vague honesty over pretense. I wanted to ignore it, but I’d grown attached to him too.
“The gods do not make mistakes.”
“Indeed… everything is according to plan.”
He affirmed without hesitation.
The God of Spring did not make mistakes. There was a plan. A plan to revive a world on the brink of destruction, using me as bait with a vague story about finding a vessel, ultimately sacrificing me to achieve it.
The gods surely had their own reasons, but their reasoning didn’t absolve my resentment. If I ever meet the God of Winter again, I’ll want to punch him, just as I wanted to vent my grievances to the God of Spring. Whether or not he listens is another matter.
At the very least, if the God of Spring hadn’t used the “Saint” as bait, my biggest worry in this second life would have simply been the timing of completing the remedy.
‘Maybe not. Perhaps I still wouldn’t have escaped the deadline anyway.’
Hioni’s condition was not an illness but a god’s blessing. Ultimately, I couldn’t have escaped without breaking the God of Winter’s seal. The remedy created by Nine in the book may not have been a perfect cure, perhaps merely a palliative. Or maybe it forcibly removed the god’s blessing using magical power.
It’s impossible to know now. I haven’t finished the novel, and this world has already diverged from the story.
Friend, what was the ending of your novel? Now that everything seems to be wrapping up, I really want to know. Did the protagonist Lea end up with Adrian? Did Nine give up her unrequited love? What about Cecilia? Did my younger sister finally give up on Adrian? Did she feel guilty for pushing the protagonist into the snowfield?
I wish I could meet you in person and ask. As always, with a chicken and beer between us.
Then, once we’ve finished drinking, I’d go home tipsy, fumbling with the door lock until I finally get inside. My sharp-eared mother would grab my bag and scold me for wandering around recklessly. She wouldn’t hit her precious daughter’s back, and my father, woken up in the process, would calm her down and tell me to wash up and sleep. In the morning, groaning from the hangover, my mother would call me to have some hangover soup.
I laughed quietly and banged my head against the wall.
‘Mom, Dad, I hope you don’t cry too much.’
Children grow up and become independent. Can’t they just think I went far away and became independent? Somewhere so remote that letters and calls can’t reach me.
I decided that when I meet the God of Winter, I’ll punch him too. I’ll show him the strength I trained on the punching machine. Ah, but I’ve never used a punching machine with Alicia’s body. What a shame.
While I was giggling to myself and banging my head against the wall, the deputy calmly tolerated my antics. Apparently, this was preferable to the absurd reports of seeing the God of Winter in the inner hall. When I felt his gaze and awkwardly straightened up, he spoke as the carriage jolted.
“We need to consider what assistance to provide, but first, I must teach you the divine language.”
“That’s… really out of the blue.”
Shaking together with the carriage, I managed to utter the seven syllables.
The carriage seemed limitless in speed, jolting along even more energetically than before. The driver seemed to enjoy the speed too much.
Despite the madness, the deputy remained unmoved.
“You must learn the divine language so that you can interpret the oracle from the God of Winter.”
Did he become resentful from having to interpret it himself? Perhaps he had no choice but to take on this task.
Anyway, learning the divine language meant I’d have to study again. I hated foreign languages above all, and now I had to learn the divine equivalent? Should I just quit being a saint?
Seeing my reaction, the deputy added soothingly,
“Do not worry, Lady Alicia. You will not be the only one learning the divine language. You won’t be alone.”
Someone else?
This time I only raised an eyebrow, afraid I’d bite my tongue if I spoke.
Was he planning to educate the next deputy too?
“If Hioni is a god’s blessing, then besides you, Lady Alicia, there is one more child who received a god’s blessing. The saint is already in front of me, so if my assumption is correct, the blessing that child received is as a priest.”
Ah… Camille!
Only then did I remember Camille. With the seal lifted, she, like me, had escaped the curse forcing her from sunlight. She, too, had received a god’s blessing. So yes, learning the divine language makes sense.
Wait, a priestly blessing?
The deputy carefully chose his words to finish his explanation.
“The next deputy of Winter will be that child.”
My expression must have been priceless.
I couldn’t control my face at all. I immediately recalled the expression I always made when I would first smirk and then scoff.
Not just a priest, but the deputy? Her?
“Blessings are most evident in hair color… ah, of course, this is still only a possibility.”
Aside from slight differences in shade, Cecilia and the deputy both had pink hair, representing the God of Spring and reminiscent of scattering cherry blossoms. And Camille and I also have white hair symbolizing the God of Winter…
I shouldn’t have listened. I now know a truth I really didn’t want to know.
“Please keep this a secret, Lady Alicia. Otherwise, she may become arrogant.”
It wasn’t something I wanted to say, so I nodded silently. Suddenly, I felt exhausted.
After a full day of travel, we finally reached the Spring temple in the capital.
My back, painfully sore from the journey, wouldn’t allow me to get off the carriage myself. Only with the deputy supporting me almost entirely could I finally set foot on the ground with a groan.
I ground my teeth in frustration. Damned carriage. No renovations for you. Someday I’ll smash you to pieces.
Since I was secretly fetched, there was no one to meet me late at night.
“Unnie!”
No, there was someone.
“Lady Alicia!”
Actually, there were two.
Cecilia, running at full speed to hug me tightly, and Esther, chirping beside her, complaining that I couldn’t just leave like that, gave my back and head simultaneous pain.
Deputy, you said this was a secret! Was I the only one not in on it?!
“Se-Se-Cecilia… my back, my back…!”
“This is too much, unnie. How could you leave without even telling me!”
“No, it’s my back…!”
Your dearly beloved unnie’s back is about to shatter!
The deputy, the cause of all this, only smiled fondly instead of stopping Cecilia.
I seriously considered fetching some water and splashing it on his face.
“Thank goodness you’re back, Lady Alicia.”
That gentle voice at my ear drained the tension from my body.
He’d never spoken like that while on the carriage.
I sighed softly and hugged Cecilia’s back. Her arms went limp after a short gasp, and her shoulders soon soaked through. I patted her back, unsure what to do, unable to make a sound.
“Yes… I’m sorry for everything.”
It felt a bit embarrassing to act all proud after coming back alive, but there were people genuinely happy I returned. Behind them stood a massive pink temple, like a beam holding up the vast night sky.
It wasn’t a bad feeling at all.
Side Story 2
The God of Spring snorted.
“You were supposed to die, yet somehow you’ve returned alive.”
His grating tone hadn’t changed. That brief moment where he seemed comforting was long gone.
I exhaled a sigh of relief. That was a relief. If he treated me gently or mercifully like before, I’d have shivered from awkwardness, but now I could withstand his usual sharpness.
His drawn-out words and the occasional glance at my expression suggested… maybe he was glad I returned alive. Or maybe not. How could I tell? He regards me like a symbiotic cockroach, after all.
It didn’t matter. I’m used to the God of Spring undermining my confidence by now.
It wasn’t me who reacted to his brusque tone, but the God of Winter. Bathed in gentle candlelight, his bald head glowed faintly, and his almost invisible eyebrows lifted as he sternly questioned.
“How many times must I tell you not to speak badly?”
The God of Spring didn’t reply, merely turning his head sharply.
If not for their divine nature, this could have looked like a power struggle between a father and his adolescent child.
“When was his tone ever gentle? He’s always been like that.”
“Ugh, are you going to start fighting again?”
The God of Summer giggled like an aunt who stirs up mischief during holidays, while the God of Autumn sighed like a kindly grandmother I hadn’t seen in a while. Our eyes met, and Autumn gave a downward nod; I awkwardly returned it.
And that’s the problem.
Why are all the seasonal gods here in person?! The narrow prayer hall is packed to bursting. I can understand the Spring God, as it is her temple. Even the God of Winter I could accept generously, since I am the Winter Saint. But why on earth did Summer and Autumn show up?! I… really don’t mean to be disrespectful, but have they lost their minds?
