Chapter 160
“Haah… haah… haah….”
Ragged breathing could be heard. Freiman wrung out a wet cloth tightly and placed it on Selina’s forehead.
From the day Selina was appointed an apostle and heard the truth about Stella from Freiman, to today—four days later—she had been suffering from a high fever and unable to get out of bed.
No matter how much Freiman and Luna healed her with holy power at her side, the fever showed no sign of going down.
That was only natural. What she was experiencing was not a simple illness.
After receiving the pillar of light with her entire body and formally becoming an apostle, Selina’s awakened sight had expanded far beyond before, and in addition, her body and soul were gradually being restructured so she could wield the divine authority granted to apostles.
Normally, this process happened naturally as one grew up, but Selina was a rare case who awakened at sixteen, so all the repercussions came crashing down on her at once.
Her pale skin was flushed red, and she suffered enough to be drenched in sweat. Even when she finally managed to fall asleep, she soon woke up again, gasping for breath. Watching her was agony in itself.
“…What can I possibly do to help you?”
Even though he knew his holy power was useless, Freiman held Selina’s hand and continued to pour it into her desperately.
Despite being a cardinal, he felt utterly pathetic and powerless for being unable to help her at all.
He had only felt this way once before—when Stella had been given her terminal diagnosis.
“Mew—”
With a weak cry and a distressed expression, Luna circled near Selina, sticking close to her side like Freiman, trying in any way to be of help.
Freiman looked at Luna with sad eyes.
Knock, knock—
A knocking sound came from the door. Freiman rose unsteadily and opened it.
Selina’s friends were standing there.
“Sir, is Selina still not awake?”
“Is she… very sick?”
Mie and the other first-year students tried to peer into the room past Freiman.
However, they hesitated at the threshold and did not step inside.
At the moment, only priests of the Moon were allowed to enter Selina’s room. It wasn’t because she was an apostle and others were being barred outright.
Rather, Selina was unable to properly control her awakened sight, causing the thoughts and destinies of many people to flow into her all at once.
If too many people were nearby, her brain couldn’t withstand the overload—she would scream and retch.
So, for her protection, access was restricted.
Seeing how clearly worried they all were about Selina, Freiman let out a small smile.
“She’s sleeping for a bit right now.”
“I heard her fever was really bad. Has it gone down at all? Yesterday, we heard screaming from her room…”
Silvia asked with a tearful face.
For a brief moment, Freiman’s gaze turned fierce, but he simply nodded.
Pity was written all over their faces.
“It should go down soon. Don’t worry too much.”
“Um… this…”
Mie handed Freiman what she was holding. Inside the paper bag were cookies.
“We made them ourselves. There’s not much we can do for Selina, so we thought at least we could make these…”
Mie’s voice began to tremble as if she were about to cry.
“W-we’ll be able to see Selina soon, right?”
The other friends wrapped an arm around Mie’s shoulders, patting her gently. They all understood how she felt. Freiman did too.
Even he, who was right there taking care of Selina, worried constantly about something going wrong—how much harder must it be for them, unable even to enter the room?
“Let’s go now. His Excellency must be tired.”
Chris soothed the others and stepped back. Though reluctant, the children had no choice but to turn around and leave.
“All of you leaving?”
All except two.
Freiman looked at Becky and Theodore, who still couldn’t bring themselves to leave.
“I wanted to give this to you.”
Becky took out a small box from her pocket.
“It’s Selina’s magic tool. It fell in the auditorium.”
As she said, inside the box were the necklace and earrings Selina used to wear.
“Most of it was damaged, so I asked my father to remake them. He finished them today.”
“…Please tell Bikster thank you.”
“Yes. …Please take good care of Selina.”
With heavy steps, Becky finally left. Only Theodore remained. Freiman turned his gaze to him.
He didn’t need to say anything—Freiman could guess why he stayed behind. They were lovers, after all. Of course he would be worried.
“…Would you like to see her for a moment?”
Theodore’s eyes widened. With a stiff expression, he nodded.
Freiman opened the door, and Theodore entered, walking carefully up to the bed.
Seeing Selina’s face twisted in pain, moisture welled up in Theodore’s golden eyes.
“Selina.”
Even at his call, Selina didn’t wake.
“She couldn’t sleep at all, but she finally managed to drift off. It’s better not to wake her.”
“…She’s this sick, and there’s nothing I can do but pray.”
Shimmering droplets fell through his disheveled black hair. Freiman silently patted his shoulder.
“I’ve seen her face—that’s enough. I’ll come again when she’s doing better.”
“All right. I’ll let you know as soon as she improves.”
Theodore kissed Selina’s hand and finally left the room.
“So many people are hoping for you to wake up. You should hurry and get better, shouldn’t you?”
Freiman gently brushed aside her silver hair, which was messily strewn about.
The door opened again, and footsteps approached.
“I thought I’d find you here. I told you to get some rest.”
The one scolding Freiman was Baon.
“When your daughter is this sick, what father could rest?”
“Even so, you haven’t slept a wink in four days. You’ll collapse. You need to take care of yourself.”
“I’m fine. More importantly, aren’t you off duty today?”
“I came because there’s something I need to tell you, Your Excellency.”
Freiman paused and turned to Baon. His gaze was sharp and ominous.
“Marchioness Hailers is claiming that Selina is her biological daughter. She’s requesting to see her.”
Baon swallowed hard when he saw Freiman’s fist trembling.
“For now, we’ve been ignoring her under the pretext that Selina is the Moon’s apostle, but it may become difficult if time goes on. What should we do?”
“How are things internally?”
“Most insist that Selina must be protected, but—”
“But?”
“Some say we should at least hear the Hailers side once…”
Freiman rotated his stiff neck. Knowing that this was a habit he only showed when angry, Baon tensed.
“I can guess how this happened. People on His Holiness’s side, no doubt?”
“Yes, sir.”
“So His Holiness has finally crossed the line.”
Freiman was now certain that Gregory was no longer the man he once knew.
He had tried to understand him when Gregory insisted on accepting Silvia—who hadn’t even awakened—as a saint, and even when he began acting openly like a pro-imperial faction member.
But unlike how he cherished Silvia, who wasn’t even a formal saint, he seemed thoroughly displeased with Selina being an apostle.
Despite the fact that every temple longed for the birth of an apostle, the pope’s dissatisfaction meant there was clearly something hidden behind it.
‘But more than that, the marchioness is the real problem.’
“If the marchioness contacts us again, report it to me immediately. This time, I’ll personally—”
“…No. Please don’t.”
At the low voice, Freiman’s eyes widened. He turned his head sharply to see Selina looking at them.
“Selina.”
“Please don’t get up.”
Despite Baon’s protest, Selina pressed a hand to her forehead and struggled to raise her upper body.
“Don’t give the marchioness any answer at all.”
“Did you hear everything?”
Selina nodded. Fever flushed her face red around the eyes.
“If you start responding even once, they’ll use any means necessary to twist things in their favor. There’s no need to dance to their tune.”
Freiman and Baon exchanged glances. Selina was calm—far too calm—and saw straight through the situation. Could it be that she—
“I already know who the marchioness is.”
Reading their thoughts, Selina answered plainly.
“What she’s saying isn’t a lie. She really is my biological mother.”
“…Is that true?”
“Yes. I recognized her the moment Silvia introduced her.”
Baon swallowed hard. She had already met her biological mother once.
“At first, she didn’t recognize me. I was wearing a veil over my face, so I suppose that’s only natural.”
Selina let out a bitter laugh. To Freiman, she looked like a wounded child.
“…Do you intend to meet your mother?”
At Baon’s question, Selina looked up at him.
“I told you not to respond at all. I already erased my biological mother from my heart a long time ago.”
“I asked something unnecessary. My apologies.”
“It’s fine. Instead, could you tell me what kind of letters the Hailers family has been sending so far?”
After seeking Freiman’s consent, Baon explained everything in detail. Selina listened silently.
“She wants to see her daughter… How selfish.”
Seeing Selina’s twisted smile, Freiman and Baon sighed softly.
“For now, I have absolutely no intention of meeting her. She abandoned me back then, and now she comes looking—how ridiculous. She must have been living just fine all this time, so I don’t even know why she wants to see me now. This is my stance, so please don’t arrange anything on your own. I have the right to decide that, don’t I?”
“Of course. I’ll inform everyone else as well.”
“Then, please do.”
Baon gave a brief, bitter smile, then sensed the subtle atmosphere flowing between Freiman and Selina.
“I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave now. I’ll visit again later.”
After Baon left, only the two of them remained, and a heavy silence settled in. The one who finally gathered courage was Freiman.
“…How are you feeling? Any better?”
“Still the worst. My whole body feels like it weighs a ton, people’s thoughts keep pouring in so my head hurts and I feel like throwing up. I’ve never been this sick in my life.”
“I’m sorry I can’t help you.”
“Why are you apologizing? There’s nothing for you to feel sorry about, Dad.”
At the word “Dad,” Freiman fell silent. He had thought she would never call him that again.
“When I was hovering between life and death, I kept thinking. Why did Mom hide that truth from me? Even if she’d received a request from the god, could she really raise a child she picked up for over ten years? Did she really love me…?”
As Selina continued, Freiman lowered his head, unable to face her properly.
“No matter how much I ask, the person who could answer isn’t here.”
“…Selina. Stella truly loved you. Even when she was diagnosed as terminal, she was terrified of leaving you behind alone. You can blame me all you want, but please—just believe in Stella.”
Freiman, who had squeezed his eyes shut, felt a warm hand on his head and looked up. Selina was gazing at him with a complicated expression.
Resentment and sorrow were tangled in her eyes, but alongside them was affection for him.
“I’ll trust you this once, Dad.”
Freiman’s eyes trembled.
“But if you ever hide something from me or lie again, I’ll never forgive you.”
“Of course. Thank you for trusting me, Selina. Truly, thank you.”
In the end, Freiman burst into tears and hugged Selina tightly.
At the corner of Selina’s expressionless lips, a faint smile appeared.
