Chapter 59………………………………………………
I called out to Amy as she was about to leave the room.
“Amy.”
She tilted her head and blinked at me in curiosity.
“Yes, Saintess. Do you need something? Should I prepare a meal?”
When my gaze fell downward, Amy flinched and clutched her skirt tightly.
“Are you hurt?”
“Ah, just a little scrape! It’s not serious!”
“How did it happen?”
Amy scratched her head and gave an awkward smile.
“I just scraped myself on something sharp by accident. I’m just clumsy.”
“Come here.”
When she pursed her lips and widened her eyes, I got off the bed and walked toward the door.
“You should have told me if it hurt.”
I held her hand and channeled healing into her. The white light spreading from my fingertips gradually enveloped her.
“You don’t have to do that…”
“You’re mine. If you’re in pain, my heart can’t be at ease.”
“……”
“Have you eaten dinner?”
“Not yet.”
“Then have it with me.”
“Me… eating with the Saintess…”
I straightened up and faced her.
“Because I was lonely. Hmm… I think Aria might have eaten already. Will you join me?”
Amy nodded slowly, and I nodded back, pulling her gently along.
When the food was set on the round table, Amy fidgeted nervously but licked her lips in anticipation.
“Let’s eat.”
“Ah, yes.”
I placed the food in front of her and took a warm sip of soup.
“This always reminds me of the past.”
“What kind of memory?”
Amy smiled faintly as she looked at the food before her.
“The Saintess would secretly bring me food even when it wasn’t mealtime.”
“……”
“Oh! It’s such an old memory, so you probably don’t remember, Saintess.”
Truthfully, I couldn’t remember the end of this girl’s story clearly. Even our first meeting was hazy now, long ago.
A child I had met before the orphanage was built. A child sitting alone deep in an alley, abandoned by her parents.
I had brought food for the orphans, but unlike the others, one little girl didn’t come.
Seeing a younger me approaching her, I went to her.
That girl was Amy.
A faint smile tugged at my lips as I recalled the memory.
“I remember.”
Amy’s eyes widened, as if she hadn’t expected it.
“Really?”
Even a vague memory would suffice.
“Yes. Even when the temple people came down, you never came out of that alley.”
Amy’s own childhood memories seemed to surface, as a smile appeared on her lips.
Talking with her, a thought crossed my mind.
Did the previous Saintesses stay there because, like me, they had nowhere else to go? Some were orphans like me, but others weren’t. Why had they stayed?
It felt like natural order stopped people from questioning things. I had thought it was just natural, yet something about it always seemed off.
Could there be another hidden reason? Even Saintesses whose family names were written and whom I had never met—were they trapped there too?
“Saintess?”
“Yes, Amy?”
“Are you worried about something?”
I shook my head slightly.
“No. Just remembering the past.”
After she left the room, night had settled deeply.
I opened the window and took a deep breath.
There were many paths I had to take, and information I had to uncover, leaving no time to linger. Yet the gentle wind seemed unaware of my hurry, brushing softly.
Unable to ease my restless mind, I wrapped a shawl around myself and went outside.
I had no specific destination, but my curiosity led me to a secluded corner of the temple.
With every step, the sound of my heels against the hard floor echoed with my heartbeat.
Though I had walked this path before, it always felt the same.
A long shadow caught my eye, and I turned my head. Someone seemed to be hiding, but the moonlight revealed the silhouette.
I stopped in my tracks.
What should I do? Hesitating, strands of hair from the hidden figure fluttered in the warm breeze.
“Aria?”
At my voice, the sound of heels dragging across the floor was heard.
The hidden figure slowly stepped into view.
“……It’s the Saintess.”
I glanced between her and a small building. Had Aria been walking here even after leaving this place?
Had she not escaped that pain yet?
It was possible. It had taken me years to reach this point, so for her, the memories were still fresh.
Aria gave me a faint smile as she approached.
She looked around nervously, then lifted her gaze to the sky and spoke.
“Saintess, what brings you here?”
“……Just walking. And you, Aria?”
“Same here.”
My chest felt stiff for some reason. Her face no longer looked emaciated and pale from hunger, and the shadow seemed gone.
“Aria, did something happen?”
“No, nothing like that. Did your pilgrimage go well?”
I nodded.
Today, Aria’s expression seemed unusual.
I glanced behind, wondering if someone was there. No one was, but being outside didn’t ease my anxiety.
“Ah.”
I realized why Aria’s expression was like that.
She wanted to say something but only bit her lips in frustration.
Here in Melisa, the ones trapped underground and betrayed were her and me.
In this life, it’s only her.
“Aria.”
“Yes, Saintess.”
“Can we talk?”
Aria tilted her head and gave a faint smile.
“……Alright.”
We had never sought to know much about each other. Perhaps out of caution.
I thought she wouldn’t want to talk about this place, since she hadn’t spoken before.
I led her to the old prayer room where I had met Harold.
Although the ceiling was high and the building sizable, it was tucked away in a corner, almost abandoned.
“No one comes to this prayer room.”
I opened the stiff door.
Between the broken stones of the floor, weeds and flowers had sprouted. Moss covered the walls. Moonlight spilled through the cracked stained glass into the high-ceilinged room.
“I didn’t know such a place existed.”
“They say Melisa began here. As you can see, it’s completely abandoned now.”
Click, click.
Click, click.
We walked to the faded statue. A brief silence fell between us.
I felt sorry for her. Only now did I realize my actions had bound her. I couldn’t bring myself to speak.
I finally called her.
“Aria.”
“Yes, Saintess.”
“After leaving that place, did you still walk, like tonight?”
I felt her gaze.
She met my eyes, as if asking how much I knew about the place where she had been.
Yet she didn’t speak.
She furrowed her brows and rubbed her neck in frustration.
Even lightly touching it, her neck reddened as if someone were strangling her from speaking.
The reason neither of us could talk about that place… perhaps it wasn’t even our own choice.
So, like I had on other days, I asked her indirectly.
“Do you often take night walks like this?”
Aria swallowed what she wanted to say and answered.
“……Sometimes.”
“Can you not talk about what happened there?”
Or maybe she simply didn’t want to recall it.
She didn’t answer again.
But her expression was the answer.
Her distorted, pained eyes flickered. Sounds seemed stuck in her throat.
She coughed, exhaling harsh breaths.
“You don’t have to force yourself to answer.”
She took a deep breath and let it out. I waited until she regained composure.
I too could not speak to Cardin. Perhaps for the same reason.
At first, I thought it was only because remembering that place was too painful.
Now, I wasn’t even sure of my own feelings. Had I been ensnared by a spell that pretended to be emotion?
In any case, it was clear she had restrictions. Aria could not speak of that place.
Had she known this and kept it from me?
“Aria.”
Her eyes looked at me with intensity, and my mind grew tangled.
