CHAPTER 69…………………………………
Alec stood in front of Fabivan’s office, waiting for him to come after the meeting.
He had heard that she intended to follow the High Priest’s plan on this pilgrimage. Presumably, to understand the use of the holy relic.
He also had a letter to deliver.
This time, the letter wasn’t just one page. It was addressed to the three princes and Grand Duke Ferdian.
Grand Duke Ferdian and the Saintess.
The two were close, yet not quite.
They hovered in that ambiguous space, but it didn’t seem awkward.
Even on the day the Saintess collapsed, even in the moments she purified the Flower of God, their distance fluctuated—sometimes suddenly drawing very near.
Watching them, it sometimes felt as if no one else could ever fit into their relationship.
A remark from the Saintess naturally came to mind.
“Saintess.”
“Yes. Speak.”
“May I ask you something personal?”
“I like Grand Duke Ferdian.”
“You mean the Grand Duke, Saintess?”
“Yes. I mean His Grace.”
“Does His Grace know of this, your feelings?”
“No. He doesn’t.”
“You could help, couldn’t you? At least, if it’s the Grand Duke you saw on the pilgrimage, he would surely stand on your side.”
“…I’m afraid he might side with the temple instead, since it’s involved with me.”
That’s how Alec understood why the High Priest was monitoring the two.
The Saintess worried that she might become the Duke’s weakness and that he might sacrifice himself.
As she said, Fabivan needed something to act as a leash for the Saintess. That something was the Duke.
Perhaps he intended to use both of them.
Alec didn’t ask whether the affection had started from their first meeting. One thing was clear: the Duke’s feelings were not much different from the Saintess’s.
Perhaps he even felt a deeper affection.
When voices approached, Alec quickly cleared his thoughts and listened carefully.
The voices near the office were fairly loud.
“High Priest, if you keep following the Saintess’s wishes, she gets overconfident.”
“Doesn’t she seem to be behaving differently than previous Saintesses?”
Fabivan’s voice was barely audible.
Alec raised an eyebrow at the continuing conversation.
“This Saintess seems to have a strong sense of self. Tsk, she should know her place.”
It was a remark that wasn’t even remotely funny.
A forced smile threatened to appear on his lips but stiffened again at the next words.
“Until the coronation, she didn’t act like this. I suppose it’s because the offerings are insufficient.”
“Nicholas Kingdom has nothing, so there’s no choice, but shouldn’t we demand another from Helen Kingdom?”
“Correct. Let’s request it.”
It seemed the offerings they spoke of were holy relics obtained through the pilgrimage. Were they performing rituals using the relics?
When? Alec had never seen it. Perhaps the reason they collected relics was for some ritual.
“Harold is also a problem. He’ll just wither as before. Why is he suddenly meddling in temple affairs?”
“Everyone, lower your voices. Someone might hear.”
Fabivan’s remark ended the conversation, leaving only footsteps.
Alec surveyed his surroundings, stifled his presence, and quickly hid.
He held his breath as the footsteps drew near. Soon, the sound of a door opening reached him.
After the door closed, the conversation resumed.
“You’re all too hasty.”
“But some have already been freed from the brainwashing, haven’t they?”
Offerings and brainwashing.
What on earth did all this mean? Alec’s lips twitched. He doubted his own ears.
If offerings were for the gods, then were they performing a ritual to grant Gloria the power to brainwash people?
They were carrying out absurd deeds without hesitation.
Finally, Fabivan, who had mostly remained silent, spoke.
“Since this isn’t a pilgrimage requested by Helen Kingdom, if we demand relics, the king might pass the responsibility to the Grand Duke. That would put us in a more difficult position.”
At Fabivan’s words, everyone momentarily fell silent.
It was a brief pause, but the atmosphere was heavy.
“We must be careful.”
“The High Priest is right. The Saintess will soon embark on the pilgrimage anyway.”
“We’ll need to bring some relics ahead, even halfway through.”
“Can’t we have knights handle it?”
Alec frowned at the mention of knights.
“This pilgrimage is long. If the commander is absent, the Saintess will notice.”
“The commander…”
Fabivan interrupted the cardinal, his voice tinged with fatigue.
“I’ll handle that myself, so let’s end here for today.”
Everyone swallowed their words and moved cautiously. Soon, the cardinals left the office.
Alec, after collecting his thoughts, stood at the door and knocked.
“Come in.”
Upon entering, Fabivan’s eyes curved slightly at Alec.
“Ho. Commander, what brings you here?”
He momentarily erased the previous conversation from his mind and attended to his duties.
“I have something to report.”
“Is it about the Saintess?”
Alec furrowed his brow and pretended to hesitate for a moment.
“Well, if the commander came to see me, it must be worth hearing.”
“It’s not a report about the Saintess, but I thought you, the High Priest, should know.”
“How intriguing. Speak freely.”
“I overheard a conversation between the Saintess and Lady Aria.”
Alec briefly averted his gaze, recalling the scene with a grim expression.
“Lady Aria spoke to Melissa…”
Fabivan listened without interrupting and chuckled.
“What did she want to do outside here?”
“She said she wanted to travel freely across various countries.”
Fabivan’s laughter grew at Alec’s words, as if he found it trivial.
“And what did the Saintess say?”
“She asked where she wanted to go first. Lady Aria mentioned lands across the continent.”
Fabivan pursed his lips thoughtfully.
“A bird that longs for freedom. That’s exactly what it was.”
“What will you do? Stop her?”
He waved one hand carelessly with a light laugh.
“Why stop her? If she wants freedom, we must give it.”
Just as Alec tried to read his intentions, Fabivan added in a low voice:
“Commander, may I leave the seeing-off to you?”
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Give Lady Aria complete freedom.”
The freedom the High Priest spoke of meant death.
Alec thought that answering immediately would seem strange.
“Is that really necessary?”
“She has already served her purpose.”
“She was the previous Saintess… yet still…”
“That’s the problem. That she was the previous Saintess. People should see only the current Saintess.”
“Is this also for Melissa?”
Fabivan smiled kindly, nodding at Alec to reassure him.
“…Understood.”
“Then I will trust only you, Commander.”
Alec placed his hand on his chest and gave a short bow.
As Alec reached for the door to leave, Fabivan called him back.
“Come to think of it, I didn’t hear about that.”
Alec turned, and Fabivan said with a neutral expression:
“The Saintess went into the Memorial Prayer Room.”
“I hadn’t considered that part, I apologize.”
“What did the Saintess do there?”
“She placed chrysanthemums, said a brief prayer, and left.”
Fabivan looked as if pressing for more. Alec recalled the scene and relayed the Saintess’s words faithfully.
“She said, ‘When the time comes that sorrow is naturally buried, you shall forget this world and be happy. Will you wait until the affection these people hold for His Grace fades away?’”
“Our Saintess uses words to subtly influence people. Next time, report every detail without omission.”
Alec bowed briefly with proper respect.
“I will remember.”
