Eithne arrived at the War temple in the early morning when the sun had not risen above the temple’s roof. Even the birds were still snoring, but most priests already started their strict routine. Eithne waved at some priests who were sweeping dry leaves in the front yard.
Looking at them reminded her that she had not finished the two-week punishment of cleaning the training ground. To sum up the past two months, Eithne and Hesata had done it for three days, then they were knocked down on sick beds before she decided to flee to Isny village.
“I hope they forgot it…”
The priestess entered the main hall. Across the room, the statue of the War God was as magnificent as usual, which jogged Eithne’s memory about the mysterious deity who granted her a wish to save Rigel. She wondered if the War God knew what had happened between her and the unknown God. It was a vague debt that she needed to pay back somehow.
Considering the current situation, which Eithne Noceur fell out of the War God’s favor, she guessed even if the sky collapsed on her head, she would have to deal with the debt collector herself.
‘Expecting a protection from a deity is merely absurd.’
Eithne glanced at the statue, her sharp golden eyes darken when a chilling feeling ran down her spine. It had been like this several times whenever she stood in a deity’s sight, whoever they were. In front of the statue of the War God, near the temple of Peace or meeting the ominous unknown God, it was the same. The chilliness had become more familiar each time.
Holy power concentrated in the palm of her right hand to form a faint grey knife. Eithne clenched. The knife crumpled into dust and escaped between her fingers.
“Yes, yes, I got it… How can I expect to become the beloved child of gods like the female lead?”
She smiled dryly. The woman turned away to go back to her room, blinking several times to erase the trace of dark desperation in her pupils.
“Where’s my souvenir?”
A red-haired priest put his hand out in front of Eithne, as if he was collecting a friendship fee from the priestess. The smirk on his face clearly said: “Don’t you dare get away”.
Hesata could have been punch-worthy if not for his pitiful health condition. Dark circles had formed under his eyes due to insomnia and the man’s thick face became much thinner since his stomach was injured. This maniac managed to stagger around and even train with his spear, but Eithne could not stand such a sorry sight.
“Sheesh! Take this.”
The priestess took out a glass candy jar from her suitcase and shoved it to Hesata’s face. The mason jar was transparent so he could see the colorful candy inside, but the priest was amazed by the cute pink ribbon on its lid.
‘Why does it look like a present for kids?’- He thought.
Even so, Hesata received it happily. He had never been picky with free gifts.
Eithne secretly sighed when Hesata opened the candy jar. She really hated to give it away, but it was a sudden attack of conscience that she handed out whatever she had to him. After all, Hesata was suffering because of her.
“Do I have to meet the High Priest now?”
The priestess had just unpacked the luggage, but she was so worried about meeting Demir Noceur that she was unable to rest. Luckily, Hesata shook his head. He threw a candy in his mouth.
“Wait. Really?” – Eithne’s eyes opened wide in surprise. “Didn’t he require my presence?”
The red-haired priest shrugged. He smiled with closed lips.
“Who knows.”
“What did it mean???”
“I don’t know~~~”
“… Please explain.”
“Can’t tell ya~~ I’m not in the mood right now.”
“… Please speak, don’t bark.”
"Tatatatata ~~"
The feeling of guilt had evaporated from Eithne’s mind when Hesata tried to test her patience, but it was as thin as an ice sheet. He clearly knew that she was afraid of the High Priest, but he messed with her anxiety anyway.
Hesata chuckled as he saw the priestess’s eyebrows were furrowed tightly enough to squeeze a fly between her glabellae. Eithne walked up to him and stared silently. The man was still smirking when her arm suddenly wrapped around his neck.
“I hope God pities you.” - Eithne murmured.
She strode forward. Slam!
“Cough!”
Hesata fell backward on the ground and spit out the candy piece. He wiped his mouth and jumped to his feet quickly.
“Huff… huff… You! Can’t you be a little gentler? I’m still a patient!”
Hesata dusted off his butt in irritation. Hmph! He would let her go this time, just wait. The thinner her patience, the greater his endurance.
Eithne took a chair and sat across from him, resting her chin on the fingers of her intertwined hands to wait for Hesata’s explanation. The habits of the original Eithne Noceur had completely been absorbed in her soul so she felt all the actions were natural.
“Eh hem!” – Hesata let out a fake cough. “Let me explain. The Queen’s birthday is coming next week.”
“So?” – Eithne tilted her head.
“Heh. The Vice High Priestess will be on a vacation this year to visit her sister who has just given birth to a baby. You know that normally she would accompany the High Priest to the Queen’s birthday celebration in the Imperial Castle, right?” – Hesata rubbed his chin. “Without the Vice High Priestess, other faction chiefs don’t want to meddle with the aristocrats, so they refused to go.”
“…” - Eithne started to gulp.
“The High Priest needs attendants during aristocratic connection events. We are the only people left who have high ranking as nobles.”
“We… we are not going to the street festival this year?”
Danger alert! In the memory of the original priestess, they always went to the street festival on the Queen’s birthday. The invitation for attending the royal ball was only for the High Priest and other superiors, but Hesata seemed to indicate otherwise. He smiled deviously.
“Ho ho! Instead of the street, we are going to tour the Imperial Castle this year. The High Priest demands our attendance. You don’t have to meet him now because we will soon be stuck together in the Imperial Castle during the Queen’s birthday celebration. For- a – whole- week.”
Bam! His last sentence struck Eithne like thunder burning a chicken alive.
The birthday of the Queen was going to be celebrated throughout the week. At first glance, the long-duration event seemed to deliberately exhibit the wealthiness of the royal family. However, since many nobles and foreign diplomats gathered at the Imperial Castle to honor the reign of the Queen, she made use of her own birthday to annually host an international conference at the capital of Lumovas. Thus, extending the celebration’s duration gave more time for political activities to increase the empire’s influence.
Eithne did not understand the Queen, who turned her birthday into a tiring working week. Regardless, the priestess wished it would end soon, since she was stuck with someone that might kill her.
‘Maybe Demir Noceur wants to keep me in check.’ – Eithne thought.
She had been thinking about the unusual demonstration fighting from last month. There was no way that a prince had a privilege to watch preeminent servants of God fighting for fun. Eithne suspected that the High Priest wanted to examine her strength level, so he ordered her to fight with Hesata.
‘This time, he made me stay by his side so I don’t run away, right?’
Cold sweats were pouring off Eithne’s face because of her own thoughts. She was like a goldfish living in a small bowl, looking suspiciously at the small bait of Demir Noceur.
‘Just why would he bother to fish at a fish tank in his home? Don’t you have another thing to do? Ignore me and mind your business.’
Obviously, the priestess would not let her grumble reach the High Priest’s ears, but she could not hide her sullenness on the day she went to the Imperial Castle.
Today was a day before the official Queen’s birthday, when nobles and foreign diplomats arrived at the Capital to prepare for the royal ball tomorrow. However, to those who had deep connection with the royalty, the Queen’s conference already began. Demir Noceur retired from army management, but he still worked as the royal advisor. Therefore, Hesata and Eithne had to enter the Imperial Castle as his attendants today.
Two young priests dressed in black formal suits stepped alongside each other. Distinctive symbols of two different factions were carved on the golden tags attached to their sleeve bands. The silvery crest of the War temple was embroidered on the flowing capes behind their tall figures, signifying the strength of God covering their back. They saluted their leader then stood beside him like his shadows.
Their leader was a revered senior who also dressed in dark attire. His eyes reflected the storms of wisdom, swirling up in the flashing of turbulent Chaos power. The man’s hair had turned gray after decades of bitter youth, but it did not stop him from moving forward.
“Let’s go.” – He commanded.
“Yes, sir.”
They entered a special teleporting gate that was used only to travel to the Imperial Castle. After an eyeblink, the priests had arrived at the large entrance hall in the palace.
The room was wide enough to fit a thousand people inside. Fancy decorations were hung on the wall to maximize the space, they were sparkling in extravagance enough to temporarily blind first-time visitors. There was a matrix of crystal chandeliers on the ceiling, it was so gigantic and elaborate that it seemed like a separate dimension of glass floating above people’s heads. Eithne could feel the amazing softness of the red carpet under her feet, which made her feel guilty to step on such high-quality fabric.
There were many aristocrats waiting in the room, they bowed their heads respectfully toward Demir Noceur, but he just casually nodded back. As the High Priest’s subordinate, Eithne was extremely awkward when those nobles reverentially greeted her, but the priestess maintained a stiff expression so nobody knew her feelings. Eithne silently moved closer to Hesata, then if someone approached them, he had to suffer the awkwardness with her.
“Chief Demir Noceur. It’s good to see you here.”
Suddenly, a silvery voice came from behind them. Eithne turned back and saw a group of priests in white attires, and their leader whose face she would never forget. The man lifted up the hood which was covering half of his face. A few strands of white hair falling down on his forehead, just like soft threads of cloud resting on the heavenly immaculate face.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
He had not changed at all after two months, being blindingly beautiful which blurred everyone else’s appearance.
“Saint Raphael Ascian, you came early.”
Demir Noceur replied to the Saint of the Peace temple with a cold face. Despite that, the Saint smiled warmly. His enthusiasm fiercely struck against the indifferent wall of the High Priest.
“It’s a right thing to come in time to celebrate Her Majesty’s birthday. I’m very excited about this year’s ball since the overseas empire had sent their diplomat to attend our events.”
“Is that so? Then I hope you enjoy the week.”
The people around them could feel the contrary atmosphere between the two parties. One was dark and cold, whilst the other was bright and warm. Even the Gods they served had opposing names. Most importantly, the temple of War was deeply connected to the center of political power, whereas the temple of Peace largely controlled the morale of commoners.
Fortunately, they did not seem competing against each other right now, otherwise it would be extremely unpleasant for Eithne.
‘I’m invisible. I’m invisible. I’m invisible…’
The priestess tried to deny her existence by repeating over and over the spell in her mind. She wished Raphael Ascian forgot about her, but the Saint pulled her in this conflict as soon as he finished speaking with the High Priest.
“Priestess Eithne Noceur, how do you do?”
Goddamn it, Raphael.
“… I’m good.”
Eithne had no choice but to act distantly to Raphael, because she could sense the odd gaze from the High Priest and Hesata.
“Have you met Saint Raphael before?” – The High Priest asked.
His eyes slightly squinted when he examined Eithne’s expression. The priestess secretly shuddered her toe in nervousness.
“…Yes.”
Eithne gulped. She did not dare to say a spare word. Why did it sound like she was suspected to be the enemy’s spy? She swore she related nothing to that villain.
Thanked heavens that Demir Noceur had to attend an audience with Queen soon, so Eithne had to part the Peace priest group to follow him. The priestess was glad that she did not need to face the Saint much longer, but before she actually left his sight, Eithne quickly glanced at Raphael one last time.
He waved goodbye and gave her a meaningful smile.
“…”
Eithne’s left eyelid slightly twitched. Was it a bad omen?
Eithne and Hesata only followed the High Priest until he entered the confidential meeting with the Queen and other royal court’s members. As his subordinates, they had to stand guard outside the room. When fifteen minutes passed, two young priests started to feel bored. Eithne had observed every single detail of the intricately decorated hall, while Hesata made futile effort to eavesdrop on the discussion inside the room. However, there were noise canceling devices installed on the door and the wall, so he heard nothing.
“I wonder what they are talking about inside.” – He said.
“Why do you care?”- Eithne yawned.
Those political matters did not bother her a single bit. After all, she was just a lowly character who had minimal influence on this world. Speaking of the current Queen, Eithne remembered the comic briefly described her background as a stepmother of the Imperial Prince. She was someone that the male lead and his friend had to defeat to achieve the true political power of Lumovas. But it would happen in the far future, not now.
They were standing on the third floor of the building, which had balconies on the opposite side of the meeting room.
“… The sky looks dark today.”
Eithne crossed her arms and leaned on the cold wall.
The morning’s murky weather made her lethargic. Howling gales blew past the long hall somewhat helping her remain conscious. The priestess’s gaze drifted far away to the distant buildings in the royal palace. Under the grey cloudy sky, those magnificent constructs seemingly shivered in the cold humidity.
“Is it going to rain?”
“Don’t know.” - Eithne shook her head at Hesata’s question.
The red-haired priest leaned out the balcony. It would be a pity if the weather was foul on the birthday of Lumovas’s ruler, so Hesata hoped it would be sunny tomorrow. He looked at other attendants of the court members who also stood guard before different entrances, they did not appear bored as him because they were used to this.
“It must be tiring to be attendants…” – Hesata murmured.
Eithne approved in silence. The priestess continued to study the artistic patterns of the palace’s constructs to kill some time. However, she found it hard to impress those images in her mind today. The buildings were losing their vibrant colors in the gloomy celestial sphere, becoming grayish and mundane in the fragile new memory that Eithne tried to preserve in her head.
“Huh?”
Between the fading snapshots of surroundings, Eithne spotted a white figure standing on a tower’s rooftop. Hesata was also watching the scenery, but he did not notice that person.
‘Is it Raphael?’ – The priestess thought. ‘What’s is he trying to do?’
As if the person in white robe could feel her gaze, he turned to look in Eithne’s direction. It was truly the same Saint that she met earlier. The white-haired man looked a bit surprised as he got caught, but soon, he smiled beguilingly.
“What…”
What the fuck? That was what she was about to ask, but a streak of lightning suddenly ignited the sky behind him.
BANG! Thunder crashed.
Eithne must close her eyes in the flashing light. When she looked for Raphael again, he had disappeared.
“Even thunder. It’s going to rain.” – Hesata said.
Rather than rain, Eithne felt something terrible was going to happen. Raphael Ascian was the great villain of the comic which was full of bullshits, but since she was inside that comic now, Eithne could not help but worry for her life. The priestess rushed to the balcony and concentrated her vision again. This time, her irises changed into a dim state.
‘Where are you?’
Her hands clenched the handrail. Eithne bit her teeth and motioned her eyes to scan every building for a white figure. She must find out what he was doing because she knew nothing about the villain’s next move. Since Rigel’s incident, the priestess did not dare to sit back and stay ignorant anymore.
‘Focus! Focus! Focus!’
As all the trivial thoughts in Eithne’s mind vanished, the vision of grayish scenery shattered before her eyes. They were divided into big and small frames, similar to a comic page’s spreading panels.
Prowling from frame to frame, a white individual was spotted running on a long roof amid a grove of trees.
‘Hah! Found you, sneaky mouse.’
She was about to fix her gaze on Raphael, but a loud call disrupted her concentration.
“Eithne!”
“!!!”
The panels trembled and merged together. Eithne’s vision returned to normal state, but she lost Raphael’s track again.
The priestess was annoyed and looked fiercely at the punk who had just disturb her, but Hesata had an oddly fazed expression.
“What?”
“You… look mad.”
Hesata was at a loss for words. Just a moment ago, this woman had rushed to the balcony and stared at the empty space until she had bloodshot eyes. The priestess even gritted her teeth furiously, regardless of his attempt to call her, she had completely ignored him. Hesata thought Eithne had lost her mind.
“What are you talking about…”
“Hello. We meet again.”
Huh?!
Eithne turned back and froze to the spot. Just two mere seconds had passed since she saw him on a far roof!
Raphael Ascian was already standing behind them with his group of Peace priests. Not a wrinkle on his clothes nor a drop of sweat on his face showed he had been running in a rush.
Just how?
Even teleportation would take him at least a few more seconds to appear perfectly like this, as if what Eithne saw a moment ago was just a fake reality! Did he cast an illusion spell to trick her? But casting magic without permission would trigger the alarming devices in the palace, how did he manage to cast a spell?
‘This isn’t good.’ – The priestess thought when cold sweats poured on her back. Her mind was too confused to converse properly.
“We just saw each other earlier. Why do you look so surprised to see me?”
Raphael said. Although the day was overcast, there was light twinkling in his green eyes. The young man was like an angel walking around the human’s realm, yet in Eithne’s perspective, he was a ticking bomb rolling to her feet.
“Aren’t you happy to see me?”
As the Saint smiled, his mischievous eyes curved up like a pair of crescent moons.
‘Happy my ass!’ – Eithne swore in her head.
It was absolutely not an illusion! Though she did not know what trick he had used, this villain truly had been on the top of the tower and he noticed her. She must have caught him doing shady business.
“Oh my.” - Raphael said, and like a true saint who was empathizing with other people. “It seems that you’re on duty so I won’t bother you anymore. Let’s meet again tomorrow.”
“See you again, Saint Raphael Ascian.”
Hesata nodded his head as a goodbye. Eithne remained silent until the group of Peace priests left. Raphael was still smiling when he walked past the priestess. The hem of his white robe swept her numb left hand, its feeling was faint and uncertain like the scene of him meeting her gaze from the roof before the rumbling of thunder came.
Until he disappeared from Eithne’s sight, Raphael did not look back.
In the end, it rained.
“Hey, you don’t know how crazy you looked earlier. Has something happened? Gosh you scared the crap out of me!”
The rambling of Hesata mixed with the sound of rain pouring. Eithne did not really know what happened with her eyes earlier. She was thinking not to use magic, so only her eyes changed dimmer to have a better sight. Unexpectedly, Eithne’s vision became bizarre.
“Is it really that bad…” – The priestess hesitantly asked.
“Of course!”
“Uh…”
The strong winds messed up Eithne’s hair, so she tried to brush it back with her hand. She unwittingly covered her eyes. The separated vision and comic panels that Eithne saw before…
‘Did I catch an eye disease???’
And Raphael’s ability to move so fast that he almost altered the reality… If the previous phenomenon did not trigger the magic alarms in the palace, then it might not be magic or he had found some way to trick those devices.
The comic had not mentioned this power of Raphael in the latest chapter. No wonder nobody could catch the villain in the plot, though they were equipped with all kinds of magic detecting devices.
‘Ah… I don’t know anymore. Weird things keep emerging from who knows where.’
Hesata saw the priestess mess up her hair again. He was confused by Eithne a lot lately.
“Are you being crazy again?” - Hesata frowned.
“I don’t know. I think I’m having hallucinations.”
“What?!”
“I just saw a white mouse standing on a tower's roof and smiling at me. It even asked how I’m doing these days.”
“…"
"I will book an appointment at the temple's clinic for you." - Hesata quickly took out the magic messenger device.
"... I'm just joking."
"And I don't believe it. Here, 9 AM tomorrow at room 105."
"..."
__
The priestess wiped her eyes with the handkerchief. The sound of rain knocking on the ground overwhelmed almost every other sound. When Eithne remembered about those separated visions again, the voice of rain became an additional noise to the grayish recordings in her head, just like an old television with a bad reception.
'I must be careful from now on...'
Clack!
The door of the meeting room burst open. Demir Noceur stepped out while someone was shouting from behind.
“Your Majesty! We must not comply with Quenaz…”
Warm light from the room attracted Eithne’s attention. Contrary to the cold and rather dark hall outside, the room was cozy and vibrant, yet chaotically busy. Eithne peeked over the High Priest’s shoulder.
A dazzling beauty was sitting nonchalantly on the throne. She was leisurely watching the wine swirling in the glass, despite people’s shouting and speaking nonstop.
‘She must be the Queen…’ – Eithne thought.
As if all the precious jewelry in this world could not overcome her brilliance, the Queen twirled her wavy hair which beautifully shone in platinum-blonde hue. When she glanced at Demir Noceur’s back, the cherry-colored eyes coincidentally met Eithne’s gaze.
However, the door was quickly closed so Eithne could not see more.
“Let’s go.” – The High Priest said.
Eithne quickly followed behind him and Hesata. After walking for a while, the High Priest suddenly asked:
“How’s the child from the Solinue family?”
“… He’s… a good kid.”
His surprise attack made Eithne flinched. She had not prepared any fancy words for the question, so it sounded like a facile answer. Luckily, the High Priest seemed to pay it no mind and he was quiet again. However, his face was still as cold as ice, and somewhat menacing.
The light was dusky and the air was getting cooler due to the rain. As a result, Demir Noceur’s expression became vague and extra ominous in such conditions.
Eithne wiped the cold sweats in her palms with the handkerchief. It was getting darker in the palace so the servants were lighting up the candles and chandeliers. The priestess was extremely grateful to them because the sight of Demir Noceur’s murderous expression in the dark was solely nerve-racking. If the High Priest suddenly glared at her in such a dark place, Eithne would likely faint.
‘Damn it…’