Ovid was quite perplexed at the events that occurred with Catherine. He was just walking with the intentions of reaching the city of Phalaris, how did he come under such scrutiny? Since his calm emotion had been disturbed by the conversation, he decided it was best to stop thinking about the whole matter, and his mood soon improved.
Still, Catherine's words made Ovid subconsciously look toward Anna. He thought to himself, she doesn't possess any regal bearing and prefer to rather play in the mud and dissect frogs. Her hands would be stained with mud and her face with sweat.
Anna was also not very beautiful, her lips were thinner than the conventional beauty of Ovid's time and her forehead was also quite big. However, she possessed a set of clear and curious eyes that seemed to twinkle like the night skies, this set of eyes caused her entire image to stand out and put together her unconventional appearance.
Ovid thought that this sort of gaze that did not possess any ill-intent was very relaxing to look at. Like the most beautiful of paintings, one could look at Anna forever and not grow tired of it.
---
The road was long, by the time Ovid took his eyes off Anna, he realised that day had already turned into dust. Suddenly, he felt someone looking at him. He turned his head towards the direction the gaze had originated from and saw a middle-aged woman riding on the same type of horse as Catherines', and wearing a similar white robe as the bishop.
The woman was undoubtedly more mature than Catherine, but of lower status, the robes she wore did not possess the gold and silver lining.
Perhaps Ovid was too lost in his thought, he did not realise the strangeness in that the cavalry had yet to surpass he and Anna, who were walking on foot.
Thus, Ovid was surprised, is this person intending to finish him off?
The middle-aged woman walks down the wagon, she walked up to Ovid and said apologetically, "I am sorry that Catherine has treated you wrong."
"Yet what she had said ultimately is right, I'm afraid that you are too young and cannot see the bigger picture. You must understand that Catherine is in control of a branch of the clergy, and could easily make life miserable for you... if you continue to journey with Madame Anna, she would not hesitate to mobilise the strength she possesses and cut off your future."
Ovid recalled that she was the person at the foremost of the calvary formation, and clearly was of some status. He gave a gesture of greeting without saying a single word.
The middle-aged woman did not expect Ovid to have gave her a gesture of greeting despite the hostilities. It was this sort of behaviour that caused Catherine to grow outraged, and many others to become dumbfounded and uneasy.
"Catherine is too headstrong and did not give you a proper option... If you leave madame Anna, I could guarantee you a position in the clergy, even if you can't manipulate mana, there is still the monastic school or some other institution, such as the university of Phalaris. You can choose to become a civil servant or join the military, with my backing, it will not be difficult."
"Now that you have angered Catherine, she would probably spend quite a lot of effort, while death is not a possibility, your life will become a living hell."
Ovid still remained silent and did not speak a word.
The middle-aged woman looked at him and seriously said, "I am sure you are a smart person, please chose wisely. While it is not as much as madame Anna can offer, it is far less abstract and useful for your sort of life."
Ovid looked at her and spoke, "Mother had thought me to never go back on my words, so I will not be doing as you say."
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The middle-aged woman smiled and replied, "That is a moral bearing not found in many. But are you fine with a deacon looming over you at all times? While Catherine still has to follow the law, she could bully you as she wishes. I only want you to give up something meaningless to you in the beginning, and in exchange, help you gain opportunities never possible before."
The middle-aged woman was implying that Ovid should have never met Anna.
To enter an institution of learning was a tempting offer, but Ovid was confident he could enter those without outside aid.
Suddenly, he felt that his previous life was a lot safer, not to speak of the threat of bandits, just the complete power others possess is so frightening. The life surrounded by books was far more appealing.
Anna, who seemed to have been forgotten by the two despite being the topic suddenly spoke.
"Did you ask for my opinion?"
The middle-aged woman was shocked. She found it was impossible to reply.
She had lived on this planet for nearly one hundred years. She had entered the clergy at the age of ten and seen countless things. Yet she had still assumed that Anna had no desire to journey with Ovid. She could not answer this word, for it was made purely on emotion - though it was immature, it was hard to answer a question based on emotion.
"None of you asked for my opinion from the very start.
Anna looked at the middle-aged woman and said, "Since I am fine with Ovid, why do I have to change companions?"
She still had a smile on her face and seemed really pure and clean.
However, only she knew that she was currently very angry.
The middle-aged woman became meek, but still said seriously, "Your companion is -"
Anna suddenly interrupted, before the woman could finish her sentence, Anna said, "I hate this very much. You keep on saying your companion this and you companion that. Have you ever asked for her (his) name? It's Ovid and sounds a little strange, but this name was granted to her (him) by her (him) parent nevertheless."
Anna waved her hands a few times in the air, before allowing the middle-aged woman to continue.
The emotions in the middle-aged woman's eyes grew complex, but she bit the bullet and said nevertheless, "Madame Anna, she (he) is still an ordinary person. Actually, I think she (he) may be the best of an ordinary person. Ovid is well tempered and shows self-regulation far beyond her (his) age. I think that this sort of talent is well suited for the clergy."
The middle-aged woman then looked at Ovid and said sincerely, "I believe, even without being a deacon, you should still be able to reach a high place with your steady mind. However, you can never reach a place as high as the peaks that is royalty. Even if madame Anna supports you, you are unable to bear the environment up there and suffer a painful death."
The ability to manipulate mana was something easily determinable, even before they can speak or crawl, it is not difficult to find out if they were talented in the fields of magic. Since all the children that entered the Julian empire were from outside the empire, those talented in magic had already been picked out and sent to the clergy, while the rest were adopted by other, ordinary people.
Catherine was one such individual who had been specially picked due to the talents she possessed. From her first moments of consciousness, she had been surrounded by the vast resources of the clergy. As long as she doesn't abruptly die, she would become a big shot that is rivalled only by few.
Actually, she was already a major figure, having already entered the level of a bishop at the age of fifty, she only needs to cross the boundary to sainthood that a seldom few had passed. Then, she would be on the same level as the pope of the northern kingdoms, or the empress Julia.
Ovid was never aware of this system that already determined the value of a person, but that was not only because he was a newcomer to this world - few were aware of this. People in the same situation as Ovid could only look up at those figure with fear, jealously and respect.
Of course, he was completely different from the farmers tending the fields, the ability to use magic depended on the mind and soul... along with another factor. None of the three had been measured on the newly arrived Ovid.
She returned her gaze to Anna, "Madame Anna, this is a matter about destiny, even if he is the best sort of person out there, he is still an ordinary person. You were raised in the purple while she (he) was fed on gruel. If I may say so, the difference between you two is greater than the starry skies above us."
To have been adopted by the empress Julia, the most powerful person on the continent, clearly represented that Anna was capable of amazing things even Catherine could not do. Although she had spent most of her days chopping vegetables and bargaining with the old ladies selling handicraft, only a fool would believe that she wasn't someone extraordinary.
Ovid signed. After a long time remaining silent, he said seriously, "I don't believe in such things as destiny."
The woman was stunned. Half of the words she said toward Anna was intended for Ovid, yet he would persist even after she explained things so clearly.
The city was a further north from where they were standing, Ovid and Anna followed the road and continued.
The middle-aged woman noticed, both of the two's backs were very straight, and their head was raised high. It was as if they were two trees supporting each other.
---
"Catherine, I don't think you should intervene in this matter, madame Anna had already made her stance. Moreover, the person called Ovid is quite talented, even if she (he) cannot master magic, I believe that a bright future lays before him."
At the cathedral of Phalaris, the middle-aged woman stood in front of Catherine and said emotionlessly.
Catherine found it a little unpleasant that her teacher since her earliest days had objected to her decision. She wrinkled her eyebrows and asked, "Zoe, what are you getting at?"
Zoe replied, "Of course, she (he) is not fitted to accompany Madame Anna, but if do we use our resources to oppress her (him), it would be in opposition to the will of madame Anna. Even if she cannot harm us, it will certainly be troublesome. I think we should just leave them alone."
Catherine looked deeply at the painting before her but seemed to be peering into something else. "Madame Anna is still young, and cannot make rational decisions. We probably have already offended her, and capitulating would be the worse situation. If we can cause some trouble and let madame Anna learn the errors of her ways, it would not only strengthen our position in the clergy but even help us gain some flavour with empress Julia."
---
Irene stood on a portion of the old city walls. Although she was many miles away from the cathedral, the senses of a saint could travel to the other side of the continent. She contemplated whether to intervene in the situation, and wondered if she should intervene.
As a gentle gust of wind blew by, brushing past her porcelain-like face, she took a step away from the centre of the city.
It would be best for Anna to experience life a little.