This is the Great Temple of the Imperial Capital.
To fulfill my promise to the Emperor during our recent private audience, I went through strict procedures at the entrance before heading to the memorial hall.
The memorial service had drawn large crowds for several days, but now the hall was quiet.
Following the memorial rites, I looked into the eyes of each fallen soldier in their portraits and placed flowers before them. Among them were some who were quite young.
I did not feel an overwhelming sorrow or shed tears of grief.
After all, I had never known these soldiers personally.
However, I wanted to show that, thanks to their sacrifice, I was still able to stand on solid ground. So, I closed my eyes for a long moment and began to pray.
“May you rest in peace.”
Afterward, I bowed to a priest standing at the entrance and walked down the hallway of the Great Temple.
I wasn’t sure how long I walked. After passing a long path adorned with angel statues, I arrived at a small, open greenhouse.
Bathed in white sunlight, the greenhouse was breathtakingly beautiful.
At the center stood a statue of God, crafted from ivory and gold, with clear water flowing from it and an artificial fountain that stood out remarkably.
White doves perched on the statue, yellow butterflies fluttered in the air—a truly sacred sight. The fresh scent of grass and water mixed in the air, washing away all impurities.
“This place hasn’t changed at all.”
Just then—
“Lady Etricia!”
A figure ran toward me, robes of pure white fluttering.
I widened my eyes in surprise.
“Lova?”
It was Lova, an aide to the High Priest and a priest of the Great Temple.
Despite being middle-aged, he still had the smooth skin of a man in his early twenties—perhaps due to divine protection.
When I was a child and had no choice but to visit the Great Temple, Lova, then a senior priest, had been my guide. We had developed a certain familiarity.
Lova, visibly excited, ran up and grasped my hands.
“I thought I saw someone like you through the temple window at the memorial hall, and it really was you, Lady Etricia! How long has it been?”
Ah, I should have left quickly. Hiding my thoughts, I smiled calmly.
“Yes, it has been a long time.”
“The last time we met was at your wedding four years ago.”
He really didn’t need to bring that up. I just smiled, not responding, hoping to end the conversation there.
Sensing my discomfort, Lova let go of my hands and stepped back. His gaze flickered to the path I had taken—one connected to the outdoor prayer hall.
“Were you attending the memorial for the knights who fell in battle this week?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Lova frowned slightly and scolded me.
“So you only visit when there’s an event? You know, except for the High Priest, all priests are forbidden from communicating privately with outsiders, and we are not allowed to leave the diocese. Even if we wanted to contact you, we couldn’t. You know this.”
“And you also know that I had unavoidable circumstances.”
At my words, Lova sighed bitterly.
“I saw it in the newspapers… That day, in your pure white wedding dress, you looked truly beautiful.”
He was speaking unnecessarily again. It seemed that while God had granted him youthful skin, He had taken away his sense of discretion.
At that moment, some priests passing by glanced at us while carrying flowers for the memorial. Their expressions showed curiosity rather than suspicion. After all, it was unusual to see Lova—one of the highest-ranking priests after the High Priest—enthusiastically greeting someone.
Instinctively, I turned my head to avoid drawing attention, and a chill ran down my spine. It was an old habit from my childhood visits to the temple—hiding my face to avoid being recognized.
The reason for this secrecy was an unannounced divine revelation.
One of the Saint’s powers—”Purification.”
Purification was the ability to imprison and eliminate evil beings within a magic stone. It was a power bestowed upon the Saint by God. Using this ability, Saints had captured and attempted to reform monsters with divine resistance. They imprisoned them, showering them with noble love as if nurturing flowers.
However, reforming the ancient evil was no easy task, and the dangerous experiments only led to the production of more purification stones.
In modern times, the results of these efforts were preserved in the Saint’s exhibition hall.
That was the part of history known to the entire empire. But there was more.
On the day of my birth, a divine prophecy was given: a servant of God would be born under the red light of dawn.
In response, the Imperial Palace and the temple secretly searched for a red-haired girl. Every year, they gathered children with red hair to secretly test whether they could detect monsters using purification stones.
I was one of those children. Though none of us showed any results, the high priests became particularly obsessed with me. It was likely because I was the sole heir of a family that owned the Lebron Mines and also had red hair. Due to this, I was subjected to mandatory experiments until my divine powers were supposed to manifest. Only then was I finally freed.
And now, encountering Lova again… What terrible luck.
Lova briefly glanced at the observing priests, his gaze sharp. Startled, they quickly averted their eyes and hurried away.
“There are too many eyes on us because of the memorial. Let’s move somewhere else.”
With a polite smile, Lova led me inside. Since I didn’t want to attract more attention, I followed him slowly.
“Did you have any trouble getting here?”
“Not really. There were no restrictions because of the memorial.”
Lova smiled subtly as he looked back at me. A faint longing flickered in his eyes.
“If the High Priest knew you were here, he would open his eyes from his deep slumber.”
That would never happen. I scoffed inwardly and lowered my gaze.
The High Priest had been asleep for decades. He had exhausted his divine power fighting a high-ranking monster that had invaded a rural diocese. No one knew when he would awaken.
After some time, Lova brought me to his study.
He personally served me tea, and we talked for a while about various things.
Then, suddenly, Lova set his teacup down with a faint smile. He rubbed the handle of the cup with his fingers, pausing as if hesitating.
“Since you’re here, why not try the test again?”
He still hadn’t given up. This was the situation I had dreaded before coming to the temple. I sighed deeply.
“This is exactly why I didn’t want to come.”
I frowned, recalling my childhood.
Lova had always been particularly obsessed with my case. He had truly believed I was the Child of the Dawn. He had once held my small hands, praying for me to save the world.
That I was the only one who could awaken the High Priest.
That I could restore the lost power of the church.
Because I was the sole heiress of the Lebron Mines.
And if my divine power manifested, my life and wealth would belong to the temple.
‘How could they expect a helpless child to save the world?’
I rubbed my forehead, feeling the headache brought on by his persistence.
And yet, I knew he wouldn’t let this go unless I played along. Half-exhausted, I nodded.
“Are you still worried about it? I’m past the age where divine power would show.”
“Lady Etricia, please don’t say that…”
Right. It was my fault for coming, knowing this would happen. He clearly wouldn’t let me go unless I agreed to try. In the end, half worn down by his persistence, I gave a small nod.
At that, Lova smiled brightly, left the room for a while, and then returned after some time.
When he came back, he was pulling a box on a trolley.
He opened a velvet case sitting on top, and inside was a mana stone with no color or glow.
Unlike the clear Lebrons, this one was black and murky.
Lova knelt on one knee with reverence. His eyes, burning with passion, looked up at me.
“It’s a purification stone containing a low-level monster.”
“…I’ve always been curious—how do you know something is sealed inside? You can’t tell without purification, right?”
“If several priests surround the stone and pray, the evil energy can’t stand the clean power and reacts with a twitch.”
Hmm. I made a low sound and gave a small nod.
Then Lova supported his arm on his knee and held out the purification stone to me.
The whole scene felt so solemn and sacred that I suddenly became tense, even though I already knew nothing would happen.
I swallowed dryly and placed my hand on the stone.
It felt icy cold, almost chilling to the bone.
Pretending it was nothing, I quickly pulled my hand back and wrapped it with my other hand.
“See? Nothing happened.”
When I said that with a scolding tone, I could see Lova lower his eyes, clearly discouraged.
I gave him a polite bow, saying I should get going, then quickly walked out.
“I really shouldn’t come to the temple anymore.”
Unless I was here to do a repentance prayer or something.
I shook my head and pulled my hood down low.
After attending the memorial at the main temple and then having a private talk with Lova, I felt completely drained—like a rag.
I truly didn’t want to visit the temple again. If word got out that I came, Lova would appear again.
I knew he was sincere, but sometimes it felt more like obsession than devotion, and it just exhausted me.
“Ugh, I’m so tired.”
I needed Lilien—my place to rest.
Letting out a deep sigh, I quickened my pace.
One hour had passed while I waited in front of Lilien’s academy.
The staff had all left, and classes should have ended by now, but she was nowhere in sight.
“That’s strange. I saw her go out earlier, and I checked that she finishes at this time today…”
Sigh, nothing I could do.
I apologized to the coachman and told him to turn the carriage around.
Before long, the carriage headed toward the mansion.
I stared blankly out the window at the quickly changing scenery, when suddenly I caught sight of a café’s outdoor table—and froze.
“What am I seeing right now?”
It was a combination I never would’ve imagined:
Lilien… and Verita.
