<Chapter 14>
“I am a lowly and foolish commoner. I… I got greedy because a high-ranking person like you showed interest…! I had a sliver of hope…! It’s laughable for me to say this, but I’ve been told I’m pretty…!”
I bowed my head, even trembling slightly. I deliberately mentioned my appearance to emphasize the foolishness of my desire.
“I beg your forgiveness…! I’m so poor… that I unknowingly… d-dreamed a dream. I apologize!”
Theodore had a cruel nature, but he was also an Emperor who cared for his people, even hailed as a virtuous ruler.
I deliberately wore a shabby robe, and the clothes underneath were made of coarse fabric, the kind worn by commoners.
A foolish and pitiful commoner who, hating her poverty, tried to catch the Emperor’s eye. Theodore wasn’t someone who would punish the poor and hungry for such a thing.
“…Enough, rise.”
Theodore commanded in a noticeably tired voice.
“A-Are you… forgiving me?”
“Yes. So get up.”
“Thank you, thank you!”
Theodore personally helped me up.
A sudden warmth and the feeling of a firm arm enveloped me. A man, much larger than me.
A refreshing scent, which I hadn’t noticed due to my nervousness, wafted towards me. It was a strangely pleasant scent.
I leaned on his strength and rose. It was as if I hadn’t used any of my own strength. Even a small woman is still a person, yet he lifted me so easily with one arm. How strong was he?
His hand moved away as I stood up.
“Sigh. I’m tired. Isaac, where’s the High Priest?”
“You need to go to the first floor, Your Majesty.”
“Farewell!”
I gave one last subservient bow. Theodore left me and walked away.
I stood there for a while, and only after Theodore was out of sight did I finally exhale.
I thought I would die from the tension. I collapsed onto a chair, my body going limp.
“…Wow. I did it.”
I stared blankly into space, and then I muttered to myself.
“I did it!”
I just tricked that cold-blooded man!
I had to do it alone, without Agatha’s help…! And I did it…!
“Hehehe.”
Laughter escaped my lips unconsciously. It seemed I had a talent for acting.
“Heehee.”
The thrill of success surged through me.
I wanted to tell someone about this right away, but there was no one to tell.
Theodore was truly a sharp man, like a blade. I felt like I would be cut just by touching him. Honestly, he was scary.
To what extent? About as scary as when I encountered a ghost chasing me upside down in my previous life…
…No, the ghost was probably scarier.
Anyway, I tricked that scary man! I could talk about it for three days and nights.
[…Dorothy. Dorothy!]
And then, an anxious voice reached my ears. It was the first time a god’s voice sounded so welcoming.
[Agatha!]
I replied happily. Agatha asked in a worried voice.
[I can finally hear you! Are you alright?]
[Yes, I’m fine-]
[Our child’s face is completely pale from this short encounter! That Theodore!]
[That damned imperial blessing… blocking our powers like this.]
[Such a young man, yet so full of murderous aura. It would have been a disaster if we had met him on the battlefield. Dorothy, you’ve worked hard.]
[Dorothy. It must have been hard. I’ll go and overturn the Imperial Palace!]
And the eight guardian deities rushed in, comforting me inside my head.
My head throbbed from the commotion, but I felt grateful and warmed.
[You know, I just…]
[You were amazing. How can you be so quick-witted?]
[Y-You saw everything?]
[Yes. I was so frustrated that I couldn’t communicate. But as expected of Dorothy, you handled it well on your own.]
[Hehe…]
In my previous life, as I grew older, my conversations with my mother became less and less frequent, and others didn’t approach me easily.
Because of prejudices like “She’s a shaman’s daughter,” or “Ghosts will follow her if you’re near her,” I barely had any friends.
The gods and evil spirits I could communicate with were also capricious.
Of course, it’s not like I never received comfort. There were my mother’s customers who visited our house, the teachers at the shamanic rituals, and occasionally, I had friends. I grew up without any problems socializing.
But it was a rather lonely life.
[Our child was overflowing with wit, truly!]
[Well done, my dear. You know, in times like that, you have to throw away your pride and everything and protect your life first. You’ve grown so much.]
[You were amazing! You worked hard. So, I’ll go and overturn the Imperial Palace!]
The comfort and praise from those on my side felt a little unfamiliar. And I thought, this is quite nice.
“I heard you threatened the devotees in the chapel.”
A holy and gentle voice reached Theodore’s ears. To Theodore, it sounded more dreadful than gentle.
“Me? No, I just greeted them warmly.”
He replied in a relaxed voice. Since he had barged into the Grand Temple and searched the place, he had no choice but to sit down with the High Priest and talk.
Theodore tried to look at the High Priest, but then averted his gaze.
That woman was too flamboyant. Her clothes, made of rare fabric, were pure white from head to toe. Bathed in sunlight, she looked excessively holy.
Everything felt artificial, to the point that he wanted to remove her from his sight.
“Your Majesty, what are you plotting this time?”
The High Priest asked quietly. It was amusing that she asked, even though she already knew. Theodore scoffed inwardly, maintaining a neutral expression.
“Well, I think you know my intentions best, High Priest. Doesn’t God tell you such things?”
“God is a being who delivers grand revelations. They don’t tell us trivial things.”
“You have the audacity to call the intentions of the Empire’s Sun trivial. High Priest, you’re truly audacious, as always. Does the temple ignore all of God’s trivial revelations, which is why they’ve been so silent for so long?”
The High Priest, who dared to call reading the Emperor’s mind a trivial matter, and Theodore, who sarcastically pointed out that it had been a while since the temple received an oracle…
Their conversation was a precarious tightrope walk.
“You flatter me.”
“I’m disappointed you took it as a compliment.”
“I must express my gratitude for praising my audacity. I don’t dwell on unimportant words.”
Whatever you say, it doesn’t affect me. The High Priest treated Theodore like a small fry.
Their conversation was filled with remarks that could easily escalate into a fight, but they both knew it wouldn’t happen.
They were the head of the empire and the head of the national religion.
A petty quarrel over words would only cause unnecessary conflict among their subordinates and wouldn’t inflict any significant damage on each other.
So, they freely attacked each other. Verbally.
“…High Priest.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Are you… certain… that God doesn’t deliver trivial revelations, that you haven’t heard anything…?”
Theodore, who had been smiling slyly, suddenly asked the High Priest with a subdued expression.
“Yes.”
The High Priest smirked, looking at Theodore’s face.
He despises the Grand Temple so much, yet he asks a question that shows he’s still clinging to oracles. It seemed he wanted to hear an oracle for personal reasons. Thinking so, the High Priest smiled faintly.
‘You should have done this sooner.’
People always clung to oracles, those transcendental and spiritual messages. That’s why respect for the High Priest was rarely shaken.
Because people waited for, wished for, and desperately needed oracles. Because the High Priest was the medium who could receive them.
Of course, after ‘that time’ when the great epidemic occurred, there had been talk among the people because no oracles had been delivered.
But in the end, Theodore was the same as them.
“But that’s strange.”
Theodore, still with a subdued expression, suddenly spoke in a puzzled voice.
The High Priest listened quietly, wondering what he was going to say, if he was going to ask for a favor.
“I heard that the Saintess who appeared recently hears even trivial things from God and reveals people’s secrets.”
“…”
Theodore smirked.
“Well, the Saintess is said to be a greater being, but for you, the High Priest, to not hear anything at all… Is God not interested in you?”
He was openly mocking the High Priest. Even though it seemed rather childish.
“If you need help with your practice, I can find the Saintess for you. It might be good for you to learn from her.”
It was effective against the High Priest, whose pride and arrogance knew no bounds. A crack appeared in her composure.
“Ah, but then it would be awkward to call you the High Priest. Isn’t it strange for a young Saintess to have an elderly High Priest as her disciple?”
“…It’s fine. You needn’t concern yourself.”
The High Priest replied through gritted teeth.
Theodore chuckled audibly and picked up his teacup. The High Priest glared at him intensely.
He savored the feeling of stress relief.
‘Nothing went my way today.’
The thought of his day made him sigh.
Theodore had intended to kidnap the Saintess and deal with her somehow. He judged that it was better to hide the Saintess’s existence, as it would only benefit the Maelta religion’s doctrines.
But to do that, he needed to know exactly what she looked like.
The adjutants he sent to Themont, the city where the Saintess first appeared, investigated the commoner woman who had served the Saintess and also investigated the Saintess’s clients. But all of them spouted nonsense, saying they only remembered the ‘five-colored flags’ and the ‘bell.’
The only other option was to infiltrate the temple with spies and assess the situation, but that method wouldn’t yield quick results.
Until now, the Saintess had moved too quickly, leaving no opportunity to capture her. She might be hiding, waiting to reveal herself to the world tomorrow.
Theodore, who would have chosen a safer path and bided his time if he were only dealing with the High Priest, had to act urgently due to the Saintess’s unpredictable behavior.
So, it was better to secure the Saintess as quickly as possible, even if it meant taking risks.
That’s why he had come to the Grand Temple himself and turned the place upside down on the day the Saintess arrived.