“You never know! There might be a handsome boy inside!”
The maid spoke boldly and grabbed the handle. The cold metallic energy made goosebumps rise over her skin. The maid, startled, tried to let go of the hand gripping the handle, but the doorknob had already turned.
Click.
Tension settled over the maid’s face.
The doorknob turned very smoothly. It was to the point that it seemed as though someone had set it up so the latch would turn with only the slightest touch.
The room without light was dark, so it was hard to see. The maid narrowed her eyes and swallowed.
“......”
“......”
The maids exchanged looks.
“Why did it open so easily?”
Both of them seemed to be thinking the same thing.
The magic circle engraved on the door vibrated faintly and wrapped around the maids’ bodies, but they did not notice.
The maid, who seemed to hesitate for a moment, moved her foot. Since they had opened the door, turning back like this would not be worth it. In any case, now that things had become like this, the desire to confirm the true nature of whatever was inside the room grew stronger.
“What could be in such an ordinary room?”
“Exactly.”
The maids whispered softly and carefully moved their steps. After exchanging a few words, their tension seemed to ease a little. The maid looked around, closed the door while leaving only a small gap, and took out the candle she had hidden in her bosom. She intended to light it.
Cough, cough. Unable to hold back, the maid let out a small cough. The room that had not been used for a long time smelled of dust. Even the slightest movement made dust rise here and there.
As the maid slowly blinked and narrowed her eyes to make out the objects swallowed by darkness, a matchbox was held out in front of her.
“Here, matches.”
“Ah, yeah. I’ll light it. Hold this for me.”
“Anyway, it’s too quiet, never mind the sound of a ghost crying. Wasn’t it just a false rumor after all?”
“Hmph. How do you know what might jump out once we light it?”
The maid shot a glare at her colleague, who had been scared with her earlier and was now pretending to be brave again. The hand holding the match moved quickly. Flame flared up on the match head that passed over the red striking strip. And at that moment, with a boom, the door closed.
“Eek!”
“Ah!”
Startled by the sudden sound, the maids clutched their heads and crouched down. The wind created by the thick door closing struck the backs of their heads.
It was only after several seconds had passed that the maids, who had been frozen without knowing what was happening, sprang up in shock.
“F-fire! Fire!”
“Step on it! Step on it-!”
How long had they stomped with thudding feet? Their skirt hems fluttered, and dust rose thickly. The maids coughed frantically. They coughed so much that their eyes stung and their throats felt scratchy. They had been so frightened by the tiny flame that their backs were soaked through with sweat. They thought they should never have come here, but no one brought up going back first. The maids, watching each other’s reactions, gripped the match again.
Sss. Scratch!
After two attempts, flame bloomed with a flare. The flame was small, but it was enough to drive away the darkness inside the room.
“His Majesty is cough! frugal.”
Curiosity rose again in the maids’ hearts. They had never had any reason to enter the king’s office, so it felt unfamiliar and fascinating. Looking around at the objects, they began walking toward the inside of the office without realizing it.
“Hm? What is this covered thing?”
“What?”
Candle wax flowed down the candle.
In the place the maid pointed to, something long was covered by cloth.
“Hmm. Is it something precious?”
Just as she had done when opening the door earlier, the maid reached out her hand. The other maid tried to stop the hand stretched out without hesitation, but it was already too late.
The moment the maid’s hand touched it, the cloth slipped down as easily as if it were empty. The maids watched the cloth slide down and lie limply on the floor.
And the moment they lifted their heads, they felt an extremely strange atmosphere.
The feeling of a wordless force tightening around them from every direction, so that they could not even turn their heads and could not even blink.
The maids had no choice but to look at what lay before them because of that force.
The object the cloth had covered was a long oval mirror.
The flickering flame licked across the mirror’s surface.
The mirror was not the problem. What it reflected was the problem. No, the maids did not know whether it could even be called reflecting. Because inside the mirror, someone they knew very well was crouching.
The person who had been sitting with his knees drawn up and his head buried slowly lifted his head. Focus soon returned to his trembling eyes. The one who had been curled up loosened his body and slowly approached on his knees, then lifted his head. The mirror flickered in the candlelight and revealed the face of the one who had leaned forward.
“Y-yo-your, Your Majesty......?”
The maid trembled violently and barely managed to spit out the words.
What was inside the mirror was none other than Ragniel.
“H-how?”
“D-d-don’t tell me, a re-re-re......!”
Unable to bring herself to put the atrocious words rebellion or treason into her mouth, the maid stammered. Swallowing and letting out a breath, the maid moved close in front of the mirror.
“We have to call, call someone.......”
“Wait! He’s saying something!”
She grabbed the arm of the maid who had sprung to her feet and pulled her back, then moved even closer to the mirror.
The maids held their breath and focused on Ragniel.
“What did he just say?”
“Let, me, out. I think he said to let him out...!”
“How do we let him out?”
“How can we free Your Majesty?”
The lonely-faced boy reached out his hand. As if possessed, the maid held out her hand, and at that moment, the two of them switched places.
“......!”
The maid who had been sucked into the mirror froze in shock, and the scream of the maid who was about to cry out was blocked by a slender hand.
The light of the candle the maids had lit disappeared, and the office became as quiet as it had been at first.
***
The great temple, located in the coldest place.
As if the season called summer meant nothing, this place seemed to have slipped away from the influence of the seasons and still held a cool energy. The priests’ clothing was not very different from winter either. Priests wrapped around their whole bodies moved quietly. A stir could be felt in the still air.
The great temple was supported by seventy-seven pillars, and Hugh, having finished praying at each and every pillar, let out a long sigh.
“I did not think you would leave like this.”
The lonely voice echoed through the temple.
No one would have known. That a bright, cheerful, capable priest by nature would leave the world so emptily and so early. It had already been several years since Kirky, the High Priest’s foremost disciple, who had personally run away from the temple, had placed himself under the care of the Gannion family. The fact that Kirky, who had seemed as though he would always be beside them, had died was still hard to believe.
Even though he had seen the body with his own two eyes.
“He looked just like he was sleeping.”
The maid who had come with Hugh murmured softly.
Kirky, lying inside the luxurious coffin, truly did look as if he were sleeping. It would have been good if he had woken up in that state, saying it had been a joke, but miracles did not happen that often.
“Shawn was like that too.”
Hugh spoke quietly.
It was a firm statement that cut away even the slightest hope or expectation. He smiled bitterly and arranged his emotions.
“The High Priest is looking for you.”
A boy priest quietly came and spoke to him. They followed behind the boy.
All the way to the prayer room where the High Priest was, a funeral song flowed leisurely.
“Priest Kirky will be inside the temple......”
Hugh could not find the proper words to say, and ended up trailing off.
The boy priest, who somehow understood his question, looked around for a moment and explained in a small voice.
“Yes, Priest Kirky’s body will remain in the prayer room. He will hear prayers for three hundred days, and once the prayer is complete, he will transform into light and return to our Lord.”
The funeral of one who belonged to the temple was different from an ordinary funeral. Without burying the body, they preserved it and received the prayers of fellow priests for three hundred days in order to wash away sins and make the soul pure. It was said that once the prayer was complete, the body turned into light, but whether that was true was not precisely known.
After passing through a place full of holy paintings, a huge door appeared. The boy announced in front of the door that a guest had come, then opened the door for him. Hugh, as he had °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° been told in advance, stepped inside alone.
A huge prayer room. The paintings filling the ceiling looked down at Hugh. Hugh, whose gaze had been taken by the holy paintings on the ceiling, came to himself and turned his head.
The High Priest was kneeling. And before him was a snow-white coffin. It was still an empty coffin, but there was no way he could not know who the owner of that coffin was.
Hugh waited quietly until the High Priest called him.
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