“Someone died?”
Ersi let out a short sigh. It wasn’t unusual for someone to die at the temple. Even a temple overflowing with divine power couldn’t prevent people from falling ill or dying in accidents.
The problem was...
“A red flower mark was found on the instep of the corpse.”
“...Did the epidemic spread there?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Ceres’s eyes widened slightly. That red flower mark was known to appear on those who died from the epidemic.
“But they died suddenly without showing any symptoms, and yet they had that mark on their insteps.”
“Hmm.”
That’s another new discovery. So the red flower mark isn’t actually a sign of the epidemic.
“How many people died?”
“Fifteen.”
“.....”
Ceres frowned at the unexpectedly high death toll.
***
Knock, knock.
Creak.
“Saintess!”
“May I come in?”
“Of course. Come in!”
At the knock, a priest who looked to be in his early twenties hurried to open the door. His face lit up when he saw Saintess Yuness standing outside.
“I can’t believe you really came. Thank you so much.”
“I wanted to come.”
Kalom had spent the whole day eagerly anticipating Yuness’s visit after they happened to meet that afternoon. She promised to come that night to give him a prayer of blessing.
He could hardly believe that someone like him, who wasn’t even a high-ranking priest, would receive a prayer from the Saintess!
“Let’s keep this a secret between the two of us. It would be troublesome for me if anyone else found out.”
“Y-Yes!”
At Yuness’s request, Kalom didn’t tell anyone about her visit. The Saintess specifically offered to pray for him, after all!
“I’m sorry for coming so late. I’ve been so busy. I was worried about what others might think if they saw me here...”
“Not at all! It’s an honor just to have you come.”
When Yuness apologized, Kalom hurriedly shook his head. A bright smile appeared on her lips.
“Shall we start, then?”
“Yes.”
Kalom knelt before Yuness and clasped his hands together, ready to receive her blessing with all his heart.
Swoosh.
Yuness placed a hand on Kalom’s head. With his eyes closed, the priest began to pray to the Lord.
Huh...? Why am I getting dizzy?
As he continued praying, he felt a strange ringing in his head. Could this be Saintess Yuness’s power? Is this what it feels like when the Holy Spirit enters the body?
“Ugh...”
The dizziness grew worse with every passing moment, until it was joined by excruciating pain.
“S... Saintess...”
He could barely open his mouth. Trembling, he managed to call out to her. He wanted nothing more than to ask her to stop.
“What’s wrong?”
“Th... Gack...!”
Kalom collapsed to the floor.
“Oh dear...”
At the sound of her clicking her tongue, Kalom struggled to open his eyes. The moment he saw the Saintess’s face, he forgot his pain and stared blankly.
A chill ran through him when he saw her grinning down at him, her smile stretched unnaturally wide.
“I should’ve taken it all at once. I’m still inexperienced, so I’m sorry. It hurt a lot, didn’t it?”
“Th... this...”
“Shh.”
Yuness placed her hand on Priest Kalom’s head again.
“Gah... urgh!”
The suffocating pain came rushing back. He felt all the strength drain from his body.
“I’ll try to make it easier for the others.”
Yuness’s giggle was the last thing Kalom heard before everything went dark.
***
“I filled it up again.”
Yuness looked pleased as she handed over the bracelet. She hadn’t gotten much from the plague-stricken village, but she’d found another way to fill it with life force.
“Well done.”
“I can’t keep using plague victims.”
Yuness frowned slightly.
“I suppose I’ll just have to put up with it.”
Wasn’t Ceres the reason she had to spend every night running around without getting a proper sleep? That woman always reached the villages first before her and healed the people there!
“It’s exhausting going from house to house among the faithful.”
Afraid that she’d be caught if she kept targeting people at the temple, she had switched to ordinary people. She secretly approached those who came to pray, then visited their homes under the pretense of offering a blessing. She mostly targeted those who lived alone.
Having family around would be troublesome.
That was how she managed to fill the bracelet with enough life force to give to Veilks.
“But this has its limits, too.”
“What’s your plan?”
“From now on, I’m going to offer the blessing publicly to ordinary people.”
“Publicly?”
Veilks gave her a questioning look. The blessing was how she filled the bracelet with life force, so why would she perform it in front of everyone? Was she actually going to kill people in public?
“I’ll only take some.”
“Some?”
“Yes. Not all of it, just a portion.”
That way, she could take life force from countless people without killing them. They wouldn’t die right away, but losing their life force would take a toll on their bodies. Their vitality would fade faster with age, and their lifespans would be cut drastically short.
That’s none of my concern.
All she had to do was fill the bracelet with life force as Veilks instructed.
“Will the Pope allow it? I doubt he’ll let you use the Saintess’s blessing so freely.”
Veilks heard that the Pope had already been using the blessing as an excuse to squeeze enormous donations out of the nobles.
“If I say I’m doing it, even the Pope can’t stop me.”
If she shed a few tears and said she wanted to help the people, even the Pope would have no choice but to let her.
“Have you met Grand Duke Persia?”
“That...”
Yuness’s confident expression faltered.
“Your Excellency!”
“Should I call you Saintess now?”
“Oh, just call me Yuness.”
When she met him again in the Empire, he was still kind to her, enough to surprise everyone around them. Rumors that she and Grand Duke Persia were seeing each other spread quickly.
Of course, there was also a strange scandal involving the Tower Master in the papers...
“He’s certainly kind.”
But he still kept her at a distance. After discovering something recently, Yuness had grown even more impatient.
Gloves.
He always wore gloves when he was with her. Not once did he touch her with his bare hands.
But...
“Where are you going?”
Grab.
“To the shop. I told you I have a large group coming in today.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“What are you talking about? If you come, they said they won’t have group reservations anymore.”
He touched that woman with his bare hands.
She never once saw Grand Duke Persia wear gloves when he was with Ceres. The moment she realized that, she had to fight to keep her expression from twisting in front of the others.
“She really gets on my nerves.”
Grinding her teeth, Yuness wondered how she could get rid of Ceres.
“Don’t forget. The life force is what matters most.”
“Of course.”
Yuness nodded firmly, assuring Veilks that he had nothing to worry about.
***
“Next.”
“Y-yes!”
A long line stretched outside the Grand Temple. Everyone’s attention was fixed on the woman seated at the front. With her mysterious silver hair and pristine white robes, Saintess Yuness looked as though she had been sent by the God themselves.
Word that the Saintess would be giving blessings today had drawn countless people to the Grand Temple. The prayer would only take a moment, but the chance to receive a blessing directly from the Saintess had them waiting in line with eager expressions.
People were already on edge because of the frequent appearances of the Black Forest, the corpses left behind by unknown monsters, and the plague that had swept across the Empire so quickly.
The wrath of God.
More than a few people claimed that divine wrath had fallen upon the Empire. Naturally, the Saintess’s blessing was enough to ease their fears, which was why the Pope had granted her request without much resistance.
“Next.”
At the priests’ direction, people approached the Saintess one by one. After receiving a brief prayer, they left the Grand Temple.
“Next, please.”
“Yes!”
A child who looked about six approached Saintess Yuness with a bright smile.
“Come here.”
“Whoa.”
The child stared up at the Saintess, mouth agape. She was even more beautiful up close, especially when she smiled at them.
“I’ll pray for you now.”
“Yes!”
Just as their mother had taught them, the child knelt before the Saintess and clasped their hands together. With their eyes closed, they waited for the blessing to begin.
Yuness slowly reached out to the child, a dark smile spreading across her lips as she extended the hand bearing the bracelet.
Another tempting little morsel.
Whoosh!
“—!”
But her hand never reached the child’s head. Someone suddenly caught her outstretched hand and yanked it back.
Yuness turned sharply, her eyes widening when she saw who had stopped her.
“Y-Your Excellency.”
“......”
The man holding Yuness’s hand with an impassive expression was none other than Kainel.
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