Chapter 12 Part 6
Perhaps, as Xenoph suggested, it would be better to stay close to Abel instead of Hyle, who had little spiritual power?
How could I comfortably receive spiritual power after witnessing Hyle cough blood right in front of me?
If Hyle were to collapse, then what would I…
“Miss!”
“…Huh? Lynn. When did you come in?”
Lost in thought while staring out the window and leaning against the wall, I belatedly noticed someone beside me and turned my head.
“What were you thinking about so intently? I called you several times with no response, so I just came in. I don’t know what’s bothering you, but something sweet might help organize your thoughts.”
For some reason, Lynn’s straight black hair looked particularly endearing today.
Lynn set down cookies and tea from the tray she had brought, smiling broadly.
“Just… dangerous thoughts.”
“Hmm, you do certainly have a knack for choosing dangerous things to do. Not the best hobby, but I support you!”
“That doesn’t sound supportive.”
As I glanced sideways at Lynn, she quickly turned her head away with a mischievous smile, pretending innocence.
As I quietly watched Lynn tidying up the disheveled bedding, I turned my gaze back to the window.
If Hyle were to collapse in front of me while giving me spiritual power, I wouldn’t be able to bear the guilt.
I would probably use black magic to revive him, even if he disliked it.
Despite the fierce magical backlash that might come, even if it meant wastefully dissipating the spiritual power Hyle had given me.
Ironically, if someone were to ask if Hyle was that precious to me, the answer would be “no.”
This was simply my feeling.
You don’t always need someone to be precious to you to give your all for them.
Just as Hyle had done for me, I was simply choosing the same path.
Right now, in this moment, my standard of good and evil was… entirely Hyle.
“…Is this what Xenoph was concerned about?”
Hyle’s spiritual power was limited, so it would quickly be depleted, while Abel’s wouldn’t.
But that didn’t necessarily make Abel the right answer for my heart… his spiritual power wasn’t pure enough to purify others.
This was a fact I knew with certainty from reading the original story.
He was a royal born with the power to handle spiritual energy—unavoidably, by birth.
The royals of Pendium naturally possessed spiritual power as descendants blessed by the gods, and they could use it skillfully.
However, since they possessed this power from the beginning, regardless of their faith, its intensity was far inferior compared to devout saints.
That’s why the royals knew how to handle spiritual power but typically chose not to use it.
They preferred to learn conventional magic instead.
Spiritual power couldn’t really be used to attack anyone, and doing so would likely incur the goddess’s wrath, so they avoided such risky ventures.
Abel too, for the same reason, probably hadn’t displayed his spiritual power…
So did the High Priest and the high-ranking priests not know that Abel’s spiritual power couldn’t possess such pure strength?
If they knew… they couldn’t even jokingly say such things to me.
Of course, that didn’t mean Abel couldn’t purify my heart.
It would just take considerably longer compared to Hyle.
That wasn’t what I wanted.
If I waited for Abel’s purification, I might walk the path to the afterlife first.
“Ah, miss. Raphla has returned.”
Lynn, who had been cleaning the opposite window, smiled brightly as she quickly opened it. With the sound of flapping wings, Raphla flew in.
“Come here.”
Taking the feather that Raphla had brought, I absorbed the memories embedded in it.
Soon, the memories stored in the feather flowed into my mind.
This feather had been planted earlier to monitor Abel, but it had returned with more bitter memories than expected.
Abel had taken over the authority to select priests for the Grand Temple, a power unique to House Feros.
And along with that, he was slowly but steadily pushing for the revocation of Hyle’s Marquis title…
The scenes contained in the feather all featured people connected to me.
From Hyle to Izel, Abel, and the High Priest.
“I’m at the center of all this turmoil. It seems that to stop Hyle from losing his Marquis title and to halt Abel’s actions, I must move…”
A bitter smile escaped me.
I hadn’t felt much responsibility for everything that had happened so far, but lately, that had become difficult.
The unfair treatment Hyle kept receiving, and the fact that despite having enough power to refute it, he deliberately chose not to.
It was all because of me. That’s why I couldn’t move rashly or overturn things on my own.
“The sky is a bit gloomy today. Is it because it’s the day the moon wanes?”
“The moon wanes?”
Among Lynn’s chattering words, one sentence particularly stuck in my ear.
I immediately turned to Lynn and asked again.
“Yes, since the last one was a half-moon, now it’s time for the new moon. Personally, I find the new moon prettier than the crescent moon. It’s more mysterious.”
“Lady Laté, a divine prophecy is expected to come down soon. The day when the moon wanes to half is the day Renesia delivers her message.”
Suddenly, I recalled what Xenoph had said.
The day the moon wanes! That was today. So today was the day the goddess’s prophecy would come down!
I had no intention of going to the temple to hear the prophecy amicably with Xenoph.
But… my mind had changed.
Above all, since I had decided to look into the High Priest’s mind, there couldn’t be a more appropriate day than today.
“Lynn, send word that I’ll be visiting the Grand Temple. It will probably be late at night.”
“Yes, miss!”
I couldn’t just keep avoiding it anymore.
Since my personality didn’t suit going around in frustrating circles, confronting it directly might be better.
Besides, I had the ability to do so.
What else could I do? There was no choice but to go.
