Chapter 43

I apologize for the brevity.

A building primarily in white. Surrounding it is a lake. It seemed as if it were built on the lake itself. In the castle of the Sovereign State of Suvania, a woman dressed like a priestess sat on the throne. Kneeling on the steps leading to the throne was a woman in armor. Further back, there were other women in different armor. Only women were present in this place.

"Your Majesty, were you serious about what you just said?"

"Yes. I must meet her. The miko of the Goddess of Fertility, Luciola."

"But there's no need for Your Majesty to move—"

"Luciola is also the companion of our supreme god, Zerium. I want to see what kind of person she is with my own eyes."

The queen, who smiled gently, exuded an unyielding pressure. The queen of Suvania, who always smiled, rarely let her smile falter. In any case, no one would accept objections to the queen's decisions. In the Sovereign State of Suvania, the queen was an absolute presence. Few could voice their concerns.

"Do you have any objections, Seraan?"

"...No."

"Hehe. Don't worry. I won't do anything to Rubelia. I'm sure it's permissible to visit the temple, so that should be fine, right?"

"I'll inform Rubelia."

"Thank you."

"Hmm, then I shall take my leave."

Bowing deeply, the woman stood up. The women behind her also stood up and left the throne room together. The queen was left alone. Once everyone was gone, the queen's smile faded from her lips.

"Really... What is Lady Luciola thinking? Of all times, now..."

Opening the fan she held, she covered her mouth and descended from the throne. Behind the throne stood two golden statues, one male and one female. The queen approached the feet of the statues and gently extended her hand. There were small cracks at the base of the golden statues, barely noticeable unless observed carefully. In the history of the Sovereign State of Suvania, such a thing had never happened before. The statues themselves had been there since the founding of Suvania, and no one knew who had made them. The first queen had placed them there, and they had remained unchanged through the generations. Some of the past queens had found them unsettling. Moreover, the statues could not be moved, destroyed, or even scratched. They depicted two unknown figures, not the goddesses or supreme gods revered by Suvania, and had become the greatest mystery of the state, puzzling researchers.

As the queen for the past ten years, no particularly strange events had occurred, which made the cracks in the statues more noticeable. Around the same time, information came in that someone had made a contract with Luciola. It was pointless to speculate, especially since it involved the crown prince of Rubelia. No queen in the history of Suvania had ever made a contract with a goddess or supreme god. However, similar cases had occurred in Rubelia in the past. Furthermore, a few people in other countries had also made contracts with the same goddess. Recently, another person had been reported to have made a contract, separate from the crown prince of Rubelia.

"It's frustrating that it's not one of us who are most devoted, but it must be the will of the gods."

The other contract holder was a young girl from a lower noble family in her country. According to the report, the vast amount of mana in her body, which she could not control, led to her being brought to the temple, which was the beginning of the contract.

"The crown prince of Rubelia and that girl... It would be good if we could bring them into our fold... Now, how should we proceed?"

In any case, the Sovereign State of Suvania could not remain silent. As a country that revered the goddesses more deeply than any other, it had to lead the way. The queen closed her fan and turned on her heel.