Chapter 94

#094 Counterfire (2)

‘You will lose another connection. How pitiful.’

What did that mean?

Did it mean that the prince would break up with Cristel? That couldn’t be.

The old man’s tone was filled with compassion.

His attitude wasn’t exaggerated, which made me even more concerned.

If I were a local, I would have dismissed it as some quack’s nonsense.

But this seemed to be a device hinting at future developments, regardless of its truth.

Prince Cedric got into his carriage without much reaction and turned to leave.

I asked the coachman for permission and held onto the carriage door...

- Squeak

“Why, are you nervous? Don’t worry. The other bishops won’t touch you.”

I snapped out of my thoughts and picked up Demi, who was circling at my feet.

Demi, who had recently taken a liking to ‘flying,’ loved it when I lifted her high.

After a few flights, she seemed satisfied, her mouth curling into a smile.

I put the red panda on my lap and watched Lea and Perry playing hide-and-seek with Tukshim, then fell into thought again.

‘Are you alright? There’s no need to worry so much,’

‘Do I look worried?’

The prince, who had been looking out the window, turned his gaze to me.

His amber eyes showed no sign of disturbance.

He really looked completely unaffected.

‘Fleur de Lis predicted my death.’

‘...’

‘That old woman’s lies mean nothing.’

‘Fleur de Lis,’ I muttered.

They were the emperor’s direct advisory council of magicians, the group that predicted the exact date of the ‘Great Beast Purge’ and the timing of the ‘June Heatwave.’

Predicting major events in the empire was the noble and sole duty of Fleur de Lis.

It was an honorable position that only those invited by the emperor could join, and it included high-ranking magicians with the special ability of foresight.

However, their predictions were not 100% accurate, and there were cases of reversals.

“Predicted death.”

I whispered, stroking Demi.

I wasn’t sure when it happened, but it might be related to the prince occasionally turning into Sadi.

Sir Haines commented that his ether state was close to ‘fundamental depletion.’

“Your Highness, are you troubled?”

It was the voice of Cardinal Aurelia Butier. I lifted my head.

She had come from the First Priest’s Chamber next door, dressed in her splendid uniform.

At her gesture, the attendants all retreated to the side room.

Her bishop’s insignia sparkled like a jewel in the magical light.

Her face was slightly thinner from preparing for today’s annual prayer meeting for over a month.

I stood up immediately.

“It’s nothing. Just...”

“Just?”

The cardinal’s beige eyes followed me.

Miss O, how perceptive she is, noticing my mood even in such a busy moment.

I hesitated to make an excuse and decided to speak honestly.

I didn’t want to lie to her, and there was nothing to gain from it.

“It was when the four of us went to the trade office.”

“Cedric borrowed the trade office just a day before and turned the capital upside down, right?”

Turned it upside down? I laughed bitterly and continued.

“That day, we met a fortune-teller. He said something ominous, but the prince didn’t seem to care. He mentioned that Fleur de Lis had predicted the prince’s death before.”

“Is that so?”

She straightened my uniform. It was my first time wearing it, so I wasn’t used to it.

I hadn’t expected to attend the annual prayer meeting, but now it felt strange not to be involved in the main characters’ affairs.

Still, after today, both of us would probably find other priest partners.

“She was very young at the time. About one year old?”

The answer came unexpectedly. I looked at her quietly.

“She had severe ether depletion from birth. It was natural for such a prediction to come out. Of course, we weren’t unaffected.”

Indeed. My gaze dropped unconsciously.

The cardinal smiled softly and cupped my cheek.

“Sweetly. That’s why she relies on you.”

-Knock

At that moment, the cardinal’s attendant, Natalie, knocked on the open door and gave me a slight bow.

“Your Highness, it’s time to go. Everything is ready.”

*

-Squeak!

“Yeah, it’s huge.”

-Squeak, squeak!

“Yeah. It can’t be compared to the palace temple. If that’s an apartment playground, this is Lotte World.”

Demi, in my arms, waved her front paws, expressing her amazement.

I whispered back to her.

Lea and Perry were walking ahead, and Tukshim had disappeared somewhere.

It must have been an incredible sight for him too.

I tilted my head back to look at the high ceiling.

The murals personifying the sun and moon, water and fire, wind and earth, seemed to be alive.

I couldn’t help but marvel.

“Lea, look. They even prepared your favorite nap cushion.”

-Grumble

The central temple of the empire was located in the Rigo district, the center of the capital and the largest commercial area.

It was close to the opera house where ‘The Phantom of Padtrua’ was performed and the trade office.

I had thought the palace temple, which could accommodate hundreds of believers, was quite large, but now it seemed like a basic facility.

I held my breath as I looked at the 2,000 bishops filling the dim central temple.

Even they were seated at a distance from each other.

If they sat closely, it could easily accommodate twice as many.

As I and the familiars appeared, a murmur rippled through the hall.

“Perry, come this way. It’s dangerous over there with the candles.”

-Moo

Perry, who had shown interest in the holy fire illuminating the platform, let out a short cry and hurried back.

The reason I, not a Riestan, was invited here was simple.

The bishops, curious about the familiars staying in the palace, had sent an enormous amount of letters to the cardinal over the past two months.

The content could be summarized in three lines.

‘Please bring the familiars. I’m turning sixty. I can’t live without Demi.’

So, I attended as the guardian of the children.

“You can sit over there.”

“Thank you.”

As we reached the back of the platform, a white-veiled attendant guided us to our seats.

In the temple where the ceremony was held, everyone except the clergy had to wear veils.

I ignored the gazes fixed on me and headed for the chair.

“Welcome, Your Highness.”

“...Princess Sarnez?”

There was a guest.

I hadn’t recognized her at first because her face was covered by a long veil and the temple was dark.

I looked at the man sitting a seat away from Cristel.

His face was also covered by a white veil, making it hard to read his expression.

He hadn’t been officially appointed as a holy knight yet, so he had to cover his face like a regular believer.

They looked like a bride and groom, a beautiful sight.

“Your Highness.”

I greeted him. I could feel a clear gaze through the veil.

Sitting in the empty middle chair, the two of them exhaled simultaneously.

“The 1048th Riestan Bishops’ Conference Annual Prayer Meeting is about to begin.”

A voice echoed.

Thousands of candles faintly illuminated the hall, creating a solemn and mysterious atmosphere.

Cardinal Butier, standing in the center of the platform, began to speak.

[We pray to the great god of the proud continent.]

-Whoosh!

Her holy aura filled the room, making it as bright as a white night. My eyes almost popped out.

-Squeak! Squeak!

No, this wasn’t a holy aura.

“Holy ground... Holy domain.”

I muttered, mesmerized.

A holy aura, the ‘minimum’ unit of an ether circle that any proper priest could open.

Of course, deacons, the lowest rank in the Church hierarchy, often couldn’t open a holy aura as they were still in the training stage.

However, to become a priest, one had to be able to open a holy aura.

For a bishop, the size of the holy aura was even larger.

An archbishop, blessed by the god, could open a second ether circle.

This was the ‘holy ground,’ a realm of unparalleled refinement.

While the maximum diameter of a holy aura was 30 meters, the maximum diameter of a holy ground was 100 meters.

Opening a holy ground was my primary goal.

“Wow.”

And the third circle, the ‘holy domain,’ was a space that only a cardinal could manifest with the god’s power.

The maximum diameter recorded in the scriptures was 500 meters.

“Look, Your Highness. The circle’s pattern is moving.”

Cristel whispered. Her finger, pointing at the floor, was tinged with gold.

I nodded and gazed at Cardinal Butier’s mesmerizing holy domain.

Unbroken golden curves, like the strokes of a brush, danced and extended in all directions.

In some places, they leaped into the air like dolphins, scattering light.

I couldn’t help but laugh, finding it not just amazing but delightful.

I had learned that holy grounds and holy domains weren’t revealed just anytime, and indeed, there was a good reason for that.

With such a massive consumption of ether, even the emperor, the religious partner of the cardinal, would have sensed the flow from the palace.

“I