Chapter 25

***

“Emperor, this bird. I’ll take care of everything.”

I groaned all the way to the temple in the carriage.

Today was the day of the celebration of the new high priest.

Originally, it was a place where the emperor had to attend, but Cardan was thrown out under the pretext of not feeling well, so I had to attend without moving and deliver a short congratulatory speech instead of the emperor.

“What’s wrong with his body? He looks just fine, and he looks like he can even chew stones.”

He must have gone out to drink with a woman somewhere.

While complaining, the carriage arrived at the temple.

It seemed like all the imperial people gathered for the ceremony.

On both sides of the road to the temple, commoners gathered like clouds. The aristocratic wagons also formed a long procession.

As my carriage with the imperial pattern passed by, other wagons made way for me, but it took quite a while to reach the temple.

The Great Hall of the Temple was full of pre-arrived nobles.

The bell began to ring as I sat in the top seat, passing through crowded seats.

The ceremony began with my arrival.

The ceremony was held in a solemn atmosphere.

The high priest in a white priest’s uniform stood in front of the foundation with a long candle.

The successor, who will be the next high priest, also had candles in his hand.

He knelt before the high priest in a solemn gesture and recited.

“A life given by God. I give it back to God.”

And blew out the candle fire in his hand.

The lights went out and only a faint stream of smoke rose from the tip of the wick.

“A life given by God. I give it back to God.”

The voice of the high priest, who repeated the same words, resonated solemnly in the temple.

The high priest slowly brought his candle to the end of the smoke rising from the successor’s candle. As the high priest’s candle went down in smoke, the extinguished wick caught fire again.

At the same time, the high priest’s candle was extinguished in an instant as if he had died.

Before I knew it, the nobles around me began to wipe away tears. Little sobs flowed from place to place.

“He’s the one who baptized me, and I realize the time.”

“You looked at my father’s funeral, and how comforting he was at that time.”

“This is how the high priest goes………….”

After the ceremony, the high priest greeted the audience with a relaxed face. Nevertheless, the temple was a sea of tears.

I was puzzled about what the atmosphere was, but I got up because I had to say something as an agent for the emperor.

She approached the high priest with a relaxed face as much as possible, but inside, she was sweating heavily.

According to the records left by the Duke of Baloa, the empire was operating under the principle of thorough separation of church and state.

As an agent for the emperor, I had to leave a few polite words with proper courtesy, even though I did not seem to bow too much to the temple.

“Congratulations on your new high priest. I hope you will serve God well from now on.”

I greeted the new high priest first and then turned to the former high priest.

“Thank you for serving God for a long time.”

Subsequently, a gentle smile was made up.

“Since you’ve given up your heavy duty, I hope you have a comfortable and enjoyable day away from all your responsibilities.”

But as soon as I was finished, the atmosphere quickly deteriorated.

“Gasp!”

An exclamation of astonishment broke out from the aristocratic seat.

“What did the Duke just say?”

“Peaceful and joyful days……?!”

“I can’t believe she said that………! As expected, cold-blooded.”

“Shh! The Duke will hear it. Everyone, be quiet.”

I was surprised by the violent reaction, but I couldn’t show it on the outside and tried to keep an awkward smile.

Fortunately, unlike the nobles, the former high priest laughed loudly.

“Thank you, Duke. You’ve made me feel much lighter.”

His eyes on his wrinkled face sparkled playfully, overshadowing his age.

“The Duke is the first to speak so comfortably.”

The old man held my hand and shook it up and down.

“Thanks to you, I had a good laugh.”

Thanks to this, the frozen atmosphere was relieved a little.

I smiled awkwardly.

Anyway, the ceremony seemed to have ended well.

***

“Thank you for coming today.”

After the ceremony, the old priest greeted me again on behalf of the new priest who went out to greet the common people.

“Haha, it’s not. The Emperor really wanted to attend, but I had to come instead because I had a fever that was so serious that he couldn’t.”

“That’s very worrying. I can’t believe a man as strong as Your Majesty can’t move.…………”

I had no choice but to look away awkwardly.

That’s what I meant.

Who would believe you if you became a sword master and said you caught a cold?

“Ha ha. Don’t be too worried. He’s recovering fast.”

Fortunately, the former High Priest nodded without any doubt.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

The high priest pointed to the inside of the temple.

“It’s been a while since you came to the temple, would you like to see the candle that the Duke left?”

The candle I left?

The duke didn’t seem so religious as to leave anything to the temple……….

But I couldn’t make it obvious that I didn’t know what to say, so I had to nod awkwardly.

“I’ll show you around. Just follow me.”

That’s how I happened to follow the former high priest.

The former high priest guided me to the crypt underground.

It’s underground, but light poured through the glass ceiling.

“Here it is.”

In a corner of the craft, candlesticks of various sizes were gathered just below the glass ceiling.

In the sun, all kinds of candles with warm lights were seen as sacred as they could be.

The gold plaque next to the candle was engraved with the words “Give life to God.”

“As you can see, I kept your candle.”

The priest pointed to a small candle on the edge.

The white candle in a slightly fat shape without any pattern was even cute. Out of keeping with the Duke of Baloa

“Not many of the nobles swear to God because of ghost stories, but every time I see your candle, I hope that faith is still alive in this country.”

“Ghost stories………?”

“Yes, the ghost story is that if you blow out the candle on purpose, you’ll die.”

You’re going to die?

For a moment I got goosebumps all over my body.

Are you saying my life depends on that little candle?

The former high priest sighed quietly.

“As soon as the sworn congregation dies, the candle loses its light at the same time. The phenomenon gained weight and spread through ghost stories.”

The old priest pouted his lips like a child.

“How thorough is the supervision of the temple? The candle has never been forcibly extinguished, but the rumors are rarely corrected.”

The fact that it has never been forcibly extinguished seems to mean that if you think about it, you don’t know if you really die or not.

I tried to calm down.

“Ha ha, there are all sorts of rumors. The priest blew out the candles at the ceremony today.”

If the ghost story was true, he would have collapsed right away during the ceremony.

“Huh. Yes, that’s why the ghost stories are not dying down. The priest who resigned the high priest within a few days of the ceremony died. I’ll be back to God in a little while.”

What?

Suddenly, I remembered what I said at the ceremony.

“Since you’ve given up your heavy duty, I hope you have a comfortable and enjoyable day away from all your responsibilities.”

Now I realize why everyone is so surprised.

I said to those who are only a few days away from their death that they hope to enjoy a peaceful retirement life.

I swallowed a sound of silence.

I’m sure everyone thought of me as a personality wreck with no blood or tears.

I scrambled to find the right word.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know that.”

Wait, if the Duke doesn’t know what everyone else knows, he’ll be suspicious.

“No, I knew it.”

Somehow I felt like I was becoming a personality wrecker.

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Hahaha!”

The old priest began to laugh so loudly that his whole body was shaking.

“You make me laugh many times.”

The priest grinned as he wiped away the tears from his eyes.

“You don’t have to apologize. I’m rather relieved.”

“Yes………….”

“I’m more curious”

The old priest leaned toward me in a whisper.

“Normally, only commoners, especially commoners who are in such a desperate situation that they want to give their lives to God, are lighting candles. What did the Duke swear by lighting candles?”

For a moment I watched the candles overflowing in silence.

A duke so silent that she is threatened with assassination every time.

What was she thinking about leaving a candle lit that might take her life?

What’s so desperate? What did you want from God?

“That’s true.”

I laughed awkwardly.

“I don’t remember well.”