Chapter 12

Chapter 12

“Noonim, isn’t Frey kinda weird?”

“You’re weirder.”

At that, I could already expect that he’d shout and whine about it with all his might.

But rather than that, his face hardened and had a serious expression. He shook his head, then he spoke with a low tone.

“…No, he’s weirder than I am.”

So you’re admitting that you’re weird?

Strangely, he looked as though he was in a daze. I waved my hand over his face as a joke, but Lisandro grabbed my hand to stop me.

“I’m scared of him.”

“Scared of who?”

“Frey!”

I looked up and down at him with a doubtful look on my face.

Did Lisandro seriously say that with his own mouth about Frey? I couldn’t help but crumple my face into a frown.

However, I immediately schooled my features and scratched my cheek awkwardly.

“Sorry. I overreacted.”

“Yeah. You did. I almost got hurt.”

That’s a relief. At least you didn’t.

“But what are you talking about? Why are you scared of Frey?”

“He’s a bad guy who pretends to be nice only in front of Noonim.”

“You’re like that, too.”

“…I guess.”

I wanted to tease him more, but instead of that, I just stared at him. He was acting differently.

I almost burst into laughter because this kid was stroking his chin with a serious face, but I managed to hold it in.

“What’s wrong then?”

It’s a relief that the relationship between Lisandro and Frey was heading towards what I wanted, but this was quite shocking. I didn’t expect that Lisandro would think that Frey was scary.

Well, apart from that, it’s Lisandro we’re talking about here. He’s a troublemaker who didn’t care about others, whether it was in the novel or here right now.

I was the one who needed to be scared of something, but this brother of mine was an idiotic but cute brother.

But then again, the object of his fear wasn’t Mother or Father, but Frey?

“Is the swordsmanship teacher’s name also Frey?”

The only person he was afraid of was his swordsmanship teacher. But what he felt wasn’t exactly fear for him.

I couldn’t believe Lisandro was saying these things.

“What are you saying? It’s Frey Eckhart!”

“…You’re really scared of someone else other than me? And it’s Frey, too?”

“He’s not scarier than you. It’s just that…”

Lisandro trailed off, seeming to recall something, then he shook his head and waved his arm around.

“Spit it out.”

“No, well, sometimes when I’m near him, it gets too hot.”

“So you’re scared of warm things?”

He shook his head, quietly considering my question. Come to think of it, something popped into my head.

Frey said he signed with the Spirit King of fire, so he might be emitting heat unknowingly because he’s not used to his strength yet.

Even so, I don’t get what’s wrong with being warm.

Isn’t it just as warm as a strong summer sun’s heat?

“Warm things aren’t scary. I’m scared of the hot energy flowing around him.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“Um.”

Lisandro was struggling over how he should explain.

He wanted to say it outright, but it was hard to say it, so he let out a sigh.

“It’s hot, but I’m getting goosebumps…”

“If it’s hard to explain, then give me an example. Is it scarier than my expressionless face?”

“Nothing’s scarier than your expressionless face.”

After responding calmly, he looked up and stared blankly into the air as he agonized. Then, he exclaimed in a hushed tone.

“Oh! It feels like this—like I’m stuck inside a monster’s mouth.”

“That’s a vivid, but really creepy description.”

I didn’t know what it felt like, but I still understood how creepy and frightening it was.

It seemed to be the energy of the Spirit King of fire that couldn’t be controlled. Still, I don’t understand why Lisandro was feeling this way, unless hostility was openly expressed.

“Did you get into a fight with Frey?”

“No! He just always ignores me!”

The kind and gentle Frey?

I couldn’t imagine it, but Lisandro wouldn’t lie about that.

I knew well that he was a child who’d rather close his mouth than lie to my face.

Of course, there were times when he told little lies, but I didn’t really care about those.

“Do you want me to ask him?”

“No, I’ll overcome it by myself.”

“What do you mean, overcome?”

“I’ll win over him!”

Then, he stood up abruptly.

“Why are you up?”

“I’m going to train! I’ve been whining to Noonim a lot, but now I have to train.”

“As long as you feel better.”

Lisandro answered “Yes!” energetically and he was already about to leave, but he paused midway.

It was so comical that I wanted to laugh, but I spoke instead.

“What’re you doing? Are you dancing like that because you don’t want to leave?”

“Can we eat desserts together later?”

It’s not something impossible, but Lisandro’s eyes were so desperate. I smiled and answered casually.

“I’ll prepare peach pudding for us, so come later.”

After making an excited noise again, he disappeared through the door. I hurriedly took off my glove and stared at my palm.

There was a faint pattern shining on it.

“…It’s getting more visible.”

I frowned, put on my gloves again, then rose from my seat.

The stigmata that had been appearing and disappearing for a while… has been shining lightly for three days.

Soon, the stigmata would settle and be more permanent. I had no time to waste anymore.

I headed to my mother’s office.

After Lisandro and Frey’s relationship headed in a satisfactory direction, I went ahead and researched day and night about the temple and their saints.

There’s a saying about knowing yourself and knowing your enemies in order to win, so I investigated as soon as I could.

Fortunately, even as the stigmata grew more visible, there was still no visit from the temple.

It’s quiet, but it was making me nervous the more time passed. To be honest, I couldn’t get that much information on the temple.

No matter how many books I read, there’s only so much I could access as a child.

Most of all, the novels I read were mostly intermediate level and revealed nothing important.

I died as an adult and retained that mentality here when I was reincarnated, but the knowledge I had was about Korea, not the knowledge here.

So right now, I’m here to ask advice from the person who knew more about it than books—my mother, the Duke of the Rogelio family.

There’s also my father who’s an archmage, but it’s natural that I thought of my mother first because she knew more about politics than my father did.

And apart from that, it’s difficult to see my father these days because he’s locked up in his laboratory doing some kind of research. It was impossible to wrench him out of that lab once he went in.

Through all the books I read while trying to investigate the Temple of L’Aquila and the saint representing the Angelus Empire, what I knew didn’t differ much from what I read.

The temple and the saint were entities who would unconditionally contribute to the Empire while embracing everything, and the saint was truly noble at heart.

The god L’Aquila uses the saint as a proxy to get rid of immorality and sin while judging everyone fairly. With the temple built at the Imperial capital, both the temple and the saint spared no second thought in sharing and distributing aid to others, and they represented absolute good.

The temple was a building made out of carved white marble, and it was an indispensable and beautiful building that was precious to the Angelus Empire.

But rather than being impressed by the books’ contents that were full of praise, I was suspicious of it.

There was no institution in the world who didn’t hide behind lies.

And was there such a person who could devote themselves to the masses without any greed?

Despite existing for a long time, the temple had never wielded any power that could be comparable to the Imperial family. The saint, too.

If this continued for a long time, a hole would eventually fester within such an institution.

I didn’t know what anyone else thought, but I definitely believe that nothing would last forever.

And stagnant water was bound to rot—and yet the people continued to revere the temple without any qualms.

Was that truly it? Was the temple just really nice and pure?

But regardless of this thought, my mother was also resolute.

“They seem so nice that I couldn’t help but think they’re foolish.”

The temple was really…

“Clean?” I asked.

“That’s right. Of course, there must be some selfish people in the temple, but they’re all kind and generous to others.”

“…Really?”

“I understand why you think it’s unbelievable.”

My mother smiled as she saw my mouth open in surprise, and she lifted my chin to close it.

“I’m sure. They don’t have any material desire or even hunger for it. There’s even a joke going around that absolute good was created by the temple.”

Even if the temple did not have the saint who served as the voice of god, the people still revered the temple.

In addition, the temple’s honor was steadfast thanks to the holy grounds bestowed upon them by the god L’Aquila, and these holy grounds protected them.

The holy ground was a piece of land literally blessed by L’Aquila, and monsters could never step inside.

The main holy grounds were at the capital. But other than that, there were also other holy grounds around the Angelus Empire.

That’s why even the Imperial family couldn’t touch the temple.

No, not even just that—the Imperial family loved the temple in the first place.

With the temple fully supported by the citizens, to the point that it’s quite foolish that there isn’t any doubt thrown at them, the Imperial family believed in the absolute good of the temple.

“But the temple is in danger now because there’s no saint, and the people are growing impatient as they constantly dry up the temple.”

Despite the humiliation and contempt that were starting to get directed at them, the temple continued to step forward and volunteered for the people. My eyebrows furrowed on their own.

“What is the Imperial family doing?”

“If the temple doesn’t ask for help, they can’t intervene in the temple’s affairs.”

Come to think of it, the people—not the temple—were the problem. The Imperial family pitied the temple and helped from behind, but it’s hard to carry everything.

Indeed, even Crimson was like that.

He lamented the fact that the saint did not appear, and he was sincerely sorrowful about the fact that the temple was losing its power.

Crimson was the Crown Prince. The Imperial family and our family were close, so we’ve known each other since we were very young.

We’re close enough that I called him Oraboni,* however, it’s been more difficult to see him these days ever since he entered the academy.

At that point, it was Frey who visited us often here at our mansion.

Crimson was the one who grieved the most when Yurenia died in the novel. He was also the one who tried to put a stop to Lisandro.

While Lisandro was slowly spiraling, more nobles died along the way, and so the others blocked Crimson from stopping him. They were worried that this would spark something else.

Lisandro had already become the head of the Rogelio family at that time. They couldn’t even stop him from going crazy.

They begged Crimson to leave Lisandro alone. That mad dog never did much harm outside Frey and his own family anyway, was what they said.

Crimson had become the Emperor, and Yurenia wasn’t the only one he must protect.

He had to lead an example to the nobles and the masses, and so he was forced to give up one person in favor of many.

When he heard that Yurenia died, he could only cry his eyes out.

Well, my thoughts went elsewhere, but at the end of it all, it’s clear that Crimson also believed in the temple whole-heartedly and followed their will once he became Emperor.

He was happier than anyone when Yurenia was proclaimed the saint.

“Then what will happen if a saint appears while the temple is in this condition?”

The more I listened to my mother’s words, the more I became anxious, and so I asked her this with a hushed voice. But without much thought, she answered immediately.

“Then it wouldn’t be strange at all if the saint suffocates under all that pressure.”

…Sh*t.

I held back my tongue as I was about to curse.

“They’ll bet everything on the saint, right?”

“It depends on what the temple plans to do.”

My hands clenched into fists unconsciously.

I don’t want to suffocate like that.

It wasn’t the pressure I’m afraid of, but I hated the fact that my life would be theirs—I would rather die than have to dedicate and sacrifice myself like that.

I would be left without any freedom, and I’d be forced to pray and be constantly devoted. I would need to smile all day until my face would cramp.

I don’t intend to sit still and lose my freedom. That’s why I came to my mother.

To find the right answer.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead.”

“What should be done for a saint to live freely and only as a symbol—in a way that they won’t have to stand before the people, and that they won’t need to work hard unless the country is in danger of falling to ruin? Surely, the people can live without a saint.”

I put an emphasis on the word ‘without’.

This was what I desperately wanted.

The Empire had existed without a saint for 70 years already.

Unless the people’s devotion disappeared, wouldn’t they all be able to live without a saint?

Wasn’t there a way to stop relying on the saint and to make the temple stand on its own?

Of course, as long as there was a saint, they wouldn’t have to worry about much at all. But if the number of times could be reduced…

I stared closely at my mother’s lips, hoping that an amazing solution would come out.

“Let me ask you a question before I answer yours. What should be done if the temple doesn’t have a saint?”

It wasn’t difficult to answer an easy question like this.

It was a fact that everyone knew.

But my mother wouldn’t ask a useless question.

I opened my lips carefully.

“We need to channel our devotion towards our subjects and take care of them. I heard that donations could help people in need.”

“Yes, devotion. Volunteer work is also a form of devotion.”

This time, it was my mother who emphasized a word, and it was ‘devotion’.

It felt like a light bulb was lit up inside my head.

To interpret her words, it seemed like volunteering through the reason of ‘devotion’ was the problem.

No, no. Devotion wasn’t the problem in itself, but the problem rested in the fact that we relied on it too much.

Devotion wasn’t essential, nor was it a requisite to help the masses.

It was something that was used because people felt it, and it’s thought to be the remedy to problems.

There’s something that I immediately realized thanks to my time volunteering at school before. I could tell just by looking at my previous world.

Even when there wasn’t any devotion, it was more systemic there than it is here in my current world.

There were vocational schools to help people get jobs, and there were institutions that gave away free food for the people who were starving.

Without devotion, there were many good doctors here, too. Just look at Dr. Terry.

If there aren’t enough good doctors, then just teach more people to have more doctors. Even if it’s not that, the temple itself was versed in medical knowledge.

Devotion is devotion, but the temple could do it as long as they were smart about it. Of course, it’s better to have that than having no devotion.

Because it could have a better effect than other doctors.

But even so, what if a saint wouldn’t appear for more than seven decades?

What if a saint wouldn’t appear and the temple eventually lost its power?

Although it wouldn’t collapse because it was the Empire’s state religion, it was likely that their reputation would fade and they’d slowly be forgotten.

My mother knew not only the problem, but also the solution.

That’s why she made me think hard to guide me towards this conclusion.

But why did my mother stay still even though she had the ability to change it all?

“Mom knows another way, but why didn’t you do anything?”

“Is there a reason for me to help them?”

I couldn’t answer her question. As my mother said, there really was no reason for her to do so.

She didn’t know yet that I’ll become a saint, so of course she wouldn’t have thought of doing something about it.

As a cool-headed businesswoman who thoroughly weighed the profits of every move, as well as being the head of the Rogelio family, there was no reason for my mother to go out on a limb.

The temple would have been grateful enough if she made a large donation.

——

t/n:

* Oraboni is the more formal version of ‘Oppa’, and both are used by younger girls/women to address older boys/men who they’re related to or close to as friends

– I apologize if some parts of this chapter are unclear. I tried to interpret that huge worldbuilding info dump to the best of my ability, but to be honest, it was hella tricky…… hopefully everything gets cleared up in the future chapters!

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────