CH 8

“Oh, I see. I didn't introduce myself,” the man said politely, bowing his head in a refined manner as he offered a formal greeting.

“My name is Jerome Piper, young lady.”

The man who fluttered his long eyelashes and said a nice greeting looked at me with mischievous eyes; it was a look of anticipation.

What was going on? Was his name someone I should know? It sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. Was he a celebrity or something?

In fact, just by looking at his appearance, he seemed like he could become a celebrity.

While he wasn't as towering tall as Seamus or Anton, he was still a decently sized man with a well-proportioned figure, and his small, delicate face and long legs only added to his attractiveness.

The white jade-like porcelain skin that could not be created unless one was born with it, the long lightly pigmented eyelashes, and the lively blue-purple eyes…

Ahem, hmm. What was I thinking right now, facing this sly fox-like guy?

“Do you not know who I am?” he asked politely, lowering his head with a graceful gesture.

“Uh, no,” I replied. Though I could sense something in his mischievous gaze, it was not enough to identify who he was.

“I see,” he said. After transmigrating, I could recognize who I needed to know, so this man was someone I didn't have to know.

“That's strange. If you attended the christening, you would have heard my name at least once. Anyway, let's continue our conversation…” he trailed off.

All I wanted was to clear my head while taking a walk, but how did I end up meeting this guy? Did anyone who attended the baptism know him?

Anyway, he didn't seem to say that just because he was famous, but rather because he was someone related to baptism.

“God is everywhere, young lady. In this sunlight that warmly embraces us, in this wind…and…”

Jerome stopped talking and raised his hands in the air.

I didn't know what he was trying to do, so I opened my eyes and looked at him, and a small white bird with black feathers on its tail flew in and landed on the back of his hand like a lie.

“You can feel the breath of God even in this little bird.”

I couldn't help but wonder if it made any sense for a bird to fly to someone's hand just because they held it out, without being a princess from a fairy tale and all that.

Although I was somewhat of an atheist, I had just experienced firsthand the power of divine grace from the priests of this world, so I thought that there must be a God somewhere.

But what did that have to do with me?

“But the power of God is particularly strong by the young lady's side. Really, I've never seen anyone as mysterious as you since I was born. I'm serious,” Jerome said, smiling as he lowered his arm and the bird began to chirp happily on his shoulder. It all seemed quite mystical to me, but my opinion didn't change.

‘So? What does it have to do with me?’

That was just my impression.

You are really honest with your bullshit. The words rose to my throat, but I ignored him and sped up on my refreshed feet.

It was because chapel building number 3, where today's baptismal ceremony was held, began to be visible in the distance.

“That's my destination. Thank you for bringing me here. I'll be going now,” I said.

“Goodbye, young lady. We'll see each other soon anyway,” Jerome replied.

I thought he wouldn't let me go easily because he was saying suspicious things about God's touch, but Jerome, contrary to my expectations, smiled and said goodbye.

However, he left behind a foreboding message:  “We will meet again soon.”

“Jerome! How are you only coming now! Time is…”

I heard someone calling Jerome from behind and turned to see a priest dressed in a plain brown priest's robe running towards Jerome with a splendid ceremonial robe in his hands.

I didn’t know what was going on, but he must have been caught while skipping and taking naps. Because he was a really bad priest.

I shook my head and headed for the chapel.

***

I hurried my steps and entered the grand chapel in a state of urgency. Fortunately, it didn't seem like I was completely late, as the baptism ceremony had not yet begun.

“Lucy, you're late. Come here and sit down.”

My mother, who had spotted me entering the chapel, called me with a stern face.

Maybe because she was my mother, I ended up sitting in the front row. There was a staff with wings symbolizing God standing right in front of me, and a large bowl containing holy water was placed in front of it.

“…Is it because of me that it hasn't started yet?” I asked, putting my worries into words.

My father sighed and replied, “It seems that the priest in charge of the ceremony is not ready yet. He’s a famous priest who is currently making a name for himself, so we had a hard time inviting him. It's unavoidable to wait a little longer.” It seemed all the priests in this temple were bad priests.

How could they be late for such an important event? I was also late, so I shouldn't say anything, but…

“Hey, where have you been wandering around until now?”

Anton, who was sitting right behind me, poked me and whispered.

“…What do you care?”

I knew I wouldn't hear any good words, so why did I keep talking to him all the time?

As Anton was about to refute me, we heard a loud sound as the door opened and the priests entered the temple.

I looked around the priests, hoping to see the face of the great priest, who was said to be late, but when I saw his face, I lost my mind.

Why are you out there…?

It definitely looked like that guy, the high priest named Jerome.

Then it dawned on me that I had seen the name Jerome Piper before; it was written on the invitation to the baptismal ceremony.

…He's a famous high priest. Naturally, I had thought he would be an older man, but he's so young?

“Look over there, Lucy. That's the high priest, Jerome. Can you see the star-shaped brooch on his chest? He's already wearing four brooches at such a young age. He's truly an impressive person,” my mother whispered in a small voice, as if only for my ears, while covering her mouth with a fan.

As I carefully examined Jerome's chest as my mother had suggested, I saw that he was wearing four brooches in the shape of a pentagon, which symbolized the five principles of the Terenus religion.

In the Terenus temple, the priests' ranks are distinguished by the number of brooches they wear, rather than having separate names for each rank.

Except for the arch priest who governed the pope and the diocese, having five stars was the highest rank. Even having four stars meant he held a very high position.

When Jerome and I made eye contact as he sat in the first row, he gave me a small smile. His singing voice was romantic, as if he were saying we would meet again soon.

It was really shocking. He had such a slouching attitude, winked as if he were a sly fox, and acted like a bad priest. Yet, he held such a high rank, and he was so famous that it was difficult to get an audience with him…

Although a solemn ceremony was taking place, I was so taken aback by Jerome's appearance that I couldn’t understand anything that was happening.

When he smiled with sparkling eyes and seemed to suck out people's souls back, he looked completely different from how he approached the ceremony with a serious expression. He even looked a bit cold now.

Come to think of it, when he had said he felt the touch of God on me and that I was mysterious, his words could have meant something else.

Did he really know something?

I also didn't know why I came into this world into Lucia's body. Surely, I don't know what I don’t know, right?

No, it was just a meaningless word I threw out, but am I giving it meaning for no reason and getting hurt?

I really didn't like anything from one to ten. It also made me angry to make my mind so complicated like this. It seemed like I had unnecessarily become entangled with that fox-like person, causing me to worry about something I didn't have to.

Amidst the storm of thoughts rushing in my mind, the baptism ceremony ended.

I quickly stood up, scared of the ceremony ending. It was because I thought I needed to properly understand the meaning of what I had said to Jerome earlier.

But…

“Stand right there.”

As the noisy surroundings disappeared as if the mute button had been pressed, an unfamiliar voice rang in my ears.

It was the thin, playful voice of a young girl, but for some reason, it was an imposing voice that could be felt.

“Where are you going? There's still something I need to talk to you about.”

And with that voice, dizziness hit, as if the world was spinning. And soon after, my vision turned black, and the scenery in front of me disappeared.

***

Here is… Where am I?

I was clearly in the temple's sanctuary, but when I came to my senses, I was in a space surrounded by dazzling light, and I had no idea where I was.

Around me, there was hazy white smoke rising, and I felt like I was in a dream rather than reality.

“Over here, over here!”

As I looked around in bewilderment, I heard the voice of the girl, who sounded like a singing bird. It was the same voice that I heard before in the sanctuary, but I couldn't identify who it belonged to.

I took a few steps towards the direction where the voice was coming from.