CH 14

“What do you need, young lady? I'll take care of it. Please rest comfortably.”

“Well, that's...could you open the window a bit? It's a little stuffy with the curtains all closed.”

I could do it myself, but I didn't really have any real reason to lie in bed like I was seriously ill. I felt a little embarrassed.

At my request, Caroline ran happily to the window and said, “Oh, the curtains were closed on orders from Priest Jerome when you received the trust. It was to block the light emanating from the Young Lady's body.”

“...Light coming from my body?”

It was a truly surprising story.

I had no idea what had happened to me while I was talking to some god, whether I had turned into a white-haired old lady or something else.

“Yes! It was the most mysterious and beautiful sight I've ever seen in my life. Oops, I'm only twenty years old, though.”

Maybe Caroline sensed my thoughts, as she giggled and scratched the back of her head.

“You're only twenty?” No wonder she looked so young.

Caroline put her hands on her chest and answered with a sparkling smile. “Yes! I just got appointed as an official priestess after finishing my training, and my first duty is serving you, young lady. It's such an honor to witness the unveiling of the sacred trust for the first time in 122 years since Duchess Saint Catherine...”

Caroline was expressing her excitement without any filters, as if she was living a dream.

Passionate people were nice. Hardworking people were nice too.

But couldn't she open the window for me?

When would she realize that she went to the window to open it herself? Hoping for that moment, I watched her for a while with my arms crossed. How much time had passed?

Finally, Caroline realized her mistake and opened the window with an embarrassed expression. “I'm sorry, Young lady. I was too excited and...”

Just as I was about to tell her it was okay, a bird that I had seen many times before flew in through the open window and cut me off.

“Oh, what is this bird?”

Caroline looked flustered as she tried to shoo the bird out the window, but it ignored her and flew to my side, landing on my shoulder.

‘God...?’

With its small, round body, black patterns on its wings and tail, and black, round eyes, this bird was definitely a Korean bush warbler or a Eurasian wren.

I couldn't be sure it was God, especially since I had seen it earlier in the garden when I had gotten lost, but the situation did create reasonable doubt.

I wasn’t a princess character from an anime company, nor was I a nature-friendly character like Jerome... It wasn’t the kind of style that animals followed.

The white bird chirped a clear song and landed on my finger, but to me, who was doubting whether it was God, it was simply disgusting.

“It seems to follow you very well, young lady,” Caroline said, looking at me again as if scrutinizing me.

She showed it clearly, revealing all of her thoughts. The writing on her face read, 'Even animals follow her so well...! She's definitely a Saint! So cool!!' I couldn't pretend I didn't see it.

Sigh. I tried to wave my hand vigorously to chase the bird away. However, the bird avoided my touch and quickly flew back to my side.

How long had I been struggling with the bird like that? I heard a knock on the door.

As Caroline hurriedly approached the door and opened it, Jerome stood in front of her.

“Young lady, I think you should come with me. Are you okay now?”

“What's going on?” It didn’t seem like he was trying to pull a prank or anything.

In response to my question, Jerome shrugged and replied, “It's nothing, just the 'official appointment process' we talked about earlier.”

Oh, right. I remembered now, we had talked about that. It wasn't that long ago, yet I had forgotten all about it as I had been captivated by the suddenly appearing bird.

“Oh, okay.” After all, there was nothing else to do besides fooling around with this white bird.

I nodded my head. Jerome smiled, narrowing his eyes like a thread. “Shall we go then?”

As we were about to leave the room, Caroline asked in a hesitant voice, “Um, what about the bird, young lady?”

“...If you leave the window open, I’m sure it’ll fly out on its own.” Although the bird's eyes looked sad as it sat and stared at me from the headboard of the bed, my words were firm.

Even if we left it in the room, it would either follow me or just wait for me in the same spot. That wasn’t just a bird, it was a God. 100%.

Without even knowing where I was going, I began to follow Jerome.

However, some of the priests I met on the way gave me strange looks. They had faces as if they had just met a celebrity. Although not all priests looked at me that way, when I met the fifth person who stared at me, I couldn't help but suspect that perhaps rumors had already spread that I had received divine trust.

Just when I was glaring at Jerome, wondering if he was spreading rumors, he seemed to have read my thoughts and sighed. “I didn't spread the rumors, young lady.”

Maybe he had read my face or something. When I unconsciously touched my cheek and asked, Jerome answered. “Priests with divine power can recognize Saints by default. Oh, of course, it's a law to seek permission first unless the Saint declares that they have received divine trust. So, don't worry about the rumors spreading.”

Wow, that's amazing. How did they recognize saints?

When I looked at Caroline with a questioning gaze, as if asking if Jerome's words were true, she nodded. I felt sorry for doubting her, especially since Caroline also agreed. The voice of the God who had criticized me for being suspicious and negative came to mind, making me feel twice as bad.

“But realistically, we just met each other today. How can we believe in each other so easily?”

In truth, I knew I was putting up too many barriers with people. It was just that I had lived my whole life like this, and it wasn't easy to change.

“Um, then do the priests who don't stare at us...have no power?”

Feeling embarrassed for no reason, I asked while coughing. There was no one there to criticize me, but I felt like I was doing it alone.

“Having power is rare among priests. Since this is a major temple, there are quite a few with power. Usually, only one or two priests in a temple have power, and even that isn't very strong.”

Caroline shyly smiled and answered that she, like me, only had the power to heal small wounds. She glanced at Jerome with admiration in her eyes.

...I see.

As I looked at Jerome with a slightly different perspective due to Caroline's serious gaze, I began to think that perhaps he held such a high position at a young age because of his exceptional ability.

He seemed even more impressive now...

That's when it happened.

“Ugh.”

Jerome stumbled as if he had hit a rock. Why was he so distracted that he couldn't even pay attention to where he was going?

‘...He's doing it on purpose.’

If I even entertained the thought that ‘it might not be as bad as I think…’, that's when he stumbled.

“Where are we going?”

As the destination seemed farther than I thought, I asked cautiously. Jerome quickly straightened his disheveled clothes and answered gracefully. “Uh... to the Sado Palace.”

Ah, so we’re going to the Sado Palace.

...Oh, wait.

The Sado Palace? The one I know?

The Sado Palace (使徒宮) that I know of is the Pope's residence, the only one.

As if quickly telling me not to worry, Jerome looked at my trembling eyes and shrugged calmly. “The Holy Father is looking for you, Your Grace. There isn't much time left. The building in front of us is the Sado Palace.”

Jerome casually dropped the bomb.

I distinctly remembered him saying 'It's nothing' when we had left the room. Was this really nothing? Huh? How was this not a big deal?

My pupils shook uncontrollably as I gazed at the grand building filled with knights.

The Pope. Meeting the Pope out of nowhere!

The <Isaraji is in a mess> I had read before I died didn't have a detailed description of the world, but according to the information God had given me, the Terrenian Empire was not a unified country despite its name. It was more like a confederation of several kingdoms belonging to the same religious authority.

Of course, there was an Emperor who ruled the empire, but the Pope was above him in terms of life and death power. One person held the power of life and death over the Emperor, who ruled the empire.

But meeting such a Pope like this, and all of a sudden.

“Don't be nervous, Your Grace. The Holy Father is a good person.”

Jerome looked at my shaking self and smiled, reassuring me.

I glared at Jerome with an unimpressed gaze and took a step forward. Whether the Pope was a good person or a bad person, the fact remained that he hadn't told me this important information in advance.

But it couldn't be avoided.

I calmed my mind by recalling the image of a friendly old man with white hair and wrinkles on his face.

That was the image that mostly came to mind when I thought of a Pope.

But when I actually faced the Pope, I couldn't help but be surprised.

It was because the person who greeted me with a bright smile was nothing like the image I had imagined.