Chapter 275
Beyond the translucent system message, Aillet’s eyes met the shocked faces of Hestio and Iphail.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you beforehand, due to circumstances.”
“……”
It was unavoidable, but she didn’t ask for their understanding. Instead, Aillet drew a line even regarding the parts she felt sorry for.
There was no part for her to apologize for regarding not being a follower of the Order Religion itself.
Since they both knew the unbridgeable difference in their positions, it was now time for them to part ways and walk their own exclusive paths.
Hestio and Iphail were still reeling from the shock, so it was up to Aillet to tie up the loose ends of their relationship.
Her infinitely melancholic light green eyes turned to the floor. Aillet spoke in a subdued tone, mirroring her gaze.
“If you stay here, your position with the Order Religion will become difficult. I’ll send you back to the Pontifical Palace right now. Hestio, Iphail, for now…”
Thank you, it was fun.
Truly.
However, Hestio did not allow her to neatly conclude things on her own.
“The Holy Saint of Divine Descent was a heretic from the start?”
The expressionless face and voice of the handsome young man, with his unyielding and sharp features, were unusually cold.
So much so that not only Aillet but also Iphail flinched.
“Ha.”
“…”
“I was deceived.”
“……”
“Completely, until now. This is ridiculous.”
The expressed betrayal pierced Aillet’s chest. She involuntarily gasped for breath.
“Hey, Hestio! You don’t have to say it like that! Ah, Aillet, this guy seems a bit agitated right now, I’ll calm him down…”
“I was deceived by God.”
Hestio’s interjection. It changed the entire context of his previous words.
“What?”
While Iphail asked back in confusion, Aillet raised her gaze to look at Hestio.
Only then did she realize. There was no resentment towards her in his amber eyes, which she now faced properly.
Hestio began to unburden himself of the story he had held within.
“From the start, we were orphans raised in the Pontifical Palace, so we had no choice but to become priests or Holy Knights. Honestly, our faith was just for survival. Because you had to believe in God to survive there. But still, our belief in God was sincere. Do you know why?”
“……”
“What? You don’t know? It’s because we experienced a miracle when we were young.”
“A miracle?”
“The Orsu Mansion Dungeon I mentioned earlier.”
“……”
“You said a Holy Saint who could use Divine Descent saved us there. We thought that was a miracle from God.”
While Aillet, hearing her own story, widened her eyes and lost her words, Hestio revealed his agitation.
“But that Holy Saint wasn’t from the Order Religion. We were completely deceived!”
“……”
“It’s the same this time. On the Litniel Plain, you, Aillet, saved us—no, the world. But the Order Religion calls you a heretic? Are there heretics in the world who perform miracles? Isn’t that funny?”
“……”
“My faith must have been wrong from the beginning. It’s truly absurd.”
A hollow laugh echoed in Hestio’s throat.
The air in the room grew solemn for a moment at his confession of feeling his foundation crumbling.
Aillet couldn’t find words to respond. To help her lips, which silently fluttered for a long time, Hestio spoke again.
“Aillet. I don’t know how you’ll take this, but I consider you a friend, not just Tesillid. I don’t have so many friends that I’d side with a religion that persecutes them.”
“Hestio…”
Iphail chimed in.
“I feel pretty similar. I think I believed in the wrong God, but can I believe properly from now on?”
“You mean…”
Aillet finally managed to utter a word.
“You’ll convert?”
“Yeah. I don’t want to go back to that stuffy Pontifical Palace.”
“Well, I’ll think about it.”
Iphail immediately expressed his positive intent, while Hestio showed some reservation.
Despite it not being a light topic, she couldn’t help but be moved by their ready response.
Aillet unconsciously covered her mouth. After a long moment, a voice thick with emotion escaped through the gaps in her fingers.
“Iphail, Hestio… Guys, thank you. Thank you, truly…”
“Don’t mention it.”
“Ahem, I’m still thinking.”
“Welcome to the Incantation Cult. I’ll tell you now, the God of the Order Religion abandoned this world a long time ago. There’s no future for that religion. Our Voice-Spirit that Constructs the World is the future. You truly made the right choice.”
“Hey, I said I’m not yet!”
Aillet ignored Hestio’s protest. She had the ability to read the other person’s true sincerity. [
[
The three had recovered a friendship they nearly lost, but they couldn’t simply rejoice. There was still an empty space for them.
“By the way, I wonder how Tesillid will be.”
“Indeed. He’s such a devout one…”
Hestio and Iphail, showing their worry, turned to Aillet for an answer.
“Will he be okay?”
Because their Holy Saint was always omniscient.
However, Aillet herself wasn’t confident this time.
“If I say he’ll be okay… wouldn’t that just be my wishful thinking?”
“……”
“Honestly, I don’t know how he’ll react. He’s…”
…likely to be a Tesillid Argent she doesn’t know.
Aillet swallowed the rest of her words. Iphail and Hestio, reading deep melancholy in her silence, tried to comfort her.
“When we meet Tesillid, we’ll try to persuade him by your side.”
“Yes, we won’t let him do anything rash.”
Aillet asked back.
“Then you’ll be branded as apostates and receive execution orders. Will that be okay?”
“…You’ll protect us.”
“We trust you, Your Eminence, Holy Saint.”
They flinched but did not retract their words. Thanks to them, Aillet regained a slight smile.
She circulated air throughout her chest. After a long, deep breath to strengthen her resolve, she murmured.
“The day after tomorrow, let’s meet Tesillid and talk.”✠The weather that day was unusually fine. A cloudless sky boasted its lofty dark blue, and brilliant sunlight poured down like a gift from God.
Having woken up early in the morning, I stood on the balcony, looking down at the courtyard of the Duke’s Castle.
The late autumn wind wrapped around my hair and then swept away. I inhaled the cold crispness through my nose and said,
“The air is lovely. It feels like it clears my mind.”
<Did you get some sleep?>
“No.”
I decided not to pretend I was okay.
“I couldn’t sleep because I was so excited to see the most handsome face in the world again.”
I made a frank confession with a chuckle.
“Thank you, Agnes.”
I lowered my right hand, which had been fiddling with the cross pendant, and placed it over my left hand.
On my ring finger was the Rosary Ring I shared with Tesillid.
An artifact that amplifies divine power according to the sect’s influence. It was linked to the system and showed the current status of the Incantation Cult.
[
To designate it as the state religion, the name Incantation Cult must first be widely proclaimed to the world.
That was what I had to do today.
“Your Eminence, Holy Saint.”
I turned at the low call. The dignified old gentleman, Aide Edgar, delivered an important piece of news to me.
“A large number of Holy Knights from the Theocracy just spatial teleported in front of the South Gate a moment ago.”
“They’ve gathered.”
I remained silent for a moment, then asked.
“Is he there too?”
“Yes.”
“Then I must go.”
I took the uniform Aide Edgar handed me and put my arms through it.
As I was no longer affiliated with the Order Religion, my attire was also different from before.
The uniform, stylishly designed with gold tassels and bias trim on sky-blue and white fabric, was more splendid yet elegant than my previous one.
[‘Scales that Judge Souls’ admires your appearance in the new uniform.]
[‘Voice-Spirit that Constructs the World’ raises its chin at the superior Incantation Cult uniform costume.]
After draping a white Chlamys Cloak over my left arm and shoulder, I threw open the door.
In the hallway, my knight order comrades were already waiting.
“Yo, Commander. Good morning.”
“Are you all ready?”
“I’ve come to escort you, Sister.”
“I-I’ll stand on the right.”
I scanned Iphail, Hestio, Ash, and Hilde, all dressed in identical uniforms, and said with a smile,
“This feels like I’m being escorted.”
“Actually, escorting the Holy Saint is one of the missions our Silver Citadel Knights have.”
“Ah, that’s right. I almost forgot because I’m the strongest.”
Hilde let out a faint chuckle at the banter between Hestio and me.
I then straightened my expression and declared,
“All Silver Citadel members, move to where the Inquisitor is, starting now.”
✠The end of the grand boulevard piercing through the granary region connected to a magnificent castle gate. On both sides of the road, massive plane trees, lined up like gatekeepers, shed their autumn leaves.
Thanks to this, the straight avenue was lavishly carpeted with yellow and orange hues, perfect for welcoming guests.
In front of the South Gate leading to Peronsa, the capital of Hispenril Duchy.
Currently, a large number of Holy Knights were gathered here, as if preparing for a siege.
Privilege for Possessors