“Wow, how can she be like this?”
The hater, ‘Isis’, was in a daze.
Do you dare burn an invitation sent by the ruler, while it occupies the body of the saint?
Even after I showed up to her myself yesterday and gave her an obvious hint?
The ruler couldn't help but click his tongue in astonishment.
Based on the nature of this world, there were many transients who moved across dimensions, but he had never seen anyone like her.
Most of them were rushing to come to the temple first to ask why they were here, and beg for help in returning to their original world.
As for her, she didn't seem to feel an ounce of curiosity about why she came into this world.
“Anyway, her personality is really strange.”
While Isis was observing Atha through a hand mirror, a visitor came to him.
Knock—, Knock—
“Your High Priest, I am an elf.”
Elfie was the boy in charge of attending to Isis's needs.
Isis clicked on the hand mirror, and Atha's image disappeared from within it and Isis's image was reflected as an ordinary mirror.
“Come in”
Elvi entered the room with his hands full of gift boxes.
“These are gifts sent from the Imperial Palace.
The High Priest requested that they be distributed to the High Priests as well, so I brought them.”
Elvi placed the pile of boxes in a corner, then opened the top box to show him the contents.
There were various types of cakes and teas, finely engraved buttons, luxurious cups, and chess pieces made of gold.
Isis heaved a small sigh as he looked at the gifts.
Even the Imperial Palace is trying its best to court by sending these gifts, while that girl who looks like a 'fearless puppy' is just burning the invitation...
***
Crown Prince's Office—
The owls gather in small circles and exchange conversations.
“You went to the banquet yesterday, didn’t you?
Did you see the Saint?”
Jack asked very curiously, to which Eric shrugged ostentatiously.
“Of course.
I saw her clearly with those eyes.”
Immediately, the eyes of all the surrounding owls turned towards Eric.
“How was it?”
“Based on her profile, she looked very slim, is she really?”
“Speak quickly, tell us.”
Eric pretended to remember the details to prolong his time, and when he felt that the attention was complete, he opened his mouth.
“She was smaller than I imagined.
My daughter is fourteen this year, and she is bigger than a saint.”
Here intervened another owl named Conole who was standing next to him.
“It looked as if her knees would break if she stumbled on the road.”
“And will not only her knees break?
Rather, her entire body will disintegrate.”
“……”
“……”
In the midst of this silence, a stocky, booming owl said one sentence: “Shouldn’t you be gaining some weight?”
Sainthood was Baum's primary concern.
And they had no other choice.
Most of them had witnessed the Crown Prince's growth, and this was the first time he had shown interest in a woman.
Did he just show casual interest?
Rather, he said that the saint was the girl of his dreams, and he immediately placed her in the Almond Suite, and completed the marriage contract procedures very quickly.
He's completely fallen in love with her to the point where he can't get out.
'Wow'
Frankly speaking, their master was so indifferent to women that they thought his line would be cut off and there would be no successor.
For this reason, the presence of the Saint who had captured the Crown Prince's heart was extremely important to Boom.
The saint owls watched with wide eyes.
To know what kind of person she is.
Well, it's not that they don't trust the Crown Prince's outlook but...
I wonder.
How can you trust the eyes of a man who has fallen in love?
If their master had fallen into the trap of an evil woman, wouldn't the followers have a duty to save him?
'Yes, of course it is'
In the end, the owls showed great interest for several days to find out what kind of person the saint was.
Soon, the conclusion they came to was: 'A human is as harmless as a newborn calf!'
Surprisingly, most of those who observed Atha thought this way.
And if they had to mention something even slightly fishy, it would be that she seems very naive?
While the talk about the saint was at its peak.
"What's going on?
What's all the fuss about?"
With the appearance of the Crown Prince, the room suddenly became so quiet that even the sound of clothes rubbing could not be heard.
He opened his mouth as he headed to his seat.
“What happened about knowing the content of the revelation?”
Jack immediately got up and made his report.
“We sent a team of elite owls, but we couldn't find out what the revelation was.
They seem to be treating it very secretively.”
“What are the owls in the temple doing these days?
Are they playing?”
“We are trying to woo the oracle and the scribe, but—”
“No results found”
Alisto interrupted Jack's words with a cold voice.
In fact, his request to bring information about the revelation was a deliberate test to see whether the revelation had leaked or not.
The lack of information about the revelation is a relief, but beyond its significance, the Owls' poor performance was a disappointing fact.
As per his knowledge, there are eight people who supposedly know the content of the revelation in the temple.
Can't they seduce one of their own?
“We apologise”
“Enough.
Alternatively, how are sea trade matters going?
Inform me of the progress of the work.”
As soon as Alisto sat down, an owl wearing glasses got up.
“Ah, yes!
I will be reporting on the sea trade that will start focusing on the Dalbert Region.
First, please go through the materials we have prepared.”
On a large, unfolded sheet of paper, there was a map of the coastal area along with information about several characters.
“Based on the results of compiling the reports of Count Carrion, who spoke directly with the Marquis d’Albert, and the reports of the owls envoyed to the d’Albert region, the current situation is...”
***
The Emperor rushed to Sol Temple before dawn.
He feigned illness and weakness in front of Alisto, until he finally obtained permission to visit the temple.
But did the emperor really come just to pray?
He even offered Alisto's precious Weifong wine as a bribe?
impossible.
The reason he came to the temple was completely different.
In fact, the temple was once a religious facility of the empire.
But about 400 years ago, with the appearance of sainthood, religious authority gradually began to gain strength until it finally separated from the empire.
Although they still use the same ranks, classes and titles, they do not receive a budget from the state, so they can be considered a virtually independent religious establishment.
However, a problem arose during the process of self-reliance for centuries.
The temple gradually began to close in on itself.
He seemed to open up to everyone with warmth, but that was only an outward appearance of compassion.
If you look a little deeper, you will find that they have already formed a community of their own that holds them together tightly.
This meant that no matter how skilled Alisto was, it would be difficult for him to extend his influence to the temple.
This applies to the Emperor as well.
Even though he planted people in the temple away from Alisto's eyes, they…
They were nothing but holy knights guarding at the lowest levels of the hierarchy.
Good.
'However, this is enough to send one message.'
>The Emperor met the High Priest Calavis briefly, as he usually does when he visits the temple with the Empress.
“I'm glad you're both well.
Governor Isis will be very happy to visit you.”
“Haha, since I have so many!
So many!
Prayers for the peace of the empire, I couldn’t not come.
And of course the Empress would too.”
“Yes, please put aside the burdens of your hearts and have a quiet time.”
They exchanged short, superficial courtesies.
During this, the Empress did not utter a single word, as if she was not interested in asking how she was doing.
In the end, the high priest left first saying that he had a meeting.
Then, the Emperor cautiously opened his mouth as he watched the Empress's reaction.
“I would like to go to the prayer room for a little while...”
The Empress did not look at the Emperor at all even as he spoke to her.
She just looked at a distant tree without responding.
The Emperor felt nervous and added that he had been having troubled dreams lately, rushing to get her permission.
“…You know, nothing beats prayer to stabilize the heart.”
“Go”
Maybe it's because of that cringe look.
A cold and short reply finally came out of the Empress's mouth.
Despite the feeling of contempt inherent in her appearance, the Emperor did not care at all.
“Then, I will go and come back!”
Looking at the smile on his face as he turned around after his quick response, everything became clear.