Chapter 26

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Supreme Priest, Chris

(3RD PERSON POV)

In fact, not everyone believed in the priests in the beginning.

‘They are only human beings just like everyone else and they can deceive and misrepresent God’s words!’

And not everyone could receive a blessing. Even if they did, it would have been better to not receive one than to receive something like a terrible curse.

‘But what if you were deceived by such blessings?’

The distrust was deep-rooted, but over the years, the priests proved their credibility.

As a reward for their faith, people gradually acknowledged that priests were no ordinary human beings.

‘Their mouths only speak the truth. What they say is only the truth.’

However, there are still many who doubt the words that the priests deliver.

“There are some people who say that…”

The junior priest* looked like he was about to cry, and his shoulder shook as if he was in pain.

(T/N:(*) I’ll call them junior priests from now on since it seems more appropriate than young priests.)

(PR/N: Young is associated with age whereas you can technically be a junior priest at any age, though I think they’re kids in this story anyways.)

Chris softened his eyes as if to appease the junior priest.

‘Even though those eyes are so soft, still, why?’

The junior priest felt a little fearful.

“Okay, you’re not wrong about that, but we should all be careful, especially since one of you will be succeeding me as the next Supreme Priest.”

Then the eyes of those junior priests, who were holding their breath, began to brighten up in a different way.

‘The seat of the Supreme Priest!’

All of them have gathered here, hoping to sit in that glorious seat.

“It’s been over 20 years since you’ve become the Supreme Priest! That’s so cool!”

“That’s right. And all of us are still considered juniors!”

Supreme Priest Chris.

At the age of four, he delivered the message of god brilliantly and a few years later, with everyone’s consent, he became the youngest Supreme Priest ever.

<I will stand in the highest place.>

A holy man. The representative of the congratulatory remarks.

The one who loves God the most.

The Supreme Priest was a position that even the Emperor of the Mielle Empire could not bring down or insult.

“So, junior priest…..”

The junior priest, who previously said that he was afraid of delivering congratulatory remarks, now had a reddened face.

He was embarrassed and upset at the same time.

He realized that his words sounded like he doubted the Supreme Priest and insulted his capabilities.

“You don’t have to make a face like that. Because your concerns and worries are correct. That has actually happened before.”

The junior priest immediately raised his head.

“What happened?”

“It was the same year when I was first enthroned as the new Supreme Priest, but it was still the time when the former Supreme Priest led.”

Chris’s eyes curved as if he was in a dream.

“A child was born. The child was born with a seemingly ominous blessing and rumors began to spread that the child’s congratulatory remarks were sinister.”

(T/N: Oh now we’re having some back story about Hildea’s remarks.)

“No one should talk about a person’s congratulatory remarks recklessly…”

Chris grinned.

“That’s correct.”

The junior priests widened their eyes in fear, since that could have been an insult to the former Supreme Priest.

“The child’s mother was very weak. Ill-fated things happened one after another in that family’s mansion. Then, what do you think people’s reactions were?”

“Then that means…”

Seeing the perplexed reaction from the junior priests, Chris smiled and nodded.

“Yes, there is no such thing as ominous remarks in the world. Because it’s God’s blessing, it’s just that it’s not the same as everyone else’s. Nonetheless, sometimes people interpret and accept it according to their own perception. Everyone blamed that poor child for the bad things that happened to that family, but at least the child’s parents loved her…”

However, he suddenly felt unhappy.

Chris swallowed his remaining words and then continued.

“That’s why the temple decided to bring her back. If there was really a problem, then the main goal would be to purify the blessing within her.”

“Then what happened to that child? Is she staying in the temple now? Have the congratulatory remarks been purified?”

‘No.’

Chris smiled as he thought about it.

‘That child has become connected with the temple, so we need to bring her back someday.’

“Anyway, that’s why we have to be careful. People can misunderstand that bad things may happen because of what they assumed to be ominous remarks.”

Chris clasped his hands.

The eyes of the children, which had been tainted with melancholy, were wide open.

“It was a very realistic story. Now, shall we talk about something else?”

“Supreme Priest Chris!”

It was the junior priest from before.

“This junior priest definitely has a lot of questions. Okay, what is this time?”

“We heard that… You are about to head to the residence of the Duke of Hillington. Are you going to tell them about their congratulatory remarks yourself?”

‘This junior priest is definitely knowledgeable about the current rumors.’

Chris thought so and narrowed his eyes.

“Yes, I will be visiting them soon.”

And he too, expected to meet the subject of the rumor.

‘The treasure of the temple.’

(T/N: Oh my gee what!!!!!)

Hildea von Hillington.

Because Chris wanted to see for himself the child that the former highest priest tried to keep inside the temple, even if he was told not to.

‘And once I’ve confirmed it.’

‘I will do my best to have that treasure back in the temple again.’

(T/N: Oh my gosh I can sense another obsessive second male lead here.)

(PR/N: I think you mean another stalker XD. She’s a magnet for weirdos.) 

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(Hildea’s POV)

The next day, as the morning dawned.

Apart from the preparation for the debutante ball, it has been very chaotic since morning.

“Wake up, ladies!”

The curtain is drawn, and Lira’s cheerful voice resounds inside the room.

I squint my eyes from the sunlight and groan.

As I turn my head, I see Rosé, who is sleeping next to me in a lazy posture, with her blanket kicked off.

‘Oh, yeah. After talking with Rosé for a long time, we fell asleep…’

“Good morning, Lira”

Lira looked at me once with an expressionless face and then at Rosé.

“Oh, is it morning already?”

At that moment, Rosé yawned and slowly got up, with her eyes still closed. The corner of my mouth was pulled upwards and I let out a giggle.

“Come on now, move. We have a lot of work today, ladies!”

‘Yes, this is it.’ I got up like Rosé with my eyes closed. My heart started pounding.

‘Today…. It’s finally today.’

‘It’s the day that the Supreme Priest will visit us.’

‘And now I will know my congratulatory remarks.’

When I finally went down to meet the guests after I finished dressing up.

‘Everyone has gathered.’

Father and most of his adjutants, whom I saw often, have  assembled.

Sien, who has an expressionless face like mine, said as she pointed towards the door where everyone was standing,

“Ladies, the Supreme Priest is now waiting in the drawing room. Please go in one at a time.”

Rosé and I saw our father.

Father, who has a tense face, looks at me and then at Rosé.

‘I think he’s kind of worried. Am I mistaken?’

I gulped nervously because I thought that he would have said something, but surprisingly he did not.

It’s just a passing pat on the shoulder.

‘Why do I feel a little bit disappointed?’

“I want to hear it first!”

Just like she said the other day, Rosé comes forward first with a very lively voice.

Rosé squinted her eyes with an enigmatic face and entered the room without any hesitation.

<A flower that would bloom splendidly.>.

Obviously, after hearing those words, Rosé’s cheeks will surely become rosy from happiness.

‘I want to congratulate her once she comes out, but I can’t stop myself from worrying about my own remarks.’

‘What if the rumors are true?’

Then, someone put a hand on my shoulder and I looked up in surprise. It’s Lira. And behind her, Sien is there as well.

I can’t figure out why they’re looking at me like that, so I blink my eyes and Lira says,

“Breathe out slowly.”

Oh, that’s when I realized that I was breathing heavily. I can also feel the adjutants and the other servants looking at me as if they’re worried about me.

I’m embarrassed. ‘Perhaps it’s  because they think that the oldest miss is not bold enough and showing a shameful appearance.’

(T/N: Nooo… they’re concerned about you, Hildea.)

“Uhm, I’m sorry.”

“Lady Rosé will come out soon. Of course, hearing your congratulatory remarks is nerve-wracking, but it’s not something for you to worry about.”

‘No, Lira. I’m worried’

‘I might get sick from worry.’

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(Hildea’s POV)

Some young nobles may not know it, but all of the high-ranking aristocrats at that time definitely knew about it.

That the relationship between Sears von Healington and the Temple was simply the worst.

Because they had taken one of their precious children as if they were kidnapping her, claiming that it was to purify her remarks.

The Duke and Duchess of Hillington, who were known to have the romance of the century, suffered as they did their best to find their oldest child.

However, the power of the temple was strong, and there was no one who could stop them.

Then, the incident happened. A group of kidnappers took the oldest daughter of the Hillington, which the temple tried to cover up.

Sears was always watching if by chance the temple made a move.

‘How can I trust my daughter to a temple who cannot even protect a single baby like this?’

Sears argued so.

The cause was clear, and the Emperor, who had thought that Sears would finally be back to his former position, sided with him.

“Since this has happened for him to protect his family, I think it’s now time for Sears to go back to his former position.”

At the same time, as Chris had appeared as the successor of the Supreme Priest, the former Supreme Priest unfortunately gave up on Hillington’s child.

After that, the Duchess, who was weak and could not properly hold the twins, had just barely recovered and suddenly died.

(T/N: Okay, to those who still have questions on NU spoilers, here it is: they are definitely twin sisters.)

‘There were also some rumors that the Duchess’s death was not a natural death, but by someone’s scheming.’

Anyways, Chris was not interested in the inside story of the incident.

It is true that he was thinking of bringing Hildea with him someday, if it is proven that she is an object of the temple that was taken away.

However, he didn’t have a good relationship with the previous Supreme Priest, and he had an even more important goal right now. That is why he came to look at her today.

‘Isn’t this the best opportunity?’

“Hello, Supreme Priest!”

Chris cut off his thoughts and looked at the woman who confidently opened the door and came in.

(T/N: Oooh haha, here comes Rosé, she would definitely roast Chris, before he can face Hildea.. Hahaha.)

Her broad smile was very refreshing and attractive, as if drawing the affection of everyone who could see it.

“You can call me Chris, young Rosériel.”

“Oh? You know my name.”

Chris curved his eyes as he looked at the lady in front of him.

A young lady who acts young enough to be called a girl. Her particularly bright pink hair was unusual.

‘The second.’

‘Just like what the rumor said.’

The oldest, Hildea, is rumored to be quiet with a dark personality, and has no one beside her to call as her friend. In contrast, the second child, Rosériel, has a bright personality and a lot of people always follow her around. Since she’s just a simply lively child, Chris doesn’t have many thoughts about her.

“The rumor is not just the truth.”

Most of them let go of their boundaries and showed their heart through their smiles.

But the lady in front of him was different.

“Please tell me now about my congratulatory remarks.”

The way she held out her hand with a dignified attitude was very unusual.

No one had ever shown such an attitude when listening to congratulatory remarks.

The thought of having fun flowed out from her.

‘Hmm?’

Chris’ face hardened at the sense of alienation he felt from Rosériel.

TO BE CONTINUED..