SON OF THE HERO KING

Chapter 38 INTERLUDE 4: LIFE OF A SAINT

The news of the birth of a new holy daughter came as a shock to the kingdom.

It was even more so since it wasn't one of the potential holy daughters groomed by the nobles or the king.

Her name was unknown, but her Saint name was-Camelia. Camelia Castitas.

She was a beautiful young girl, her long golden hair flowed in the wind and her impassive face gave an impression of grandeur and power.

Camelia never smiled. For she found no happiness in this world.

Her position was revealed thanks to a divine revelation of the goddess.

Her position as a holy daughter was cemented. No one, not even the greedy nobles dared to try to take over someone who directly had the attention of the goddesses.

It's how she grew calmly and slowly in the church while learning her current and future duties.

The supreme daughter of that time, Lily Castitas, was a kind and beautiful woman with few womanly curves.

If one was asked what was her greatest trait, then it would be her smile. A smile as large and as warm as the sun.

No matter what the situation was, no matter how many problems she had, she always smiled. Not a fake smile nor a forced one, but a true and genuine one full of compassion.

Camelia hated that smile. For she could feel her own ugliness. The soul of that woman shone like the greatest jewel.

It wasn't a metaphor.

She could really see her soul. It was the gift and the curse she received on the day she opened her eyes for the first time.

Camelia never smiled, nor could she smile.

Camelia's life was one of atonement.

Her day filled with weariness and night filled with nightmares.

It was painful.

Oh so painful.

Every day, she would wake up and work methodically without any thought without any goal.

Becoming the supreme daughter?

This was in no way the goal she wished for. She just acted because if she didn't work she would simply kill herself.

Her life was dull. The colors of the world were gray.

It was in this gray world that she meets her, her first rival.

****

"How dare you reject my brother?!"

Camelia, who was walking away from a meeting with the king, stopped her steps as she turned to face the purple-haired girl that was screaming at her.

'Who?'

She tilted her head in confusion. It was the first one someone talked to her in such an aggressive way.

"Excuse me, but who are you?"

"Seriously?!"

The girl's expression of shock was so exaggerated that even Camelia began to feel a little bad.

"I am Lilith. Lilith Luxuria!! Never forget that name."

It was the first meeting between her and Lilith.

They were both 14 years old. Back then Lilith was still the spoiled princess of the kingdom and behaved as such.

Camelia's relationships with Lilith was a weird one. They couldn't be called friends, but they couldn't be called enemies either. They were in a weird relationship where they cursed at each other without hesitation.

Lilith's existence was without a doubt the first saving grace for Camelia.

Someone who wasn't awed by her.

Someone who wouldn't bend over for her.

Someone who could speak in equal positions with her.

But, more than anything, her soul was so beautiful. Just like a jewel of the highest grade.

Her second grâce was another woman. A fiery red-haired woman. Someone who was as crude as a sailor and never minced her words.

****

"Tell me blaze, just why do you love Mars so much?"

Camelia was currently soaking naked in the hot water of her large bath as she asked her sole friend, an incredibly voluptuous and beautiful red-haired woman who was equally naked.

"Kukuku~! Don't you think he is super cute? The way he still blushes when seeing me naked is so endearing."

Camelia awkwardly laughed at this. She was on a speaking term with Mars, but she rather hated his indecisive and dense side.

'Just how many women did he harm that way?'

A boy shouldn't go around treating women so well when he didn't plan to answer back to their feelings.

She really hated it. If at least he was doing it intentionally she could call him a playboy and that would be it. But he didn't even do it intentionally.

She remembered the heiress of one of the four Duke families. Her infatuation for Mars was so visible it was painful. But Mars never gave her the time of the day. She was pretty sure Lilith and Theresa were also in love with him.

"*Sigh* I don't understand your taste."

Blaze simply smirked without answering. The two of them were pretty close and they could speak to each other without fearing to anger the other.

"Then, what kind of man are you seeking? Perhaps, those like in those books of yours?" Blaze wriggled her eyebrows suggestively as she said that, making Camelia blush heavily.

All the girls in their groups were aware of Camelia's taste in erotic books. It was generally a subject of jokes between them.

Still, Camelia didn't deny. In her life, what she hated the most was control and what she seeks the most was also control.

That's why she was so loyal to the goddess. She didn't need to think. She just had to follow orders. It made her feel at ease. She never wanted to relive what happened so many years ago.

Blaze eyes grew sorrowful. She could guess the train of thought of Camelia. Advancing in the water, she reached Camelia and hugged her tightly.

"This is good enough. Thanks." Camelia wiped the tears that were gathering at the corner of her eyes. Then, smiling mischievously, she asked, "So, when did you plan to announce the good news? Should I say congratulations?"

Blaze tilted her head before smiling radiantly as she patted her stomach.

"I guess hiding it from you was impossible."

"Fufufu~! I am really happy for you. Do you already have a name?"

"No. You know that stupid tradition for the crown prince. We were hesitant about which star to use." Then, as if making a decision, Blaze said.

"Camelia, why don't you choose the name?"

"Me?"

"Yes. You are my best friend. So I want my child to have a name chosen by you. Also, didn't you say you wanted to live for something or someone? Then, why don't you live for my child?"

Blaze was making this suggestion totally innocently. But, for Camelia, it was as if she received a divine revelation. A name directly appeared in her mind.

[...]

A name that would give meaning to all that.

Letting out the most genuine smile she ever did in years, Camelia softly caressed Blaze belly as she said.

"Sol. Let's call him Sol. This child is the child that will drive away the darkness from our hearts."

"Hum? You seem pretty sure that it will be a boy."

"Fufufu! Let's just say someone murmured it in my ears."