༺ Eyes of a Dragon and the Human Heart (11) ༻
The Great Temple had long accompanied the history of the academy, spanning over a thousand years.
Unable to withstand the ravages of time, the once pristine white marble turned grey. While parts of it were chipped, its interior remained majestic.
Historical buildings naturally exude a solemn aura, and the Great Temple of the academy was no exception.
Standing in front of the house of the great Heavenly God, which made visitors feel compelled to maintain silence and humility, I moved while listening to the echoing chants.
A liturgy seemed to be in progress. Wondering if the Saintess was attending it brought an odd hesitance to my stride.
As I hoped my trip wasn’t a waste of time, someone soon appeared to lift my worries.
A man with an androgynous look and jade-coloured hair; it was Yuren.
As he stood guard in front of the prayer room, our eyes met. Yuren soon flashed a sly smile and raised a hand in greeting.
“It’s been a while, Ian.”
“…Yuren.”
Seeing him, I let out a deep sigh.
Yuren was the Saintess’s bodyguard. His presence at the door meant the Saintess was inside.
Moreover, Yuren was guarding the ‘prayer room’. Naturally, the conclusion was that the Saintess was in the middle of her prayer.
It wasn’t proper etiquette to disturb a person in prayer. Especially if that person was not just anyone, but a priest.
I scratched my head with an awkward expression. It seemed I would have to wait for a while.
Yuren, after observing the continuous changes in my expression, seemed to have guessed my situation. He let out a soft chuckle.
“Do you have business with the Saintess today as well?”
“Well, kind of, yes.”
Since there was nothing really to hide, I nodded honestly. Then, with a hum, Yuren moved aside, clearing the way for me.
I looked at him with surprise. However, Yuren just shrugged nonchalantly.
“Lately, Sister has been praying a lot… Do you know for whom she might be praying?”
Obviously, I couldn’t answer such a question.
Even after growing up with Celine since childhood, I hardly knew her mind. How could I possibly see into the heart of the Saintess, a master of pretence?
Yuren didn’t seem to expect an answer from me in the first place. He gestured again towards the door handle, urging me to enter.
After a moment of hesitation, I took a few strides and grasped the handle.
It was, after all, assured by Yuren.
Since the two were almost like siblings, Yuren undoubtedly knew the Saintess’s heart better than I did.
Still, I couldn’t shake off a hint of anxiety. Carefully, making sure not to make any noise, I stepped into the room.
The room was dark, void of any lighting.
It was spacious, accommodating for multiple people to pray. Light filtered in through a single small window, the only source of illumination.
The beam of light descended diagonally. Beneath this golden baptism, a woman knelt with her hands clasped together.
The sunlight cascaded down her silver hair. Although her eyes were closed, one could imagine the jewel-like pinkish pupils hidden beneath her eyelids.
Her clear pale skin, and even the feminine contours evident beyond her priestly robe.
There wasn’t a single flaw in her. It was more believable to think she was a work of art crafted by the heavens to prove their own existence.
She was always undeniably beautiful. With her mouth closed, she was so stunning it could take one’s breath away.
Yes, only as long as her mouth remained shut.
From her lips, a murmured prayer was uttered.
“Lord, please save this lamb… I am disturbed by thoughts of a man who is violent, ill-tempered, and arrogant. Is this another trial the Lord has set for me? We-Well, he is somewhat cool. Considering he cares for orphans, he’s kind, knows how to love the weak, is surprisingly honest, and isn’t calculating, s-so he’s not b-bad…”
A sense of unease washed over me as I listened to her ramblings.
I might not know about the latter part, but the first part was unmistakably about me. Yet, the Saintess remained oblivious to my presence.
After murmuring in a barely audible voice for some time, she suddenly spoke with a determined look, as if she were the heroine of a tragic story.
“If this is Your Will, then I’ll accept it. If-If it’s fate, there’s nothing I can do, right? As the Saintess, I must follow Your Will…”
“…What are you doing?”
My indifferent question was thrown towards her, who was now muttering to herself.
The Saintess’s reaction was immediate.
She jolted as if she had been shocked, then quickly got to her feet and looked at me. Her rosy eyes were filled with surprise.
“Ahh-aah?! Wh-who… I-Ian? H-how… how did you…?”
As she spoke, her gaze drifted toward my waist.
Having a hunch about what she might be thinking, I let out a sigh and clarified.
“I didn’t break in with my hatchet. Yuren let me in.”
The Saintess’s eyes flicked back and forth between me and the door behind me. Only then did she seem to relax a bit, placing a hand over her chest in relief.
“Phew, that’s a relief. It could have easily become a disciplinary issue.”
“Just what on earth do you take me for…?”
She didn’t respond to my dejected voice. Instead, she brushed her hair back, straightened her posture, and cleared her throat.
Then, sneaking a glance at me, she asked.
“So, why did you come in? Surely, you didn’t mean to disrupt the Saintess’s prayers without any particular reason, did you?”
Hearing her haughty words, a sense of mischief welled up within me. I chuckled as I asked.
“What if I didn’t have any reason?”
At my retort, her brows furrowed slightly. She opened her mouth as if baffled.
“What kind of n-nonsense…”
Suddenly her voice that initially seemed to argue became increasingly unclear as she went on. She was silent for a moment, then gazed at me, lost in thought.
After some hesitation, she finally looked away.
“W, we, well.. if not, are you trying to say you missed me? H-How ridiculous…”
A faint blush crept up on the Saintess’s pale cheeks. Her rosy eyes sneakily assessed my reaction. I couldn’t help but smile wryly.
My reply was straightforward.
“Of course not, I came today because I have a matter to discuss.”
Her eyes, subtly filled with expectation, cooled down. Before she could open her mouth with a sour face, I decided to cut straight to the point.
“You met me before, didn’t you?”
Now it was the Saintess’s turn to stare at me with doubt.
Hm? With a curious sound, her eyes narrowed. She looked at me with eyes filled with doubt.
I felt the immediate need to elaborate.
“You just need to briefly say what happened back then. Actually, the ‘me’ from that time was a soul from the future…”
“You’re still going on about that story? That the ‘me’ from the organisation and the ‘me’ who is an academy student are different?”
Story? Even after I had opened up with great difficulty and barely told her the truth.
My expression instantly became sour, but all the Saintess did was giggle.
Well, it was somewhat understandable. The idea that a soul from the future possessing me and then leaving after causing all sorts of chaos, was unbelievable.
It sounded absurd. The Saintess looked like she had just heard a humorous joke.
“Well, he does seem a bit more credible now? A soul from the future… Hmm, now that I think about it, I did feel something different. It wasn’t a happy feeling like now…”
“Happy?”
The Saintess, who had been muttering to herself, froze on the spot, jumping with surprise as soon as she heard my words.
“Wh, wh, what are you talking about! A-As a Saintess, of course, I feel the greatest joy in the embrace of the Heavenly God Arus. But suggesting that I’m delighted to be alone with another man… Oh, Lord! Once again, you test this little lamb today as well…!”
Her rapid onslaught of words made me feel dizzy. So, I quickly tried to calm her down.
“Uh… Okay, I get it, so please, calm down now.”
It was only then that the Saintess seemed to come to her senses. She abruptly stopped speaking. Adorably clearing her throat, she gradually regained her composure.
There was still a faint blush on her cheeks, but I chose not to point it out.
“An-Anyway, you asked what happened then? Nothing much. You suddenly showed up, asked for something, and left.”
Asked for something?
Finally catching a clue, my eyes lit up. I immediately asked her back.
“What did I ask for?”
“Holy Water.”
‘Holy Water’, as the name suggested, literally meant water that was holy.
The Holy Water, which had concentrated holy power, was colourless, odourless, and tasteless, making it hard to differentiate from regular water. But its effects were extraordinary.
I had heard that drinking it would allow one to fully live out their allotted span of life; at the very least, it was an item worth several thousand gold.
My suspicion deepened more. Then, the Saintess with a proud expression, began to boast about the benefits of the Holy Water.
“Do you realise how expensive that stuff is? Holy Water not only has the power to heal wounds but can cleanse all sorts of curses and magical anomalies. For instance, the Emperor of the Empire orders a massive amount of Holy Water from the Holy Nation every year. Rumour has it that he even bathes in it…”
While speaking, she subtly cast glances at me, seemingly wanting to remind me that she had given me such a valuable item. To put it bluntly, she was showing off.
But my attention was elsewhere. I caught onto a particular detail in the Saintess’s description and inquired.
“……Does it cleanse curses and magical anomalies?”
The Saintess looked puzzled, not grasping the intent behind my question. However, her hesitation was brief.
Seeming to think I had a peculiar interest in that aspect, she casually responded.
“Yes, in fact, high-ranking nobles value that particular effect the most. After all, such a result is guaranteed. Maybe it can even cleanse a curse from the Dark Order? You can’t drink it, though, you have to sprinkle it on your body for it to work.”
Upon hearing this, my eyes became even more dazed.
A thought occurred to me, and I tapped my waist. Soon feeling the familiar weight, I tightened my grip.
It was my canteen. An item that had been with me for a long time.
Upon seeing the canteen, the Saintess gasped in surprise.
“That’s right, that canteen! You transferred such a precious liquid into such a crude container! What the… You already remembered, but you asked me……”
The Saintess’s nagging voice tickled my ear. However, my attention had long since shifted elsewhere.
The student I had beaten up in the alley said I had sprinkled the water from the canteen on the princess.
Of course, this was just his account, which could contain minor errors. But when the pieces fit together so neatly, it inevitably led to a new hypothesis.
The future, ‘me’ splashed Holy Water on the Imperial Princess.
But why?
If she was cursed, there were more subtle ways of alerting the princess’s party. Given her status, even a very crafty curse could be lifted.
The skills of the mages dispatched from the Imperial Palace were that trustworthy.
In the first place, his reason behind provoking the princess was beyond my understanding. Pressing my temples, I tried to calm my throbbing head.
No matter how I saw it, it was a bad move. It only limited my actions even more.
Because I couldn’t get the cooperation of the Empire’s nobility.
As I was deep in thought, the Saintess looked at me with slightly surprised eyes. Her rosy eyes were filled with concern.
“Are you okay? Is it because of the Imperial Princess?”
Although it was a given, it seemed that the Saintess had already heard about my clash with the princess.
My concern was different, but still the Saintess’s words were right. Thus, I nodded feeling a bit conflicted.
“…Yes, well.”
Even after my confirmation, the Saintess just gazed at me blankly.
Seeing her confused expression, I returned a questioning gaze.
It took quite a while before she spoke again.
“So, what are you thinking?”
Yet another ambiguous question.
As my eyes met hers, she seemed to grow impatient and thumped her chest.
Her ample bust rippled, confirming their elasticity. It was a feast for my eyes since it had been quite a while.
With an annoyed look, the Saintess asked again.
“I mean that princess! What makes her think she can mess with you?”
What nonsense was she saying, I thought, as I looked at her.
At best, I was nothing more than the second son of a countryside Viscount. Even if I had connections with powerful individuals like the Saintess, Senior Delphine, and Senior Elsie, their combined influence couldn’t rival the Imperial Family. I was the one who had to yield.
But the Saintess looked genuinely frustrated, and I tilted my head in confusion.
What in the world? Was there some secret of my birth that even I was unaware of?
Finally, as if she had reached her limit, the Saintess yelled.
“You have the ‘Dragonblood Script,’ don’t you! How could the princess dare to mess with you?”
At her words, it was as if lightning had struck my foggy mind.
Right, I had the ‘Dragonblood Script’.
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