“So how did you kiss?”

“K-k-kiss? Don’t say it so loud.”

“Oh, you just said it yourself with your own mouth. You kissed!”

“I told you to be quiet!”

Because of Michael jumping around and telling her to be quiet, Cynthia had to eat her strawberry cake with a fork. To think that someone like Michael was the only person who could help her. It even hurt her pride a little. 

Michael was twisting his body awkwardly and blushing, which didn’t suit him at all. Disgusted by the sight, Cynthia turned her gaze to the surroundings. The red roses filling the garden were beautiful.

There was only one reason Cynthia stayed in her seat listening to Michael’s nonsense. It was because of Ezekiel. 

Being able to see Ezekiel’s face when visiting the temple? That was good. Being able to have conversations with Ezekiel after mass ended—if you could even call that a conversation? That was good too.

The problem was that the psychological distance between her and Ezekiel wasn’t narrowing at all. After visiting the temple every week for years and faithfully donating to the temple, fundamental doubts began to arise. 

Was this the proper attitude for someone with unrequited love? Was she currently experiencing unrequited love, or was she going to the temple to praise the Goddess?

What if her unrequited love ended without ever having a proper conversation with Ezekiel? 

When that sense of crisis hit her and she began seriously contemplating, Michael subtly came to brag about his romantic situation. 

It was major news that he had kissed someone he liked. What? Michael? How exactly? How did he become close with someone he liked, start dating, and kiss them? 

She felt she needed to know about that method. So Cynthia barged into Michael’s house without warning.

Michael’s parents welcomed Cynthia warmly. That’s right. Cynthia and Michael had built their friendship since childhood, which she couldn’t even remember. This was because Cynthia’s mother and Michael’s mother had shared a friendship since before marriage. 

As a result, the children of these two people, who married around the same time and gave birth around the same time, were also forced to continue their friendship.

Anyway, what Cynthia wanted to hear was the process of how the two shared their hearts before kissing, but Michael just blushed and rattled off useless information like ‘that person is older than me, good with a sword, and very considerate.’

That’s not what’s important right now! When impatient Cynthia got straight to the point and asked ‘how did you kiss,’ he twisted his body in that disgusting manner. Cynthia had no choice but to listen to all of Michael’s gushing.

But when it went on for over thirty minutes, she thought it was getting a bit excessive. Should she ask someone else now? Wouldn’t it be better to read romance novels instead? 

Cynthia seriously considered whether to jump up and leave. When Michael saw that Cynthia was really showing signs of running away, he quietly stopped bragging about his love life.

“So how did you get to the point of kissing that person who’s older than you, good with swords, and considerate?”

“First… you’d have to meet often, right?”

“I already see his face every week though?”

“Not at the temple, you idiot. You have to meet outside the temple.”

“Outside the temple?”

“Right. You have to meet outside the temple and talk about what you each like, what you do on your days off, stuff like that to become close. Understanding and sharing each other’s preferences is important.”

Listening to Michael’s story, it made sense. Had she ever met Ezekiel outside the temple? Not even once. Was this the problem? Was this why she felt like she’d become a temple-obsessed believer? 

Come to think of it, they had only faced each other at the temple until now. This was the biggest problem!

For once, Michael seemed to be saying something helpful. He’d never been helpful in his life, but there must have been a reason this guy managed to kiss someone. 

After figuring out the answer, Cynthia roughly threw him a thanks and fled from the spot. She saw signs that Michael was about to start bragging about ‘that person’ again with a red face.

Throughout the carriage ride home, Cynthia pondered what kind of date she wanted to have with Ezekiel. First, she wanted to go to a cafe with Ezekiel, have some tea, and talk about personal things like each other’s hobbies. 

Then she wanted to stroll the streets looking at flowers, and sit side by side watching a play. Additionally, wouldn’t it be nice to buy Ezekiel some clothes? She felt she’d have no other wishes if she could see Ezekiel in casual clothes instead of priest robes.

But unfortunately, Ezekiel was a busy future Pope with many official duties, so he rarely left the temple. Even when he did go out, it was mostly to be summoned to the imperial palace or to help temples in other regions. 

How could a person be like that? How could someone live a life filled only with faith!

Talking to Ezekiel and giving him gifts were within Cynthia’s capabilities. But dragging Ezekiel out of the temple was completely beyond what Cynthia could manage. Should she set fire to the temple? Or threaten him? 

If she pulled such stunts, she’d be dragged to court. She had to think of a method that was both legal and not too obvious.

What should she do? Like Michael said, she needed to do something date-like for love to bloom or not, but if the current situation continued, she wouldn’t be able to plant even a seed, let alone a sprout. 

Fortunately or unfortunately, fourteen-year-old Cynthia was ready to do anything for her unrequited love. It was her turbulent adolescent period.

To put it simply, Cynthia bribed some priests at the temple with money. No, the word ‘bribe’ was too negative, so it would be better to say they helped each other out. 

Worried that this might reach Ezekiel’s ears, she carefully selected priests who had their own circumstances.

For example, a priest who needed money to cure his mother’s illness, or a priest who couldn’t afford to send his musically talented younger sister abroad to study… She had to keep quiet about more specific cases to protect the priests’ safety. 

Anyway, the method was as effective as it was underhanded. Cynthia was able to find out the days when Ezekiel left the temple.

Ezekiel left the temple only once a month, on the very last day of each month. According to what she heard from the priests, he first went to a bookstore to buy books that suited his taste. 

Next, he looked around the streets to directly observe the believers’ lives. This was to understand what made the believers’ lives difficult. What came after varied depending on the situation, but usually he seemed to take a walk to organize his thoughts before returning.

Hmm, perfect. A bookstore date – how romantic. Strolling the streets to see the capital, taking walks while appreciating the surrounding scenery. Anyone could see it was a proper date course. 

Cynthia gladly decided to join Ezekiel’s schedule. The problem was that it was a unilateral decision, but Cynthia made the decision arbitrarily.

Cynthia counted down the days until the last day came. She was so eager that she drew X marks on the calendar day by day to count. And when the last day finally arrived, Cynthia rushed out to the temple at dawn. 

Since she couldn’t be caught by Ezekiel, she hid in a building near the temple and waited for Ezekiel to come out.

How long did she wait? She saw a man with his entire body hidden in a long robe emerge from the temple. Not a single strand of hair was visible, but she could tell instinctively. 

It was Ezekiel.

That height, that build, that gait. Cynthia began carefully following behind Ezekiel.

Although Cynthia had found out Ezekiel’s schedule through slightly petty and slightly illegal methods, she had no intention of rushing at Ezekiel or shamelessly talking to him. This was, well… should she call it a separate-together date?

It was a date, but one where they each maintained their own personal space. It was one of the very modern and efficient dating methods. She felt like she might cry a little while saying this, but anyway, Cynthia began rationalizing to herself.

It didn’t matter. Cynthia was confident she could be happy just being in the same space as Ezekiel, doing the same activities. She felt like she could last a year just on that memory. 

Her steps began to feel light for this unofficial outdoor date. She felt like humming might come out naturally, but she had to use all her strength to hold back to avoid being caught.

As the priest had told her, the first place Ezekiel visited was a bookstore. A bookstore. It was a word Cynthia had never encountered even once in her life until now. But from today, that wasn’t the case. 

From now on, if someone asked Cynthia what her favorite place was, she would answer ‘bookstore.’ After all, people who liked each other should have the same tastes.

Cynthia, who had followed Ezekiel, entered the bookstore after a short delay. She was completely hidden in a robe to avoid being caught by Ezekiel. 

Fortunately, it was the largest bookstore in the empire, so there seemed to be no worry of being caught. Cynthia very carefully stole glances at Ezekiel.

Ezekiel was slowly walking between the bookshelves. When a book that caught his interest appeared, he would stop right there and run his fingers along the book spines. 

He would take out books with his long, pretty fingers and calmly read a few pages. Then he would hold them to his chest and slowly walk again, seriously examining book titles.

Her heart began to race at this different side of him. At such a sacred sight, she naturally thought she’d done well to bribe the priests with money. 

This was something she absolutely couldn’t have seen if she hadn’t followed Ezekiel at this moment. Cynthia secretly peeked at the books Ezekiel had picked out.

‘The Shackles of Fate,’ ‘Animals That Don’t Submit to Fate: Humans,’ ‘Pioneers Who Bear Fate,’ ‘Fate Never Looks Back.’

Was Ezekiel a fatalist? The titles of the books Ezekiel chose all contained the word ‘fate.’ 

If Ezekiel was a fatalist, then from now on, Cynthia was also a fatalist. She resolved that if anyone asked her philosophical questions in the future, she would answer that everything was because of fate.

After browsing the bookstore for nearly an hour, Ezekiel finished paying and left the bookstore. Cynthia chose one of the books Ezekiel had selected. It was ‘The Shackles of Fate.’ 

She wanted to have at least one of the same books as Ezekiel. She planned to keep it preciously by her bedside from now on.

Cynthia quickly finished paying and chased after Ezekiel out of the bookstore. Fortunately, Ezekiel was staying near the bookstore. He seemed to be carefully examining the nearby street stalls. 

How could even that sight be so beautiful? 

Cynthia maintained her distance while stealing glances at Ezekiel.