Chapter 22 – Peaceful Days

Days passed, but Olivia remained unconscious. Despite daily visits from priests who infused her with holy power, she could not eat and thus continued to wither away. The doctors prescribed medication and water to be dribbled into her mouth to prevent dehydration, but it was a losing battle.

The bishop, after assessing Olivia’s condition and hearing Ian’s account of the incident, suggested that the goddess had taken Olivia’s soul as an offering. He advised them to pray for the goddess to return Olivia. Consequently, the two mothers began visiting the church daily to pray. Lady Hershey naturally took up residence at the Keppel household.

Ian was at a loss for what to do, so he did as he was told. He followed his mother’s instructions, taking the two mothers to the church every weekend to pray and commissioning the construction of a new church on the war-torn land, dedicating it in Olivia’s name.

When official duties were done, he followed Cade’s orders to track down the culprit. In his spare time, he read the scriptures, recalling Lady Hershey’s words about Olivia finding enjoyment in them.

The story in the scriptures was essentially about the goddess who created the world, growing bored with existence and beginning to fall into corruption.

As she lost her divinity and was about to vanish from the earth, a man started following her during her last journey. At first, the goddess did not notice him, but when he was the only one left who acknowledged her existence, she could not ignore him. To restore her divinity, the goddess needed someone’s absolute faith, so she told him:

“If you love me, ascend the altar and burn your flesh to prove your faith.”

To this, the man replied:

“My death is not a testament to my love, but to my selfishness, for I desire to be a part of you. Do not spit on my altar or er*ect a tombstone, and I shall find eternal rest.”

This was the passage Olivia had recited. The man died to prove his faith and became the goddess’s first follower. It was also a vow recited by novices when renouncing their worldly selves and rebirthing as priests. Lady Hershey seemed to believe Olivia had memorized that passage because she aspired to be a priest.

“Reading scriptures while torturing prisoners?”

A strange woman spoke to Ian. He closed the scriptures and habitually rubbed his forehead to smooth his frown.

“Isabella.”

“…Tch, boring.”

“Just do your job.”

“You’re really working me to the bone, aren’t you?”

Despite her grumbling, Isabella, the empire’s top actress, quickly put on a terrified expression. She descended into the underground prison, playing the role of a prisoner’s wife, and began wailing. The assassin, convinced he had been betrayed by his client, agreed to testify in court. Isabella emerged triumphantly, smiling as she spoke.

“By the way, I finally found a wind wizard and informed Benjamin.”

“Do you think he will be of help?”

“He will bring someone who can help.”

Ian hoped so. A few days later, Benjamin arrived with a storm. It was about a month after Olivia had collapsed. Soaking wet, he stormed straight into Olivia’s bedroom and grabbed Ian by the collar.

“What were you doing? How could you let her end up like this?”

Ian stood there, dumbfounded, waiting for Benjamin’s magic or fists to fall. Lady Hershey intervened to stop him.

“Ben, stop.”

“But, Aunt…”

“The Duke saved the Empress, and Olivia saved her husband. That’s all. Please, just see if you can wake her with your magic.”

Benjamin finally held Olivia’s hand, placed his other hand on her forehead, and then on her chest. He bit his lip and said,

“It seems like magical overload…”

“What does that mean?”

“Sometimes wizards fall into a coma when they use more magic than they can handle.”

“So, what do we do?”

Benjamin looked at Olivia in silence, then rubbed his face and said,

“I know someone who can help. I’ll bring them.”

“Please hurry.”

“Don’t worry, Aunt. Olivia will be fine.”

This time, Benjamin returned quickly. The very next day, instead of bringing a storm, he brought a girl. She was a storm in her own right.

“How dare you kidnap me? Die!”

Furious, the girl unleashed magic at Benjamin, who dodged while trying to calm her down. Although every spell aimed at the mansion was deflected by an invisible barrier, Olivia’s beloved garden was decimated. Eventually, unable to touch a hair on Benjamin’s head, the girl grudgingly agreed to a conditional truce.

“You will definitely regret saying you would do anything.”

After glaring at Benjamin as if she wanted to kill him, the girl quietly went up to Olivia’s bedroom and performed holy magic in front of the two mothers, Ian, and Benjamin. Everyone waited expectantly, but Olivia did not wake up. Benjamin began to cry.

“Why, why isn’t she waking up?”

“Right now, the magic is raging inside her with no way to escape. It takes time to calm it down.”

“She can wake up, right?”

“We have to try.”

The girl added, “But even if she wakes up, it will be hard for her to live long.”

The girl became a guest of the Keppel family. In exchange for healing Olivia, the Keppel family promised not to ask anything about her and to provide full support. The guest, satisfied, would drag Benjamin outside every day and return at night to perform holy magic on Olivia.

A few days after Benjamin returned, Cade founded the first Imperial Wizard Corps. He used the list of wizards he had gathered while trying to contact Benjamin.

Initially, the noble council opposed granting the same authority as the Emperor’s personal guard, but when it was revealed that the criminal who attempted to assassinate the royal heir was a wizard, and the Emperor drew his sword and caused an uproar, the proposal was finally passed.

Two months after Olivia fell asleep, the assassination attempt on the Empress was swiftly concluded thanks to the Imperial Wizard Corps. During their investigation of the Empress’s palace, they discovered that Lady Bailey, the head maid and daughter of Count Bailey, was actually a wizard and had cursed the unborn heir to cause a miscarriage.

Count Bailey planned to dethrone the Empress and install his daughter as the new Empress, but when it seemed likely that his daughter being a wizard would be discovered, he hastily tried to kill the Empress. Cade executed them all for treason.

Ian began preparing for Olivia’s awakening. He filled the garden, devastated by Benjamin and the guest, with flowers Olivia would like and looked for a quiet, beautiful place for her to recuperate.

He wanted to choose a villa with a mild climate, far from the capital, and relatively quiet social scene, with beautiful scenery. Since he couldn’t leave Olivia, he sent Benjamin, who, though initially reluctant, worked diligently for Olivia’s sake.

Ian wanted to redecorate the purchased villa to suit Olivia’s tastes, but no one in the Keppel family knew what she liked. He discovered that in the three years she lived at the mansion, she never changed a single piece of furniture or wallpaper by her own will. In the end, he received help from his mother-in-law, Lady Hershey, to decorate the villa.

Three months after she fell asleep, Ian offered to resign from his position as prime minister, causing Cade to have a fit, but they compromised that he would take an extended leave once Olivia woke up.

He gradually handed over state affairs to others and spent his free time in the study, reviewing Olivia’s work. Though he knew his vassals praised her, it was the first time he directly saw the impact of her work.

From her correspondence with the vassals, he saw how they initially ignored her opinions and adhered to old practices, but gradually began to seek her advice and change their methods, improving everything from administrative efficiency to major infrastructure projects.

Olivia was particularly adept at analyzing past events, creating statistical models, and making precise predictions. Her forecasts were so accurate that it seemed almost like she had prophetic abilities. Ian decided to incorporate some of her mathematical models into national policies once she woke up.

Curious about her past education, he asked Lady Hershey, who said Olivia received the typical noble education in vocal music, piano, art, theology, history, embroidery, etiquette, and home economics.

However, she completed these courses in a few months rather than the usual 1-2 years due to the high cost of tuition. Lady Hershey initially opposed Olivia quitting but had to acknowledge her talent as she passed the exams prepared by her teachers.

As the harsh spring ended and the unknown summer approached, Ian met many people on Olivia’s behalf.

He met Olivia’s friends and acquaintances who came to visit her, personally responded to the letters of concern sent for her, and found that listening to stories about her was no longer tedious. People consoled him, saying Olivia would wake up soon, and even if it was a lie, he wanted to hear it.

Every night, they gathered in Olivia’s bedroom to perform holy magic and share stories. Lady Hershey, who initially resented Ian, gradually softened, and he began to share not only business matters but also personal stories with Benjamin. Most importantly, his mother no longer avoided him, and on long nights, she would sometimes hold his hand.

Such peaceful days, which he had longed for all his life, continued, but Olivia was not there. When alone, he was seized with fear that she had arranged everything and would never return. These doubts haunted his dreams, and he would crawl into Olivia’s bed, unable to sleep without being by her side.

Finally, when Olivia woke up, she was startled to see Ian Keppel’s face asleep right in front of her.