* * *

Delilah stepped out of the carriage and looked up at the Papal Palace. Initially, she had entered this place with Gjorn’s help, having not received an invitation, but this time she was summoned separately without Gjorn.

It wasn’t particularly surprising. Such days come in life. And ‘such days’ occasionally appeared in Delilah’s life. After spending a day different from usual, a clear change would come to her life.

For example, the day a country girl caught the eye of a patron and set foot in the capital. The day she first stood on the stage of the grand theater and sang. And the day a man from the Guardian family with a gentle and weak impression threw himself to protect her.

Having experienced this from time to time, she had developed an intuition. It was a product of the experiences she had accumulated. Even now, her intuition was whispering to her. Do well. Today will be one of those days. Depending on how you act.

Delilah was fearless. If she had been the type to be scared, she wouldn’t have even thought of leaving her hometown. She had to be fearless against the world. Then, the rewards always exceeded expectations.

“His Eminence is in the office.”

A servant, who had received prior instructions, appeared and guided Delilah. Delilah walked lightly down the corridor she had passed before.

Turning at this path led to the banquet hall where the commemorative ceremony was held. The scene of the murals along the walls was similar to then and now. However, the Papal Palace, now devoid of music and guests, had a solitary atmosphere as if the lively National Foundation Day had been a dream.

“This way.”

The only path Delilah knew led to the banquet hall. But the servant did not stop there, carefully stepping into a deeper, quieter inner corridor. Delilah followed the servant. The lights illuminating the path were subtly different, suggesting it was not a passage for just anyone.

After passing several doors, the servant bowed his head in front of a room.

“Please enter.”

As the guest’s arrival was announced, the door opened from the inside. Delilah stepped in briskly. At the same time, a bright blonde man put down his pen and looked up.

The person who called Delilah was Kirion.

“Delilah greets Your Eminence Archbishop Kirion.”

Yes, in life, there are days when a commoner singer meets the eldest son of the Pope alone.

Kirion gestured to an empty chair. Delilah adjusted her attire and sat down.

“I’ve noticed since last time, but your name is quite mysterious for an actor. It has a memorable sound that sticks immediately. Is it your real name?”

His first words came abruptly, without any greeting or preamble. Delilah answered without any confusion.

“No. I changed my name. Actors live to be remembered by the audience.”

“Do artists even change their names to be remembered?”

“Not just the name. Name, appearance, speech, gestures. Anything can be a tool.”

Kirion nodded as if he were surprised.

“I see. Now I understand why people can’t forget you. Thanks to your help, the commemorative ceremony ended safely. We paid the other invited actors for their performances, but you, who did the most, received nothing. They say a name is never passed on in vain, and that’s true. As an archbishop, I felt I should thank you personally.”

Delilah lowered her gaze. Kirion picked up the pen he had momentarily put down. Piles of documents that needed the Pope’s seal were stacked high today as well.

The people believe that the Pope’s eyes, ears, and mouth govern the country, but in reality, the country is governed by countless documents. There were too many letters to read.

However, the pen hovered above the paper, unable to make a single dot. Time passed densely, without even the sound of breathing. It was a sharp silence that could through water.

Ink began to pool at the tip of the pen, forming a round droplet that eventually fell onto the document below.

A black ripple spread.

Kirion looked up. Delilah was staring at him. She finally spoke.

“Is that all, Your Eminence?”

Her audacious rebuttal caught his ear. Despite being in an unfamiliar place and facing the highest-ranking clergyman, she was not particularly frightened.

Kirion instinctively stared at Delilah. She slowly closed and opened her eyes. The process of her long eyelashes casting a thin shadow and then slowly lifting was vividly clear.

She lifted her chin leisurely. Her lower lip, touched with a smile, stood out prominently. Her languidly stretched eyes were seductive, but the eyes within were surprisingly light and youthful sky blue.

“Is there something you desire in return?”

At Kirion’s question, Delilah looked at him with her light blue eyes.

“What could I possibly desire?”

“It was not an official invitation, and your entrance to the banquet was almost a breach, so it’s difficult to commend you in the name of the Papal Palace. I’ll arrange a separate payment.”

“Money.”

Delilah shook her head.

“I don’t need it. Though it may not seem like much, I am the highest-paid prima donna in the theater.”

Kirion looked at Delilah with a smile in his eyes at her bold answer.

“You don’t want money? Then I have nothing to reward you with. Or is there something else you desire?”

Despite the extreme difference in their status, a private meeting with the archbishop was taking place. Even with her brazen request to choose her reward, the man did not get angry. Whether it was magnanimity, curiosity about her, or interest beyond curiosity, Delilah had already guessed part of the answer.

“Yes.”

“What is it? Honor?”

“No. I don’t want to trouble Your Eminence.”

“Then? ……Is it because you are someone whose calling is the stage? You make the audience very curious.”

Kirion’s fingers tapped the table. Tap. Tap. Tap. The rhythm was consistent. Delilah cleverly avoided the intervals and posed another riddle.

“Don’t you already know the answer, Your Eminence?”

“Me?”

“Your Eminence looked at me three times that day.”

After experiencing the last gaze, Delilah concluded.

The first look was exploratory.

The second look was favorable.

And the third and final look brought her to this place.

Kirion did not deny it. It was like a game of wits. Both guessed each other’s intentions but enjoyed the tension brought by silence. However, this tension was only a prelude.

Someone had to roll the dice first.

Delilah did not avoid her turn.

“Give me your most precious thing, Your Eminence.”

Kirion’s hand stopped. The sound of tapping the table ceased simultaneously.

“My most precious thing?”

His expression was subtle. His eyes, trying to read Delilah’s thoughts, scrutinized her thoroughly. Delilah did not hurry.

Kirion slightly tilted his head.

“What do you think is my most precious thing?”

The decision was made in an instant. A desire based on instinct leaped from her lips.

“Your Eminence. I filled thirty minutes for you that day.”

Delilah rose from her chair and approached gracefully. Covering the documents with one hand, she captured Kirion’s attention with the other.

“Thirty minutes. Give me thirty minutes of Your Eminence’s undivided attention. The undivided thirty minutes of the most esteemed person in the nation. That’s what I want.”

She vividly remembered how he watched her performance. Moreover, Kirion’s gaze now was no less intense than it was that day. Delilah was not a woman to miss an opportunity.

She was confident. If an opportunity came, she would seize it. If it didn’t, she would create it and then seize it. Today was practically a fully realized opportunity.

Kirion did not refuse Delilah’s request.

As the Pope’s health deteriorated, the responsibilities that came with being the eldest son increased, turning him into a workaholic. However, he was neither clueless about women like Gjorn nor naive like Rublier.

It was Kirion who had pointed out to Rublier, ‘You keep looking at Satin.’ When it came to matters of men and women, two seasoned individuals had met. Further exploration was unnecessary.

Delilah read the sign of approval in his silence.

She even felt anticipation. The ‘most precious thing’ he thought of was already halfway in Delilah’s hands. It was not a hope but a certainty.

There was no need to trace back who initiated it. Lips languidly brushed against lips. Kirion was somewhat hasty. Having focused solely on work for so long, his accumulated thirst was great. Delilah willingly quenched his thirst.

When Delilah left Kirion’s office, an hour and a half had passed.