“Come out.”

“You called for us.”

He returned to the empty study and spoke quietly, and in an instant people appeared before him and prostrated themselves. Declen watched them with an expressionless gaze and gave his command.

“Reymon Liams.”

“……”

“Find out everything there is to know about him.”

“By your command.”

They did not question Declen’s order. The captain of the Holy Knights, who ought to willingly protect and serve High Priest Reymon Liams, gave the command to gather all information on him, and not one of them refused. To them, Declen Clerc was that kind of existence. If he ordered them to bring him the emperor’s life that very moment, they would have gladly obeyed, and if he ordered them to bring him the high priest’s head, they were prepared to lay it at Declen Clerc’s feet without a moment’s hesitation.

The grace of being taken in when they had been crawling on the ground like vermin, no better than mangy dogs with nothing to their names, taught the sword, and raised to a life worth living was a debt that could never be repaid even in death.

“Haah……”

The shadows who had received their orders vanished without a trace, and Declen, left alone in the vast study, began to work through the mountain of documents piled before him.

There was no way he could sleep in this house, with her in it.

* * *

“Welcome.”

Setting out early in the morning and arriving at the temple, Isabella found Reymon already waiting outside as though he had known she was coming, and he greeted her warmly. She had expected to wait quite a while since she had sent no notice and made no appointment, so it was a little surprising. How had he known? Could Declen have told him in advance?

“Rey…… no, Your Holiness. How did you know I was coming?”

“You can call me Reymon. It’s fine, Isabella.”

“Even so, how could I……”

“It’s all right. You can.”

Call the high priest by his name? Every holy knight and priest nearby turned to stare at Reymon in shock, but he paid no mind to the sharp looks around him and simply smiled with quiet calm.

“Shall the grand duke proceed to the study?”

The question was asked in a gentle voice, but it sounded like a directive. Was that just her ears playing tricks? But she was not the only one who felt it. Even in the brief glance she caught, she could see Declen’s expression growing increasingly stiff. He had seemed reluctant about coming here to begin with, and now that they were face to face, perhaps it was even worse. His face, far more rigid than it had been before stepping out of the carriage, was unsettling.

Sensing that something could go wrong at any moment, Isabella quickly stepped between Declen and Reymon.

“I’ll speak with Reymon and then return to the Piper barony. Your Grace need not concern yourself.”

His already stiff face hardened further. She thought she might have said the wrong thing, but the words were already out and could not be taken back, so Isabella let out a small breath and turned her back to him, moving toward Reymon.

“Let’s go, Reymon.”

* * *

“Here. Jasmine tea.”

“……”

“And cookies with chocolate chips.”

You really do remember everything. That I love jasmine. That I love those chocolate chip cookies Bailey used to make so often.

“You must be confused. I know.”

“Reymon. How do you remember all of it?”

“Hmm. I thought you’d ask something else first.”

Reymon slid the cup of tea and the plate piled with cookies toward Isabella and gave a curious smile.

“Such as?”

“Something like asking how I’ve been.”

“How have you been, Reymon?”

No matter how flustered she was, she should have asked after him first. Embarrassed by the oversight, she hurried to offer her greeting, and Reymon nodded with an expression that said he understood completely. He had always been that way. Whatever mistake she made, whatever rudeness she committed, he simply smiled and wrapped her mistakes and rudeness in warmth. Gently and warmly, always.

“I’ve been well. Truly. You don’t need to worry.”

“I’m glad. I wanted to come find you the moment I came back, but……”

“I know. When you didn’t come the way you used to, I figured you were moving differently.”

Reymon’s expression was calm as he said he had anticipated everything. Isabella met his gaze and slowly sipped the jasmine tea he had prepared for her, waiting until the anxious leaping of her heart had settled before opening her mouth again.

“Reymon.”

“You want to ask me what happened, don’t you, Isabella?”

“……”

Reymon lifted the teapot beside him and refilled her cup. The steam curling up from it and the drifting scent of jasmine gradually dissolved the restlessness that had been building inside her. And it was only when all the unease had finally faded that Reymon’s voice reached her ears.

Gentle and warm, as it always was.

“Avilion lent me his power.”

“What?”

“He told me to help you. He lent me his power for that purpose. His own power.”

Avilion told him to help me? And even lent him his divine power to do it? What could he possibly want?

“The truth is, I only became high priest not long ago.”

“……”

“The high priest changed so suddenly that the temple is still unsettled and hasn’t been properly organized yet.”

That much had seemed apparent. It was rare for a high priest to come out personally to greet a visitor, but beyond that, the looks the priests were giving him were closer to shock and disapproval than obedience, reverence, or pride. The eyes of the holy knights guarding the temple were not particularly warm either.

“Everyone is probably just not used to you yet.”

“Isabella.”

“……”

“Even if I’ve been in the temple since I was young and know nothing of the world, I know that much.”

The fact that he was always gentle and warm did not mean he refrained from saying what needed to be said. He simply looked at situations with a clear eye and whispered the honest truth in a mild voice.

“They won’t obey me. They won’t serve me. And they certainly won’t respect me.”

“……”

“Until not long ago, I was nothing more and nothing less than a low-ranking priest they could order around as they pleased.”

How many people’s eyes must he have looked into before arriving at that conclusion? How long must he have endured the gazes of those who looked down on him, felt the hostility in those gazes against his own skin, and weathered the mockery on their lips?

She felt guilty for not having been able to help him then. Reymon had always tried to help her. Even before she died in her past life, she had always gone to Reymon to talk through her troubles. How much she loved Declen, how deeply his cold gaze wounded her. She had always poured it all out to him and found comfort. That night she fell from the cliff and died. Had she not been on her way to the temple to meet Reymon and talk through her worries when the accident happened?

“Reymon.”

“So, Isabella. What can I help you with this time?”

“What?”

“I told you. Avilion said to help you.”

“……”

“I can feel the divine power overflowing in me more than ever before. I can hardly believe it myself. But this power will fade before long.”

“What?”

It would fade before long?

“The time I have this overflowing divine power lasts until you have finished everything.”

“Until I’ve finished everything?”

“Yes. I don’t know what wish you made to Avilion in the past, but he wanted to grant it.”

Isabella’s wish had already been granted.

From the moment she confirmed that a long arrow had pierced his heart and he was dead, until she threw herself from the cliff and ended her own life, Isabella had held only one wish.

That he, Declen Clerc, would live. That he would live whole and well and be happy.

That was Isabella’s wish. And yet there were still things left undone?

“What did you wish for?”

“……”

“You don’t have to say if it’s difficult.”

“I wished for him to be alive.”

“……”

Right. She had wished for him to live. For him, revived without any memory, to live out his life never knowing her. To live happily with Aria, who would soon appear again, without even knowing that a person called Isabella Piper had ever existed. She had wished for him to live a life so beautiful and full that it would bring tears to her eyes with envy. Even if Isabella, who would have to watch it, spent every night with a torn heart and tear-stained eyes.

“Then it’s done, isn’t it. He’s alive.”

“……”

“My wish was granted.”

“Perhaps there is a wish that has not yet been granted.”

“What?”

“There might be a wish buried deep inside you.”

“……”

“A wish you have never told anyone. One you have held entirely alone.”

The hand tracing the rim of the teacup went still.

“Or perhaps a wish even you yourself don’t know.”

A wish of mine that even I don’t know? That there is something I want beyond him living his life whole and well? What right do I have? She had no desire to want anything more from him. In her past life, she had lived on his life. Without even knowing he was protecting her. So now he had no need to protect her. She did not want to make him protect her again. Hoping for his love was a luxury Isabella Piper could not afford.

She was not worthy of Declen Clerc’s love. She had received his love throughout every moment she had lived on his life. A love she could never repay in full. Though she had never once heard the words I love you, never once received a gaze full of affection, she had been able to hold on to her life through his love. That alone was enough.