Chapter 2 – What Remains the Same and What Doesn’t (2)

“I feel sorry for sending such a precious daughter to a distant place.”

“It’s for the empire, so it’s an honor for me and my daughter.”

There was a faint trace of pain on her father’s face as he listened to the Emperor’s flattering words and smiled along

Chloe knew that her father didn’t willingly accept this as an honor.

He didn’t show it in front of Chloe, but it was clear from his demeanor and the atmosphere at home that he was troubled by the fact that his beloved daughter was being sent to Scandar.

Not just anywhere, but to a distant northern, closed small kingdom soon to be independent from the Imperial Federation.

For a marriage involving a high-ranking noble family like Lacroix, imperial approval was necessary, and conversely, it meant that high-ranking nobles couldn’t dare refuse a marriage proposed by the Emperor. They had too much to lose.

The father-daughter relationship in the Lacroix family, which was no different from any other harmonious noble family, began to grow awkward around that time. Even when her parents visited during the summer vacation, the awkwardness didn’t dissipate.

‘The Countess’s face grows more troubled every time the Count and Countess visit, so I have no face to show them.’

Perhaps because of this, Chloe’s parents and husband couldn’t get closer even three years after Chloe became a consort of Scandar.

However, she didn’t particularly hold a grudge against the Emperor.

While the final decision-maker was the Emperor, the selection of Chloe involved the opinion of the Senate, and although it was sad to leave Gotiue, life in the Scandar palace wasn’t unhappy.

Chloe herself thought that her selection was the most reasonable decision.

But…

Chloe looked at her father, who was standing in the aisle of the pew.

If she faced that time again in two years, she would accept it calmly. To alleviate the guilt of her father, who wouldn’t believe her even if she said a hundred times that she was happy.

“May glory dwell on the land of the empire.”

“Glory to the land of the empire.”

While Chloe was lost in her thoughts, the Emperor’s opening chant to begin the Grand Festival ceremony resounded.

For nobles living in distant regions, it was a difficult event, but for those in the capital region, everyone attended as soon as they were old enough to understand, so the sight of hundreds of people, young and old, following the Emperor’s chant in the chapel was truly spectacular.

With the choir filling both sides of the altar, the Grand Festival ceremony of the year 913 of the imperial calendar began.

“We give thanks for the abundance granted last year, allowing us to pass through the cold and dark days of this continent without difficulty and meet spring again.”

The ceremony proceeded as Chloe remembered.

Except for one thing, the prayer recited by the Emperor was slightly different.

‘Pity the ignorance of the brutal mob, and lead those who fell victim to their injustice to the promised land of abundance…’

Originally, the prayer was filled with requests for divine mercy, condemning the Scandar separatists’ attack, which was supposed to have occurred the day before, as a rebellion by ignorant unbelievers.

Now, as the festival week was ending without any special incidents, the prayer echoing in the chapel was filled with thanks for the glory of the peaceful era, requests for the prosperity of the imperial family and the empire, and wishes for abundance in the coming year, expressed with various synonyms and ornate language.

‘I did accomplish something.’

From such a minor difference, Chloe felt a gentle but joyful emotion rise within her. She had changed the future she remembered, even if only slightly, for the better. No one else knew she contributed to this, except for those few who were with her that day.

After the Emperor’s prayer, the blessing by the High Priest, and the choir’s hymn, the area in front of the altar began to bustle. The nobles, waiting for this, began to stir with anticipation.

“Now it’s time for the blessing.”

“It’s something I see every year, but it still makes my heart race.”

“My child, watch closely. You can now witness the proof that we are people under the protection of the deity.”

It was to prepare for the “Blessing Time,” the highlight of the Grand Festival ceremony.

When the Apostle’s Staff held by the statue of the Apostle in the front of the chapel, the Holy Grail of Campo stored in the main temple’s treasury, and the Emperor’s crown stored by the imperial family resonate with the High Priest’s divine power, a radiance from the heavens envelops the entire capital.

A sacred and mysterious time when the deity’s blessing manifests as light before everyone’s eyes.

An event showcasing the legitimacy of the empire, which conquered the continent in the name of Erd. At the same time, since the doctrine of Erdism is rooted in the earth, it also signifies receiving the deity’s message promising the empire’s abundance for the year.

For that moment, nobles with heavy seats flocked to the chapel. Some even traveled from distant regions just to witness it once in their lifetime.

The fact that Arthuzen has held continental dominance for nearly a thousand years has been greatly influenced by this annual sacred blessing. After all, it was a divine message, and every year was abundant. Some skeptics sarcastically remarked on the deity’s diligence in responding once a year.

When the organ music, filling the chapel, began to resonate grandly in the ears and hearts of those seated, the protagonists of the blessing time appeared. As the chamberlain, waiting at the back, came forward holding a pillow with the crown, a priest appeared from behind the altar, holding the Holy Grail on a silver tray.

And Chloe couldn’t take her eyes off the Holy Grail.

‘That’s going to be stolen within a year.’

The Holy Grail of Campo, one of the three national treasures of Arthuzen. It was the very Holy Grail that, once lost by Arthuzen and found by Scandar, set Chloe’s fate on the course she knew. In a direction she hadn’t even considered at this time.

‘I will never forget the loyalty of Lacroix, who returned the Holy Grail to the imperial family.’

At that time, neither Chloe’s will nor her father, the Count Palatine’s will, was reflected in Chloe going to Scandar, but the Emperor said so, embellishing it.

The Holy Grail was central to the legitimacy of the Empire of Arthuzen. The union with Campo was crucial for Arthuzen’s coronation and the ability to wage conquest wars in the name of the deity.

Campo was a land blessed by Erd. So much so that the Holy Kingdom was located within the Campo territory. The dowry of bringing the Holy Grail of Campo, a symbol of blessing, as a dowry to solidify the union of the two countries was a significant price paid by the conquering monarch Franz and his Empress, Angela, the last queen of Campo. Thus, the union of the two royal families was conducted in the name of Erd, who promised the empire thousands of years of glory.

As evidence, the crown worn by Franz at the coronation during the wedding of the two was imbued with the radiant blessing, which was the origin of the Grand Festival ceremony.

‘The Holy Grail symbolizes unity, the crown symbolizes royal authority, and the Staff symbolizes the Lord’s governance over all. If any of these national treasures were lost, the empire would lose its center.’

This was how the national treasures were explained in the compulsory subject “History of the Empire” at Ridote, the cultural academy for nobles.

‘If they lose even one, the Imperial Family will have to retrieve it at any cost.’

In a future Chloe knew, Arthuzen indeed paid “any price” by granting independence and giving a consort from a noble family. Considering the Holy Grail was central to the empire’s legitimacy, some said it was a cheap price.

However, despite being described as the most important of the three national treasures, no one was expected to know that the Holy Grail, kept in the Great Temple until the Grand Festival ceremony of the following year, would be stolen.

‘It was a complete mess then.’

No matter how much divine power the High Priest imbued during the Time of Blessing, the relics did not resonate, and no halo formed on the Apostle’s Staff. The surprised priests barely managed to show something plausible to the citizens outside the temple with divine power, but all the nobles inside the Great Temple that day knew something had gone wrong.

The empire was discreetly but certainly turned upside down, and the following year, a message came from the Scandar royal family that they had found something presumed to be the Holy Grail. Naturally, suspicion was directed at Scandar, but some lord had discovered it while eradicating bandits, sold it at some auction, another person bought it, and then presented it to someone else… The detailed history served as a sufficient alibi.

1st Prince Frederick was sent as an envoy, confirmed the authenticity of the Holy Grail, concluded negotiations, and was recognized for his achievement by being appointed Crown Prince. With the succession structure confirmed, the empire found stability. And Chloe left her family, her hometown, and everyone she missed.

“Mother, it’s so breathtaking, no matter how many times I see it.”

At Achille’s whisper from beside her, Chloe was instantly brought back to reality.

Reality.

Whether the days of being twenty-five and living as the mistress of the Shevik palace or the days of being twenty again, reliving them now, were the reality, she didn’t know.

Amidst the gradually heightened sounds of praise, the High Priest’s divine power resonated with the sacred relics, causing light to shimmer at the tip of the Apostle Amang’s Staff. When that light filled the staff and escaped through the ceiling’s opening, the radiance of the Lord would pour from the sky, illuminating the entirety of Gotiue.

Commoners watching a play about the wedding of Franz and Angela at Franz Square, servants working as usual at the Lacroix townhouse, Marco consulting with a contractor to repair a broken wall at his shop, and peasants plowing fields in the suburbs would all think upon seeing it.

‘May the Empire be enriched this year too.’

While imagining this, Chloe was thinking differently.

‘To keep this time, I will have to leave again.’

“May glory dwell on the land of the empire.”

“Glory to the land of the empire.”

As the Blessing Time, which lasted for about ten minutes, concluded, the Grand Festival ceremony came to an end. Now, the Emperor would take the portal in the basement of the Great Temple to the Holy Kingdom to perform the final rites of the Grand Festival over the next three days. Since many nobles had come up from the provinces just for the Grand Festival, there would be a series of large and small banquets at the imperial palace until the day of the Grand Banquet, which would coincide with the Emperor’s return.

‘The dress I had tailored for the Grand Banquet was in a more daring fashion than this.’

While thinking such thoughts and observing the Emperor and Empress descending to the basement and the priests tidying the altar, Chloe momentarily doubted her eyes at the sight that caught her attention.

‘That priest… where have I seen him before?’

The face of the priest returning with the Holy Grail on a silver tray seemed familiar.