Romeo and Rosaline - 31

The moment their eyes met, Rosaline could recognize him. Although their eye colors were different, it was undoubtedly Romeo. After spending countless days intertwined with him, there was no way Rosaline could fail to recognize him.

And he, too, clearly recognized Rosaline. She could tell from his indifferent yet intense gaze, which concealed strong emotions within his black pupils.

Standing on a pool of blood, Rosaline felt not fear but a surge of longing and joy that poured over her like a waterfall. Words she wanted to say swelled up in her throat. It was the moment when she, as if possessed, took a step towards him.

Then, a sticky and chilling blade touched her neck. Romeo raised his arm, blocking her path with the sword. His gaze shifted away from Rosaline, directing his attention below her.

“What is this?”

Unbeknownst to Rosaline, behind her, Gabriella, the head priestess, and the other priests who had followed her, were kneeling with their foreheads pressed to the ground. Gabriella, who didn’t expect the room’s owner to return so soon, spoke calmly without hiding her sense of defeat.

“A mere Umbra who arrived a year ago. Not a rat defying Kata.”

“Ah, Umbra.”

The word ‘Umbra’ that escaped his lips sounded like a song echoing in a cave. However, no one present was enchanted by his song.

“A sacrifice bestowed upon me.”

He sheathed his sword and, disregarding Rosaline standing foolishly, revealed his weariness.

“Remove her.”

As he entered the room, the heavy door closed with a thud. With the sound, the knights who had been behind the head priestess moved energetically. Some cleared away the bodies, while others stood at the door. One of them grabbed Rosaline and dragged her down the stairs.

Struggling to keep up with the knight’s heavy strides, Rosaline whispered.

“Is he the Incarnation of Kata?”

Although he could kill her instantly, the knight thought that the Umbra was simply startled and babbling nonsense. Therefore, he didn’t punish her specifically. After all, many had already died, and more would die in the future. With his mercy, Rosaline let out a suppressed breath.

Her discarded lover had become a god.

The god she had pitied and felt sorry for, for a long time.

* * *

The kitchen had been in chaos for the past few days due to the arrival of over a hundred knights in Arsha. The busy morning finally allowed the servants to take a breath and gather together for a chat.

“I can’t believe there’s a war with Horadin. Arsha is always so peaceful…”

The story went like this.

During the war for the throne, the prince William formed an alliance with the barbarian tribe, Horadin, beyond the northern border, while the dethroned prince sought refuge in their land.

Eventually, when Prince William emerged victorious, the dethroned prince fled to Horadin’s land, and the Incarnation of Kata, with the intention of punishing the prince who had allied with the heretics, sought out Arsha, which was close to Horadin’s territory. It became a sort of forward base.

As a result, Arsha housed knights affiliated with the Incarnation and the temple, while the territories beneath Arsha were occupied by Prince William’s forces.

The war with Horadin broke out swiftly upon their arrival, and already more than a week had passed.

The Incarnation of Kata would go beyond the border to engage in battles and return, bringing nothing but victory. However, no matter how overwhelming the victory, war was still war.

“Just yesterday, the battle was so close to Arsha that it could be seen from the city walls.”

A servant who witnessed the battle, which created fog and smoke on the horizon, trembled in fear. Even imagining it, the putrid stench characteristic of war seemed to pierce their nostrils.

“You saw it up close? They say the Horadin warriors tie the hair of their slain enemies to the tips of their spears. If they catch me, it’s over.”

“Why are you so worried? The Incarnation of Kata doesn’t get hurt or wounded, and even if he does, he heals instantly… Not to mention, his head grows back if it’s severed. There’s no chance of defeat.”

“Eek! But wouldn’t there still be pain?”

“Shh! Do you all want to die?”

A servant who was blind in one eye panicked, trying to calm the others.

“Don’t mock me so casually. Didn’t all those who called themselves the bodyguards of Kata have their ears cut off? If you speak carelessly, you might get whipped.”

“What? I heard their eyes were gouged out.”

The servants bickered and created chaos around the warm fire.

“… Whether it’s eyes or ears, if you don’t want to lose them, you really have to be careful.”

Meanwhile, Rosaline listened to their conversation, pretending not to hear, as she diligently swept the nearby floor with a broom in her hand.

For a week, she thought only about Romeo.

At first, it was denial. Romeo Montague as the Incarnation of Kata? It must be a mistake. However, the Incarnation she saw from a distance was Romeo himself, except for the unfamiliar eyes.

Naturally, other questions arose.

Is the Romeo who became Kata still the Romeo she knew?

The term ‘incarnation’ means that a deity descends into a human body. Personality, character, and even the soul itself must change. However, he was still Romeo. After coming to Arsha, he didn’t utter a single word and only observed from a distance, but she could tell.

His characteristic dull expression, the wide and rough strides, and even his red eyes couldn’t hide the familiar gloom and intense gaze. Although he exuded a colder and even crueler atmosphere than a year ago, he was still Romeo.

If that’s the case, it means Romeo has been the Incarnation of Kata since the moment she returned. Countless questions unraveled in her mind.

Did my prayers to save Juliet reach you? Did you send me away? Why did you choose Romeo’s body of all things?

If you had chosen to be Kata from the beginning, I wouldn’t have needed to leave you.

Do you… hate me?

Tears streamed down Rosaline’s cheeks. She lifted her shoulders and wiped her wet chin.

Perhaps it would have been better if he hated her. In reality, he didn’t even have the slightest interest in her, let alone hate her. He was the great Kata, and she was a lowly Umbra at the bottom of the temple. But even though she knew it in her head, she somehow wanted to see him.

Once the tears started flowing, they wouldn’t easily stop. It had been like this ever since Romeo came to the temple. Rosaline would think of him even when she stayed still and spent her days in silent tears.

If possible, she wanted to reveal the truth to him and apologize. No, even if she didn’t do that, she just wanted to be able to see him up close…

As Rosaline mechanically moved her arms and continued sweeping, someone blocked her path and her movements abruptly stopped. She quickly wiped away her tears and looked up, only to see Gabriella looking down at her with a troubled expression.

“Stand up.”

The servants hesitated as they followed the high-ranking individual’s orders and shuffled out of the kitchen. Rosaline also composed herself and stood up, waiting for the words that were about to be spoken.

“Your name, Rosaline, right?”

“…….”

“Answer.”

“Yes.”

The temple wiped away its troubled expression.

“Rosaline, now that we have placed capable priests by Kata’s side, all the useless Umbras who were attached as servants should return one by one. The same goes for those Umbras attached as bodyguards.”

She shook her head in annoyance. The gesture was more directed at Neche’s new master than Rosaline. Kata was the owner of everything in the temple.

“But the situation doesn’t allow us to simply not attach people. It’s become complicated.”

Kata, the Sun God.

Looking at the records of his past incarnations, most of them were merely roles in which he acted as the voice of the temple, devoid of any personality.

The Kata’s incarnation was the most obedient and sacred puppet, or rather the most holy parrot.

But now, he stood at the forefront of the war.

When she first heard that Kata’s incarnation was involved in the civil war, she strongly suspected that the prince manipulated the incarnation for his own greed. However, after seeing Kata himself when he came to Arsha, Gabriella dismissed that thought.

A feeling of drowsiness and someone stepping on her back.

It wasn’t due to the charisma emanating from his posture or appearance. It was the invisible force that weighed down her entire body as soon as they met. That’s not all. His unwavering expression as he inflicted torment upon the remaining prince faction in Arsha, as if he had done such things hundreds or thousands of times before, didn’t feel human at all.

Beautiful languor. A lack of minimal enthusiasm. A shallow disdain for the lowly.

Since then, she decided not to have any doubts. There was no need to question whether he, who should love even the most wretched of humans, was truly a god.

From the beginning, he resembled the long-lost magic, quickly healing any wounds within half a day. Regardless of whether he was a god or a demon, she concluded that everyone would meet death unless they immediately submitted to the entity named Kata.

However, bowing to the incarnation of Kata and taking good care of him were separate issues.

Upon William’s request, she carefully selected and assigned people to him, only to have their tongues cut out if their voices bothered him, their ears sliced if he found them repulsive, and their eyes gouged out if their gazes met. Just the other evening, a priest whose ears had been cut off in agony died. It was frustrating not being able to lift a finger.

“I can’t afford to lose any more of my people.”

The High Priest mumbled to the empty air, glancing discreetly at Rosaline. When she made it clear to William that she couldn’t have anyone by Kata’s side, the prince mentioned Rosaline, seizing her as a possible option.

[Send that woman named Rosaline, who became an Umbra a year ago. If you kill her, then kill her. Not just maim her.]

Whether it was a command or a request, it was ultimately a directive to send Rosaline to Kata. She was the child Lawrence had asked her to take care of, but the words of a prince who held hands with the Holy Father were more frightening than those of a mere priest of Verona.

“You must be by his side.”

Rosaline’s reaction was one of nonchalance. In fact, her calm acceptance sparked a slight curiosity, but the high priest remained silent.