In that brief gap between High Priest Patrick’s departure and Snow’s return, wind blew through the slightly open window. The paper, unsteadily wobbling in the breeze, eventually flew with a whoosh under the bed at some point. And as a natural consequence, Snow received no guidance.

The priests, who were always extremely careful not to disturb the holy maiden’s emotions, did not bring up the coming-of-age ceremony to Snow. They naturally assumed she knew about it, and since she didn’t mention it first, they also judged it best not to mention it to the holy maiden.

“How does the coming-of-age ceremony proceed?”

Thus, Snow finally had the opportunity to properly learn about the coming-of-age ceremony. And today was the day before the ceremony.

Arianne, who ended up explaining the coming-of-age ceremony to the holy maiden, found herself in a difficult position. She had thought it strangely calm. This delicate person still didn’t know anything.

A prayer ritual? The coming-of-age ceremony was incomparable to such things. Well, the process itself might be similar, but the scale was different. This was the coming-of-age ceremony for the holy maiden sent by the goddess.

Until now, her birthdays had been kept as quiet as possible with the imperial household’s understanding, considering her emotional changes, but her nineteenth birthday could not be treated the same way.

Snow had grown up like a flower in a greenhouse. She herself had wanted it that way, and those around her had treated her accordingly. If she were to break, it wouldn’t end with just her breaking.

For this reason, being the center of attention in front of so many people was also a first for her. And the coming-of-age ceremony was tomorrow.

If Arianne were in Snow’s situation and only learned about the procedure now, she wouldn’t be able to help but tremble. That’s why she had tried to guide the holy maiden through the process a week in advance, but it had ended up like this.

Arianne pondered how to explain the coming-of-age ceremony accurately while reassuring Snow as much as possible.

“It’s not much different from a prayer ritual. Just think of it as the same thing but with a different location and different people around you.”

“You just said that the coming-of-age ceremony would be different from a prayer ritual in scale, Arianne.”

…There was no such method.

“The ceremony will take place in Estrea.”

Estrea was the largest and most magnificent of the temples belonging to the great temple. The Estrea temple was divided into two large rooms, both imposingly large enough to accommodate hundreds of people. Snow already seemed overwhelmed by this.

Such a large temple would not gather just a dozen or so people. At least over 100 people would gather. To see her become an adult.

Her heart began to bounce like a rubber ball. Having insisted on an absolutely serene life, this was something she had never experienced before, making it difficult to control.

“And what else?”

“Actually, the procedure isn’t much different from a prayer ritual. A baptism ceremony is necessary, but who would dare baptize Snow, the holy maiden? Snow has already been baptized directly by the Goddess Amir before birth. Snow, as the person coming of age, will recite prayers representing those gathered there, and everyone will solemnly celebrate Snow’s growth. Then Snow just needs to give a simple, formal speech of gratitude.”

“Who exactly are ‘those gathered there’?”

Arianne, who had been trying to gloss over it, hesitated with an “Ah, well…”

“Who?”

Snow asked again. Arianne had no choice but to explain everything.

“As I mentioned earlier, His Imperial Majesty will attend. I had speculated that the first prince, who is almost of age, might come too, but it doesn’t seem so. The three ducal houses, including Grand Duke Grant, His Majesty’s brother, have all expressed their intention to attend. Probably most of the major nobles will gather. Even nobles from domains that take weeks on horseback have decided to attend. Some have already arrived and are at the temple. But don’t worry. There will also be many familiar priests, including Ceres and myself.”

Arianne emphasized the last part. However, it didn’t seem to help Snow much. Now her heart pounded against her skin just below the surface as if trying to leap out of her body.

It really seemed too much. There wasn’t even time to mentally prepare. This would be Snow’s first time standing in front of so many people, and from the very first button, the scale was too large. A duke? The emperor? It was too overwhelming. If she made even one mistake during the ceremony, wouldn’t the entire temple be disgraced? No matter how she thought about it, she didn’t seem to have the capacity to be a holy maiden.

It was overwhelming.

Snow felt her insides churning with tension. Acidic saliva kept being swallowed as if she might vomit. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and curled up.

‘No matter how I think about it, I don’t seem to have the qualities or courage to be a holy maiden.’

She thought. She had resolved to live quietly and calmly, controlling her emotions so as not to cause trouble to others, but that wasn’t always as easy as she thought.

‘I wish tomorrow would never come’, she thought.

“Arianne, my stomach hurts.”

Snow said in a calm voice. Even at this moment, she was trying to calm herself down. But it just wasn’t happening. She was accustomed to controlling her emotions. When something angered her, she would calm it down, and even when something slightly displeased her, she would ignore it as if letting it flow away.

However, what she was familiar with was controlling emotions about things that had already happened. Therefore, calming the tension about something that had not yet occurred was unfamiliar and thus difficult. Snow had rarely experienced proper tension in her life.

Regardless of Snow’s will, she would stand before the emperor and nobles tomorrow. She might cower there. What would the emperor and nobles think if they knew that the holy maiden who had ended the one-year calamity that almost destroyed the empire due to an evil witch’s curse, the holy maiden they so revered, was such a youngster who couldn’t even control her own emotions and trembled at a mere coming-of-age ceremony? It was dreadful.

“Snow…”

Arianne stamped her feet anxiously. She seemed even more flustered than Snow. Arianne tried hard to convey how trivial and easy the coming-of-age ceremony was, but to no avail.

Snow just sat in the chair with a calm expression, eyes closed, clutching her stomach and curled up. Her outward appearance was composed, but inside she was anything but.

Neither Arianne nor Snow said anything more. Tens of minutes of silence passed. In the dead quiet, the footsteps of someone walking along the corridor could be clearly heard. Judging by the overlapping sounds, it seemed to be more than one person. The footsteps grew closer. Soon, someone knocked on the door.

“Holy Maiden. It’s High Priest Patrick.”

It was High Priest Patrick, who was said to have had the coming-of-age ceremony guide for her. Both she and Arianne were curious about what had happened. Just as Snow was about to say “Come in,” High Priest Patrick continued.

“Ceres wishes to see the Holy Maiden.”

“…Come in.”

The door opened, and along with Patrick, a priestess with an extraordinary aura entered. It was Ceres Martadia.

Unlike ordinary priests who wore stiff priestly robes, she wore a pleated toga made of flowing, soft fabric. With each step she took, the cloth that reached down to her ankles swayed.

“Holy Maiden. It’s been a week since I’ve seen you. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to visit you often lately.”

Patrick and Arianne were bowing their heads, and Ceres spoke with a beautiful smile. She was like a heavy and elegant magnolia.

Ceres was like a spiritual mentor to Snow. Just seeing her reduced some of the burden Snow was feeling. Snow responded to Ceres’s words while enduring her stomach pain.

“It’s alright, Ceres. I know how busy you are.”

Ceres stood at the highest position among the priests in a vast country that believed in one god. When she moved, dozens of clergy moved with her. However, when visiting Snow, she was accompanied by only one or two high priests with whom Snow was familiar, as she was now. Ceres Martadia was someone who knew how to be considerate of Snow, who wanted to live quietly.

Snow could guess why Ceres had come.

A glance outside showed that the weather was already ominous. The wind was blowing. It wasn’t an ordinary wind. Branches were breaking, and the few snowflakes that had accumulated in the morning were floating in the air again, carried by the strong wind. This hadn’t happened once this year. She had caused trouble again.

‘So I also cause wind when I’m nervous’, Snow thought. It was a realization she didn’t particularly want to have.

Ceres asked High Priest Patrick and Priestess Arianne to withdraw for a moment. She personally pulled a chair to the white round table and sat down before speaking. It was exactly the question Snow had anticipated.

“Holy Maiden. Has something happened to upset you?”

Ceres waited for Snow’s answer without rushing. And she saw Snow clutching her stomach again.

“Are you perhaps in pain somewhere?”

At Ceres’s voice filled with concern, Snow felt like she might cry from guilt. Everyone cared for her so much. For the sake of all who cherished her, she had to do well tomorrow. Her stomach pain worsened.

“I’m a bit nervous about tomorrow’s coming-of-age ceremony…”

Lies wouldn’t work with Ceres, nor did she want to lie to her. Snow told the truth. Ceres opened her light brown eyes, which matched her hair color, a little wider, then smiled as if she understood.

“I see. I should have been more considerate of the Holy Maiden’s feelings. It’s my oversight.”

To say it was Ceres’s fault? That’s not true. It was her own failure to control her emotions well. Snow was about to ask if they couldn’t proceed with the coming-of-age ceremony with just the temple priests, without the emperor and nobles, but closed her lips tightly, thinking it was a foolish idea.