Elios took a step closer to Snow. Before she could react, he took a handful of her hair and kissed those soft silver strands.

Then there was a moment of silence.

“It’s a noble’s custom.”

Elios offered an explanation even though Snow hadn’t said anything. Snow, feeling as if her breath would stop from the warm breath that had touched her ear, didn’t think further and simply accepted it. She nodded her head vigorously.

After escorting Snow back to the Santarium, Elios departed. The two, who had maintained silence as if by agreement, exchanged only somewhat formal greetings when it was time to part. At the last moment, Snow said, “You must come. If you don’t… I’ll be angry.” Elios was about to smile, but considering how significant it was for her to express anger, he nodded solemnly.

“I’ll come. In fact, I’ll try to come back within a week.”

Snow simply replied “Yes” without any expression. But Elios could finally smile broadly. Countless small white flowers were blooming in the grass beneath her feet. That was her emotion, and it was a small miracle. The lovely girl was indeed the holy maiden who had saved the world.

“I’ll be back, Snow.”

Elios said. Snow stood there until Elios became a small dot and disappeared. Just like that night when they first met.

But a different kind of tingling spread in her chest from what she had felt that night.

♣ ♣ ♣

It was such a quiet morning that everything seemed to have stopped, like the surface of a deep lake so clear that nothing lived in it.

The wind that had blown fiercely until the previous evening had suddenly stopped, like a capricious child. The leaves, as if afraid of making rustling sounds by brushing against each other, didn’t sway even slightly. Even the stream flowed slowly, whispering with muted sound. Only the sunlight, coming down lovingly as if to embrace all living things, enveloped the world.

The Great Temple of the Akelan Empire, which served the one deity, was silently busy from the morning. That day was a special day like no other for the entire empire, especially for the priests who served the goddess. The one and only holy maiden beloved by the goddess would become an adult today.

The young holy maiden, who had been hiding like an unopened flower bud until now, would reveal herself for the first time today. That fact alone was valuable enough that many nobles from near and far had willingly expressed their intention to attend the holy maiden’s coming-of-age ceremony. Among them, some particularly devout ones had arrived days in advance and stayed at the temple, counting the days to this moment.

The sun, though seemingly slow, rose rapidly toward the west. Finally, one of the two massive doors of the Estrea temple, where the ceremony would be held, opened its mouth and swallowed the 300 nobles invited to the coming-of-age ceremony. The priests were already standing neatly in their positions inside the large hall of Estrea, with their hands joined.

As soon as the group of nobles, led by the Emperor, entered the hall, they faced the beautiful, imposing statue of the goddess. Despite the solemn occasion, a few nobles let out small exclamations of admiration.

The white goddess, standing neatly, wrapped one arm around her belly and rested her chin on the elbow of the other arm, making viewers think she was contemplating something. However, her face wore a tender, gentle smile like that of a young girl. Her eyes were softly closed as if in peaceful sleep. It was a statue with nothing covering the upper body and only a flowing cloth draped around the lower body.

Standing closest to the goddess statue were the priests, including Ceres. Behind them, starting with the Emperor and arranged in order of rank, everyone took their places, leaving the center of the hall empty.

Perfect silence filled the hall, where neither footsteps nor breathing could be carelessly heard. Even the nobles who had been exclaiming in admiration earlier silently covered their heads with the hoods of the robes they were wearing. Now, in this extremely quiet place, even the slightest sound would echo loudly like a shout from a mountaintop.

A clear footstep sound, tap, echoed through the hall that seemed frozen in time. But no one had moved.

The footsteps, which had taken one step and paused briefly, began to fill the large hall again where hundreds were gathered. Tap, tap, tap. The only thing that disturbed the silence filling the vast space was solely the sound of those footsteps.

She walked out from another room hidden behind silver curtains to the center of the hall, in front of the goddess statue. She wore an exceptionally white robe that stood out among the group dressed in white. Silver hair like melted snowflakes flowed from beneath the robe. The only person allowed to make sound in this ceremony of silence.

It was Holy Maiden Bernadette.

The holy maiden took each step carefully. Holding a plain candlestick in her hand, she walked along the neatly emptied center of the hall. And she stopped at the feet of the goddess statue and removed her hood.

There was a rustling sound of fabric rubbing against fabric. As she removed her hood, those who had bowed their heads on both sides of the hall raised their faces. It spread like a wave, starting with Ceres Martadia, who was standing closest to the holy maiden.

‘Ah. The holy maiden was indeed beautiful. Her snow-white hair and silver eyes were truly fitting for her role as the holy maiden.’

But there was something even more awe-inspiring: her face resembled exactly that of the goddess statue standing before her. Whether it was the gentle expression, the lovely bridge of the nose that was slightly lower at the top, or the arched eyebrows.

Everyone was inwardly admiring the holy maiden, who looked like the incarnation of the goddess. But only Ceres Martadia and Priestess Arianne noticed that the holy maiden’s expression was somewhat stiff.

The holy maiden placed the candlestick she had brought on the altar in front of the goddess statue. The flickering flame cast shadows on the holy maiden’s face. She recited the prayer she had prepared.

“Mother, make me.”

But for some reason, she paused in the middle without completing even one sentence. The holy maiden, who had closed her eyes briefly and then opened them, turned her head slightly to look at Ceres Martadia.

“It’s alright to make mistakes.”

Ceres Martadia simply smiled without saying anything. The holy maiden began to speak again, slowly, as if savoring each syllable.

—Mother, make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is discord, unity
Where there is doubt, faith
Where there is error, truth
Where there is despair, hope
Where there is darkness, light
Where there is sadness, joy
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love
O Mother, grant that I may be an instrument of your peace

It was the short Prayer of Saint Francis. But could there be a prayer that suited her better? She had truly sown hope where there was despair, light where there was darkness, joy where there was sadness. And she was now beseeching God to continue to make it so. After reciting the prayer, she took a step back from the flickering candlestick. She removed her snow-white robe and placed it on the altar.

The holy maiden turned around and looked around at those in the hall. She seemed to be searching for someone but soon focused on the front again. Everyone was looking only at her.

“I am the holy maiden of the Goddess Amir, born in the Akelan Empire.”

She spoke not loudly but articulately, yet it was enough to resonate through the silent hall. Hidden by her long sleeves and invisible to anyone, the holy maiden was clenching her fists almost too tightly.

“The goddess sent me to show that she is still embracing and watching over the world. I am also her representative. Today I have become an adult, and the goddess’s will has blossomed, so as long as I exist, the empire will be at peace, and my existence will be proof that the blessing of the Goddess Amir is falling on every corner of the world.”

This was as far as she had prepared. It would have been fine to stop here. The holy maiden paused for a while, and people were thinking about their impressions of the coming-of-age ceremony, that it was a deeply meaningful occasion. At that moment, the holy maiden continued.

“I love everything in the world.”

Unlike her previous words, which had only conveyed a pious and solemn atmosphere, this time emotion permeated the sentence.

“I love those gathered here. And I also love those who could not gather here. Everyone has their own lovableness, so how could I not love them?”

The tightly clenched fist loosened. The holy maiden smiled benevolently.

“Though it may not be easy, for all the lovely things in the world, I truly wish to be one who plants light in dark places.”

And with that, she finally ended her speech. She picked up the candlestick she had brought. Everyone except the holy maiden bowed their heads again. She walked slowly across the hall, just as she had when she first appeared.

“Snow. There’s no need to tremble before them, no need to bow your head.”

The holy maiden kept repeating those words like a charm. And she overcame the fear within her.

‘El. I think I can do it. I think I can truly become Holy Maiden Bernadette now.’

She thought as the silver curtain was gently drawn back and she disappeared beyond it.

♣ ♣ ♣

Because most of the important ministers who handled state affairs with the Emperor had attended the holy maiden’s coming-of-age ceremony, the castle was as quiet that day as if it had fallen asleep.

Elios was sitting in a chair by the window, appreciating the clear sky, as he always did.

In the morning, he had been a bit worried because everything was so quiet, as if time had stopped, but as the sun reached the top of the sky and began to descend toward the west, a pleasant breeze began to brush against his face.

It seemed that she was doing well. Elios’s heart also felt a little more at ease.