“You arrived a little later than I expected. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Ceres got straight to the point as soon as they were alone. With a relaxed demeanor, Ceres invited Elios to sit. In truth, Elios wasn’t as composed as Ceres. As he took his seat, he said:

“I needed time to gather my thoughts.”

“So have you finished gathering them now?”

Elios hesitated for a moment before deciding to be honest. Ceres was a different type of person from the nobles he usually dealt with, making it difficult to read her moves.

“I’m still not sure. But more importantly, Ceres Martadia, how long have you known about my meetings with the Holy Maiden?”

Since Ceres was being direct, Elios followed her approach. Ceres held a small teacup and chuckled softly.

“Recently, one of the priests told me that the Holy Maiden seemed to have changed a bit.”

“…The Holy Maiden has changed?”

Elios asked somewhat hastily. He worried that something might have happened to Snow during the weeks he hadn’t visited her. Ceres smiled kindly at the much taller young man before her, as if addressing a small child.

“He said she would suddenly be startled when bringing up someone, get excited like a child with sparkling eyes, and then become depressed. She used to excessively restrain herself, but he said it was nice to see this side of her.”

“‘Someone,’ you say…”

Elios groaned softly. He had a good idea who that “someone” was.

“He said that, in his limited understanding, he thought that someone must be Prince Elios from the imperial palace.”

Learning this way that she had been thinking of him while he was worrying about whether it was right for them to continue meeting made his heart ache with guilt. On the other hand, he felt strangely happy to hear that Snow, who always showed such rich emotions in front of him, restrained herself in front of others. It was as if he had become someone special to her.

“But you knew about the personal relationship between the Holy Maiden and me long before that, didn’t you?”

The Santarium, which was supposed to protect the Holy Maiden from external intrusions, was particularly lax with Elios, and High Priest Verdus had even followed Snow and Elios. Ceres must have noticed their meetings quite some time ago.

“Yes. I know everything—that you came the night before the coming-of-age ceremony, and that you visited several more times afterward to show the Holy Maiden the world outside the temple.”

Elios thought Ceres might deny it, but she spoke plainly. She seemed to have no intention whatsoever of hiding her thoughts or telling lies. Ceres continued:

“But I hope you’re not too upset about having High Priest Verdus follow you. The Holy Maiden is a very precious person, and I always have the duty to ensure her safety.”

When dealing with those who hide their true intentions, Elios also concealed his cards and wore a mask, but now there was no need for that. If Ceres was being honest, then Elios could be honest too. Elios knew he was no match for Ceres. Clumsily hiding things would be worse than not hiding them at all.

“Why didn’t you stop the Holy Maiden and me from meeting?”

“Why should I stop the Holy Maiden from making a friend?”

Ceres asked as if she genuinely didn’t understand. Elios was taken aback by this unexpected answer. Wait, does she really think that way? Ceres Martadia?

Well, perhaps that itself wasn’t a problem. But…

“While a personal friendship between the Holy Maiden and a prince might not be a bad thing, it’s different if a prince takes the Holy Maiden outside the temple. Why didn’t you stop that?”

After staring intently into Elios’s serious black eyes, Ceres finally let out a soft laugh. After a brief chuckle, she said:

“I apologize. As I age, I find myself playing mischievous pranks more often. I understand perfectly what you’re concerned about. Would you forgive my rudeness in playing a joke on you, Your Highness?”

Ah, Elios felt completely deflated. Ceres, who had seemed purely benevolent and truly like a representative of the goddess, now finally felt a bit more human. Ceres was clearly aware of what Elios was worried about. Then why hadn’t she imposed any particular restrictions?

“The Holy Maiden is the goddess’s representative. She carries the will of the goddess. I have absolutely no authority to force her actions.”

If someone else had said this, Elios might have doubted their sincerity, but Ceres was different. Elios thought that Ceres might truly hold such a mindset.

“You’re saying you left things as they were because the Holy Maiden wanted it? Even though it could have caused problems for her?”

“Since my fellow priests and I are here to assist the Holy Maiden, I should try my best to prevent anything that could cause problems for her. Having High Priest Verdus follow the Holy Maiden and you was precisely for that reason. In fact, seeing the world outside the temple would surely benefit her, as long as her safety was guaranteed.”

Ceres smiled more deeply. Her benevolent smile somewhat resembled the one Snow wore when performing miracles. It was a mother’s smile. After a moment’s pause and a sip of tea, Ceres spoke again.

“Prince Elios, do you know what revelation came down regarding the Holy Maiden?”

“I can’t recite the entire revelation from memory, but I know what it contains.”

As Elios vaguely recalled the contents of the revelation, Ceres’s low, soft voice, like a lullaby, reached his ears.

“Didn’t the goddess say that whether the Holy Maiden chooses to embrace the world, turn away from it, or even punish it, all of it is Her will?”

Ceres faced Elios directly.

“Your Highness, isn’t everything the Holy Maiden does with intention in her heart the embodiment of the goddess’s will? That’s what I believe.”

“…”

“I’m only concerned that it might become a painful memory for both the Holy Maiden and you later on.”

Elios immediately caught the hidden meaning in those words. In fact, this was precisely what Elios had been worrying about recently. In the future, when he becomes Emperor and Snow sits in the highest position at the temple, with some nobleman’s daughter as his Empress by his side, would he be able to face Snow with composure? Wouldn’t he be committing a great sin in his heart against his Empress? These were his concerns. The more deeply he gave his heart to Snow, the more today’s memories might become deeper wounds in the future.

However, at present, he simply couldn’t ignore his feelings just to worry about a future that had not yet arrived.

Ceres quickly changed the subject, as if she regretted bringing it up.

“While I have no intention of interfering with what the Holy Maiden wants, I hope you understand that I’m not in a position to officially acknowledge the personal relationship between the two of you right now.”

“Of course. I understand completely.”

Ceres handed Elios a priest’s robe. Elios looked at her quizzically, not comprehending her intention.

“Have you noticed the gloomy weather these past few days? The Holy Maiden is anxiously waiting for her friend.”

The relationship between the Holy Maiden’s mood and the weather is a secret known only to Ceres, the High Priests, a few regular priests who closely attend to Snow, and some members of the imperial bloodline. Elios realized what Ceres was suggesting.

“Are you planning to help me meet with the Holy Maiden?”

“Shh.” Ceres put her index finger to her lips.

As Elios put on the priest’s robe, he asked Ceres something he had been very curious about.

“Is it true that the Holy Maiden has been skipping meals?”

“I said that hoping you might come a little sooner—I was being a bit meddlesome.”

“The Holy Maiden is very healthy,” Ceres said with a kind smile. Left speechless, Elios looked at Ceres and broke into a loose smile.

‘Snow, this Ceres Martadia whom you respect is indeed a warm person’, Elios thought.

♣ ♣ ♣

Snow sat crouched at the head of her bed, wrapped in a thick blanket. She leaned her face against the cold window, gazing at the gloomy sky. The window was slightly open. Chilly air rose up, spreading across the floor like a carpet.

She wasn’t sure how many days it had been since clouds had blocked the sunlight from fully reaching the ground. Snow’s warm, soft cheek was pressed firmly against the cold glass. Her small breaths created white mist on the window. Snow tried to maintain a positive mindset. But no matter how hard she tried, she simply couldn’t feel cheerful.

While the damage was minimal now since it was winter, if this had happened during the farming season, many troublesome problems would have arisen. It was already mid-February. In March, the dried winter soil would burst forth with new sprouts. But with no sunlight like this, the sprouts wouldn’t grow properly. Needless to say, people’s moods were becoming as gloomy as the weather.

“Elios Riman Akelan.”

Snow slowly pronounced the name. It felt a bit unfamiliar.

But she thought it was a fitting name. Elios means “sun.” To Snow, her impression of El was closer to a warm sun rather than a blazing one. The two concepts were the same yet had subtle differences in feeling.

Still, since they couldn’t name a prince “Warm Sun,” Elios was perfect. How could they have thought of such a perfectly fitting name for a newborn baby? Perhaps it wasn’t that El resembled the sun and was therefore named Elios, but rather that people called him “Elios,” which made him come to resemble the sun. Snow, still pressed against the window, entertained these useless thoughts.