Martadia led the way through the temple corridors with Elios, who had his cloak pulled over his head. If they needed to deny that the temple knew about Elios going outside in case of any unforeseen situation, it would be better if Elios avoided people’s eyes from the beginning.

With ‘Ceres’ accompanying him, it would be easier for Elios to slip out of the temple unnoticed. Later, Martadia could simply claim that the person with her was not the Prince but another priest. Ceres was prepared to lie if necessary. But that was the least of their concerns.

Before they could even leave the temple, Elios flinched. He heard someone wailing from somewhere. It wasn’t supernatural like Snow’s voice. It was clearly echoing through the corridor even now. Martadia noticed what Elios was startled by and explained:

“It’s Priest Arianne. She’s the priest who has been caring for the Holy Maiden since she was very young.”

Elios had heard about Priest Arianne from Snow. Snow had said she was like a mother to her.

“Why is such a person…?”

Martadia explained the situation. At first, Arianne had also participated in the search for the Saint. However, the High Priests judged it too dangerous for her to go out into the blizzard anymore, as she had become too weak both physically and mentally from the shock of the Saint’s disappearance. She was in an almost half-crazed state.

The priests told her they would definitely find the Saint and asked her to wait at the temple, but Arianne said she couldn’t do that and tried to rush out into the snow at any moment. They tried to calm her by saying the Saint would be safe, but Arianne wouldn’t believe it. She said she couldn’t believe it until she saw with her own eyes.

Like a moth flying into fire, Arianne would try to rush alone into the blizzard the moment they let their guard down. They couldn’t include her in the search in such a state.

With no other choice, the priests put Arianne in a guest room and locked the door. Another female priest entered the room to look after her. Arianne never calmed down. “Please open the door! I must find the Holy Maiden!” Her cries tormented not only herself but others as well.

As they walked forward, Arianne’s wailing, like a ghost’s cry, grew louder. This was because they had to pass by the room where Arianne was confined in order to leave the building.

“I must go find the Holy Maiden! I heard the Holy Maiden’s voice! I must go!”

Arianne shouted as the two passed by her room.

If others heard her, they would dismiss it as Arianne hearing things in her despair, but naturally, both Elios and Martadia stopped in their tracks simultaneously.

Inside the room, another female priest was trying to calm Arianne. “Other priests will surely find the Holy Maiden,” she said, but Arianne kept repeating the same thing.

“I really heard it. It’s not an auditory hallucination. Didn’t you hear it, Priest? The Holy Maiden clearly told me she misses me.”

“Priest Arianne, please calm down first.”

There was no way Arianne could calm down. Having heard the same voice, Martadia and Elios could understand Arianne’s feelings to some extent. It was clear she would be driven to madness, with no one believing her words and being locked in a room like a prison.

Elios gave Martadia a look. The only person who could change the situation here was Martadia. She approached the male priest who was guarding the door to prevent Arianne from leaving. The priest greeted Ceres Martadia.

“Priest. Please open the door. I need to see Priest Arianne.”

“Um, Ceres. Even if you go in now, Priest Arianne is not in a state to have a proper conversation with anyone.”

The priest cautiously informed her. From their perspective, it was clear that Arianne had lost her mind from the shock, so it was understandable for them to say this.

Martadia simply smiled deeply. It was a meaningful smile.

The priest thought that Ceres must know what he knew, and she must have some plan. After a moment’s hesitation, he unlocked the door and stepped back. Martadia slightly nodded to the ordinary priest in gratitude. The hierarchy in the temple was quite different from that of the secular world.

The retreating priest only wondered why Ceres was wearing outdoor clothes. As far as he knew, Ceres was only giving instructions regarding the search for the Saint and had no reason to go outside the temple.

“Ceres, why are you wearing a coat?”

The priest asked in passing. Martadia replied casually:

“I plan to go to the Temple Athanas to pray to the Goddess.”

The priest nodded. The Grand Temple was very large, and the distance between this building, which housed the living quarters, and Athanas, one of the largest temple buildings, was quite far. The priest assumed that Elios standing behind Ceres was also a priest going to pray with her.

Of course, Martadia’s words were a lie.

Martadia and Elios opened the door and entered the room. Arianne was almost pleading with the female priest looking after her to let her go outside. When the firmly locked door opened, she stared stiffly at it. Martadia and an unidentified priest with a cloak pulled over his head entered.

Arianne’s pleas immediately shifted to a new target.

“Ceres. I definitely heard it. I heard the Holy Maiden’s voice. It must be some miracle performed by the Holy Maiden, or something the Goddess did with purpose. It wasn’t a hallucination. She clearly told me she misses me. Please believe me. If you would just allow me to go out to find the Holy Maiden…!”

She said the Saint had said she missed her. This perfectly matched what Martadia and Elios had heard. The three of them had simultaneously heard the Saint’s voice. It could no longer be dismissed as coincidence.

“Priest Arianne, I know better than anyone else how desperate you are right now. I feel the same way.”

Martadia spoke gently. She was as kind as if soothing a child. She said to the female priest who was looking after Arianne:

“Thank you for your hard work. You no longer need to take care of Priest Arianne. I will handle things from here, so you may go now.”

The female priest hesitated and tried to say, “But Ceres, Priest Arianne is—” Ceres spoke firmly:

“I have urgent matters to discuss with Priest Arianne. Please also tell the priest outside that he no longer needs to guard the door.”

The female priest looked worriedly at Arianne, who was almost clinging to Martadia, but eventually left. Soon, all sounds of presence outside the door disappeared. Arianne pleaded again:

“Ceres. It may be hard to believe, but the Holy Maiden truly called me. The Holy Maiden is looking for me. I must go see her…!”

“Priest Arianne, I believe your words.”

“Please, …what?”

“I too, and this person standing here, have heard the Holy Maiden’s voice. So I truly believe what you’re saying.”

Only then did Arianne pay attention to the person standing behind Martadia. Being with Martadia, she had vaguely assumed it was some priest.

“Who is this person…?”

Elios removed the hood he had pulled down deeply. Arianne recognized the Prince immediately. She had been present when Elios was brought to Dianasha on horseback.

“Your… Highness?”

Arianne was dumbfounded. Why did he hear Snow’s voice…? It made no sense to her.

“There’s no time for detailed explanations. Priest, I too heard the Holy Maiden’s voice. I have a personal friendship with the Holy Maiden. If you’re curious about how that came to be, I’ll explain later.”

He spoke quickly. He didn’t want to waste time like this.

“Priest, will you come with us to find the Holy Maiden?”

Elios asked straightforwardly. Arianne finally came to her senses and urgently cried out:

“Of course, of course! I will definitely go. I must go.”

Arianne, afraid they might think she was talking nonsense and send her back into the room, didn’t utter another word afterward. The voice she had suddenly heard was also heard by Ceres, and even by the Prince. How did the Prince know Snow? The Saint told him she missed him too? She had countless questions, but she kept her mouth firmly shut.

Now Arianne, like Elios, was wrapped in a cloak over her outdoor clothes. Ceres led them not to the Temple Athanas but to the stable where Elios’s horse was tied.

There were few horses left as priests who could ride had taken them to search for the Saint. Elios chose the horse in the best condition among those remaining.

Fortunately, Arianne said she could ride a horse, albeit clumsily. She had had a chance to learn horseback riding by chance when she was in the secular world.

The priests currently searching for the Saint moved in groups of three or four. They didn’t travel far, only checking places marked on the map before returning, and then the next team would go out. This method was devised because it was dangerous to face the blizzard for extended periods.

However, Elios, Martadia, and Arianne had no intention of returning until they found the Saint. Their groundless confidence that they would find the Saint also played a part.

In any case, since they would likely need to travel a greater distance than the other priests, they needed to ride horses. Walking had its limits.

If it were just Martadia and Elios, they could ride Elios’s horse together, but with three people, it was different. They had been worried that one of them might not know how to ride a horse, so it was fortunate that Arianne could.

Martadia knew a secret passage out of the Grand Temple. It was a passage connecting an old abandoned temple to the outside, unknown to anyone. The three of them went outside through this passage.

The snow seemed to have piled up even thicker than when Elios was wandering somewhere between the imperial palace and the temple. The gusting wind was terribly strong. However, no one suggested turning back.

Elios rode his horse with Ceres, while Arianne rode another horse alone.