Elios was becoming a bit anxious. The person who should have come to the mansion had not yet arrived. He had clearly stated that if they didn’t come by today, they wouldn’t be able to meet Snow, but there was still no sign of them.

Yet they couldn’t delay their departure date. If they missed tomorrow, the next opportunity would be two weeks later. Staying for two more weeks in a large mansion without servants, cooks, or guards wasn’t really a big problem, but the longer their departure was delayed, the greater the risk of being discovered.

“Ceres is someone who cannot easily leave the temple. I can write her a long letter, so it’s fine.”

Snow spoke as if it didn’t matter. But he knew how much she wanted to see Ceres Martadia. Elios, Arianne, and Martadia—these were the three people Snow had thought of in her most desperate moments. That’s why Elios wanted to make sure Snow and Martadia could meet.

Another night passed. The day dawned, the sun rose, and before they knew it, it had passed the zenith and become afternoon. They needed to leave now to reach their destination by evening without being late.

It was around that time when Ceres arrived.

While they were making a final check of their few belongings to ensure nothing was forgotten, they faintly heard the sound of hooves. Snow immediately ran to the mansion window, hoping against hope.

A plain wooden carriage stopped in front of the mansion. A person got out of the carriage. It was an elderly man. Snow recognized him immediately. Elios, who had slowly walked over to stand beside Snow, smiled gently.

“I’m glad they’re not late.”

Elios said. Snow pressed her nose against the window glass, staring intently at the carriage. She had thought only Ceres would come, but that wasn’t the case.

Another man got out. The man who got out second extended his hand toward the carriage. Then, taking his hand, a woman stepped out.

It was Ceres Martadia.

“Go ahead. You’ve been waiting.”

At Elios’s signal, Snow hurriedly left the room. She didn’t even have time to look back. Elios shrugged as if he had no choice, gathered the remaining luggage, and followed her.

♣ ♣ ♣

“Because the messenger sent by His Former Majesty arrived late, I was worried we might be too late…”

Martadia couldn’t finish her sentence and buried her face in her hands.

“I shouldn’t show such an unseemly appearance, especially to Snow… I’m sorry.”

Snow had never seen Ceres Martadia cry in her life. In the end, after Elios and Arianne, she had made Ceres cry too. She had thought that upon her return, there would only be happy things and no more tears, but that wasn’t the case.

Behind Ceres Martadia stood High Priest Patrick and High Priest Verdus. High Priest Patrick pretended to be calm, but his slightly twitching eyebrows suggested he was anything but calm inside. High Priest Verdus looked somewhat angry. While talking with Martadia, Snow kept getting distracted by Verdus’s expression.

After brief greetings with Martadia, the two high priests approached Snow. High Priest Patrick didn’t say much.

“You did well.”

It was unclear whether he was referring to stopping the calamity, praising her for waking up from her long sleep and returning, or both. High Priest Patrick was the one who had cut open the dead woman’s belly and directly removed the newborn Snow. She was special to him. He was just endlessly grateful to be able to meet her again like this.

In contrast, High Priest Verdus was indeed angry.

“Were we—myself, Ceres here, His Former Majesty standing over there, and the countless people who worried about the Saint—all so untrustworthy to you?”

Those were the words he blurted out as if shouting. Snow knew what the high priest was trying to say. So, out of guilt, she lowered her eyes and simply apologized.

“How could I seek an apology from the Saint? I know it’s not something for the Saint to apologize for. Nevertheless, I wish you had confided in us beforehand and relied on us… I’m sorry. This old man has been foolish.”

High Priest Verdus asked for forgiveness. He had always been straightforward and outspoken. But he was in front of the Saint, and even during the carriage ride, he had continuously tried to calm his mind, worried about acting disrespectfully toward the Saint.

However, the moment he directly saw the Saint standing there with wide eyes and in good health, all his efforts were in vain.

To think we might never have seen her again.

Without giving us time to prepare, she suddenly collapsed one day and might never have risen again.

“No! I know how worried you must have been because of me. There were the two high priests and many other precious people, but in the end, I couldn’t even see you… So I really wanted to say I’m sorry and also thank you.”

Snow spoke not just to High Priest Verdus but to everyone else as well. Ceres smiled gently with reddened eyes. Meeting Snow again—it had been her lifelong wish. She had thought that even if she had to give up everything else, she just wanted that one wish to come true.

“I can only be grateful for the goddess’s grace.”

Of course, she had no idea that the goddess was Snow, standing right in front of her.

Snow and Elios didn’t even have time to guide Ceres into the mansion. They had a brief conversation in front of the mansion. The carriage that would take Snow and Elios to where the ship was would arrive soon. They had only about 30 minutes to talk. There was no certainty when they would see each other again after parting now.

Not just Elios, but Arianne had also decided to go with Snow. Arianne was supposed to go to the port first and wait there. But it was different for Ceres and the high priests. Just as Elios would find it difficult to meet Crusis anymore, Snow would also find it hard to meet Ceres and the high priests in the future.

Ceres said she would accompany Snow to the port. This would allow them to be together a bit longer, but Snow worried that Ceres might find herself in a difficult situation.

“Ceres, you’re not supposed to come out like this. If you go to such a crowded place, it might cause problems. I’ve already caused enough trouble and can’t burden you further.”

“I now truly know what’s more important. I decided long ago not to be foolish enough to cling to formalities and miss what’s truly important.”

Literally, Ceres Martadia had lived bound by formalities and procedures. In fact, she had no choice. Ceres had missed so many precious things because she was trapped by the rule that she shouldn’t leave the temple.

But now she tried not to do that.

She wasn’t saying she would disregard the rules. Rather, she decided not to let them cause her to miss truly important things.

Since she secretly left the temple on horseback to find Snow, and more directly, since the day she falsely declared to the entire empire that Snow had returned to God’s embrace to give the sleeping Snow true freedom, Ceres’s thoughts had gradually changed.

“Actually, I’m used to breaking rules now. The first time is difficult, but it gets easier after that.”

Seeing Snow still hesitating, Martadia whispered jokingly. Only then did Snow’s expression soften a bit. But it wasn’t as light a statement as her expression suggested.

—It will be a world of humans, not of the goddess.

She had received such a revelation in Snow’s voice.

Ceres Martadia had deeply pondered the meaning of those words. She hadn’t reached a conclusion. She was still thinking about it.

However, her contemplation of that unclear and abstract revelation was bringing many changes to her.

Yes, rules and procedures are important. But no matter how important they are, could they be more important than the Saint standing right in front of me?

Ceres was confident in her actions.

♣ ♣ ♣

Thanks to Elios’s consideration, Snow rode in the carriage alone with Ceres. Elios traveled with the high priests.

Now that they finally had a proper opportunity to talk with Ceres, surprisingly, the two remained silent. Ceres didn’t treat Snow with the tender affection of Elios, nor did she worry over her like Arianne did over a child taken out of water. She simply watched Snow quietly, warmly, with brown eyes like a calm lake.

Snow didn’t sit across from Ceres Martadia but next to her. And she rested her face on her shoulder.

“I remember falling asleep with my face on your lap when I was very young.”

“You can sleep now too. Whenever you’re tired and have difficult times, come to me anytime. I’ll offer my shoulder or lap for Snow to sleep comfortably.”

With a ray of sunlight coming through the curtains and the comfortably warm temperature, Snow quickly became drowsy. Her body relaxed as if she had entered warm water. Even though she thought, “This is the last time. This might be the last time,” she closed her eyes.

It felt like being wrapped in soft, warm clouds.

‘Ceres. You have always been my teacher. You have been until now, and you will be in the future.’

Snow soon fell asleep with a peaceful face. Just because it might be the last time didn’t mean they had to have all sorts of conversations. If they could spend time together, simply falling asleep leaning on each other in the same space was a good way too. Ceres rested her head on Snow’s head, which was using her shoulder as a pillow.

“Being such a kind and intelligent person, you’ll do well wherever you go.”

She spoke in a slightly quieter voice so as not to wake Snow. Even her steady, gentle breathing was beautiful.

“Still, I hope you’ll think of me at the Grand Temple from time to time.”

As if in response, Snow murmured “Mmm” in her sleep. Ceres smiled at that.

“Don’t bind yourself anymore and fly freely.”

Martadia whispered blessings for Snow’s happiness, careful not to wake the sleeping Snow.