Alicia, with her stern voice, had a unique appearance at first glance. White hair and eyebrows of the same color. Though young, she was completely bleached white. But what caught the eye most was the cloth covering Alicia’s eyes. A long, white cloth. The golden patterns engraved on it shone, boasting the solemnity of the temple.

“That’s all because you pulled strings! The purification of wicked things is originally my role. It’s my job!”

“Any priestess can work on purification. Purification is not something you can monopolize, Sister Julia.”

Julia, who had hesitated at the patterned blindfold, shouted in an aggrieved voice. But Alicia only responded coldly.

“Don’t interfere! I just confirmed it. In this one’s body, under those eyes, there’s clearly……”

“Enough.”

When Julia, who had no proper response, tried to stubbornly persist, Alicia cut off her words in an even harder voice. Then, as if refusing to listen anymore, she shook her head and commanded.

“Sister Julia. As your superior, I order you. Take your children and return now. If not, I will report this incident to the high priest.”

When Alicia pressed down with her position, Julia’s eyes became bloodshot. But it seemed she had no choice, as she soon relaxed her fists and moved toward the exit. Those who had come with her also quickly followed, watching Julia’s reactions.

“That filthy thing, with the same blind eyes as her……”

Before completely leaving the room, Julia muttered in a voice a bit too loud to be a soliloquy. The two priestesses who had come with Alicia glared at Julia with indignant faces. However, Alicia herself didn’t even turn her head.

Julia, seemingly more provoked by Alicia’s attitude, disappeared making loud thumping sounds. Once Julia’s footsteps faded away, Alicia let out a small sigh and approached Yerena. Then, frowning at the strong scent of the green liquid emanating from her, she commanded.

“Oh my…… Jael. Bring water and cloth.”

At her command, the red-haired priestess called Jael immediately brought water and clean cloth. Alicia gestured toward Yerena at the sound of Jael’s returning footsteps. Then Jael and another priestess began to wipe Yerena’s face with cloth soaked in water.

“Please bear with it a little. It will be fine soon.”

At the gentle touch, Yerena hesitated, but the voice, free of malice, soon helped her relax. As the woman had said, wherever the cloth touched her, the stinging soon disappeared. Yerena felt the gradually disappearing pain and carefully raised her head.

“Ah….. I’m late with my introduction.”

Just as Yerena was about to part her lips to ask who she was, Alicia spoke first. Then, lowering herself, she introduced herself to Yerena in a respectful voice.

“Pleased to meet you. I am Alicia, a priestess serving the Goddess of Light. From today, I will be in charge of your purification and education.”

* * *

After briefly introducing herself, Alicia ordered her subordinate priestesses to support Yerena. Then she guided her, saying that her place to stay had been determined.

Perhaps considering that Yerena couldn’t see, Alicia and the priestesses’ pace as they walked wasn’t very fast. However, because the destination was quite far, Yerena, whose mind and body were already exhausted, panted with a pale face.

“It’s quite a distance, isn’t it? I’m sorry. But within the imperial palace, we can’t ride in carriages without His Majesty’s permission…… Shall we rest here for a while?”

Unable to bear it any longer, Alicia stopped briefly in a corner of the garden where there was no sign of people. Then she spoke to Yerena, who was catching her breath.

“Princess. While I should properly address you as princess, from now on I will call you Lady Yerena.”

Yerena was about to say she didn’t much care what the Empire’s priestess called her. But she was curious about the reason, so she turned her head toward Alicia. Alicia then began to explain the background.

“The Goddess of Light has said that a terrible curse has befallen you, Lady Yerena. And she has told us that to escape the curse, time is needed to pray to the goddess and strengthen your faith.”

“……”

“The high priest, who heard the goddess’s words, ordered me. To serve you and guide you on the right path of faith.”

“……”

“Lady Yerena, you will continue your religious life with me in a quiet place. And during that time, you must set aside all worldly positions and glory. Of course, you must also live frugally.”

“……”

“Since it’s a terrible curse, the period won’t be short, but don’t worry. The Goddess of Light is merciful.”

From Julia’s words, Yerena had already roughly guessed the situation. But she still couldn’t suppress a hollow laugh. Yerena spoke with a face full of defiance.

“I don’t believe in the Goddess of Light. I believe in the various gods who protect the Sedas Kingdom…!”

But before Yerena could finish her words, cold fingers touched her lips. When Yerena stopped speaking, Alicia whispered in a quiet but firm voice.

“……One should not speak blasphemous words carelessly. His Majesty the Emperor is a deeply religious person. If someone were to relay these words, it could lead to serious trouble.”

Yerena could well imagine what “serious trouble” Alicia was referring to. Therefore, though her face showed resentment, she immediately closed her mouth. Alicia made an unreadable expression toward Yerena, then stood up, brushing off her seat.

“Let’s depart again.”

The group that set out again could only reach their destination after walking for quite some time. After passing more than ten buildings and crossing three gardens, they arrived at their destination. There stood a not-so-tall gray tower.

With walls crumbling in places and moss growing sparsely on the tower’s exterior, it’s hard to believe that this building was within the imperial palace. Moreover, sunlight barely reached the lower parts, making even the blind Yerena feel the gloominess of the destination.

“From now on, there will be stairs for a while, so be careful. You too, pay more attention to supporting Lady Yerena.”

With a creaking sound as the door opened, Alicia entered and warned. And as she said, the group had to climb the spiral staircase that wound from the bottom of the tower to the top for quite some time.

“We’re almost there.”

Yerena staggered several times but finally climbed the last step without falling once. However, the process of climbing stairs of different heights was not easy, so her face had turned pale.

‘Even with support, it’s this difficult…… It’s a place I couldn’t leave alone.’

Breathing heavily, Yerena thought that her place of stay was no different from a prison without bars. Even straight flights of stairs were a major barrier for her who couldn’t see. But spiral stairs, and hundreds of them at that…… it was obvious she couldn’t escape on her own even if a fire broke out in the tower.

‘No. Wherever I go, my situation would be the same……’

Thinking about it, it might be the same wherever she stayed. Even if she stayed in a building without stairs, her position as a war trophy was like a bird in a cage. However, the pressure from the dwelling couldn’t be ignored. Yerena unconsciously placed her hand on her chest where pain was throbbing.

“This way……”

Whether they knew Yerena’s state or not, Alicia moved and opened a door. Then a familiar voice greeted her.

“Princess…… no, Lady Yerena!”

“Jane?”

Though she didn’t express it in words, a glimpse of relief passed over Yerena’s face. The joy of meeting someone she knew, someone she could lean on a little. Jane read this from Yerena’s expression and embraced her tightly. Yerena was surprised by Jane’s sudden hug but relaxed her body. She needed reassurance after being pushed to her limits by the events since her audience with the emperor.

“……Please talk together for a while. I’ll be back soon.”

Alicia’s voice was heard from the side. The blind Yerena couldn’t see, but Jane turned her head toward Alicia’s voice and involuntarily flinched. The mysterious priestess with the blindfold seemed as if she could see the two of them.

* * *

Inside the tower, on the middle level, three people stood. Alicia and her two subordinate priestesses, Jael and Juul. Their expressions were quite serious.

“She seemed to need support but had no major difficulty climbing the stairs.”

“That’s right. She was quite tense, but you wouldn’t think she lost her sight recently. Especially considering the condition of the stairs……”

Alicia nodded slightly after hearing her subordinate priestesses’ words. Then she soon spoke in a small voice.

“You two may go now.”

“What about you, Sister Alicia?”

“I still have unfinished business, so I think I’ll need to stay here for a while.”

“Yes. Then we’ll go ahead to the prayer room.”

The priestesses bowed and turned around without further comment to Alicia’s answer. Alicia stood still for a long time even after the two had descended the spiral staircase that wound around the tower, then whispered softly to herself.

“As I thought……”

Under the blindfold embroidered with temple patterns, Alicia’s eyes were literally empty. Yet she lifted her head as if she could see perfectly ahead and, without the slightest fear, began climbing the stairs with their irregular heights.

Every time Alicia passed by a lamp hanging on the wall, the light brightened momentarily. And golden light sparkled and fell on her elongated shadow before quickly disappearing.

‘……It will be tiring to climb this every time.’

Alicia, having reached the very top of the tower, moved forward with slightly labored breathing. Soon, two doors, one large and one small, appeared before her. Alicia went to the larger one.

But even standing close to the door, she made no sound. Instead, she stood quietly, focusing on the sounds coming from the room inside.

The people in the room were chatting comfortably, completely unaware of Alicia’s presence. Though the door was quite thick, making it difficult to hear properly, Alicia slightly tensed and relaxed her hand whenever she heard Yerena’s voice among the two voices coming from inside.

After some time, one of the lamps on the wall suddenly went out. The already dim space grew even darker. And soon after, regular footsteps were heard from the direction of the stairs.

Alicia turned her body around. A man who had nearly finished climbing the stairs appeared, flickering like a candle flame.

Half-submerged in darkness, the man with black hair and dark clothes blended naturally with the dark space as if they were one. Only his bright red eyes shone without being buried in the darkness at all.

Alicia, who had been holding her breath, moved toward the man as he climbed the last step. She bowed and spoke in a respectful voice.

“You’ve arrived.”

* * *