In the blue dawn, Roshan visited the Grand Temple in the capital. Hayden, who had come to assist him, flinched in surprise when he saw a boy cleric in white, appearing like a ghost from the darkness while examining the completely white Grand Temple.

“I’ve been waiting. I will guide you.”

The boy cleric bowed to Roshan, then walked ahead. Roshan moved his feet, and Hayden followed one step behind.

The three crossed a massive hall and walked down a long corridor. Then came a maze created by multiple paths. The boy seemed to know the way, guiding them without hesitation. Finally, a massive door engraved with the Goddess of Light and the sun appeared before the three.

A stream of golden light emerged from the boy’s hand as he placed it on the door. Simultaneously, the door, which looked too heavy for even two adult men to push, flashed and opened by itself.

Hayden’s eyes widened at this sight, which he was seeing for the first time. But Roshan and the boy entered with expressionless faces, as if accustomed to it.

Entering through the large door revealed a hall smaller than expected. However, the goddess statue that majestically extended to the center of the ceiling was enough to make one cower.

“Crown Prince, it’s been a long time.”

In front of the goddess statue stood an old cleric. Dressed in brown clerical robes, he looked at first glance like an ordinary villager one might commonly see. But he was the right hand of the prophet, the head of the temple, and second-in-command as the prophet’s deputy.

“You’re still in good health.”

“Thanks to the Goddess’s mercy.”

Roshan greeted the prophet’s deputy, who hadn’t changed much since he had seen him a few years ago. The prophet’s deputy laughed casually at Roshan’s words, then adjusted his collar. He looked directly at Roshan and asked,

“But Your Highness. What brings you to seek this old man?”

“To be precise, I was looking for the prophet. But seeing that you’ve come out instead, it seems he can barely move.”

“The prophet is preoccupied with listening to the Goddess’s words. Therefore, I have come in his place, so please understand.”

Roshan raised the corner of his mouth as he watched the prophet’s deputy make such an elegant statement about the prophet, who was reportedly lying in a comatose state from extreme old age. But he soon stated his purpose for coming here.

“Did you see the letter I sent? What’s your answer to it?”

Since Yerena acquired her strange eyes, Roshan had not trusted Alicia. But he still wanted to know about Yerena’s eyes, so he wrote to the prophet.

“The golden light that signifies the Goddess’s blessing unfolds before the blind, giving them new eyes; the Goddess’s hand reaches those who have been saved.”

“……”

“As records show, there have occasionally been people who regained their sight similar to the woman you mentioned. However, there are no records of them seeing like ordinary people. But who knows? The Goddess can do anything.”

The prophet’s deputy affirmed that Yerena’s current condition was clearly a situation where the Goddess’s power had intervened. But he shook his head, saying he couldn’t know what would happen next. Roshan’s face grew cold at his answer.

“So you’re saying you can’t be certain. Then what happens if poison is used in that state? If poison known to cause blindness is used, will those eyes that the Goddess opened close again?”

“No matter how potent the poison, it’s merely a human creation. Unless the Goddess withdraws her mercy, such things cannot overcome the Goddess’s power.”

Roshan clicked his tongue briefly. Having fully realized his feelings for Yerena, he feared she might regain her sight and discover his identity. Therefore, he had been looking for a solution, but it was proving difficult.

“……That goddess is extremely irritating.”

Not getting the answer he wanted, he spoke disrespectfully. The prophet’s deputy’s face hardened at Roshan’s words, which showed no respect for the Goddess. But that was all. He didn’t get angry or say anything to Roshan.

“……Then I just need to make her unable to see without touching the miracle supposedly bestowed by the Goddess.”

“Pardon?”

“I hear you used an interesting item when turning the heretic king into the Goddess’s lamb.”

Roshan suddenly brought up an old matter to the prophet’s deputy who wouldn’t give him the answer he wanted. The heretic king. At that name, the prophet’s deputy narrowed his brow.

‘Where is the Goddess! That’s an illusion. It’s merely smoke created by those who build tall white buildings.’

More than 200 years ago, there was a massive new religion that rebelled against the Goddess of Light within the empire. The temple called the leader of that religion the heretic king and tried to capture him by any means. But the heretic king wasn’t easy to catch, and only after the imperial family intervened was he arrested. And instead of executing him, the temple destroyed him—or more precisely, the heretic king—before the people through a different punishment.

“There’s no need for such a face. Your immorality is beyond my concern.”

When the heretic king was just building his power, the temple accidentally acquired a sacred object and, while experimenting with it, created a potion called the pure white water. Or could it be called a potion? The pure white water perfectly healed a person’s wounds but erased memories proportional to the size of the wound.

‘Continue until that filthy man becomes clean.’

The prophet of that time repeatedly tortured the captured heretic king, inflicting wounds and healing them with the pure white water. The heretic king, whose limbs were broken and skin almost completely flayed by whipping, eventually lost all his memories.

The temple turned him, now a blank slate, into the temple’s stable keeper and a fanatic of the Goddess of Light. Having forgotten everything, the heretic king cleaned horse dung in the stables and poured dirty water on his former followers who approached him. And this sight served as good propaganda for the people.

“But Your Highness. That item…… There’s a reason it was only used on the heretic king. It’s a dangerous and terrible thing. It takes away memories in exchange for mending broken bones and restoring torn flesh.”

But even within the temple, there was much debate about the pure white water. To obtain just seven small bottles of pure white water, the lives of four high-ranking clerics who could display divine power externally and nineteen ordinary clerics were sacrificed. Moreover, a substance that exchanged wounds for memories—the potential for ab*se was too great.

Eventually, the temple, unable to tolerate this immoral item, burned the method for producing pure white water and destroyed the sacred object as well. However, they didn’t dispose of the two bottles remaining from the seven after using five on the heretic king.

“That’s what I want.”

Despite the prophet’s deputy’s warning, Roshan demanded the pure white water with an indifferent face. The prophet’s deputy shook his head firmly and was about to say something. But Roshan spoke first.

“I’d appreciate if you handed it over. Otherwise, you can end your life as a mere old man working as a stable keeper like the heretic king.”

“……Your Highness. Are you threatening this old man?”

“It’s not like we’re in an era without a saintess. No one will blame you for being a bit deferential to me.”

His threatening manner without even blinking was outrageous. The prophet’s deputy stared at Roshan’s red eyes with a hardened face. Then he spoke in an earnest tone,

“……All sin stems from greed, and the greed of those in high positions brings calamity. But Your Highness, you were noble yet without greed. That’s why the prophet respected you and considered you a true descendant of the Goddess.”

“……”

“But why are you suddenly acting like this? Why do you want such a dangerous item? What has made you so greedy and reckless?”

“……”

“Could it be because of that woman mentioned in your letter?”

The princess kept blind in the tower came to the prophet’s deputy’s lips. And in that moment, Roshan’s face changed. A sharp rising aura. Both Hayden and the prophet’s deputy felt a chill and closed their mouths.

“It’s quite a talent to make such a roundabout statement about my lack of manners.”

Roshan looked at the prophet’s deputy and tilted his head slightly upward. The enormous statue of the Goddess of Light. He met the eyes of the goddess who looked down upon all creation.

“And you should speak plainly. The reason you call me a descendant of the Goddess is because of these innate eyes and light, isn’t it?”

In the eyes of the goddess statue were embedded red jewels the size of a human fist. The goddess shone with the same red glow as Roshan. After meeting the goddess’s gaze, Roshan slowly lowered his eyes and turned his body.

“I must go now. I’ll have someone collect the item soon.”

His voice indicated he didn’t even consider the possibility of refusal. Hayden turned to follow Roshan, but glanced back at the prophet’s deputy.

The old cleric was already on his knees, calling out to the goddess. Just above him, the goddess’s hand, gilded in gold, shimmered and cast down light.

* * *

The chilly summer passed. At the end of the season, when they barely endured with the warmth of the person beside them, the ivy vines wrapped around part of the tower began to turn red.

The vines, which had become sparse as their leaves reddened, announced the approach of the Empire’s Founding Day. The largest imperial event held during the most abundant season of the year. Nobles living in distant provinces began gathering in the capital one by one.

As people gathered, banquets increased too. Moderately wealthy households competed to lavish resources on single-night feasts, and people enjoyed them.

“Have you heard that rumor?”

“What rumor? What interesting news have you brought again, Lady Countess?”

And as these nights grew longer, secretive rumors also grew in size. Though Yerena, the person concerned, didn’t know it, she was currently one of the protagonists of a secretly circulating rumor.

“They say the crown prince and the princess from Sedas are having secret meetings.”

“The princess from Sedas…… You mean the princess brought as a prisoner? The one they say is very beautiful.”

“That’s right.”