Chapter 11. The Blind One

White flowers hanging downward filled the temple with whiteness. The crowd cheered at the golden light scattered over the thin stems.

On the highest balcony of the temple, a young cleric who had not yet reached adulthood appeared. People everywhere exclaimed in admiration.

The young cleric, with a long white cloth draped over his head, looked supremely sacred under the sky where white flowers scattered. The gold thread embroidered on his clothes and the tall prophet’s crown added to his dignity.

“Ah…… Goddess.”

The crowd looked moved at the sight of the young cleric. Some devout citizens even sat down on the ground, shedding tears.

“O Prophet. Bestow your blessing upon me.”

The boy cleric standing before the people in splendid attire was no ordinary cleric. He was the leader of all clerics and priestesses in the Empire and the one closest to the Goddess of Light.

Fourteen. The young prophet raised his right hand. All the clerics lined up below him bowed, regardless of age or position. The gathered crowd did the same. The believers prayed respectfully toward the new prophet.

The young prophet waved his hand slightly. One of the lined-up clerics then loudly called for everyone to listen attentively to the prophet’s words.

People’s concentration intensified. The young prophet didn’t miss the moment and closed his eyes in prayer.

Golden light burst forth from the prophet’s entire body. It was a blessing bestowed directly by the prophet and proof of a miracle.

People stretched out their hands, trying to touch the golden light. And in the dazzling light, the young prophet looked down at the believers warmly, yet coldly, on behalf of the goddess.

* * *

Leaving the people’s cheers behind, the prophet entered the temple. An old cleric who had been waiting bowed to welcome him.

“You’ve worked hard.”

The old cleric, who had reigned as the second-in-command of the temple as the prophet’s deputy, had given up all his positions and returned to being an ordinary cleric. However, the prophet stopped the old cleric from bowing.

“Master. Please don’t lower your speech.”

“I cannot do that. You are no longer my disciple. You are simply someone closer to the goddess than I am.”

“But……”

The prophet tried to say something more. But the old cleric showed a stern face, just as he had when he was the prophet’s master. The prophet habitually closed his mouth.

At this sight, the old cleric smiled playfully. Then, in a benevolent voice, he spoke to the prophet.

“Still, I’m glad. To see you standing here in such good health.”

The old cleric’s voice carried both bitterness and joy. It couldn’t be helped. How much conflict had there been to bring the young prophet to this position safely? The old cleric recalled the many clerics who had died or been driven out in the temple’s internal strife.

The young prophet also knew well how much sacrifice his position was based on. He murmured, joining his hands as if in prayer.

“……It’s thanks to the efforts of many, including my predecessors.”

The old cleric was about to pray along with the young prophet but hesitated. Suddenly, he remembered the last moments of the former prophet, who was no longer in this world.

The former prophet, who had not regained consciousness for years, opened his eyes and spoke during the last few hours before his death. And clinging to his dying body, he advised the young prophet’s master.

‘Be, be careful of Maximuer…… And……’

‘……’

‘Take…… good care of Ian. I…… trust only you.’

At the time, he was too overwhelmed with sadness to think properly. But after his emotions settled somewhat, the old cleric discovered several puzzling points in the former prophet’s words.

The former prophet seemed to have regained all his memories. His fairly lengthy advice implied that he had quite clear memories.

The old cleric, who realized this belatedly, was shocked by this fact. The former prophet had consumed almost one and a half bottles of the ‘pure white water’ over the past few years to overcome death. And that amount meant that over 50 years of memories had been erased.

Questions continued to follow one after another. The old cleric closed his eyes at his increasingly complicated thoughts. And while offering a prayer, he murmured inwardly.

‘……It must be the goddess’s will.’

* * *

Six years had passed since the new emperor ascended to the throne. And during that neither short nor long period, the Vistius Empire grew day by day under the rule of the newly enthroned emperor.

‘Withdraw the army.’

Emperor Roshan Vistius, unlike the deposed former emperor, was not obsessed with wars of aggression. Neighboring countries, recalling his death-like presence on the battlefield, worried that Roshan might call for continental unification upon becoming emperor. However, the new emperor showed more attention to domestic affairs than to war.

Money that had been circulating outside the country began to flow within. Schools and poorhouses were built, and the arts flourished. The lives of the people became more prosperous than before.

“I hear there’s a play in the square tomorrow. It’s about a legitimate heir of a territory chosen by the goddess who drives out his half-brother who took the lord’s position through petty means, and then goes on to save a princess of a neighboring country from an evil dragon.”

“That’s too cliché. Will it be interesting?”

“I don’t know if it’s fun, but I’ve heard rumors that the actress in the play is very beautiful.”

“Then we must go.”

With the comfort of life, people unanimously praised the emperor. The former emperor, called a tyrant, was remembered only as a villain who made the virtuous emperor shine brighter, receiving no one’s sympathy.

“How is the emperor these days?”

“It’s obvious. I hear he only goes between his office and the Ivory Palace. They say he’s even moved his residence there.”

“He seems unchanged. Count Himen must be quite bitter. He deliberately placed his beautiful youngest daughter as a maid in the Central Palace…… It was all for nothing.”

The nobles also dared not oppose the popular and powerful emperor. Moreover, the emperor’s close associates were capable people with little greed, so there was almost no internal strife that usually occurred.

“This cannot be! How great were the contributions my ancestors made to the Empire. For me, their descendant, to receive such treatment.”

“Right! A count title for someone like James. Does that make sense?”

“We cannot just sit by. We must somehow express our opinions to the emperor!”

Of course, conflicts weren’t entirely absent. In particular, the noble forces who had sided with Roshan just before the former emperor was ousted had many complaints. However, Duke Day, who could be considered their leader, had gone down to his territory as soon as Roshan was enthroned, so the remaining ones couldn’t form a proper focal point. Thus, while small power struggles occasionally occurred, noble society was more peaceful than ever.

“That…… the former emperor’s empress has died. You know, Duke Day’s daughter.”

“I heard her illness was severe, so it’s come to this.”

“Was it really because of illness? Rumors say she threw herself away longing for the former emperor.”

“Surely not. We all know, don’t we? That the former emperor and the duke’s daughter had a bad relationship. Rather, I heard she died of anger.”

“Anger?”

“You know how the duke sided with our current Emperor just before the former emperor was ousted. Because of that, she apparently believed her position as empress would be maintained. But she became imprisoned in the temple……”

“That’s a reliable rumor. I’ve also heard secretly that the emperor pressured the duke. They say he directly ordered him to get rid of his daughter because he couldn’t stand the sight of her.”

“Oh my. That’s understandable. Everyone knows that the duke’s daughter became intimate with the former emperor during the time when our current Emperor was engaged to her, right? I wouldn’t want to see her either.”

“Even without that, the duke’s daughter would be unbearable to look at. You know her nasty temperament. It was terrible. When I think about how hard I worked to please her, I shudder.”

Empress Liliana, who was once the ruler of the imperial palace and the foremost among women, was mentioned a few times by people and then forgotten. Only family and close relatives attended her funeral, held at a small temple where she met her death.

Thus, as some fall and collapse in an instant, others rise brilliantly. The sharp-witted nobles erased those who had retreated behind the scenes from their minds and diligently rolled their eyes toward the newly risen star.

“Yes. Just thinking about that time…… Compared to that, how excellent our current empress is. A person with deep compassion as beautiful as her appearance.”

“And how great her talents are. Do you remember the tea party held in the lily garden of the Ivory Palace? It was the first time in my life I had experienced such an excellent tea party.”

And the person most fitting to be described as rising in the Empire currently was Empress Yerena Vistius, the companion of Emperor Roshan Vistius and the one he loved dearly.

The empress was the second daughter of House Rockzenta, an old prestigious family in the west with no interest in central politics, and had never shown herself in the capital before standing beside the emperor. Therefore, when she became empress, all sorts of rumors circulated.

“Well. I was also at that tea party, but…… Other than the empress being dazzlingly beautiful, I didn’t feel anything special. Ah! I was surprised that the empress doesn’t resemble her mother, Lady Rockzenta, at all. I even thought that those strange rumors might be true.”

“Lady Himen. By rumors, you mean……”