Chapter 15: The Broken Candleholder (2)

“Could you come a little closer?”

At his words, I slowly raised my head. With my eyes tightly shut, I leaned my face closer to the confession window.

A warm body temperature overlapped my lips, which had been painfully battered with anxiety. For a while, our lips remained connected without movement, and a gentle breath seeped inside.

The moist and tender flesh explored every corner of my mouth, moving with a delicate touch as if soothing an injured wound.

* * *

I sat listlessly in front of the desk, reflecting on Edwin’s words.

“To die together…”

It was a more enchanting promise than any sweet talk. The forbidden fruit was so sweet that it made my tongue tingle, momentarily making me forget my melancholic feelings.

Shifting my gaze, I looked at the potted plant Edwin had given me. It had withered so quickly after only a few days of neglect, which felt so cruel. The dried-up buds that never had a chance to bloom looked quite pitiful.

“I should have taken better care of it.”

Leaving behind my belated regrets, I raked my hair with my hands. The central temple and the palace must have been in turmoil because of the genuine Saint descending from the heavens. I worried about Abigail, left alone in the royal palace. She would likely be sitting in an empty room, facing confusion just as I once did.

“Maybe I should try to get some sleep.”

I rested my head on the desk and gently closed my eyelids. Although it seemed impossible to sleep, my body, wrapped in deep fatigue, quickly fell into a dream.

I enjoyed a rest, floating on warm water. Just as I was about to drift into a deep sleep, my body was forcibly pulled.

“…Hoo.”

When I opened my eyes, I was in the desolate queen’s palace. I felt the softness of the bedding wrapped around my skin with my fingertips. It was on a different level compared to the bedding used in the monastery.

I looked around at the luxurious furniture and meaningless statues. It was just as I remembered from my memories.

“What on earth is happening?”

I raised my heavy body and stood in front of the vanity mirror. I looked at the porcelain-like skin, tended to by diligent attendants. Smooth blonde hair and a perfectly white dress without a single stain…

“Abigail…?”

No, it wasn’t her. By examining each feature closely, I realized it wasn’t her.

“…Yes, it’s my past self.”

I finally realized the identity of the delicate woman reflected in the mirror. It was me from those days when I had ascended to the queen’s position solely on the shining exterior and the reputation of being a Saint.

“Once again, I’m dreaming a nightmare.”

The gods had not even granted me a single peaceful night’s sleep.

“…Your Majesty, Father Revencio has arrived from the central temple.”

I lifted my head at the voice of the attendant rousing me from my daze. There was no need to seek my permission.

Father Revencio, who had entered the room without permission, wore a smirk on his face.

“The central temple is in an uproar due to the foreigner descended from the heavens. It seems the palace situation isn’t much different.”

Yes, this was the memory from the day when the true Saint Sua descended from the heavens.

“…Father, what will happen to me now?”

My lips moved of their own accord. I uttered the question I had asked Father Revencio that day, word for word.

“Saint, do not worry. No matter what anyone says, you are the true Saint verified by the central temple.”

The claim of being the true Saint was rendered meaningless when, as soon as the spiritual power verification was complete, I was immediately cast aside.

“Then what about that girl…”

“There cannot be two Saints under heaven. We are preparing a proper verification of spiritual power at the temple, so you need not worry.”

Father Revencio said. He claimed they were preparing a proper verification of spiritual power. Back then, I was so innocent that I trusted Revencio’s words until the end.

The place we went to for the verification of spiritual power was a dense forest overgrown with foliage.

“Both of you, follow me.”

As we followed Father Revencio with the priests, a large pit the size of a house was revealed among the underbrush.

“Ahhh!”

Sua, peering into the pit below, let out a blood-curdling scream and fell backward.

“Rest assured, all the fangs have been removed.”

Inside the pit, hundreds of venomous snakes were writhing. They were twisting around noisily, sticking their heads out and searching for prey.

I opened my mouth towards Father Revencio with a face full of fear.

“Such nonsense…! Even if the fangs are removed, it’s still possible to be strangled to death by the snakes!”

“We’ve mobilized personnel to prepare for any eventuality, so you need not worry.”

“Even so, it’s impossible! Your Majesty, please call His Majesty, the Emperor!”

“…Saint, why are you trembling in fear? If you are truly the Saint, you will undoubtedly be unharmed. The pit teeming with snakes is the place where the first Saint appeared 1,200 years ago, isn’t it?”

It was a story passed down like a distant myth. A tale of a five-year-old boy who had fallen into a pit of snakes, and a woman who willingly jumped into the pit to save him.

She had no signs of being bitten by the snakes, and instead, the snakes were said to have recoiled in fear, avoiding her.

“According to the scriptures, nothing will happen.”

It was an unrealistic tale. Even if the story handed down were true, there was no guarantee it applied to all Saints.

“It’s ridiculous! Let go of me!”

The priests of the central temple forcibly restrained me. When I looked to the side, Sua was already flailing and crying as if she had lost her mind.

“…No, ah, mom! Sob!”

“Father Revencio, this is not a proper treatment for a Saint!”

“…Saint, please do not be too angry. The temple is only trying to correct its mistake before making a greater one. Even the gods will surely forgive you.”

I was pushed to the edge of the pit. Below my feet, hungry vipers were writhing and flicking their tongues.

“Ugh, sob! I don’t want to die.”

At that time, I was foolishly sacrificial and devoted. Even with the vipers writhing beneath me, I worried about Sua, who was drenched in tears. It was truly absurd.

“Ugh! Aaaah!”

With a desperate scream, I was shoved, and Sua and I fell into the pit as the priests’ chants echoed.

“Ugh…”

Grasping my numb waist, I stood up, feeling smooth scales brush over my delicate skin.

For a moment, wriggling worms crawled over my body. It was a moment away from being strangled to death.

Yes, I was not the only one who fell into the pit.

I checked on Sua’s condition. A girl huddled alone at the edge of the pit.

Remarkably, not a single insect was crawling around her. As Father Revencio had said, her divine power repelled the evil.

‘Yes, you are the real Saint.’

Yet, contrary to the claim that the fangs had been removed, a sharp pain was rising from my ankles. Writhing in pain, I reached out to Sua.

“P-please save me…”

In that moment, a bitter smile flickered across Sua’s tear-streaked face. I pondered amid the writhing vipers.

Could it be that this person actually delights in my suffering? Otherwise, how could she smile so?

“Ugh, ah!”

Gasping for breath, I barely woke from the nightmare. But soon, an even more horrifying reality awaited me, worse than the nightmare.

Even after waking from the dream, I had to shudder at the sensation of smooth scales wrapping around my entire body.

* * *

Early in the morning, priests from the empire gathered at the central temple. Edwin found the familiar red-haired figure among the crowd. The crown prince was taking the emperor’s place, who was unable to move.

Edwin glared at the crown prince, biting his lip. No wonder, the man who had inflicted such terrible pain on her was right in front of him, igniting his anger.

“A person coming down from the heavens—this is unprecedented.”

As Edwin muttered softly, a young priest from the central temple countered him.

“There are no records of anyone coming down from the heavens, but there are records of Saints emerging from lakes or appearing from snake pits.”

The crown prince, who had been sitting quietly, smirked and wore a lazy smile.

“There’s no need to complicate things. With such a miraculous appearance and unfamiliar looks… the answer seems already decided.”

In response to the crown prince’s words, Edwin irritably brushed his disheveled silver hair aside and spoke.

“Since the founding of the empire, there has never been a case of two Saints coexisting.”

“Precedents, precedents… What do you plan to do if you don’t have an old scrap of scripture? Think actively. Actively.”

Edwin and Victor’s gazes collided. Edwin furrowed his brow and clenched his lips. There was a sense of discomfort as he looked at Victor’s lustful red eyes.

“She came down riding the sun’s rays. She wore a necklace with blue jewels around her neck. Doesn’t that ring a bell? It’s very similar to the prophecy that came down a few months ago.”

The priests who were listening to the crown prince’s words could not hide their astonishment. Father Revencio, who had been quietly listening, slowly nodded his head.

The crown prince, with a scornful expression, shrugged his shoulders and replied, “I never said that the Saint from the palace is a fake. But as you all said, two Saints cannot coexist under one sky. If one of them is the true Saint…”

His derisive tone left the room in an uneasy silence, as no one dared to speak up.

“Then we will proceed with the official verification of Saintly powers…”

Before Father Revencio could finish his sentence, palace guards filed into the meeting room in an orderly procession.

“His Imperial Majesty, the Sun Emperor, has arrived!”

The emperor, supported by the guards, struggled to make his way forward despite his frail condition.

The priests, one by one, rose from their seats, kneeling and bowing their heads. Edwin also bowed in respect, following the others.

“If anyone dares to demean the Saint residing in the palace, even if it is the crown prince, they will be held accountable!” 

The emperor’s declaration made the crown prince’s eyes narrow with a spiteful glint.

“The pond in the imperial palace was closed off to prevent the spread of disease. To bestow the title of Saint upon a girl who appeared in such an ominous place, merely because she claimed to have come from the heavens—this is something I, as the supreme ruler of the empire, cannot accept!”

The rough, metallic sounds of the emperor’s labored breathing echoed through the meeting room.

“The Saint residing in the palace has proven her divine power through my own frail body. Witness the miracle bestowed upon us by the heavens!” 

The hand of the guard supporting the emperor faltered, and the emperor, unsupported, managed to take a step forward. 

One step, two steps, and three steps—he advanced to stand right before the crown prince, relying solely on his own strength.

“Just a few months ago, my body was on the brink of death, confined to bed. But through the Saint’s touch, through the touch of the divine, I have risen once more.”

The crown prince’s face twisted in visible displeasure.

“From this moment forward, the girl who descended from the heavens shall be treated as an outsider and a guest of the empire. Should there be any objections, come to the feet of the Sun Emperor himself and ask… I shall respond personally.”