Chapter 16: The Divine Power Test(5)

Sighing, Sua sat down on the chair. She glanced at Abigail, who was standing stiffly, and then smirked triumphantly.

“Now then, it seems we’re nearly ready, so let’s begin the mass.”

Was that it? I hurriedly looked at Abigail’s expression. She was clearly neglected, quietly lowering her head.

“Cough, cough!”

In the midst of the blessing mass, Father Revencio’s voice reciting the scriptures momentarily stopped at the sound of the Emperor’s labored cough.

“Cough, cough, hack, argh…”

A dark red clot of blood poured from the Emperor’s mouth. Seeing this, Sua, who had been dozing while holding the Emperor’s left hand, frowned and moved away from her place.

“Ugh, it’s nauseating.”

The clotted blood continuously spilled onto the bedding. Without any hesitation, Abigail propped up the Emperor’s body.

“Your Majesty, are you alright?”

The pure white dress symbolizing innocence was stained with dark red bodily fluids.

“Ugh…”

“Quick, call for the imperial doctor!”

In an instant, the Emperor’s chamber was engulfed in chaos. Abigail carefully cradled the Emperor and meticulously wiped his bloodstained mouth with a handkerchief.

Seizing the moment of confusion, Father Revencio knelt beside the bed and placed his hands over the Emperor’s hand.

“…Hush, the pain is only temporary. If you wait just a little longer, tranquility will return as if it never happened.”

Father Revencio whispered these cryptic words. The Emperor, writhing in pain, turned his eyes toward Father Revencio. He opened his mouth to speak but could only expel more dark red bodily fluids.

“Your Majesty!”

The imperial doctor rushed into the chamber in a flurry. The doctor was an elderly man with completely white hair.

Whether the doctor was the one who had brought the Emperor to death or merely a bystander who had failed to notice the Emperor’s illness due to old age was unknown.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty! Can you see me!”

“R-Ros, m-my…”

The Emperor struggled to swallow the regurgitated blood and weakly murmured the doctor’s name.

The doctor’s face darkened rapidly. After a moment of silence while checking the Emperor’s pulse, he spoke to Father Revencio.

“It seems His Majesty needs to be stabilized, so it would be better to conclude today’s blessing mass here.”

A strange tension hung between the doctor and Father Revencio.

“It is very regrettable, but since the doctor has spoken, we will end today’s blessing mass here.”

There was little time left for the Emperor. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t extend the Emperor’s life.

Abigail, clutching her bloodstained dress, left the chamber, and the clergy began to clean up diligently. To speak with Abigail, I had to follow her immediately.

Father Edwin, who had been looking around the chamber, handed me a box containing burnt incense and caked wax remnants.

“Go quickly.”

Without time to hesitate, I rushed out of the chamber and glanced back. Lucio was leaning against the threshold, watching me with folded arms.

‘Lucio, you…!’

When our eyes met, he gave a light wave. A chill ran down my spine. I quickened my pace as if fleeing.

In the corridor leading to the guest palace. Below my feet was a cattle pen, which had cleared the way for people. Abigail was waiting for me at the promised place.

“…Alicia!”

As soon as the terrace door opened, she reached out her hand towards me.

“Abigail, I’m suffocating.”

“I was so worried… I thought you had sunk into the lake just like that!”

“Of course not. Abigail, I wouldn’t leave you so easily.”

In the warm embrace, the mix of comforting warmth and the acrid smell of blood filled the air.

“The Emperor’s health is deteriorating day by day. When I saw him yesterday morning, it wasn’t as bad as this…”

I clasped Abigail’s hands tightly and spoke.

“Abigail, we have little time left to meet. It might be our last chance.”

“Last…”

The word “last” made her eyes well up as if she might cry any moment.

“If the Emperor passes away, Crown Prince Victor will naturally ascend the throne. We can’t just stand by and watch. We must stop it. Abigail, please help me one last time.”

Her eyes wavered with anxiety.

“Alicia, what truth do you know that is so significant…”

I knew everything from start to finish. How your life would fall apart, I knew it all. I gently caressed the blood-stained sleeve of her dress.

“I’ll tell you everything when the time comes.”

Abigail, without a hint of hesitation, asked.

“Alicia, what should I do to help you?”

In her untainted purity, the reflection of a humble nun appeared in her clear, blue eyes.

“We need to uncover the sins the Emperor committed 25 years ago. That might be the only leverage we have.”

“And if, before we find out, the Emperor dies or if what we uncover isn’t significant enough to serve as leverage?”

Her delicate fingers touched my cheek. I rested my cheek against her warm palm and closed my eyes gently.

“Even if that happens, Abigail, I’ll make sure to protect you.”

It was the first time in history that two Saints coexisted since the founding of the Empire. Though we had successfully completed the sacred power verification, it was a life like a ticking clock, uncertain when or where it might crumble. If Victor were to become Emperor and choose Sua as Empress, it would be a repetition of past tragedies.

“I’ll look into the events from 25 years ago. My grandfather worked as a court historian for a long time, so he might know something. I won’t just stand by and watch. For you and me, Alicia.”

She, who always trembled with anxiety like a lost child, looked particularly composed today. For a moment, could I lean on her, just for a moment?

“Alicia, don’t be sad anymore.”

I rested against her and caught my breath. In the quiet silence, her hand caressed my back. I enjoyed the comfort like a baby in a cradle, listening to her softly humming a lullaby.

“I should go now.”

It was barely a moment of less than five minutes. I said goodbye to her and turned away. Her scent and the smell of blood were absorbed into my habit.

“I almost forgot.”

I nearly went back to the Emperor’s bedroom holding the box of candle remnants. Looking around, I couldn’t find a suitable place to put it. A single servant passing down the corridor caught my eye.

“Excuse me!”

I hurriedly chased after the servant with the box. Just as I thought I had nearly caught up, I bumped into someone around the corner. I ended up falling hard on my bottom. Grasping my waist and looking around, I saw that the box had spilled over.

“…Oh, I’m so sorry.”

I apologized while picking up the scattered candle remnants from the floor. Before I could even see the person in front of me, a harsh hand struck me. Startled by the sharp, stinging sound, I looked up.

“Is just saying sorry enough after you bumped into me?”

A sharp pain spread across my cheek. Through her nervously distorted eyes, I could see the onyx-like glint of her gaze. Sua, she was standing right in front of me.

“Just making a mistake on your own and apologizing, is that all it takes? If that’s the case, I should just do the same to you.”

Slap. My head turned again. My legs froze, unable to move. I finally realized why she was standing in the corridor leading to the guest palace.

It seemed she, like Abigail, was staying in the guest palace, despite not being a princess or an empress.

“Oh dear, sorry. But I’m still not done being angry.”

My mouth was split open, blood seeping out. I swallowed it down, unable to spit it out like a persistent trauma.

“Do you think just nodding your head is enough for an apology from a mere nun? An apology should be proper, don’t you think?”

I quickly lowered my head at her sharp voice. When I had come to the palace to meet Abigail as the daughter of the Duke’s family, hadn’t I faced Sua? Unlike then, her plain face without makeup made it seem she didn’t recognize me.

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

“So just apologizing is all? Shouldn’t you be kneeling as well? You made me bump into the corner! Are you a nun from a monastery or what?”

I was already fearful that this incident might negatively impact the Archelio Monastery during such a sensitive time.

As I knelt and bowed my head, the tips of her heels settled on top of my head.

She pressed down with her shoe, causing my forehead to grind against the palace floor. My delicate skin couldn’t withstand the friction and began to break open.

“…I’m sorry. Please forgive me just this once.”

It was a familiar treatment. My body reacted before my mind could catch up. Hadn’t I repeated bowing my head at her feet hundreds of times before? Hadn’t I begged for forgiveness thousands, tens of thousands of times?

“You need to know your place. If you’re a nun, then act like one and move about quietly. How can you call yourself a nun, running around and acting like a woman from a brothel?”

There was no shame or pride left. I lay flat on the ground, simply waiting for her anger to subside.

When the seemingly endless outburst finally ceased and I looked up, she was already gone. I stared blankly at the desolate corridor.

“…No matter how much I struggle, I can’t escape.”

Even if I gained a new life from the flames of the pyre, nothing had changed. No matter how much I fought, I couldn’t prolong the Emperor’s life or prevent the appearance of the true Saint.

The only change was that the girl who would soon be burned at the pyre was not me, but Abigail.

‘Oh God, why have you resurrected me?’

Why, why have you given me trials that I cannot endure? No matter how much I shout, there is no answer.

I gathered the scattered candles from the floor and headed back to the Emperor’s chamber. My limbs creaked stiffly like a broken puppet.

It seemed the clean-up of the prayer mass had already been completed, as all the priests were gathered in the corridor.

“Sister Alicia.”

Father Edwin whispered my name. I looked up at him in my disheveled state.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know where to put this, so I brought it back.”

Father Edwin shook his head silently and took the box from me. Father Revencio looked me up and down and then spoke.

“It seems everyone is here now, so I’ll speak beforehand.”

Did he have something to say to the priests attending the prayer mass?

“I recently heard an interesting story, though it’s quite absurd. Apparently, among the priests attending the prayer mass, there is someone who is in collusion with the palace.”

Father Revencio’s words shattered my heart into pieces. Clutching my broken heart, I looked around.

Lucio stood at a distance, shrugging his shoulders. A faint smile played at the corner of his mouth.