As I approached the inspection desk and handed over my ID, the priest who checked my name looked surprised.

“Welcome to the Holy Kingdom. You must be Lady Dronay. Could you please wait inside for a moment?”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“No, there isn’t. However, there are special orders from His Holiness the Pope to treat you as a VIP upon your arrival.”

“Oh, lady. This is the most dignified I’ve ever seen you.”

Seren gave me a thumbs-up and looked me up and down. I shrugged my shoulders proudly at her.

After verifying the identities of everyone in our party, we waited for a while in a lounge in one corner of the inspection hall.

After a short time, High Priest Dominique came running from a distance, panting.

“May the blessing of light be upon you. It’s been a long time, Lady Dronay. Are you here to see His Holiness the Pope?”

“May the blessing of light be upon you. Hello, High Priest Dominique. This time, I am merely visiting for tourism, so you don’t need to worry about us.”

“I see. If you had sent word in advance, I would have come to greet you.”

“It was a rather sudden trip. It is an honor that you came out despite your busy schedule.”

“Have you arranged for a place to stay?”

“Not yet.”

“In that case, I will prepare a comfortable place for you within the cathedral.”

“No, I can’t impose on the cathedral as a mere tourist. As long as the room is clean, any inn will do.”

I quickly waved my hand. I wanted to avoid any situation where I might run into Gined.

Fortunately, High Priest Dominique did not insist further.

“In that case, I will contact a suitable inn. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes, please.”

After exchanging letters with someone via a carrier pigeon, High Priest Dominique approached us with a relieved expression.

“Fortunately, there is a suitable room at the Agada Inn. Just mention my name when you get there. It is the best and cleanest inn in the Holy Kingdom.”

“Thank you for your consideration, High Priest.”

“Oh, I should call Roengreen for a tour guide…”

“No! Really, it’s fine. Using such a high-ranking person as a mere guide!”

I almost screamed in refusal.

It had only been a few days since I couldn’t even confess properly and got rejected.

Even if Gined was indifferent to women, this situation was suspicious enough. If he found out I entered the Holy Kingdom, I’d be a stalker without a doubt.

“What? Ah, yes.”

High Priest Dominique looked momentarily bewildered by my intense reaction but soon nodded.

“Haha. I was being thoughtless. Roengreen is so rigid despite his appearance that he might not suit a young lady’s taste. In that case, I will guide you.”

“No, no. You’ve done enough by arranging the accommodation. We can’t trouble you further. We’ll be on our way…”

Since I didn’t want to walk around with a bald old man either, I quickly grabbed some pamphlets and souvenirs from the lounge and hurried out.

The Holy Kingdom was more like a city in terms of size rather than a country. So, even with ample time, three days would be enough to see most of the attractions.

We went straight to the Agada Inn, unpacked our things, and had a simple meal.

As the best inn in the Holy Kingdom, the chef’s skills were quite impressive.

“What should we do now?”

“Traveling is all about food. They say there’s a delicious ice cream shop in Saint Luciano Square.”

We went to the square, bought ice cream for Seren and the knights, and then looked through the tourist pamphlet we had received.

“What? All the tourist spots are just temples…”

Seren said in a bored voice after checking the list of tourist spots.

She quickly lost interest and started eating her ice cream while scanning the appearance of passing priests.

“By the way, aren’t there any priests as handsome as Sir Roengreen? Why are they all bald old men?”

“Handsome men shouldn’t become priests for the public good.”

“Hmm, now that you mention it, that makes sense.”

Seren’s complaints disappeared.

Meanwhile, I was picking out tourist spots that might interest Shahar.

Among the endless list of temples, one place caught my eye. There was a museum and art gallery not too far away.

“Oh. There’s an art gallery. Shall we go?”

“It’s not very appealing, but it’s better than temples.”

We finished our ice cream in one bite and headed straight to the art gallery.

As one of the most visited attractions, the art gallery showed signs of meticulous care.

We passed by portraits of past Popes, records of saints and holy figures who demonstrated the power of gods, and various interpretations of sacred texts with little interest.

“Yawn.”

Before long, Seren let out a big yawn.

I wanted to yawn like her but held back, considering my dignity as a lady of the ducalfamily.

“Lady… can I wait outside?”

“No.”

I firmly refused her request. The fact that Seren was in the same situation as me was a great comfort.

But soon, I had no choice but to let her go.

Dragging around someone who kept yawning and tearing up was also a blow to my dignity.

“Fine, go outside.”

As soon as I gave her permission, Seren ran off without looking back.

Even after she left, I continued my tour. Although I still wasn’t interested, I wanted Shahar to see as many records of the goddess as possible.

Outwardly, I pretended to be a cultured lady exploring knowledge, but my mind was entirely occupied with thoughts of the evening menu.

Walking aimlessly, I eventually reached the innermost part of the art gallery.

The walls were filled with famous paintings whose titles were familiar even to an art novice like me. Most of them were related to creation myths and the goddess Elle.

Although my knowledge was superficial, I knew at least the creation myths.

The goddess was the first light born into a world of darkness. Though not very intense, it was enough to illuminate a world that had known only darkness. She called herself dawn.

It was all common knowledge, but since it was related to Shahar, I found it newly interesting.

I stopped and read the myth placed in front of the painting.

“When she created the world, she first filtered out impurities and molded the leftovers into a wolf. And with the purest substance, she made the morning star. The morning star was tasked with illuminating the eastern sky every dawn before the goddess dispelled the darkness.”

Reading up to that point, I couldn’t help but look down at the coal.

The morning star, made from the purest and most beautiful things, was no longer in the sky. After punishing the brother who killed the goddess, it descended to the underworld and became its king. And now, it sat quietly in my hand, turned into a rock.

“But isn’t it too discriminatory? Making one from impurities and another from pure energy?”

I lowered my voice and asked Shahar.

“It was a necessary process to create the world.”

Shahar answered indifferently. Considering he was talking about his ill-fated brother, his tone was quite cold.

‘So that’s why the wolf’s personality was like that.’

I internally accepted this and continued walking.

This time, I saw a painting of the goddess with two men sitting at her feet.

One man had dark blue hair and golden eyes, while the other had the same golden eyes but bluish-white hair.

The man with dark blue hair vaguely reminded me of Iscallion. Not only the color of his eyes and hair but also his fierce impression.

However, unlike the still boyish Iscallion, the man in the painting looked much more savage and sharp. Even without reading the description, I could tell he was the wolf transformed into a human.

Seeing him naturally made me curious about Iscallion’s well-being. Since Pontos was so closed off, no news ever reached the outside.

‘He must be safe, right?’

But as always, it was not the male leads I should be worrying about, but myself.

I tore my gaze away from the wolf and looked at the handsome man with white hair next to him.

“Wow.”

He was so beautiful that he instantly focused my scattered thoughts. He looked like a holy angel.

His long white hair, which nearly touched the ground, was similar yet different from Gined’s silver hair.

If Gined was a strict agent of the gods, this man felt purer.

Then I realized something shocking.

“So… the one with white hair is you, Shahar?”

Not just me, but anyone would find it impossible to associate the man in the painting with the rock.

I stood there, speechless, in a daze for a while. Then I snapped out of it when I sensed people passing by.

I managed to tear my eyes away from the painting, but my heart was pounding, and my face was hot as if I had been running. My left hand, which held Shahar, felt strangely itchy and prickly, making it hard to look at him directly.