That afternoon, Rael cleaned and washed the freshly gathered chestnuts. Since they were harvested slightly early and might not be sweet enough, she decided to make candied chestnuts.

Making candied chestnuts by simmering them in sugar water required considerable effort. Peeling the chestnuts especially consumed too much time and energy, leaving Rael completely drained.

“We certainly gathered a lot.”

After using even Bastian’s priestly robe to collect chestnuts, which now exhausted her, Rael resolved not to be so greedy next time.

After four full hours of dedicated work, Rael finally finished bottling the simmered chestnuts and stretched her back. She had tasted so many chestnuts during the process that her mouth felt sweet, and she’d skipped dinner. Still, she was grateful to finish before nightfall.

“I feel like I could collapse into bed right now.”

Rael dragged her heavy legs out of the dining hall. She planned to flop onto her bed the moment she returned to her quarters. With a bottle of her laboriously made candied chestnuts in hand, she trudged along.

In the distance, she spotted priests coming for a late meal. Wondering if Bastian might be among them, she craned her neck to look, but after confirming he wasn’t there, she approached one of the priests.

“Is the High Priest not coming?”

“Oh, he said he has no appetite and is still working.”

“I see. Thank you.”

Rael nodded in gratitude at the priest’s answer.

‘Perhaps Bastian is also tired from our mountain trip…’

Learning he was skipping dinner made her concerned. After walking while thinking about him for a while, she eventually turned her steps away from her quarters.

* * *

She visited Bastian’s office, but her trip was in vain. Wondering where he might be if not in his office, Rael headed to the prayer room.

“No one’s here.”

The prayer room, which usually had at least one or two people, was quiet. Even the devotees seemed to have left early today. Being alone in the silent prayer room reminded her of her first day at the temple. Rael sat in the same spot where she had sat then.

The temple she had entered while shivering from the cold had been so warm and cozy. That comforting warmth that had enveloped her entire body remained unforgettable.

Though she had set out to find Bastian, she thought it wouldn’t hurt to pray while she was here.

Rael began to pray in the stillness.

“……”

Her mind seemed troubled, for whenever she closed her eyes, all sorts of distracting thoughts would rush in—today was no exception. Her prayer, which had started with gratitude, gradually filled with worry and anxiety.

Since she was praying anyway, she might as well make a small request to the deity.

‘Please let nothing bad happen.’

In the end, her prayer culminated in concern for her own wellbeing.

Rael opened her eyes after finishing her prayer. Somehow, the vague uneasiness in her heart had dissipated.

Sitting in the prayer room after sunset brought her peace. Perhaps because of the softly lit candles, her darkened mood had completely vanished, making her think she should visit the prayer room whenever she felt melancholy at night.

Reluctant to leave, Rael simply remained seated. When fatigue overtook her, she leaned forward. The prayer room chairs had a support attached to the back of the seat in front, so she rested her upper body against it.

Just like this, for a little while, let me sleep.

Like someone had cast a spell, her eyes closed smoothly. The candlelight that had been dancing in Rael’s vision suddenly blinked out.

“…Really, why is someone sleeping here?”

Bastian, who had entered the prayer room, discovered someone sleeping hunched over and was about to shake them awake. However, when he approached and realized it was Rael, he became quite perplexed.

Why was she here like this? Remembering Rael’s mention of drowsiness after becoming pregnant, Bastian quietly removed his newly changed outer priestly robe and placed it over her shoulders. 

She continued sleeping soundly even with the added covering. Careful not to make noise, he sat beside her.

“You must be very tired.”

He felt sorry seeing Rael coming to pray instead of resting properly, tired enough to fall asleep anywhere. With all the physical changes she was experiencing, she must be struggling a lot but hiding it—perhaps because she had no one to whom she could complain.

He wondered if he wasn’t being supportive enough for Rael, who had come here trusting him. His gaze rested on her, filled with concern.

Rael’s bright and spirited demeanor had always seemed positive, but today, for some reason, he wondered if she might be struggling behind her forced smile.

“You’ve always been good at making people worry about you.”

Rael had always been someone he cared about like a younger sister. No, his feelings were somewhat more complicated than that.

Bastian silently looked down at Rael for a long time.

“Mmm….”

After wandering through dreams for a while, Rael finally opened her eyes, feeling a tingling in her arm. Her entire arm felt numb even as she raised her head, possibly from a cramp.

“Ow, ow, ow….”

As she rose with a slightly exaggerated groan, something fell from her shoulders and back with a soft thud. Looking behind her, she saw a white cloak had fallen onto the chair behind her.

“That’s what happens when you sleep in such an uncomfortable position.”

“Bastian?”

Startled by the low voice, she looked to the side and saw Bastian sitting there.

“What made you so tired that you fell asleep here?”

“Ah…. Has much time passed?”

Rael looked around in surprise, wondering if she had slept in the prayer room for so many hours that the sun had risen.

“It’s still night. What’s that?”

Bastian’s gaze rested on the bottle of candied chestnuts.

“Oh. It’s a snack made from the chestnuts we gathered earlier. I put several bottles in the storage room. I kept this one to eat tonight.”

Rael smiled broadly, feeling proud when she looked at the bottle of candied chestnuts. Bastian nodded and naturally reached for the bottle. He opened the lid and took out a chestnut.

“Your grandmother taught you this recipe, right?”

He immediately recognized the source of the recipe—it was a snack Rael’s grandmother often made when they were children.

“That’s right. But it doesn’t taste exactly the same.”

“How could anyone match your grandmother’s decades of expertise?”

The well-simmered chestnut in sugar slipped into Bastian’s mouth. The thoroughly cooked chestnut melted softly in his mouth.

“Hmm.”

Bastian savored the candied chestnut, which tasted quite similar to what he remembered.

“This is good enough that I’d believe your grandmother made it.”

“There you go, flattering me again.”

“I’m serious. You didn’t secretly go back to your old house and bring some, did you?”

Even knowing his praise was meant to cheer her up, Rael felt pleased. Bastian could instantly transport her back to happier times with such simple, trivial words.

“Those were good times.”

“When we had the reputation of being troublemakers?”

“Exactly. When we played without a care in the world… when Grandmother was still alive.”

“Do you still miss her a lot?”

Though Rael had remained strong even after her grandmother’s passing, lately she desperately missed her. If her grandmother were here, she would have immediately dispelled all this confusion.

“How could I not miss her?”

A bitter smile crossed her face, and shadows fell over Bastian’s expression too. An awkward silence followed. Bastian changed the subject.

“What will you do after the baby is born?”

He asked the question he had been avoiding for Rael’s peace of mind. She couldn’t readily answer.

“Have you decided where to go?”

At first, she had vaguely thought living in a sanctuary might be fine. But what if, by some chance, her child wasn’t fully human? Could she still go to a sanctuary then?

“I’m not sure.”

Thinking about the future made her nervous. Rael raised her rough hands and rubbed her face a couple of times.

“What should I do?”

The question was directed both at Bastian and herself.

“Rael….”

“Sorry. I’m making you gloomy too. I’ll think about the future when it comes, just like I always have.”

Rael spoke with a bright smile, acting like she had never been troubled. But in that moment, she worried whether her lips might be trembling. Seeing her appear so small made Bastian’s chest ache.

“Let’s go. We can’t spend the whole night here.”

Rael stood up and patted Bastian’s shoulder.

But Bastian remained seated.

Why isn’t he responding?

“Why….”

“Rael.”

“Yes?”

Bastian grabbed Rael’s arm with his hand.

“Will you marry me?”

Bastian’s words left Rael dazed. She couldn’t immediately comprehend what she had just heard. She rolled her eyes from side to side, briefly pondering his words.

“…Oh.”

Good heavens.

Rael pressed her forehead with her free hand. She thought she understood what motivated her friend to say such a thing. After letting out a soft sigh, she removed Bastian’s hand that was holding her wrist.

“Bastian, now I understand why you became a priest. But marriage isn’t something you do out of pity.”

How incredibly kind-hearted must someone be to offer marriage to a friend who would bear and raise a child alone? She had thought herself naive about the ways of the world, but Bastian was clearly worse.

“I appreciate the sentiment. But don’t think like that anymore. Not for me, not for anyone else. Are you planning to fill your entire life with sacrifice? That’s foolish.”

She never thought she’d need to lecture someone, especially Bastian, who had always seemed so intelligent. But this situation demanded she speak up.

“My situation might look bleak, but I don’t break that easily. Fortunately, I have the ability to make a living. Don’t worry too much.”

Bastian gave a bitter smile. It was ironic who was comforting whom in this situation.

“I’ll go ahead.”

With that, Rael turned and left the prayer room.

Even until Rael went through the door, and until the sound of her footsteps faded in the corridor, Bastian said nothing. He still seemed to be searching for an answer, unable to put a period on their conversation. For a long, very long time.

The candle illuminating the prayer room had almost completely melted and dripped down. The wick looked precarious, about to go out.