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Chapter 23
“Alright.”
At the unhesitating answer, Dana let out a soft laugh.
“We should at least hear where it is.”
“If it’s somewhere you want to go, sunbae, I’ll follow you anywhere.”
Dana took his almost blindly obedient attitude as a joke.
But Edwin was utterly sincere.
It wasn’t just that he would follow—wherever Dana was, he would chase after her.
Unaware of the pitch-black resolve filling Edwin’s mind, she smiled brightly.
“Let’s go to the temple.”
“Why the temple—”
Before he could finish, Edwin realized.
At the same time, lights of joy flickered on throughout his mind.
“……To receive a marriage certificate?”
“Yeah. I told you, didn’t I? That I want to marry you as soon as possible.”
To submit a marriage certificate to the Empire, three approvals were required.
The bride and groom, and a priest who would attest to their marriage before the god.
Dana continued.
“It’s still daytime, so if we leave now, we’ll make it in time.”
“……Then today, we become husband and wife.”
Edwin spoke as if he couldn’t quite believe it.
Was it really okay for happiness to come one after another like this?
It was a dizzying, overwhelming joy.
Dana took Edwin’s dazed hand.
“Come on, let’s go to the square and take a carriage. The closest temple from here is still on the outskirts of the capital.”
Saying they needed to hurry, Dana led the way—then suddenly stopped, as if something had occurred to her.
“Come to think of it, the Founding Festival is coming up soon, isn’t it?”
“Is that a problem?”
“I heard that when the Founding Festival approaches, the priests stay at the Imperial Palace and give blessings.”
If they were unlucky, they might not be able to meet a priest today.
That wouldn’t do.
Whether legally or by divine witness, Edwin needed to take Dana as his wife as soon as possible.
Having reached that thought, Edwin smiled brightly.
“Sunbae.”
“Yes?”
“Isn’t the closest temple the Imperial Palace temple?”
There was a temple inside the Imperial Palace.
It had been built to foster friendly relations between the Empire and the Holy State.
Several high-ranking priests from the Holy State stayed there, praying for the Empire’s well-being.
“That’s true. But the priests assigned there exist for the imperial family.”
“Why?”
“They’re stuck-up.”
In other words, they didn’t attend to lower nobles or commoners.
Just because they resided in the palace.
Yet on the emperor’s birthday, they received an enormous budget to hold a grand blessing ceremony.
Where had all that money gone?
The corner of Edwin’s mouth twisted upward.
He said to Dana,
“Let’s go to the Imperial Palace temple.”
“What?”
“Can someone who stands in for the god really discriminate against people?”
Saying “let’s go,” he stood beside Dana and extended one arm.
“What is it?”
“Married couples are supposed to link arms.”
Hurry. At Edwin’s urging, Dana lightly took his arm.
At the same time, Edwin’s lips curved upward.
To anyone’s eyes, they looked like lovers—and he was thoroughly satisfied.
A temple was, anywhere on the continent, a place where all were equal before the god.
From commoners to high nobles, anyone could come and go.
But as Dana had said, the Imperial Palace temple was different.
The priests here knew the faces of the imperial family and high nobles by heart.
Bestowing precious blessings upon precious people—
That was what they believed their job to be.
That was why
they looked at the pair—who clearly seemed like low-ranking officials—with discomfort.
They wore uniforms of some affiliation or another, but their faces were unfamiliar.
Who did they think they were, coming here?
Sneering at Dana and Edwin, one priest approached.
“What brings you here?”
“We’ve come to have our marriage certified.”
Seeing Edwin’s smiling face, the priest felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
‘He looks like someone I know…’
But he didn’t care about such feelings.
With a scornful expression, the priest replied,
“This is not a place for that.”
“Not a place for that?”
“Well, how should I explain it…”
He looked the two of them up and down.
“This is a place that serves only distinguished individuals…”
“So you’re saying I’m insignificant.”
At Edwin’s response, the priest smiled silently.
His expression clearly said, If you understand, then get lost.
It was only natural that the priests didn’t recognize Edwin as the Third Prince.
First, Edwin had stayed exclusively in the North for a very long time.
Second, he found blessing ceremonies extremely bothersome.
Every time, he made excuses and skipped them.
No priests ever went to seek him out directly.
After all, the story of the Third Prince setting the High Priest’s beard on fire was quite famous.
Because of that, the priests had no choice but to be cautious whenever he came to the palace.
Just then,
the figure of the High Priest appeared in the distance.
As expected, he seemed to have come for the upcoming Founding Festival.
Glancing at the High Priest, Edwin whispered to the priest standing in front of him.
“Do you think the High Priest feels the same way you do?”
“W-Where do you get off mentioning the High Priest!”
At the flustered priest, Edwin smiled.
But his red eyes burned sharply.
The piercing aura made the priest flinch.
He had never felt such intimidation in his life.
Edwin seated Dana on a nearby bench.
“Sunbae, I’m going to step away for a moment.”
“Where are you going?”
“To check whether marriage certification is possible.”
At that, Dana shot a glance at the priest in front of her.
“Doesn’t seem likely. This one alone is incredibly rude.”
“That’s true, but I want to make sure.”
Being openly disparaged, the priest’s face reddened.
“I’ll be right back. Please enjoy the flowers while you wait.”
With that, Edwin quickly disappeared.
He strode straight toward the High Priest.
How dare he approach the High Priest!
The priest tried to block Edwin’s path, but was simply knocked aside by his strength.
Edwin shouted loudly, as if making sure Dana heard him.
“Oh dear, you seem to have tripped.”
His tone was shameless, as though he bore no fault whatsoever.
“Hah!” The priest let out a hollow laugh, utterly incredulous.
Dana asked the man who had fallen,
“There’s no weapons allowed in here, right?”
“That’s correct. Are you afraid something might happen to him?”
“No, that’s not it…”
Dana looked at him coldly.
“I’m worried about you. I don’t know what I might do.”
At the chilling words, the priest cleared his throat awkwardly.
Dana didn’t take back what she had said.
Because she had decided to protect the delicate Edwin herself.
The life of High Priest Rohas had been peaceful.
His innate divine power and brilliant intellect had made him a priest in an instant.
Moreover, he had become a High Priest at a young age.
Every word from his mouth was sacred, and every action dignified.
That was why everyone looked up to him.
—or so he believed.
His first and last trial came suddenly.
Rohas would probably never forget that day for as long as he lived.
It was a very special day.
On the occasion of the Founding Festival, he bestowed blessings upon many people, including the imperial family.
Rohas did not think his blessings were long.
Rather, he believed they would be a boon to those listening.
“……The god loves you all. That is why He sent someone as exceptionally capable as me into this world—”
“Boring.”
……What was that just now?
He had heard a sentence that should not exist in his life.
Rohas quickly shook his head. He must have misheard.
His blessing continued.
“……When I was seventeen, with divine power superior to anyone else—”
“That’s not a blessing, it’s self-praise.”
Once again, strange words reached his ears.
Could it be—a demon?
Perhaps this was a trial given to him by the god.
Rohas swallowed.
“……Now we’re about halfway through the blessing. The next part—”
At that moment,
before he could even finish saying that half the ceremony remained, his beard caught fire.
“Kyaaaah!!”
It really was a demon!
High Priest Rohas screamed at the top of his lungs.
The small flame teased him, moving back and forth along the tip of his beard.
Of course, to Rohas, even that was sheer terror.
The priests who had been dozing hastily grabbed the holy water beside them.
But before they could sprinkle it, the flames subsided.
As if they had only meant to frighten him.
In the end, his legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground.
In his dazed state, he heard the emperor’s voice.
“Edwin! If you do that, you’re going to get scolded by your father!”
Edwin? The Third Prince?
The youngest prince, whom he himself had blessed at birth.
The one who possessed the power of fire.
At that moment, the High Priest’s eyes met Edwin’s.
Those eerily calm eyes were demonic.
And that demon was walking toward him again.
Facing the grown demon after many years—
“……”
Rohas could not utter a single word.
