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Chapter – 07
To begin with, now was not the time to be chatting idly with the young lady. Because of the incident earlier, we had made no progress in the lesson at all. After clearing my throat a few times, I opened the scriptures.
“Do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. This is from Heritias, chapter 13, verse 16. Today’s lesson will be about sharing and service.”
“You’re starting the lesson just like that? Aren’t you going to ask anything else?”
“You don’t seem inclined to answer, my lady. And in any case, the lesson should have started long ago.”
“How boring.”
With a sulky expression, the young lady turned her head to stare out the window.
“Boring or not, it cannot be helped. For your information, we will be going out to do volunteer work at the temple in a few days. You will be participating as well, so please listen carefully today.”
“Volunteer work? That’s the worst. Why should I have to do that? What a bother.”
I had expected that response. For her sake, I had no choice but to launch into a long lecture about why volunteer work was necessary.
O Ataras, please guide this wicked woman onto the righteous path.
After the lesson ended, Salome rested in her room. Outside the window, priests and believers visiting the temple bustled about.
She counted them one by one before lowering her hand. Turning around, she tore the scripture on the table into pieces. The scraps of paper scattered through the air. Salome stared at them for a long while before muttering quietly.
“They’re all nothing but paper dolls. And among them, I have to play the villain. Ha… it makes me sick.”
But if she didn’t do this, she never knew when she might lose consciousness.
Salome loathed the situation in which she could not control her own body. If she did not follow the flow of the novel—if she did not behave like a proper “villainess”—her body would slip beyond her control before she realized it.
While her consciousness drifted far away, she would end up harming others. And when she came to her senses, there was always a horrific scene waiting for her. She could never forget the despair she felt when she first realized this.
That was why Salome chose a workaround. To avoid losing herself, she committed evil deeds. It was ironic. To preserve herself, she had to commit acts that were completely unlike her.
Poisoning Lady Anthea, dropping a soldering pot on a priest’s head, even the priest who was injured by falling from a low height—so long as the story “Salome committed an evil act” was complete, that was enough. And as long as those deeds were exaggerated and spread far and wide, it sufficed.
The novel cared only about the results written on its pages. It had no concern for the process that led there, nor for what happened afterward. That was simply the nature of novels.
Salome opened a drawer and looked at the papers she had brought from home. The documents were densely filled with a language not used in the Empire. She read them for a long time.
Her thoughts were tangled. She struggled desperately to hold onto memories that slipped through her fingers like sand. Carefully, she put the papers back into the drawer.
“Johan… there isn’t much time left. I’m going to die soon.”
“Volunteer work at an orphanage… I’m already bored just thinking about it.”
“My lady, please refrain from such remarks. Did I not explain during the lesson how meaningful volunteer work is?”
“Yes, yes, my ears are practically calloused. More importantly, you’re a deputy high priest, aren’t you? You could easily skip something like this. Why are you going out of your way to participate? And please, spare me the textbook answer.”
The carriage rocked gently as it moved along. The young lady and I sat facing each other, on our way to a nearby orphanage. She stared out the window, radiating boredom from head to toe.
I slowly shook my head. Despite all the lessons about service, none of it seemed to have made an impression on her.
“…The Salute Orphanage we’re heading to is where I spent my childhood.”
At my words, the young lady suddenly turned her head, eyes wide. Our gazes met. Was it really that surprising to her that I had grown up in an orphanage? To a noble lady who had grown up surrounded by love, it must have sounded intriguing.
“Please tell me more.”
“It’s not a particularly pleasant story…”
“I don’t mind. I just want to know more about you.”
I hesitated. Was it really all right to share my past with someone I had only just met? It wasn’t some great secret, but it was a story I had never told anyone before.
Perhaps my hesitation showed on my face, because she grabbed my hand and looked at me with pleading eyes. I turned my gaze away. If I kept looking into those eyes, my resolve would crumble.
“I lost my parents at a young age. Our house burned down completely in an accident. The Salute Temple took me in when I was the sole survivor, with nowhere else to go. More precisely, it was the deputy high priest working at the temple who saved me. I spent my childhood at the orphanage run by the temple.”
“……”
“I have nothing but gratitude toward the temple and the orphanage. Now that I am an adult capable of standing on my own, it is time for me to repay that kindness.”
I smiled faintly and traced the sign of the holy symbol. Whenever I thought of the day my family was wiped out, my chest ached. But thanks to the temple’s help, I was able to stand again. Perhaps it was only natural that I became a priest.
I glanced at the young lady’s expression. For some reason, it looked dark. Was she feeling sympathy after hearing my story? That would have been unexpected.
“Priest Johan, don’t trust people too easily.”
It was a sudden remark from someone who had remained silent until then. I couldn’t grasp her intention.
“What do you mean by that?”
“…Nothing special. You just seem to trust people too readily. I thought it might be better for you to be a little more suspicious.”
With that, she curled her lips into a smile. It was the face of someone hiding many things.
“It’s Priest Johan!”
“Priest Johan is here?”
“Priest! Priest! It’s been so long!”
The moment we entered the orphanage, the children ran toward me, waving excitedly. I bent down and patted their heads. They were always lively and adorable.
The young lady watched the scene quietly. Perhaps she wasn’t used to children—she stayed a little distance away, unmoving.
But as I continued talking with the children, she stepped closer and murmured in amazement.
“You’re very popular with them.”
“These are children I’ve known for a long time. This is Mary, Jack, Angela, and Ciel. Say hello, everyone.”
The children looked up at the young lady with sparkling eyes. I had worried they might be scared of her since it was their first meeting, but instead of fear, they showed pure curiosity. That was a relief.
The young lady looked down at them with an indifferent expression. She didn’t seem particularly interested in children.
“Wow, she’s really pretty! She looks like a princess! Priest, who is she? Is she your girlfriend?”
“You idiot! Priests aren’t allowed to date! Don’t you even know that?”
Jack scolded Angela. I laughed awkwardly. It was true that priests were forbidden from romance.
A priest was someone who devoted both body and soul to God. Love and marriage were taboo.
The young lady soon smiled gently and patted Angela’s head.
“Oh my, how did you know? I’m Priest Johan’s girlfriend—Salome.”
“My lady!”
Just what kind of nonsense was she telling the children?
I tried to stop her in a panic, but the children had already completely swallowed her lie.
They excitedly began spinning stories of forbidden love, promising to keep our secret, fully immersed in their own little world. The young lady didn’t stop them. If anything, she seemed to be enjoying the situation. She looked my way and winked.
“Priest Johan, you’ve arrived.”
At that moment, the headmistress of the orphanage came out and bowed. She was the same woman who had been in charge of the orphanage since my childhood—someone like a mother to me.
She told the children it was time to go inside and led them into the building. The young lady and I followed behind her.
The clock pointed to two in the afternoon. This was the time when the headmistress usually read fairy tales to the children who couldn’t yet read.
On days like today, when I came to volunteer, I often read in her place. The children ran inside eagerly, excited for story time.
“Priest Johan! What book are you going to read today?”
Mary ran up to me and asked.
“It’s still a secret. Just wait a little longer. I’ll tell you a very fun story soon.”
I lifted Mary up and put her on my shoulders. She laughed innocently.
“So it’s time to tell the children a fairy tale?”
Salome said.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then… I’ll do it instead.”
“You will, my lady? Personally?”
I was surprised. Just earlier in the carriage, she had dismissed orphanage volunteering as nothing but a nuisance. Had meeting the children changed her mind?
I hesitated briefly. But it wasn’t a difficult task, so there was no real harm in entrusting it to her. I nodded readily and handed her the book I was holding.
“The book’s fine. I know plenty of stories already.”
She placed the book back into my hands and quickened her steps forward.
