365. Lena Ep – Priestess Ophelia

It was a goblet made of brass. I turned it in my hands, feeling the creaking of the carriage.

‘It’s definitely an important item…’

This was why I had come to the Monastery Church. Reb said we needed to bring this, and the Holy Woman called me over under the pretense of granting divine power and handed it to me.

But there’s just one problem…

‘What does this do? How do I use it?’

No matter how much I turned it or poured in divine power, I couldn’t figure out how to use it. The brass goblet just absorbed the divine power without doing anything at all. It was nothing like the staff.

…Is there nothing I can do?

I gave up observing the goblet. I tucked it into my arms and looked out the window. The carriage was rushing along quite rapidly.

It was a pity to watch the scenery fly by. I wished we could go slower…

“Let’s go!”

I heard Reb’s shout. Sitting in the coachman’s seat, he was busy whipping the horses. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him, clicking my tongue at his plight.

If I had to pick the busiest person in the world this year, Reb would surely be among the top five. Most likely first place.

Since we departed from our village last summer, he hadn’t had a moment’s rest.

He rushed off to intervene in the war between the Aisel Kingdom and the Belita Kingdom, then dashed north to eliminate a person named Lera. As soon as he finished that task, he came to pick me up.

He had essentially run around the continent, and now he said we had to go to Oberg. And within a month at that.

He said we had to arrive around the same time as that warrior couple who got engaged, which meant driving the carriage as if a single horse was racing alone. “Let’s hurry! Let’s hurry!” Reb’s desperate shouts continued.

While Reb was struggling like that, I felt guilty just sitting comfortably in the carriage without doing anything. I really should at least learn how to use this goblet.

“This is my first time on such a rushed journey. And it’s my first time going without a Holy Knight accompanying me.”

At that moment, Priestess Ophelia, who was sitting in front, spoke up. It seemed I had awakened her from her nap.

“True. Of course, my travel experience has only been with the priestess before this.”

“Hoho. It’s already been a year since that. No, I should say it’s barely been a year. I never thought Lady Leah would graduate so quickly.”

Because of my cheating.

Thanks to my thesis from my dreams, I was able to present it. For the parts I didn’t remember, I checked in with the Veronian to make sure.

That seemed to have motivated the Veronian to complete his thesis much faster as well. However, he didn’t manage to become a priest. He became a monk instead.

The results of the ceremony hadn’t gone well, but he noticed the congratulatory words I offered were mixed with comfort as he responded this way.

– “I don’t mind at all. I don’t need divine power for the things I want to do in the future.”

Thinking back, I could even picture the Veronian, the first monk to become a cardinal.

I concluded my recollection, believing he would do well, and returned to the rattling carriage to respond to Priestess Ophelia’s words.

“You’re being too humble.”

“Too humble? No matter how much Lady Leah is someone who receives divine guidance, it’s not easy for anyone to graduate like everyone else. Now, your issue with divine power is resolved. I found your thesis interesting.”

Priestess Ophelia winked.

She seemed to know many various secrets about me. Perhaps that’s why the Holy Woman suggested she accompany me. She had been a person to help me in countless ways so I could lead a normal apprentice life, and we had also connected many times in my dreams, so I gladly accepted.

We discussed my thesis for a while. Since the topic was related to the autonomy of priests, there was plenty of room for debate, and both Priestess Ophelia and I had the uncommonality of being women priests, which gave us a deeper subject to discuss.

Specifically, the issue of childbirth.

“I think it was recorded around the year 3900 of the Empire. It was the first disciplinary record of a priest being stripped of their position for giving birth. By this time, we can assume it wasn’t permissible for priests to marry.”

“Oh! I saw that too. (Did I see it in my dream?) I remember it being an incident before the stipulation regarding the marriage and sexual relations of priests was officially established. It had some unreasonable aspects.”

“Exactly. No matter how much society was like that, they penalized something that hadn’t been set as a disciplinary action. Considering the content, I can’t say it anywhere, but I believe that incident was the one that most greatly infringed upon the autonomy of priests. After all, things like sexual relations… shouldn’t matter, right?”

Priestess Ophelia said a bit cautiously at the end.

Sexual relations were absolutely not permitted for priests, whether male or female.

I quickly agreed, understanding Priestess Ophelia’s feelings.

“Right. There’s no reason why that should be a problem when serving the deity. It seems like ancient priests were expected to marry… There’s a passage in the Holy Woman’s records that suggests this. It says that priests at the time found it strange that the Holy Woman didn’t marry.”

“I think so too. I have no way of knowing the Holy Woman’s heart, but there’s no reason to consider what the deity has blessed us with as a sin, is there? In the case of childbirth, it’s even stranger because giving birth is certainly a joyful occasion and brings blessings to the mother, yet why is it considered impure for a priest to have a child? I feel like having a drink.”

“Puhah!”

Priestess Ophelia rummaged through the cabinet and pulled out ritual wine. I wondered if this was okay, but she was already pouring it.

As expected of an experienced senior! Oh, she asked.

“Would you like a drink, Lady Leah?”

“Um… just one, please.”

I had never had a drink before, but since I wasn’t good with alcohol. I took half and raised it for a toast.

Sorry, Reb. But it’s delicious.

With countless memories from dreams, I was well aware of my tolerance, so I sipped the wine as sparingly as possible.

As we chatted while savoring the drink, Priestess Ophelia spoke again. Her face was getting red; it seemed she was getting tipsy.

“By the way, there’s something I wanted to mention. Would it be alright if I stopped by my hometown? It would slightly deviate from the way to Oberg but isn’t too far.”

“Huh? Priestess Ophelia, you’re from the Belita Kingdom?”

“Yes.”

“Wow! I had no idea. I assumed you were from our kingdom. Your accent, your mannerisms…”

“I spent some time dispatched to the Orun Kingdom. You were deceived, huh?”

“Totally. Then it must have been a really long time since you visited your hometown. I’ll mention it to Reb. But… I wonder if we’ll have time.”

“If not, it can’t be helped. It’s okay. Don’t feel too burdened. There’s really no one special to see.”

Priestess Ophelia spoke to ease my burden.

However, it seemed like she brought up a request she would normally never make due to the influence of alcohol, making me feel a bit sorry. I should carefully talk to Reb about it.

As for what happened next, Reb said he wouldn’t have time, but when we were crossing over into the Belita Kingdom, he changed his tune.

For reasons unknown, that engaged couple who were also on their way to Oberg had stopped midway. Thanks to that, he said it seemed we might have a little time.

Priestess Ophelia was very pleased. Though she didn’t show it, she seemed to anticipate meeting someone, combing her hair and occasionally doodling on paper. I noticed her chewing her lips.

Who could it be? The person Priestess Ophelia is looking forward to seeing so much.

Reb diligently drove the carriage, and soon we crossed the border. The Belita Kingdom, which I had never visited before, unfolded before me—a western plain renowned as the richest in the world.

It was the territory of Marquis Benard Tatian, known as the ruler of the west.

*

The territory of Marquis Benard Tatian was unimaginably vast. Five cities and dozens of smaller towns. One could say it was no longer a territory, but a kingdom.

(According to Reb) the reason the Tatian family could possess such a vast territory was primarily due to three reasons.

Firstly, during the period when the Acaian Empire was fracturing, the Tatian family opted not to declare independence like the Asran Kingdom or Jerome Holy Kingdom and instead chose to remain with the Kingdom.

The Belita Kingdom recognized that loyalty1) and acknowledged the Tatian family’s (a previously impossible situation during the Acaian Empire) enormous territory as a single domain.

Secondly, it was due to the border count privilege.

Any family could only own one territory. However, if one held the title of a border count, they would exceptionally be granted an additional territory near the border, and the Tatian family received that border count territory to the west. This bordered their original territory, further expanding their land.

Considering that the Jerome Holy Kingdom is virtually a country unlikely to wage war due to the Cross Church, it meant Marquis Tatian was enjoying the border count privilege almost for free.

The last third reason was due to a misconception regarding vassal territories.

If it weren’t for how large the Tatian family was, ordinary territories tended to be middle-sized cities and towns.

However, it was impossible for such small territories to survive independently while bordering the vast land of the Tatian family, so they underwent a process of automatic subjugation. Economically and politically.

As a result, within the marquis’s territory, there are (unofficially) numerous regions considered as ‘vassals’. Most of which are baron families that are barely known.

Priestess Ophelia’s hometown was one among them. We calmed our completely exhausted horses and entered the city. The city gate read “Oldenburg.”

It seemed to be a relatively large city, with a population of around three thousand. I found it quite interesting and said,

“So, Priestess Ophelia, you grew up in a city! I’m curious. What’s it like living in a city?”

“Well, it’s not that different. Besides, I went to the church quite young… Oh! This is still here.”

Reb had gone to look for accommodation because of the carriage, and Priestess Ophelia and I wandered the streets. Though it was much smaller than Lutetia, it had everything.

However, while I was more interested in obvious signs like shop signs, Priestess Ophelia focused on much smaller familiar traces with delight.

Most were alleyways or empty lots where children might play.

‘…It seems she’s walking a different path than me.’

The path I was walking now was that of modern Oldenburg. To put it frankly, I was strolling down a very ordinary street.

But Priestess Ophelia was surely walking the streets of the past.

A street from decades ago, where some walls and buildings might not even have existed. Perhaps she was reminiscing with childhood friends she once held dear.

I followed along, occasionally supporting Priestess Ophelia’s reminiscence, though it felt a bit boring. Then at one moment, her steps came to a halt. She looked in astonishment at a wall, circling it several times.

“Why are you doing that?”

“I… this can’t be… why is this here…?”

Priestess Ophelia approached a nearby shop and called over the innkeeper. She pointed at the wall she had been observing for a while and asked.

“Why is that surrounded by the lord’s wall? There… didn’t there used to be a warehouse?”

“Oh~ That spot? It’s been like that for quite a while. No one really used the warehouse, so the lord took it away.”

“…He took it away?”

“Yes, Priestess.”

Priestess Ophelia wore a dumbfounded expression.

I couldn’t tell what the situation was, but she wandered around that wall, which apparently hadn’t been there in the past, and then turned around. She went to another side of the city and met a few acquaintances, exchanging simple greetings.

But hastily guessing, it seemed there wasn’t anyone there whom she should meet to comb her hair neatly.

There was no one to hand a carefully prepared letter to, and the connections were far too ordinary to practice lines for a meeting.

The next day, we left Oldenburg.

Priestess Ophelia looked just the same as usual but kept glancing back frequently.

1) It’s unclear whether the reason the Tatian family didn’t declare independence was due to loyalty toward the House of Tatalia. Many scholars presume that the Tatian family made that decision to maintain the rights they wielded on behalf of the royal family, the “Minting Privilege.” Estimates suggest after the Empire fractured, the wealth of the Tatian family increased anywhere from dozens to hundreds of times, which supports this questioning, as there were hardly any families (including six royal families) that weren’t indebted to the Tatian family, indicating all the continent’s wealth temporarily concentrated there.