346. Childhood Ep – Confession

When Reb followed Prince Eric to meet the king, Leah was wandering to the church like a sparrow unable to pass by a mill.

‘I want to make a confession…’

She thought she was guilty. Bubbly, like divine power endlessly surging within her.

Her body, having awoken to {Holy}, was a factory and a storeroom where every cell emitted divine energy. Although the amount produced was as meager as the water bubbling from a spring in a deep forest, it had already been over six months since she had opened her eyes to {Holy}.

Divine power overflowed.

Leah knew that if she set her mind to it, she could bless the entire city… well, maybe that was a bit much, but certainly the whole of Ophrontis Castle. However, she must not act.

Because it might affect Reb. She needed to hold back to avoid any variables.

But for gentle-hearted Leah, this was akin to torture.

Having the power to help others yet staying aloof was a sin and blasphemy by her standards. Eventually, unable to contain herself any longer, Leah decided she would secretly pour this power somewhere.

The church would be a good choice.

The church was a sacred place as well as a gathering spot for the poor, sick, and those on the brink of life. Not long after, Leah arrived at Ophrontis Church, wandering around looking for where she could pour out her divine power.

However, she didn’t think about how her actions might appear to others.

Looking around with greedy eyes, her behavior resembled that of a thief seeking something to steal, at least to Cardinal Fidelio.

‘…What an odd girl.’

The cardinal had been watching Leah since she entered the church, his curiosity piqued.

Yet her actions were quite the spectacle.

She stood before the holy statue, praying with startling reverence, then right after, she seemed to eye it as if she wanted to eat it. Occasionally, her hands would inch forward timidly.

Then she would shake her head, retracting her hands numerous times as she wrestled with her own desires. Eventually, she could not help but touch one of the statues.

‘Oh dear.’

Of all things, it was the statue of Saint Azra.

It seemed that everywhere, the popularity of Saint Azra was so high, but this particular statue was cherished especially by Ophrontis Church.

In one hand, it clutched the neck of a gigantic crow, and in the other, it held a brass goblet. Gold poured from the wings of the crow attempting to escape.

Even theologians were uncertain about the identity of that crow. It was vaguely speculated to symbolize the curse that permeated this swampy land, and it was said that Azra took the ‘Tree’ of the Aisel Kingdom as payment for banishing it.

The moment that the two relics representing Saint Azra—the brass goblet and the wooden staff—were brought together. Consequently, there exists a folk tale that prevents trees from thriving in the Aisel Kingdom, but anyway.

Cardinal Fidelio tried to intervene before the girl committed an irredeemable sin. It seemed the gold scattered at Azra’s feet blinded her.

Sure enough, she knelt down and grasped Azra’s ankle… Huh?

‘Not gold?’

The girl didn’t even glance at the gold. She just curved her back into a bow.

Moments later, she stood up with a refreshed expression.

A small mishap. While she had engaged in behavior that could lead to misunderstanding, she had simply prayed sincerely, and on the surface, nothing noteworthy had occurred.

However, Cardinal Fidelio realized why he had been focused on her. He even figured out her identity. The cardinal called out to the young lady, who was lightening her steps to leave the church.

“Pardon me.”

“Pardon? Ah!”

The girl turned around, looking shockingly startled. When her gaze met the purple shawl symbolizing the cardinal, her face paled as if it were a blank sheet of paper.

‘Just as I thought.’ The cardinal was now sure his conjecture was correct.

“If you’re not too busy, would you care to chat for a moment? I assure you, I don’t intend to punish you, so you don’t need to be too nervous.”

“…Yes. Yes.”

Yet her ever-uneasy expression indicated she didn’t quite trust his words throughout the walk to his office. Once they reached, Cardinal Fidelio placed a handful of ‘Matabi fruit’ on a plate.

Had she even just become an adult? The girl stared at the plate for quite some time before asking.

“What is this?”

“It’s a fruit called Matabi. Surprisingly, it tastes decent.”

In a strict sense, it was a gall of the ‘Ume vine’ fruit.

Originally, the Ume vine fruit was inedible for humans, but when the Winter Bug laid its eggs, the fruit would grotesquely twist and grow to survive. It transformed into something humans could eat, and it was a specialty product of the Aisel Kingdom.

Curious Leah, momentarily forgetting her worries, bit into the Matabi, crunching her teeth along with the cardinal.

“Wow! The taste is so fascinating!”

“Do you like it?”

“Yes! It looks really hard on the outside, but when you bite it, it crumbles under your molars… Ah.”

Leah nestled her arms then suddenly gathered focus upon seeing the cardinal quietly observing her. What was I thinking! Of all people, in front of a cardinal. How could I be so unlucky?

She had to somehow remedy this situation. This was no ordinary person; this was a cardinal who could shake the kingdom with a single word, leaving her flustered and talking rapidly.

“Umm… there may have been a misunderstanding. What I did was… not a big deal…”

“You delivered a blessing, didn’t you?”

“……Yes.”

Busted.

Leah felt her vision darken. What should she do? If just meeting this person caused him to act even slightly differently than usual.

‘What to do, what to do.’

Leah squeezed her eyes shut, foreseeing disaster. However, Cardinal Fidelio smiled gently and said.

“I told you I don’t intend to punish you. So, which kingdom are you from?”

“…From the Conrad Kingdom.”

“Hmm! The Conrad Kingdom! Then are you part of Prince Eric de Yeriel’s entourage? Haha. It seems correct.”

“…”

“It’s all right! Your earnest dream of priesthood and your decision to give it up must both be sincere as well. I don’t think it’s a blasphemous act. You’ve returned your divine power to the church, so that should suffice as atonement…”

“I received a divine message.”

“Pardon?”

“The Holy Woman told me to go east. The blessing was… my given task.”

‘Binard! I’m so sorry!’

In the end, Leah uttered a lie. To pin this person down, she had to sell out the Holy Woman. She continued with a somewhat haughty tone.

“She told me not to let anyone find out, yet I made a mistake that led to this situation. I apologize.”

“Did you receive a divine message and are in the process of executing it?”

“Yes.”

The cardinal looked momentarily incredulous. However, he soon returned the answer Leah wanted.

“…May I contact the Holy Woman to verify?”

“Please do.”

It wouldn’t be rude for a cardinal to directly contact the Holy Woman. He grabbed a relic from a corner of his office, seemed to communicate for a moment, then turned back to Leah with a surprised expression.

Leah did not let this opportunity pass.

“Please tell the Holy Woman to command this gentleman to abstain from duty and to have him observe a week of abstinence starting today.”

“…Haha. You’re telling me to request the Holy Woman to have me abstain?”

“I apologize.”

“No, it’s fine. I delivered your request. I shall pretend not to know you from now on, even if I see you again.”

“…Thank you.”

“The Holy Woman has replied that I should abstain for a week. Is this sufficient?”

“Yes, plenty. I apologize for the trouble.”

In the pristine white office, Cardinal Fidelio returned to the coffee table and unexpectedly seemed to enjoy the assigned abstinence, crunching down on a Matabi.

“No, it’s not bad. I happened to… bite into an excuse to retreat. The succession disputes of the princes are quite severe, and the nobles come almost daily to seek my favor.”

“…I see. It must have been difficult.”

“Yes. Very troublesome. It’s about time I return to Lutetia… I’ve been here so long that turning down people’s requests has become difficult.”

“…”

‘I want to go back too.’

─ thought Leah. It had already been twenty years since she was appointed and served as a cardinal, and thanks to that, she had built relationships with both the House of Isadora and the Gaidan House, balancing between them, but that was of no concern to Leah.

However, judging by his chatter, it seemed the cardinal had no intention of letting her go. He licked his dry lips with a wrinkled tongue (the Matabi makes your mouth dry quickly) and brought up the main topic.

“Now, anyway… my story aside, may I ask what divine message you received? It’s fascinating that the Almighty has delivered a message.”

“Um… well…”

His eager eyes gazed at her. Leah felt sorry to burst the expectations of a man nearly fifty years her senior. However, since saying that she received a divine message was a lie, there was not much she could confess.

“I’m not sure if I can speak of something I haven’t executed yet. This is done, and it’s something I need to do at the palace…”

So, Leah skirted around the secret. But rather than disappointment, the cardinal’s eyes simply sparkled even more brightly!

“Indeed! It’s at the palace. My guess was correct.”

“?”

What guess?

It was all a lie to begin with. The cardinal was babbling with glee.

“Saint Azra is the one who abolished the seven ancient vices, so you shall pray for her favor to eliminate the remaining ills in this country. The golden document of Cornus! Surely the day will come when it will be torn! Of course, I shall pretend not to notice.”

…Um, no. I’ve heard that I don’t know what that is, and that it was created by Cornus, so rather than tearing it, it’s even impossible to fix the writing.

Earlier, he had boasted about not knowing what ‘next’ meant while reassuring her he would pretend not to know her from now on… Leah began to see this old man as someone who loved to jump to conclusions. Until the next statement shot out.

“I think Princess Iina de Isadora will hope for that as well. Be brave and approach her! She is a person who has endured many wounds…”

Leah’s ears perked up.

The cardinal seemed to consider her akin to a divine envoy and revealed the confession of Princess Iina de Isadora, which was something she certainly had to keep secret.