Chapter 29
With the quiet toll of the bell announcing sunrise, people lined up in front of the massive marble gates of the Central Temple.
Prayer, donations, treatment, and more—each of them had their own reasons for visiting the temple.
But there was one uncomfortable yet undeniable truth no one dared to say aloud: the number of visitors to the temple was steadily decreasing.
For the temple, this was quite troubling. After all, the number of worshippers offering prayers to the gods was no different from a measure of faith itself.
And so, they devised a solution.
“The gods have chosen one who will rightly guide the order of this world and lead us. The proof of that is this stone tablet.”
They began publicly displaying the Oracle of Fate.
Of course, this decision did not come without resistance from the imperial family. In fact, it took decades for the temple to make this choice and obtain imperial approval.
The imperial family, who had held out for decades, finally relented because of a major incident at the time.
The forgery of an oracle.
“In truth, forging an oracle is impossible. But that foolish former prince didn’t know that and dared to attempt such a thing!”
Today was the one day of the month when the “Oracle of Fate” was revealed to the public.
It seemed that children from some orphanage had come together to see the tablets. On the first-floor viewing area, nearly twenty young children huddled in front of the stone tablets, chattering excitedly.
Since I had requested to quietly observe and leave, I was guided to the inside of the second-floor railing. From there, Eunice and I silently looked down at the scene.
“Priest, Priest! Why is it impossible to forge an oracle?”
“What a very good question. Now then, look at the stone tablet.”
Speaking in a gentle voice suited for children, the priest pointed toward the platform.
On a lavish golden dais bathed in multicolored light pouring through a massive stained-glass window, three stone tablets floated within a large, translucent cubic barrier.
The tablet floating alone at the top, forming the apex of a triangle, belonged to the current Emperor. The two tablets positioned side by side below it belonged to the First Prince and to Lionel.
“Now, you’re all looking, right? What color are the tablets right now?”
“White!”
“That’s right. Then what color is the oracle engraved on them shining?”
“Gold!”
“Correct. Now then, here…”
The priest carefully lifted a wide basin he had prepared in advance.
“This water here is holy water personally imbued with divine power by His Holiness the Pope. If we sprinkle this holy water onto the tablet…”
Balancing the basin with one hand, he cupped the other and sprinkled the holy water over the tablet.
In that instant—
—Fwoosh!
“Wowww…! There’s a halo pouring out of the tablet! It’s such a pretty color!”
Quite literally, radiance scattered across the tablet where the holy water had fallen. It was as if an aurora had blossomed in the sky.
“This is proof that the oracle was truly bestowed directly by the gods. If holy water is sprinkled on any other tablet, it will shatter instantly.”
“Me! Me! Why are there only three tablets? What about His Majesty’s grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather?”
“No, there aren’t any. When an oracle is fulfilled, the tablet shatters on its own.”
“What did His Majesty’s grandfather’s oracle say?”
“Can’t I receive an oracle?”
“I want an oracle that says I’ll eat lots of candy!”
“Now, children, one at a time—ugh!”
It seemed the children, who had been listening so attentively, had lost focus and begun chattering noisily.
If I stayed any longer, I felt I might get swept up in the commotion myself, so I quietly stepped outside.
There, Archbishop Sage, who had been waiting by the door, greeted me with a gentle smile.
“Have you finished your viewing?”
“Yes, thanks to you. Thank you for your consideration, Archbishop.”
“Oh, not at all. We are the ones who are always grateful for your consideration.”
By “consideration,” Archbishop Sage meant donations.
Perhaps it was because my mother had nearly died during my birth due to a dreadful, prolonged labor, only barely surviving.
From that year on, the Rohaym Ducal House began donating an enormous sum of gold to the Central Temple every year.
And at that time, the one who had rushed to the Rohaym estate and saved both my mother and me was Archbishop Sage herself.
“By the way, Young Lady, if it’s not too presumptuous, may I ask why you came to see the tablet?”
“Oh, it’s nothing special. I recently became engaged to His Highness the Second Prince, you see? So I wanted to see with my own eyes once more the oracle he received.”
The tablets engraved with the oracles were publicly displayed once a month, and each time the priests performed the “holy water sprinkling show” to stir people’s faith and curiosity.
As expected, the oracle engraved on Lionel’s tablet matched exactly—without the slightest discrepancy—the one I already knew.
[He shall ascend to a noble seat, regardless of his own will.]
“Hm… It is certainly something that would concern you, Young Lady. If the noble seat His Highness the Second Prince ascends to were, say, the seat of His Holiness the Pope…”
“I would have to break off the engagement.”
The reason was simple. From novice priest to Pope, the religious order of the god worshipped by the Empire forbade marriage for clergy.
If one wished to marry?
Then they would have to relinquish their clerical position and return to secular life.
But for the Pope, even that was impossible. Once one became Pope, he must remain Pope until death returned him to the embrace of the gods.
“There is one more thing I’m curious about. I’ve heard that sometimes oracles are bestowed upon people who are not of the imperial family?”
At my question, Archbishop Sage looked briefly surprised, then smiled.
“Yes, I have heard that such things occasionally happen. Are you wondering whether there exists an oracle bestowed upon someone who is not royalty?”
“No. I was wondering whether an oracle is always given only at birth.”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“I see…”
For a fleeting moment, I had entertained a rather romantic-fantasy notion that perhaps I, too, might have received an oracle at the same time I regained memories of my past life—but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“Do you have any other questions?”
“Hmm… not at the moment. Instead, I’d like to purchase some rosaries as gifts.”
“That is wonderful to hear. Please come this way.”
Rosaries sold by the temple were its primary source of income after donations.
Partly for the sake of Archbishop Sage, who had personally guided me today, I purchased quite a lot of this and that.
“This one’s pretty, and that one’s pretty, and this one’s pretty too! I love spending money. It’s thrilling.”
“Hahaha, thank you for your decisive purchases, Young Lady. The apprentice children will be quite delighted today.”
“I bought pretty rosaries, so I feel good too! We’re helping each other! …Hm? Uni, are you looking for something?”
Eunice, who had been glancing around as if searching for something, answered my question.
“Ah. The physician asked if I could purchase some holy medicinal herbs, if they’re available.”
“Holy medicinal herbs? …Are there rosaries made of herbs as well?”
I had never heard of such a thing, so I looked at Archbishop Sage. She nodded with a slightly surprised expression.
“Yes. The holy medicinal herb rosaries are made by Bishop Nicole, my adopted daughter.”
“Oh my, really?”
So she had an adopted daughter.
It wasn’t strange. For clergy who could not marry, adoption was the only way to create a family.
“Archbishop. If it’s not too rude, may I ask why Bishop Nicole has stopped trading them?”
“Mm… I cannot tell you the details. But I can only say that they are needed for another purpose for the time being, so they cannot be sold.”
“Ah… I understand.”
Though Archbishop Sage avoided specifics, Eunice nodded as if she understood what was going on.
I had a rough guess as well.
‘She must be treating someone for a long-term illness.’
“If they’re needed elsewhere, then it can’t be helped. Let’s look for something else instead of the holy herbs. …Ah, that one looks nice too!”
After purchasing a great many items, I gifted each of the orphanage children a pretty beaded rosary as they were leaving the temple, then returned home.
“You have returned, my lady.”
When I stepped down from the carriage, the head butler and two footmen greeted me.
As the two footmen carried the items I had bought inside, I took Eunice’s hand and stepped down from the carriage, glancing around.
“Where is Mother?”
My sister had gone to the Imperial Palace for work, and my brother had gone out, saying he had a reading gathering today.
Mother had said she had no plans to go out, so she should be at home—why hadn’t she come out to greet me?
Perhaps sensing my question, the butler said kindly,
“Madam is currently receiving a guest.”
“A guest? Were we expecting someone today?”
“Well, in fact—”
The head butler began to speak, but it was another presence that gave me my answer.
—Flap, flap!
“Ah, Snowy!”
A snowy white owl, its feathers like freshly fallen snow, flew toward me as if to welcome me home.