Chapter 15 - The Saintess’s Name
I looked up and saw that the ceiling was filled with light. In this brightly lit silent hall where everyone prayed, only one person was looking at me from behind.
Miltiades!
The man who had become my father was silently sitting in the cathedral.
I could hear a voice reciting a prayer next to me. “…As we wait for your child to come back to us, we raise her name.”
The clean, fresh air swirled around me as I sat in the middle while clawing my hands together.
“She will look around this wide world and go back into your arms as you have commanded.”
The paper on top of the altar was burned with sacred fire. At the same time, the memorial stone in front of me was engraved with my name.
‘Amelia Priscilla!’
The name Miltiades gave me, Amelia, was next to the female lead’s name. I had decided this myself.
‘This world needs Priscilla.’
It wasn’t just because Priscilla was the name of the main character of the original novel. I was probably the only person who knew why Priscilla had received the name Priscilla.
‘I can’t live for Priscilla. I’m not her.’
However, I could remember her.
‘I won’t forget that I was Priscilla. Ever.’
This name was the evidence of my resolution.
The light didn’t fade from my name. The countless darkened names of past saintesses appeared as if they had been engraved just the previous day.
“Now, the glorious judgment is done. May the light of truth shine upon us all.”
The last prayer ended, marking the end of the ceremony as well.
* * *
“We’ll leave this place now,” Miltiades said.
“I see!”
Miltiades looked at me as if he were gauging my reaction. When saw me grinning, he asked me in a strange voice, “Aren’t you sad to leave?”
‘He… is… worried about me?!’
I opened my eyes wide. “Nope! It’s exciting!”
It was obvious that Daddy loved me. I put my head into his arms as he looked at me with a strange expression.
“…It’s exciting to leave?”
“I don’t care about that! You’re worried about me!”
His confused face was a work of art. I wanted a sculpture of his expression to show it off.
“Daddy, I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor?”
“Yeah! I wanna go somewhere.”
“Somewhere you want to go?”
I nodded, and Miltiades looked at me with a blank face. Everyone else was scared of this expression, but I knew it was his curious face.
‘Love is the strongest!’
“Usually, I have to pray for three months before I can leave the Vatican, but we’re leaving early. So while we’re traveling, I need to go to the temples and pray. And I can ask for blessings on our journey!” Everything I said was a lie. “We don’t need to go far! I just need to go to the temple on the border of the Holy Empire and the Northern Empire, the Revelenon Temple!”
The Holy Sword was there! I was doing this for Ludwig. Truthfully, I was doing this because Daddy didn’t like my paladin, and I knew he would ignore him.
“Hm? You’ll go with me, right?” I grabbed his arm and looked at him with sparkling eyes.
He looked back at me. If others saw him at this moment, they’d think he was swallowing a knife, but I knew better. He was debating on what to do.
“Amelia believes in you, Daddy!”
I could tell he knew what I was doing, but it worked.
“It’s on our way so I believe it’s fine to check it out.”
“Yay!”
My dad was a bit of a pushover, but I had no choice. I needed to stick close to him to make sure no one could take advantage of him.
‘Ah, he can’t do anything without me.’
I wanted to give him a bit of the information because I felt bad for fooling him. “Daddy, I heard you can see the Holy Sword there!”
“The Holy Sword?”
“Yeah! Sofia’s Holy Sword!”
He didn’t like paladins, but the Holy Sword was a different story! And as I thought, he was interested.
“This’ll be fun.”
‘I got his permission, so it’s time to go! Goodbye, Holy Vios Empire!’
The people who were ready to leave informed Callian, and he nodded toward Miltiades.
“Your Majesty, everything’s ready.”
“Go say your last goodbyes.”
‘Ah!’
I didn’t want to, but since Miltiades was the one asking me, I left his arms and went to the pope and elders, who were sending me off.
Luciana sent me a signal.
‘Right, I should at least say goodbye myself.’
I held my hands together and said, “I hope you have peace while I’m gone.”
‘I hated being with you all. I hope we never meet again.’
