The coachman called out from outside.
“We’ll stop for a moment. The road is blocked because of the Chancellor’s procession.”
I nodded and looked out the window.
I hadn’t realized it until now because I had been lost in thought.
There was a Temple on the way from the Magic Tower to the Noart Count’s estate.
I swallowed dryly as I gazed at the enormous Temple.
It was as grand and expansive as the Imperial Palace, a place where everyone from the Chancellor to the apprentices resided.
Those with divine energy formed a strict caste system, and the Temple was completely concealed from the outside world.
On the front door of the Temple, the words [Mercy and Understanding, Empathy and Love] were inscribed in large letters. The order didn’t matter, but these four principles were the teachings most emphasized within the Temple.
These words were often found in ancient texts because of their association with the Temple's original establishment.
‘This is ridiculous.’
If you exclude the Temple slaves who lacked divine energy, the lowest rank in the Temple's hierarchy was the “Apprentices.”
And as someone who came from that background, I leaned my chin on the window frame and thought.
‘Of Mercy and Understanding, Empathy and Love, not a single one was ever given to me in the Temple.’
It made me laugh bitterly because I was a member of the Temple.
When I was young and doing all the menial tasks, I didn’t have this much resentment. That’s why I returned when I had nowhere else to go.
But as I went through the experiments, my anger had built up significantly.
‘Grandfather must have been similar, right? If he was a slave, he might have suffered even worse.’
In the midst of that, the carriage slowly started moving again, signaling the end of the Chancellor’s procession.
‘The Chancellor... I’ve spent quite a bit of time in the Temple, but I’ve never even seen his face.’
A middle-aged man who had controlled the Temple without aging for so long.
To me, he felt like the strongest villain in the world.
The words I’d heard during the experiments echoed in my ears.
“There must be a way for the Chancellor to become the master of your four divine beasts! You need to figure it out, do you understand?”
Now that I think about it, why was the Chancellor so obsessed with the divine beasts?
Each divine beast in the aristocratic families chose its own master and decided the family’s heir.
The Temple had no ownership over these divine beasts.
So why was the Chancellor so desperate to take them?
I had only met Fire, but I had heard the other three divine beasts were targeted as well.
“They said... they’re hungry... that’s all...”
“Who wants to hear that useless nonsense? Find out how to become their master!”
Just thinking about the experiments made my body tense up.
“Serve with glory for the Chancellor!”
I had been so focused on surviving at the Noart Count’s estate that I never thought back on those days.
But once my trauma was triggered, even just the thoughts made it hard to breathe.
I had never given them the results they wanted until I regressed.
But even if I had succeeded in communicating better and the Chancellor had figured out how to become the master of the divine beasts... I probably wouldn’t have passed it on to the Temple.
‘Maybe the four divine beasts are the key to destroying the Chancellor? That’s why he wanted to claim them as his own.’
Once we had completely passed the Temple and the road was clear, the carriage began to move again.
I sat lost in thought as we arrived at the Count’s estate.
It was already past eleven at night.
As I got off the carriage, the atmosphere seemed off.
There was a commotion, a chaotic energy?
Heidi, who had been following behind, quickly jumped out of the carriage.
“There’s something strange going on. Let me go check it out.”
I rolled my eyes and waited inside the carriage.
‘Wouldn’t my brother come rushing out? Normally, he would have waited for me like a little dog, ears perked, and as soon as he saw the carriage wheels, he’d run up and shout “Rosie Rosy,” right? Or is seventeen-year-old Yulian not like that?’
As I sat there thinking, it wasn’t long before Heidi came running back, her face serious.
She looked at me and spoke in a grim tone.
“Rosie, I think it’s better if you head to your room.”
“The Count’s estate is in turmoil right now. It’s late, so it’s better to head to your room for now.”
“Is something going on? What is it? You noticed something weird, so just tell me.”
Heidi sighed heavily, looking uncertain as she spoke.
“There’s a woman who claims to be carrying Yulian’s child.”
I gasped, my mouth hanging open in shock.
“Of course, Yulian doesn’t remember anything, but... the woman is insisting it’s true.”
Heidi mumbled with a face full of concern.
“Goodness, I didn’t know Yulian had a hidden woman...”
A hidden woman? Yulian’s child?
I rolled my eyes and quietly followed Heidi back to my room.
Only after the moon had risen did Zahid open his eyes.
Fire gently leaned into Zahid’s embrace.
On the border of a hazy dream, Zahid blinked several times.
“This is ‘Antata.’ Hmm, try bending a little more at the bottom. Yes, that’s it. That’s how you write it.”
“Then, is this ‘Teol’? Is it right? Antata and Teol ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) are so confusing.”
In the dream, Zahid was teaching someone how to write.
The figure was blurry, but the person was a woman in ragged, dirty clothes. Her face was hidden.
“Did you write all of this? Is your hand okay? I brought a pen, but you’ve used a piece of stone on the ground for all this...”
“I used up that pen in three days. But I had to write this much or it’d be too confusing.”
“Give me your hand... Oh my, next time I’ll bring some ointment when I come. Huh? Why are you laughing? I’m in pain right now...”
“I was thinking about my older brother. He’d get so worried if I got even the tiniest injury. Just like you.”
“This isn’t just a small injury! My goodness, I can’t imagine how much it must’ve hurt...”
“Just . Really exactly the same.”
As I watched the injured woman’s hand, my heart ached, and I slowly started to regain consciousness.
Zahid blinked in surprise and quickly sat up.
He stared at his hands in disbelief.
“Is this really... what is this?”
Until he fell asleep, he hadn’t noticed, but the constant pain that had always tormented him was gone.
The mana overload that had always barely filled his body had finally quieted down.
“Is this... possible? Suddenly?”
The calming agents from the Magic Tower hadn’t arrived yet.
And Zahid had experienced the calming agents before.
They suppressed the pain, but they also dulled the mind.
But this feeling now... was something that could not be explained by a calming agent.
It was the best condition he had felt in a long time.
The only thing that could have caused this was divine power. And not just any divine power, but that of a high-ranking priest—very powerful divine energy.
Zahid looked down at his hands, biting his lower lip.
He vividly remembered the girl who had held his hand so tightly just hours ago, her desperate face still clear in his memory.
“I really wish I could stabilize you without a calming agent because of my own divine energy... but sadly, this is all I have.”
The divine energy that entered his body then had been very little.
He clearly felt it being forced into him.
Zahid took a deep breath and raised his head.
Shulva approached with a blank expression, carrying a mountain of paperwork.
“Of course, children should be sleeping, but since you’re clearly not going back to sleep, please go over these first.”
“In this house, nothing is ever not urgent. But, surprisingly, you seem fine? I thought you might have been faking it... Honestly, I thought you’d need the calming agent before you could even look at the documents.”
“Then you’re saying I could look at the documents once the calming agent arrives?”
Zahid slowly brushed his hair back and replied.
“I need to leave for the Noart Count’s estate immediately. I need to see Rosie Noart.”
“There’s something I need to confirm right away.”
Shulva nodded slowly.
“Rosie is certainly cute. I can see why you’d want to see her first thing after waking up...”
“But, in that case, I think it’s best you change into some proper clothes first. Surely you wouldn’t want to show up looking when meeting your fiancée’s family for the first time?”
Shulva scanned Zahid from head to toe and pushed his glasses up.
“Right now, you might be able to pass off your appearance with money, but in the Noart Count’s house, there are plenty of handsome men who can throw money around...”
“What does that even matter? The engagement will be broken eventually anyway. I just need to check one thing and come back right away!”
“Well, if you say so. But before you go, if Yulian doesn’t regain his memory, you might need to worry about your life. Hm, where are you going now? Oh, look at you, walking perfectly fine now.”
“To wash up and change clothes!”