Chapter 10
I slowly looked at the hand and raised my gaze. There stood Latban, perfectly dressed in a white and gold robe, just like mine. At the appearance of a person who was very unlikely to be in this place, I couldn’t say anything for a moment and just looked at him.
“Why are you here?”
He shouldn’t be here when Latban himself said he would not guard the Saintess at this prayer meeting. Then why is this man suddenly reaching his hand now? He lowered his head slightly and with an expressionless face and said.
“It is my duty to protect the Saintess.”
Those words reminded me of what Latban was like in the book. I can’t believe he came back to do his duty until the end, even though he despised the Saintess so much.
I looked at the hand he was extending. The big hand that most of the time only holds a sword had rough scars that were not possible to heal even with the holy power.
I raised my head and looked up at him. He was standing still waiting for me to reach out. The black eyes that were looking at me were steady. Again, the endless corridor caught my eye. I looked there for a long time before I put my hand on his hand.
‘Perhaps one day this hand will kill Yvelina, this hand will kill me.’
Slowly, I grabbed the tip of his finger. Unlike the cold impression, I felt a warm body temperature. I smiled softly at him.
“Please take care of me, Sir Latban.”
‘Even if one day you kill me. But until we reach the end of this corridor, I’ll hold your hand.’
The prayer meeting began with the loud sound of a trumpet. People flooded into the door of the temple in the morning. The central square, which was usually idle, was filled with people in no time. It was not an exaggeration to say that people from all countries of the continent came.
Not only those who are wearing the clothes of the Empire closest to the Great Temple, but as well as those who are still wearing fur clothes that are not suitable for this cool season. On the other hand, some people wore light clothes that looked bare.
I could hear people who missed their party shouting in search of each other, and there were those who were chanting the temple’s hymn loudly without hiding their excitement. The noise barely subsided with the ringing of a bell announcing the beginning of the first ceremony.
‘Amazing.’
That’s all I could think of as I watched the crowd over the closed windows. When I first looked around the Great Temple, I was surprised by its size. When I heard the number of people living inside, I was even more astonished with its scale that is beyond my imagination. But now, I was amazed once more at the crowds that gathered to fill it.
Attendance at this prayer meeting does not mean that the temple gives them money or goods. They are all faithful believers of God. Therefore, they used their own money just to go to this place with overflowing faith.
‘I can’t believe all those people came by themselves.’
I’ve never counted such a crowd, so I don’t even know how many people are there. There are more people than what I remembered I saw on the news in my past life, which I estimated and counted at my disposal, which was over 100,000 or more.
‘And they said there were more people who couldn’t get inside the temple and were stuck outside.’
If so, it was said that there were hundreds of thousands of people who came to this prayer meeting. Soon the singing of the choir began, and the sound of their songs spread to people like waves. Perhaps because it was a basic hymn that the entire continent knew, the scene where everyone sang together as one was so magnificent that it gave me goosebumps.
As I watched everyone close their eyes with a serious face and sing along to the hymn, I thought again about the position of God, the Saintess, and the Great Temple in this world.
‘The absolute faith and respect of those living on the continent.’
That is the general sentiment of the people of the continent towards the Saintess. I don’t know why, but I believed in God that didn’t help me in my past life, but at least in this world, the power of God was evident.
‘Because it was said that demons appear in pagan lands.’
In the land of those who do not worship God, demons constantly appear. And although it also appears in the lands of those who worship God, the number is sharply different compared to the land of the pagans. And whenever that happens, the Knights of the Temple go there to deal with the demons.
‘Because the demons hated holy power, it was said that all the knights’ swords were blessed by the priests.’
I remembered the holy power I saw when I opened the door of the secret passage. With such visible power of God, faith in this world is inevitably absolute. Furthermore, the power has to do with their lives.
It struck me again that Yvelina was great. People are bound to try to meet the expectations of the people around them. That’s how I used to live.
“You’re not like other children. You’re the first one who doesn’t complain about this long hospitalization.”
When the doctor in charge of me complimented me by saying so, my parents showed a faint smile as if they were proud of me. After that, until the moment of my death, I never complained. Not to fall short of their expectations.
It wasn’t hateful or hard. If I acted like that and the people around me loved me more and were proud of me, I was willing to do so. It’s not wrong to want to look better to those who love you.
‘But why did Yvelina….’
Even I was afraid to deviate from the expectations of just a few people. However, Yvelina turned a blind eye to the expectations of all those people, and the entire continent. She didn’t even change her attitude when she saw that the failed expectations returned with disappointment and anger. But instead, she started to get even more twisted.
In a way, I thought she was very brave. Just by thinking that everyone who gathers over there at the square swears and accuses me, a cold sweat will definitely flow behind my back. As I was looking down like that, I heard a knock on the door from outside. At the sound, Latban who was also inside the room opened the door. The priests, who were waiting outside, bowed their heads and said.
“The last ceremony of the day is about to begin.”
“…I understand.”
It finally came. The priests’ faces were also tense.
‘So far, nothing troublesome has happened.’
When I stood out in front of people on the terrace, I was worried that something like an arrow would fly from far away.
‘Even though I know it’s not going to happen.’
The Saintess’ holy powers can be used in a variety of ways. And among them, the protective barrier that can protect oneself from external attacks was also the most basic force of the holy power. If there is an attack, the Saintess could protect herself with her own holy power, so a sword, bow, or other weapons cannot harm the Saintess.
‘But that’s the story if I was the real Yvelina.’
Strangely enough, Yvelina’s memory showed nothing about the use of her holy power. Therefore, I am still unable to use any power other than the automatically appearing holy power. If someone attacks me now, I have no choice but to be defenseless.
‘Fortunately, there won’t be an attack because people don’t know that.’
It was also believed that I would attend the last ceremony.
“I’ll be on my way.”
Latban spoke to the priests, then stood next to me again and reached out his hand. Some of the priests did not hide their expressions of surprise at Latban’s actions. After suffering the insult, they seemed to be moved by Latban, who still carried out his duties until the end. I stood about half a step away from him, feeling the heat from Latban’s hand as I took it.
‘It would be better to keep my distance as much as possible.’
Then Latban looked at me for a moment.
‘Should I step back a little bit more?’
However, when I tried to take another half step away, he pulled my hand. Because of that, I had to walk side by side with him without getting further away.
“Saintess! Saintess! Please bless me!”
“It took me two months! I waited for this week in front of the Great Temple and I was able to finally come forward. Please give my child a blessing!”
As I went down to Central Square, people’s cries rang in my ears like thunder. The knights and the priests were desperately blocking them. But as soon as the Saintess was seen, it seemed that it was not enough to stop all the people who terrifyingly approached.
In that situation, Latban ordered the knights standing around me to strengthen their guard again. Then the knights responded vigorously, saying, “Understood.” They stopped the people who were approaching without showing any signs of fatigue. Thanks to this, a path that I could barely pass was made.
As they began to walk that path, people reached out among the knights and shouted for prayers of blessing again. As I hesitated while looking at those hands, the priest, who was walking in front of me earlier, approached and whispered quietly.
“If you don’t want to, I’ll arrange the procession to just walk past it just like last year. They’ll consider it the greatest glory of their lives just by seeing the Saintess in person….”
“…It’s okay.”
It’s not that I don’t want to reach. Rather, I was thinking about how to reach as many people as possible. Among the people who reached out to me, many of them looked sick. Holy Power heals trauma or poison. But with illness, it can only temporarily improve the condition, it cannot be cured completely. Especially those diseases caused by old age. Maybe it is because we cannot resist what comes naturally according to the providence created by God. But people were still clinging to it even though they knew that fact.
I remembered the lady who was in the bed next to me in the hospital.
“There’s no cure for my illness.”
The lady, who was speaking calmly, sent an email to the radio station she always listened to. Maybe because she was unlucky, but even after sending it dozens of times, her story did not come out. Then finally, the lady’s story was introduced. The lady, who was always lethargic, listened to the show with her eyes glistening and with a flushed face at that moment.
To our letter sender. Even though you’re sick now, don’t lose hope that you’ll be able to shake it off and get better.
Now that I think about it, it wasn’t particularly a great story. However, the young lady repeatedly listened to the recorded DJ’s voice. Even the moment she entered the intensive care unit, she’s smiling. She knew the broadcast couldn’t cure her illness, but it gave the lady hope and peace.
I raised my head. I looked at the hands reaching out for me. If I could give them that peace even if I’m not the real Saintess, then I will reach out to as many as I can. As soon as I tried to approach while thinking so, the end of the line collapsed and someone rolled around the ground. As a result of that, the hood the man was wearing came off, and the people around me screamed for a short time and backed away. Under the peeled hood, I saw the face of an old man full of wrinkles. And a scabrous skin full of unknown diseases. The old man looked at me, bowed down, and begged.
“Saintess! Please give me a prayer of blessing!”
I looked at the old man and said to Latban.
“Commander Latban, can you bring him to me?”
Judging from the situation, it seemed that if I approached right away, more people would flock around and cause a disturbance. Due to my words, Latban tried to call for another knight, but when he realized that there was no one to call, he turned around.
It was then.