CHAPTER 46……………………………………..
He turned away from him and stared at Lady Emerne. Seeing her cheeks, thickly powdered white, quiver, anger welled up inside him.
“Why aren’t you moving faster…?”
“Step aside.”
“What did you say?”
“Ha. Do you think your nagging here will help me? No. I think stepping aside would be more helpful.”
Lady Emerne’s eyes widened. She opened her mouth dumbly, as if she couldn’t believe what she had just heard, then her face twisted in anger.
“What kind of manners are those!”
“Miss Aris can look for herself.”
He passed her and headed toward the altar.
“Why are you going up there? I said find Aris!”
Trying to boss someone around without taking a single step.
As he ascended the altar, the murmuring crowd’s gaze turned to him.
“Why isn’t anyone coming up here?”
“Where is the priest?”
The king’s displeased face and Hubert’s stern expression caught his eye.
He quietly sighed. Then, unexpectedly, a smile escaped.
How could it be exactly as he had expected, without a single deviation?
“Foolish Aris… you doubted me, yet you still won’t give up hope.”
You must have hoped I would be humiliated here, my position weakened.
“Do you think I wouldn’t have prepared for this?”
He spoke to the waiting people.
Georgiana struggled to maintain her composure.
Though she had full control over the servants she despised while carrying Aris on her back, the thought of handling such a major event was still intimidating.
“People are waiting for you at the pavilion, Miss.”
“Of course they are.”
“Shouldn’t we leave now? They might be thinking you’ve disappeared.”
“We can stay a bit longer. The more time passes, the more trouble it’ll cause my sister, right?”
Aris giggled, as if this were amusing.
“My sister needs to be humiliated at least once. Only then will she understand her place and treat me properly. If I help her when she needs it, she’ll be even more grateful, won’t she?”
“Won’t people blame you, Miss?”
Georgiana shivered under her cold gaze.
Aris looked down at her arrogantly.
“I am a priest. When it comes to offering prayers, the priest’s condition is what matters most. If I feel drawn here, who could object? What matters is that, wherever and by whomever the prayers are offered, the rain ritual succeeds and brings the blessing of water.”
Aris’s face, confident that no harm would come to her, appeared paler and shinier than usual because of her makeup.
Her sharp eyes curved like crescent moons.
Chilling.
Georgiana shivered. She wasn’t a purely good person, but at least her devotion to the gods was sincere.
That’s why she was worried.
Is it really okay to use such a sacred rain ritual like this?
Noticing Georgiana’s anxious expression, Aris’s gaze sharpened.
“What’s with that look? When the time comes, be ready to gather the people.”
“…Yes, Miss.”
It was then.
Plop.
A drop of water fell on her cheek. Aris’s eyes went wide.
As she wiped her cheek, more drops fell from above in a steady stream.
“Rain?”
There had been no sign of rain today.
Looking up at the clear sky in confusion, Aris’s face soon twisted with anger.
She glared fiercely at Georgiana.
“What’s going on? This is the rain a priest brings!”
Countless eyes burned into him. He smiled without changing expression, as if nothing was wrong.
“Have I not introduced myself? I am Igreine of the Lorenst family, honored to prepare today’s rain ritual.”
The crowd politely clapped. Waiting for the applause to stop, he continued nonchalantly.
“Considering the situation in the West this year, we’ve prepared the ritual a little differently. We’ve invited a priest you’ve all been curious about. Let us join our hearts in prayer. May the glory of water bless this land.”
“The glory of water bless this land.”
Reciting the standard prayer, those who hadn’t yet understood followed, clasping their hands.
Then puzzled glances spread.
Without hesitation, he signaled toward the steps of the platform.
Soon, she arrived. She wore a flowing white dress that brushed the ground, her face veiled.
Someone gasped.
“The veiled servant.”
“The veiled servant? You mean the priest who put out the fire in the palace?”
Seeing curiosity ripple through the crowd, he let out a sigh of relief.
‘I’m glad I asked, just in case.’
He stepped back and whispered to her.
“Please, Princess.”
“Leave it to me!”
The princess responded cheerfully, stepping forward gracefully.
Her walk reflected the hope and confidence she had expressed in wanting to offer the prayers herself.
As she raised her hands to the sky, the crowd, weary from waiting, felt renewed anticipation.
Standing still, the princess slowly opened her lips.
It was a small, barely audible incantation, meant to reach only him—but its effect was undeniable.
Soon, drops began to fall. He looked up at the sky, then back at the princess.
Her elbows glimmered with a bluish light.
Tat-tat-tat.
Aris, running desperately to the altar, was horrified.
“How is she here?”
She looked around frantically.
The people bowed solemnly, cried, or lifted their hands to the sky like priests, receiving the rain.
No one seemed curious about who was causing the rain.
Veiled servant or herself, it didn’t matter.
As long as rain came, anyone would do!
Seeing even the king staring at the sky, Aris bit her lip hard.
She understood immediately.
She didn’t know how the veiled servant had been persuaded, but her plan to humiliate Igreine had failed.
‘It’s no longer about embarrassing my sister. I’m in big trouble!’
She had told Georgiana everything was fine under the assumption that, as a priest, she would safely bring rain.
After the ritual, her whereabouts would be questioned, and she couldn’t escape blame.
Conversely, Igreine’s reputation would rise.
‘That cannot happen.’
A fire ignited in Aris’s eyes.
‘I need to show my power, even now.’
All she needed was to summon rain fitting for the ritual. The reason for being late could be fabricated.
‘As long as I show strength, it’s fine. Maybe it’s even for the better?’
This was a chance to make up for her humiliation during the palace fire incident.
Her inability to shine had allowed the veiled servant to be praised instead.
If she summoned more rain than the veiled servant, this time the servant would be overshadowed by her.
‘Good. That’s all I need.’
She couldn’t afford to be pushed back, even if it meant collapsing.
Poison filled Aris’s eyes.
She also raised her hands toward the sky.
<Water of life that can make flowers bloom in barren lands, spread across this land.>
Rain clouds began gathering.
Seeing Aris dash clumsily to the altar, he couldn’t hide a smirk. She had fallen for her own trap.
It was wise for her to participate in the ritual, even belatedly. Otherwise, she couldn’t have avoided the king’s reprimand.
From his perspective, that was slightly disappointing.
‘If it weren’t for the princess, this could have gone badly.’
Remembering the day he had coaxed Princess Laratu into wearing a veil to offer prayers, he breathed a sigh of relief.
‘If all else failed, I considered using my own power, but that would be dangerous. Using a priest’s power publicly is risky.’
He thought of Leo.
‘What would he say if he knew I could make it rain?’
「You’re slower than other humans. Tsk tsk. Why didn’t you live a little more properly? Your soul is impure, so the spirit inhabiting you is weak.」
[Are you picking a fight?]
「Don’t rush. Spirits can only inhabit cursed humans. That’s the magic of your ancestors.」
[What do you mean? Can you explain in more detail?]
「Why should I! Honestly, why am I even helping a cursed human?」
[Why am I cursed?]
「I don’t know!」
“A cursed human…”
Perhaps he had said that because humans had devoured a god?
In that case, Leo wouldn’t be very pleased that I became a priest.
Sighing with a complicated feeling, he thought:
‘Anyway, the rain ritual has safely concluded.’
He turned his gaze from the pouring rain.
Lady Emerne was staring blankly at the altar. When their eyes met, she looked away in embarrassment.
‘That could have been a disaster.’
If he hadn’t restrained his hand from striking at the very moment he had been slapped, Lady Emerne would now be clutching her broken jaw, and he would be in custody for assault.
‘I held back well.’
He watched the ceremony conclude with a sense of satisfaction.
Time passed. The sky remained full of clouds. The cloud layer thickened even more.
Something was strange.
‘Why isn’t the rain stopping?’
Moreover, the amount of rain was unusual.
He glanced toward the altar. Princess Laratu, having finished the prayers and lowered her arms, shouted at Aris.
“Stop it!”
Aris… she seemed deaf to everything, staring only at the sky.
Unlike Princess Laratu, whose water-drop tattoos had disappeared, Aris’s neck tattoo remained vivid.
She was still using her ability.
‘What is she doing?’
At first, he thought it was a case of hero syndrome. But seeing Aris’s unnaturally pale face, he reconsidered.
Her eyes were unfocused.
He realized instinctively that something had gone wrong.
