He stared at me for a while longer, then sighed and got up.
“Follow me.”
I stood up from my seat as if I had been waiting. The Crown Prince followed me with unstoppable steps.
Eventually, we arrived at a room.
“Your Highness, please wait here for a moment.”
“I will go with you.”
The Crown Prince spoke stubbornly, but the Marquis shook his head.
“The goddess’s holy relics can only be encountered by those who wish to borrow its power.”
The Marquis, who had resolutely stopped him, entered the room with only me.
In a blindingly white room, with only a white table in the center as the only piece of furniture, there was a red bead the size of a child's fist.
I stared at the beads lying on the black cushion. My heart was pounding with fear.
“This is it...”
“Yes, it is one of the four sacred relics my mother personally created.”
The Marquis, speaking in a flat voice, led me to the sacred relic.
“As the son of the great goddess and guardian of the sacred relics, I ask you. What is your name, you who seeks Hethel’s power?”
“...Shayne Veloce.”
I said my name softly.
“Shayne Veloce, the successor of the second Veloce family, Catalonia, under the protection of the goddess, seeks the aid of the precious goddess.”
My mouth moved on its own, without my will, as if something inside me was helping with the ritual.
I was quietly staring at the holy relic, but then I reached out. The moment my white fingertips lightly rested on the holy relic.
“...!”
A red glow flowed from the holy relic and enveloped my body. Soon, an indescribable pain spread to every corner of my body.
“Ahhhhhhh!!”
I literally howled.
It was a pain that felt like my flesh was being torn apart and my internal organs were being ripped out. I couldn't hold back my tears or screams.
I struggled on the floor, not even realizing that my fingernails were broken and bleeding.
'The eyes, the eyes...'
My vision became blurry.
I couldn't tell if it was tears from physiological pain or if I was going blind from divine punishment. I didn't have the energy to do it.
“Shayne!”
My vision flickered to the end with the voice of the Crown Prince calling my name.
Three days later.
Judgment day has dawned.
The testing site is Erte Street, the most severely affected street in the capital.
The area to the left of the wide square was suffering from heavy rain and snow, while the area to the right was suffering from drought and epidemics.
Melina's carriage arrived first, and within minutes, Shayne's carriage entered the square.
The onlookers' murmurs followed behind Shayne as she got out of the carriage, holding the knight's hand.
“She always comes with a lion, but today, she came alone.”
“Of course. This is a place to determine whether Saintess Veloce’s powers come from a lion or not.”
“That’s true. But where is that lion? Still, he is the representative of the goddess, so it would be rude to lock him up in an iron cage.”
“I heard that he is in the room where he stayed with the Saintess. I heard that the knights are guarding the door to prevent him from doing anything reckless.”
“I see. By the way, doesn’t Saintess Veloce look a bit odd? The area under her eyes is hollow, as if she’s been up for three days and nights, her skin is rough, and look at that, her gait is also strange.”
“That’s right. It looks like she's limping, as if she's developed a limp.”
A look of doubt appeared in people's eyes.
Things like shadows under the eyes and rough skin are completely understandable.
Regardless of whether or not there was a Saintess, Shayne must have had trouble sleeping for the past three days.
If she was fake, she would be frustrated by the rule that she could not accompany the lion who had lent her strength, and if she was real, she would be offended by the idea of retesting herself, even though she had already received the Pope's approval.
But they couldn't understand why she suddenly started to walk.
“Did she jump out of the window because she was afraid that it would be discovered that she was fake?”
Although many people looked at her with questioning eyes, Shaynr walked forward silently.
One step at a time.
With every step she took, beads of sweat formed on her forehead as if she was exhausted, but her expression remained calm.
She climbed onto the stage with such an expressionless face and rolled her darkened eyes to find her place.
The seat placed at the very top would be the throne, the seat slightly below and to the right would be the seat of the Crown Prince, and the two seats slightly lower on either side would be for the Saintesses.
Since Melina was already sitting on the right, Shayne naturally sat on the chair on the left.
The two Saintesses waited for the arrival of the Emperor and the Crown Prince, their gaze fixed on the crowd of curious faces gathered beneath the platform.
At that moment, Melina spoke to me in a soft voice.
“Just give up. What were you expecting that made you come all the way here? The more you do that, the more miserable you’ll become.”
Shayne turned her head silently.
Melina was looking at her with the corners of her eyes drooping.
Anyone who saw it could tell that she was a kind younger sister who was worried about her older sister.
But Shayne, who could not have been unaware of Melina's intentions, simply looked at her with a stern gaze.
“I would rather my sister kill yourself. It’s the same as dying anyway, but then you’d avoid being dragged out like a dog in front of people.”
“...”
“But I guess you chose a miracle with a probability close to zero over saving face. You foolish girl.”
As soon as she uttered her last word, the disgusting smoke cleared away.
Melina's eyes turned towards me, full of ridicule.
It was most likely a deliberate provocation.
Melina wanted to see me run wild and be wild without shame.
She wanted me, who had grown up preciously as the legitimate heir to the Duke's family, to be angry, despairing, and frustrated at the fact that I was pushed out by her, an illegitimate child.
She wished I could shed that noble shell and make a fool of myself in front of all these people, grabbing her by the collar, slapping her face, and screaming.
But contrary to her expectations, I just looked at my with eyes that made it impossible to tell what I was thinking, then turned my head away again.
Melina, who was licking her lips as if she was disappointed, also turned her gaze straight ahead.
But his mouth was still turned towards me.
“As you probably already know, I actually hate my sister. Even though we were born from the same father, because our mothers were different, my sister got everything good. My grandfather didn’t pay any attention to me, and my mother and I had to live in a separate house until my grandfather passed away.”
“...”
“There was no room for me to become a successor, even though we are of the same blood.”
Is it because she thinks this is the last time?
For the first time, Melina revealed her inner feelings that she had kept hidden until now and had never said a word, even if her eyes and facial expressions showed them.
I, who had been quietly listening to the voice, spoke in a calm voice with my chin resting on my hand.
“Well, isn’t your life too luxurious to be upset about that?”
“...”
“You took whatever you wanted. Expensive dresses, rare jewels, magnificent rooms. Even though you were an illegitimate child, you used more of the family fortune than I, the heir. So what was so unfair that you hated me?”
If there was any hatred between us, it was clearly her fault.
Because she had everything taken away from me.
A father's affection, a room that should have been a mother's, a warm home.
And that's not all?
Whether it was to protect my father's affection or because she enjoyed seeing him scold me, Melina got me into trouble countless times while we lived under the same roof.
It was a very petty and childish act, like rolling down the stairs alone and blaming me for pushing her, whining about having tea with the family and then spilling the tea on herself right before her father arrived, or showing her red, whipped calves and telling him that it was my doing.
But whenever that happened, I, who was still young and not strong enough, would get hurt.
After losing my mother and grandfather, the only family I had left was my father, the Duke.
It made me very sad to be scolded so harshly by my father for something I didn't do.
But even at that most obvious truth, Melina scoffed.
“Because my sister wasn’t heartbroken.”
"What?"
“Yes, just like you said, I could have anything. But no matter what I took or what I took, my sister never raised an eyebrow. You just looked at me indifferently, as if accumulating money or something was all I could do.”
My gaze, which had been facing forward, moved back to Melina.
“No matter how hard I tried to provoke you, I wasn’t even a heel-biting ant to you. You didn’t even notice me. Do you know how miserable that makes a person?”
Melina's eyes widened with satisfaction as she clenched her teeth and growled for a moment.
“But in the end, I am the winner.”
“...”
“Shayne Veloce, you are going to die at the hands of the bastard you so disdained.”
The eyes, intoxicated with a sense of victory, seemed almost ecstatic.
“Follow me.”
I stood up from my seat as if I had been waiting. The Crown Prince followed me with unstoppable steps.
Eventually, we arrived at a room.
“Your Highness, please wait here for a moment.”
“I will go with you.”
The Crown Prince spoke stubbornly, but the Marquis shook his head.
“The goddess’s holy relics can only be encountered by those who wish to borrow its power.”
The Marquis, who had resolutely stopped him, entered the room with only me.
In a blindingly white room, with only a white table in the center as the only piece of furniture, there was a red bead the size of a child's fist.
I stared at the beads lying on the black cushion. My heart was pounding with fear.
“This is it...”
“Yes, it is one of the four sacred relics my mother personally created.”
The Marquis, speaking in a flat voice, led me to the sacred relic.
“As the son of the great goddess and guardian of the sacred relics, I ask you. What is your name, you who seeks Hethel’s power?”
“...Shayne Veloce.”
I said my name softly.
“Shayne Veloce, the successor of the second Veloce family, Catalonia, under the protection of the goddess, seeks the aid of the precious goddess.”
My mouth moved on its own, without my will, as if something inside me was helping with the ritual.
I was quietly staring at the holy relic, but then I reached out. The moment my white fingertips lightly rested on the holy relic.
“...!”
A red glow flowed from the holy relic and enveloped my body. Soon, an indescribable pain spread to every corner of my body.
“Ahhhhhhh!!”
I literally howled.
It was a pain that felt like my flesh was being torn apart and my internal organs were being ripped out. I couldn't hold back my tears or screams.
I struggled on the floor, not even realizing that my fingernails were broken and bleeding.
'The eyes, the eyes...'
My vision became blurry.
I couldn't tell if it was tears from physiological pain or if I was going blind from divine punishment. I didn't have the energy to do it.
“Shayne!”
My vision flickered to the end with the voice of the Crown Prince calling my name.
***
Three days later.
Judgment day has dawned.
The testing site is Erte Street, the most severely affected street in the capital.
The area to the left of the wide square was suffering from heavy rain and snow, while the area to the right was suffering from drought and epidemics.
Melina's carriage arrived first, and within minutes, Shayne's carriage entered the square.
The onlookers' murmurs followed behind Shayne as she got out of the carriage, holding the knight's hand.
“She always comes with a lion, but today, she came alone.”
“Of course. This is a place to determine whether Saintess Veloce’s powers come from a lion or not.”
“That’s true. But where is that lion? Still, he is the representative of the goddess, so it would be rude to lock him up in an iron cage.”
“I heard that he is in the room where he stayed with the Saintess. I heard that the knights are guarding the door to prevent him from doing anything reckless.”
“I see. By the way, doesn’t Saintess Veloce look a bit odd? The area under her eyes is hollow, as if she’s been up for three days and nights, her skin is rough, and look at that, her gait is also strange.”
“That’s right. It looks like she's limping, as if she's developed a limp.”
A look of doubt appeared in people's eyes.
Things like shadows under the eyes and rough skin are completely understandable.
Regardless of whether or not there was a Saintess, Shayne must have had trouble sleeping for the past three days.
If she was fake, she would be frustrated by the rule that she could not accompany the lion who had lent her strength, and if she was real, she would be offended by the idea of retesting herself, even though she had already received the Pope's approval.
But they couldn't understand why she suddenly started to walk.
“Did she jump out of the window because she was afraid that it would be discovered that she was fake?”
Although many people looked at her with questioning eyes, Shaynr walked forward silently.
One step at a time.
With every step she took, beads of sweat formed on her forehead as if she was exhausted, but her expression remained calm.
She climbed onto the stage with such an expressionless face and rolled her darkened eyes to find her place.
The seat placed at the very top would be the throne, the seat slightly below and to the right would be the seat of the Crown Prince, and the two seats slightly lower on either side would be for the Saintesses.
Since Melina was already sitting on the right, Shayne naturally sat on the chair on the left.
The two Saintesses waited for the arrival of the Emperor and the Crown Prince, their gaze fixed on the crowd of curious faces gathered beneath the platform.
At that moment, Melina spoke to me in a soft voice.
“Just give up. What were you expecting that made you come all the way here? The more you do that, the more miserable you’ll become.”
Shayne turned her head silently.
Melina was looking at her with the corners of her eyes drooping.
Anyone who saw it could tell that she was a kind younger sister who was worried about her older sister.
But Shayne, who could not have been unaware of Melina's intentions, simply looked at her with a stern gaze.
“I would rather my sister kill yourself. It’s the same as dying anyway, but then you’d avoid being dragged out like a dog in front of people.”
“...”
“But I guess you chose a miracle with a probability close to zero over saving face. You foolish girl.”
As soon as she uttered her last word, the disgusting smoke cleared away.
Melina's eyes turned towards me, full of ridicule.
It was most likely a deliberate provocation.
Melina wanted to see me run wild and be wild without shame.
She wanted me, who had grown up preciously as the legitimate heir to the Duke's family, to be angry, despairing, and frustrated at the fact that I was pushed out by her, an illegitimate child.
She wished I could shed that noble shell and make a fool of myself in front of all these people, grabbing her by the collar, slapping her face, and screaming.
But contrary to her expectations, I just looked at my with eyes that made it impossible to tell what I was thinking, then turned my head away again.
Melina, who was licking her lips as if she was disappointed, also turned her gaze straight ahead.
But his mouth was still turned towards me.
“As you probably already know, I actually hate my sister. Even though we were born from the same father, because our mothers were different, my sister got everything good. My grandfather didn’t pay any attention to me, and my mother and I had to live in a separate house until my grandfather passed away.”
“...”
“There was no room for me to become a successor, even though we are of the same blood.”
Is it because she thinks this is the last time?
For the first time, Melina revealed her inner feelings that she had kept hidden until now and had never said a word, even if her eyes and facial expressions showed them.
I, who had been quietly listening to the voice, spoke in a calm voice with my chin resting on my hand.
“Well, isn’t your life too luxurious to be upset about that?”
“...”
“You took whatever you wanted. Expensive dresses, rare jewels, magnificent rooms. Even though you were an illegitimate child, you used more of the family fortune than I, the heir. So what was so unfair that you hated me?”
If there was any hatred between us, it was clearly her fault.
Because she had everything taken away from me.
A father's affection, a room that should have been a mother's, a warm home.
And that's not all?
Whether it was to protect my father's affection or because she enjoyed seeing him scold me, Melina got me into trouble countless times while we lived under the same roof.
It was a very petty and childish act, like rolling down the stairs alone and blaming me for pushing her, whining about having tea with the family and then spilling the tea on herself right before her father arrived, or showing her red, whipped calves and telling him that it was my doing.
But whenever that happened, I, who was still young and not strong enough, would get hurt.
After losing my mother and grandfather, the only family I had left was my father, the Duke.
It made me very sad to be scolded so harshly by my father for something I didn't do.
But even at that most obvious truth, Melina scoffed.
“Because my sister wasn’t heartbroken.”
"What?"
“Yes, just like you said, I could have anything. But no matter what I took or what I took, my sister never raised an eyebrow. You just looked at me indifferently, as if accumulating money or something was all I could do.”
My gaze, which had been facing forward, moved back to Melina.
“No matter how hard I tried to provoke you, I wasn’t even a heel-biting ant to you. You didn’t even notice me. Do you know how miserable that makes a person?”
Melina's eyes widened with satisfaction as she clenched her teeth and growled for a moment.
“But in the end, I am the winner.”
“...”
“Shayne Veloce, you are going to die at the hands of the bastard you so disdained.”
The eyes, intoxicated with a sense of victory, seemed almost ecstatic.
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