Of course, she knew that it was too early to feel that way. This was only their third meeting. The total time they had spent together had not even been half a day. Even knowing that, Amelia was certain of the name of the emotion she was feeling.
“Ivan.”
Ivan was the best person Amelia had ever met in her life. Amelia's life was so small and closed that she had never met someone like Ivan.
“I like you.”
Ivan smiled broadly at Amelia's casual remark.
“It’s an honor.”
The word is honor, but it wasn't an attitude of honor. It was more like an attitude of watching a small, cute thing come and get hit. In other words, it was like treating a cat.
“Try it.”
Ivan nodded at the bottle. Amelia, holding the bottle with both hands, moved her arms with a determined expression. The spout of the bottle against her lips tilted.
“...!”
Amelia's eyes widened as she fearlessly opened her throat and drank the alcohol as if it were water. Amelia's face was crumpled like a piece of crumpled paper, as if she had spit out everything, to the point where it seemed as if she had even drunk anything.
"This..."
Amelia couldn't speak properly and pointed to the bottle of wine in her right hand.
“Why does this taste like this?”
And then she asked in a whisper as if it was ridiculous. It was obvious that she wanted to scream, but she was holding back because she didn't want to make a loud noise. Judging from her expression alone, it seemed like it was the most horrible taste Amelia had ever tasted in her life.
“How does it taste?”
“It's bitter and my tongue is tingling.”
Amelia mumbled her answer and stuck her tongue out, red and soft.
“Why are you drinking this?”
Amelia asked as if she couldn't understand. Ivan didn't like drinking, but this was the first time he'd heard such a childish question. He couldn't help but laugh.
"Haha."
Amelia sat down next to Ivan and leaned her face on her knees. She stared at Ivan’s face as if she was entranced, laughing out loud as if it was fun. Even in the dark prayer room where the lights were not on, his figure was clearly visible under the moonlight. Ivan was a handsome man, of all people, and that was the clearest certainty Amelia had ever felt in her life.
“...”
So, is it better? Amelia was thinking that. As if he felt the hot gaze pouring down on him, Ivan gradually withdrew his smile and met Amelia’s gaze. There was still a faint smile hanging in his eyes.
“It makes you feel better when you drink it. Even though it doesn’t taste that good.”
Amelia frowned and shook her head as if she didn't understand Ivan's answer.
“Can that be possible?”
“Now that you mention it, I think that might be the case.”
Ivan gently snatched the bottle from Amelia’s hand and tilted it to his lips. Amelia watched as the amber liquid flowed down the bottle and into his mouth.
“Actually, I don’t know what it tastes like yet.”
Ivan's eyes, which were roughly wiping away a stream of liquid running down the corner of his mouth with his hand, met Amelia's round eyes.
“You go to bars often?”
“I didn’t say I go there often.”
It seemed strange that someone who had been to a bar could say he didn't like the taste. But Ivan didn't really enjoy alcohol. He didn't enjoy cigars even more.
“How can you have such thoughts when you’re not even drunk?”
Of course, Rodan's reaction was even more horrifying because Ivan's decision, which he could not understand, was something he said and did in his right mind.
“Are you going to quit your job as a Priest?”
As he was roughly shaking his slightly wet hands in the air, Amelia asked.
“I guess.”
Ivan's answer was quick. It was not right for an Emperor of a country to be a Priest. And even more so if the Priest served the god he hated the most and his representative.
"...I see."
In fact, he wasn't a priest to begin with. Ivan carefully looked at Amelia's face as she responded ambiguously. Her face was somewhat strange.
“Do you want to leave here too?”
Something like envy.
Ivan opened his mouth as if to say something. He glanced at Amelia out of the corner of his eye, as if there was no particular meaning to it.
"Hmm..."
Amelia hesitated to answer. She was worried about whether she could be honest. However, Ivan, who interpreted her worries differently, smiled.
“Oh, right.”
“...”
“You are bound here until death.”
Amelia's body trembled at Ivan's words.
“Until the day God kills me, this earth is the only place where my soul will be enslaved.”
That was the first oath of the Priestess. She doesn't know why she said that, but because of that oath, Amelia's mother, grandmother, and even her blood relatives from before were bound to this land.
“When I leave here, I think I’ll work for the royal family.”
Amelia was momentarily glad that Ivan didn't ask her why she had made such an oath. Ivan's soft words puzzled Amelia.
“The Imperial Family?”
Since he was the Emperor, it was natural for him to work for the imperial family. However, Amelia, who did not know this, found it strange.
“Because that’s where they pay the most money.”
Ivan replied slyly.
“Contrary to your hostility, the Emperor doesn’t seem like such a bad person.”
And he added calmly that the Emperor did not seem like a bad person. Ivan had a remarkable ability to characterize himself.
“I am not hostile to the Emperor.”
Amelia said it as if it were the first time she had heard it. In reality, Amelia did not feel any hostility towards the Escliffe royal family.
“Everything the royal family tries to do is opposed by them.”
"That..."
It wasn't her doing. Amelia had been in this position for a year after her mother died. And even that wasn't her mother's will, she was sure.
“Everyone thought that the relationship between the Priestess and the royal family was not good. Wasn’t that so?”
“That’s not it.”
Amelia denied it. Those who held the position of Priestess had never voluntarily crossed this wall. There was no element of aversion or hostility toward the imperial family.
“Then? Was what the Emperor was trying to do really wrong?”
For a moment, her head felt dizzy.
“Just. I just follow your will.”
The answer came without going through her head. Amelia blinked her burning eyes. It was as if she had been intoxicated by the alcohol she had poured into her mouth for the first time in her life, even though only a few drops had touched her tongue.
“Oh, so.”
“...”
“That’s interesting.”
Ivan muttered, putting down the bottle he was holding. After a while, she started giggling, even though his face wasn't particularly funny.
“Ivan.”
A face that was unpleasant even when smiling. Amelia reached out to Ivan's face with a worried expression. His skin was certainly good, but it felt different from Amelia's. It felt smooth rather than soft.
“Why do you have that face?”
“What kind of face do I have?”
“You look unpleasant.”
Ivan blinked silently, as if he wasn't particularly pleased that he had been seen through.
“It’s getting late, so I think it would be best to go back.”
Ivan advised, pushing Amelia's hand away and getting up from his seat.
“Why are you angry?”
Amelia looked up at Ivan with clear eyes and asked. Ivan felt speechless. From what Amelia said, there was no reason for an apprentice priest to be offended. It was only because he was the Emperor. But there was no way he could reveal that fact.
“I’m not angry.”
"Lie."
Amelia said, complaining.
“What did I do wrong? Can’t you tell me?”
And for a while, she clung to him as if she were begging him. Strangely enough, she didn't feel ashamed of clinging to Ivan. Her pride didn't hurt. Perhaps it was because Ivan didn't laugh at such an attitude.
“I’m afraid you’ll get angry and not come back.”
Ivan looked down at the small hand that was holding the end of his sleeve. Then he let out a low sigh. It was just annoying.
Ivan reached out to shake off Amelia's hand, just as his fingertips touched the soft back of her hand.
“I, I’m scared of dogs!”
Amelia suddenly mentioned her fear of dogs. So? Ivan cocked an eyebrow as if to ask what she wanted.
“Whenever I see a dog, my body freezes and my feet won’t move. This is a real secret, but you’re the first one to tell me.”
“...”
“So you can’t let out your anger?”
Amelia shook the hand holding Ivan's sleeve slightly. It was a childish gesture. In this way, the Amelia that Ivan faced seemed somewhat childish, even though she had lived for 200 years.
Well, then she must have liked him. Whether it was towards a friend or a lover, Amelia's feelings towards him were special. The quick-witted man quickly noticed those feelings.
"...All right."
Amelia finally got the answer she wanted and smiled brightly. She had an expression on her face that didn't seem to know that two of her weaknesses were dangerous, even though she had given them to him.
Ivan stared at the colorful light of the stained glass scattered over Amelia's white skin. It was beautiful, like the color of the ceiling glass, but it was sharp enough to pierce her delicate skin at any moment along its fragmented shape. Just like Ivan's presence to Amelia. At that moment, Ivan had a feeling.
This woman will die one day because of her feelings for him.
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