42. A fleeting relationship
Diarin had been fiddling around, trying to somehow break the spell related to Ceres's memories.
After studying anatomy and researching it, she found that the head was dangerous no matter where or how she touched it.
If you do it wrong, you could become unable to use your body, your memory could become more confused, or in the worst case, you could become a cripple.
She couldn't make a person who was living a normal life into a wreck just to help him find his memories.
Instead, she was focusing on touching a part of his head that wasn't too dangerous to touch... and she was pouring her divine power into just his scalp.
"But your scalp is really strong. Normally, if you change your hair color, it gets damaged, but you have five hairs growing out of each pore. It's also incredibly thick."
Diarin felt a pang of sadness for no reason.
“At this point, I think I’ll never have to worry about hair loss again.”
Another function of divine power has been discovered like this.
If she ever finds herself unable to do her job as a priest or starves to death, she'll have to use it then.
A divine power that prevents hair loss.
If this ability becomes known while belonging to the temple, Diarin will die young as the divine power is sucked out of her while she is still alive.
“Wow, I see what they mean when they say it’s not the face that gets the hair, but the head that gets the face.”
The hairdresser began to let out his characteristic gab once Ceres stopped growling.
Ceres' expression became harsh as he became noisy from time to time, but he didn't care.
Perhaps because the other person was completely relaxed and comfortable, Ceres, although annoyed, did not throw the mirror or hit the person with a chair.
“Oh, I was told to discuss the matter with the Priestess regarding the schedule, but would it be possible to take a vacation next week?”
The overall management of the mansion was Diarin's responsibility.
It was like that because Robben couldn't manage the mansion by going back and forth every day.
Since they were all good at what they did, Diarin didn't have to worry much about them.
“Are you on vacation?”
"Yes, next week is the entire Second Prince's birthday celebration. I'd like to spend a day or so checking out the festivities..."
“Are you having a birthday celebration?”
Laklion has been at war all this time.
Although battles only took place on the front lines, the war had a wide-ranging impact on the economy and society as a whole.
It was not the kind of atmosphere where people could celebrate and eat while someone's sons and daughters were dying on the front lines.
So, except for a few traditional seasonal festivals, there were almost no big festivals.
But the Prince's birthday celebration?
This was a bit odd.
A celebration of the birthday of a 'Prince', which is neither the founding anniversary nor the Emperor's birthday, has never been held before.
"Yes. I heard the war is over and they're holding a week-long festival. The royal family is even providing free food and holding parades."
"Aha..."
It's a festival.
Diarin had never properly enjoyed a festival.
Even going to see a festival is something that parents need to take care of and take their children to.
When she was young, she grew up not knowing what a festival was, and after entering the temple, she only went to work.
Festivals with large crowds were a perfect opportunity to advertise the temple.
It's like decorating the priests to look good and using their divine power to do good deeds, or scattering food in the name of the gods.
As a result, Diarin didn't have a chance to enjoy the festival like ordinary people.
“Let’s try adjusting the schedule.”
"Thank you!"
Is it that good?
The hairdresser's reaction to being excited about going out to play was strange.
Diarin felt no excitement at the word festival.
Diarin had been fiddling around, trying to somehow break the spell related to Ceres's memories.
After studying anatomy and researching it, she found that the head was dangerous no matter where or how she touched it.
If you do it wrong, you could become unable to use your body, your memory could become more confused, or in the worst case, you could become a cripple.
She couldn't make a person who was living a normal life into a wreck just to help him find his memories.
Instead, she was focusing on touching a part of his head that wasn't too dangerous to touch... and she was pouring her divine power into just his scalp.
"But your scalp is really strong. Normally, if you change your hair color, it gets damaged, but you have five hairs growing out of each pore. It's also incredibly thick."
Diarin felt a pang of sadness for no reason.
“At this point, I think I’ll never have to worry about hair loss again.”
Another function of divine power has been discovered like this.
If she ever finds herself unable to do her job as a priest or starves to death, she'll have to use it then.
A divine power that prevents hair loss.
If this ability becomes known while belonging to the temple, Diarin will die young as the divine power is sucked out of her while she is still alive.
“Wow, I see what they mean when they say it’s not the face that gets the hair, but the head that gets the face.”
The hairdresser began to let out his characteristic gab once Ceres stopped growling.
Ceres' expression became harsh as he became noisy from time to time, but he didn't care.
Perhaps because the other person was completely relaxed and comfortable, Ceres, although annoyed, did not throw the mirror or hit the person with a chair.
“Oh, I was told to discuss the matter with the Priestess regarding the schedule, but would it be possible to take a vacation next week?”
The overall management of the mansion was Diarin's responsibility.
It was like that because Robben couldn't manage the mansion by going back and forth every day.
Since they were all good at what they did, Diarin didn't have to worry much about them.
“Are you on vacation?”
"Yes, next week is the entire Second Prince's birthday celebration. I'd like to spend a day or so checking out the festivities..."
“Are you having a birthday celebration?”
Laklion has been at war all this time.
Although battles only took place on the front lines, the war had a wide-ranging impact on the economy and society as a whole.
It was not the kind of atmosphere where people could celebrate and eat while someone's sons and daughters were dying on the front lines.
So, except for a few traditional seasonal festivals, there were almost no big festivals.
But the Prince's birthday celebration?
This was a bit odd.
A celebration of the birthday of a 'Prince', which is neither the founding anniversary nor the Emperor's birthday, has never been held before.
"Yes. I heard the war is over and they're holding a week-long festival. The royal family is even providing free food and holding parades."
"Aha..."
It's a festival.
Diarin had never properly enjoyed a festival.
Even going to see a festival is something that parents need to take care of and take their children to.
When she was young, she grew up not knowing what a festival was, and after entering the temple, she only went to work.
Festivals with large crowds were a perfect opportunity to advertise the temple.
It's like decorating the priests to look good and using their divine power to do good deeds, or scattering food in the name of the gods.
As a result, Diarin didn't have a chance to enjoy the festival like ordinary people.
“Let’s try adjusting the schedule.”
"Thank you!"
Is it that good?
The hairdresser's reaction to being excited about going out to play was strange.
Diarin felt no excitement at the word festival.
***
"Then I'll see you in five days. Have a good time and get some rest."
After discussing it with Robben, they decided to give the entire mansion a vacation.
People needed rest, and Ceres needed rest, too.
Although he had become quite accustomed to people, it was still not entirely unnerving.
Even if you're not Ceres, everyone gets tired of being conscious of other people's attention.
As a Priestess, Diarin was also growing slightly weary of the mansion life where she had to constantly be refined.
“...I don’t want to go...”
But there was a place she hated more than the mansion.
It was a temple.
That, too, a face-to-face meeting with the chief priest.
Diarin crumpled up the letter, threw it on the floor, and collapsed on the bed.
Since she's been with Ceres, her actions have become much more uninhibited.
She can't do something like this in a temple.
It was a place where even the tiniest of mistakes were pointed out with a sharp knife.
“I’m doing well, so why are you asking to see me...”
Diarin rolled over on the bed and groaned.
But going to the temple had already been decided.
If you come, you have to go.
“Ceres, are you okay on your own?”
The mansion was now completely empty of people, and there was nothing to protect Ceres from anything that might provoke him.
However, she felt uneasy about leaving Ceres alone, not even the unconscious Ceres, but the conscious Ceres.
"No."
Ceres denied it proudly.
“...What if you say it’s not you? You should try to see that it’s okay.”
"Why?"
“I don’t like it.”
“So, why?”
“Because I don’t like it.”
You can hate it because you hate it.
Is there really a reason to dislike something?
There was some truth to Ceres's stubbornness.
“...I hate it too.”
Ceres raised his head at Diarin's lament.
“I also feel more comfortable being with Ceres.”
“Then stay here.”
"No. People have to do things they don't want to do. Even you did what the 8th Division told you to do to survive. You are currently undergoing training to be a young master."
Ceres is the one who lived as he was told, whether he liked it or not.
In his life, he has rarely done or chosen something because he liked it.
It was only recently that he learned to know his likes and dislikes, and to cater to his picky tastes.
But in the end, that was just a small choice within a narrow range.
Ceres was not given the choice of his own life's direction.
“Training is good now.”
"Really? That's good. But I have to go to the temple to be with Ceres."
“...”
Even if you don't like it, there are things you have to endure for the sake of something good.
Ceres said no more.
“Then, I’ll be back later. So, Ceres, stay well?”
The more you hold on, the more difficult it will become to get out.
Diarin, having made up her mind, jumped up from her seat.
Diarin's new journey was also discussed with Robben in advance.
It's a short outing that only takes half an afternoon, but it leaves Ceres alone.
'It might be safer to just knock him out or put him under anesthesia.'
'Still, that's a bit... wouldn't a leash be better?'
'There will be physical limitations.'
'But, on the other hand, if a threat arises for Mr. Ceres, who will stop it?'
'Ah.'
Both of them had a lot of worries.
Stopping Ceres and stopping other people who harm Ceres.
Both were problems.
Even after the last assassination attempt, poisoning attempt, big and small, continued without stopping.
Most of the time, Ceres was caught at the entrance and solved without any trouble.
But it didn't stop.
It is clear that there is a force targeting Ceres, but Robben said it is difficult to track them accurately.
In that situation, leaving Ceres alone was also problematic.
So this is the method she ended up coming up with.
'Attachment space.'
Since Ceres felt a sense of security with Diarin, she decided to give him her bedroom instead.
Diarin lay Ceres down on her bed and covered him with the blanket up to his chin.
When she patted his blanket-covered chest, Ceres rolled his eyes and looked up at Diarin.
The two hands that were tightly clutching the blanket were threatening, with joints and tendons bulging out, but the movements were as pitiful as those of a child about to be abandoned.
“I’ll definitely be back. If possible, just lie here quietly. Even if an assassin comes, the guards outside will take care of it, so just stay... If you can.”
Ceres nodded with difficulty.
Diarin also thought it wouldn't be easy, but for now, she had no choice but to trust Ceres.
“Don’t come out. Stay where you are.”
Diarin made several requests as she closed the door.
Even just before the door finally closed, Ceres didn't take his eyes off Diarin.
Diarin's heart, which had been cut off by the door, felt uneasy, as if it were being cut off somewhere.
'Phew....'
She never knew going out could be this hard.
It was hard to separate from Ceres, but it was also hard for Diarin herself to separate from Ceres.
This is a big deal.
She guessed she already fallen for it.
When they were together, she thought it was annoying, but when she tried to break up, she couldn't break up easily.
'But when you send it, you have to send it neatly.'
From the beginning, Ceres and Diarin's lives were polar opposites.
Ceres, an orphan, and Diarin, the daughter of a nobleman.
Ceres lived as a warrior, and Diarin lived as a priest.
And Ceres, who will live as a noble young master, and Diarin, who will continue to live as a slave of the gods.
There was no connection between the two lives.
You shouldn't get attached to a fleeting relationship.
Diarin put a period in her heart and turned around.
The period was so heavy that it felt like a hole was being punched in her chest.
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