Shadowless Night

10-13 minutes 24.09.2022

‘How could he do that?’ 

Ricardis was concerned about the well-being of that bold high priest. Because of his status as the 2nd prince of the Empire, Ricardis was called to various events. And due to the nature of the Holy Empire, those events often involved temples. So, Ricardis had heard a lot of boring sermons, and he knew the procedure well.

Priests followed Idelavhim’s will and imparted his blessings to the world, but the praise that came out of their mouths was aimed more toward the emperor of Illavenia than Idelavhim.

The Holy Empire is like that: God is great, but the emperor chosen by God is greater. God is far away. The human emperor is close. The point of sermons is to educate the masses to cleverly shift the glory of Idelavhim to the emperor, who is a human being.

However, Laheansi significantly reduced and almost eliminated Illavenia’s role in Blessed Night. If anyone takes issue with this sermon, it will deal a sizeable blow to him.

“In the 589 years of the Illavenia Empire, I, High Priest Laheansi, bless you on behalf of the merciful Idelavhim. I will not tell you to clothe the naked and give your food to the hungry. I merely ask you don’t do bad things and stay healthy. It’s over. It’s over. Come on, disband!”

Laheansi roughly waved his hands and ended the sermon. Then, as his throat burned from thirst, he gulped down the holy water from the tray the layman was holding. The expression on the layman’s face, who suddenly found himself holding an empty tray, was worth seeing.

“Ah, yes. I almost forgot. There is holy water with my blessings in these jars. Take a sip and go home. It’s not a panacea [E/N: cure-all], but it’ll cure a cold. Oho. I will not give it to bad kids who cut the line.”

Nobody knew there was such a secret in the large jars around the podium. Even after the sermon was over, people stood blankly in their places. Then, their eyes lit up when they registered the word ‘holy water.’

Under the frightened eyes of the priests and paladins, people lined up one after another to drink holy water. Holy water was so precious that it was impossible to even look at it unless you donated quite a lot to the temple. Some people rushed out of the square to pick up sick family members in their homes.

The knights remained silent as they reflected on the brief but stormy sermon.

“T- That was unique…”

Nobody knew if ‘unique’ was a compliment, but Ricardis agreed. Laheansi was a crazy guy. 

However, those countless jars surrounding the podium… Laheansi had the most holy power after Ricardis and Elpidio, but his power wasn’t enough to effortlesly fill all of them with holy water. It’s probably something he’s been making and collecting for a few weeks. Compared to his usual mood of laziness toward everything in the world, one could consider this as the actions of a great priest who cares for the people. Ricardis smiled and left the square.

“Forget about the holy water. Does Rosaline even know what a Shadowless Night is?” Ricardis whispered loudly as the festival got even more lively.

He aimed those words towards Rosaline, who had disappeared for a while, and discreetly reappeared only to say that she had returned from drinking holy water. She seemed to expect an exceptional taste and was disappointed that it was just fresh cool water. 

‘She can drink it?’ Ricardis’ brow furrowed.

On the delegation’s way back to Illavenia, Ricardis had poured out all of his power, reaching his limit to treat Rosaline’s grave injuries and cure her poisoning from Fragment. At that time, he had suspicions about Rosaline’s identity, and he didn’t know what to do, but he needed to do something… He thought he was putting her in danger, far from being helpful. Although they say that holy power and magic power do not mix, Ricardis didn’t know how these two different powers would work in her unstable condition. It is an undeniable fact that ignorance is bliss, but it carries risks. Ricardis’ expression hardened even more.

“Rose. Hold out your hand for a second…”

Ricardis reached out, and Rosaline laid her hand on top of his. It was as if a large dog was sticking out its hand for a shake. His mind became more troubled. Ricardis soon regained his composure, returning his mind to his original purpose, and began to infuse Rosaline with his energy. Rosaline felt the power entering her body and trembled.

The holy power he sent drifting through her body was interrupted by some force. Ricardis guessed it was magic. After some time passed, a little bit of the completely filtered holy energy fully entered Rosaline. Compared to others, she absorbed the energy at a significantly lower rate. Still, it seems like her body had changed to accept even a little bit of his power.

The meeting of magic and holy power was strange. Can one describe them as water and oil? They are immiscible, but they never reduce each other’s strength. It was fortunate that objective fact has remained unchanged so far.

However, the other party was an existence not defined by anything currently known. The many mysteries left Ricardis weary of simply accepting common knowledge. He needed information. Two forces exist in this world: magic and holy power. But, on the surface, this being is not of holy power or magic but something more.

Ricardis was knowledgeable about the institution that studied magic and holy power— the institution is the temple, and the researchers are the priests. The Great Temple collects all that information. A high priest would probably know more than a prince who could never become more than a Crown Prince.

‘Laheansi… I’ll have to visit him soon.’

Ricardis grabbed Rosaline’s hand as she stood staring at him.

“… Because you might get lost again.”

He made a plausible sounding excuse and started walking while holding her hand. Rosaline walked close to him and gripped his hand tight.

She lifted it and turned it around.

“Young Master’s hands are large. It’s awesome. Your fingers are long too…”

Rosaline tapped Ricardis’ fingers with her free hand. Ricardis’ ears turned red. After that, he secretly lifted the sleeve of his cloak to show off his wrist. Lewon couldn’t even open his eyes to continue watching the scene. Everyone followed the two of them slowly, but Parpar, still oblivious to the atmosphere, spat out a reckless remark toward Hani. 

“How can you escort someone if you’re so slow?” 

Lulu then got angry and spat back. 

“If you’re on land, you should at least pretend to be a human being. How long are you going to live as a whale?!” 

Parpar’s face paled.

***

While Rosaline was having tea with Raymond, Leticia and Eberhard came to the room, and they hesitatingly gave a confession. Rosaline’s eyes squinted as she smiled brightly at them.

“Oh, really, congratulations. That’s really great. Really, thank you for your hard work all this time.”

Since she used the word ‘really’ three times, it meant their news was worthy of a huge celebration. The two former apprentice knights shed tears of emotion. Eberhard cried so much that he couldn’t even speak, while Leticia cried while hugging Rosaline. Eberhard tried to hug Rosaline sneakily, but Leticia stomped on his foot hard enough to make him forget the idea.

Several vacancies in the Knights of the White Night opened up as many died on the way back from Balta. Since Ricardis was the 2nd Prince of the Empire, the mourning period was short. Both their commemoration and veneration happened while Rosaline was at the Drythorne estate.

There were sad times, but there were also happy times. Eberhard and Leticia, who had been apprentice knights for several years, were finally promoted.

To get a promotion to become a lesser knight, one had to meet several conditions. Not only did they have to pass a written test for basic knowledge and etiquette, but the penalty points they received from their dormitory had to be lower than average.

However, the most crucial aspect was an assessment of their swordsmanship skills, which included a preliminary physical examination, an evaluation by their usual swordsmanship instructor, and a mock battle between apprentice knights. Leticia and Eberhard passed the rigorous screening process.

According to Raymond, who watched their promotion assessment instead of Rosaline, Eberhard was like a squirrel, and Leticia was like a leopard when dodging their opponents’ attacks. He said that their movements were so swift that the deputy commander, Sir Nathan, took notice.

“I thought that only my ability to dodge attacks improved, but then for some reason, I can also see all the other guys’ attacks. Is that how Sir Rosaline was when she first saw us?”

Rosaline said, “Yes.” 

Given that honest answer, Eberhard laughed like a fool. Now that he had become a full-fledged knight, he also received a salary, a title, and a reputation.

Eberhard, who came from Roots, felt elated. Leticia was also a girl from a poor estate, so she couldn’t hide her joy as she talked about her salary. She said she could now give her sisters pretty dresses. Her younger sisters seemed to feel a little uncomfortable about the new dresses, but the elder sister’s heart spoke differently.

Rosaline presented them with two swords she had immediately ordered after she accepted them as apprentices. She had followed Raymond’s advice that it was customary for the advanced knights to give swords to their apprentices.

Leticia and Eberhard grasped the sword they received with blank faces. Leticia raised her sword and slowly drew it through the air, and a blush ran across her face.

It was a sword made by a famous craftsman who considered their preferences for shape and weight. The swordsmith even took into account the size of their hands.

Of course, such meticulousness was Raymond’s work, not Rosaline’s, but they didn’t know. 

Their hearts pounded because of their teacher’s grace, and tears flowed again. Rosaline was upset because they cried so much. 

“Since you’re happy, why are you crying?” She asked. 

Eberhard then told her that people shed tears when they’re tremendously happy.

‘Ah. So that means Eberhard and Leticia are tremendously happy.’ Rosaline was satisfied and encouraged them to weep more. ‘Cry then. Cry more freely.’

Behind those crying lesser knights, Raymond tried to say hesitatingly. 

“T- That sword, it was I…” 

But his voice was buried by Leticia and Eberhard’s cries. Even after that, he kept trying. 

“That, I-! Not just anyone can ask for that particular craftsman…!” 

But again, the two lesser knights did not seem to hear him. Raymond ended up sipping tea with a gloomy face.