Shadowless Night

Diech tried to improve Rosaline’s mood, but didn’t ask why she was feeling down. He just smiled when their eyes met occasionally, and when the wind moved the shadow of the tree, he kept his eyes closed.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Well. What are you thankful for?”

“You brought me out of the temple. Thank you.”

To be honest, this garden also belonged to the temple, but it didn’t matter that much to Rosaline. Each area of this vast temple is neatly arranged, and the place shines white. However, the space where people looked at them with disbelief and this place were completely separated even if it was the same temple.

A bush that grows on its own. A fountain broken and wrapped in ivy. Fruits hanging here and there, and the cool breeze blowing. How did Diech know about this place? Did he ever need to escape here too?

Diech held his breath and opened his eyes wide at Rosaline’s words of gratitude. He rubbed his earlobe and looked away.

“… I’m glad I was helpful.”

The bangs covered his eyes. Although his profile showed only his nose and lips, it was evident that his expression was stiff. He didn’t seem happy, a bit gloomy, even. She felt it when they met at a festival, but today’s Diech is a bit strange.

After a while, Diech wiped his face with both hands and smiled.

“Rosaline is truly… like Epa.”

“What is… Epa?”

Diech hesitated.

“Listen, don’t get me wrong. It’s a bit weird, but when I was a kid, Epa was my dog…”

Diech, who was speaking, hastily changed the word. He seemed to be aware of the fact that certain animals sounded like swearing.

“… It was a puppy.”

“Oh, so I’m like a dog.”

“… A puppy.”

Diech was sullen. He seemed to be looking for a more cute and decent word. “I mean a puppy,” As he emphasized once more, Rosaline nodded her head and answered quickly, “Okay. Sure. A puppy.”

“It would tear apart my days-worth of homework, and it would destroy the snow house I made painstakingly on a winter day.”

‘This is an insult!’ Rosaline realized that he wasn’t talking about a ‘puppy’, but ‘a dog that eats somebody’s homework and destroys somebody’s ice house.’ Like a pet that interferes with others’ work. ‘Did I ever do something so blatantly insulting…’ Rosaline was shocked.

“The ice house that I made with a lot of hard work over the course of a week.”

‘Bad Epa.’ Rosaline’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Epa had a cold that night, so it had a runny nose and it was panting. It couldn’t eat properly. As annoyed as I was whenever the puppy broke my ice house, when I saw it in pain, I still prayed to Idelavhim so it wouldn’t get sick anymore.”

‘So, did you end up liking it?’ Seeing Rosaline’s confused look on her face, Diech burst into laughter at her. Soon he reached out to Rosaline with his hands, pinching her cheeks gently, painlessly. Rosaline didn’t expect him to play such a prank, her eyes widened. Diech made a mischievous expression on his face.

“I hated it.”

Diech stopped pinching her and covered her cheeks with the palm of his hands. With a squeeze, Rosaline’s mouth popped like a bird’s beak. Diech eyes were bent, looking delighted. Rosaline felt like she was being made fun of out of nowhere, and somehow she was in a bit of stew.

***

“Sit down, Brother.”

“Where?”

“Where you stand. If you lift up the teddy bear, won’t you have a seat? I’m sorry, is it a bit messy?”

“I’m even more surprised that your head still knows how dirty this place is.”

Isserion quickly went to the place that Laheansi had pointed out and excavated the chair. His skill of taking out a handkerchief and wiping it was excellent. The knights had left and the door was closed. Laheansi brushed away the crumbs stuck in the middle of the scripture. Ricardis looked at him, who was on the bed, with a disgusted expression.

“I enjoyed your sermon on Blessed Night. You ended it very quickly.”

Laheansi smiled broadly as he bent his slack eyes.

“Ooh? You saw? Ah, if you were there, you should’ve greeted me. What a shame…”

He let out a silly laugh and twisted his body.

“I thought it was a real homily sermon. When I saw it, I only thought…”

‘… that you must be crazy.’ Ricardis swallowed his later words. He didn’t want to be a villain who offends the heart of a happy child.

“So, why did you talk… like that?”

“This sermon was my first debut. I changed it slightly to make it look a little more dignified, and boy! It was awesome.”

‘It looked like it could’ve ended your high priest career.’

“I didn’t know the way the grandfathers talked about me being young would be so useful in preaching.

How much longer do we live? You little one understand.”

Laheansi went on and cracked up for a while, “Ah, in the end they said one can’t live long… Hihihi…!” It made Ricardis feel awkward.

Ricardis had many undesirable half brothers and sisters. There were six princes and seven princesses. Thirteen in total. However, there were only a handful of brothers who interacted with Ricardis. Unbeknownst to the other brothers, Ricardis was of a different seed and along with many other issues, his holy power also played a part in cutting off communication with the other siblings.

Among them, Laheansi was the only one with whom he had exchanges, albeit small, where they occasionally met to drink tea and say hello. Despite this, there was no talk of deep friendship between the 2nd Prince Ricardis and Laheansi, because Laheansi no longer had the title ‘Laurel of the Snowfield’. Those who assumed the role of servants under Idelavhim bore only their own names. Therefore, he’s not Laheansi of some family or someone’s great son Laheansi. He’s just a humble human. As a result, he naturally distanced himself from the power struggle, and that fact may have made Ricardis more comfortable with Laheansi.

Laheansi brewed his own tea and served refreshments on clutter that looked like a table. No one had touched it except himself, but Laheansi didn’t care.

“You ignored the grandfathers when they asked you to meet them once. So, which wind has blown your way this time?”

“Just today, four out of seven high priests are absent. Therefore, today is the right time to come because there are less of them.”

“Is it okay to be so carefree to say that people have been planted in the temple in front of a high priest?”

Ricardis smiled as he crossed his legs. The narrowed eyes stared at Laheansi. 

“I really don’t know about those old people.”

“Indeed. But, so what if they are really planted? Is it an outcome of the decisions Brother has made? That’s a long way off.”

“It’s up to you to think. I have something I want to ask you today, and it’s not about that.”

Laheansi watched his half-brother while enjoying the refreshments he had prepared. Ricardis glistened from head to toe in the sunlight coming through his window. ‘Ah, so handsome.’

“Lahe. What is…?”

Laheansi was speechless for a moment. ‘You’re not asking me to re-learn the concepts I’ve been learning since I was a child, right? Magic is magic. Product of Crean Tidanion. An ominous power from the Black Moon. The opposite of holy power, the rival, incompatible…’

“My smart brother…”

Laheansi smiled as he stroked his hair. Even though he had a pretty face, Ricardis didn’t like the way he smiled.

“Did you go to Balta and get a clue about the Blessed Night?”

“… You knew it too.”

“I’m still a high priest.”

Laheansi was stretched out on the chaise longue and maintained a strange posture, as if half-lying or half-sitting.

“Actually, I’m a new high priest, so I can’t tell you much. Some things I studied and found out. Some things my master taught me.” 

Ricardis’s eyes widened at the words that came out of Laheansi’s mouth, ‘Master’.

There was only one person Laheansi could call a teacher. It was probably High Priest Windit, who taught him theology when he was still called Laheansi, Laurel of the Snowfield. Laheansi did not call Windit using his title at the temple, and kept calling him his ‘master’. Windit let him, probably because he was accustomed to him since he was a child.

Ricardis looked around the room quietly. Fortunately, there were only the members of the Knights of the White Night and Isserion around. The reason he became a bit wary was because High Priest Windit, who was executed a few years ago, had a big problem.

Behind the face of a good priest who gave food to the hungry, gave clothes to the naked, and looked after all people, there was a different image. She was a heretic. The charge of preaching doctrines contrary to the teachings of the Great Temple and of confusing the people was never taken lightly.

Illavenia was shocked and High Priest Windit was executed. That vacancy was filled by Laheansi. Because of this, there were many who were reluctant to have Laheansi become the high priest. High Priest Windit taught Laheansi doctrines, laws, and various disciplines. They had a lot of contact, so it was natural to worry that Laheansi would also be stained.

However, Laheansi proved his innocence with tears and a runny nose, and there was no evidence that he had been taught strange doctrines by Windit, so it remained a suspicion. Of course, Laheansi’s bloodline played a big role in the background. No matter how much he abandoned his surname, the emperor did not want to watch his bloodline wear such a stigma.