C 89
It was a reminder of Chronos Etham, who died in <Adopted>, but it made me feel uneasy when I thought about it.
When the world of literature came to life before my eyes, I couldn't help but think about it.
For the happiness and great success of one person, countless others died.
Just as you are drawn to drugs while injured and distressed, here they suffer from the heroine's touch and then die to make the heroine stand out or to emphasize the cruelty of the people around her.
Is it natural for so many people to die for one person?
How have I been ignoring this?
Is it normal?
In a novel, there was a main character, and everything else besides the main character were nothing more than extras.
No matter how many people shed blood for the heroine, if the heroine is happy in the end, the novel has a "happy ending."
That's the main character's buff.
Even if hundreds of arrows rain down, soldiers throw themselves only to protect the main character, and even if poisonous gas fills the surroundings, the heroine miraculously survives.
"Shut up and leave. The moment you open your mouth again, I won't recognize you as the family matriarch."
"What a waste of life, if you're going to waste it like this, give it to me."
"...What?"
"I will make my uncle happy. As I see it, my uncle needs healing."
He needed someone to wrap him in a blanket, put treats in his mouth, and surround him with cute animal friends.
Someone who could make him stop self-torturing.
"There is a suitable person..."
It's a place I can't go. It's probably a place in the world where only Chronos Etham can go.
In fact, it was a scene that came out as a preview in Part 2 of the parallel story in <Adopted>.
"Then let me see Lucy."
"I'm going crazy, don't you want to take this with you?"
Chronos Etham gave up on me, who was boldly resisting, and looked at Iona and Adam.
The two of them put their hands behind their backs and didn't move.
"Priest candidates cannot leave."
"God doesn't exist, uncle."
"...…"
He didn't even flinch at my disrespectful words. On the contrary, he just looked tired.
"You know, even if He exists, God doesn't do anything for you."
As if nothing had happened even though he prayed tens or hundreds of times.
My uncle must have prayed dozens or hundreds of times more and bowed more than I did.
"No matter how much they raise priest candidates to be honest, innocent, and very religious without any blemish..."
"Shut your mouth."
"The late Anzu won't come back, and your sins won't disappear, uncle."
"I told you to shut up!"
He threw the Bible in his hand sharply.
The darkness surrounding Chronos Etham, dressed in pure white, threatened to explode at any moment.
"Wow, he threw the Bible."
I sat in front of the Bible and laughed hysterically, covering the corners of my mouth.
"He's disqualified as a cardinal, Uncle Third."
"Haha..."
Chrono Etham looked at me for a long time with an expression of "What kind of person is this?" and then sat down in the chair.
"Clearly, she's the daughter of a crazy psychopath..."
Somehow, I felt like they were treating me on the same level as my father, so I felt a little proud. Seeing my expression, he seemed even more exhausted.
"I shouldn't have gone to that meeting."
A bitter comment of regret escaped his lips.
I hummed and took a sip of cold hot chocolate and laughed. I felt very, very good.
Soon, he got up from his seat.
"Follow me, and don't come to the temple anymore."
"I'll keep coming."
"Your visits will be forbidden from now on."
He replied and moved ahead.
The place we arrived at was a deeper place within the labyrinthine temple.
"Here it is."
"...Oh my God, did you lock a child in here?"
I said, looking at the solid iron door that seemed impervious to air.
Furthermore, it seemed impossible to approach due to the transparent curtain.
"I didn't lock him in; he entered and closed the door on his own."
"...What?"
"Originally, it wasn't like this, but after he came out, his rebellious spirit became predominant," Chronos Etham said. "He promised to fill the number of sacred relics and sacred stones he took from the temple. To fulfill that promise, he locked himself in like this."
Having said that, Chronos Etham looked toward the door surrounded by a golden barrier.
"He was so powerful that even some high-ranking priests and cardinals couldn't get through the door."
For a moment, I was speechless. In the end, isn't it because of me that Lucilion became like this?
"It would be useless even if I brought you. Anyway, he won't leave here."
He said, standing in front of me. Of course, that doesn't mean I'll give up easily.
"LU-CI-LI-ON!!"
As I clenched my stomach and raised my voice to the maximum, Chronos Etham frowned.
"Don't you know you have to be quiet in the temple? And if you call him like that, he w..."
Crack-
The barrier that tightly blocked the door melted like ice cream.
"..."
"Mistress."
At the same time, the door swung wide open.
The door opened so easily, as if it had never been properly closed, and I was baffled, as was Chronos Etham.
"He woke up."
Suddenly, a tall and handsome man appeared.
When I saw Lucilion, who had grown up, I literally kept my mouth shut.
The growth of others was incredible, but Lucilion's appearance was truly dazzling.
His beautiful silver hair swayed. There was only joy in his bulging eyes.
He immediately knelt in front of me, kissed the back of my hand, and gently rubbed it against his cheek.
"Hel-hello... Lucy."
"Yes, mistress."
Is Lucilion now fourteen years old?
It's been 5 years, so maybe that's it. If one's appearance were a sin, Lucilion would definitely receive the death penalty.
"It's a sin to possess such beauty."
His really beautiful appearance could make one nervous.
Won't he be even more brilliant as an adult?
"I'm glad you grew up safely; I missed you."
"...Yes, have you finished your work?"
"My work? Unfortunately, I finished it a long time ago. I just didn't leave because it was annoying."
"What about meals?"
It seemed like there was no room for a rice bowl to pass through, but I don't know how he ate.
He doesn't look particularly thin, but...
"Oh, as long as you have faith in God, there will be no hunger."
"..."
Is he good at cheating?
I could see snacks and fruits scattered in the back. I scratched my cheek as I looked at Lucilion in disbelief.
"Lucy."
"Yes?"
"Please sign here."
Lucilion accepted the papers and the pen I offered and signed them without reading a single word.
He's really careless.
But it was lucky that he wasn't careful at this moment.
"Here, and here and here."
"Yes!"
With a bright smile, he finished his elegant signature on the document I gave him.
I looked at him to my satisfaction and handed it to Iona. Chronos Etham was looking at me with wide-open eyes.
"Hmmm, congratulations! Lucilion!"
"Yes?"
"From today, you are the High Priest of the temple!"
"...What?"
"...What?"
When I opened my arms and raised my tone, the expressions of Lucilion and Chronos Etham became strange.
They both asked at the same time as if they didn't understand what I was saying.
"And from today, Uncle is dismissed as a Cardinal. The reason is... What should it be?"
I rubbed my chin and pretended to be worried, then clapped.
"Iona, write that he blasphemed against God by throwing the Bible."
"Yes, miss."
Iona moved her pen and wrote in the blank square. The papers were perfectly organized.
"M-Mistress...? What do you mean?"
Lucilion asked, taking out a piece of paper from his chest.
"Yes, I had the High Priest sign the papers to hand everything over to you."
"What?"
"I should have carefully looked at the document."
Since the High Priest signed it and even stamped the temple, there will be no turning back.
"And one of the things you signed as the new High Priest was to dismiss my Uncle Third."
After all, doesn't life flow in a vertical relationship anyway?
Who will tell the new High Priest off for expelling a Cardinal? Lucilion won't have to shed blood later, which is good.
I was nodding my head proudly when I heard Lucilion's tearful voice.
"I... was going to resign as a priest candidate soon..."
Lucilion handed me something that looked like a resignation letter with an expression of disbelief.
He had prepared for a job change, but he looked as pale as someone whose contract with the company had been forcibly extended.
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