The Abandoned Empress

“Here you are, Tia.”

“Welcome home, Daddy”

I tilted my head when he held my hand silently, which was unusual. Did something bad happen again at the Imperial Palace?

“What’s the matter with you? Did anything happen at the Imperial Palace? ”

“Nothing. I heard that Lady Jena was here before I arrived.”

“Ah, yes.”

“I was told that you had quite a long conversation with her. What did you talk about? ”

“Are you worried? I’m fine, Daddy. We didn’t say much. ”

Even though I smiled calmly, he was obviously worried.

Silently held in my arms, I rubbed my face on his wide chest. When I felt his warmth in his hands wrapping my shoulder and his gentle touch of in my hair, my confused heart was subdued a lot.

“I’m free now, Daddy.”

“Really?”

“Well, I promised to spend time with you when my test was over, right? How about tomorrow? ”

“Why not? If you want to spend some quality time with me, I think I have to make myself available even if I’m busy, honey.”

He spoke warmly with a broad smile.

I smiled brightly with all my anxieties and worries down.

< Notification of test results. Aristia La Monique (Affiliated with the 2nd Knights) Fencing: 48, Spear skills on horseback: 79, Tactics and Strategy: 88, Administrative skills: 92 Other: 10 (additional points for group combat) Total: 317/400 Result: Pass>

I read the white paper with only a few lines on the test results again and again.

Pinch me, I’m dreaming!

My whole body trembled as I was so thrilled at the results. I almost gave up because I was wounded while taking the fencing test, but fortunately I passed by the skin of my teeth.

“… My lady?”

Carried away with the thought that my hard efforts for the past six years weren’t in vain, I came to my senses at a woman’s familiar voice. Lina was calling me with an eerie look.

“Yeah, did you call me? But why do you look like that? ”

“Oh, you have a visitor, my lady, but he…”

“Huh? Why? Who is he? ”

“His Eminence High Priest is here.”

“What? Why is he here? Did my father invite him here?”

“No. He said he came to see you in person.”

“He came to see me himself?”

Only then did I understand her expression.

With only six in the whole continent, the High Priest was someone that even the emperor could not touch recklessly. As such, even the late emperor, who had bad relations with the temple, showed due manners when he met the High Priest. How could he come to visit me in person? It was natural that Lina was so surprised to see him at the door.

When I hurriedly headed to the reception room, I saw the young handsome man, dress in a pure white robe, sitting in an elegant manner.

“May the blessings of life be with you. I’m sorry to visit you suddenly, Lady Monique.

By the way, your employees here seemed very surprised by my visit.”

“Oh, it looks like they committed a breach of etiquette. I would like to apologize on their behalf.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean that. By the way, how is your condition?”

“Well, I don’t feel bloated or heavy, but… ”

“I see. But you look rather pale. Gosh, you’re hurt. Why didn’t you come to see me?”

Hardening his face, he approached me, then he rolled up my sleeve to untie the bandage on my right hand and recited a prayer, “May the scent of flowers that bloom in the land of Vita, our Lord of life, embrace you, and may your pain be passed on to the Father of Life and the love of life to you!”

Although I heard this prayer for the second time, I could not easily understand it.

‘Oh my, what the heck is this prayer about?’

When the white light passed, the almost healed wound on my right arm disappeared without a trace. When I bowed to express gratitude, he said with a ghost of a smile on his face, “Please come to me right away instead of leaving your wound neglected like this.”

“But…”

“What if you have scars? Of course, one small scar can’t hide your stunning beauty, but I think my heart will ache if it does.”

There was a smile in his transparent yellow-green eyes when he looked at me with a sigh.

His pleasant and clear voice rang in the air, “Usually, I’m easily adapted to people or the situation, but you seem to be so shy. How can you date a man when you’re so timid and shy like that? Well, that could be your attraction, of course.”

“Your Eminence.”

“Oh, it breaks my heart to think about it. Now that you have come of age, those who have been waiting for the chance will raise their heads and come forward actively. It’s a pity that I have to leave the place for a while at this time. ”

While I pretended I didn’t hear him, I suddenly raised my head because I wanted to ask something. What the heck is he saying? Leaving?

“Are you going somewhere?”

“That’s right. That’s why I came here, although I know you would be surprised. I’m not leaving right away, but I’m afraid I won’t have time to give blessings to you if I’m busy preparing for the trip.”

“But you said you would have to take care of the sixth root…”

“That’s why I have to take a trip there. The guy who became the fourth root is speaking nonsense.”

“Pardon?”

When I asked, tilting my head, the High Priest said, gnashing his teeth slightly, “Recently, there was a vacancy for the High Priest, so we are short-handed. Sextus is still a baby, so I’m taking care of him now, so there are only four High Priests doing activities now. However, how can he pray for wishes in this situation?”

“Pardon? What do you mean by ‘wishes’?”

“Oh, my goodness!”

While sighing with a strikingly exaggerated manner , he said in embarrassment, “Well, I wanted to tell you anyway, I think I had better tell you about it this time.”

“I don’t get it, Your Eminence.”

“Well, you remember what happened when you got a new name and greeted me again, right? I told you that although there was a generational change, it didn’t mean another High Priest went to the shrine of our Lord.”

“Yes, I remember.”

It was true. As my life was saved by the High Priest when I was hovering between life and death due to poisoning, I clearly had a dialogue on that with the High Priest. He said he would not tell me about it right now because it was top secret, but said he would tell me later.

“As a High Priest, I have got only one secret. In other words, I can grant one wish I want to come true in my lifetime. You might wonder why it is a secret? The reason is that the price of that wish is divine power. In other words, I can achieve what I want by using the divine power. It is my essence. Well, it is something similar to the oath by the Monique family.

“Exchanging divine power for your wish?”

“That’s right. Any High Priest who achieves his wish loses all his divine power and goes back to being an ordinary person. Since the eyes and hair color, which are symbols of the High Priest, also change, no one can recognize him. Besides, he can’t carry out his duty as the High Priest because he doesn’t have any divine power. In that respect, it’s safe to say that such a High Priest is alive but dead. ”

“…I see.”

“This is a secret that only the High Priest keeps to himself. Even the top priest at the temple doesn’t know it. So, you have to keep it secret by all means.”

I nodded because I thought I could understand why it was a secret that only the HIgh Priests shared with each other.

If this were known, it would obviously cause enormous repercussions. Any wishes that could be exchanged with divine power, called the blessings of Vita, our God, would be very big. Those in power would almost certainly want to use it for their own benefits without any exception.

But why is he telling me this astonishing secret?

As I felt somewhat scared, I asked him with a trembling voice, “… Why are you revealing this huge fact to me?”

“Well, just think of it as a sign of my respect for your stunning beauty.”

Only

“Your Eminence!”

“By the way, I hear that you will be appointed as a full-fledged knight. You have finally achieved the results of your hard efforts. Congratulations!”

“… Thank you.”

“Hmm, I’m sorry I might miss it. I wish I could take time out to attend the new knights’ inauguration ceremony. I think that I could see another attraction of yours.”

“…. ”

Smiling at me mysteriously when I was speechless, he stood up, “Oh, I think I have overstayed here. I have to leave now. Hope you can stay healthy until I see you again.”

Then he leaned forward to grab my right hand. His white hair flowing down my hands tickled the back of my hand, and his soft lips touched it.

I turned around without hesitation and stared blankly at the young, pure white man who disappeared, making a rustling noise. For some reason, I felt uncomfortable.