Chapter 2
Sister Thalia had been chattering away when the bell tower rang in the distance. She asked to be excused, saying this was as far as she could guide him.
“I cannot show you inside the Grand Temple, so you shall have to ask the parish priests for that. Allow me to take you to them. Oh, you’d like to look around the prayer grounds a bit more?”
The visitor said he wanted to soak up more of the atmosphere of the prayer grounds and would find his own way to the Grand Temple. She looked concerned.
“Hmm… Will you be all right? I should not be saying this, but unlike the Grand Temple, this place is far too silent unless you deliberately make a sound…”
She worried it might feel eerie, but the visitor reassured her that it was actually better that way, since he could take in the scenery as it truly was.
The fourth bell rang out while she hesitated. It was time to prepare dinner for the high-ranking clergy. If she delayed any longer, her fellow trainees would have more work piled on them.
“I understand. Then I shall take my leave… May Abba’s grace be with you, Brother.”
Growing anxious, Thalia advised him to be careful not to get lost, then hurried off.
* * *
The cloister leading to the Grand Temple was filled with warm sunlight.
As the priest-in-training crossed the cloister, her chestnut hair caught the sunlight and gleamed scarlet, drawing every eye.
She, however, was carefully making her way forward, worried that the stack of dishes in her arms might topple.
One of those watching her found the courage to approach.
“Um, Sister. If you don’t mind, shall I help you? That’s quite a lot of dishes…”
“Ah.”
Daphne, the priest-in-training, finally lifted her teal eyes from the dishes and looked at him.
The man wasn’t wearing priestly vestments. He was an ordinary believer. When their eyes met, his ears turned red, and he tried to take the dishes, saying he would help.
“I’m quite alright, Brother.”
Daphne smoothly evaded his hands. While the man stammered, she politely declined with a faint smile.
“This work is my responsibility as part of my training, so please don’t trouble yourself.”
“But…”
“May Abba’s grace fill you, Brother.”
When Daphne left, the man pursed his lips in disappointment. A companion who had been watching the scene came over and slung an arm around his shoulders.
“What did I tell you? Give up on that priestess.”
“…But if she leaves the order, she can get married.”
“Don’t bother. She refuses to give you an opening. How are you supposed to get close? Just blurt out a confession?”
“Come on, Alec. She’s different from the other priests-in-training. I saw someone get chewed out with just a look for asking if she had plans to leave the order.”
“Ugh. What a waste…”
The believer, Alec, couldn’t look away from where Daphne had vanished, despite his companions’ mockery. They urged him to head back already. He grumbled that he got it, and just as he was about to cross the cloister…
Thud!
He collided with something large and, with a yelp, landed hard on his rear.
Crash.
Sprawled in an unsightly heap, hurting and embarrassed, Alec glared at whoever he’d run into.
“What the hell? Watch where you’re going, you…!”
“Oh, dear.”
A large shadow fell over Alec.
The other man’s silver hair caught the afternoon sun and gleamed gold. Somewhat tousled, it looked like a white lion’s mane. His golden eyes, looking straight ahead, were darkened, and he seemed in low spirits.
His broad shoulders and stern expression were plenty intimidating. Startled, Alec reflexively shut his mouth.
“My apologies, Brother. I didn’t see you there. Are you all right?”
The moment their eyes met, the man held out a hand, his expression composed, as if the hard look had never been there. Alec’s companions recognized the man with the crimson sash and exclaimed in shock, “No way. That’s Cardinal Theodore Valentino!”
Theodore Valentino.
The youngest Cardinal, said to have a nature so upright that it had raised him to the cardinalate at a young age. He had silver hair and golden eyes, said to have received the full grace of Holy Spirit Abba. He was famous enough that people even whispered he might possess more holy power than the current Pope.
He was also known as someone whose face was rarely seen, since he did not preside over services, and that was precisely why Alec’s companions were so shocked.
Alec, however, did not want to admit that he had been cowed by a rarely seen Cardinal.
“…Ah, haha! Well, this is…”
He took Cardinal Theodore’s hand to get up as if it were nothing, but the instant he grasped it, a tremendous grip clamped down on his palm. Nearly screaming, Alec clenched his teeth hard.
He had already fallen in such an unsightly way. If he showed pain now, and the priest-in-training were to be looking this way, she would remember him as a silly man.
Ignoring his throbbing backside and hand, Alec coughed as if nothing were wrong.
“I was the one who… ahem! I failed to watch where I was going. This is nothing, so please don’t concern yourself, Cardinal… Your Eminence.”
“Is that so?”
Cardinal Theodore regarded Alec steadily with an unreadable gaze, then smiled faintly.
“I am glad you are all right. May Abba’s grace fill you all, Brothers.”
Cardinal Theodore pressed his palms together, bowed his head, and passed them by. Only after his large frame had moved away did Alec’s companions voice their awe.
“That Cardinal just now was Theodore Valentino, right? He’s huge. For a second I thought he was a bear.”
“Tell me about it. He’s like a full head taller than most people, isn’t he?”
“Did you see his face? With a face like that, there’d be plenty of women chasing after him. Why couldn’t our mothers have given us faces like that?”
“You’re just asking to get smacked by your mother, aren’t you?”
As they traded remarks full of envy and lament, Alec snapped at them.
“He’s a priest who’s sworn to chastity. What does his popularity matter? He is a flower with no nectar!”
He opened and closed the hand Theodore Valentino had gripped so tightly. It had been squeezed so hard his entire hand stung. The only explanation was that Theodore had put extra force into it on purpose. Alec stomped across the cloister, unable to hide his displeasure.
“What’s his problem?”
“Leave him. He just got shot down.”
While his companions shook their heads, golden eyes watched Alec’s receding back.
* * *
Daphne passed through the cloister on her way to the priests’ dining hall. The moment she was sure no one was nearby, she scrunched up her face. The change in her expression would have startled anyone who knew her.
“Ugh. What is he, in heat or something?”
It had been so obvious he wanted to walk beside her under the pretext of helping. She had nearly gagged on the spot.
It must be because of the stories that marrying a woman from the clergy brings God’s blessing.
With word spreading that the Three Stars had appeared again, more and more men were making advances.
Disgusting.
She knew why they did it.
Ordinarily, a priest-in-training would complete a set period of training, become a full priest, and receive ordination. She and the others born under the Three Stars, however, could never become full priests. And yet they were made to live as priests-in-training to prevent the prophecy of the Three Stars from coming to pass.
They were taught the austerities commonly called a priest’s training. Chastity, temperance, patience, and fidelity, to name a few, so that they would learn obedience. It was extremely rare for anyone to enter the Grand Temple only after they were already ten years old, as Daphne had done, so such measures were usually quite effective.