Chapter 68
Chapter 68
===
As I went down to the garden, my parents were already getting into the carriage.
"Welcome, my daughter."
And so, we headed to the Ea Temple.
It would be a lie to say I wasn't worried about Rosa being left in the Separate Palace.
My parents' expressions weren't bright either, due to their concern for Rosa, but we kept our mouths shut as if by agreement.
'But Rosa needs to know.'
That in my past life, she monopolized the Divination and deceived me until the day I died.
'So, I don't feel sorry at all.'
I recalled Rosa's crumpled note and steeled my heart.
That what my sister wrote couldn't have been her true feelings.
* * *
Finally, we arrived near the Ea Temple, which was teeming with people.
It seemed even more crowded than during the Harvest Festival procession, making it clear how much the people were anticipating this Divination.
'The Princess's Divination.'
It was a grand event for Ruelle, one that occurred perhaps once every few decades.
Priests stood in a row, bowing to greet us.
"We greet His Majesty the King, His Highness the Grand Duke, and Her Highness the Princess. We congratulate Her Highness the Princess on her seventh birthday."
As we bowed in return, the High priest stepped forward.
"Are you ready?"
I swallowed hard and nodded.
Then, I bid farewell to my parents, Yan, Beatrice, and Icarus.
"Then, please follow me."
As I followed the High priest, only Icarus followed us two steps behind.
The High priest explained as he ascended the stairs.
"The Temple is completely empty at this time. It has been emptied for fifteen days already, so that Her Highness's young Divinity is not obscured by the Divinity of the priests."
I had heard the story countless times from my parents before coming here, but the explanation continued.
"Unlike public Divinations, secret Divinations do not allow external interference. If someone interferes, it will ruin the Divination, so we will thoroughly guard the outside until Her Highness comes out."
I silently nodded.
"When you enter the chapel, first bow to the altar. Then, slowly walk to the altar, kneel down in front of it, and sit."
"Yes, High priest."
I replied obediently and climbed the stairs.
Perhaps because of the important ceremony ahead, the High priest's demeanor was sharper than usual.
"The voice of God will not resound as if it has been waiting. Wait reverently. That time can sometimes be quite long. However, in Ruelle's history, not a single Princess has failed to endure that moment of waiting."
I tried to straighten my shoulders, which were threatening to shrink.
Yan was watching me from afar, deliberately crying loudly.
"Yes, High priest."
Only then did the High priest smile slightly.
"God may simply convey a message, or may ask something. However, in the case of answering a question, an answer is not always returned."
"...So, God may not respond to my words?"
I asked cautiously, and the High priest said rigidly.
"It is not the same as not responding. God will surely hear Her Highness's voice. However, depending on whether it is necessary, He may answer or not."
If He doesn't answer, isn't that the same as not responding?
The thought flashed through my mind, but I quickly shook my head to dispel it.
I didn't want to be the first Princess to be scolded by God during the Divination.
"When the Divination is over, He will say that you may step down. At that time, calmly return."
"Yes, High priest."
With five steps remaining to ascend to the Temple, the High priest stopped walking.
"From now on, Her Highness will go alone."
Icarus, who had been following behind the High priest, also stopped walking.
There were only five steps left, but each step felt incredibly high.
'Did Rosa also climb these stairs trembling with fear like this?'
I took a deep breath and calmly stepped forward.
"Ea embraces everyone without rejecting anyone, but you are the daughter of Ruelle whom He has chosen. The only daughter."
I tried to repeat Yan's words, which he had told me to remember.
* * *
When I forcefully pushed open the wooden doors of the tightly closed chapel with both hands, they opened with a slight creaking sound.
After I slipped through the doorway, the doors slammed shut behind me with a thud.
'Ea, I have come.'
As the High priest had instructed, I bowed to God and slowly proceeded to the altar.
There wasn't even a single flower or candlestick on the altar.
My barely moving legs trembled terribly.
'...I can do it.'
I knelt on the cold floor and clasped my hands together.
I prayed silently several times, but the surroundings were quiet.
"The voice of God will not resound as if it has been waiting. Wait reverently."
The High priest was right, it seemed.
I couldn't even think of anything else because I was in front of God, and just waited blankly.
But a long time passed without any sound.
'Did Rosa's Divination take this long too?'
Of course, I was left in the Separate Palace that day, so I couldn't properly check such things.
'There's no need to compare it to past memories.'
I tried to push the past memories that kept popping up into my head.
Then, I just repeated the High priest's words.
"In Ruelle's history, not a single Princess has failed to endure that moment of waiting."
So, I must also wait.
Time continued to pass.
'If I were really seven years old, wouldn't I have burst into tears and gotten up...?'
It was that long.
My legs were numb, and my body trembled with cold.
The morning sun, which had been peeking through the high windows, was now high in the sky.
'Is something wrong? Maybe, I've already manifested and don't need to hear the Divination?'
All sorts of bad thoughts swallowed me up and spat me out dozens, hundreds of times.
The sun finally began to set in the west, and tears of fear flowed from my eyes.
'...Receiving the Divination, is that not my destiny even in this life?'
It was then.
A thunderous voice finally rang out.
—Why... did you come?
The God I had waited for so long tried to deny me with a single word.
* * *
When I finally came out of the Temple, the red sky was slowly losing its light.
Icarus was in the same spot below the stairs as he had been in the morning.
"You have suffered, Your Highness."
I looked at Icarus's proud face, hoping that the tear stains on my cheeks had been completely erased.
"...Icarus must have had a hard time standing there too."
He didn't even pay attention to my words and only said what he wanted to say.
"You look tired. Now that it's over, may I hold you?"
I looked up at Icarus and smiled brightly.
"It's not over yet."
Then, I slowly returned to my parents and the High priest.
The adults' gazes stopped on me with tension.
I stood straight in front of them and said to Icarus.
"Icarus, can you take out your sword?"
"...Yes?"
My mother seemed to believe that my actions were related to the Divination.
So, she nodded to Icarus, and he hesitantly took out his sword and held it out with both hands, supporting the blade.
Before anyone could stop me, I diagonally slashed my palm across the blade.
—Beep beep!
Yan's high-pitched cries, the High priest's sighs, and my parents' surprised groans brushed past my ears.
But at this moment, I didn't even feel the pain.
—Why... did you come?
I wanted to show the God who had said that and denied me.
'That I am the Princess of Ruelle who has received your power.'
Blood dripped from my palm.
But as I raised my palm above my head and showed it to the adults, the wound healed in an instant.
Only the red bloodstains remained on the Temple's white stone floor, proving the wound that had just been there.
"Congratulations, Her Highness the Princess."
The High priest bowed deeply.
Beside him, my mother smiled with joy.
"I am proud of you."
However, my father was silent.
'Father only wanted me to get hurt once, during the Holy Power Revelation Ceremony.'
The priests standing behind them bowed in unison.
"Congratulations, Her Highness the Princess."
The onlookers who had been watching from a distance, gauging the situation, finally seemed to have grasped what was happening.
"Waaaah!"
With a loud roar, bouquets of flowers began to fly.
Amid the cheers, I held out a handkerchief to Icarus.
He was still standing there blankly, his face in shock.
"Sorry, Icarus."
It was only after I apologized that Icarus took the handkerchief with trembling hands.
"My sword..."
It's amazing that his small voice could be heard clearly even amidst the loud congratulations and cheers.
"It must be a sword that protects Her Highness. That is the only reason I stand behind Her Highness."
"...I said I'm sorry."
Just then, a bouquet of flowers flew to my feet.
I picked it up and forced a smile.
My mother, already knowing how strong my Healing Power was, pretended not to know and said.
"Such strong Healing Power from the age of seven, Ea must cherish our Princess very much."
"Indeed."
As the Chamberlain gestured, the waiting orchestras began to play vigorously.
They must have been waiting all day, starving, for the Divination to end, but there was no darkness in their expressions.
'A Princess who receives Divinity.'
That existence is that joyful to them.
As I forced a smile amidst the cheers, Yan fluttered to my side.
—Beep beep.
It's okay.
Yan was clearly saying that.
Amid the celebratory commotion, I asked my little friend.
"You knew everything, didn't you?"
Yan didn't even shake his head.
"...I didn't receive the Divination."
He didn't answer, but it was the same as hearing the answer a long time ago.
"You've already received your abilities, so there won't be much that changes because of the Divination."
Yan had clearly said that.
'Yes, nothing has changed.'
Whether I receive the Divination or not, I am just myself.
The Princess of Ruelle with Healing Power.