The Villainess Lives Twice: Butterfly's Dream (IF Story) - Chapter 27
Artizea had never been to the temple before. She might have visited as a very young child, perhaps for something like a naming ceremony, but she had no memory of it.
Milaira disliked the temple, and there was never any occasion to take Artizea there. Although she had occasionally noticed theological books in the library and read them, many of the sentences were too difficult for her to understand at such a young age.
It was fascinating and a little thrilling to see so many people heading to the temple.
“The Shield Saint was a priest who appeared near the Thold Mountains. A long time ago….before the northern strongholds were built…he prayed to God, saying, ‘I want to protect the people of Evron.’ In response, God granted him a body as strong as steel.”
Cedric explained softly as they walked.
“There was a fortress in the north at that time, but it had been destroyed after losing a war against Karam. Enemies were pouring into the valley, but the Shield Saint grew his body to the size of a mountain and blocked their path.”
“Alone?”
Artizea asked with a worried expression. Cedric smiled.
“He probably wasn’t alone.”
“But he must have been in so much pain, fighting the enemies.”
“Yes, probably. But he never took a step back. While the saint held the line, the elderly and children escaped, and the soldiers regrouped to fend off the next attack. That is how the current Thold Gate was established.”
Artizea nodded, recalling a map game she had played with Lysia not long ago. That day, Baron Morten had also told her that the Thold Gate was not only important to Evron, but to the entire empire.
“So today, we’re here to remind the saint that we haven’t forgotten him, and to ask for his protection, just like before.”
As they neared the temple, the number of lanterns increased, and the streets grew so bright that it was hard to believe it was night. The number of children holding similar lanterns to theirs also grew.
At the front of the temple, there was a massive shield lantern.
“Oh.”
Both Artizea and even Pavel couldn’t help but exclaim.
People stood underneath it, offering brief prayers. The four of them followed suit, prayed briefly, and then entered the temple.
Inside the temple’s courtyard, several long lines had been set up, with lanterns from those who had completed their prayers hanging from them. The paper notes tied to the lanterns, which contained wishes, fluttered in the wind.
There were so many people that it seemed like it would take a while to get into the chapel.
To avoid getting swept away by the crowd, Cedric took Artizea’s hand, and Artizea grabbed Lysia’s hand.
“Shall we go up to the second floor?”
Cedric suggested, considering calling a priest to guide them to a quieter place. Artizea hesitated before asking.
“Do we have to?”
“Do you want to stay here? It would be nicer to see from above.”
“I prefer it here.”
Artizea spoke cautiously.
She realized at that moment that she wanted to be a participant rather than an observer from a distance. She wanted to be among the people. She wanted to do what everyone else was doing, to pray to the Saint.
Cedric nodded, understanding her thoughts. He knew it wasn’t important where they were, and they could always go up later.
Pavel grumbled, asking why he wasn’t asked, but Cedric didn’t pay him any attention.
The four of them slowly moved through the crowd toward the chapel.
When they reached the front row, people placed their lanterns in front of the Saint’s statue and prayed for the safety of the winter before stepping back. The priests collected the lanterns one by one.
After a long wait, it was finally their turn. The priest recognized Cedric’s face and was surprised, but Cedric quietly gestured for him not to acknowledge him.
Artizea placed her lantern down and offered a solemn prayer.
Although she had been told it was a prayer for winter’s safety, she knew the Saint rarely granted requests, so she made a wish.
‘Please let me stay here for a long time. Please let Lord Cedric not hate me.’
Although they had been given slips of paper to write their wishes, Artizea didn’t write anything down. She felt that if others knew her wish, it would lose its meaning.
Meanwhile, Lysia and Pavel, without hesitation, wrote their wishes and attached them to their lanterns. Cedric did the same.
After they stepped back, the priest collected the lanterns. Lysia tilted her head and asked,
“Didn’t you make a wish, Lady Tia?”
“I did…”
Artizea trailed off, embarrassed to say what she had wished for. Lysia then asked Pavel.
“What did you wish for, Lord Pavel?”
“I wished to catch a white fox on our next hunting trip. What about you?”
“I wished that it wouldn’t snow too much this winter. And you, Lord Cedric?”
“I wished that there would be no war this winter.”
At Cedric’s words, Lysia, an Evron native, nodded seriously, recognizing the importance of such a wish.
Artizea was glad she hadn’t shared her wish.
The four of them, now with empty hands, blended back into the crowd and exited through the opposite door of the temple. Cedric turned to Artizea and said,
“By the way, you can come to the temple anytime you like if you want.”
Artizea blinked in surprise. She likely thought it was an unexpected permission, but Cedric was serious.
He still remembered something from long ago, even before he had ever held her hand. It was when Bishop Nikos had said that Artizea would be well suited to the path of a scholarly priest.
If she chose academics as a career, she could go to university, but depending on the field, temples sometimes controlled that area. Whether Artizea had a true devotion to faith was still uncertain.
If she did choose to become a priest, she wouldn’t become his wife in the future, but even if that happened, he wouldn’t stand in the way of her pursuing what she wanted to do.
As Cedric thought about this, he tightly held her small hand. Artizea met his hand with her own and looked up at him.
The red light from the lanterns seemed to make his turquoise eyes appear warmer than usual.
“Talking with the priest is fun, isn’t it?”
Cedric asked, and Artizea nodded. He smiled at her response.
“The bishop will like you too.”
“Even if I’m not a pure child?”
Cedric understood that this was Artizea’s way of asking indirectly. He smiled and replied,
“There’s no such thing as a dirty child in this world. And you are very pure and beautiful. The bishop will think so too.”
Artizea nodded, but whether she truly believed it, Cedric wasn’t sure.
As they walked through the street from the back of the temple toward the main road, the crowd had stopped holding lanterns, but the streets were still brightly lit by numerous lanterns hanging along the way.
There were street vendors lined up, targeting those who didn’t want to head home just yet. Pavel’s eyes lit up when he saw this.
“It’s a festival.”
“Don’t get too excited. Don’t go too far.”
Of course, Pavel didn’t listen. Hearing a vendor shouting about a ball-throwing game, he immediately ran off in that direction.
Cedric signaled the captain of the guards to keep an eye on Pavel and continued walking with the two girls, holding their hands.
There was someone handing out free lollipops to children. Artizea and Lysia smiled brightly as they accepted them.
Cedric was going to walk past, but then the lollipop vendor offered him one too. He was a little surprised and looked at the vendor, who smiled kindly and said,
“You’re a good older brother, taking your siblings out like this.”
Cedric laughed, thanked the vendor, and accepted the lollipop.
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