Chapter 9
The Empire had no official religion.
Instead, it worshipped the elements that composed all things and the spirits of those elements, building spirit temples in the capital and throughout the regions.
All things in existence are born from the organic combination and development of the elements. The same goes for all phenomena. Without the spirits of the elements, even humans would not exist. Edelheim was also a temple born of that belief.
Royle was paired with Adrian, listening to Raondelph’s explanation as he followed along.
A temple tour… feels like something from a school trip.
Usually, Follet classes were held indoors, but occasionally they disguised an outing or picnic as a “field trip.” Today was special—it was the first day, and the crown prince himself was leading the tour of the Spirit Temple.
To avoid drawing attention, Raondelph had his attendants stay a short distance away, and he told the children to speak to him casually when they were outside.
As they entered Edelheim’s gates, a spirit priest in a sky-blue robe came running toward them, shouting.
“Your Hig—!”
Guessing what he was about to say, Raondelph cut him off with a single hand gesture before the priest could finish his greeting. The priest snapped his mouth shut so quickly it was a wonder he didn’t bite his tongue, then ran the remaining distance.
But even after all that effort, Raondelph simply signaled for him to step back. The priest glanced between the children and Raondelph, then quietly retreated. Raondelph began guiding the children himself.
Edelheim consisted of five white buildings. Four white marble structures were arranged in a square around an open courtyard, while the fifth stood behind them.
The four grouped buildings were each dedicated to a spirit of water, fire, earth, and wind. Each had a colored band painted near the roof—blue, red, yellow, and green, respectively. The building in the back was reserved for the spirit priests, where they trained.
Royle had assumed Edelheim would be huge since it was in the capital, but it was smaller than he expected.
“Each of Edelheim’s buildings is called a ‘Wat’—Water Wat, Fire Wat, Earth Wat, and Wind Wat.”
They entered the first building, the Water Wat, marked with a blue band. As soon as they stepped inside, everyone felt as if a weight had been lifted from their shoulders. Erica bounced lightly in place, and Serel rolled her shoulders as though something pressing down on her had vanished.
“Feels like a cool breeze over your head, right?” Raondelph said with a smile, finding their reactions cute.
“This is where the spirits’ power is strongest. Stay here long enough, and you’ll feel completely refreshed.”
“Is that because it’s for the water spirit? Water spirits have healing power, after all,” Erica said, half to show off her knowledge.
“All of Edelheim has that power, but the Water Wat is especially effective.”
Ellen glanced around curiously.
“Wouldn’t this place be crowded with the sick, then? For somewhere with healing power, it’s awfully quiet.”
“It’s only open to patients in the morning,” Raondelph explained. “Otherwise, this place would turn into a clinic rather than a temple.”
Ellen nodded. Fair point.
At the center of the Water Wat floated a large jar, suspended in midair without any visible support. Tilted at about forty-five degrees, it poured forth a steady stream of water. The water vanished into thin air before hitting the floor, as though absorbed.
The children stared in wonder, then tried waving their hands through the falling stream. Even though they touched the water, their hands came away completely dry.
Royle, who had been quietly watching, slipped a hand into the stream and widened his eyes. “Oh.”
“Your Highness, do you visit here often?” Adrian asked in his usual soft tone, without joining the others in splashing around.
“On days without lessons, sometimes,” Raondelph replied. “But those days are so rare it’s like saying I hardly come at all.” He smiled ruefully.
“Your Highness!”
A voice called out, and the sound of hurried footsteps echoed. Three people in sky-blue robes were running toward them.
“Your… Highness… we greet you,” they said between gasps, bowing deeply.
Raondelph acknowledged them and introduced them to the children.
“This is High Spirit Priest Josephine, and Spirit Priests Letty and Tyson.”
The high priest wore a robe embroidered with gold thread, and the other two had silver embroidery. The children’s eyes lit up, Erica’s especially—like sparks flying.
“These are Adrian Spencer, Roylette Karzel, Erica Nott, Santuke Dumfries, Serel Bourbon, and Elenoa Quinter.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” Josephine said with a smile, inclining her head. Then she turned to Raondelph.
“Your Highness, there is something urgent I must speak with you about.”
Raondelph signaled the children to wait and stepped out of the Wat with the priests.
As soon as they were gone from sight, the children crowded around the jar again, their voices buzzing.
“Spirit priests are so cool, right?”
“Yeah! Did you see those robes?”
“They’re different from a mage’s robe.”
“I think they’re even cooler!”
“I’m going to be a spirit priest!”
While everyone was giddy, Erica clenched her fists. The others turned toward her.
“Erica, not just anyone can become a spirit priest. You’re born with it,” Serel said calmly.
Before Erica could reply, Santuke exploded, “What are you talking about? Erica’s the Duke of Nott’s daughter! Of course she can be one. Don’t say stuff like that!”
“Well, that’s true,” Erica said sharply, “but why are you the one jumping in?”
She turned to Royle. “What do you think?”
Caught off guard, Royle stammered, “Huh? Oh… yeah, I think so too.”
“Really?” Erica beamed, while Santuke pouted at Royle.
Watching the exchange, Ellen interjected. “Erica, spirit priests are cool, but aren’t mages cool too? You have to sense mana to become one, just like you need a gift for the spirits.”
“That’s fine and all, but… Ellen, don’t you think it’s a bit weird to say that here in Edelheim?”
“Huh? Why?” Ellen faltered, surprised at the reaction.
“Because magic is a force that goes against the power of the spirits.”
“What?”
All eyes turned to Erica. She seemed to enjoy the attention.
“Spirits are the power that makes all things exist. Life, especially, is deeply tied to the water spirit. Nature should be left to flow on its own. But magic takes mana and reshapes nature into whatever humans want. How is that not opposing the spirits?”
It sounded convincing… but also not. Ellen tilted her head.
“Spirits… magic… can all this really be real?” she murmured.
It still felt like something out of a novel—too unreal to sink in.
When I get to the Quinter estate, I should ask my tutor more about this.
Royle, standing beside her, was lost in thought too.
Magic… Did I end up here because of magic? If so, who would do that, and why? Maybe there’s a book about it in the mansion. I need to learn to read quickly.
“Royle?”
Erica waved her hand in front of his face, snapping him out of it. “Hm? Oh—yeah,” he said, refocusing.
When Raondelph returned, they continued touring Edelheim. After visiting the Wind Wat, it seemed they were headed back—but instead, Raondelph suggested a short picnic.
“It’s nearly evening, but we can go somewhere nearby.”
The children lit up.
Raondelph called over one of the knights who had been guarding them from a distance. After a quick order, the knight boarded a carriage, and the children climbed into another.
Before long, they arrived at the entrance of a forest near the capital’s outskirts.
“Ahhh! Help—ahhh!”
A woman’s scream rang out from deeper in the forest, only moments after they entered.
While the others froze mid-step, Ellen and Royle bolted toward the sound without hesitation.
“Ellen! Karzel boy!” Raondelph called, but they only ran farther.
He gestured sharply to the knights. Two chased after the pair, with the rest following behind.
No one noticed that in his panic, Raondelph had accidentally called her “Ellen.”
Ellen and Royle, now joined by the pursuing knights, spotted something ahead and ran harder.
A girl about Raondelph’s age was on the ground, unable to even wipe the blood from her split lip, desperately trying to pull down her skirt. A man was on top of her—lifting her skirt with one hand and striking her with the other.
The sight of the burly, bearded man attacking someone so much smaller filled Ellen and Royle with only one thought: We have to separate them.
They rushed forward—but before they could reach him, the knights grabbed them both, lifting them clean off the ground.
“Don’t stop us—stop HIM!” Ellen yelled, kicking and flailing in midair.
The commotion made the man glance back. Seeing the knights, he drew a dagger, slashed the girl once, and fled into the forest.
A scream—no one knew whose—split the air.
The other children, just arriving, froze at the sight. It was the first time they’d ever seen someone cut with a blade. Even Ellen stopped struggling.
“Catch him! If he resists, cut him down!” Raondelph ordered, hurrying to the girl and pressing on her wound.
Two knights held onto Ellen and Royle while the others gave chase.
“Is she… going to die?” Erica asked in a trembling voice from a distance.
“No. If she gets treatment, she’ll live. It’s not that deep,” Raondelph said, sending a knight for help.
Just then, another knight returned carrying armfuls of food—the snacks meant for the picnic. Raondelph handed the injured girl to a guard.
“Looks like the picnic’s over,” he said.
No one disagreed. None of the noble children had the stomach to eat after what they’d just seen.
“Let’s head back to the carriage,” Raondelph said, and they turned silently to leave. The injured girl was carried gently in a knight’s arms.
