~Chapter 15~
As soon as Caspal’s quiet voice whispered into her ear, Floria’s head started spinning.
His words echoed again and again in her mind like a buzzing hum.
She felt like she might get pulled into a black hole—her consciousness faded.
It was like her soul was being pulled out of her body by force.
But Rose and Aster didn’t notice anything strange.
To them, Floria just looked like she was blankly staring at nothing.
During that moment, Caspal calmly placed a piece of paper and a pen in front of her.
Floria, like a broken doll, stiffly took the pen.
Without even reading the paper, she scribbled her signature at the bottom.
Her eyes had lost focus completely.
“Good.”
To any outsider, it would have looked very strange. But Caspal simply smiled faintly—he had gotten what he wanted.
He slipped the yellow ring back onto her finger and hid the contract and pen somewhere unseen.
Zzzzt—
A small spark jumped from the ring.
Floria blinked slowly, like someone waking from a very deep nap.
She felt dazed and fuzzy-headed.
‘What… just happened?’
The moment Caspal whispered something, her head had gone dizzy.
She felt like she did something… but it was like a piece of her memory had been cut out.
When she tried to recall it, a sharp headache squeezed her mind.
It was as if someone was warning her not to remember.
Even stranger—
‘Hmm. Whatever.’
When she gave up trying to remember, the whole event faded from her thoughts like smoke.
It was as if nothing had happened.
Of course, this wasn’t Floria’s will.
This was a secret that only Caspal knew now.
***
In front of the temple, a mountain of gifts was stacked.
So many that it almost reached the top of the main gate.
“I… I think this is really too much…”
“If you try to carry it all by yourself, you’ll fall over.”
Even after the carriage drove away and disappeared into the night, Floria and Rose were still arguing.
Rose, now fully awake, was stubbornly refusing Floria’s help.
She had already insisted that Aster go back and not carry anything for her.
But Floria wasn’t giving up easily.
“Rose, what if you trip and fall while carrying all this? It’s late. No one will be around to help a little girl lying in the street.”
“….”
Rose fidgeted with her fingers, looking around nervously.
Finally, she mumbled,
“Okay… thank you, Floria unni.”
Her voice was so quiet, it was barely there—but it was a yes.
Floria gave a small, dry smile and began lifting Rose’s gifts one by one.
‘I know Rose tends to worry about others too much…’
She seemed happy today, accepting the gifts with a big smile.
But the moment they got off the carriage and she saw how dark it was, she panicked.
Rose must have thought that everyone stayed out late just for her—and felt guilty about it.
Floria picked up a bundle of presents, while Rose hid her red face in her stuffed animal and walked ahead.
The back of her neck was bright red.
‘See? I knew she loved it.’
But then—
“Unni! You can put them here!”
As soon as they entered Rose’s room, Floria had to press her hand to her head—the pain was back.
“Today was really the best birthday ever!”
“No, it’s not.”
Floria quickly cut Rose off, her voice firm.
Oh, no. This… this could not be it.
The room was tiny, so small there was nothing even worth looking at.
‘Is that even a desk?’
It looked like it would fall apart with one push.
It was a small, beat-up desk—too old to be useful.
It looked like something someone threw away or maybe something a priest had used 20 years ago before passing it down.
A normal priest’s room only had an old bed and desk—so okay, she could forgive that part.
‘But how can someone sleep in this tiny space?’
Once she placed the presents on the floor, there wasn’t even enough room for a person to lie down.
Not even a child, let alone an adult!
It looked like some leftover attic space that had been turned into a room.
Rose, hugging her stuffed toy, blinked her silver eyes, completely unaware of the problem.
Looking up at Floria so innocently only made her look more pitiful.
“Rose.”
“Yes, unni?”
Floria gently held Rose’s hand.
“This won’t do. Come live with me.”
“…Really?”
Rose’s already wide eyes grew even bigger—so big they nearly filled her face.
And this time, there were no polite, grown-up words like “I don’t want to bother you.”
She was just honestly, purely happy.
‘My room might not be perfect, but I’ll make it work.’
She would find a way to improve it.
For now, Floria decided to leave Rose’s gifts in her current room,
then led Rose to her own.
***
The next morning, Floria woke up early.
It was still dark outside.
She had even woken up earlier than the dawn prayer hour.
That meant it was more like night than morning.
“Yaaawn…”
She let out a long yawn.
She had barely slept all night.
“…Mmm.”
Ah, that’s right—Rose was here.
As Floria tried to sit up quickly, she noticed a small figure rustling under the blanket.
So she moved slowly, careful not to wake her.
She remembered clearly why she had stayed up all night:
she had something important to negotiate—to make sure Rose could stay with her comfortably.
So now, with a serious expression, Floria walked toward the high priest’s office.
Before knocking, she checked the letter she held one last time—to make sure she hadn’t misunderstood or missed anything.
‘Floria, I saw the letter you left. Come to my office before morning prayer.’
Floria wiped her nose lightly.
That day after she decided to live with Rose—she had left a short note at the high priest’s door saying she had something to discuss.
When she returned to room that evening, she found a reply.
‘Didn’t expect an answer so fast.’
He must be pretty eager.
Well, she could guess what he wanted.
Once she was sure she hadn’t forgotten anything, she stuffed the letter into her pocket.
“Huuuh…”
She took a deep breath.
Entering your boss’s office was always nerve-wracking, and this time she had to ask for a bigger room.
Knock, knock—
She gave a firm nod and knocked.
“Oh! Yes! What is it, Priest Floria?”
A booming voice replied instantly, as if he’d been waiting all along.
The door opened quickly—and not only did the high priest greet her himself, he personally led her to a sofa.
Clearly, he wanted something.
He wasn’t acting like his usual calm self behind a kind smile.
Unfortunately for him, Floria wasn’t great at smooth introductions—and she didn’t have time for that anyway.
“High Priest, you once said I could move to a bigger room if I wanted, right?”
“Hmm? Ah—ah, yes, I did.”
“I’d like to move. And I want to live with Rose.”
“…Rose.”
The high priest’s voice, which had sounded bright and hopeful, suddenly dropped.
Floria thought maybe he was disappointed or surprised about the room request, but instead, he muttered Rose’s name and fell silent for a moment.
He tapped the armrest of the sofa with his fingers—rings on his hands sparkled every time he moved.
The light coming through the window reflected off the gems so brightly that Floria had to squint.
Then finally, the high priest seemed to finish his thoughts.
He smiled again—this time, his usual warm, gentle expression.
“Very well. But Floria—did you think about what I mentioned before?”
“…Sorry?”
“About me officially naming you as the ‘Saintess.’”
There it was.
As expected.
She had somewhat seen it coming—but still, the blunt way he brought it up made her swallow nervously.
