The Fortune-Teller Saintess - Chapter 66

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Fortune Teller Saint

 

Chapter 66

 

“Huu.”

 

Jacad let out a small breath and took a step forward.

 

As he walked toward the Holy Flame, the hall fell into silence. Only gazes mixed with suspicion and respect followed Jacad.

 

Jacad, holding the sacred relic in his hand as he stepped onto the dais, could finally turn his back on those stares. And he gazed ahead.

 

The Holy Flame burning magnificently greeted him.

 

Jacad, who had been momentarily captivated by the Holy Flame, turned his eyes to look at Saint Ellia standing beside it.

 

Seeing her, Jacad tilted his head slightly to the side.

 

‘She doesn’t look well.’

 

Standing close to her, Jacad could sense that Ellia’s face, though she appeared to stand composedly, was paler than usual.

 

But given the circumstances, he couldn’t ask if something was wrong.

 

Meanwhile, Ellia opened her mouth and spoke to him.

 

“Representative of the Empire, Lord Jacad Aisen Ikart, please offer the sacred relic to the Holy Flame.”

 

Those words brought him back to his senses.

 

Jacad felt the tension that had momentarily subsided creeping back up as he stared at the Holy Flame.

 

‘…It’ll be fine.’

 

Jacad gripped the sacred relic tightly in his hand.

 

He was proud of his life. He could swear that he had done nothing against his conscience.

 

But, just in case.

 

What if he burned along with it because of the curse parasitizing him?

 

“It’s okay.”

 

Jacad’s eyes widened as he quickly turned his head.

 

Ellia was speaking to him with a smiling face, even while breaking out in cold sweat.

 

“Nothing will happen. And Your Highness said so yourself.”

 

That I am proud.

 

At Ellia’s quiet addition, Jacad’s eyes regained their focus.

 

He looked back and forth between Ellia and the Holy Flame, then soon chuckled.

 

“…Right. I am proud.”

 

Then there would be no reason to fear anywhere.

 

Jacad moved forward without hesitation. As he stood before the Holy Flame, those watching held their breath.

 

With everyone watching, Jacad finally put his hand into the Holy Flame.

 

Whoosh-

 

“The sacred relic…!”

 

Someone opened their mouth with a surprised face.

 

The Holy Flame that swallowed the sacred relic doubled in size and scattered light around it. Everyone in the hall watched the wondrous sight as if entranced.

 

And Jacad also calmly watched the scene. He lowered his head to look down at his hand that he had put into the Holy Flame.

 

‘It’s fine.’

 

He felt no burns, not even heat. Jacad silently looked down at his hand, then clenched it into a fist.

 

Ellia, who had been watching him, slowly opened her mouth.

 

“God has accepted the offering of the Empire’s representative, Lord Jacad Aisen Ikart. May there be blessings on the Empire’s future.”

 

“May there be blessings on the Empire.”

 

Everyone in the hall, including Jacad, offered their prayers. When they finished praying and raised their heads, the Holy Flame had also returned to its original size.

 

Thus, the Founding Festival’s Ritual of Veneration was completed.

 

***

 

Having finished the ritual, I came down behind the dais. Then Nein, wearing priest robes, greeted me.

 

“Is it over?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“The ritual wasn’t much either. To think we prepared for weeks for this trivial ceremony, what a waste of time.”

 

Instead of answering, I quietly smiled. Right now, I didn’t have the strength to respond to Nein’s grumbling.

 

‘My stomach hurts… Has the medicine already worn off?’

 

Was I mistaken? It seemed like my vision was shaking too.

 

When I didn’t respond, Nein seemed to sense something was wrong and changed his expression to ask.

 

“Holy Lady, is something wrong?”

 

“Nothing’s…”

 

“Don’t lie. Your face is pale white. And why are you sweating so much… Are you sick somewhere?”

 

I could feel anxiety in Nein’s voice.

 

I shook my head and tried to say I was fine, that I just ate something wrong.

 

But before I could, a cough burst out.

 

“I’m fine… Cough, cough!”

 

“Fine my ass. Wait. I’ll go call the Holy Prelate.”

 

Nein clicked his tongue and quickly turned around. His movements seemed urgent somehow.

 

After coughing for a while, I caught my breath and removed my hand from my mouth.

 

“Haa, haa. …Huh?”

 

Looking at my hand absentmindedly, I froze completely.

 

A red liquid with a fishy smell was thoroughly soaking my hand.

 

This is… blood?

 

“What the hell is this.”

 

I looked up in shock.

 

Nein, who had somehow come close, grabbed my blood-stained hand.

 

With his face hardened fiercely.

 

“Holy Lady, did you just cough up blood?”

 

“N-Nein.”

 

Even while gasping for breath, I stared intently at Nein’s expression.

 

His purple eyes, which always seemed playful, were now shining fiercely. But even so, one emotion was clearly felt.

 

It was fear.

 

‘Why is Nein…?’

 

No, that wasn’t what was important right now. What was important now was that something strange was happening to my body.

 

At that moment, my vision suddenly flipped.

 

I barely held onto my consciousness that felt like it would faint and gripped Nein’s clothes, struggling to speak.

 

“Nein, please… help me.”

 

“Damn it. Wait. I’ll bring the Holy Prelate right away…”

 

“Don’t go.”

 

Nein hesitated at my words.

 

I collapsed into his arms and held onto my blurring vision to speak.

 

“Stay by my side.”

 

“Holy Lady…?”

 

Ah, this is my limit now.

 

My vision, which had been maintained even if blurrily, turned black. Soon, my other senses began closing one by one.

 

“Hey, Holy Lady! Holy… Ellia!”

 

With Nein’s desperate cry as the last thing I heard, my consciousness was sucked into darkness.

 

***

 

‘…I’m sure that’s what happened.’

 

I blinked my eyes. Even when I blinked my eyelids until my vision blurred, the scenery I saw didn’t change.

 

‘Where is this?’

 

I looked around with dazed eyes. Surprisingly, I was standing under the Milky Way full of shining stars.

 

Where I stood was above a lake with no visible end. With each step I took, ripples spread out in circles on the water.

 

While I was captivated by this mysterious and beautiful space, an unfamiliar voice pierced through the silence.

 

“Hello?”

 

“…?!”

 

Properly startled, I couldn’t even scream and jumped in place.

 

When I belatedly turned my head toward where the voice came from, I saw the figure of a familiar woman.

 

Brilliant pink hair, familiar priest robes.

 

I widened my eyes and called out the person’s name.

 

“Robelina…?”

 

Robelina smiled silently without a word. It was a smile no different from usual.

 

But somehow it felt unsettling.

 

I looked at the other person with suspicious eyes and muttered quietly.

 

“…No, you’re not. Who are you?”

 

“Oh.”

 

The person who looked like Robelina widened their eyes as if slightly surprised.

 

Then they opened their mouth with an even deeper smile than before.

 

“Who do you think I am?”

 

“If I knew, I wouldn’t have asked who you were, would I?”

 

“No. You know. Think carefully. I’ve always been by your side.”

 

“…???”

 

I furrowed my brow and made a bewildered expression at the incomprehensible hint.

 

This suspicious person has always been by my side?

 

“Are you perhaps a stalker?”

 

“Wrong. Incorrect.”

 

The person chuckled and drew an ‘X’ with their finger. Since they were doing this while looking like Robelina, who made my heart soft, it was annoyingly irritating.

 

‘Someone I would know, who has always been by my side, and who could transform to look like Robelina…’

 

As I continued my thoughts, I paused.

 

Wait.

 

‘It might not be a person, right?’

 

As soon as I changed my assumption, one piece of information flashed to mind.

 

“Don’t tell me… you’re Nein?”

 

At my shocked question, the other person smiled brightly.

 

“Correct. You finally got it right.”

 

“You can have conversations with Nein too?”

 

Despite receiving many teachings at the Temple over the past few years, I had never heard that one could converse with Nein.

 

When I stared in bewilderment, Nein shook their head and said.

 

“That’s not what’s important right now.”

 

‘It’s important to me though.’

 

I wanted to say this out loud but held back. The expression of Nein in Robelina’s form looked somewhat urgent.

 

Nein erased their smile, hardened their expression, and spoke seriously.

 

“Haven’t you ever thought it was strange? Why the Founding Festival Ritual of Veneration, which should have passed quietly, turned out different from the future you know.”

 

At those words, I hardened my face stiffly.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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