The Villainess Lives Twice - Chapter 319

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

2. Spring Breeze (13)

The four people who visited the Empress’s Palace were the Archbishop, Bishop Nicos, Father Colton, and Bishop Monte who had come from the north.

They could truly be called the real powers of the temple. However, their visit was not treated as particularly special at the Empress’s Palace.

No matter how high-ranking, they were still priests. It wasn’t strange for them to move personally to meet the Saintess.

Hazel came out to greet the four people.

The youngest maid who had been accepted two years ago for symbolic meaning considering her parents’ status was now in a fairly mature and trusted position.

“Her Majesty the Empress is in the prayer room.”

The prayer room referred to the annex.

Even in the Empress’s Palace where outsiders rarely entered, with triple layers of concealment that still couldn’t provide peace of mind, Artizea was even more careful.

It had been a few months since she started calling the annex the prayer room and brought sacred objects there. Artizea had made it a forbidden zone, saying not to disturb her meditation.

It was the Saintess’s prayer room. No one would dare intrude without permission.

Even though Artizea now said she had finished her duties as Saintess, those who received her didn’t think so.

In this regard, the bishops were an exception. It was natural for the Archbishop to visit the sanctuary to meet the Saintess.

Following Hazel’s guidance to the garden, the Archbishop smiled kindly.

“How is the Princess doing these days? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her.”

“Didn’t you see her at worship last month? I remember His Majesty the Emperor bringing the Princess to the Grand Cathedral.”

“A month is an age when a baby grows so much, isn’t it?”

The Archbishop understood the sarcastic remark but didn’t mind at all, speaking with a benevolent smile. He couldn’t have reached the position of Archbishop if he had to be mindful of such things.

Hazel pouted her lips.

“She’s still lively. Though she hasn’t broken the habit of hanging on curtains in the past month.”

“It reminds me of when His Majesty the Emperor was young.”

“Pfft.”

The Archbishop spoke warmly as if it were a fond memory, but Bishop Monte snorted thoughtlessly.

The Archbishop glared at him. Hazel looked at Bishop Monte with an intrigued expression.

Since Ansgard and other Evron retainers were desperately protecting Sedric’s dignity, the only information available about his childhood was what accidentally slipped out or was subtly implied in conversations.

But the bishops didn’t need to show such loyalty, did they?

Bishop Monte, who had struggled to swallow both his cough and laughter, maintained a calm expression with a red face.

“He never hung on curtains.”

Of course, the Archbishop didn’t know. He had a long relationship, having participated in Sedric’s naming ceremony as an assistant priest.

However, while he knew Sedric’s boyhood was lively, he only knew things like running around the Grand Cathedral corridors with Prince Pavel and bumping into pillars to get bruises.

On the other hand, Bishop Monte was from Evron’s main castle and had long held the position of northern bishop. A smile began to creep out of his mouth again.

Hazel was dying of curiosity. If only she could put this in the newspaper, sales would be guaranteed.

However, Bishop Monte kept his mouth tightly shut and subtly turned his gaze away. The dignified Father Colton spoke.

“Her Majesty the Empress must be waiting. Let’s go now.”

“Ah, yes. I’m sorry.”

Hazel bowed her head slightly to show her apology and took the lead again.

Crossing the garden, six royal guards were keeping watch around the area.

The royal guards flinched momentarily but soon bowed their heads to show respect to the Archbishop. The Archbishop blessed the royal guards with a benevolent face and entered inside.

There were four more knights. All were Evron knights that Mel had brought this time.

The annex area was inside there. From beyond the fence came sounds that could be conversation or growling.

Perhaps noticing the Archbishop’s tension, Bishop Monte took the lead and went inside. Father Colton followed behind him.

Bishop Nicos gave the Archbishop a look. The Archbishop took one deep breath and went inside.

“Welcome, Archbishop. And the three of you.”

Artizea stood up from her seat first and offered greetings. The Archbishop bent his knee and paid respects to the Saintess.

“Thank you for making this difficult journey.”

“A difficult journey? When the Saintess has arranged such a precious occasion, of course we should come running immediately.”

Bishop Nicos stepped forward and spoke.

The Archbishop glanced at the papers on the table and the brazier with accumulated ash.

Apua and Kesa were standing up from their seats. Since Apua had recommended that the other Karam stay inside, only those two were outside.

There was no need to create mutual rejection from the first meeting. Apua knew well that the biggest obstacle to exchanges between both sides was the temple’s doctrine.

“This is Prince Apua. Your Highness, this is the Archbishop I mentioned.”

Artizea introduced them simply, removing the complications.

Someone like the Archbishop was particular about titles and positions, so saying this would be much easier to gain cooperation than calling him the chief’s son.

“And this is Bishop Nicos, Bishop Monte, and Father Colton. You probably know about Bishop Monte.”

Apua bowed his head with a courteous attitude.

Though his arms were exposed, he deliberately wore a hood to hide his third eye. His gestures and expressions weren’t much different from humans.

There were traces of shaving on his face, but that degree could be found among people with excessively bushy beards.

The Archbishop was inwardly surprised.

When Evron was accused of colluding with Karam, he had taken the half-bloods presented as evidence to the Grand Cathedral to care for them.

At that time, those half-bloods looked terribly disgusting even at first glance and behaved like beasts.

The Archbishop didn’t truly believe Karam were real demons, but he thought it was natural to reject such beasts.

However, Apua was dignified and knew etiquette. Moreover, didn’t he even have some refinement?

The Archbishop’s expression softened slightly. Even among Karam, a prince would be different, he thought.

“Please, all four of you sit down. I’ll have tea prepared.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress.”

The bishops took their seats.

Artizea had the brazier and papers cleared away. Father Colton asked with interest.

“Were you having a written conversation?”

“Yes. Lord Apua can communicate completely through writing. He can also understand the Imperial language.”

Artizea said. Then a look of slight surprise crossed the bishops’ faces.

“I’ve mentioned this before, haven’t I? That learning each other’s language is quite possible. Karam pronunciation is segmental and has a grammatical system.”

“You did mention that.”

The Archbishop hadn’t believed those words, so he had let them pass. Before he could make excuses, Father Colton answered.

This time Artizea spoke to Bishop Monte.

“The first temple built in the north was before the Shield Saint, wasn’t it? The Shield Saint received divine revelation at a small temple built in his village.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“I’d like you to look into the records from that time.”

This was work that had been secretly ordered and proceeding since Bishop Monte was in the north two years ago.

The reason for mentioning this again in this setting was for the Archbishop and Bishop Nicos to hear.

And since things had come this far, there was no need to proceed secretly anymore. Artizea also had some confidence.

“If it was before the Told Gate was built, there would be records about Karam too, right? Names that couldn’t be written in Imperial script would have been written with ancient script symbols.”

“That’s correct.”

Bishop Monte answered.

The Archbishop couldn’t guess which direction this story would lead and subtly glanced at Bishop Nicos and Father Colton without being noticed.

Father Colton maintained an impassive expression, but Bishop Nicos openly showed a slightly surprised face.

Artizea said.

“If it could be written with ancient script symbols, that means humans could pronounce it too.”

“Your Majesty the Empress.”

Realizing what Artizea was trying to say, the Archbishop stopped her words.

“The symbols representing ancient script pronunciation are merely written based on speculation and conjecture. Using that to claim that Karam and humans were once the same species or had exchanges is…”

“Did I say such a thing?”

“Your Majesty the Empress.”

The Archbishop made a resentful sound. Artizea said.

“I didn’t say same species. I don’t know much about biology and such, so let’s leave that kind of research to the Imperial University.”

The Archbishop felt like he’d been saddled with a burden. Since that Empress wouldn’t take back what she’d said, research on Karam at the Imperial University had become a fait accompli.

“Conversely, there’s no doubt that there were exchanges. It would be illogical to say there were no exchanges with beings who lived on the same land, could communicate, and could produce half-bloods.”

“However, Karam are…”

The Archbishop wasn’t foolish enough to say “spawn of demons” in front of Apua.

But Artizea calmly received those words. She knew Apua had sufficient understanding.

“Were there only one or two humans who would shake hands with demons if it benefited them?”

“Your Majesty the Empress….”

“But that’s not what I want to tell you. Since it can be written in symbols, it can also be recorded, so I’m thinking of making a dictionary.”

Bishop Nicos didn’t bother to hide his surprise.

“A dictionary, you say?”

Even if they couldn’t speak properly, communication would be sufficiently possible just by understanding words piece by piece.

Apua answered, and Kesa interpreted.

Artizea said.

“It’s merely the task of making one book. It wouldn’t cause any harm, would it?”

“That’s true, but….”

The Archbishop had come with considerable resolve, but if it was just making a dictionary, there was no problem at all.

Just as his mind was relaxing, Artizea smiled sweetly and added one more thing.

“If the temple won’t take charge of it, I’ll have to call professors from the Imperial University to handle this as well.”

“Don’t worry, Holy Lady. It’s quite a sensitive matter after all. It would be right for the temple to handle it.”

The Archbishop immediately changed his stance.

They were already being pushed back by the Imperial University in fields other than some subjects like theology, philosophy, and history.

He couldn’t miss something the Empress was determined to push forward. Moreover, there wasn’t a single university in the North yet. The Archbishop suddenly realized this.

Perhaps it might be related to seizing leadership in the North in the future.

What harm could making a dictionary possibly cause? That much could be sufficiently managed.

“I can feel at ease knowing you’ll take charge of it. It would be good if trustworthy scholarly priests could visit frequently. Since you’re visiting anyway, recording Karam’s oral traditions might also be worth studying later.”

Artizea casually added one more thing. The Archbishop’s lips trembled, but having already agreed, what could he do about it?

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