Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Athina Convent
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The Athina Convent lay two hours' distance from the city of Rom. No matter how devout, no man was permitted to enter its grounds. Instead, a small chapel for male parishioners stood apart in a separate building, opening its doors at four in the morning.
Father Danel entered there.
Bryon, repelled by the space's inherent rejection of outsiders, chose to wait outside. Danel considered it a blessing. Information concerning Saph was hardly the sort to share with a chatty young friend like Bryon.
The chapel bore a large cross like any other church, flanked by a marble statue of Saint Magdaloa.
Magdaloa was the woman said to have received direct revelation from Archangel Gatriele and penned the Holy Scriptures herself. One-third of the scriptures everyone read today came from her hand.
In the Keitlic faith, a convent was a place made for women who followed the life of Magdaloa, devoted entirely to the divine.
The convent wasn't populated solely by nuns or novices. Many noblewomen studied here, typically from age fourteen up to eighteen. There were few other places for women to learn. Seminaries and academies brimmed with male teachers and students alike—hardly suitable for young girls.
At least those who entered convents like this had a chance to study. In the extreme case of the Queen of Pharens, she had never even learned to read.
Women who studied here faced a crossroads upon turning eighteen: remain to become a nun, graduate to serve in another order, or return home to marry.
"Saph turns eighteen this year."
Less than ten minutes after Father Danel sat waiting before the chapel altar, Abbess Julia arrived. Though past sixty, with vertical lines creasing her cheeks, she remained alluring when she smiled.
Abbess Julia sat beside Father Danel. He gazed at the saint's statue as he replied.
"Already? It's time for Saph to make her choice."
Truth be told, neither knew Saph's exact birthday. They simply marked the day Abbess Julia had found the infant in a basket on the orphanage steps as her first birthday.
"Still, I'm sorry to call on you at such an early hour."
Father Danel apologized belatedly.
Julia shrugged.
"What of it? It's hardly the first time you've barged in unannounced, shattering the peace."
Father Danel smacked his lips and scratched the back of his head. Julia sighed and continued.
"And right on cue... no, you'd love hearing 'right on cue,' but I lack a better phrase. I haven't slept a wink tonight."
"You seem out of breath, as if you've come from afar?"
"From the orphanage."
The Athina Convent also managed an orphanage. Five minutes away, the Athina Orphanage housed over a hundred children, tended by the sisters here. Evidently, Abbess Julia had gone there herself today.
"Something happened, I take it?"
"Coincidentally, it's about Saph."
Father Danel drew a sharp breath.
Abbess Julia gave a weary smile.
"I should ask why you've come, Father Danel."
"'Coincidentally,' I've come to see Saph. I'm setting off on a long journey and wanted to say goodbye."
"A long journey? Off to find the Holy Grail?"
Julia teased. When Danel fell silent, she grew flustered and shook her head.
"Pretend I never said that."
"Agreed."
Father Danel cleared his throat and asked,
"But what happened to Saph?"
"As you know, Saph has some... distinctive physical traits."
A white horn protruded from Saph's crown. As a baby, it had been a mere bump. It grew steadily, taking clear horn shape by age five, and lengthened a bit each year. Now it spanned two finger joints.
The horn had been an issue from the start. Julia had kept it secret from all but a few sisters and consulted Danel: send Saph to the Holy See for examination, or keep it hidden forever?
Danel had promised to handle it all and urged secrecy.
Saph concealed her horn with a small white priestly cap. Hats varied by nation in style, color, and custom, but nuns wearing them was unremarkable. If she lived as one, she could hide her horn for life.
There was another problematic trait: the color of Saph's hair. It had started as ordinary brown, but past age ten, it lightened as if bleached, turning now to a clear sky blue.
With it, the once merely cute child grew strikingly beautiful with age—not just pretty, but enough to halt passersby in their tracks.
Once, all convent residents had helped prepare for a major service. Since only female parishioners attended, Julia saw no issue. But beauty entranced more than men.
Saph's looks drew even the women's gazes. From that single exposure, she earned the nickname "Blue-Haired Saint." Rumors spread that possessing her hair improved one's own locks, won a husband's love, or captured a crush's heart.
Now Saph traded her horn-concealing cap for a full nun's habit covering her entire head. Though not yet a nun, donning formal attire drew jealousy from other novices.
Julia still regretted that day.
"My mistake put a child who should have stayed hidden in the spotlight. For the last year or two, Saph hasn't stepped outside at all. Not to work the fields, not even for her beloved games..."
"If it's just the hair rumor, isn't that just among women?"
"Women's gossip reaches men. And rumors distort and exaggerate, as always. Men now visit the convent just to glimpse the 'saint.'"
"Word to Cardinal Pietro might bring soldiers."
"Wouldn't those soldiers be men?"
Danel groaned shortly, "Oh." Julia continued her lament.
"There's something I've been meaning to ask anyway."
"Go ahead."
"Lately, Saph's been deeply depressed. I heard the priest she corresponded with was excommunicated? Name was Jade, I think?"
"Yes."
"Saph relied on Father Jade far more than I realized. I thought it mere girlish curiosity toward the opposite sex."
"Jade felt the same. They'd barely met, yet cherished each other like siblings. I believed that if they grew supporting one another, they'd contribute greatly—not just to the Rom priesthood, but the entire Keitlic Church."
"Contribute? Such an upstanding word from you, Father Danel? You must want a favor."
Julia asked shrewdly.
Danel flinched.
"I'm truly just here to bid Saph farewell."
"That'd be easy enough. But whether Saph wants to see you... I'm not sure."
"Because of what you mentioned earlier?"
"You know Saph shows no expressions. Eerily none. No smiles, tears, anger, or sorrow. But I know she feels deeply, even if it doesn't show."
Julia's voice grew sad.
"Still, misunderstandings start there. With her horn already inviting suspicion..."
Julia hesitated on the rest. Danel listened tensely.
"...A short while ago, her cap came off. At the orphanage. The princess from Lituwana Duchy did it."
"Good heavens."
Julia recounted the long tale slowly.
Princess Alma, fourteen, had arrived at Athina Convent full of complaints.
She had expected grand places like Saint Vesta Cathedral in central Rom or Setina Cathedral in the Vatican. Greatly disappointed by the convent's modest exterior, she griped about everything to the abbess.
Better beds, finer meals, flowers not vegetables in the garden, clothes from Lituwana fabrics offered up, three maids allowed...
Julia calmly refused.
No demands could be met. If convent life displeased her, return home—no one would stop her. If she insisted, complain to Bishop David, who had approved her selfish request to study doctrine in Rom despite it all. Keep complaining, and she'd inform Duke Rubillite!
The princess endured for half a year, adapting somewhat. Julia decided to leave her be unless she caused moral scandal. She'd tire herself out eventually.
That was Julia's mistake. Princess Alma harbored strange delusions.
She believed living in such a convent would make her a saint like Magdaloa. In her mind, Magdaloa was a ravishing beauty who ensnared all men, commanded women's reverence, and reigned over the masses like a queen—just as Alma wished to rule Lituwana someday.
Julia thought study would dispel the fantasies in months, but trouble struck first.
Alma had met Saph.
Saph possessed all Alma desired: stunning looks, tall stature, pale flawless skin, gleaming hair, sharp wits, calm demeanor. Parishioners called her the "Blue-Haired Saint," other sisters respected her, and she was kind—even to Alma—helping with doctrine studies.
Saph seemed detached from it all, expressionless, but to Alma, ignorant of the details, that kindness appeared arrogance. It became provocation. The princess's jealousy and rage blazed uncontrollably.
Taught politics and schemes over kindness by her father, Alma sought Saph's weakness. She noticed Saph never removed her cap in public.
Alma assumed baldness, having seen relatives on her father's side hide theirs with hats.
She resolved to humiliate Saph before all. A week ago, she lied that the abbess summoned her and lured Saph to the orphanage.
That day, the orphans gathered for prayers and songs. Saph, delighted to see the children after so long, went happily. Knowing they already knew her blue hair, she wore only a simple cap, not her usual full head-wrapping habit.
Alma asked Saph to lead the children in song. Saph stepped forward without suspicion.
Alma didn't act herself. Megle, a noble boy her age dragged unwillingly to the convent, did the deed at her behest.
Megle sneaked behind Saph as she sang beautifully and yanked off the cap. The white horn poking from her blue locks was exposed to all for the first time.
Children screamed; nuns who'd never seen gasped. Alma and Megle were shocked too. But shrewd Alma seized the moment, shouting to the orphans.
'Witch! She's a witch hiding as a saint! Look at that horn—proof! Call the inquisitor now!'
Hearing up to there, Danel clutched his head.
"Good Lord, I'd slap that Alma myself. Did the inquisitor come?"
"I kept him away. Said it was just a mistaken bump. But it won't hold long. Princess Alma's still demanding why no inquisitor, threatening a formal missive to the Vatican in Duke Rubillite's name if needed."
Julia gazed at the saint's statue.
"The problem is Saph. I asked if she wanted to flee far away. Guess what she said? She might really be a demon, so she wants the trial."
Danel's eyes widened.
"What on earth?"
"She hasn't spoken since. I'm watching her to keep her from seeking out the inquisitor herself. I always thought I could guess her feelings despite the blank face, but now, when it matters most, I can't fathom her thoughts."
"May I speak with her?"
"Please do. I thought only two people could comfort her now, and one's here. Ideally Jade, but excommunication prevents that."
"Jade's excommunication is lifted."
"Such things can be undone?" Julia marveled, then shook her head.
"No. Don't answer. As always, you've pulled some cowardly, underhanded trick I don't want to hear. Stay here. I'll fetch Saph."