Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: A Prayer for You Alone (2)
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"Allow me to become your most devout apostle and the most faithful shield to spread your will across the world."
"So that all your desires may be fulfilled. And thus, miracles may come to pass for everyone."
"May I pray for your will to be done... for you?"
Her oath was filled with such profound sincerity.
Well, a prayer shouldn't be a problem, right?
I nodded in response, and her face lit up with joy.
Soon, she closed her eyes and began to pray softly.
"Our Father in heaven, forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us..."
Her prayer drifted away on the wind.
The brief prayer came to an end.
Yet the Saintess still did not let go of my hand.
Feeling awkward, I cleared my throat and cautiously asked,
"Saintess? Your hand now..."
At my words, she startled as if caught off guard and tried to release my hand—only to grip it even tighter for a moment.
Then, as if resolved, she lifted her head and met my gaze once more.
In contrast to her flushed cheeks, her golden eyes shone with unprecedented seriousness.
"A prayer alone isn't enough."
"Pardon?"
"The oath I made... it can't end with mere words."
Instead of releasing my hand, she wrapped both of hers around my right hand even more preciously.
Then, very slowly, with reverent motion, she brought the back of my hand to her lips.
The next instant, a soft, warm sensation settled on the back of my hand.
"!"
It was a kiss.
But not provocative or conquest-driven like the Princess's—rather, an utterly pure, devout kiss, a blessing infused with all her heartfelt sincerity.
That fleeting moment felt like an eternity.
When she finally parted her lips, her face was flushed like the dawn sky at break of day.
Unable to meet my eyes, she bowed her head deeply and whispered,
"Now... my prayer, my oath... they have reached you completely, Jonathan."
With those words, she finally released my hand.
But the soft, warm sensation lingering on the back of my hand remained as vividly as an indelible holy seal.
I couldn't fully grasp the meaning behind her action, but the weight of her pure sincerity came through crystal clear.
"I... I really must head back now. The abbess will worry if I'm too late."
As if the sacred moment had never happened, she fanned her still-rosy cheeks frantically with her sleeve.
That flustered sight somehow contrasted oddly with her holy demeanor just moments ago.
I chuckled and asked her,
"Shall I give you a ride, then?"
She hesitated briefly, shaking her head side to side before replying,
"No. The coachman is waiting, and I've already imposed on you so much."
We descended the ramparts side by side and made our way back to the quiet gates.
No words passed between us, but the silence no longer felt awkward.
The last fading glow of the sunset in the west stretched our shadows long across the ground.
Just before she climbed into the waiting carriage at the gates, I asked one final time,
"Are you sure you'll be all right? The road back alone might be dangerous."
"I'll be fine."
Lumiel gripped the carriage door and turned back, flashing a radiant smile brighter than any before.
"I'm not afraid anymore. Now I have a reason to return... and a mission to uphold."
With that, she bowed deeply to me once more and vanished into the carriage.
I could only stand there, watching as the carriage rattled away toward the capital for a long while.
That night, inside the carriage heading back to the convent, Lumiel silently gazed at the night scenery flashing by outside the window.
The faint, rough yet warm sensation from his hand still lingered in her palm.
And the tremor from that moment when her lips had touched the back of his hand remained vivid on hers.
She quietly placed her hand over her chest.
Thump, thump.
With it came the memory of a certain night, days after all the commotion had fully settled.
Lumiel knelt on the cold stone floor of her small prayer room.
But her heart was no longer cold. The warmth of that day, his warmth, still burned like a gentle ember within her.
She offered a prayer of gratitude.
To the Lord who had shown her the path, and to the founding Saintess who had opened it for her.
As her prayer deepened, her vision filled once more with dazzling light.
"Ah..."
When she opened her eyes, she stood again in the center of that grand cathedral.
And there, the founding Saintess Valeria welcomed her with a gentle smile.
"You've returned, sister."
Unlike before, Lumiel lifted her head without hesitation, meeting her gaze with clear eyes.
"Thanks to your teachings, Saintess, I have found my path. Instead of despairing over my powerlessness, I was able to do my utmost to save people."
Valeria nodded in satisfaction.
Her gaze seemed to drift past Lumiel's shoulder, toward some distant point.
"All I did was point the way. It was you, sister, who walked it and wrought the miracle. But it seems something else pushed you along that path."
"Pardon?"
"What drove the despair from your heart was a very warm light. And I think I know what that light was."
At Valeria's words, Lumiel's cheeks faintly flushed.
The face of the man who had saved her flashed through her mind.
Valeria smiled softly, as if peering into her heart.
"His name is Jonathan, yes?"
"Y-yes! Saintess! You know of him?"
"Of course. He is my blood descendant, my distant heir."
"......Pardon?"
Lumiel froze at her answer.
The most noble of nobles, the Saintess's descendant? Was such a thing even possible?
But setting that aside, the pieces suddenly fit together perfectly.
Founding Saintess's descendant. Black hair. Brown eyes. Valeria... Jonathan Valerius. Everything clicked into place.
Lumiel's golden eyes widened in shock.
Now she understood why he had been so special, so noble.
But that realization soon led to greater confusion.
"Th-then, as your descendant, sister, that means you married someone and had a child—"
Valeria gazed at her flustered junior with not distress, but a warm, joyful smile.
"It was after my mission ended."
She continued in a soft voice, reminiscing on a distant past.
"After the holy war against the demons ended and I laid down my sword. I was no longer a Saintess who had to fight—I became simply Valeria, a woman. And then, I met a good man who saw me not as a Saintess, but as a woman."
A faint longing flickered in Valeria's brown eyes.
"The Lord created man and woman, commanding them to love and multiply. How could living alone defy that teaching and claim to be His will?"
"Saving the world was my mission, but so too was building a family and knowing love—another mission He gave me."
She turned back to Lumiel with a warm smile.
"The Saintess's blood did not end with me; it flowed into the world as new seeds to carry on the light. That child is Jonathan. Does that answer your question, my youngest sister?"
Lumiel, still dizzy with confusion, asked with whirling eyes,
"But... but I am a nun. I severed worldly ties to serve only the Lord... To harbor personal feelings for the descendant of a saint is..."
Her voice trembled with guilt.
Valeria looked at her with pitying eyes and shook her head firmly.
"Sister, nuns distance themselves from worldly ties not by the Lord's will, but by human rules to prevent corrupting the church with inherited wealth."
Valeria stepped closer and gently embraced Lumiel's shoulders.
"The Lord wishes your children to prosper in the world and for you to be honest with the most sacred emotion: love. To call pure feelings toward another a sin is to misunderstand His will."
Her voice was firm, yet filled with boundless warmth.
"So, sister, there's no need to hide your heart. It is not a sin, but the most beautiful proof that your soul lives."
At Valeria's words, the flushed girl stammered back,
"B-but Jonathan already has... a fiancée..."
To her junior's innocent concern, the woman smiled with even warmer, unyielding strength.
"Sister. The first seed planted in a field does not always bear the ripest fruit."
"Sometimes, a late-planted seed takes deeper root, reaches more desperately for the sky, and finally receives the sun's brightest blessing."
Valeria met Lumiel's trembling golden eyes squarely, awakening a truth she might have ignored her whole life.
"So, compete."
"P-pardon? Compete how...?"
"Not through worldly rivalry."
Valeria's gaze pierced Lumiel, yet enveloped her warmly.
"Don't strive to steal that man's heart. Instead, become the firmest pillar he can lean on, the brightest star when he loses his way, his most faithful supporter when his good will unfolds in the world."
It was a teaching not of competition, but devotion.
"The choice is ultimately his. You need only stay by his side, shining in the way your heart leads. Fate favors the most worthy."
With those words, the dazzling light enveloping Lumiel began to fade.
Valeria's form grew faint, replaced by the carriage's jolts and the chill night air of reality.
As Lumiel slowly opened her eyes, the capital's lights drew near outside the window.
She quietly placed her hand over her chest. Her heart still raced from the revelation.
Her shyness lingered, but the heavy guilt that had weighed on her melted away like snow.
A small, shy smile bloomed on her lips.
She closed her eyes softly and pictured his face once more.
The strong arms that saved her, the warm heart that humbled itself for her, the broad back that showed her the world.
Thinking of that man, her cheeks flushed pomegranate-red.
'Is it... really okay?'
'For me to... like Jonathan?'
As if in answer to her question, a shy yet purely radiant smile blossomed on her lips.