A Midsummer Night's Wedding #2
Psyche had been hesitating.
Then, carefully, she confessed a single truth.
"The truth is… I had sworn to live as a champion of purity. According to the words of Scripture, we are to be pure as doves. There are many passages that urge us not to marry, but to live in celibacy."
"Indeed. Paul said that remaining single is a finer thing than marrying."
In matters of faith, purity was a foundational virtue.
And the foundational things were always the most precious—and the most fundamental.
A woman who kept her purity.
Just thinking of it—how beautiful was that?
The reason I had fallen into unrequited love with Psyche in the first place was precisely because she was a pure woman.
And now that same Psyche was saying this to me.
"I regard purity as the highest of virtues. Hyde, the fact that you, like me, have kept your purity until now is a wonderful thing. Won't you continue to keep it with me?"
What Psyche meant, once I parsed it, was this:
From the very first night of our marriage, we had become a sexless couple.
Is this for real?
The problem was that there was nothing scripturally wrong with what Psyche had said.
There's a problem, and the problem is that there isn't a problem!
Keeping one's purity was practically a theme that ran through the entire Bible.
Of course it was a good thing. Of course it was the right thing!
But…
But this was not what I had been picturing, so I desperately scanned the verses of Scripture engraved in my mind.
And in 1 Corinthians 7, I found a hint for breaking this situation open.
"Lady Psyche, keeping one's purity is fine, but according to 1 Corinthians 7, a wife and a husband are to fulfill their duty to one another."
"I know. I, Psyche Agarpe, as I swore at the wedding, intend to fulfill my duty for you, my husband. From this day forward, I am your wife!"
That was true.
Psyche had become my wife.
But she seemed not to know that marital duty—specifically sexual relations—had been codified into law since ancient times, set down in writing long ago.
By this world's reckoning, it had already been legalized centuries back, in the days of the Rom Empire.
No—Psyche was an intelligent woman. Of course she knew.
But Scripture was a truth that transcended the laws of the world.
Therefore Psyche, wanting to live as a "champion of purity" according to the words of Scripture, held that conviction so firmly that I felt I could not lay a hand on her no matter what.
Laying a hand on her would have been strange to begin with.
Because Psyche was, biblically speaking, completely without fault!
She deserved praise, if anything!
Even so, I could not hide the complicated feeling welling up in me, and I flipped frantically through the Bible in my head.
Surely there was some verse that would help in this situation.
But the Bible had very little written about a case like this.
According to 1 Corinthians 7, it only said that when one party refuses, they should come to an agreement.
Even between husband and wife, if mutual consent was not obtained, it was sin.
In many ways, the world swam before my eyes.
Psyche, who loved premarital purity so much, wants to keep postmarital purity too?
"But Lady Psyche—when the Lord created all things in the world, did He not give a command? Be fruitful and multiply. Being fruitful and multiplying is the duty of humankind, and yet…"
"I know. But I would like to ask my husband Hyde, who is as fine a biblical scholar as Archbishop Archibold. Being fruitful and multiplying—and keeping one's purity to receive salvation. Which of the two is more important?"
Was she talking about priorities?
I already knew the answer, of course.
According to Scripture, the great evangelist Paul had in fact said this to people:
Do not marry—
That remaining alone and keeping one's purity was the highest thing for piety and the salvation of the soul. That was why so many priests held celibacy in such high regard.
But after original sin, human beings could not help but carry a sinful nature, and so they inevitably fell into lust; and the Bible said that marrying was better than committing fornication indiscriminately.
Therefore, according to Scripture, the order of priority was this:
First: keeping one's purity alone.
Second: when it could not be helped, marrying and loving one another in harmonious agreement as husband and wife.
In other words—
The purity Psyche spoke of ranked highest of all.
I knew the Bible well enough to understand that this ideal of "purity" she was describing was something unbreakable, and so all I could do for the moment was nod.
And though Psyche had not said it outright, my instincts told me there was some circumstance behind this "purity"—a scent of something more.
I need to find out what that is, and soon.
"I understand. Lady Psyche, what you say is right. When a person keeps their purity and loves in a wholesome way, the soul grows to resemble the Lord and draws nearer to salvation."
"Hyde, you understood what I meant! Obtaining you as my husband is a truly gracious thing for the Agarpe family and for my life! I must give thanks to Elohim!"
Psyche was overjoyed.
And because Psyche was happy, I was happy too.
Well—I had thought things had been going almost too smoothly ever since I obtained the Holy Grail. And on the other hand, now that Psyche was my wife, perhaps I ought to be content with that alone.
Psyche was a woman who kept her promises.
Aside from the marriage bed, she would fulfill every wifely duty with warmth and sincerity.
What was a wife to a man who dreamed of becoming a pastor?
In all likelihood, the sense of her as a "helpmate" and "coworker" would have to outweigh the sense of her as a "woman."
Psyche would play the role of a church pastor's wife better than anyone, and in practice that was exactly what would happen.
And yet—why did some inexplicable, strange feeling keep surging up from a corner of my chest like a pillar of fire?
"Then, Hyde—let us keep an all-night prayer vigil together! The people of Agarpe dislike the church, so I never had anyone to pray with. With you here, I feel as though I shall truly be happy…!"
I was glad too.
To be able to keep an all-night prayer vigil more devoutly than anyone else—on our wedding night!
When I opened my eyes in the morning, Psyche was sleeping in the same bed.
"Oh."
Could there truly be a person this beautiful in the world?
Thinking about angels was, frankly, a waste of both theological and ordinary time—but if an angel ever truly revealed itself, I was certain it would look exactly like this.
And that woman was my wife.
My wife, purer and more chaste than anyone.
And I was the man who had taken such a woman as his wife—the man every man in the world would envy.
As I looked at her, Psyche's eyes fluttered open—and she started in shock.
"…Um—w-who are you!?"
She yanked the blanket up in front of herself, her expression thoroughly flustered. I was flustered by that reaction myself when Psyche spoke again.
"Ah—come to think of it, you are my husband. Hyde, this is the first time I have shared a bed with a man, so for a moment I was confused. That's right. I got married. You were my husband."
"Yes. We have become husband and wife."
"Hyde, this is a little embarrassing to say, but last night was wonderful. I had never known a night so… passionate."
Psyche whispered in a sweet voice that last night had been wonderful. Of course, what she meant by "last night" was the all-night prayer we had kept together.
My corporate prayer did get a bit passionate, I'll give her that.
Then Psyche fanned her reddened face with her hand and turned her head this way and that.
"I—this is the first time I have ever spoken of such things with a man. Honestly, I thought I would have to live as a celibate. I was certain there would be no man who could understand my commitment to purity…"
"Yes. In this corrupt world, I am likely the only man who can understand the depth of your conviction, my lady."
Honestly, I kind of hate myself for understanding it. But if I said something like that out loud, the points I had carefully built up with Psyche would take a hit, so I kept quiet.
Rustle—
Psyche rose from the bed.
She slipped on a long, warm-looking gown and sat in a chair.
"Hyde, tell me about yourself. We have only known each other for three days. I don't know your dreams, or your hometown. My mysterious husband—what kind of person are you?"
That was true.
We had only known each other for three days.
To hold a wedding after only three days.
Looking at it from the outside, the pace had been far too fast. I decided to think of us as only now beginning to get to know each other—only now starting to date.
From here on, we'll date romantically, hold hands… kiss… heh heh.
Right. Psyche had sworn to live as a champion of purity—but was there anything more meaningless than a human vow?
Adam and Eve had sworn directly to God that they would not eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, and even they broke their promise. How long could Psyche's vow possibly last?
Of course, it could last a lifetime.
Psyche was that kind of woman.
It was because she was that kind of woman that I had fallen for her at first sight—but still…
"Hyde, come walk with me. Before I fell ill, I loved going out for walks and looking around Agarpe Manor. I want to show you this beautiful territory as well…!"
I went out walking with Psyche in the bright morning sun.
The manor's servants and maids marveled as they looked at Psyche, beautifully dressed.
"Has the young lady always been this beautiful?"
"Hyde, that lucky bastard. Last night with a lady like that…"
Everyone envied me.
I wondered what their reaction would be if I told them the truth: "We've decided to keep our purity even after marriage."
An ordinary man who married a woman at the absolute peak of celebrity—envied by all.
But if that man was never allowed to lay so much as a fingertip on her for the rest of his life, was envy really the correct response?
With that sort of feeling hanging over us, we wandered here and there through the manor grounds.
Psyche loved introducing the land she had lived on to me, now that I was part of the Agarpe family.
"This is the aqueduct system. Over there is the barracks. And over that way there's a high hill—at this time of year the grass and flowers grow so beautifully, it's lovely."
The Agarpe territory was vast.
And it truly was a beautiful place.
We sat down in a wide field as if we were the only two people there, and I found a single flower and offered it to Psyche as a hairpin.
"Lady Psyche, I have found a flower that suits you."
"How is it? I've put it in my hair—does it look well on me? This is the first gift I've received from my husband."
Perhaps because of the heat, Psyche had taken off her outer garment and sat on the field like a girl, fussing with her hair. Looking at that pure, unblemished beauty, I felt my faith growing firmer in all sorts of ways.
Whoosh—
Before long a cool wind blew through.
Then Psyche spoke to me.
"By the way—the priests met with a truly unfortunate fate. I heard that Father Manaan had his tongue cut out during the night. His life is said to be in danger. It seems to have been the work of the Crescent Moon Sisterhood…"
That Manaan had been attacked by the Crescent Moon Sisterhood and left in critical condition?
The Viscount's house guard had barely managed to rescue Manaan; the other two priests had already been cut down by blades and killed.
I was thinking what a coincidental timing that was when Psyche clenched her fists and trembled all over.
"The Crescent Moon Sisterhood. Those wicked witches aren't content with running wild through the province of Durgien—they're even harming people within Agarpe territory…! I cannot endure it…!"
The Psyche I knew five years from now hated heretics more than anyone. Five years earlier, Psyche—still not fully free of a girl's air—was apparently the same.
I spoke to her as well.
"I am a man who grinds his teeth at the mere mention of heretics and cults. Before long, I shall completely eradicate the Crescent Moon Sisterhood from this province of Durgien."
The church and the community were seeds.
For seeds to grow well, the natural first step was to pull the weeds that had sprouted in the field and burn away the thornbushes.
And if I returned after magnificently defeating the heretics and cults, Psyche might fall for me in the true sense of the word. Then, in all sorts of ways, we might yet be fruitful and multiply.
In fact, the Church's heretic inquisitors—the Inquisitors—had always been popular with women.
An opportunity to kill two birds with one stone: remove the weeds of heresy and cultism while raising Psyche's favorability at the same time. My mood improved tremendously.
"Weeds, huh."
Speaking of weeds brought a certain face to mind.
"What is to become of Loras?"
"Sir Loras has fully joined hands with the Archibold family. I heard that this morning, at Agarpe Church, he was baptized into the Holy Crusade. He will be leaving the territory soon."
"Then is there no way to punish or execute Loras by the Viscount's authority?"
"…No. In this province of Durgien, the influence of our Agarpe Viscountcy is steadily dwindling. If he has joined hands with the Archibolds, then for us…"
"A piece of trash who dared to receive the grace of House Agarpe and then betrayed the Viscountcy at the most critical moment. A wretch like that ought to receive heaven's punishment!"
I truly could not contain my rage; I clenched both fists tight and spoke with the veins standing out in my neck.
Even if I left the critically wounded Manaan alone for now, that Loras—I wanted to personally take him to task.
But Psyche's expression darkened slightly.
"Betrayed at the most critical moment… heaven's punishment… Perhaps our House Agarpe is receiving the same retribution for having betrayed the royal family at the most critical moment… I don't know."
Ah, damn—
The keyword "betrayal" was a switch that must never be flipped when it came to House Agarpe.
I carefully filed that away in my mind and offered Psyche a gentle smile.
"My lady, will you not leave the matter of that Loras fellow to me? If I successfully finish the work, I ask only that you grant me one small wish."
Loras.
You may think you have fled safely into the shelter that bears the name Archibold—but that is a grave miscalculation.
There is no heaven in the place you run to.
Know this: the very place where you have joined the Holy Crusade will become your grave.
And that Loras will become fertilizer for Psyche's and my fruitfulness and multiplication!