Excommunication (1)
It was spring. As the cherry blossoms in the Imperial Palace gardens began to scatter, I leaned against the end of the colonnade, gazing up at the sky. White petals drifted by on the wind.
The youngest chief holy knight of the Imperial Holy Knight Order, the saintess's personal guard, the imperial princess's fiancé. Just a few years ago, such dazzling titles had been beyond imagination. When I thought back to those days crawling through back-alley filth, scrounging amid garbage heaps just to survive one more day, my current life felt like a dream. A vivid, warm dream so intoxicating I never wanted to wake from it.
I rested my arms on the railing. A single cherry blossom petal landed on the back of my hand, only to be whisked away by the breeze. I followed it with my eyes before letting my gaze drop. My rough hands, callused in places, came into view. On one finger gleamed the engagement ring from Artisia von Ravenica, radiant as ever.
"Making that dopey face again, oppa."
I turned at the voice behind me. Lien was crossing the colonnade, her pure white saintess robes fluttering in the wind as she took a big bite of the apple in her hand. If any of the church higher-ups had seen it, they'd have clutched their necks in scandalized outrage.
"I told you to watch your mouth, Lien."
"Hmph. You were thinking about Her Highness Artisia again, weren't you?"
I chuckled softly. Lien sidled up beside me and propped her arms on the railing. Her arm brushed my shoulder lightly.
"Want a bite, oppa? It's super sweet."
She held out the apple, the mark of her bite still fresh on it.
I shook my head slowly. "Nah. Not hungry today."
"...Fine, suit yourself."
Lien pouted a little, looking miffed. The crisp crunch of her bite mingled with the spring breeze.
I stared at her profile. The first time we met in those back alleys, Lien had been two years younger than me—a little kid. I'd saved her by chance when she got nabbed by thugs while rummaging through trash alone, no parents in sight. That was the start. We lived with our backs pressed together in a narrow alley corner. Starved together when there was no food, took beatings side by side. When it rained, we'd huddle under a tiny eaves, shoulders touching to endure the cold night.
Then one day, light descended from the heavens and entered Lien's body. The moment she was chosen as the saintess.
"Take Elijah oppa with you too."
That was the first thing Lien said when the church people came. Thanks to her, I could take their hand and escape the slums. I trained at the church alongside her, putting in ten, twenty times the effort of anyone else to become her guard knight. And along that path, I met Artisia.
Looking back, it was all thanks to Lien. Becoming a holy knight, meeting Artisia—it was all her doing. She could have ditched me the instant she was chosen as saintess and lived well on her own. But she didn't. I'd always been grateful for that.
"Hey, oppa."
Lien spoke up abruptly.
"Yeah?"
"...Does Her Highness treat you well?"
I glanced at her for a moment. Lien was staring down at her apple. Her expression was the same as always, but a strange stillness hung in the air.
"Why do you ask?"
"Just curious."
I turned my gaze forward again, slowly lifting it to the sky.
"She treats me well."
"...I see."
Lien's reply was short. The wind picked up, sending a handful of petals tumbling down. Some landed on her white saintess robes. She plucked one with her fingers, studied it briefly, then blew it away with a puff.
"...Once you marry Her Highness, you probably won't come here much anymore."
"Probably not. I'll be way busier than now."
"So my guard spot'll be empty?"
I looked at her again. She smiled as if it were nothing.
"...They're already selecting replacements. All vetted for skill and character."
"But they won't eat with me."
I shook my head. "You know that's not allowed, Lien."
"Then you've been breaking the rules all this time, oppa."
I stared at her wordlessly. Lien grinned at my face.
"Kidding. But the church folks are so boring, right? Always droning on about etiquette."
"You're the saintess. How could they treat you casually?"
The saintess held the second-highest position in the church after the Pope. No matter how friendly Lien acted, most people couldn't relax around her.
"But you're different."
Lien stepped closer. The sweet apple scent wafted over me.
"Right?"
Her lips curved in that playful smile.
"..."
I met her amber eyes, then quietly stepped back.
A beat of silence passed.
"Not gonna answer?"
Lien tossed it out lightly, facing forward again.
"So mean. Acting like we're total strangers just 'cause you're getting married soon."
Her tone was casual, but her fingers gripped the apple white-knuckled.
Pretending not to notice, I let my gaze drift back to the scattering cherry blossoms. Then, in a low voice, I said,
"...I'll be your knight forever. That doesn't change."
Our promise, fingers hooked together when we first joined the church.
"I know."
Lien's reply was curt. I turned to look at her. I already knew the look in her eyes. That's why I pretended even harder not to notice. I cherished Lien as much as I loved Artisia. To keep those feelings from clashing, sometimes I had to look away. So today, too, I chose silence.
In that moment, another handful of petals fell.
As the sun dipped low, I stood before the imperial princess's office. I knocked.
"Come in."
Inside, Artisia sat at her wide desk, poring over documents without pause. The sunset filtering through the windows bathed her face in red. Her thick silver hair glowed like fire in the twilight.
The empire's princess, the little sun who would one day take the throne. My beloved fiancée.
"Your Highness. Here for the routine report."
I bowed formally.
"One moment."
Artisia raised a finger without looking up. I waited quietly. The office was still, filled only with the scratch of her pen on paper and the whisper of wind from outside, amid the crimson light.
Soon, she set down her pen.
"All done."
She looked up, and our eyes met. Artisia smiled softly—the expression she showed only me, a touch less formal. Her imperial dignity set aside, it was the warm face reserved for her lover.
I felt a mischievous urge and put on a stern face.
"Being all stiff again?"
"On duty, Your Highness."
"After hours?"
"...I'll consider it."
Artisia let out a small laugh. Watching her, my lips curved into a smile before I knew it.
At first, I'd kept my distance. Even as the saintess's guard knight, I was just one holy knight. The class divide with the princess was clear, and I always respected that line—whether on imperial protection duty or in direct conversations with Artisia.
But Artisia kept stepping inside that line. For every step I took back, she'd advance one and a half. One day, as the distance shrank bit by bit, she asked,
"Elijah. Are you afraid of me?"
"Your Highness."
"Answer me. Am I scary?"
"...It's not you I'm afraid of. It's me."
"Why? Afraid you won't be able to hold back?"
It was blatant provocation. That day, I crossed the line. And soon after, talk of our engagement arose.
I refused at first. A momentary lapse, I thought—we weren't suited. I cited the class gap, emphasized my origins. But Artisia just laughed.
"Now you say that?"
In the end, I surrendered to her. And I had to admit it: I loved this woman.
I began reciting the report slowly.
"...The saintess has an outdoor consecration ceremony tomorrow. Guard assignments—"
"Later for that."
Artisia rose from her seat. With a captivating smile, she approached and trailed her pale fingers down my chest.
"Today... I want to be with you."
Thump, thump. My heart raced. Feeling it under her fingertips, Artisia giggled softly.
I couldn't hold back. I cupped her chin and kissed her. Deep, lingering—smack, slurp.
The intense kiss ended, leaving a thin silver thread.
"...You're bold today, Elijah."
Artisia said, cheeks flushed.
"Compensation for not staying tonight."
I grinned.
"Night shift, unfortunately."
"...Can't be helped, then."
Artisia puffed her cheeks slightly. To me, she looked adorably childlike. I caressed her cheek tenderly for a while, then claimed her sweet lips again—this time deeper, rougher.
Night deepened. I stood watch in the corridor before Lien's chambers. No signs of life; only torch shadows flickered. The knights patrolled their assigned routes. A peaceful night.
I leaned against the wall, eyes half-closed. Not sleeping—my trained senses scanned for presences: wind, torches, distant patrol footsteps. Nothing amiss.
"..."
Lost in thought. Husband to the princess, consort to the future emperor. It still didn't feel real. Memories of scraping by in the slums surfaced. If I'd been told back then I'd marry a princess someday, I'd have laughed like a madman.
Husband... The word rolled strangely in my mouth. The wedding was set for next spring, when these cherry blossoms bloomed again. I'd be her husband by then. The thought tightened my chest—fear? Excitement? Hard to tell. Probably both.
"..."
Footsteps echoed from down the corridor. I opened my eyes slowly. A priest in white robes hurried toward me. Church personnel came and went in the palace at night often, but rarely this late near the saintess's chambers. I straightened.
"What is it?"
The priest spoke lowly. "Sir Verdin. The Cardinal urgently wishes to see you. To the East Warehouse. He said it's a secret matter..."
The Cardinal—third in the church after the Pope and saintess. Odd for him to be in the palace this late, but no mere holy knight could refuse.
I glanced at Lien's door. Silent inside. We'd doubled night patrols unexpectedly tonight, so stepping away briefly shouldn't be an issue.
After a moment's hesitation, I nodded. "Understood. Lead on."
We left the corridor.
...
The East Warehouse sat at the garden's edge. Nighttime cherry trees loomed dark and silent, petals ghostly in the breeze.
I knocked. "..."
No answer. I scanned around. Only faint wind. Cautiously, I opened the door. Musty dust and old wood. Empty.
"The Cardinal isn't here."
The priest looked flustered, glancing about. I frowned. I could wait, but I didn't want to be gone long.
"...Let's head back."
As I turned—
A scream shattered the silence from afar.
"...!"
My body froze. A woman's scream. One I'd etched into my soul, unforgettable.
Lien...!
My body moved before my mind. Armor clanked heavily as I clutched my pounding heart, sprinting past cherry trees, down corridors, up stairs in one burst.
Reaching her chamber corridor, the scream had stopped. Her door stood wide open. I halted there, gasping.
The room was wrecked. Table overturned, candlestick on the floor, flame extinguished. Only corridor torchlight spilled in.
And in that dim glow—Lien lay collapsed. Her saintess robes half-torn away.
"Lien!"
I rushed in, cradling her shoulders. Her body was ice-cold, trembling like a leaf. Breathing, but her amber eyes were unfocused.
"Lien! Wake up! What happened—who—"
"Eli...jah..."
Her voice was a feeble rasp. She feebly reached for my clothes, gasping.
"O...ppa..."
Her eyelids fluttered shut.
"Lien!"
Then—footsteps thundered behind me.
Bang! The corridor filled with knights. Torchlight flooded the room.
A man kneeling by the bed, holding the fallen saintess. Her torn robes. The chaos.
It all froze in one damning scene.
Silence fell. No one spoke. No one moved. The knights stared at me with horror and disgust.
I looked down at Lien's face. Unconscious now, but etched with pain and terror—the face that had teasingly offered me an apple just hours ago.
Elijah...
Her final whisper echoed like a phantom in my ears.
Then, a cold voice from behind.
"Seize him."