Kingdom's Bloodline, page 622
Thales’ expression became even more serious.
He understood the meaning of her words.
“Then, on the day he successfully built the country and his nation became stable, Sunset Goddess became the protector of the Jadestar Royal Family, and she bore witness to the crowning and death of each king.”
Priestess Melgen said sternly, “From then on, Sunset Temple’s fate was intertwined with Jadestar Royal Family’s fate, and it cannot be separated.”
‘Intertwined with Jadestar Royal Family’s fate…’
Thales quietly repeated those words, and he suddenly realized to his surprise that there was a strange sense of familiarity with this.
Melgen paused for a moment. Then, she began speaking faster.
“During the beginning of the first century of the Calender of Eradication, Peace King Kessel the First renovated the temple so that it could take in a large number of believers. It could be used by the people to sing praises to their god.
“King of Blades Tormond the Second appointed Bishop Layden as the prime minister. He obeyed god’s will and spread his beliefs. He was blessed with the achievement of expanding the country’s territory.
“Benevolence King Sumer the First was a devout believer. He practiced what he preached, and in the end, he touched the goddess’ heart. She gave him the miracle of rain, and the disaster of the great drought came to an end.
“Six-fingered Horace the First swore in front of Sunset Goddess’ statue and obtained the goddess’ protection. The people’s hearts were united so that they could fight against the heathens from the other side of the ocean.
“The Jackal, Sumer the Third proclaimed in his writings to announce the national religion once more and affirmed the people’s beliefs.
“Virtuous King Mindis the Third promoted theology classes and printed the holy scripture en masse. It benefited the friars greatly.”
With each example Melgen mentioned, Thales will find his thoughts jump, and he was forced to dig through related knowledge from his history lessons.
But at the same time, he could not help but notice that as the priestess spoke, Gilbert frowned even more, and he coughed louder with each moment.
“On behalf of the country, Thales, if your heart is not on the same page as the people, you will find that you cannot unite your strengths. Might I ask you this question? If you do not have the same beliefs as your people, do not respect and care about the same person, and cannot fit into their world, then how will you rule the country when you sit on the throne in the future?”
Her words caused Thales’ expression to gradually darken.
He suddenly came to a realization that the theology that she spoke of and the theology that he understood were completely different things.
“And the truth behind these stories is that we have been living in a world where there are gods, regardless of whether you acknowledge their miracles and understand their might.
“They might seem as if they are beyond our reach, but they are not far from our world. They affect our lives deeply.”
Melgen’s expression was solemn. “They affect us in ways that are sometimes mysterious, but sometimes easy to see. They seem to have signs of their miracles around, but we cannot surmise them.”
Priestess Melgen smoothed out her priestess robes and said softly, “Their words are as strong as an army of ten thousand. This is the power of beliefs.”
Thales was silent. He did not speak for a long time.
But a few seconds later, Melgen’s tone became light again.
“Hence, Thales, my duty in this class is not to encourage you to believe in anything, neither am I to tell you where the real gods are, much less teach you on how to memorize the scriptures and regulations. Instead, during the process in which I discuss this problem with you, I am to help you explore your relationship with the gods and understand the distance between you and the gods.”
Melgen stared at him.
“I am to help you understand yourself even better, regardless of whether you are a commoner right now or the future king of the country.”
Thales frowned slightly.
‘Understand myself?’
The words she said at that moment made him remember that strong Mystic he met in the proximal world, who could not be described with words and was incredibly mysterious.
‘Understand myself based on my understanding of the gods… is it a coincidence?’
“Because we are exploring a knowledge that is not just related to gods, but also related to people,” said Melgen with a smile.
Thales had a thought appear in his head.
“So this theology is actually a field of study related to people?” he asked with a degree of interest.
Melgen smiled and did not answer directly.
“You can also reduce your hostility. Have the pitiful Count Caso over there be the one to harbor that hostility instead.”
Gilbert coughed unnaturally a few times once again.
A few seconds passed. Thales looked up with a weight on his chest that seemed to be physically present but was actually not. He smiled awkwardly. “I suppose… it’s alright?”
Melgen smiled.
‘Alright, I have to admit at least one thing, she’s a real orator,’ Thales said in his heart.
Even Gilbert could not butt in.
At the very least, Thales no longer dared to look down on this elderly priestess. He no longer looked on theology classes, which sounded as if it would be filled with people rambling nonsense, but actually carried great and profound meaning.
But he still underestimated her capability.
“Then, Thales, for our first lesson, let us talk about something that has been troubling you for a few years, and a problem that has been troubling us a few thousand years.”
‘Has been troubling me for a few years, and a problem that has been troubling you for a few thousand years?’
The Duke of Star Lake looked up in puzzlement.
In the next second, Leaf Melgen, the Sunset Priestess who seldom used respectful titles to address him, spoke with her usual expression.
She said one noun in a casual manner, “Magic.”
The prince’s expression changed in an instant.
Chapter 527: Holiness Exorcism |
“I do not…”
Thales could not help but to hide his shock by using the teacup he knocked over, until the moment when the young nun who was right beside Melgen, proficiently came forward to clean up the mess he made on the table with great consideration.
“I do not understand?”
But this time, Melgen kept her mouth shut. She just quietly observed the prince behind the study table.
‘This is the boy who affects the future of the kingdom. Ah… perhaps I should not call him a boy anymore.’
His expression seemed to be slightly shocked and doubtful the moment he heard about magic. He was unlike the old nobles, who were born with cunning and the knowledge to scheme. They would apply all sorts of etiquette and wear various disguises as well.
However, he did not have the cautious nature and great ambition of the new nobility in the kingdom.
Gilbert was a little taken by surprise.
“Priestess Melgen! I thought we are only conducting theology lessons today, and you are just explaining to His Highness about knowledge related to the gods…”
“As I was saying, theology has never been about knowledge only related to the gods.”
Melgen interrupted Gilbert’s objection. To her, he was a fool who appeared to be clever to others but was still as hopelessly slow-witted as ever. She just continued to observe Duke Thales, who was right in front of her.
The young duke seemed a little puny and slim. It reminded her of the poor who waited outside the places which had received the grace of the gods to receive aid during winter.
But his eyes shone with life. They were sharp and vigilant.
That was not all. Melgen could also see from his actions that he was not a traditional Constellation Prince based on his casual way of sitting, his swift movements, how he spoke boldly, and other such details.
At least, he was not the same as the previous few princes.
Melgen took a quick glance at the prince’s clothes once again. The color was deep, and it was in a conservative style. But other details such as his collar and sleeves were of a new design. When they were accompanied by the silver threads that were hidden nicely, they could serve as a background for the brooch of the nine-pointed star on his breast.
The priestess nodded in secret.
It seemed that the Royal Family’s royal tailor had also learned to be better. They knew how to remodel the style on the clothes and bring in a new fashion.
Yes, perhaps they were bored with the ancient and solemn trend that had lasted for years in the noble circle in Eternal Star City after the Bloody Year. Since that owner in Renaissance Palace preferred classic styles and cold color, ordinary tailors who earned a living in the capital based on their modern new designs, which applied more bold colors, were pushed to the brink of demise.
But Melgen stopped thinking for a moment before she understood.
No. Even though the tailors hired by the royal palace had been allowing their creativity bloom by practicing their art when they were designing the attire of the great noble families, they did not have the reason nor the courage to experiment on fashion on the second prince, who had just returned, and who had the attention of the entire kingdom fixed on him. After all, he was not most of their idiotic clients, who knew nothing about arts, and who would only express shock and admiration using their acting skills on their faces in order to befit the exorbitant fee they paid for those tailors.
This was not a new pattern.
Melgen felt a thought bloom in her heart.
The clothes that the prince was wearing right then was of the style that the hall’s previous owner more than ten years ago loved the most.
She looked at the stupid duke who was still yammering on by the side, and she continued to ignore the man’s warning look.
From the looks of it, Gilbert, who had been working so dutifully that he had almost turned Renaissance Palace into his second home, had taken great pains with regard to the prince’s clothes.
It was just…
Would it really work?
Melgen smiled slightly.
“You know what I am saying, Thales.”
She did not bother to mention the prince’s title and just called his name, and she also ignored his status.
All souls were equal under the gods.
Titles were meaningless. Devotion was the most important thing, was it not?
“In this world, not every child is blessed with the opportunity to experience the confrontation between the calamities and the Great Dragon.”
Melgen felt satisfied when she saw that Thales’ face had turned solemn.
“Over the past few years, have you not felt puzzled, curious, and sought answers regarding the disaster that occurred in Dragon Clouds City?”
Thales’ eyes seemed frozen.
Dragon Clouds City.
“When you hear rumors of the calamity who destroyed the world, watch a drama about the Battle of Eradication, read about the calamities’ inconsistent descriptions, listen to the explanations provided by the teachers of the noblemen, which are vague and unclear, do you think you can accept them completely?”
‘Magic.’
Thales leaned against the back of the chair and frowned.
‘So, “the problem that has been bothering you for a couple of years” is referring to this because of my experience back at Dragon Clouds City.
‘And it’s not because of…’
Underneath the table, Thales applied pressure on his left palm, and he felt the scars that were left by countless cuts from a dagger.
He cast his anxiety aside as he also cast aside every possibility that came to his mind just now.
Had the Secret Intelligence discovered any suspicious signs while they monitored him? Had the thing about the half-baked Doctor Ramon been discovered? Did he leave any clues behind in Dragon Clouds City while he searched for books there? Did he reveal hints when he had class with Asda? Did Little Rascal accidentally reveal some secrets? Or did some old ugly-faced witch whom he had met many years ago release some rumors and betray him?
“Priestess Melgen, you should have discussed with me much earlier…” Gilbert’s coughing suddenly went away, and he recovered. Instead, the coughing was replaced with a sigh.
Melgen turned her head around elegantly.
“There is no need to avoid mentioning it, and there is no need to cover it up.” Only Sunset Goddess knew just how much effort she needed to stop herself from saying the word ‘idiot’ out loud. She retained a smile on her face and said, “Count Caso, speaking about wizards will not bring the calamities over. Having thoughts about magic will not lead to the end of the world as well.”
She had not bothered to use other nicer words for those words, and they caused Gilbert’s expression to change.
“Only those who refuse to listen to reason, who believe blindly in superstitions, will walk down the path of never return.”
Melgen turned around and looked at Thales, who had a complicated expression on his face.
“And that will all be because of being ignorant and being arrogant.”
Thales remained silent for a long moment.
Gilbert’s sigh sounded deeper and deeper. “Long ago, I have explained to His Highness about the evils of the calamities…”
Melgen’s tone was gentle, but she did not show any sign of weakness when it came to debates.
“Count Caso, do you truly think that he would be that sort of fool who would run off to enjoy his life right after his lessons and lectures, as well as not caring about what he learned?
“Do you truly think he would put all his worries behind, be content in being ignorant, and no longer care about the things that will threaten his life for the rest of his life?”
Gilbert was slightly lost for words. His and the priestess’ eyes flew over the table at the same time, landing on the prince behind the study table.
However, Thales only remained in silence. No one knew what he was thinking about.
Gilbert’s tone became slightly weaker. “He is still young…”
But Melgen’s retorts grew stronger by the second. “He is already at the age.”
The old priestess spoke coldly, “If magic has truly triggered a young man’s wild curiosity, then there is no need to wait until now. Six years ago, when he was far from your sights, he would have abandoned himself to live however he wanted, become addicted to that life, ignored taboos, and started down a path you would never be able to imagine.”
Gilbert looked at the prince, and he furrowed his eyebrows a little bit, but he said nothing.
‘All right, then.’
The young man whose thoughts were complicated and who was anxious a few seconds ago let out a breath.
“All right, it is true.” The prince’s tone became relaxed. “I do really want to know about it.”
Thales revealed a smile on his face as he said sincerely, “Magic and calamity?
“Gilbert mentioned a little about them a long time ago. The books of the Eckstedtians have also mentioned a little about them, but not too much.”
Gilbert’s expression changed once again.
“Look, Thales, the gods know about the questions that bother you.” Melgen looked at him gently. She seemed confident. “The gods will bless you if you believe in them.”
‘Oh, Sunset, if you could bless me, could you stop her from sounding so much like a fraud?’
Thales did not even bother to try and hide his sigh.
Melgen watched his expression, and she came to an understanding.
As she expected, Thales, who grew up in Northland, did not believe in gods.
That was not odd. Ever since the Battle of Eradication came to an end, most of the Northlanders no longer believed in the gods that were treated as the legitimate gods by the Empire, or rather, they did not believe in every belief that was related to them. Instead, they turned to believe in the things that were brought over by the shameless king who founded the kingdom and who was involved in bestiality.
Unreasonable, stupid, arrogant, and conceited.
Melgen pursed her lips.
Only the gods would know how much Bright Moon and Dark Night Temple had sacrificed in order for them to survive in that land.
But this was what was amazing about beliefs, was it not?
Her past self many years ago was the prime example. Did she not immerse herself in vanity and impulsiveness too, thinking that she understood everything about her own life and had found the things she was after, thus ignoring God’s teachings and arrangements?
Fortunately, the gods were selfless.
They only provided protection and forgiveness.
Melgen did a praying posture in her sleeves where no one could see. In that way, the nervous little Niah would not need to follow her and repeat the same posture.
“First of all, how did magic come to be?”
Thales remained smiling as he shrugged to show that he did not know.
‘What a joke. It would be great if I knew.
‘No, it would be bad if she knew that I knew.’
Melgen nodded at the young nun behind her.
“Niah.”
The girl with a veil covering her face seemed thin and pitiful. She received the priestess’ notification, and she exerted strength to carefully take out a huge square box shining with a metallic reflection from their luggage. Then, she put it on Thales’ study table.
‘Wait a minute, this is not a box. There were layers of thin boards stacked together from the top to the bottom, and leave no gaps in between.
‘It seems like… a book?’
There was a carved portrait on top of the metallic box, which appeared as if it were alive. It was of a fully-armored king who was surrounded by people. The style of the carved portrait was simple and plain, but it was easy to perceive. There were also symbols that seemed familiar to Thales carved around the portrait. They were similar to the symbols of the Ancient Empire.
