Episode 86
A voice that is both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Lillian opened her eyes.
And she was disappointed. The owner of the voice was Asher. A handsome man with a glamorous impression was looking at her with concern.
“Are you alright? You don’t look well. If there’s anything uncomfortable…”
“…It’s nothing like that. I’m sorry I worried you.”
“No need to apologize. It’s understandable.”
Asher smiled warmly and waved his hand before speaking somewhat proudly.
“I often hear that I make my companions uncomfortable because I usually can’t contain my excitement when I come to the temple. I was worried that I might make the same mistake with you this time.”
“Ah…”
“I don’t know if you’re aware, but the boarding school I attended was a theological school. The doctrines I learned there were never cheerful, but… there were certainly many fascinating aspects of the scriptures. I sincerely liked it there.”
“In other words, it suited you well.”
“Yes, you could say that. Spending a lot of time at a theological school made me interested in theology. So, when I visit places with valuable research items, I can’t help but get excited.”
Asher blushed as he spoke, feeling embarrassed. Despite his distinctive features and long eyelashes giving him a glamorous impression, his shy demeanor left a unique impression.
“They say you can’t judge a book by its cover.”
He truly was someone you couldn’t judge by appearance alone. At first glance, he seemed like the kind of prodigal who would spend money extravagantly on life and property, but in reality, he was deeply immersed in theological studies and was even ashamed of that fact.
While Lillian was indeed taken aback by Asher’s unexpected behavior at the temple, his serious and sincere side left quite an impression on her.
‘He doesn’t seem like a bad person.’
She felt ashamed of herself for choosing him merely as a mouthpiece for the gods or as an excuse to enter the temple. So, Lillian erased the thoughts she had just had.
“It’s a good thing to have a field you’re passionate about. I’m fine, so you don’t have to worry.”
“Is that so?”
With that, Asher suddenly burst into a wide smile as if to say, “When did you become so uptight?” and took Lillian’s hand.
“Then let me guide you through the central temple! Let’s go that way! Over there is the library, there must be many books that will interest you, Lillian!”
“Uh, okay.”
Did I misjudge him?
Before Lillian could regain her composure from the sudden change in attitude, she found herself being led by Asher’s hand, following his lead. And not long after, two men appeared in the place where Lillian and Asher had disappeared.
At least two knights, wearing belts that could carry at least one platoon, including the platoon leader, were seen. Theo, the young man with brown hair who had been leading the way, asked towards the lagging side.
“Why did you suddenly look back?”
“Oh… it’s nothing. I thought I saw someone I knew over there.”
“Do you know anyone here? You must have seen it wrong.”
“Maybe.”
With that, the red-haired knight, Theo, looked up at the sky.
“I feel like I’m still trapped in the past, perhaps.”
* * *
After Lillian left, Theo joined the Order of Knights as planned. Lillian’s absence didn’t change his life. After all, it was Lillian who entered Maynard, not Theo. He started as a low-ranking squire with the Order of Knights. After completing his squire duties, he became a knight and continued his daily life.
Sometimes, he missed the daily life at Maynard. No, it wasn’t sometimes, it was often. Lillian, who would appear out of nowhere with water after rigorous training. The girl from the mansion often disappeared, making Theo search the garden thoroughly. The girl who would gaze at portraits in the deserted annex endlessly, feeling lonely, and when he embraced her, she would lean against his shoulder and close her eyes, his first love.
“… I hope she’s doing well.”
Theo missed Lillian a lot. But he didn’t have the right to. Even if it wasn’t Lillian, he had already vowed himself to the temple. Being a knight was not much different from being a priest; they prayed and studied the scriptures every morning.
While priests had to handle divine power, knights didn’t necessarily have to, so Theo easily established himself within the Order of Knights. Now he had even become a platoon leader with his own platoon.
Perhaps the disciplined life of a knight had been helpful to Theo. Being busy with his daily routines, he might eventually stop thinking about Lillian.
‘…She won’t cry alone without me, right?’
Lillian was a strange girl. She seemed mature yet childish. Theo could live alone, but it seemed like Lillian couldn’t survive alone. She seemed strong but was fragile, sharp but gentle. He was the only one who knew all those aspects of her.
‘I don’t know. Why worry about someone who left because they didn’t like me?’
Whether she was genuine or fake, she was still a noble lady, so she must be living well. He always saw her crying, which made him keep thinking in that direction.
However, he had been thinking less lately, so why did he suddenly hear Lillian’s voice?
‘That really sounded like Lillian.’
When he turned around after hearing the voice, Theo saw a man leading a blonde noblewoman somewhere. The man seemed excited, and judging by the woman’s expression, she didn’t seem to mind much, so there didn’t seem to be any problem between them.
As he thought about Lillian, now every similar woman seemed like Lillian. Perhaps it was because he had only become a knight three years ago; he still couldn’t break free from worldly thoughts. No, maybe he would never break free from them, Theo often thought.
‘Actually, Lillian wasn’t even blonde’
At this rate, he might make a mistake.
Theo decided to forget about today’s strange experience. That is if he hadn’t overheard the conversation between passing knights.
“That noblewoman is from Maynard?”
“That’s right. It seems everyone sees everything here. They said they haven’t seen her face so far…”
Maynard’s noblewoman.
Theo’s steps abruptly stopped. He grabbed the passing knights.
“Excuse me, can I ask you something?”
“W-What is it, Sir Theo?”
“Who did you see just now?”
“A Maynard noblewoman… But what’s the matter?”
As the stiffened knights replied, Theo’s face stiffened.
Could it be that I didn’t see something wrong?
Theo’s heart pounded fiercely. He couldn’t even understand why it was beating so fast, but one thing was for sure.
“Tell me where you saw the Maynard noblewoman and describe her appearance and the location.”
He had to meet Lillian.
* * *
Though it was called the temple’s library, I had imagined it to be about the size of Maynard’s library, but perhaps because it was the central temple, the library was much larger than I had thought. When I followed Cedric to the palace before, I had occasion to visit the palace library briefly, but the temple’s library reminded me of the scale of that time.
Lillian’s eyes widened involuntarily.
“There are so many theological books here?”
“Given the presence of religion, it’s natural for there to be a lot of materials, isn’t it? Am I right? There must be fields of interest for you to explore. Take a look around.”
At Asher’s words, Lillian began to slowly explore the majestic library.
‘Perhaps there are even books about the daughters of the moonlight here?’
