TVWRL Chapter 19
Moreover, my anticipation grew as I thought about watching Paulian’s reactions in real time.
Paulian, clearly showing signs of adult ADHD, couldn’t focus on the coronation ceremony and kept fidgeting next to me.
‘Seeing a person like that fall in love and change will be quite a sight.’
As I glanced at him with interest, our eyes met directly.
He smiled brightly at me.
It wasn’t my preferred style, but there was no denying he had stunning looks that could leave anyone speechless.
I pretended not to see his smile and looked away.
Just then, the sound of a bell rang, and I naturally shifted my gaze to the stage.
At that moment, Leona, who was looking around the hall, parted her red lips.
“I have taken a seat in a place where everyone has fled from the heaviness.”
As she finished the first sentence, our eyes met.
While I was looking at Leona, it was clear she was intentionally looking at me.
‘Could the feeling I had earlier have been a mistake?’
Moreover, what Leona said was not what I had expected.
Her speech was completely different from the one in the original story, and I was inwardly taken aback.
“I will take the lead in creating a just and fair Kinsteria Empire. To those who amass material wealth through wicked deeds, I will deliver punishment in the name of the goddess.”
‘Wicked deeds.’
Although she didn’t specifically mention me, it felt strangely like her words were directed at me, making me more self-conscious.
Leona’s aspirations as a saint had changed from the original story.
She had transformed from the saint Leona who helps the weak into the saint Leona solely for the revival of the Myaria Church.
‘Why has Leona’s resolve changed?’
I couldn’t understand.
I thought that simply withdrawing from the candidacy for saint would keep me safe, but it didn’t seem to be that simple.
A chilling feeling swept over me as the original story began to deviate, like the butterfly effect, making my whole body tremble.
‘Is there nothing I can do to change the ending?’
I had tried to change the ending that led to death, but now it felt like I was on a fast train heading back to hell.
Fear and heavy emotions were pressing down on me, making it hard to breathe.
I took deep breaths to steady my weakening resolve.
In the meantime, Leona’s speech ended, and the ceremony moved on to the oath.
“I have cast aside the secular name of Waynes and received a new name, Myaria. I will carry the glory of Goddess Aria and the weight of the Myaria Church as I move forward. In the name of the goddess, I will stand with the Myaria Church.”
With the sound of the pipe organ, the choir of young priests began to sing.
As the six-hour-long coronation ceremony concluded, I left the chapel without looking back.
I had long lost the desire to attend the banquet.
It felt like death was imminent, and I couldn’t stay in the temple any longer.
As I walked quickly, Chris’s voice called out to me.
“Lady Adeline.”
I barely stopped and looked at Chris.
“Is something wrong? You don’t look well.”
Chris approached me with a worried expression, and his hand touched my cheek.
Startled by his cold touch, I instinctively stepped back, and his awkward hand froze in mid-air.
“I’m sorry, Lady Adeline. You looked so pale that my hand moved before I thought.”
“No, it’s fine. I must be going now, Priest Chris.”
I hurriedly moved away, eager to escape the temple.
Chris’s gaze, following Adeline’s hurried departure, shifted toward the central temple.
His eyes had turned colder than ice.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
The atmosphere in the grand banquet hall of the central temple was cheerful.
When Leona appeared in a princess-line dress adorned with sparkling beads, the crowd welcomed her with applause.
Leona made her rounds, greeting each attendee.
Though her greetings seemed calm, her eyes were darting around, searching for someone.
After circling the hall, she still couldn’t find Adeline.
The only place she hadn’t checked was the terrace.
Leona naturally moved away from the crowd and opened the curtain-covered terrace door.
Unlike the heated interior, the cold air of the terrace settled on Leona’s skin.
Still, Adeline was not on the terrace.
Leaning against the railing and looking at the garden was a person with black hair, clearly a member of the royal family.
“Didn’t you notice the curtains were drawn?”
A dignified voice resonated softly on the terrace.
“I mistakenly thought there was someone I knew. Prince Ilias.”
The emperor had already greeted everyone in the banquet hall, and Aiden who had a stout build.
His solid back muscles, formed into a perfect inverted triangle, moved as if he was angry.
The moment Ilias and Leona’s eyes met, a gentle breeze swept in.
Leona’s heart wavered as she watched Ilias’ hair sway gently.
The golden eyes that sparkled indifferently eventually caused a gust of wind in Leona’s heart.
As rumored, Ilias truly was the epitome of perfection.
Bloodline, appearance, family background, intellect, and swordsmanship—he lacked nothing.
Perhaps Ilias was the only man in the empire who could be compared to her who was not lacking in any way.
If there was one thing he lacked, it was the power to protect himself.
The unfortunate first prince who could not become the crown prince because of Aiden.
The empire had a principle of firstborn son succession, so the crown prince position was naturally his.
Except in special cases where the firstborn was ill or had mental issues, of course.
Of course, Ilias did not fall into any of those categories.
He was clearly healthy and had been praised for his intelligence by his teachers during his childhood.
Empress Sierra’s family, the Duke of Crothos, made various excuses to delay the crown prince’s succession.
There were times when Emperor Aust tried to appoint him as crown prince, but it ultimately did not materialize.
Each time, Ilias had to face life-threatening situations. But he stubbornly survived.
This only angered Empress Sierra and Duke Crothos further.
After surviving several crises, he seemed to have given up on becoming the crown prince and began to act recklessly.
He would go out drinking with commoners, come back intoxicated, or disappear for days only to return with gambling debts.
While he lived diligently, Empress Sierra would scold him, but she said nothing when he turned to debauchery.
She willingly paid off his debts from the royal treasury and turned a blind eye when he came home drunk.
As if to suggest that this was the only way for him to survive.
Leona grasped the hem of her dress and slightly bent her knees.
“Saintess Leona greets you, Prince Ilias.”
At Leona’s polite greeting, one corner of his mouth curled up in a smirk.
“If you had known someone was here, you should have left.”
However, Leona calmly approached him, smiling brightly with her eyes sparkling, as if anyone could fall for her.
“I would like to give the first blessing to you, the first prince, as a saintess.”
The first blessing after becoming a saint held great significance.
The future blessings of the saint symbolized the path she would take, attracting the interest of many.
Historically, the first blessing at such events often involved bestowing a blessing on a sick child.
Even if there were ninety-nine wrongs, a minor action by the saint could prevent the common people from harboring dissent, demonstrating a technique of control.
It was an excellent way to govern the foolish.
“It seems the great saint has no intention of leaving, so I will take my leave.”
Leona barely had time to catch Ilias before he jumped over the railing.
When the startled Leona hurriedly walked to the edge and looked below, he was already gone.
For a moment, she felt regret, but then a satisfied smile blossomed on her lips.
She realized that Adeline hadn’t come to the banquet, but it didn’t matter since she had another gain.
Unlike when she was with Ilias, Leona’s face, now impassive, looked cold.
‘She’s not completely foolish after all. Adeline, if you don’t live quietly, I won’t let you be.’
As Leona entered the banquet hall, she scanned her surroundings.
Then she spotted Cardinal Christian.
Leona made her way towards him.
Christian was a powerful figure within the church, recognized as a potential future pope due to his exceptional divine power.
Leona wanted to cultivate a close friendship with the future pope. After all, he would be the pope even after her role as a saint ended.
However, Christian was someone whose presence was hard to come by, and when they did meet, he rarely gave her his attention.
That’s why Leona had a particularly hard time with him.
Now that her coronation ceremony was complete, she calculated that Christian would not treat her carelessly.
The saintess was a representative of the goddess Aria and a symbol of the church, so even the pope would show her respect.
It was customary for the saint to show respect to the pope or cardinals as well.
“Cardinal, I was worried when you didn’t attend the coronation ceremony.”
“There was an important matter. However, I saw and heard everything from afar.”
As Leona blinked with a joyful expression, her long eyelashes fluttered, making her look like a doll.
“Saintess Leona, I noticed that the content of your speech changed significantly. Why didn’t you inform us in advance?”
Leona responded calmly, as if she had anticipated the question.
“During the coronation, I could deeply feel the power and heart of the goddess. Therefore, I changed the direction of my speech on the spot to focus on the revival of the church. Is there a problem with that?”
Christian shook his head with an emotionless gaze.
“There is nothing officially problematic.”
The astute Leona immediately sensed that his response was strange.
‘Officially? So does that mean there’s an unofficial problem?’
Christian seemed to catch on to Leona’s thoughts and smiled slightly.
But unlike his mouth, his eyes were not smiling.
“There is a place I need to take you.”
“I should call my maids.”
“No, maids are not necessary. The place is so secretive that only a few people in the church know of it.”
“Is there such a place?”
“Now that you are a saint, you are qualified to know, or rather, you need to know.”
Christian took the lead and started walking.
Although anxious about the unknown reason, Leona felt she had to accept it if it was something a saint needed to know.
Leona silently followed Christian.
He stopped in front of the Temple of Light, a considerable distance from the central shrine, a place primarily visited by the pope or cardinals for prayer.
He entered the cardinal’s private library on the first floor.
Not even a single priest, who usually kept watch, was visible, making the library particularly silent.
