Kyle slowly moved his stiff fingers in the air before withdrawing them.

“…Unfortunately, it has come to this. Thanks to your honest words, I’m even more determined now. Sid, I’m sure you’ll make an excellent head of the family.”

Kyle barely managed to speak these words as he turned his head away sharply.

“Kyle…!”

Sid, who had been staring blankly at Kyle’s back, belatedly reached out his hand, but Kyle had already left the room.

“Will he be alright?”

Nigel’s question was met with no response from the pained face.

‘I knew it would end up like this in the end…’

Nigel let out a small sigh and silently followed Kyle.

The appointment ceremony for new priests was a sacred ritual held only once a year and one of the major events the temple invested heavily in, as it was feeling shaken by the absence of the Saint.

Befitting this, all procedures were carried out magnificently and smoothly.

As if to show that the temple was perfectly fine even without the Saint.

Or, as if beckoning her to hurry back to her rightful place after witnessing this blindingly beautiful ceremony, the Saint’s throne placed in the center was even more eye-catching than the seats for the priest candidates and high priests who were the main characters.

Nigel, who had to attend to Kyle for the day, kept his eyes off the throne and silently followed behind Kyle’s steps.

“…Unexpected.”

“What is?”

Nigel, who was fixing the crumpled hem of Kyle’s priest robe one last time, looked up.

“That you’re not trying to persuade Kyle, or help him escape from the temple.”

“Both of those things.”

“Well… I came here at Sid’s request, but I have my own pride, so I don’t like forcefully persuading someone who says no. It’s a waste of time for both parties.”

His face, looking up, was as calm as if reading a weather forecast in a newspaper.

“And even if I were to break down the temple and help Kyle escape, what good would that do me? No one does such a thing unless they wish to rot in the infamous temple prison for life.”

Nigel finished patting down the priest robe and stood up from his crouched position.

“Don’t you agree?”

Nigel smiled brightly while looking at Kyle’s face.

Kyle had put on his thick mask again, so no emotions could be read.

“Ah! It’s almost time for you to enter, Priest Candidate.”

Nigel, checking the time, politely extended his hand and pointed to the path Kyle should take.

The greatest virtue a priest should have is to be colorless and odorless.

Because what’s important for a priest is not oneself but the community, and beyond that, the Goddess, one must discard everything they were born with.

For this, priest candidates cleanse their bodies with holy water at designated times every day, listen to sermons, and frequently read scriptures to empty and purify their bodies of everything they had in the secular world.

So that they can serve only Goddess Kirelia with a pure body and mind.

That’s why the pure white carpet laid on the path to the temple where the priest candidate appointment ceremony is held carries great symbolism.

Walking on the long, pure white carpet that is said to never get dirty due to the Saint’s blessing for generations, the priest candidate receives the blessings of the people.

Kyle, whose turn had come, stood on the white carpet.

On both sides, holy knights were guarding the sacred path at regular intervals.

Nigel stood at the edge of the pure white path, watching him.

Lilies thrown by people fell with each step Kyle took.

Everyone throwing flowers wore happy smiles.

Except for one person, Sid Cromwell.

Sid, standing next to Noah on the right side of the carpet, called out Kyle’s name with an extremely distorted face.

But that pain-filled voice was easily swallowed up by the crowd, and Kyle never turned his head towards Sid.

‘…Ah, the left sleeve is wrinkled. I ironed it so carefully.’

Nigel, who was following Kyle while suppressing his presence, stopped for a moment and blinked.

At that moment, Kyle’s gaze, filled with reproach as if asking why he had stopped, turned towards Nigel.

Nigel bowed his head slightly and resumed walking.

He could feel Sid’s resentful gaze from across the carpet.

Probably meaning why he allowed his brother to step onto the carpet when he had the power to stop it.

Well, if I carelessly used magic, my identity could be exposed.

Noah’s blue eyes, which were gently comforting Sid with both hands while looking at Nigel, were filled with complex emotions like regret and sadness.

‘Sorry.’

Nigel mouthed the words towards the two of them, then followed behind Kyle.

Sid didn’t give up and followed Kyle, pushing through the crowd.

Kyle still didn’t cast even a small glance to his right, but his left sleeve was steadily becoming more wrinkled.

Eventually, the seemingly endless line of people came to an end. Above it were ten steps leading into the main temple.

The moment the priest candidate ascends these steps signifies their separation from the world.

It was just as Kyle’s foot was about to touch the first step.

Kyle’s head, which had been looking straight ahead all this time, turned to the right. There was no hesitation in this action; it was smooth and decisive.

And at the end of that gaze was Sid, shedding tears.

Kyle looked at Sid in a daze.

His younger brother, who hadn’t shown tears since that day, no matter what happened.

That Sid was now crying, constantly reaching out with hands that couldn’t reach him.

Sid’s lips kept mouthing the words “come back” over and over.

In that moment, Kyle’s insides churned. Bitter bile rose up in his body, which had been filled with nothing but liquids for days in preparation for serving the Goddess.

He had chosen to become a priest for Sid’s sake.

But was this truly the right path for Sid?

Across the pure white path, an unanswerable question swirled in his mind.

“Having regrets now?”

Nigel’s reproachful voice brought him back to reality.

Belatedly coming to his senses, Kyle realized his foot was already on the step.

“…It seems so.”

Kyle, having removed his mask, smiled bitterly as he looked at Sid.

“It’s all my fault. I didn’t realize that child would always remain young and weak, nor did I realize that the one who couldn’t change and remained weak was myself.”

“That’s right.”

Nigel nodded quietly. Then he gazed absently at the empty throne visible beyond the steps.

“You’ve heard the saying that Kirelia bestows blessings upon those who seek her, haven’t you?”

A self-deprecating laugh was heard.

“Isn’t that a verse from the scripture everyone knows? Are you telling me to hope for a miracle at this point?”

“What’s wrong with that? As you said, there’s nothing to regret now, so why not ask the Goddess for mercy?”

Once again, a laugh tinged with self-mockery reached Nigel’s ears.

“Very well then… I shall pray to the merciful Kirelia for the miracle of allowing my brother and me to safely escape the temple and participate in the succession ceremony.”

Kyle, standing on the steps, turned his eyes towards Sid and muttered with his hands clasped devoutly.

“That prayer will probably be accepted.”

“You speak of miracles as lightly as if submitting an assignment.”

By now, Kyle, having climbed all ten steps, looked down at Nigel.

“Still, thanks to you, I feel comforted.”

As Kyle smiled gently, Nigel stared at him with wide eyes.

“…I didn’t say that to comfort you.”

Nigel’s murmur, which passed like an autumn breeze tickling the ear, left Kyle no time to respond as he was overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the temple.

The solemn and weighty music resonating within the temple created a mysterious ambiance.

The ceiling, so high it seemed to touch the sky, was decorated with stained glass depicting the Goddess performing miracles, casting down wondrous light.

Sid… I wanted you to shine beautifully, free from me, but in the end, I couldn’t even protect you and only made things difficult.

Despite the beautiful scenery, Kyle’s mind was filled with the image of Sid’s crying face.

If I had gathered the courage to talk to you during all those times I was afraid of hurting you, wouldn’t we both be smiling face to face now?

Each step taken in time with the music was full of lingering attachments and regrets.

Despite Nigel Ars’s assurance, no miracle occurred, and at the end, two high priests were waiting for Kyle.

“This candidate seems quite nervous.”

“Don’t worry too much. The moment you enter the Goddess’s embrace, worldly worries and concerns become more trivial than scraps of paper burning in a fireplace.”

The two high priests approached Kyle with benevolent smiles.

By now, Nigel, wearing his robe deeply, came holding a chalice filled with holy water.

“From the moment you ascended the sacred ten steps, you belong to the temple.”

“Your body and mind are no longer your family’s or the world’s, but belong to the merciful Kirelia from today onwards.”

“You will spend your life kneeling for the weak, spreading the name of the Goddess far and wide.”

The voices of the two high priests resonated calmly.

“As a sign of your vow, this holy water.”

The high priest from the north held out the chalice brimming with transparent liquid.

Drinking this holy water in the chalice would imbue Kyle with the divine power to save lives, and he could never return to being Kyle Cromwell.

With a face that had endured everything, Kyle slowly drank the holy water.

A pale blue divine aura swirled around Kyle’s body before being absorbed into him.

Clank.

The empty chalice was placed on the silver tray held by Nigel.

“Your empty body is now filled with the Goddess’s merciful miracle, divine power.”

“Please place your hand here.”

At the high priest’s urging, Kyle’s hand touched the transparent divine power meter.

If one is a priest, it should emit a pale blue light; if a Saint, a golden light.

And the meter that Kyle’s hand touched emitted no light at all.

Even after touching and removing his hand several times, the meter showed no reaction.

“What is this…!”

While everyone was bewildered, only Nigel smiled beneath his robe.