Carson circled the area without entering. When the bell signaling prayer time ended, the sound of singing came from inside the prayer room. The song carried a tinge of sorrow in its gentle melody.

I rely on your abilities, and trust in your mercy.

As he walked along a narrow path beside the building, windows into the prayer room lined up, and the maids’ singing grew louder and softer as he passed each window.

What can’t be accomplished if I’m with you?

Soon he was able to spot Ines in the far corner of the room. She took out a Bible she had carefully stored in a small bag. It was an item familiar to his hands once.

All things in the world bloom beautifully in your hands.

As if the daily prayers had become a sacred ritual, she twisted her loosely tied hair completely up. Her sparkling face and red lips following the song completely captivated Carson’s gaze.

Even what everyone says is impossible can be had through love.

She was close enough that every single dot on her exposed neck was visible. So close he felt he could reach out and have it all.

You created even the most beautiful thing.

At that moment, she took out two small sheets of paper from the Bible. Carson raised an eyebrow.

Unexpectedly, one of them was an item he was well acquainted with. Ines placed the portrait of Goddess Hecleresia next to her face on the altar.

With her hands clasped and her head bowed devoutly in front of the portrait, Carson couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

“Same as always.”

As he spoke, the source of his feeling of constriction since yesterday became instantly clear, and his expression hardened.

He disliked it. He disliked that Ines was changing into something different in a place where he was not.

‘What madness is this.’

He clenched his teeth. Contempt toward himself surged as he became more aware.

The fact that the woman he worried over so much was enjoying something he couldn’t offer was increasingly unbearable.

It was an unfamiliar emotion he had never experienced or even imagined. What was this feeling called?

He suddenly looked up at Ines. Whether it was the wind that knocked over his portrait, Ines slightly opened one eye and carefully set the picture back up. She couldn’t bring herself to touch her face, only tracing her fingers in front of it before leaving, her fingers trembling slightly.

At the sight, Carson closed his eyes.
He had countless experiences in his life. All the beautiful things in the world were given to him as gifts. There were valuable artworks in Carson’s view, as well as beautiful women.

Yet, he had never considered them his own. He had wanted for nothing.

What he felt now was a clear desire for possession.

An emotion that did not suit him at all, one he had never lumped together and considered.

So what does it mean to feel such possessiveness for a woman who is now awkwardly holding his portrait?

Nevertheless, he couldn’t take his eyes off Ines. Because of the dirty feeling that the woman who had confessed to living the rest of her life for him might suddenly fly away somewhere right now.

Carson had an early lunch with Noah and looked around the temple. As he said, it didn’t seem like a particularly dangerous place. He promised the high priest a large donation for the temple, equivalent to a two-year budget for the temple’s operations.

And he separately paid for the installation of water facilities. Though this simply meant placing a well inside the temple, it made him feel significantly relieved.

After confirming all the matters, he moved to the place where Ines was being educated. At the entrance to the educational facility stood rows of unidentified tall trees. Leaves heralding the full onset of autumn added charm to the temple.

Looking at the still empty space, he thought Ines would suit this path well.

And shortly after, she appeared.

Just as he expected, Ines blended in perfectly with the trees.

Besides the priests, all had to attend classes, so men in preparatory priest garments began to appear.

As Ines walked gingerly, she stopped to greet someone. The person who appeared before her met Carson’s eyes, filled with doubt almost as quickly as they had been watching her alone.

The two stood as if they had a prearranged meeting. For a moment, one of Carson’s eyes involuntarily squinted.

“Noah, is it just me, or does that man look familiar?”

Sitting on a bench set aside in a quiet area, Carson crossed his long legs and tilted his head to one side.