Ines lifted her head to look at him.

“Do you have the railway permit?”

“Thanks to you.”

She laughed as if it was ridiculous that she was worried about Carson even now, and Ines laughed along with him.

“You find it funny now?”

Despite his gruffness, Ines did not lose her smile.

“How’s your health? Any discomforts?”

“I don’t have nightmares anymore.”

“Not at all?”

He was well aware of her nightmares. Except for the day she was hallucinating and wounded the knight’s arm, Ines had suffered nightmares every night she slept at his house. That was why he always stationed a knight in front of her room.

She always received the same report during her stay at his mansion. She spent the night screaming and suffering.

“Yes, not at all. Nothing bothers me anymore.”

“Nothing at all?”

“Yes, nothing at all.”

Ines spoke while smiling more brilliantly than ever. The moonlight shone brightly on her face.

“I am now complete. I can feel joy, sorrow, and clear anger.”

“…”

“It’s truly amazing.”

Carson felt choked again because of Ines’ soft laughter.

The sense of responsibility tinged with guilt was gradually corroding all of his emotions. He thought he could teach her proper emotions. Yet, he was learning from her countless emotions he didn’t want to know.

Since when?

When did this woman, fragile as a mirage crumbling before his eyes, become more important than anything else he had?

“What should I call this feeling I’m experiencing now?”

Carson shook his head.

“No need to explain. I can understand.”

“Now…I am perfectly safe.”

He couldn’t bear it anymore and closed his eyes. Like a wave crashing and dissolving on a sandy beach, Ines seemed to vanish as soon as he would grasp her.

“From now on, I will live the rest of my life for you, my lord.”

But it didn’t matter. A wave that never showed the same face twice would keep rushing towards him ceaselessly.

“Is that your goal?”

“Yes, it’s certain. So, please wait for me for three years.”

It seemed like the wave-like woman now understood. It had become harder for him not to wait for her, so radiant.

One year later in the fall.

Ines had passed that year and in the following March was led to the Edmont Shrine in Sanscria. The execution was quite delayed compared to the swift judgement. Six months had already passed since she arrived here.

Sanscria was close to the capital but very underdeveloped. A railway connected it to the capital, but visitors were rare. This place was merely a stopover for the next station that had yet to come to life.

Occasionally devout noblewomen would come for a few days to pray for their families, but most of the time passed quietly without visitors.

The daily life of a shrine maiden differed from that of ordinary maids.

They did similar chores, but shrine maidens worked for the gods, not for masters. After cleaning up breakfast, they spent time in prayer and repentance.

Today, Ines spent time praying before portraits mimicking the figure of Lady Hecklesia and Carson’s face.

This was her most cherished time.

“Ines, let’s go.”

Charlotte came to pick up Ines as prayer time was ending. She carefully stashed the portraits into the bible to move with Charlotte.

The maids all had to go to the well twice a day, in turns, to fetch water. Edmont Shrine was a fortress built on a high mountain compared to other places.

Naturally, no aqueducts reached that high.

This place, which seemed to have been built on a sheer cliff at a glance, was said to be a fortress built for a god about a thousand years ago due to the prophecy of a monk.
The content of the prophecy remained unknown, but it was certain that this place harbored the beauty of paradise like a treasure.

“Slippery, be careful.”

No sooner had Ines spoken than Charlotte’s body tilted. Ines swiftly grasped her firmly.

“Every time I see it, it’s amazing. How do you never slip on this path, Ines?”

“Isn’t it natural?”

Ines joked, swallowing a laugh inwardly. In truth, in Romfield, Charlotte had moved faster than her.

Though beautiful to look at, the place was inconvenient to live, and the road to fetch water from the well was equally treacherous.

Sanscria boasted a temperate climate, being located in the heart of the empire. However, Edmont was uniquely rainy, as its surroundings were enveloped by mountains like a fortress.

Days when only dark clouds hovered over Edmont were not uncommon.

The cottage with the well was across a bridge with nowhere else to go. That place, with only one wooden house, was like an isolated island built at the dawn of time.

“Look, the water has risen.”

Ines too saw the rippling water across the bridge. She sighed involuntarily, thinking her skirt’s hem would inevitably get wet today.

“Let’s fetch water quickly.”

“Yeah, but it’ll be dangerous in the evening. If it rains a bit more here.”

“Let’s tell Aimee about it.”

The two hurried more than usual to fetch water and returned to the temple.