“Change Eljer’s world?”

“Yes.”

The question Cesenia expected was ‘why?’. At present, Eljer hadn’t caused any significant trouble. The Eljer who tormented and troubled Cesenia belonged to the future.

Brazen and causing every moment of Cesenia’s life to be painful.

Cesenia clenched the hem of her dress in anticipation of the question, but it never came. It was as if Lizbeth already knew everything.

“Lizbeth.”

Perhaps it was because they were in a temple imbued with the words of a god to be truthful. Cesenia’s lips, which had resolved time and again not to ask or tell Lizbeth anything, slowly began to move.

“Yes.”

“Why don’t you ask? You should be curious… Why don’t you ask anything? As if you know everything already.”

“…Well, I just want to trust you, Miss. My role is to ensure you are safe and happy. Do I need a reason for that?”

The bright smile of her maid was quite different from the Lizbeth Cesenia knew from the past.

“I see.”

“Is there anything you’d like to ask me?”

“No. I just… hope you trust me. Even if something seems strange or incomprehensible. Just trust and keep trusting me. In this world… there are things even the gods don’t know.”

Lizbeth’s hand touched Cesenia’s, which was clutching the hem of her dress.

“Yes!”

Once again, Lizbeth returned to being the cheerful maid Cesenia knew. Her bright smile eased the anxiety in Cesenia’s heart.

What’s more important?

‘Knowing something is less important than being there despite knowing.’

As they spoke, they arrived at the sanctuary for the third moon’s prayers. Then they went to report to the High Priest, and a priest who had been sent to check on them hurried back, sweating profusely.

“The High Priest will be here soon. But since it’s the High Priest, other senior priests will also come, so please wait.”

“That was quicker than expected.”

“Yes, indeed. I ran to inform you quickly, so the High Priest might take a bit longer.”

“I’ll wait inside.”

“Alright.”

With that, Cesenia entered the prayer room. The relic of the god Lowric, who was said to have the appearance of a child, was placed inside the prayer room in a smaller form, with about five chairs around it.

The colored stained-glass windows filled the prayer room with light, inducing a sense of rising piety just by entering.

“Miss.”

That’s when Lizbeth stood in front of her, as if to disrupt the grace of the god.

“Yes?”

“I wish you were the god of your world, Miss.”

“Uh…?”

“Although it’s quite blasphemous to say… I just wanted to express that. No one can be truly free in this world, except for a god. That’s why I said it.”

Embarrassed by her own words, Lizbeth awkwardly twisted her body.

“Just take it as nonsense.”

“Thank you. I wish that were true. A world where everything goes as I wish.”

In such a world, she could freely seek revenge. Without the need to double-check and recheck, she could simply achieve what she desired. If she were a god… she could do that.

Then, a piece of the relic, made in the image of Lowric, fell to the ground. It was a small sound, but it was distinctly heard in the unusually quiet prayer room.

“It seems the god is quite angry.”

“…Am I going to be punished?”
“No. If one were to be punished for such things… then the gods would be too petty. Don’t worry. The gods aren’t so idle as to watch over each of us individually. And if there is punishment… I’ll take it upon myself.”

Cesenia had anticipated some form of divine retribution ever since she resolved on revenge. Hurting someone was, after all, an act against the will of the gods. Even if her sister had wronged her terribly, the doctrine of the temple dictated that she must forgive everything.

And Cesenia had no intention of forgiving.

‘If the gods ever do reach out to me, I just hope that moment comes a bit later in the future.’

What Cesenia feared was not the punishment that might befall her, but a future where she ends up doing nothing.

Meanwhile, someone knocked on the door of the prayer room.

“Yes.”

“Lady Cesenia, the High Priest is here.”

“Please come in.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the door to the prayer room opened. An extremely old man, whose age was difficult to guess, entered. Cesenia bowed her head to the High Priest she had seen before.

“Lady Cesenia Vestel greets the Apostle of God, the High Priest.”

“It’s been a while, Lady Cesenia Vestel. I was feeling rather neglected that you hadn’t sought me out even after coming to the temple, unlike the others.”

The man, who looked ancient but walked in briskly with a hearty laugh, was surprisingly robust. Despite appearing close to death, he was not as old as he looked. This year, he was only 70.

Considering that most High Priests lived to be around 100, he was relatively young. Moreover, he might live longer than Cesenia herself, given how different he was from his appearance.

“My apologies.”

“Lady Cesenia Vestel, what brings you to the temple?”

“Having been blessed with strength by the gods, I thought I should at least offer my prayers of gratitude.”