Delighted by the friendliness and sincerity of ancient humans, the gods generously bestowed water. As a result, the land became moist, and seeds of life sprouted.

As time passed, the gods returned to their land, leaving the remaining humans to receive the fertile land as a gift of the gods.

《Learning Kingdom History Through Pictures》 Chapter 7: Myth Edition>

Not long after the excavation of the temple, Hubert returned. Looking at him, who seemed relieved, I somehow felt that there would be no murals left in that temple now.

Today was the day Hubert would report on the Western Temple to the palace.

I stared at the awaiting carriage, sorting out my complicated thoughts.

After making preparations, just before Hubert boarded the carriage, Aris approached him without hesitation and kissed him on the cheek.

“Come back safely, Hubert.”

With a rosy flush on her cheek, she looked like a fairy.

As Hubert affectionately smiled and stroked her hair, the blush on her cheeks deepened slightly.

Even witnessing that scene, I had no particular thoughts.

Then, suddenly feeling a gaze, I blinked. Hubert was looking at me.
“Be careful.”

“I’ll be back, Ig. Take good care of the house while I’m away.”

He kissed my cheek.

Aris’s face turned bright red in an instant. Usually, she would pretend to be close to Hubert to scratch his insides, but today, perhaps due to a complicated mind, she lacked the enthusiasm.

Soon, the carriage carrying Hubert started moving down the street.

Hubert, who went to the king’s private office, represented the theologians who participated in the excavation and confronted the king.

“You’ve worked hard, Viscount. Was there nothing unusual during the operation? Any disturbances from rebels again?”

In Riorza, where gods were closely related to daily life, matters of sanctity were quite sensitive. Therefore, Hubert often confronted the king on such issues.

He noticed the king’s irritation at the mention of rebels and chose his words carefully.

“Nothing like that happened.”

“Really?”

“However, there was a request to open an unexplored temple again.”

“Absolutely not. Those who claim there’s no true god now and suggest modifying history books are blasphemers. These so-called theologians spout heretical words, tsk, tsk.”

The king sharply scolded.

“If they see the temple murals, who knows what troublesome words they might utter. Internal matters shouldn’t have leaked out, right?”

With a sharp gaze, Hubert nodded.

“There’s no need to worry about that. Everyone who entered the temple this time is on our side. The murals were destroyed after being examined.”

“Yes, we need to wrap it up cleanly. Anything that could cause problems should be moved to the records warehouse.”

The royal records warehouse was a place where sacred objects or sensitive confidential documents found in the temple were stored. No one could enter without the king’s permission.

“Understood.”

Hubert Lorentz was one of the few who could touch the keys to the warehouse.

Thud, thud.

Even the sound of footsteps echoed far in the dusty, dark records warehouse, where entry was strictly prohibited.

The Lorentz family, which owned a large estate and wasn’t involved in many businesses, was recognized in society mainly because of the king’s favor.

Most people considered it a reward from the royal family for advancing and preserving the kingdom’s history and theology. It was not an incorrect statement.

However, being a viscount and the administrator of the royal records warehouse was just an addition to Hubert Lorentz’s status.

Hubert inspected the warehouse, making sure that the records were well-preserved.

Among them were some with annotations by theologians, but there were far more records stored without understanding their meaning. It was also unknown whether the interpretations were accurate.

The story was about the mythological era that existed over a thousand years ago. Even if someone misinterprets it, who would dare to argue otherwise?

“The empire is cursed. The curse, which began with the ancient humans who coexisted, divided, and still continues, has not yet ended.”
His gaze turned to the wall on the right. There was a painting there. People screaming on the land where water dried up and fish died.

It was a chilling piece of art that vividly conveyed suffering.

Those looking up at the sky with painful expressions had no identifiable colors or patterns that could confirm their status, but theologians, including Hubert, were convinced that they were the people of the desert.

Hubert’s gaze moved to the bottom of the painting. Ancient characters were written in a twisted manner.

“The descendants of the sun and fire will shatter strong magic!”

Even among theologians, opinions about this profound statement varied. However, most agreed that the robust magic referred to Riorza’s blessing of water, and the descendants of the sun and fire indicated the people of the empire.

There was once a fear dominating academia that if the empire invaded the kingdom, everything would collapse.

Fortunately or unfortunately, there had been no issue when imperial citizens entered the kingdom. But there was still no room for complacency.

It was the first time that a pure-blooded aristocrat from the empire visited the kingdom.

A cold disdain arose in Hubert’s green eyes.

“The barbarian expelled from the Water Temple.”

In contrast, in the kingdom’s land, there were those who inherited the power of the gods.

The clergy.

Their existence was a proud testament to the kingdom being a blessed land.

“We have Aris in our family. Although she hasn’t been officially listed in the family register yet, it’s not a big problem.”