It seemed Dennis’s interests changed starting that very moment.
The clever Dennis slowly imagined what possible scenarios would unfold if Esther turned out to be a saint.
As the temple would have never sent her off for adoption knowing she was a saint, chances were high they weren’t yet aware of Esther.
What would happen when Saint Cespia passes away and Esther becomes the only saint?
When that time arrived, he would monitor the temple in the future in case they’d attempt to regain Esther once again. It was one of many possibilities, but it didn't hurt to think ahead.
Esther was Dennis’s sister.
Having established his proclamation, Dennis continued to open the book in a determined manner. There was no changing his mind. He intended to protect Esther, the person who had become his sister, until the end.
What he now sought was knowledge and studying. Although unsure, it was recommended to know as much as possible.
He decided that Esther should not be taken away.
** ━━━━━━━⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ ━━━━━━━**
Esther fell onto her bed, her expression sullen. Her hands carried a basket that sheltered a snake.
"My Lady. Are you sure you’ll keep it?”
Dorothy grumbled from behind the door; she couldn’t bear coming inside. She claimed the snake to be gross and covered her eyes.
"Yes. It’s not going to bite you."
"Still. Snakes are scary."
It wasn’t that she didn't understand Dorothy's reaction. This snake was quite large among the average snakes. Their massive size caused the basket to be crammed.
"Do you hear? You should never use poison if you want to live with me. If you bite anyone, I can't protect you. Got it?”
Esther offered an earnest lecture to the snake, who in turn stuck its head out from the basket.
"Did the snake understand that?"
"Yes, I think they understood. Isn’t that right?”
As Esther gazed, the snake slid up and down as if nodding.
"Look. The serpent’s answering.”
"Oh, my God... What is this? It's amazing."
Dorothy's jaw dropped. It was a bewildering scene. However, she was still too afraid and didn't draw nearer.
After observing Dorothy's reaction, Esther felt once again uncomfortable as the eyes of the servants who had avoided her came to mind.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have stepped out?’
There were no more gleeful days than these. She was now fearful that her daily life would crumble like so. She still didn't wish to lose this peace.
Esther, dejected, glanced into the basket. The snake was a poisonous serpent, and although she confidently brought it with her, it was still a mystery how to deal with the situation.
"Haah."
As Esther sighed deeply, the snake in the basket held its head firmly and stuck out its tongue.
It was like the serpent had something to say.
"Sssh."
"Huh?"
After successfully making eye contact, the snake seemed to be saying ‘thank you’ thoroughly.
"Where are you from? Do you have a place to go back to?"
When Esther asked, the snake twirled and danced around the basket.
The serpent seemed to like the basket so much that they settled down comfortably as if it was their own house. The size was also just right.
The snake squeezed their head out and met Esther in the eye.
The serpent blinked their eyes quickly to respond.
"You want to stay here?"
"Sssh!!"
The snake nodded rapidly, slithered out of the basket, and crept onto the bed.
It seemed like it was dancing back and forth.
Esther initially thought of releasing the snake in a safe place, but she couldn't just leave the *gravid snake.
*TL/N: A gravid snake is a pregnant snake. I’m not too sure about the translation, but looking at the upcoming chapters and the previous content, this is my best guess. I will let you know if there is any change.
The appearance of having nowhere to go and being rejected by people seemed just like hers.
'Will she be alright?'
As Esther agonized, the snake moved slowly and rested her face on Esther's hand.
Esther's expression turned slightly distorted by the strange texture she felt for the first time.
"Good snake. I'll call you BamBam."
Esther played with the snake for a while before gazing at her hand.
Then, as if responding to her movements, the awareness mark appeared blurred.
'…Now I can see it without even trying.'
What healed Hans was such immense divine power that would be impossible to achieve even for high-ranking priests. Esther held no such power in the past.
However, Hans's leg was completely healed just by her thinking she needed to heal him.
At this point, Esther wondered what kind of powers were in her grasp as of now. She wanted to check her divine power.
"Shall we try it out?"
She momentarily felt an impulse and stretched the bottom of her hand forward.
She didn't know how to find out. Since the limits to her powers were unknown, more caution was required.
"Ha-am."
Esther yawned. She suddenly felt herself becoming languid; this was most likely due to her use of divine power.
‘What time is it?’
There was still much time before dinner, so it would be alright to take a short nap.
Esther jumped from the bed to lay on the carpet. Shortly afterward, a soft breathing sound spread throughout the room.
In response to Esther's breathing, BamBam slipped out of the basket. BamBam naturally slung under Esther's elbow.
Only Dorothy who was watching from afar screamed internally. Esther and BamBam both seemed very comfortable.
** ━━━━━━━⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ ━━━━━━━**
Palen carefully poured an intensely hard-obtained potion from a high priest into Noah's mouth.
After pouring everything without leaving a drop, Noah's eyelids began to tremble.
Soon, Noah's clear eyes regained focus. Upon returning to consciousness, the young boy greeted Palen happily.
"How long has it been this time?"
"Two weeks. I am sorry. I couldn't come back any faster as the priests were reluctant to share their sacred power."
"No, thanks to you, I'm able to wake up for a while. Thank you."
Noah moved his stiff neck and stretched. Palen bowed his head in pity at the sight.
Today, however, Noah possessed a different atmosphere. In the past, he seemed full of despair and resignation, but now he looked more excited and willful.
"Palen."
His voice was full of energy.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Palen was overwhelmed with emotion, while at the same time wondering what changed Noah.
Whatever it was, he was grateful to see Noah regain his vitality rather than his helpless appearance.
"Do you remember the person who came to draw me last time?"
"You mean Lady Esther?"
"Yes. Please call her back."
Noah had never called anyone first, ever since he was trapped in the sanctuary.
It was natural since there were more times he was unconscious than the times he was conscious. Palen couldn’t believe Noah asked him to call someone back. He was shocked internally.
"As you wish."
"And please prepare to move."
Palen's lips hardened amidst attempting to say yes. He was dumbfounded and unsure he heard right.
"Where do you wish to go?"
"The Tersian territory. The closer the place is to the Grand Duke’s palace, the better."
Noah replied, his smile carefree and light. There was no sign of him joking anywhere.
“The Tersian territory?”
However, the problem was, it was quite difficult for Palen to accept his order.
There was no sanctuary in the territory. Noah was incapable of living even one day outside the sanctuary.
Palen clenched his lips. He thought Noah was finally giving up everything as he thought there was not much time left.
"But you're not in a position to leave here.”
"It's okay. I'm not going to die."
"Then..."
"That is where I have to go to live.”
Noah's voice was filled with confidence. Palen's eyes reddened at the sight of Noah’s bright view that he hadn’t shown in a long while.
"Palen, you're the only one who hasn’t left me."
When all his power was lost, all those who were by Noah's side abandoned him and left.
Noah smiled lonesomely and clenched Palen's hand.
"I don't want to die easily, even if I feel bad for you."
Palen, anxious by his strong force, felt much assured by his words.
“Alright. I will try to find a place within the Tersian Territory."
"Thank you."
Palen observed Noah a bit more and left the room.
Then, Noah's soft expression turned cold. All he could think about was Esther.
The longing for Esther, which grew stronger every time he was conscious, caused Noah's feelings to increase.
‘Esther, I see you every day.’
Noah closed his eyes and recalled the day he first met Esther.
He had given up everything and moved to this sanctuary, lifelessly waiting for the day of his death. The first day he arrived, Esther appeared in his dream.
Every day, he dreamt of a child whom he didn't even know. After a long time, he found out that the child had been called Diana, and only belatedly earned the name Esther.
Amidst his long, long dreams, Noah observed Esther's life. He felt so frustrated he couldn't do anything to help.
His feelings toward Esther at first were sympathy, then pity, and then love. No, Noah's feelings were merely full of Esther.
Because Esther was the reason Noah wanted to live again. Esther was the reason and purpose for Noah to endure his pain.
"Now I want to see you with my own eyes, not in my dreams. Every day."
Noah glanced out the window, his eyes deep and mysterious. It was a waste of time to be apart like this. He wanted to move as soon as possible and become close with Esther.
** ━━━━━━━⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ ━━━━━━━**
Judy returned home three weeks later after he finished his training. As soon as he arrived, the first place he headed to was Esther's room.
"Oh, my! Master Judy, are you back already?”
"Yes. Esther’s there, right?"
Judy wanted to meet Esther as quickly as possible and tell her what happened.
He wanted to talk about how he trampled on Sebastian and decided to visit his place.
Judy stamped his feet against the floor and tried to open the door. Dorothy stopped him, flustered.
"My lady’s inside, but she is resting at the moment. She had fallen asleep earlier."
"Really?"
Judy's expression became rapidly sullen. He wanted to see her as soon as possible after training.
"Then I'll just look at her face and come right out. I won't wake her up."
As Judy said so, Dorothy could no longer retort.
"Then be careful."
Judy quietly opened the door, ignorant to Dorothy’s very meaningful words.
