After returning to the stationery store from the academy library, I began to carefully select and make a gift for the dragon's egg.
"Just trust this demon's advice!"
"No, I won't. As an adult who has lived for over a thousand years, I know the hearts of children better."
"Nonsense! Believe the words of us four demons, human!"
After a short dispute between the demons and Dominic, I was able to make a perfect decision on the dragon's gift. I thought that as long as I could seriously awaken the egg, everything would be a success!
Unfortunately, I had to head to the banquet hall before I could finish the gift.
"Actually, it doesn't hurt to meet the Pope before I talk to the dragon."
I took a deep breath and stared straight ahead. I had arrived at a small country house on the outskirts of the Imperial Palace, where a banquet was just about to begin. Isaac, my partner for the evening, stood beside me.
"Mel," he said.
"Yes?"
"Don't be nervous."
"I'm not nervous! Let's go in."
Before I knew it, my hand was tightly held in his. It was a natural physical contact. I boasted to myself that I had made a lot of progress at this level. I closed my eyes and smiled at Isaac. Isaac, who was also holding my hand tightly, lowered his gaze and smiled back.
As the door of the huge banquet hall opened, he whispered in a low voice, "It's a pity that we're not a couple tonight."
I glanced at him and whispered naturally, "I'm sorry too, you know?"
Isaac's mischievous expression vanished, replaced by a slightly surprised look. "Are you serious?"
I asked him playfully, pressing down on the hair sticking out of the pin holding my hair in place. "What do you think?" It was a bit strange that I was always the only one who panicked, so I said it as if I was teasing him, but his reaction was bigger than I expected.
I took the first step inside. Isaac's pleasant laughter followed me.
The main hall was empty. Inside, only the Pope was sitting in front of a huge table, looking as though he had nothing else to do. I raised an eyebrow at the empty and quiet space. "There is no one here but the Pope." All members of the imperial family were absent. I tilted my head at the Pope.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," I said. Isaac also greeted him with a stern expression.
The Pope stood up and said to us with an elegant expression, "Welcome. What a pity... Due to the Empress's poor health, His Majesty the Emperor, Her Majesty the Empress, and the Prince suddenly notified us of their absence."
It was obvious that he was the one who had meddled with the Empress's health. The exact reason was still unknown. It's a pity, but I'll have to find out what happened. The warm Emperor, the gentle Empress, and even the faces of Cassian and Axion passed through my mind.
I strode up to the table and replied firmly, "As an imperial citizen, I'm not happy that Her Majesty the Empress is in such a state." At my words, the corners of the Pope's mouth stiffened, and then loosened. As I approached the table, our eyes met at a closer point than before.
"He looks different up close." The Pope I saw up close was a sophisticated middle-aged man with bluish hair and gold eyes. He was quite different from the appearance of the pope I had imagined. I seemed to understand why religious believers served and supported him. He had a devout and ascetic appearance that raised my religious spirit, which I did not have. However, knowing his true face, I had no intention of succumbing to his appearance.
Nervously, I sat down at the table with Isaac and cast a stern glance at the Pope.
"Bless the faithful saints of God," he said. It was a blessing ritual that was carried out when meeting with a priest. However, unlike a usual blessing ceremony, the atmosphere was full of tension. I slowly reached out to the Pope.
He slowly bowed his head and pressed his lips firmly on the back of my hand. He didn't take his lips off my hand for quite some time. Then, a small stain appeared where his lips had touched, and disappeared. I squinted and stared at the back of my hand. The dots looked like ancient letters or hieroglyphs. What kind of writing is this?
I remembered hearing that the stain on the back of my hand was a sign of being blessed by a dragon. But why did the stain appear at the same time as the encounter with the Pope? After a moment, the Pope took his hand off mine. He whispered softly with a sincere look that seemed to be longing for me. "Thank you very much for coming to the dinner party today."
The three of us sat in silence. It was the Pope, not Isaac or I, who broke it. He took a sip of his tea and said in a soft voice, "It's a good atmosphere to have a time of faith."
Hearing his words, I narrowed my eyes. Time of Faith. This was usually the first time one meets a priest, and it means the time to read the catechism and pray quietly.
When I didn't reply immediately, the Pope prodded me again. "Meldenik, would you like to join me?"
I tilted my head at him and said honestly, "Because I am not faithful, I have never had a time for faith."
"This will be a good opportunity."
Isaac, who had maintained a calm expression, slowly wrapped his hand over the back of my hand that was resting on my lap. He then whispered in a low, languid voice, "I want to be with you."
At that, the Pope's sharp gaze turned to Isaac. Isaac looked at the Pope with an expressionless face, as if nothing was wrong. "Is there any reason why I shouldn't be?"
The Pope responded sharply to Isaac. "Well, there's no reason why you can't." The Pope had a distant attitude, showing no signs of being offended. "I am happy to have you and Meldenik together."
I nodded without any wavering. I knew this well from the time the Pope selected only my closest allies and invited them to the feast. He must have completed a perfect background investigation of me. So, even if others didn't know, the Pope must know very well that Isaac is a Mage.
"It is a great honor for you to say that," I said. I looked at the Pope, who was holding a small rosary and a catechism in his arms. He looked at me, a very steadfast man, and opened his mouth.
"May I give you a small blessing?" There was no reason to refuse. I nodded vaguely in affirmation.
"Yes."
Then the Pope put down the rosary in his hand and picked up the catechism. "Meldenik, take the catechism." The Pope turned to me and handed me a catechism covered in black leather. It was a book with a tattered leather front and heavy hand stains. I looked at the catechism he had presented and raised an eyebrow. "Thank you."
When I accepted the catechism, the Pope lowered his eyes with a slight smile on his lips. "I will pray a blessing prayer." This was not a suspicious move either. During a time of faith, when a believer reads the catechism, the priest would give a short prayer of blessing.
I opened the catechism and tried to pretend to read it intently, but soon I ran into a language barrier. What is this? I can't read it clearly. In the catechism, there were strange letters like the black ink written on the back of my hand. The letters looked quite similar.
"God, be with this Lamb," the Pope said.
As I flipped through the next page, the Pope's prayer of blessing flowed into my ear, and I immediately frowned. Finally, a sentence that I could read came out, but something was strange. The catechism, which was expected to contain God's will, contained a different story. On a white background, past events were written in black letters. The princes who received divine punishment died one after another.
I squinted my eyes and focused on reading the catechism. It's not a catechism... it's like a record of what has happened so far. Is it the preface to an ordinary catechism? Or is it a historical record book pretending to be a catechism?
As I was about to turn to the next chapter with a questioning gaze, I suddenly stopped. ...Han Meldenik decided to open a stationery store... Because it was the life she dreamed of.
Huh? Didn't you say it's a catechism? However, my deeds and my name were clearly written. The problem is that I can't read it perfectly. Only... I can see the letters I know. Except for a few details, it just looked like black writing was dots and the white background was paper. Can Isaac read this?
I glanced at Isaac beside me. He read over my shoulder and muttered calmly, "It's an ordinary catechism."
Isaac's words made me panic. No, it isn't. There is not a single line of doctrine written on it. Does this look like a record only to me? It was strange. However, I tried not to show my suspicion and turned to the next chapter.
But just then, the Pope stretched out his smooth hand, blocked my view, and said dryly, "You read it." I could feel his joyful voice and happy eyes.
I tried my best to remain expressionless and looked at him as if I was talking about something. "Even..." The Pope let out a voice full of astonishment and eventually lowered his gaze to the catechism. I followed his gaze and paused. The strange handwriting in the catechism was moving as if dancing on my hand. "Oh, I don't think it's this much..."
I couldn't define for sure what it was, but I could clearly see that this book he presented was a test for me. And I don't know why, but it seemed that I had passed his test.
The Pope, gracefully stood up, walked around the table, and then sat down beside me and knelt down. "Alas. Meldenik, I've been looking for someone like you all along." The Pope, kneeling reverently before me, once again put his lips on the back of my hand. The black stain smeared on the hand where his lips touched for a moment, and then disappeared again.
I suddenly saw the brilliant joy on the Pope's face. There must be something.