Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 722

722. Rembrary’s Past (2)

‘What is this?’

Feeling a strange familiarity, I craned my neck forward. The instant my body tilted, the silver-haired person on the roof appeared right in front of Rembrary.

He quickly caught me, pushed me upright, and smiled.

“You must be careful.”

He looked like a fairy from a storybook. Moreover, his silver hair gave an impression that was vaguely familiar yet unfamiliar.

Rembrary stared at the silver hair with curiosity before asking,

“Who are you?”

“Is that arrogant mouth of yours innate?”

“You know me?”

“Of course, I do.”

The silver-haired person chuckled smugly. As he tilted his head, his hair, reflecting the moonlight, shimmered with an ethereal glow.

Rembrary, captivated by the sight, reached out to touch his hair. The silver-haired person watched the small hand move over his head before asking,

“Do you know who I am to be doing this?”

“Should I know?”

“You’re consistently annoying, aren’t you?”

Rembrary widened his eyes and stared, then burst into laughter as if something was amusing.

The silver-haired person poked Rembrary’s chubby cheeks before asking,

“You really don’t know who I am?”

“Who are you?”

“I am…”

Just as the silver-haired person was about to speak, a commotion arose from outside the door.

Rembrary turned around, suddenly noticing that there was only one dark shadow cast by the moonlight on the floor. The silver-haired person had no shadow.

Startled, Rembrary turned back to find that not only the shadow but also the silver-haired person had vanished.

“Was he really a fairy?”

Rembrary waved his short arms around where the silver-haired person had been. But the silver-haired person did not return. Instead, the door opened, and his older brother and sister entered.

“Rembrary!”

“What are you doing?”

Rembrary’s older brother and sister asked as they came in noisily. Rembrary shook his head as he climbed down from the windowsill.

“Nothing. I was looking at the moon.”

“It’s dangerous. You shouldn’t be climbing on the window like that.”

His sister, looking displeased, approached and examined Rembrary from head to toe. She treated him as if he had fallen off the railing and climbed back up.

The older brother shook his head and ran to Rembrary’s bed, sprawling in the center and shouting,

“This is my spot!”

“It’s my bed, though?”

Rembrary retorted with wide eyes. His sister carefully lifted Rembrary and walked him to the bed, sitting him down as she said,

“Let’s all sleep together tonight.”

“Why?”

“You’re leaving for the temple tomorrow. We won’t see you often then.”

Rembrary was about to tell them both to leave so he could sleep comfortably, but he changed his mind upon hearing his sister’s words.

In the end, the three siblings lay side by side on the large bed.

However, none of them could sleep soundly. The older sister and brother were saddened that their youngest sibling would be going to a distant temple tomorrow, while Rembrary felt the bed was too cramped with his brother and sister on either side.

How long had they been like that? As Rembrary tossed and turned, his older brother, realizing the other two were awake, spoke up.

“Rembrary, I’m sure you’ll do well, but let me give you some advice.”

“I’m sleepy.”

“Even if you’re sleepy, listen. That’s what a prince does.”

Rembrary thought it was absurd but decided to listen anyway.

“Speak. But make it short.”

“Even when you go to the temple, you must not forget that you are a member of the Imperial Family.”

“Is that something one can forget?”

“I mean you must be careful with your actions.”

Rembrary regretted deciding to listen. He was being lectured when his siblings should be saying nice things.

Rembrary closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep to avoid hearing his brother’s words. However, his brother mercilessly pinched his cheek and said,

“You are the youngest prince of Libulen and the grandson of King Grayson. Even when you go to the temple and interact with people, do not forget this fact and do not lose your dignity.”

“Sleepy.”

“Even if it’s hard, don’t show it. Act maturely. You must be dignified, thinking that you represent the Imperial Family.

However, you must not disregard the people of the temple. You must continue to show that the Imperial Family respects the temple.”

Rembrary felt exhausted. The nagging was getting too long.

“Understood?”

“Understood.”

Finally, when his brother finished his nagging, Rembrary closed his eyes in relief. But this time, his sister started nagging from the other side.

“At the temple, they might deliberately mistreat you to assert their authority over the Imperial Family.

If that happens, let them know you are a prince and establish your authority. If that’s not enough, write to me.”

His sister’s nagging was even the opposite of his brother’s.

However, Rembrary had no intention of listening to either of them anyway, so he nodded appropriately.

“Okay, okay.”

But his brother couldn’t let it go. He protested vehemently when his sister gave advice that contradicted his own.

“That’s sacrilege. Showing the power of the Imperial Family to the temple people.”

“The priests are not gods. They are people whose job is to serve God. The love for God is the same for them and us. There’s no need to bow down to the temple.”

“The priests are loved by God. You must be respectful.”

Rembrary blankly stared at the decorative lace hanging from the bedpost, wondering, ‘Will I not be able to see that lace tomorrow either?’

‘Will they move that to the bed in the temple?’

“God only loves the High Priest. There’s no need to treat the priests as if they are God. Just be good to the High Priest.”

“God loves everyone. He just loves the High Priest a little more. So, you must be grateful to the temple.

What if Rembrary becomes a High Priest because he’s acting arrogantly?”

“Do you think that will happen? Are you stupid?”

As they often did, the brother and sister clashed again, arguing back and forth. The advice and counsel disappeared without a trace, and they even started throwing pillows at each other with Rembrary in the middle.

The Empress would have rushed in and scolded them both if she had seen it.

However, the Empress was in the Imperial Temple with the Emperor, praying all night, heartbroken at the thought of sending her young youngest son to the temple.

Rembrary covered his ears in the middle, rolled around, and barely fell asleep.

***

The next day, Rembrary barely opened his eyes to the sound of his nanny gently raising his head and calling, “Your Highness, our Prince.”

Before he knew it, he was holding a doll instead of a pillow, and his older brother and sister were nowhere to be seen. As Rembrary looked from side to side, the nanny frowned and said,

“You couldn’t sleep properly last night because of the Princess and the Great Prince, could you? You were curled up between them, fast asleep. When I saw that, I quickly called their nannies to take them away.”

“It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay. You’ll have to start as a novice priest when you go to the temple. How many novice priests do you think there will be?

The beds they all use together won’t be anything special. They’ll be hard, cramped, and rough.”

“Really?”

“Yes. So, Your Highness should have rested well today. But they were disturbing you from both sides.”

The nanny grumbled unpleasantly. When Rembrary imagined the hard and cramped bed, the nanny quickly realized her mistake, took Rembrary in her arms, and led him to the bathroom.

The water in the tub was filled with white bath bomb foam, steaming and cloudy.

Rembrary washed more thoroughly than usual. After putting on the fancy clothes that he usually wore for events, he followed the nanny to the dining room.

The Emperor and Empress were already sitting at the table with his older brother and sister. The Emperor and Empress had dark circles under their eyes from praying all night.

“Wow. Can I eat all of this?”

Rembrary asked excitedly, knowing that all the dishes on the table today were his favorites.

Usually, his parents and nanny strictly managed Rembrary’s diet.

But today, he was happy to see so many foods that he was only allowed to eat one of every day or one of every three or four days.

Rembrary knew that his parents, brother, and sister didn’t look happy.

But he knew it was because they were sad about him leaving, so he just stuffed the food into his mouth, not wanting to upset his family by showing his sadness.

After the meal, the Emperor suggested to Rembrary,

“Shall we take a walk together, just the two of us, for the first time in a while?”

The Emperor held Rembrary in one arm and patted the child’s back as they strolled slowly through the garden.

Rembrary rested his head on his father’s head and then noticed his father was crying.

Originally, Rembrary had tried not to talk about parting as much as possible. But when his father even started crying, Rembrary had no choice but to mention the farewell.

“I’ve lived with Father for seven years.”

“That’s right. Our Rembrary will be seven soon.”

“So, in about seven years, Father won’t be as sad as he is now.”

“!”

The young Rembrary thought that the affection built up over seven years would gradually disappear after seven years.

The Emperor listened to the childish logic of the child he had only thought was smart and thought that it could not be so even after seven hundred years.

“Write to your father, mother, sister, and brother often when you go. Understood? If there’s anything difficult, you must tell me right away. Okay?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Listen to your teacher and seniors well.”

“I will.”

“You don’t have to listen too well. Understood?”

Around three in the afternoon, a simple carriage arrived, with a completely different atmosphere from the carriages that came and went from the Imperial Palace.

The white carriage was neat, but it felt out of place in the palace, which was decorated with gold and jewels everywhere.

The high-ranking priest in white priestly robes, who got out of the carriage, noticed the Imperial Family standing at the main gate and approached to greet them.

“I am Amelard from the Florandia Temple. I have come to escort the Prince.”

At the mention of Florandia Temple, the nanny turned pale and asked,

“If it’s the Florandia Temple, isn’t that where the most novice priests gather? Is our Prince going to such a place?!”

It was only natural for the nanny to be surprised, as the more novice priests there were, the more uniform the training methods tended to be.

The Empress’s face turned pale. But it wasn’t because Rembrary was going to a large temple where many novice priests gathered.

The reason the Empress was shocked was that the Florandia Temple was located in a country far away from Libulen.

The high-ranking priest smiled awkwardly and apologized.

“I’m sorry. We discussed whether it would be better to take the Prince to the place closest to the capital of Libulen, but it seems that to calm the rumors, it would be better for the Prince to be mixed in with many children of the same age.”

After that, Rembrary said goodbye to his family again.

The high-ranking priest watched the long farewell and clicked his tongue inwardly.

‘Can that young prince, who has been raised so preciously and immaturely, really endure even a month of being treated the same as everyone else during his novice priest days?’

It would be a relief if he didn’t cry and beg to be sent home.