Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 723

723. The Shining Child

The high priest’s unease about the young prince grew as he rode alone with Rembrary in the narrow carriage.

The high priest found children difficult to deal with. Moreover, this small child before him was no ordinary child.

He was a child born at the highest peak of the world, rumored to be related to the Demon King, and also said to possess abundant priestly qualities since childhood.

The high priest didn’t know how to treat such a child, so he tried to avoid eye contact by looking out the window as much as possible.

However, no matter how uncomfortable he was, he couldn’t ignore the child throughout the journey. Besides, the distance was quite long.

The high priest finally spoke after three hours.

“Are your legs not hurting?”

“No.”

However, when only a simple and concise answer came back to his courageous words, the high priest inwardly groaned.

Then, the high priest felt a slight relief when he saw the young prince leaning out slightly as the wind came in through the window.

‘Well, it’s better to be calm than to cry and insist on going back.’

* * *

The high priest and Rembrary traveled without rest for several days.

It was the first time Rembrary had endured such hardship. Although there was a period when he was kidnapped, he didn’t remember it anyway.

In fact, this was the longest and most arduous journey for Rembrary.

The high priest would change his words and travel for hours in the carriage. When the sun seemed to be setting, he would enter a nearby village and stay there, and if there was a temple, he would sleep in the temple instead of the village.

Rembrary had no choice but to follow wherever the high priest went.

As time passed, the high priest, who had been struggling with how to talk to Rembrary at first, gradually became more comfortable dealing with him.

He began to accept that Rembrary was not the rumored prince or some untouchable figure, but an ordinary child.

But by then, the carriage carrying the two was already passing through the large main gate of the Florandia Temple.

“This is it.”

As the familiar scenery appeared, the high priest opened both carriage windows wide and explained to Rembrary, pointing to the large buildings passing by.

“Among the temples that serve Redrin [likely a deity in this world], this one accepts the most novice priests. Because there are so many people, it’s difficult to pay attention to each one, as your nanny was worried about.

But on the other hand, it also means that the training system is the best established here.

If it were just large in size but unable to properly teach the novice priests, no one would want to come here.”

Perhaps because he had arrived at a familiar place, his voice was more excited than usual.

Then, the high priest belatedly checked Rembrary’s reaction, wondering if he had explained it in too complicated a way.

Rembrary was nodding with a serious face. In fact, Rembrary understood most of the high priest’s explanation.

However, Rembrary was more interested in the figure carved on the outer wall of the temple than in such stories.

The figure surrounded by roses felt somehow familiar and evoked a sense of longing.

The high priest admired Rembrary as he watched him.

‘He was safely rescued under Redrin’s protection. It might be true. There are many other things to see, but he’s so engrossed in Redrin’s sculpture.’

Then, as the carriage was almost at the entrance, the high priest called Rembrary.

“Your Highness.”

Rembrary peeked out and continued to look at the roses, then quickly sat quietly in his seat.

“Yes.”

The high priest closed one of the windows and explained calmly.

“I will tell you this before we go inside. Once you get out of this carriage, you will no longer be the third prince of Libulen, but a novice priest of Redrin.”

“From now on, you must not treat people disrespectfully as you do now. I will not treat you as I do now either.

I will call you by your name as I do to other novice priests, and I will speak casually.”

“Okay.”

When Rembrary answered obediently, the high priest smiled in relief, as if he had passed the second gate.

“Yes. That’s how you should do it. And……”

But before he could finish speaking, Rembrary raised a hand as if he had a question.

The high priest stopped talking and nodded.

“Yes, ask all your questions now. I will answer them all. Do you want to know what life here is like?”

Rembrary shook his head and asked with sparkling eyes.

“Do all priests use honorifics?”

“Most priests do. Many people continue to use honorifics even after becoming high priests like me.

But not all priests do. However, most people tend to speak casually to young novice priests like Rembrary.”

Rembrary looked down at his palm as if calculating something and asked.

“Then do you keep using honorifics all your life? Can’t you speak normally?”

Rembrary was just asking because he wondered if he had to keep speaking differently from usual,

but the high priest chuckled, thinking that the young prince was setting aside his pride as he tried to give up his power.

But instead of openly mocking him, he deliberately teased him.

“Of course not. When you become a high priest, you can speak down to all the priests and holy knights. Because the high priest is God’s only representative.”

‘But you will never become a high priest.’ The high priest teased Rembrary inwardly and continued the words he had been about to say.

“And Your Highness. It’s not just about changing your tone. From now on, after becoming a novice priest, you must never show that you are a prince. Do you understand?”

Rembrary blinked his big eyes and asked.

“What is prince-like behavior?”

“Trying to naturally order people around, or threatening people by showing off your power, things like that. Do you understand?”

Rembrary nodded.

The high priest did not fully believe Rembrary’s words, even as he saw his confident answer.

But he knew that Rembrary would only suffer if he ignored his request, so he stopped explaining there and opened the carriage door.

‘If he experiences it, that prince will understand my words.’

Before getting out of the carriage, Rembrary put his hands together and looked at the unfamiliar building visible through the door opened by the priest.

The building, which was as large as the palace but not as fancy, even looked a bit rigid.

Rembrary stared at the massive stones that seemed to have no warmth, and before leaving, he asked the high priest one more thing.

“You told me not to act like a prince.”

“Yes.”

“What about innate dignity?”

The high priest was momentarily stunned, not knowing what to say.

Rembrary looked at him and thought, ‘I guess there’s no way,’ and went outside.

* * *

Although it was difficult to answer Rembrary’s last question, the high priest did not initially think deeply about the question.

But as he was taking Rembrary to the training priest, he felt subtly unpleasant.

‘What is that brat saying? Does he think he has innate dignity or something?’

But since he couldn’t get angry at the child, the high priest just walked quietly for now.

“Stay here.”

However, when he entered the room where the training priests gathered and found the ordinary priest who would be in charge of the children entering this month, the high priest unknowingly revealed his true feelings.

“I have brought Prince Rembrary.”

“Is he outside?”

“Yes. He is standing behind the door. Perhaps because he was raised so preciously, the child is dignified, but a bit arrogant. But don’t be swayed, and don’t be lenient just because he is a prince.”

The training priest got up from his seat and walked to the door, asking with a curious voice.

“Is he very arrogant?”

“Not to that extent. But he shows arrogance from time to time. Anyway, it would be better not to be lenient for the sake of the child. If you treat him differently from the other children, he will stand out.

You must keep him as inconspicuous as possible.”

The training priest went to the window next to the door and looked at the unfamiliar boy through the glass.

The sparkling and small boy, dressed splendidly from head to toe, was standing blankly and looking at the mural.

The training priest pointed to the boy with his eyes and asked.

“Is that him?”

“Yes.”

The training priest unknowingly let out a hollow laugh.

“You want me to make that aura inconspicuous?”

The high priest looked out the window with him. He had become dull from facing him all the time.

Looking at the child’s aura from across the window, it did seem different, so the high priest became a little embarrassed.

But he concluded that he was right anyway and said.

“If he is with his peers, he will be able to blend in. It will be difficult, but that’s what we have to do.”

The training priest said with a disapproving expression.

“Then have Amelder take the prince and have him change into the novice priest uniform. Bring him to the small auditorium, and I will bring the children I am in charge of there as well.”

As the training priest said, the high priest took Rembrary, who was looking at the mural, and had him change into the novice priest uniform, then took him to a nearby small auditorium.

In the meantime, about thirty children, from those around Rembrary’s age to those who looked a few years older, had gathered in the small auditorium.

The children were chatting among themselves, but when the high priest brought Rembrary in, they all became quiet at once.

The high priest looked at the innocent and cute novice priests once, and then at the particularly sparkling Rembrary once, and had an uneasy feeling.

But still, the high priest calmly spoke to Rembrary.

“Rembrary. Would you like to go in between those children and stand somewhere in the middle?”

As Rembrary approached, the children split into two without being asked to move aside.

When Rembrary went through the gap and stood in the center, the high priest covered his forehead with his hand.

The training priest’s concern was correct. When Rembrary stood in the center, only the center was visible.

Even though that prince was wearing the same clothes and gathered among the people, he had a particularly eye-catching and splendid aura.

The training priest approached the high priest and confidently asked again.

“I was right, wasn’t I?”

“That’s right. But this won’t do. I told you to make the child as inconspicuous as possible.”

The high priest hesitated and then said to Rembrary again.

“Rembrary, would you like to go to the back row?”

Since Rembrary was still short, he thought he might be less visible if he put him in the back.

Rembrary obediently went to the back this time as well. But as soon as Rembrary went to the back and stood there, the high priest and the training priest sighed at the same time.

When Rembrary went to the back, this time only the back row stood out. Rembrary looked like a deer mixed among a group of small squirrels.

“Is that dignity……”

The high priest muttered to himself without realizing it.

“Yes?”

The training priest, who did not know the context, asked in confusion, but the high priest closed his mouth, but the story of dignity that Rembrary had told him when he got out of the carriage kept lingering in his ears.

The training priest asked worriedly.

“What should we do? He doesn’t blend in when he’s with his peers, but stands out even more. His aura is too different.”

The high priest was now seriously worried as well. But there was no solution to this.

You can’t cover the child’s face, can you? The high priest ended up just talking nicely.

“If he spends time with his peers, his aura will become similar.”

“I don’t know……”

“But it would be better to put Rembrary in the front row. The children keep looking back when he’s in the back.”

The high priest’s prickly feelings disappeared, and he became a little worried about that prince.

That prince had to blend in with the novice priests for his own safety. At least until the rumors died down.

Besides the rumors, he had heard that some extremists had issued a statement saying that the prince, who had been the subject of ominous rumors, should never be accepted into the temple.

He was also worried about how they would react.

But he stands out so much on his own. Wouldn’t that aura be poison to that child who can’t be protected by the palace?