Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 842

◈ 842. An Unexpected Visitor

Redrin kept her promise to Rembrary.

Redrin regarded Ridal as someone who had entered the temple for the first time and checked on him from time to time to see if he was doing well.

The boy seemed quite devout. He prayed diligently and was always faithful to temple life.

He didn’t resent the family that had triggered this situation, nor did he resent Redrin or the temple for coldly taking away his divine power.

He had a sense of envy when dealing with Rembrary, but it didn’t turn into jealousy.

[He’s alright.]

After watching him for several months, Redrin finally muttered while watching Ridal pray.

Lumena clicked her tongue.

[For you to say that an abandoned child is alright. I can’t believe it.]

[I promised Rembrary.]

[That’s why. That’s why I can’t believe it. Aren’t you being too blatant in your favoritism even though you’re not yet a High Priest?]

Redrin snorted but didn’t deny it.

* * *

It was the day Rembrary had his second divine power vessel test after turning ten.

The priests didn’t show much interest in Rembrary today.

Everyone already knew that Rembrary possessed divine power equivalent to a high-ranking priest.

The highest-ranking priest even admitted, ‘If there were no experience restrictions, Rembrary would have become a high-ranking priest right away.’

What the priests were paying attention to today was Ridal.

Could Ridal, who had worked steadily and diligently for several months, be forgiven for the first time, or not?

Even if he couldn’t show divine power this time, he still had several years left, but everyone held their breath and paid attention to Ridal’s test results.

“What are you all doing? Go away. Quickly!”

The highest-ranking priest, unable to watch any longer, waved his hands to chase away the gathering priests.

It was absurd to see the grown priests following Ridal in a line as he entered the room to take the test.

The priests embarrassedly lined up and went back out.

“Let’s go, too.”

The secretary priest shook his head and advised as Rembrary leaned against the door frame, looking inside.

“Can’t I watch?”

Rembrary asked confidently, but the secretary priest shook his head.

“Ridal will feel pressured. Let only the highest-ranking priest watch.”

At least one person had to remain in the testing room to confirm that the test was being conducted properly.

“Alright.”

Rembrary was curious not about whether Ridal had regained his divine power, but about the conclusion Redrin had reached.

But instead of insisting further, he followed the secretary priest to the dining hall.

“Our baby angel is here!”

When they arrived at the dining hall, the cook smiled brightly and handed over the ice cream he had set aside in advance.

“Bless you. Thank you.”

When Rembrary greeted him solemnly like the high-ranking priests, the cook laughed heartily and also gave him a spoon.

The secretary priest broke a walnut cookie and ate it across from Rembrary, glancing anxiously at the archway leading into the dining hall.

How long had they been there when they heard a commotion outside? The secretary priest half-rose.

“It seems Ridal’s divine power has returned.”

Rembrary also stopped spooning and whispered. If divine power hadn’t returned, everyone would have quietly dispersed, not made such a fuss.

“Still, you never know. Maybe someone else became a high-ranking priest.”

The secretary priest thought similarly to Rembrary but didn’t let his guard down until the end.

Just then, someone was seen running down the hallway connected to the dining hall. The secretary priest couldn’t stand it any longer and stood up completely.

“How is it?”

“It’s back! It’s back!”

As soon as the running priest shouted, the secretary priest picked up Rembrary and ran to the testing room.

Rembrary was still being carried with a spoon in his hand.

The secretary priest finally put the child down when he arrived at the testing room.

“Oh, it’s Rembrary.”

Ridal was surrounded by priests and couldn’t be seen properly, but fortunately, as soon as the priests discovered Rembrary, they made room for him.

Rembrary was finally able to see Ridal.

Ridal’s face was flushed red, and he couldn’t even lift his head.

The highest-ranking priest had a bright smile on his face and gestured for Rembrary to come over when he found him.

“Rembrary, Ridal has regained his divine power!”

Ridal hurriedly muttered at the highest-ranking priest’s declaration.

“But it’s very little… It’s much weaker than before.”

“What does it matter if it’s weak? It’s a miracle that a priest who once left the temple has regained his divine power. Even people who were high-ranking priests couldn’t regain their divine power after leaving the temple.”

One of the priests standing nearby said in a bright voice.

“I can only be thankful to Redrin…”

Ridal muttered in a barely audible voice.

The secretary priest looked back and forth between Rembrary and Ridal before speaking in a bright voice.

“Redrin must cherish Ridal a lot. With Rembrary and Ridal in our temple, we’re sure to have a High Priest this time, no matter who it is!”

* * *

That night, Rembrary wrapped himself in a blanket and sat by the window, looking at the moon and whispering.

“Redrin, Redrin. Redrin is generous.”

[I thought you said I was narrow-minded before.]

Redrin replied haughtily. Rembrary was silent for a moment before sighing.

“I want to say you’re broad-minded, but you keep showing your narrow side.”

[…Okay. Thank you for saying I’m broad-minded.]

Rembrary, afraid that Redrin would be embarrassed, didn’t talk about it anymore and instead looked at the moon as if looking at Redrin and asked.

“Redrin. Do you know what people were talking about all day today? They were talking about whether Redrin likes Ridal more or me more.”

Hearing the child’s passionate voice, Redrin burst into laughter.

[You’re curious about who I like more.]

‘Huh? Of course, it’s me. I’m not curious about that.’

[Then?]

“Redrin, even if people have similar thoughts, can you tell who’s saying what?”

Redrin was expecting Rembrary to say thank you or to ask her to favor him more than Ridal. Not this useless curiosity.

When Redrin ignored him, Rembrary tilted his head and asked.

“Redrin? Redrin?”

Redrin didn’t answer, but a very faint sound of someone laughing was heard.

[Lumena, why do you keep coming to my area? Go away.]

* * *

Ridal came to assist the highest-ranking priest’s secretary priests, just like Rembrary.

In effect, it was an assignment that showed the highest-ranking priest’s expectation that one of these two children would become the High Priest.

Both children seemed to know everyone’s expectations and diligently learned the High Priest’s duties, spending their days learning.

Then one day.

“Rembrary, Rembrary! Your sister is here?!”

Kentri ran up to Rembrary, who was memorizing the official document forms coming up from the small temple, and shouted.

At the mention of Rembrary’s sister, not only Ridal but also the secretary priests in the room all raised their heads.

“Y-Your Highness the Princess?”

Ridal asked in embarrassment. Only then did Kentri realize that Rembrary’s sister was a princess and jumped up and down.

“I didn’t know!”

Rembrary got up from his seat.

“I know.”

When Rembrary looked at the secretary priest, the secretary priest nodded that he could go.

Rembrary immediately ran down the hallway and entered the waiting room. A familiar face was sitting on the sofa, yawning.

“Rembrary!”

The princess shouted as soon as she saw Rembrary.

Rembrary quickly ran over and hugged his sister.

“How have you been? You’ve grown so much taller in the meantime!”

“Sister hasn’t grown much.”

“I’ve grown a lot too. You’re just growing too fast. The temple food must suit your taste.”

Rembrary shook his head quickly and circled around the princess.

“How did you come? Did you come alone?”

The princess grabbed Rembrary, who was running around frantically, and sat him down on the sofa.

“You have to maintain your dignity. Even here, you’re my brother.”

When Rembrary sat upright and looked at her solemnly, the princess felt proud and sat next to him, starting to speak.

“I missed you so much because you haven’t contacted me.”

“I miss my sister too, but I’m bearing it well.”

“Still, you should at least send a letter. Kalev and I sent you snacks and clothes, but most of them came back to us.”

Rembrary’s eyes widened.

“I sent letters several times, though?”

“That can’t be. They came from the Florandia Temple a few times, but then no more came?”

“That’s strange? I sent them.”

The princess didn’t seem to be joking. Rembrary remembered the letter he had written about Duke Ladderun at that moment. Could it be?

“Then did you receive the letter where I talked about Duke Ladderun?”

“I didn’t receive it. Why Duke Ladderun?”

The princess asked back with an expression as bewildered as Rembrary’s.

Rembrary was convinced that Duke Ladderun had intercepted the letters he had sent.

“Duke Ladderun sent assassins to me. I wrote about it in the letter twice.”

As Rembrary whispered, the princess’s eyes immediately turned fierce.

“What!”

* * *

To maintain her dignity as a sister, she didn’t say it, but in fact, the princess had come out without her parents’ knowledge.

However, having heard such shocking news, she couldn’t hide her visit to the Great Temple from her parents.

Originally, the princess was planning to stay in or around the Great Temple for three or four days, playing with her younger brother before leaving.

She had even secretly packed her younger brother’s favorite snacks in a basket to give to Rembrary.

But after hearing about the assassins, she couldn’t eat snacks and play with peace of mind.

The princess handed over only the food basket to Rembrary and left by carriage just two hours after arriving.

“Are you leaving already? Why don’t you stay a little longer?”

Kentri asked as he cautiously approached when Rembrary waved his hand at the back of the carriage.

Rembrary told him about Duke Ladderun and the letters.

Kentri listened blankly, and when Rembrary finished his story, his eyes widened, and he jumped up and down.

“That bad duke is intercepting all the letters you send in the middle? Then isn’t the princess in danger too?”

“Why?”

“That bad duke is monitoring this area, right? What if he sees the princess visiting you and attacks the princess?”

* * *

Inside the carriage returning to the palace, the princess placed a notebook on her lap and wrote down as much as she could remember of the story Rembrary had told her.

It was to tell her parents this shocking news without leaving anything out.

To dare send assassins to Rembrary! To our youngest puppy! Assassins! The more she thought about it, the more enraged the princess became, and her handwriting became increasingly crooked.

Then, with a loud bang, the carriage tilted, and the crooked handwriting drew a diagonal line, jumping out of the notebook.

The princess also flew to the front seat, hit her forehead on the wooden board, and bounced back.

The princess rubbed her throbbing forehead and slammed the carriage window open with a bang.

“What’s going on?”

As soon as she asked, the commander of the Royal Knights quickly closed the window again.

“Intruders. Please have your meal. We will take care of it without a trace.”