PMEVBO 57

The Season of Salvation has ended.

The imperial family had come out to the gates of the imperial palace to see off the Pope and his apostles. And the Second Prince’s venomous gaze was fixed on Lucariel, seated in the passenger seat of the Pope’s divine carriage.

Tykvana noticed this and frowned.

‘Come to think of it, the Second Prince and Lady Hayut were betrothed.’

With the Duke and Duchess of Hayut dead and their castle reduced to ruins, there was no way the Second Prince and Lady Hayut’s betrothal could be maintained. Their marriage was effectively off the table.

‘……So that’s why he harbors resentment toward Lucariel?’

They say the Emperor is troubled by the remaining prince’s wicked disposition. But it seemed he cherished his betrothed.

However, the Second Prince’s gaze didn’t last long. The Pope, Jin, stepped in front of Lucariel. Only then did the Second Prince lower his eyes, his face startled.

Just then, the Emperor paid his respects.

“It has been a great honor to serve Your Holiness, warrior of the Creator God Debiamas, representative of Hail, immortal hero, Emperor of the Saints, and Lord of Punishment. May Debiamas’s blessings accompany Your Holiness’s journey.”

“May Debiamas’s blessings reach Levana. Then, Your Majesty, I wish you good health until the next Season of Salvation.”

Jin responded with a gentle smile before boarding his divine carriage.

Tykvana also boarded her own divine carriage. In the passenger seat lay Atsula, still unconscious from the divine power shock.

A year ago, when they left the Holy City, Tykvana’s passenger seat had been empty. Both Tykvana and Atsula had driven their own divine carriages.

Jin’s situation, however, was different. Even then, Lucariel had been riding in his passenger seat. Just as he was now.

Tykvana watched Jin’s divine carriage ahead with unease.

‘Don’t tell me he’s going to run away again…’

Upon the arrival of the Season of Salvation after seventeen years, the first place he visited was Hayut Castle.

Jin chose a route passing through Hayut Castle en route to the imperial capital. To personally escort Lucariel to his place of exile. But on the way to the exile site, Lucariel suddenly jumped from the speeding divine carriage and fled. Even shedding his clerical robes and tossing them to a beggar.

Tykvana and Atsula searched the entire area thoroughly but could not find Lucariel. In the end, it was Jin who found and captured him.

While Tykvana was lost in thought, Jin’s divine carriage began moving forward. She infused the steering wheel with divine power and immediately followed behind.

……This time, I hope nothing happens.

***

They said it took a full fortnight to reach the Holy City from the imperial capital. That was only if you drove the divine carriage nonstop, day and night.

I had already seen a divine carriage on the Babet Plains. But back then, I was too distracted to notice what the interior looked like. This was my first chance to properly look around inside.

Inside, the driver’s seat and passenger seat were side by side, making it look like a two-seater passenger car at first glance. Yet, it also had aspects reminiscent of a camper van. Opening the rear door with its window revealed a connected supply compartment. This compartment housed sanitation facilities and a food storage area.

‘I don’t recall the divine carriages of Atsula and Tykvana we saw on the Babet Plains having such a supply compartment. Is it detachable?’

Anyway, thanks to this, neither The Pope nor I had any reason to step outside the divine carriage during the fortnight journey to the Holy City.

……Wow, this is insane.

‘Lock me up in Hell.’

‘…Alright.’

I hadn’t spoken to the Pope since that conversation two days prior. Even now, sitting side by side alone in the divine carriage, it was the same.

The cramped interior was shrouded in suffocating silence. I tried hard not to look towards the Pope. Because whenever I caught a glimpse of him, he reminded me of my older brother while driving.

How long had it been?

Grrr─

In the stillness, my stomach loudly protested.

Damn it, I’m going crazy.

I sat there, staring at the front window, trying to look unfazed. But the Pope, seemingly determined to break the silence in this situation, spoke up.

“If you’re hungry, go get something to eat from the back.”

His tone, as if only my stomach existed, was infuriating. But I immediately got up and headed straight for the food storage.

When I returned with two sandwiches, he was still staring ahead, seemingly uninterested. I sat down and unwrapped one sandwich. Then I held it up to his mouth.

…Damn, I just did it without thinking, like I would with my brother.

Whenever I went somewhere far with my brother, it was my usual habit to sit in the passenger seat and constantly supply him with food. I froze in place, still holding the sandwich out to him.

Surprisingly, he just glanced back and forth between me and the sandwich, raised his eyebrows slightly, and without a word, began to bite into the sandwich I offered.

Before I knew it, I ended up feeding him the entire sandwich. Only after watching him take the last bite did I unwrap my own sandwich and put it in my mouth.

When the next meal time came, I was torn. Should I do that again?

…Screw it, I’ll feed him.

Feeding the person in the driver’s seat is the passenger’s duty, after all.

At every meal, I shoved food into his mouth, and he let me do it without a word.

Thus, the Pope and I spent our strange meal times in silence. For a full ten days.

Tap, tap

Suddenly, raindrops began falling, tapping on the roof of the divine carriage. Raindrops hitting the window slid down the glass. Soon, the front window became blurred and hazy.

It had rained on the day of the Hayut Massacre too. The damp sensation and the pungent smell of blood from that day began to cling to my nerve. My fingertips started trembling.

I clenched my fists tightly. Just as I wanted to cover my ears against the unusually loud sound of the rain, his dry voice reached me.

“If it’s too hard, why don’t you just sleep?”

It wasn’t funny.

I hadn’t slept a single second during the ten days I’d been in the divine carriage. But the man beside me was no different. With a human driving day and night beside me, there was no way I could sleep alone. He wasn’t exactly a comfortable companion to begin with.

I banged my head against the door and answered irritably.

“…Mind your own business.”

The Pope retorted in a monotone.

“How can I not care when you look like that?”

“…….”

“You need more practice hiding your emotions, Lulu.”

I couldn’t answer and bit my lower lip.

Tension, irritation, shame, exhaustion, fear. My body, consumed by these emotions, quickly grew drowsy. After enduring that state for several hours, I finally fell asleep.

“…Wake up, Lulu. We’re here.”

When I opened my eyes, I saw his face looking down at me against the pitch-black ceiling of the divine carriage.

I was lying with my head on his lap. Startled, I jumped up.

Actually, there was a fold-down auxiliary seat between the driver’s seat and the passenger seat. But it was more convenient to keep it folded when using the sanitation facilities and food storage, and I had folded it myself just before departure. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, it was now fully unfolded.

At that moment, something draped over my body slid down onto the floor. It was a blanket.

“You slept for five straight days.”

“……What?”

No, then when exactly did I end up in this position…….

The fabric where I’d been resting my head was crumpled. Silver hair stuck to the black fabric stung my eyes. I stared at the Pope. Immediately, our eyes met, his expressionless face and mine.

Fuck….

I hastily averted my gaze and turned away. But before I could even open the door, his hand grasped my arm. He wasn’t using much force, yet strangely, I couldn’t move an inch.

“No regrets?”

Faced with this abrupt question, I frowned.

“…Regret what?”

“Regret about your choice.”

He must be referring to choosing prison over the bishop seat.

Admittedly, I had initially intended to choose the bishop seat. But thinking about it now… even if I had chosen that back then, I doubt he would have graciously respected that choice.

When I declared I’d choose prison, he simply nodded. Then, without a word of protest, he swiftly carried out the proceedings.

So I thought. The choice he presented was actually a question with a correct answer, and I had chosen that very answer.

But now, he was asking about regrets? I couldn’t fathom his intentions. Well, if I say I regret it, will he promote me to bishop instead of locking me up now?

Is he mocking me, or is he serious?

If it’s the former, it’s in poor taste. If it’s the latter, he’s a madman.

I looked at him in the eye and spoke clearly.

“I have no regrets.”

The prison choice was mandatory because of the status window. But even if that weren’t the case…

When ████ told me I could go to prison, I felt a strange sense of liberation. Perhaps if I had chosen to become a bishop as I’d first decided, I might not have endured it.

I pulled my restrained arms free and stepped down from the divine carriage. He made no further attempt to hold me.

As if the five days I’d slept had spanned a seasonal threshold, the rain had silently transformed into snow.

Only upon seeing the snow blanketing the ground in white did it truly sink in.

That I had arrived at the northernmost city of the empire, the Holy City of Sarachephon.

I lifted my head and looked up at the sky.

Snowflakes were slowly falling from somewhere high above.

I probably won’t be looking at the sky for quite some time.

I wish it had been a clear sky. Like his eyes.