### Chapter 33: You Can’t Fool Me
The blazing sun scorched the Royal City in the afternoon, turning the bluestone paths into fiery slabs. The straight streets were void of breeze, and people wandered sparsely, the air thick and heavy, as if it had frozen in place.
It’s too hot…
I was armed with a black umbrella adorned with butterfly patterns, tiptoeing down the street while donning a wide-brimmed sun hat. My hair was neatly bundled under the hat, exposing the pale nape of my neck like freshly fallen snow. My petite frame hid under the shade of the umbrella, yet even so, I found myself tugging at the neckline of my light princess dress in a desperate attempt to let in some air—anything for a hint of comfort.
When the streets cleared a bit, I would surreptitiously summon some frost, creating a faint mist swirling around my feet. For a fleeting moment—just long enough to avoid freezing the ground—I felt a delightful chill before the heat hit me again, forcing me to stash my powers. The cycle continued, and before I knew it, I was feeling a bit congested.
“Ah…Achoo! Sniff—”
I sneezed daintily, rubbing my nose and furrowing my brow.
I really want to go back to Shanter Castle and see some snow…
Today was the first day of the rest day.
After Sara and the others left in the morning, I tidied up the house a bit and ventured to the market to stock up on three days’ worth of supplies. But on my way back, I couldn’t shake off thoughts about things happening in the Valen Empire. I was worried about my father and mother, wondering if any battles had broken out, and then my mind drifted to Victoria, and finally to that Silgaya coastline. Had those heretics been repelled? Were any lawmakers coming… I unwittingly spiraled into an anxious pit, so with the afternoon free, I decided to find Angel for an update.
Not long after I stepped out, regret began to prick at me.
Am I a fool? Why couldn’t I have waited until the evening when it’s cooler? Did I need to pick the hottest part of the day…
I figured I’d find a war chariot immediately after turning off Longdoll Street. Usually, you don’t have to walk far to find a parked one, but today was a different story. I had to march under the scorching sun, wandering the street and searching until I finally spotted an empty war chariot parked by the roadside.
Thank heavens…
“Oh~ this esteemed miss, may I offer you my services?”
“I want to go to the church.”
“Very well, miss. Please, step aboard~”
The slick-talking old man lifted the carriage curtain and gestured for me to enter.
I quickly folded my umbrella and lowered my hat as I stepped into the carriage. Once I settled onto a seat that couldn’t be called comfortable, the curtain was drawn, blocking out the blazing sun, and the carriage interior suddenly plunged into dimness… But before I could even breathe a sigh of relief, I discovered that the carriage was actually even stuffier and warmer inside.
My backside was practically sizzling…
With my lips twitching, I put my hat back on, threw open the side curtains completely, and as the carriage jolted, it started moving slowly, gradually picking up speed. A breeze found its way into the cramped space, instantly alleviating the stifling heat.
Sure, it was hot wind, but it was a hundred times better than having no wind at all… I finally stopped sweating; the price, of course, was that I had to manage my skirt and hat the whole way.
And so I endured until we reached the church.
Eagerly, I jumped down from the carriage, stretched my limbs a bit, paid the old man, and then dashed up the stone steps, hurriedly entering through the church doors with my umbrella in hand—thankfully, it was much cooler inside.
“Whew—”
I let out a breath of relief as I walked into the familiar foyer, just in time to spot a few clerics passing by. I dashed over to stop one of them: “Excuse me, where is… the pope?”
“The pope? Miss, you are…”
I tilted my head back and saw the cleric staring at me with a bewildered expression, his head tilted in thought. He then took off his hat, revealing his face as he blinked.
“…ah!”
The young cleric was momentarily caught off guard, then his eyes went wide, and his face turned a deep shade of red, stuttering, “You… you are… Miss Silvya! Um, are you here to find the pope? Uh… I’m sorry, I don’t know where he is, but! I can take you to the back hall, the pope’s accompanying clerics are there… Miss Silvya, you can ask them…”
“Thank you, but I know where the back hall is. No need to trouble yourself!”
I offered the flustered cleric a sweet smile, then turned and walked away. After a couple of steps, I caught a glimpse of the cleric’s hand, which he had slightly raised, showing a hint of disappointment.
I couldn’t help but chuckle internally.
What a naive boy…
That reminds me… Can clergy members date and marry? If not, that seems a bit unfair…
Wait, didn’t the Holy Church have no restrictions on regular clerics and nuns? Even cardinals don’t seem to have limitations. That Saint George fellow, he’s got grandkids already… As far as I know, the only one who can’t get married… seems to be Margaret? Also known as the Saint…
But she didn’t seem to care about that either…
Hmph…
I don’t care either.
…What on earth am I thinking?
Shaking my head, I discarded the jumble of thoughts and hastened my steps. I crossed the sparsely populated nave, walked through the back garden, and ran into two nuns who recognized me. They hurriedly performed the church greeting, and I smiled and nodded in return, quickening my pace until I reached the tall, white-gray walls. Two clerics stood at the tightly locked iron gate; one of them looked somewhat familiar… ah, he’s the one who guided me here before.
After a brief chat, I unfortunately found myself at a dead end.
“I’m terribly sorry, Miss Silvya, but you’ve come at an inconvenient time—the pope just left a short while ago… He won’t be back until the evening. If it’s urgent, I can send a message to—”
I frowned. “Never mind.”
Seriously, what am I doing…
Running over here in this scorching heat…
“When he returns, just tell him I stopped by, okay?”
That’ll work. Angel might come looking for me at the number three residence… If he doesn’t, I can always come back tomorrow evening. Honestly, I don’t feel like making another trip today.
It’s a bit annoying.
“Alright… if you wish to wait for him, I can arrange a resting room for you,” the cleric said.
“No thanks.”
Waiting is a waste of time. I’d prefer to go back to the residence and read… I barely made it through a few pages of that “Dragon Codex” I borrowed from the library.
With that thought in mind, I was about to turn on my heel to leave when I suddenly recalled Aili… Ever since that time, the little girl seemed to have vanished; I hadn’t seen her at all. Although I doubted anything bad had happened, I still felt a little anxious. Since I was already here, I figured I might as well check on Aili before heading out.
“Where are those children?”
“The children from Cataloma? They should all be napping right now… Oh, there are two side halls in the nave; the one on the left is where the children stay. If Miss Silvya wants to take a look, I’ll lead you there.”
“No need to trouble yourself. I’ll find it myself.”
Waving goodbye to the cleric, I returned to the nave, found the side corridor on the left, and passed through. Not too far in, I could hear the sounds of children laughing and running around, suggesting that not everyone was napping quietly, or perhaps they had woken up.
This place wasn’t small; it reminded me a bit of the palace hall, a space connected to many doors. The décor inside wasn’t as grand as the foyer or back hall, but it was still quite exquisite.
One corner of the side hall was set up like a mini-training ground, complete with practice dummies and targets. The children were laughing over there. I glanced around but didn’t see Aili’s figure, so I approached one of the nuns, asking her to take me to one of the doors inside. I gently knocked on one.
“Aili, someone is here for you.”
“I’m coming~”
The familiar voice of the little girl came from inside.
In no time, the door creaked open, and Aili peeked out. Upon seeing me, she paused momentarily before breaking into a smile. “Sister.”
The little girl was still dressed in loose nun’s attire, a bit timid as she stepped outside, standing before me and pushing her hair back. Her voice was soft, “What brings you here?”
She looked a little thinner.
Perhaps it was because she had just woken up, Aili’s complexion was a tad off, her hair was messy with a few stray strands upright, and she seemed a bit lackluster yet still wearing a bright smile.
“I… look a bit messy, hehe.”
“How have you been lately?” I asked.
“Um…”
“Why haven’t you come to the residence?”
“Sister… I’m really sorry, I’ve been so busy lately.”
The nun smiled and motioned for us to chat, then turned to leave. Aili invited me into her room, but seeing other little girls inside—some of whom didn’t seem fully awake—I shook my head, worried about disturbing them, and instead strolled with Aili in the side hall, listening to her chatter about the happenings.
“…So there was a fire in the front hall; several stained glass windows were burned bare, and they almost set the altar ablaze. It was chaotic… Thankfully, not many were seriously hurt, but a lot of people ended up getting trampled… Then the Saint used a divine miracle to quench the flames. I saw you fly off, and there were all these bad people outside, pandemonium erupted in the church, and I was scared, hiding away… Later, I saw these bad people breaking into the church, and Her Majesty the Queen woke up and fought them… The Saint said those bad people had killed the bishop…”
Huh?
The bishop… wasn’t that the old man I took care of? That’s what Margaret said, right?
I got a bit dazed, unable to help but glance at the little girl beside me as her forced smile conveyed a touch of sadness.
“Then… the bad people died, and the chaos outside came to an end. I heard many people died… Sister, you’ve become a hero again… I wanted to find you, but the Saint said you were too tired and needed to rest, not to bother you… So I listened to her, and later I helped with repairs in the front hall with the others. The Saint said we needed to finish quickly to hold a funeral ceremony, and I helped with that too… Even the pope came; those days were busy and exhausting…”
“Aili, you did great.”
I patted her head.
The little girl looked up at me. “Sister, were you hurt? You didn’t seem to be there for the funeral ceremony or anything after that…”
“Um. But it’s fine, I’m all better now.”
I had no idea those had taken place… I must have been asleep.
“Oh…”
Aili nodded sadly.
Two figures came out of the side hall and sat down on a long bench in the corridor. A slightly older girl was to the left in a small princess dress, while a smaller girl in a nun’s outfit was on the right. Smooth marble underfoot, the overhead ceiling painted beautifully. Sunlight filtered through the corridors, illuminating their small legs.
After a while, Aili’s quiet voice broke through the distant clamoring.
“The bishop isn’t here anymore… He was so good to us, really… but then he just… Sister…”
The little girl hesitated, her expression caught between uncertainty and sorrow. A few seconds later, she tugged at the hem of my skirt, her head bowed. “Sister, I remember… we were preparing to find the bishop, and then we ran into you… Did you see him when you came from that way… is he… seemed to be alive back then… Sister, you can’t fool me… I heard strange noises back then…”
She didn’t finish her sentence.
