Calisto silently glared at Noel. Then, as if threatening, he said,
“No, not at all.”
Noel was completely unfazed by the threat.
“You look like you’re in pain?”
“No. I’m perfectly fine.”
“You do look like you’re in pain?”
Calisto irritably ran his fingers through his hair and scowled.
“You used to not even remember the words you spat out. Now you treat me like I’m a fool.”
“What?”
“You thought it was just a problem with my head? Do you think there’s a problem with my eyes too? Is there any part of me that is fine? Are Josephina’s wings all faulty like you?”
Caught off guard by the venomous words, Noel blinked in confusion. It seemed as if Calisto was purposefully trying to provoke her. Calisto’s venomous remarks continued. Internally, Noel clicked her tongue.
‘Wow, he’s really harsh. Even though he’s in pain, he has a blade in his mouth. A fool remains a fool.’
She could understand why Josephina made such a fuss a few days ago.
‘If he had acted like this in front of Josephina, of course, it would have caused an uproar.’
If Calisto had not been a prince, he would have been dead long ago.
‘But she wouldn’t dare. After all, Calisto is the emperor’s son.’
Even if Josephina held no regard for anything, she still had her lines that she wouldn’t cross. For her own safety, she couldn’t kill a royal by her own hands.
‘Unless there was an assassination attempt.’
She could only hope that the order for assassination would come to him or Ahwin. That way, he might be able to save a royal who might side with Leticia.
Nevertheless, Noel held no feelings towards Calisto. Even after hearing the insults, she felt the same. The one Calisto opposed was Josephina’s wing, Noel Armos. Noel’s master was Leticia, so there was no reason for her to get angry. So, she said in an indifferent tone,
“My eyes are fine. It’s just that your highness is sweating and looks pale. So, I was wondering if you were ill.”
“……”
“If you find it hard to trust my eyes, we can call someone else. Ten out of ten will say you look very ill.”
Her voice carried no hostility, quite plain and matter-of-fact. Calisto’s eyes narrowed as if sizing something up. It seemed as if he was trying to discern something from Noel’s face with a persistent gaze.
“……A dog of Josephina, what does it matter to you if I am sick or not?”
“Whoever my master is, I am a wing of the goddess. I cannot just pass by someone who is ill. It’s my duty to help.”
“You’re fulfilling the duty of a wing, is that it?”
“You seem to know very well.”
“……With the power of the goddess, drive out the darkness of the world and care for the lowest ones.”
“That was said by the very first wing. Then you know better why I am doing this.”
Noel shrugged her shoulders. Calisto’s gaze turned strange.
“I am a wing, I cannot just leave a sick person alone. If you dislike receiving treatment from me, I will call other priests.”
Calisto was silent for a moment. Noel quietly waited for his response.
“Let me ask you something.”
“Yes?”
“The day after the banquet, did you not hear what I did to Josephina?”
“What do you mean?”
“I had a private talk with Josephina. Surely, she must have raged wanting me dead after that. Don’t tell me you don’t know about it?”
As he spoke, Calisto’s lips curled up on one side. His gaze turned cold.
“No, it’s impossible not to know. I clearly saw you being summoned by Josephina.”
“Yes, well. I thought so.”
Noel shrugged.
“You did something remarkable. The saintess was truly furious. She was ranting about killing you.”
“……”
“But is that important right now? Shouldn’t you be getting treatment if you are sick?”
“Of course it’s important. Knowing all that, you still choose to help me.”
Calisto’s gaze flickered strangely.
“You’re trying to help me, despite having disturbed Josephina’s peace so much. You don’t want to kill me.”
“……”
“That means you don’t feel the pain of the oath.”
“The pain of the oath?”
Noel asked back, puzzled.
“Why? How come you are free from that pain?”
***
“You are a bit late today, Lady Noel.”
The librarian greeted Noel with a bright smile. She had been seeing her face every other day recently.
“I stopped to see His Highness the Prince on the way here.”
“Oh dear, that must have been difficult for you.”
Noel just smiled vaguely. The librarian, thinking Noel was weary, comforted her.
“Come this way. I have prepared the room you used last time. The materials are there too.”
“Thank you.”
Noel followed her. The library was quiet and deserted. It seemed capable of accommodating hundreds, yet it was empty.
“I have prepared all the books you mentioned before.”
The librarian led her to a small room at the very back of the library. Although small, it was very well-appointed. Noel exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the stack of books on the table.
“Wow, you prepared all this in just two days?”
“Of course. Who else’s request is it? It’s something Lady Noel wishes for, so I had to fulfill it.”
The librarian smiled softly, wrinkles forming at the corners of her eyes. She had been the sole librarian here for nearly forty years.
There was a time when this library was crowded with people. It used to be bustling with priests seeking to follow the goddess’s will and explore the truth.
But those days were past. The current priests were blinded by worldly wealth and power, not the will of the goddess.
Recently, Noel had started coming here, and naturally, the librarian had grown fond of her.
[What are you curious about? Just tell me. I’ll do my best to find the information.]
[I want to know about what can be done with divine power.]
[Divine power? Are you researching the power of the wings?]
[Yes. I want to learn how to control divine power more freely. I’m thinking about encapsulating it in something visible, like symbols. I came here hoping to find some clues in books.]
[Oh, that’s a very good thought. But if it’s about the power of the goddess, wouldn’t it be better to ask the saintess?]
[That would be ideal, but the saintess has been very busy lately. I want to try it on my own. I also want to improve my abilities to please the saintess.]
Noel gave a roundabout answer to the librarian’s question. She couldn’t reveal to anyone, especially not Josephina, what she was looking for.
Back when she had heard Josephina’s screams and destroyed the temple. That was when she had seen the purple ‘symbol’ and started researching it.
At first, she thought a few books would quickly reveal all she needed to know.
But that wasn’t the case.
No matter how many books she searched through, she couldn’t find the same symbol, let alone a similar one.
Originally, the idea of manifesting the goddess’s power in a symbol was exceedingly rare.
It was frustrating, but she couldn’t seek advice from others.
She had no choice but to continue searching for a needle in a haystack.
However, the situation had slightly improved recently, thanks to the librarian’s wholehearted assistance.
“Huh? Isn’t this a book from the Magic Empire?”
“Yes.”
Today, there were books on the table’s edge that she hadn’t seen before.
“Why a book from the Magic Empire if it’s about researching the power of the goddess…?”
“In the Magic Empire, there has been quite active research on combining divine power with magic.”
“Divine power and magic?”
“Yes.”
The librarian continued.
“The power of the goddess and magic. One emanates from light, the other from darkness. Though their origins are opposites, they share the common trait of being transcendent powers beyond easy human control.”
The librarian’s explanation continued, her calm voice revealing years of experience.
“Such powerful forces, if they could be combined, would create a tremendous new power that has never existed before.”
“…Divine power and magic.”
“You are researching a new power for Lady Josephina, aren’t you? Perhaps you might find some clues in the books from the Magic Empire.”
Although the librarian had completely misread Noel’s intent, her suggestion was still helpful.
‘Magic.’
If Josephina had reached out to magic, and if the symbol involved not just divine power but also magic,
‘It makes sense why I haven’t found any clues until now.’
A new path had opened, but the situation was far from simple. Since she knew nothing about magic, she would have to start from scratch.
‘No, perhaps I don’t need to start from the bottom.’
Noel fiddled with the corner of an old magic tome, lost in thought.
Luckily, there was someone in this sanctuary deeply knowledgeable about magic.
That person was none other than Prince Calisto, a royal who was considered a potential future Archmage due to his formidable magical abilities.
‘If I could just ask him about this symbol…’
[Why are you free from that pain?]
The desperate question Calisto had asked her a few hours ago naturally came to mind.
‘Why did Prince Calisto ask me that? What does his suffering from the oath’s pain have to do with it? Why is he so desperately curious about how to be freed from it?’
She thought and thought, but no clear answer came forth.
Actually, one possibility did come to mind.
There was only one reason why someone who hated Josephina would suffer from the pain of the oath.
‘It would make sense if Calisto is one of Josephina’s wings, and yet he hates her.’
And there was one of the nine wings about whom she knew nothing.
‘Josephina’s first wing.’
Noel’s hand, clutching the corner of the book, turned white with the force she was exerting.
Noelle seems ignorant about the pain of convenance cuz she never experienced it even though there were times she disagreed with Josephina. Noelle naturally manifested as a wing so she wasn’t affected by the oath for a long time.
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