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Bael was the cardinal whom the Pope trusted and relied on the most. Despite the many priests who had served the church longer, the Pope kept Bael closest. Some of the other cardinals harbored deep resentment toward the Pope for this. Those individuals likely felt relieved now that the Pope had fallen gravely ill without leaving any final words. Ascending to the papacy would grant one immense power to influence the faithful across the continent. Power rooted in faith was a formidable force, one even the Emperor of the Empire could not ignore.

In the early days, the church consisted solely of devout servants of God, but as it grew larger than most nations, its original purity became hard to find. Some families, passing down high-ranking priests for generations, formed factions within the church. Historically, many popes aligned themselves with these factions to amass wealth. Once power was in hand, wealth naturally followed, so it wasn’t difficult. However, the current Pope was an oddity who valued the early church’s spirit above all else.

The cardinals who had promoted him to the papacy, thinking he would be easy to control, now lamented their poor judgment. Decades passed with them inwardly seething as the Pope, who commanded the respect of the faithful, refused to cooperate with them. But now, that troublesome figure was on the verge of death. So, if only the Pope’s cherished cardinal, the hero Bael who had slain the Mad Dragon and won the people’s reverence, could also be removed…

“Then the world will be ours again!” The cardinals with dark intentions suppressed their smiles as Bael slowly approached the Pope’s bedside. Lowering himself, he took the Pope’s hand and felt the cold, lifeless temperature.

Bael made up his mind as he recalled the Pope’s face, who had worried about him until the very end. Until now, Bael had devoted himself to the church in repentance. He believed that by praying to God and following His will, he could wash away his sins. But the Pope always said, “Think of yourself, not of God.” That was also the advice often given by his expedition companions, especially the mage who never believed in God.

“Your Eminence,” a young priest, who attended to the Pope, cautiously whispered as Bael silently gazed at the Pope’s face. “His Holiness left a letter for you.”

Though the voice was very quiet, all the cardinals gathered around the Pope’s bed heard it. “Also, he confirmed that the book entrusted earlier is indeed the real one.”

A letter? A book entrusted earlier? The cardinals exchanged hurried glances, hearing of this for the first time. It seemed a significant change was about to take place in the central church, which had long been outwardly peaceful under the Pope’s reign.

* * *

“Here you go, invitations!”

I handed out the neatly prepared invitations to the two boys. One to Eugene, and the other to Leonid. The two boys, who hadn’t even known there was a party, took the invitations I offered with bewildered expressions.

“Why an invitation all of a sudden? It’s not even your birthday,” Leonid said, tilting his head in curiosity as he broke the seal on the envelope to check the invitation. Realizing it was for a party at the Elpinard estate, he looked at me in surprise.

“They’re revealing the prophecy book?”

” Yep. The Duke is hosting the party,” I replied. 

As a result, everyone attending the party was invited by the Duke himself—people from noble families who held significant positions in society, most of whom were high-ranking and rather stiff.

“But the Duke gave me permission to invite my own guests too! He told me to invite lots of friends my age.”

Just because a party was held at the Elpinard estate didn’t mean anyone could invite guests. Officially, only the Duke and Duchess had the authority to send out invitations. But since the Duchess was currently away, only the Duke could send invitations stamped with the family’s seal. 

Yet, the Duke had said, “Since you’re already managing the household, you might as well invite your friends.” Of course, when it came to inviting friends, the only ones I had in mind were Eugene and Leonid.

“So, are we your first guests?” Leonid asked, waving the invitation around playfully.

“Yep. And probably the last ones too,” I replied.

“Why? Aren’t you going to invite kids from other families?” Leonid questioned, clearly curious.

“Lily offered to organize the guest list, but I’m not sure if it’s appropriate for a bunch of kids to flock to a prophecy book unveiling.”

“Reshia, you’re a kid too. What are you even talking about?” Leonid retorted, his mouth agape in disbelief. I proudly lifted my chin.

“I may be a kid, but I’m more mature than most, so I’m different from the average child.”

“Does that mean we’re not ‘average kids’ either?” Leonid asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Of course not! If you two were average, then…” I narrowed my eyes, scrutinizing Eugene and Leonid.

Eugene, who never lost his top spot at the academy, and Leonid, the quirky genius who always closely followed him—if these brilliant little rascals were considered average, then the rest should probably be called dolphins instead of humans.

“I don’t want to be a dolphin…” I shivered, recalling the embarrassing memory of when, as a young child, I had randomly declared myself a dolphin, much to my shame. Eugene quickly placed a hand on my forehead, startling me.

I widened my eyes in surprise, only to see Eugene gazing at me with concern.

“You’re not sick again, are you? You always seem fine, but then suddenly collapse, so I worry.”

“No, it’s just a bad memory that came to mind.” I clenched my fists to show I was okay, trying to reassure him. But that seemed to have the opposite effect.

Eugene’s face darkened as he noticed my slender wrists peeking out from under my sleeves.

“It looks like you’ve lost weight. You need to gain more, not lose it…” he murmured.

“Really?” I wondered aloud. I had been eating well enough.

‘Now that you mention it, my clothes do feel a bit looser,’ I thought, suddenly aware of it.

As I continued to check my body here and there, Eugene’s hand, which had been resting on my forehead, naturally slid down to wrap around my wrist.

“Yeah, you’ve definitely gotten thinner. Before, when I held your wrist like this, it felt fuller.”

“You can tell?”

“Of course. I notice everything,” Eugene replied, frowning as he seriously examined my wrist, which was now completely encased in his large hand. It suddenly struck me how big his hands were. Despite his delicate and gentle appearance, his hands were those of a sturdy young man.

As Eugene and I leaned in together to stare at my wrist, Leonid, standing beside us, let out an incredulous laugh.

“What are you two even doing?” Leonid clicked his tongue, then forcibly separated Eugene and me by stepping between us. “No entering some weird world and leaving me out of it.”

A weird world? I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but it was clear that Leonid didn’t like being left out. It’s natural to dislike being the only one excluded when there are friends around. I had felt the same way whenever the guys in the expedition team left me out of their ‘manly’ activities.

Thanks to that, I completely understood how Leonid felt.

“Alright, I promise to take you with us wherever we go. I don’t know what strange world you’re talking about, but this way, there won’t be any issues, right?”

“No, that might just create more problems…” Contrary to my expectation that he would be satisfied, Leonid’s reaction was rather unenthusiastic. When I blinked in surprise, Eugene subtly pushed Leonid aside.

“But speaking of the party, you’ll need a partner,” Eugene said, flashing a beautiful smile at me. “Who will you be attending with, Reshia? Is it going to be the Duke?”

“This time, I think it’ll be Axel.”

“…Sir Axel?”

“Yeah. My dancing is so clumsy that if I dance with anyone else, I’m bound to embarrass myself.”

I wasn’t particularly eager to pair up with Axel, but I definitely didn’t want to humiliate myself in front of a large crowd. While Axel might not be anywhere near my level when it came to magic, I had to admit that his dancing skills were commendable. So, I decided to just grit my teeth and be his partner.

As I sighed deeply, Eugene, who had been silent for a while, cautiously spoke up.

“…I’m actually confident in my dancing too.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Leonid prodded Eugene in the side, as if questioning why he was spouting nonsense.

“What do you mean you’re confident? Remember that event at the Ivory Tower where you… mmph!” Eugene quickly covered Leonid’s mouth with his hand and turned to me.

“So, how about you be my partner instead, Reshia? I promise you won’t be embarrassed. If it’s not you, I’ll have to be there alone.”