Published: August 25, 2025
"I'm back now. Did anything unusual happen while I was away?"
The lord and lady of the territory returned to the dormitory after the graduation ceremony. Since the graduates were lingering in the auditorium, reluctant to part and introducing their partners to their parents, they were still there.
My exhausted Foster Father shot me a sharp glare.
I couldn’t help but gasp quietly. There was definitely something with my blessing light. And Foster Father must have figured out I was the culprit.
"Nothing happened, Aub Ehrenfest."
The high priest stepped forward smoothly and said this. Taking advantage of being half hidden from Foster Father’s gaze, I gradually edged behind the high priest to hide.
"Nothing unusual occurred. How was the graduation ceremony? Any interesting events?"
"...Ah, I shall tell you. Come to my room. Rosemine too."
"I'm a girl, so I'm forbidden from entering the second floor where the gentlemen’s rooms are."
I tried to escape, disappointed, but of course they wouldn't allow it. Foster Father twitched his eyebrows and said in a low voice, "It's my order." Beside him, my Foster Mother smiled warmly, "I’ll be with you too, so don’t worry." There was no way to get away.
"...Yes, sir."
Foster Father swished his cloak and headed to his room. I slumped my shoulders and trailed behind. The close aides were forbidden from entering the room, so only the lord and lady, the high priest, and I were inside. Outside the door stood Father, the knights order commander, and Brother Eckhardt.
"What on earth happened?"
"At the graduation ceremony, when Prince Anastasius and Lady Eglantine’s names were called and they entered, a blessing light suddenly descended from somewhere."
No one had seen where the blessing came from. People were intrigued watching the prince and the lord candidate of Classenburg enter together. Then, a light showered over their heads.
What on earth was going on? Was the head priest of the temple involved? There was a commotion. The head priest of the Central Temple, accused of being behind the blessing, raised a large hand indicating silence.
Everyone fell silent, sensing he had something to say. The head priest declared, "It is a blessing from the gods." It was to celebrate Eglantine’s coming of age and marriage.
"Eglantine? Not both of them?"
"The amount of blessing light was visibly biased. Since Eglantine chose her partner, Prince Anastasius was also blessed along with her. That was the impression."
I wished for the happiness of both, so it seemed odd that only Eglantine was blessed. Seeing me tilt my head, Foster Mother did the same.
"Then, perhaps I am unrelated. Eglantine is favored by the gods, which probably explains the result."
I concluded in my mind that it was truly a blessing from the gods. At that moment, the high priest pressed his temple and glared at me.
"When you are unconscious, your blessing is strongly influenced by your emotions. It’s not surprising that the blessing favored the two differently. Do you remember how much you practiced for Charlotte’s baptism ceremony?"
"...Ah."
He pointed out how I desperately trained to keep the blessing amount equal among the children, so I couldn’t argue. In that light, it made sense for a difference to appear between Eglantine and Anastasius.
"For now, it’s accepted as a blessing from the gods, so don’t spread this around. Say nothing unnecessary. Were there other witnesses?"
"Yes, the students present were forbidden to speak. Since the head priest of the Central Temple recognized it as a divine blessing and that story spread, even claiming later that it was Rosemine’s blessing would only cause ridicule questioning the need for the title of saint."
If no one spoke until everyone returned to their territories, it would become established as a blessing from the gods by next winter, the high priest said.
"...Eglantine seems to be favored by the gods. That’s fine. But we need to understand the situation. Tell me everything. Rosemine, to which god did you pray this time?"