Published: September 6, 2025
Several mounts flew in a line from the castle to the temple. From my mini bus, I could hear the children’s cheerful voices, making the atmosphere lively.
Today was a tour of the temple. I was to show Melchior the rooms and have him select attendants for the temple. As a bonus, the children from the children’s quarters were coming along to see temple life and decide whether they wanted to live in the castle or the temple.
“Thank you for your hard work. This is the temple. Everyone, please get off.”
I stopped the mini bus in front of the temple’s main entrance and glanced back at the rear seats. Judith and Leonore stood side by side; behind them were Melchior and the Guard Knights; further back were Brother Cornelius and Darmel keeping watch over the children from the children’s quarters.
Before departure, we had confirmed through Shutzelia’s shield that there was no hostility, but they still insisted on “keeping watch,” so I let them have their way.
The children from the children’s quarters numbered four in total: two boys and two girls. One girl’s parents had already been executed, while the others had parents serving heavy sentences and would not return for several years. Nicolaus was among them. Parents with lighter sentences had apparently already come to take their children. Judging by the rate of children being taken from the orphanage, there's quite a difference.
… After all, children before baptism are treated more lightly, aren’t they?
“My Lady Rosemine’s mount is amazing. I’ve never seen a mount grow this big. It’s so cool, I want a mount like that too!”
“It’d be nice to match, wouldn’t it?” Melchior and I were chatting when one of Melchior’s close aides hesitated with a very troubled look.
“Lord Melchior, um, Grün is…”
“Since it’s Aub’s child, let’s make it a lion mount, not Grün.”
Around us, the civilian officials and attendants who hadn’t boarded the mini bus were packing up their mounts. Meanwhile, people kept coming out of the mini bus in droves. Glancing sideways at the children staring up at the temple, I headed towards Hartmut, dressed in the azure priest’s robes, who had come out to welcome us, and the temple attendants.
“Hartmut, thank you for giving instructions. It was a big help.”
I praised Hartmut, who had gone ahead to prepare for our arrival, and he smiled happily.
“I’m glad to be of service to Lady Rosemine. After discussing with my aides and considering safety such as protection, we decided to guide you to the High Priest’s Office instead of the head priest’s office. I will take charge of guiding everyone, so Lady Rosemine, please put away your mount and change your clothes.”
Grateful to Hartmut for taking over the guidance, I confirmed everyone had disembarked and put the mounts away. Then, together with Fran, Zaam, and Monica who had come to greet us, I headed to the head priest’s office. Darmel and Leonore accompanied us as guards, while the other close aides looked after Melchior and the children. Judith and Filine were good at handling the children, perhaps because they had younger brothers.
“We’re back now. It’s been a while, but has nothing changed?”
When I greeted Fran and the others, they returned their usual gentle smiles. Feeling relieved by the familiar faces, I felt the tension in my body ease. Having had to force smiles often at the castle, the muscles in my face relaxed naturally.
“There’s no change at the head priest’s office. The orphanage seems very different due to the increase in children.”
As I nodded to Fran’s words, Monica smiled and told me about the orphanage.
“Wilma is preparing to welcome everyone at the orphanage now. Under Hartmut’s instructions, Nicolaus made sweets to greet you all.”
“Since today is a tour, Hugo and Ella haven’t returned yet, so it must have been tough.”
“They made parue cakes that even one person can easily make. The parue were offered by the children at the orphanage and donated by Gunther from downtown. They said it’s best to eat them quickly before they spoil, so the timing is perfect.”