Drreuk, drreuk.
“Huh? What? Already finished eating?”
“No way. This can’t be happening… It can’t be happening!!”
[ThisIsInteresting: Is this the end of this chapter??]
[MoneyPlease: Yes, it is.]
[MoneyPlease: Did you enjoy Eirene’s ‘process of realization’?]
“Enjoy? It’s more than just enjoying it. ‘It’s so delicious!!’ Culinary excellence!”
I also loved how my ‘survey’ subtly influenced Eirene.
“No, wait—how could something like ‘The Fall of the Maiden Empress Who Lived for 36 Years Without Knowing a Blond, Blue-Eyed, Ample-Chested Man’ not be good?”
“Mixing good things with more good things just makes it better!”
[ThisIsInteresting: I really read this while clapping my feet upside down… It’s so entertaining! This is what a comic should be.]
[ThisIsInteresting: Well done, author! Ah, the mature empress is so charmingly fragrant!]
[MoneyPlease: I’m glad that ‘The Response of the World’ resonated with you, ThisIsInteresting.]
I scrolled back up.
My eyes stopped at one spot: the scene where Eirene was bathing.
They really went out of their way to draw it unnecessarily detailed.
Things like the depiction of her armpits or the overwhelming presence of her enormous chest causing the hot spring water to overflow were showcased from various angles.
From a narrative standpoint, it might be considered a ‘filler scene,’ but for me as a consumer, there was no scene more meaningful than this.
This alone could get me through three meals.
I already had to calm down my inner self while reading the scene where her scandalously revealing nun outfit got soaked, clinging wetly to her entire body…
‘Sigh…’
Mature, ample-chested women are the best!
I’ve already decided on the keywords I’ll search for later.
[ThisIsInteresting: But there’s something bothering me.]
[ThisIsInteresting: What’s with the “Happy moments don’t last long” in the final panel?]
[MoneyPlease: It means exactly what it says.]
No.
I swear, I’m not trying to nitpick.
[ThisIsInteresting: I’m just asking, really.]
[ThisIsInteresting: It’s just… kind of bugging me, haha;;;]
[ThisIsInteresting: You’re going to resolve it quickly, right? No suffocating drama or anything like that?]
[MoneyPlease: Don’t worry, ThisIsInteresting.]
[MoneyPlease: What you desire, Eirene von Einsberg’s ‘fall into faith’…]
[MoneyPlease: ‘The Response of the World’ moves solely according to your will.]
[MoneyPlease: Any trials will be fleeting.]
What?
Trials…?
I pretended to adjust non-existent glasses with a flick and shook my head slightly.
Then, I typed at a speed faster than anyone else—
***
Eirene wiped the sweat from her brow as she looked at the now-spotless monastery.
With Igon temporarily out running errands in the village, today was her turn to clean this expansive monastery by herself.
At first, she had been clumsy, but now she had grown quite adept at it, a realization that subtly boosted her self-esteem.
The best part was that no one was harmed or inconvenienced by her work.
This was the biggest difference from her life in the imperial palace, where maintaining her status often required trampling over others.
Before she knew it, the sun was setting, the day slipping away far too quickly.
At that moment, a massive portrait caught Eirene’s attention.
It was the portrait of the god Igogodon, the one Igon always prayed to.
She looked up at the painting.
It… couldn’t be seen clearly.
The face was still blurred and smudged, its features indiscernible.
‘To believe in a god…’
Eirene had always thought she couldn’t understand religious people.
Why put faith in an intangible being when the only thing she could trust was herself?
While she didn’t deny that religion brought peace to people’s hearts and established moral order in society, at least for herself, she never wanted to rely on such a being.
‘How could I trust a god when I can’t even trust the real people I see in front of me?’
Moreover, even now…
It wasn’t the god she was interested in; it was Igon.
Eirene was all too aware of that.
‘Maybe I just don’t match with religion. If gods truly exist, they probably wouldn’t want a believer like me.’
As she thought that and turned her gaze away from the portrait—
“Believe in me.”
A voice suddenly echoed in her mind, startling Eirene.
She turned her head toward the source of the voice.
‘What, what? The sound came from the portrait?’
Cautiously, Eirene approached the portrait.
The blurred, unrecognizable face of Igogodon remained unchanged.
‘Did I mishear it?’
‘No. I didn’t mishear it. I definitely heard it.’
‘Could it be… the voice of a god?’
Wait a second. That voice—it sounded familiar.
Eirene stared blankly at the portrait for a long time.
‘To believe in a god…’
‘If I believe, could I escape my fate?’
‘Could I live the life I desire, rather than the life predetermined for me as an empress?’
‘Igogodon, if I believe in you, could I live a new life?’
‘Could I become someone who believes in gods and people…?’
Of course, no answer came.
***
A few days later—
“Thank you.”
“Thank you so much, Sister.”
“It’s nothing. May the god’s plain truth be with you.”
Once a week, Saint Eigerdon Monastery held free meal services for orphans and the impoverished in the surrounding area.
Following the god’s teaching of “Even if you have nothing, never lose the romance of sharing a plate of truth,” the monastery engaged in this form of social contribution.
While the main purpose was to improve the public image of the religion, a good deed wasn’t meaningless just because it had a purpose.
“Sister, your hair is so pretty! Your golden hair looks like a wheat field.”
“And your divine power pouch is so big!”
“It’s even bigger than a watermelon!”
“Haha… Thank you.”
Eirene had learned to laugh off the innocent jokes from the little girls receiving meals.
At first, she couldn’t adapt and Igon often had to step in and handle her duties, but…
He once told her, “Praising the divine power pouch is the highest compliment for a nun.”
Realizing that the children were expressing their gratitude in the best way they could, Eirene no longer felt ashamed.
Of course, as an emperor, it wasn’t a purely satisfying sight.
‘I worked so hard solely to create a stable nation where all people could live in peace, yet in the end, I feel like the issue of poverty remains unresolved, leaving us completely dependent on religion.’
The memory of a recent region afflicted by an epidemic came to mind, where only minimal support was provided due to political considerations.
It felt as though all the years of effort had been utterly futile.
‘What, then, was the purpose of the emperor’s position?’
“Igon, that new nun is so pretty!”
“Is she your girlfriend?”
Unlike Eirene, who turned red in surprise upon overhearing this, Igon responded with a calm smile.
“Why would such a wonderful nun meet someone like me?”
“Yeah, and Mom said nuns can’t have boyfriends!”
“Really? That’s so sad!”
“Now, now, saying such things is rude to the Sister. Understood?”
“Yeah, it’s rude.”
“Sorry, Sister!”
“Bye, Brother Igon!”
As Igon exchanged smiles and farewells with the children, Eirene couldn’t help but wonder.
‘If he’s so kind with these children, what would he be like with his own?’
Surely, he’d treat them very well.
‘And wouldn’t he also treat his wife kindly?’
Nuns of the Church of Igogodon couldn’t marry, but priests could, and for some reason, today, that fact felt particularly fortunate.
‘What kind of person would be his wife…?’
‘As a nun, it was an inappropriate thought, but what did it matter?’
‘She wasn’t truly a nun in the first place.’
***
The bustling monastery gradually regained its calm as the day passed.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“You too, Sister.”
“The children can be quite mischievous, can’t they? I apologize on their behalf.”
“No need. Isn’t it better for them to say silly things like that than to carry sorrowful eyes? Besides, today was more manageable than the last time.”
‘At least now, she could tolerate compliments about her “divine power pouch.’
“You’ve adapted so quickly. That’s truly impressive, Sister Rinashita.”
‘Just how unreliable do you think I am for something as small as this to seem impressive?’
“Really?”
Igon smiled at her words, and almost absentmindedly, his hand moved to pat Eirene’s head.
“—Ah! My apologies. I didn’t mean to…”
“No, it’s just… You looked so cute when you protested, Sister Linashita, I almost patted you without thinking. I was being terribly rude.”
As Igon scratched his cheek awkwardly with his finger, Eirene stared at him.
Then, carefully, she moved closer and stood on her tiptoes.
“Sister Linashita…?”
“…Go ahead and pat me.”
Eirene said this softly, looking up at Igon.
Even standing on her tiptoes, she still had to look up at his large frame as he gazed down at her, his face turning red.
“It’s fine. You can pat me.”
“If… If you insist, Sister Linashita…”
Softly, softly.
His large, rough hand gently stroked Eirene’s golden hair.
He probably didn’t realize he was touching the head of an empress—a body no one could touch so lightly.
For some reason, a sense of sinful indulgence crept into Eirene’s stomach, making it tingle uncontrollably.
“This is… a bit embarrassing. Haha… But thank you for allowing me, Sister Linashita. Your hair is so soft and beautiful.”
“You seem to say such sweet words with ease. Do you say that to every woman?”
“Of course not. I’m saying it because it’s you, Sister Linashita. I don’t say this to just anyone… Probably.”
“Probably?”
At her slightly annoyed response, Igon smiled again.
Before they knew it, they had grown close enough to exchange such lighthearted jokes.
With Igon, Eirene could stay as a girl, not as an empress.
Ironically, being praised as “well-ripened” gave her the courage to approach him more boldly.
“Then, I’ll finish tidying up. You should rest inside.”
“I’ll leave it to you.”
After seeing Igon off, Eirene lifted her head and looked at the sky.
‘It’s blue.’
The vast, blue sky.
As an empress, she had always lived looking down, but…
‘Raising my head to look up isn’t so bad.’
Eirene liked this life.
She even thought, ‘If I truly were a nun named Linashita, I could have lived like this.’
But her real name was not Linashita; it was Eirene von Einsberg.
And she wasn’t a nun, but an empress—a dethroned one, facing the threat of rebellion.
Her fate would not leave her alone, which was only natural.
***
“Stop! You can’t enter without permission!”
“Out of my way! I know she’s here!”
“I’ve told you she isn’t here!”
Hearing the urgent voice of the head monk, Eirene approached to see what was happening.
Igon and the head monk were standing off against a man accompanied by soldiers.
That man. She recognized him. Count Rayfield—a former vassal of hers.
The moment she recognized his face, Eirene was reminded once more.
Her dreamlike time was almost over.
And the unavoidable fate she dreaded had now arrived at her doorstep.