‘Haah…’
‘How did it come to this?’
I went to the cathedral to meet her again, but not only did I fail to meet her, I even ended up being told by the Saintess, “If you want to see her, you must formally believe in the Guodun Church.”
So, I firmly decided to give up on reuniting with her.
I didn’t want to get caught up in the church’s agenda like this.
‘Who was he?’
He was someone who took pride in his strong will—someone who had never failed to act on a resolution once it was made.
Moreover, even among allies, he never trusted anyone unconditionally.
He was a cold and pragmatic individual who believed that sacrifices had to be made for the greater good, even if it went against the wishes of those involved.
Because of that, Ares was convinced that this incident could simply be passed off as a minor mishap.
But when he came to his senses, he found himself sleepless, staring into the darkness of the night.
After several days of deep thought, he reached a conclusion:
The statement that Sister Karen does not exist was a lie.
Linnea wouldn’t lie to him, and the Saintess’s vague and evasive comment—”There isn’t enough solid evidence to meet her”—further supported this.
It seemed clear that she had approached him under the alias of Karen.
Whether it was at the Saintess’s command or for some other reason, that much appeared to be the truth.
In other words, at the very least, she wasn’t some random person disguised as a sister.
This also confirmed that if she was indeed a sister, she was undoubtedly affiliated with the Igogodon Cathedral.
After all, even now, when he closed his eyes, memories of the times they had filled with endless chatter vividly came to mind.
Most of their conversations revolved around events at the Igogodon Cathedral.
Among those conversations were details that, while not particularly important, were things only someone working as a sister there could know.
When he considered the level of detail Karen had shared in their talks, it was unlikely that she had been dispatched to this location from somewhere else.
And if he could narrow it down to someone who was a sister—
Finding out who she was wouldn’t be difficult using his position as a prince.
“I’m sorry, Saintess… but I must meet her and apologize in person.”
In the past, he might have used his royal authority to demand the identification of the sister.
However, with the Saintess’s rise in influence, the Emperor’s conversion, and the overwhelming public support for the church, such an act could easily turn the political tide against him.
Even if that weren’t the case, relying on authority in such a way wasn’t Ares’s style.
‘I’ll conduct a simple investigation.’
The number of sisters working at the Igogodon Cathedral was a few dozen—at most, a hundred.
That was a manageable number to track using his network.
‘It’s not something I wanted to resort to, but… I can’t kneel to the Saintess.’
With that in mind, he immediately mobilized his information network.
The objective was to gather information about a sister with brown hair and brown eyes.
Ares called for a maid and asked her to bring him a man.
This man, who posed as a gardener in the royal palace, was actually the leader of a secret spy network Ares had personally cultivated for critical moments.
The man, looking tense, addressed Ares in a serious tone.
“Your Highness, does this mean the moment has finally come?”
“No, it’s not that,” Ares replied.
“…Excuse me?”
When the man heard Ares’s request, he tilted his head in confusion.
“Is this really all you need?”
“Yes. I don’t need detailed information, just a name.”
“Is she some dangerous woman, by any chance—”
“No, there’s no need to worry about that.”
Though the man’s lips twitched as if dissatisfied, he soon nodded in understanding.
“Understood. If it is a request from Your Highness, I am certain it is neither improper nor meaningless. I shall comply willingly.”
“Thank you.”
Now, all that remained was to wait.
He had no intention of pressuring or unsettling her when he discovered her identity.
All he wanted was to apologize.
That was it.
But—
“…Are you saying there is no such person?”
“Yes. Based on the description Your Highness provided, there is no sister matching that appearance.”
After sending the man back, Ares fell into deep thought.
Even after creating a detailed composite sketch based on her brown hair, brown eyes, and a small mole near her lips, this was the result.
‘Could she not belong to the Igogodon Cathedral?’
‘No… I ruled that out already.’
Ares thought back to his stepmother and eldest sister.
They had met Saintess Erin, claimed to have “seen something,” and became devout believers.
They weren’t the only ones.
Baron Ro Engrin and Count Ernest also became entirely different people after meeting the Saintess.
Based on the testimonies he had gathered, it seemed they had experienced some kind of vision.
Though they claimed to have “encountered the plain facts of the divine,” from an outsider’s perspective, it seemed more like they had been caught in some hallucinatory magic, blurring the line between reality and fantasy.
If that was the case—
‘Could everything he experienced have been part of the church’s “illusion magic”?’
‘If the Saintess could use magic so powerful that it appeared miraculous, could she not create such vivid illusions?’
When he asked himself this, the answer came swiftly.
‘No.’
That couldn’t be.
The warmth of her breath, the time they spent laughing together, playing games, and sharing jokes…
The sensation of her touch—none of it felt like an illusion.
Karen was real.
Even now, when he closed his eyes, he could feel her scent lingering around him.
Not just his subjective opinion, but objectively as well.
Those who claimed to have experienced visions of Erin all mentioned “facing the scripture” as part of the process.
Ares, on the other hand, had spent the entirety of his training period enjoying various board games with her.
Ultimately, the only conclusion left was—
‘Was she someone the Saintess specifically sent to me?’
If so, no matter how much he used his network to search for her, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Ares pondered the most certain way to meet her again.
And—
“Are you saying you wish to convert to the faith…?”
“Yes.”
Ares, bowing his head at a perfect 90 degrees, spoke to the Saintess.
The most certain way to meet her again was to comply with Erin’s request.
Ares’s ability to “rationalize” once again shone brilliantly during this process.
The Emperor’s decree had made the Igodenism faith the state religion, and it enjoyed significant support from the people.
-> To achieve the greater good, the support of the people was necessary.
-> With the Emperor’s conversion and one of the royal family members serving as a Holy Knight, it was inevitable that, as a royal, he too would eventually have to believe in the Igogodon faith, whether he liked it or not.
-> Therefore, converting now would not be particularly strange.
He could not bring himself to “abandon the greater good just to meet Karen,” so he clumsily pieced together excuses like patchwork.
But ultimately, as long as he achieved his goal, none of that mattered.
Once ignited, the passion of a man in love could only be extinguished by the one who had set it ablaze.
What he desired was simple:
To apologize and express his gratitude.
Though he hadn’t completely ruled out the possibility of building a meaningful relationship with her, he understood that such an outcome was unlikely.
While the thought had crossed his mind that she might not actually be a sister, it was a secondary concern at this point.
Initially, Erin appeared surprised, but she soon gave him a gentle, benevolent smile and said, “I was curious why you suddenly requested an appointment, but to think you’ve chosen to walk the path of faith in Igodenism… It’s truly something to celebrate! Then, let us proceed immediately with the holy ceremony of accepting faith—”
“Wait, Saintess!”
This time, Ares bowed his head low and said, “Actually, um… I have a request. Though it’s rather embarrassing to bring it up in this way…”
“A request?” Erin tilted her head slightly.
“I wish to meet Sister Karen… the person you sent to me. Please, allow me to see her.”
“That’s right.”
“If you ask me to believe in the faith, I will.”
“If you ask me to abandon the greater good, I will—as long as it helps maintain this peaceful world.”
“So, please.”
“Please let me meet Sister Karen.”
“Let me feel the warmth of that sunlight that first touched my life once more.”
***
But despite granting his request, Erin’s response was far from what Ares had hoped.
With a tone as cold as ice, she said, “I’m sorry, but as I mentioned before, the Plain Facts have already run out.”
“…What?”
“It will be difficult.”
“Wait… wait a moment. Even though I just told you I’ve decided to believe in the Igodenism faith?”
Ares raised his voice, unable to comprehend.
“The lack of Plain Facts is because my faith is insufficient, so you told me to convert. Isn’t that what you meant?”
“No? Oh, come to think of it, you misunderstood last time as well, didn’t you?”
“Misunderstood…?”
“You said before that you couldn’t convert yet, so I didn’t try to explain it in detail.”
“Meeting Sister Karen was one of the Plain Facts of Igogodon. The god favored you and bestowed you with Plain Facts, but that period has now come to an end.”
“…So you’re saying that the ‘term-limited Plain Facts’ have expired?”
“Expired?”
“Was meeting someone limited by a term?”
“Karen… was she a time-limited connection?”
“And what even is the concept of a “time-limited Plain Fact”?”
Ares was left bewildered by the nonsensical words being thrown around.
But Erin’s expression was so resolute that he couldn’t think of a rebuttal.
Barely managing to squeeze out a question, he asked, “Then… what should I do? What must I do to meet Sister Karen again?”
Seeing Ares plead so desperately, Erin looked at him with pity, gently stroking the scripture she held close to her chest.
“You’ll need to offer a prayer filled with genuine sincerity. Granting Plain Facts is solely within the domain of the one and only god of Igogodon. But in the end, everything depends on the will of the divine…”
“…That can’t be…”
Ares, utterly dazed, could only kneel as Erin rose gracefully.
“Perhaps it’s best to discuss conversion another time. Compose yourself, and if your thoughts remain unchanged, please schedule another appointment. Until then…”
With those words, Erin, the proxy of the divine, left, giving him time to be alone.
In the vast, empty reception hall of the cathedral, Ares sank to his knees and clasped his hands together.
And then—
‘O Lord.’
For the first time in his life, he offered a sincere prayer to a god he had never believed in.
To a god he had never thought truly existed.
To Igogodon, whom he had dismissed as merely a construct of religious zealots meant to control the people.
‘I, Ares, now acknowledge your existence.’
For the first time in his life, he prayed with all his heart.
‘If you truly are a god, you can read my thoughts. Thus, it would be foolish to hide anything.
I admit I never believed in you.
I also admit that I once viewed religion as a target for reform and sacrifice.
I confess that even my mother and sister, if they stood in the way of the greater good, I was prepared to eliminate them.
If you sent Karen to teach me something, I confess I still do not fully understand what that lesson is.
What I need now is your grace, your mercy, and your Plain Facts.’
Now he understood why believers referred to everything as “Plain Facts.”
If something so sweet yet fleeting could be called a Plain Fact, then this feeling—
The will to persevere through hardship.
The enduring belief to never let go, no matter the circumstances.
The strength to continue striving, even when lacking.
The conviction to never sever the threads of connection.
And—
‘Please, let me meet Sister Karen just once more. All I wish for is to apologize to her. To tell her thank you.’
‘If you command me to believe in Igogodon, I will.’
‘I will no longer mistake your miracles for mere white magic.’
‘Please, grant me…’
‘…Plain Facts.’
‘Even if they are term-limited, that is fine.’
‘Just grant them once more.’
‘I beg you, O Lord Igogodon…!!!’
And so, the young man, who had fallen in love with a sister, fervently prayed to the divine.