“Karen… is that really you, sis?”
“Yes, Your Highness. Did you call for me?”
“Sis? Are you really my sister…?”
Ares pinched his own cheek, wondering if this was a dream.
The sharp pain he felt confirmed that this was no dream.
The woman he longed to see again, even if only in a dream, was now standing before him.
“You seem to have lost a lot of weight, Your Highness.”
“No, it’s… it’s nothing! I’m fine, really! So…”
“It seems we have a lot to talk about. Why don’t we sit inside and discuss this calmly?”
At her suggestion, Ares finally realized he was stammering, unable to form coherent sentences. Bowing his head, his face reddened as he responded softly.
“…Alright.”
***
Even though they had spent only a brief time together, the time apart had been far greater.
Yet, just seeing her face again had turned his mind into a chaotic mess.
‘Why am I so overwhelmed just by seeing her again?’ he thought, trying to gather his wits.
‘Was her arrival here proof that the gods had answered his prayers?’
‘Or was it some hidden plan orchestrated by the Saintess, sending her at this exact moment?’
In truth, none of that mattered right now.
At this moment, nothing else was important.
***
His hands trembled as he carried the tray, the teapot rattling atop it as if an earthquake had struck.
Karen neither mocked nor worried; she simply waited patiently.
“Here you go, sis,” Ares said, cautiously serving her tea.
He had never been this nervous around anyone before.
Surely, many would be surprised to see a prince trembling before an ordinary nun.
“So, um… this is a blend of Assam and Darjeeling—”
“Isn’t this Kal Bayan Breakfast tea?”
“What? Oh… yes, that’s right.”
“It’s a black tea blend, six parts Assam and four parts Darjeeling, with dried orange peels from the Kal Bayan region. It’s a calming and delightful tea!”
Ares chuckled nervously as Karen explained precisely what he had meant to say.
Her familiarity with his favorite tea brought a smile to his face.
“You even knew about that, sis! Yes, this tea is quite precious to me. I saved it for a special occasion. If I had known you were well-versed in tea, I would have served it to you sooner.”
***
As Ares joked about preparing the tea for her, Karen maintained her smile, though her voice carried a slight chill.
“That’s right. I know everything about what Your Highness likes.”
“…Sis.”
“Why don’t you take a seat?”
Ares obeyed, sitting across from her.
The tea helped calm his trembling hands, but her earlier words lingered in his mind.
He thought he might understand the meaning behind her words, even if he couldn’t bring himself to voice his thoughts.
“Your Highness,” Karen began.
“Yes,” Ares replied, bracing himself for what she was about to reveal.
“First of all, I’m sorry for deceiving you. I’m not an ordinary nun. You’ve likely already guessed some of this, as I’m sure the Saintess has spoken to you.”
“I know,” Ares admitted.
Karen’s presence here was the Saintess’s doing—a deliberate attempt to influence his faith.
He had realized that much long ago.
Even so, all he had wanted was to see her again.
“From board games to tea… I know everything about what you like and what interests you. Do you know why?”
If she were to confess, ‘I was sent by the Saintess to learn your preferences and bring you into the faith,’ Ares wouldn’t blame her. He was prepared to forgive her, knowing that her kindness and willingness to share in his interests had been genuine.
Instead, Karen said something unexpected.
“I am,” she hesitated, “a manifestation of the gods’ will.”
“…What?” Ares blinked, struggling to comprehend her words.
“The love that the divine holds for you… That love has taken form, and that form is me.”
“…I don’t understand.”
Karen’s explanation was confusing, but she continued calmly.
“Let me explain it this way. I am what you might call a messenger of the gods. Not exactly, but something along those lines.”
“A messenger of the gods? Does that mean you were sent by the deity Igogoden?”
“Yes. Though if you’re asking whether I am human… well, this body might seem human, but ultimately, I am a creation of the divine.”
Ares felt a chill run through him. “So… you’re not fully human?”
Karen offered a small smile, her voice unwavering.
“I’m something closer to an avatar of divine will. When I disappeared before, it wasn’t because of any command from the Saintess. It was because the divine essence that sustains me had been depleted.”
“So… you’re saying you’re here now because that essence has been restored?”
“Exactly.”
It was just as Saintess Erin had once told him.
Karen was not merely a person but the embodiment of divine truth.
Ares stared at her in disbelief.
“Then… what are you exactly? Are you a person, or not?”
Karen responded gently but firmly.
“I am here because of the gods. But whether you see me as a person or something else… that is up to you.”
To persuade Prince Ares, they gave her a shell that would appeal to him, one imprinted with his preferences and interests.
Ares stared silently at the now-cold teacup for a long time.
Learning Karen’s true identity left him feeling oddly calm.
He bore no ill will toward her for deceiving him.
The only thing that left him slightly dazed was the reality—a reality so far removed from what an ordinary human could even imagine.
Having witnessed the miracles performed by the Church, Ares thought many things were possible, even the extraordinary feats of white magic.
He believed that the appearance of the Demon King during cooperation with the demons was something orchestrated by the Church.
Even the last recorded incident of demonic energy, from 200 years ago, was something he thought could be exaggerated or misinterpreted unless someone could verify it firsthand.
That’s why, despite all the miracles he had witnessed, Ares had never truly believed in the existence of a god.
The statement “Saint Erin might as well be the god” was closer to sarcasm than faith.
He merely assumed Erin’s extraordinary level of “divine power” was unmatched in history, that all miracles were results of her incredible abilities and white magic.
But after hearing Karen’s story, Ares could no longer deny the existence of a god.
A god existed.
The God Igogoden, whom the clergy, the Saintess, and even his mother had prayed to so fervently, was real.
Under normal circumstances, Ares would have doubted Karen’s words, convinced she was lying.
Yet, despite her incredible story, Ares could sense she was telling him the truth.
If everything she said was true and she was indeed the “manifestation of God’s genuine love,” then there was a question he couldn’t help but ask.
***
“Then, did God answer my prayer?”
“Your prayer?”
“I prayed… to meet you again, Karen. I asked for a piece of that ‘genuine love’ to be shared with me. And now, here you are.”
Karen paused for a moment before responding.
“To be honest, God wanted to answer your prayer.”
“…What?”
“The reason I first came to you, Ares, was to guide you. If you decided to believe in God and prayed, your prayers would be answered.”
“I don’t understand. Isn’t your presence proof that my prayer was answered?”
“Not necessarily.”
Karen shook her head, her expression tinged with sadness.
“To be honest with you, Your Highness, this will be the last time we meet.”
“What?”
“My time to deliver God’s true will to you is coming to an end. After this, we will part ways, and I will not appear before you again.”
Karen revealed that their encounters had always been temporary.
“Karen… sis?”
“Your Highness, do you know why I appeared before you again?”
“Because… I prayed for it? But now you’re saying that’s not the case.”
“That’s right. I am a messenger of God. Without the ‘genuine love’ imbued in me, I would not exist in this world. I likely would have disappeared again.”
“Then…”
“Perhaps you would’ve prayed again, desperately asking to meet me. God could have chosen to grant that prayer, but…”
Karen reached out and clasped Ares’s pale hand.
He flinched slightly but didn’t pull away.
“…if you touched my hand, you would feel my warmth. If you looked into my eyes, you would sense my soul. Even so…”
Karen’s voice softened.
“Even so, Your Highness, I am not human.”
“Then why…” Ares began, his voice trembling. “Why are you telling me all this now?”
Karen smiled, her tone resolute.
“The reason I’m telling you everything, including my identity and the fact that I must leave, is because of God’s true will.”
***
[Igogoden: (Support: 10,000 won / Prepaid three sets of 3,000 won each. 1,000 won is a bonus.)]
[Igogoden: I will now tell you what to do.]
[Igogoden: Free Ares from his closed-off worldview.]
[Igogoden: Help him live well without relying on restraints like Karen.]
“…To graduate you, Ares.”
“Graduate… me?”
The sudden term left Ares tilting his head in confusion, while Karen smiled warmly like sunlight breaking through clouds.
Gazing into Ares’s deep, ocean-like eyes, Karen continued.
“To graduate from being a revolutionary who doesn’t love humanity, and become a revolutionary who does.”
“…!”
The phrase left Ares stunned.
‘Me? Not love humanity?’ he thought.
‘I’ve sacrificed so much for everyone’s sake… How could she think that of me?’
Before he could delve deeper into his thoughts, Karen’s radiant smile filled his vision.
“Following God’s will, I’ll help you graduate successfully, Your Highness. I’ll teach you everything you need to know!”
From that day onward, Ares’s life began a chapter that would shine brighter than any before.