episode 37

"Sir, where are you going?"

Lloyd, who was waiting outside the castle, stopped in front of Fernando.

As Fernando passed me silently, Lloyd grabbed him once more.

"Did you not hear your doctor? First, get some rest. The knights are constantly searching the territory, so don't worry too much... ."

"Did you find that priest in the Temple of Illion?"

Fernando suddenly opened his mouth. I forgot about it for a while because I was engrossed in the search like crazy.

There is a high possibility that the priest in the temple was involved in Julia's escape.

Lloyd gave an answer, as if he had just remembered it.

"Yes, but the priest named Matteus was said to have stayed in the Imperial Palace at the time of the disappearance of His Highness. Presumably, it is unlikely that he was directly involved in the flight of His Highness."

"… Julia had a pendant. She is full of sexual power."

Fernan murmured in a fading voice.

"Whether it's him or someone else… I'm sure there was a facilitator. There is a possibility that they may have Julia with them."

"Yes, I will look into the matter again. So, His Majesty went back in... ."

"No, I will go by myself."

Fernando moved quickly. By interrogating the priest, he might be able to get a clue about Julia's whereabouts.

Fernando got on the horse at once. His vision was blurry for a moment because of the remaining medicinal effect, but he drove his horse by force.

Not a single moment could be wasted. She had to look for Julia while she was babbling.

had to find had to find Find... .

'… Unfortunately, what I've been through so far is enough.'

Fernando stopped the running horse abruptly.

Yulia's face, who was talking about misfortune, came to mind, and she couldn't breathe for a moment.

He lowered his head for a long time, and then he exhaled a breath on the spot.

* * *

Inside a priest's room in the Temple of Illion.

Matthews was kneeling on a small pedestal and his eyes closed.

In the absence of Mass, blessing ceremonies were often held at the request of outsiders.

But in recent weeks Matthews has been spending time praying for someone.

'What would have happened to Julia-sama... .'

Julia abandoned everything and ran away. Matthew had no idea where she was or what she was doing.

Cedric, who had directly assisted Julia's escape, reported that she had been sent alone due to unfavorable circumstances along the way.

Cedric also said he didn't know what happened to her after that.

They may have returned to the castle again, or they may have managed to escape safely.

I just wanted her to be safe wherever she was.

"Matheus, you have a visitor."

Then a quiet voice came along with a knock on the door.

As Matthews, who had half-opened his eyes, turned around, someone suddenly opened the door and appeared.

"The Grand Duke."

At the unexpected guest, Matthew slowly got up.

Fernan entered the room and strode towards Matthew.

Contrary to her reckless gait, Fernan's face looked precarious as if she was about to collapse at any moment.

"How did you yourself walk to this far place?"

Due to his appearance, Matteus could guess that Julia had succeeded in escaping.

Otherwise, there would be no reason for the Archduke to walk all the way here.

"Tell me everything you know about Julia's whereabouts."

Matteus looked at him with a strange gaze, who immediately spit out the main point without any further explanation.

"May I ask why you are asking me where he is?"

"I came here knowing that you were the one who handed Julia the pendant, so it would be better not to think about it."

Fernan, who had his eyebrows sharply contorted, shook his head wildly.

"Where Julia is, it's good to have a guess."

"… … ."

"If you know anything, tell me, please."

"I'm sorry, my lord."

Matthew answered in a calm, subdued voice.

"It is true that I gave Julia a pendant with holy powers, but I do not know her whereabouts either."

"You don't know?"

Fernando looked up sharply, as if trying to understand his inner feelings.

However, Matteus was really innocent, so he only faced Fernan with a still face.

Soon he continued speaking in an exasperated tone.

"… Julia jumped off the cliff herself."

"… … ."

"There must have been some belief. Somehow, I am convinced that I can survive."

"… … ."

"If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have thrown myself without hesitation… ."

Fernando slowly lowered his contorted face. Yes, there was no way that Yulia would have tried to risk her life on her own.

Whether it was my strength or whatever, I must have been certain that I would survive.

However, contrary to his thoughts, a crack appeared on Matthew's face.

Mateus, who looked into the air for a moment and thought about something, opened his mouth with a serious expression.

"Did Julia-sama have the pendant?"

Fernan frowned. After the pendant was first taken from Julia, he had cut his cord.

As if reading the answer from his expression, Matthew's face gradually darkened.

"If you had it close to your heart, you might have somehow survived using your holy powers… ."

"… … ."

"Otherwise, nothing is certain."

The reason that Julia was able to use the Holy Power was thanks to the Holy Power of Mateus, which had been in her heart since birth.

The pendant is a kind of medium, and it was possible to exert its power only when it was placed close to the heart and resonated with the Holy Power.

Since Matthew couldn't be with her every moment, he gave him a medium and helped him to use his holy power on his own.

Still, she was not relieved, so she sent Cedric to help her, and the situation after breaking up with Cedric must have been her own decision.

"Then, Julia… ."

Fernan murmured in a fading voice.

Matthews answered with a heavy voice, ignoring him like that.

"Maybe you decided you could live, maybe… He may have been willing to risk her life."

"… … ."

"Whatever it was, there was only one thing Julia-sama wanted."

"… … ."

"Avoiding misfortune and being happy even a little bit."

After finishing his words, Matthews looked at Fernan, who had hardened as it was.

In fact, there was one thing I didn't tell him.

If Julia had really lost her life, the holy power in her heart would have returned to her original owner.

There have been no signs of that before, so Julia is probably still alive.

I don't know how he survived without the pendant, though.

"I will wait for you to make up your mind."

Seeing Fernan standing motionless, Matteus muttered quietly.

I had no intention of telling him this. That way, he'll be more helpful to Julia, who is still alive somewhere.

Immediately after Fernando left the temple, Matthews thought with a dark expression on his face.

I thought about where Julia could be, but there was no clear answer.

He looked at the setting sun through the crack in the small window and immediately opened his eyes wide.

A white herald bird flew in from afar and flew down a bird's-eye view.

"Looks like Cedric sent you."

The brightly colored Matthews carefully untied the fabric tied to the bird's leg.

When I opened the cloth, the words that I found Julia were briefly written in a hand that looked like it had been scribbled in a hurry.

* * *

After being submerged in the river, it was like a long dream.

It was a hopeless dream that was drowning in a sea of ​​darkness and struggling helplessly.

He sank deep into the endless abyss, and it seemed as if he could not get out of it.

And then, a ray of light fell on me. At the same time, the suffocating breath was opened with a strange sensation enveloping his body.

The dream ended like that. Soon, Julia's eyelids began to open slowly.

"Yulia-sama, are you okay?"

At the faintly audible voice, Yulia struggled to avert her gaze.

Green eyes were visible through the blurry vision.

"… Cedric, Priest."

As she mumbled quietly, Cedric sighed in relief and nodded.

Yulia, who opened her eyes slowly, looked around. It was an unfamiliar place she had seen for the first time, an unfamiliar bed.

After clearing up her hazy mind for a while, she soon asked in a faint voice.

"… Where are you?"