To be reborn as a porcelain doll Part 10

The Imperial family and Mary entered through a different entrance than the one used by other nobly dressed individuals. Two men guarded this door, and even though they didn't have any weapons, they exuded a threatening air.

The man on the left had a burn mark on his face. A burn scar extended from his right eye to his chin. Although it had been there for a long time, it seemed not to have healed, with some parts peeling off to reveal the pink skin underneath. He wore a scowling expression and looked down on the nobly dressed people entering from the other side of the entrance.

On the right, the man had no clear expression on his face; his hat concealed his facial expressions. However, as he moved, only an indifferent expression could be seen. He occasionally glanced to the right and left, as if expecting someone, scanning the surroundings with his eyes.

The Imperial family headed towards the gate guarded by these two men, then presented a golden brooch with a sun symbol. After showing it, the two men bowed and opened the door, allowing the Imperial family to enter.

As they stepped inside, they initially encountered a narrow corridor illuminated by torches. Without hesitation or confusion, the Imperial family and Mary walked straight into the corridor.

After walking for a while, the Imperial family and Mary found themselves facing a passage that branched off in two different directions, also illuminated by torches. Additionally, Mary noticed that the paths were covered with gravel-like small stones. As the Imperial family stepped on these gravel-like stones, golden-like dust scattered into the air.

Mary was fascinated by these seemingly magical gravel stones. She also observed that the torches hung on the gray walls never completely burned out; they seemed to illuminate the area indefinitely.

The Imperial family entered the passage without hesitation, first going left, then right, and finally returning to the left side before heading toward the right.

Upon reaching the end of the corridor, a bright white light shone from the outside. Felix squinted his eyes for a moment. The Imperial family entered the space without any discomfort.

Upon exiting the passage, they were greeted by a wide area. The walls of the area were painted white, and rows of eight pairs of seats were arranged for the visitors to sit. Mary likened this space to the church in her past life and decided to refer to it as the Church. In the direction the rows were facing, there was a brown podium, and behind the podium were three human silhouettes, similar to the ones Mary had seen outside the church and on the employees of the church.

These three human silhouettes were fixed to the wall behind the podium, covering a large area on the wall. On either side of the fixed shape, there were two large brown doors embedded in the wall.

The seal of the three human silhouettes was engraved in blue on the windows of the church, representing old, middle-aged, and young figures. Additionally, on blue curtains, a version of the three human silhouettes from below was embroidered onto the curtains with threads.

First, the Emperor, then Felix, and finally the Empress took their seats on the brown chairs. Afterward, the large doors beside the iron shape opened, and the church staff, dressed in white robes with blue silhouettes of three individuals, entered. They carried small round tables in their hands.

The Emperor rose from his seat, taking Mary, who was held by Felix, and walked toward the round tables arranged around the podium. He placed Mary's hand on the table with the sun-shaped carving in gold. Afterward, he gently bowed once in front of Mary and turned back to resume his seat. Mary was surprised by this gesture, and she guessed it might be a sign of respect or a ritualistic act.

As the third large door in front of Mary opened, individuals exuding an aura of nobility, dressed luxuriously, entered one by one. After bowing once and tapping their chests three times before forming a circle with their fists over their hearts, they began to take their seats row by row.

Mary immediately noticed the difference in the way the Imperial family and these noble-looking individuals showed respect.

"So, the Emperor simply bows less formally and taps his heart once. These nobles act more formally, tapping their chests three times! Is it because of the status difference, or is there another reason?"

None of the noble-looking individuals spoke or engaged in casual conversations like they did outside. After stepping into the church, they remained silent, gazing toward the podium and Mary with serene expressions.

Later, three men from different age groups walked in through a door different from where the Church workers entered. The elderly, middle-aged, and the youngest walked slowly, maintaining a rhythm that wouldn't disrupt the atmosphere. Upon seeing them, all the nobles, including the Imperial family, knelt down and, in unison and in the peculiar Traxist dialect, shouted.

When the eldest man ascended the podium, he gestured for them to rise. They once again drew a circle in the shape of the sun over their hearts and stood up one by one. The Emperor, Felix, and the Empress were the first to stand, followed by the noble-looking individuals behind the Imperial family.

Mary looked at these noble-looking individuals and, once again defining them as nobles in her mind, observed as they, one by one, left peculiar items on the round table behind Mary before taking their seats. Some left a brown bowl adorned with a green gem, while others left necklaces, rings, and even a wooden spoon that looked entirely carved from wood.

After all the items were placed on the round table, the three men nodded in understanding. Then, the middle-aged man approached Mary, lifted her into the air while shouting something. Mary felt like a character from an animated film. As the three men took turns saying and shouting things while pointing at Mary, she wondered why they were doing this and what they were saying. Eventually, they put her back in her place.

Afterwards, they lifted all the items one by one and spoke in a lower tone, but Mary, not understanding any of it, just hoped that these peculiar men wouldn't harm her. Who knows if breaking or smashing their valuable items in a ritualistic manner wasn't the way to please the Gods, gain prosperity, or even avoid punishment?

Additionally, since Mary didn't know whether these Gods were real, she feared being noticed by them. If they were real and noticed her, it could mean her end. Her only prayer was for her unreliable system to hide her and to cling tightly to it.

"Please, may my golden finger work! The system that controls the heavens and the earth, save me! You know how much I love you; you wouldn't want the death of a user who loves you so much, right?"

The youngest man walked to the pulpit and, raising his hand as if heralding something, shouted, and then intense cheers filled the church. While Mary pleaded with the system not to be noticed by the gods, she tried to understand what was happening from the expressions of the people. She could only grasp that these people seemed ecstatic and happy, but not knowing Traxist dialect, she couldn't comprehend the reason for their jubilation.

As the youngest priest stepped away from the pulpit, the Emperor stood up and walked towards it. With a smiling face, he spoke to the people in front of him and turned around to say something in the Traxist dialect.

Then all the church workers, whether young or old, lined up in a single row towards the back. Some instruments had already been placed behind the pulpit while speeches were given. Later, a divine orchestra echoed throughout the area. Initially, the church workers murmured something like a hymn in a low voice, then suddenly raised their voices. The entire area was filled with a divine sound, and amidst it, an occasional high-pitched tone resonated. Despite lacking physical hair, Mary felt her imaginary hairs stand on end, shivering, and the nobles joined in accompanying this divine performance.

Mary also felt an inner need to accompany this divine hymn, but she resisted. She was afraid that if she joined, she might end up like the people who seemed to lose their minds. Later, as the divine sound echoed throughout the area, the brown color intensified on the priests and nobles and scattered around.

While the energy enveloped the bodies of all the people in the area, Mary feared that she might be affected by this energy. However, just when it was her turn to be directly touched, the energy, as if by a strange air current, was diverted away from her in a brown stream. Mary relaxed, looking at the beautiful brown energy particles spread throughout the area.

Mary felt quite enchanted. The energy particles spreading in this area resembled a dense storm shimmering around, not cold like snowstorms, but there was no blinding dust obstructing the view. Instead, there were unique brown energy particles shining throughout the area.

The divine ritual slowly came to an end, and the energy particles disappeared as if they had never existed. Then, the elderly priest, followed by the younger and the youngest, left through the large door. After these three men, the Emperor hugged Mary, and the Empress departed with Felix.