11: The Aftermath

It took two days after that incident for things to calm down. Two days where fear ruled the kingdom and a lot of rumors began flying around.

Rumors about the temple, about the royal family, and about the abnormally powerful child who had been the center of all this destruction.

But despite all that, some things were not relieved. For example, the breaking of the taboo and the backlash.

No one knew what the real story was and the condition of the conversation just became more and more absurd.

Two days later, Brother Yohan was given the title of the head priest to replace the previous one who had sacrificed himself to save the others.

And slowly, things went back to normal under the guidance of the new head priest. He controlled the damage and also made plans for restoration.

He also met up with different noble fractions and calmed them down. The royal family also supported this new change.

Everything seemed to be going well on the surface until that evening when Elysia finally opened her eyes

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"I-Is she awake? Can I go in and see her now?"

"Of course not. You might trigger her curse if you woke in now so you should wait outside."

Eve wilted at the crown prince's harsh word. They both had been forced out of Elysia's room by the worried healer.

Head priest Yohan looked toward his small ward who had dark circles under her eyes. She was losing sleep over her injured friend's condition.

The healer had told them that Elysia was about to gain consciousness at any second and Eve had insisted to be there when Elysia was finally woken up.

Head priest Yohan looked toward the fated pair sitting at his side. They were not looking at each other, both more concerned about the black-haired female inside the room.

'How wonderful. That devil is not even here but she's still ruining Eve's future with her fate pair,' the thought was sudden but it was powerful.

It soured the head priest's already bad temper and he wanted to break something to let it all out.

"Head priest, she is about to wake up any second. You should come in now, but alone. There are things I need to tell you that children should not know."

The healer was trying to be considerate of the children but the crown prince did not look amused. His sharp senses must have picked up every word that was being said.

"We should discuss this inside." Yohan turned toward the kids next, "Eve, take the crown prince somewhere nice to relax. I will have a talk with the healer inside Elysia's room. I call you once it is safe."

He could read the reluctance in the crown prince's eyes. He looked ready to fight.

"Let's go. It's for Elysia's safety so we should go."

The crown prince backed down at Eve's words and let himself get dragged away. But his eyes were glaring the whole way.

"How cute. They both will make a great couple and you should think about getting your adopted daughter engaged with the crown prince instead of Elysia. Especially considering her current condition. We can't send someone crippled into the royal family."

The healer's first words hit Yohan hard but his second words hit Yohan even harder.

"Explain properly. What do you mean by crippled?"

"W-Well, it's nothing physical or noticeable either but I noticed a problem with Elysia's eyes when I was checking her. She might have been affected by the eclipse and lost the use of her sight. But she might not be fully blinded yet. We'll have to check once she wakes up."

The healer sounded nervous when Yohan leaned closer to her. But it did not sound like she was joking around.

"Is that all? Is her health ok?"

"Her body is alright but her powers are being suppressed by something odd. It's something I have never felt before and I cannot remove it. It shouldn't hinder her from using her magic though so it should be alright for her-"

"Get out"

"Excuse me?"

"Get out of here. I can take things from here so you should leave now."

The healer sounded surprised at the sudden command and the head priest gentled his tone. He did not want to scare the healer or give her anything to gossip about.

"A-Ah, right. I should get going now."

The healer quickly fled the room as soon as she could. She didn't even take a look back to see her patient.

Head priest Yohan quietly took his seat at Elysia's side and waited for her to open her eyes. It was not going to take long for her to wake up.

He could already feel Elysia's magic surging out of her body and pulling her up.

"Took you long enough to wake up. Did you have a nice sleep after causing all the panic after the ceremony?"

Head priest Yohan knew that it was not Elysia's fault. It was more Eve's fault than the black-haired girl in front of him.

But he still wanted to see her reaction to this news. He needed to know how much of a danger she was. If she dared blame Eve, then he would remove her without any second thought.

If not, then she might still be useful. Losing one's sight partially was not such a big deal and one could be trained to ignore the loss.

"I-I'm sorry. It was my fault this happened. I should not have tried to-"

"Enough. What happened cannot be changed and it will not erase what you did. Your sin was grave enough to even get you killed. However, you can atone for your sins by helping Eve and the crown prince out."

"Tell me, do you want to live?"

The six-year-old nodded her head. Her desire to live was strong and it would be even stronger in the future.

But she needed to be the sacrifice needed for the betterment of this world. It needed to be done and Yohan refused to feel guilty about what he was going to force the girl to do in the future.

"I don't want to die. Please, help me out."

This was the second time the girl had told Yohan the same thing. And now he knew that her fear of death was genuine.

"Then, make an oath to me. An oath to protect Adam and Eve even if it cost you your life. If you do, then I will save you."

"An oath? H-How do I make it? W-Will it change this cursed fate of mine if I protect them?"

The child sounded scared but determined. Fate was not a word Yohan had expected to hear from one so young.

But he did not pay much attention to the words of a six-year-old child. He just wanted her to take the oath so that he could be insured about the future.

Even if something did happen in the future, the oath would make sure Eve and the crown prince lives happily.

"You don't need to worry. I will make the preparations. You just need to follow my words."

And so, the oath was sworn that day. An oath that would change the story of the world and twist the relationship between three people.

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And just like that, ten years passed and the three children grew closer.

Elysia trained in the arts she was being taught to help out Adam and Eve better. She absorbed all that was thrown at her and her powers grew.

However, no matter how hard she tried, she was not able to heal herself. She was only capable of offensive magic.

On the other hand, Eve grew up as a proper saintess candidate. Her healing powers were uncontested and no one could even hold a candle to her strong presence.

The two were like day and night in the temple but unlike Elysia, Eve's popularity soared after her powers awakened a week later after the eclipse disaster.

The crown prince also continued to pay regular visits to the church and spend time with Elysia and Eve.

The day Eve found out about Elysia's partial blindness, she cried. Adam's expression screamed that he already knew this was going to happen. Neither looked happy at the news but they could not do anything about it.

Things got busy after that. Life returned to normal and so did the world. Elysia continued to get the disturbing visions and she made sure to keep them to herself.

The trio continued to grow closer with each other, just as it had in Elysia's visions.

But due to the nature of Elysia's schedule, she was often unable to accompany the crown prince that left him alone with Eve. It sparked rumors of forbidden romance and a lot of people liked this idea.

All except those who did not want to see the crown prince be married off to a commoner with doubtful roots.

Those outspoken nobles were the only reason Elysia's engagement with the crown prince was being held together still.

That and the lack of interest the royal family showed in annulling this engagement. Every time this topic came up, the royal family forcefully changed it to something else.

Even the crown prince refused to say anything about it. But everyone knew it was because if he did break the engagement, then he would lose the reason to visit the temple and spend time with his fiance's friend.

And just like that, the news of the decade arrived. The crown prince's sixteenth birthday ball was about to approach and it was going to be a monumental day.

Not only would the crown prince become eligible to take the throne and become the 'real' crown prince, but the temple would also make its big announcement - the candidate for the next saintess.

There were also talks about the royal family finally annulling the engagement between that devil Elysia and the respected crown prince and finally giving the place to its rightful owner, the next saintess.

Everyone was happy with the news except the two people who were part of this news. Crown Prince Adam and the Next Saintess Eve had the biggest frown on their faces as they sat in the middle of the royal garden that evening.

Both of them had the same concern on their mind - the context of the rumors and how to prove them wrong.

"I'll say this outright, I am not marrying you. I don't even like guys in the first place and even if I did, you were not my type."

"I don't like you either, you witch. I don't know why they always direct me to you when I come to the temple to see my fiance."

The crown prince and Eve butted heads, their face a mask of repulsion. There was no attraction between the pair visible but still, the onlookers had a different viewpoint.

"How attractive. They both really suit each other, don't they?"

"They truly do. I can't wait until that devil is out of the picture and those two can be happy with each other."

Thankfully, the servant's words were not heard by the two concerned parties and that was why she was spared a painful death.

There was only one concern on the pair's minds.

"Where's Elysia? She was supposed to come with you, right?"

"She was and that's why I hurried up here. But father said he needed Elysia to do some work for him so he took her away. What kind of work does a half-blind person even need to do? And why didn't he ask me?"

Eve questioned and Adam remained quiet. He had an idea what kind of work Head priest Yohan needed Elysia to do. But he did not want to say anything without proof.

And proof he would find before exposing the Head Priest. And he will not involve Eve until then since she would become a liability for Elysia. He would not risk Elysia's safety to make Eve comfortable.

He was not that charitable for anyone escape his prey.