Chapter 33 : The Saintess on the Corpse (5)

The news that the Saintess had died brought a gloomy atmosphere to the orphanage.

The nuns and priests cried, and even Grandfather said he had to return to the Great Cathedral for a while.

“Grandpa, please come back safely.”

“…Yes, I’ll be back.”

Charlotte came out to see Priest Grandpa off, but Ray and Ariana didn’t come.

After watching him leave with the children seeing him off, Charlotte ran back to the room to find Ray and Ariana.

Today was cleaning day.

There were four beds in our room, but since Ray and Ariana hadn’t adjusted to the orphanage, only the three of us used the room.

When Charlotte rushed in, Ray was still sleeping under the blanket, so she yanked it away to wake her up.

“Wake up!!”

“It’s cold!”

When she pulled off the blanket, she saw Ray sleeping while hugging Ariana.

“Wake up! We have to clean! The nun is coming to inspect the room!”

“It’s cold, unnie…”

The two of them, half-asleep and hugging for warmth, made Charlotte smile.

Watching them like that, Charlotte gave up as well, jumped into the bed, and hugged Ariana in the middle so the three of them were cuddled together.

Ariana let out a pained sound from being squeezed on both sides, but she still had a big smile on her face.

“Maybe I’ll just sleep too.”

“Yeah… let’s all just sleep…”

Ray’s sleepy hand wrapped around both Ariana and Charlotte.

Ariana squirmed, saying she couldn’t breathe, and finally poked her face out to breathe.

“Let’s get up now~”

“Just a little longer…

Charlotte started tickling Ray’s side to force her awake. After struggling and panting, Ray collapsed, exhausted, while Charlotte got up first.

“Ariana! Go get the broom!”

“Okay!”

Not wanting to end up like Ray, Ariana quickly ran out of the room. Leaving Ray panting and sprawled out, Charlotte pulled off the blanket and began cleaning.

Outside the window, it had started to snow.

Once it piled up, she planned to make a snowman with Ariana. Since it would be her first, she would definitely love it.

Smiling at the thought, Charlotte began wiping down the cold windowsill with the rag she’d brought earlier.

Looking out the window, she saw the carriage had come back for some reason.

‘What? Did he return because of the snow?’

She heard the nuns and priests running around in confusion. This kind of commotion didn’t happen when Grandpa came back.

A man got out of the carriage—someone Charlotte had never seen before.

He was a young priest in robes with a gold cord, like Grandpa’s, but his narrow eyes made it seem like he was glaring, and it scared her.

Following the head nun’s guidance, he entered the building, and Charlotte went back to cleaning.

“What’s going on?”

“Dunno. Some priest I’ve never seen came in.”

Ray sighed as if she already knew this was going to be annoying.

Whenever guests came, the children had to greet them together, which Ray always found bothersome.

“Should we hide?”

“Only if you’re ready for the head nun’s nagging.”

Ray sighed again. Apparently, she wasn’t up for it and got up to fold her blanket.

Charlotte caught Ariana, who had returned with the broom, placed her on the bed, and continued cleaning.

With Ariana cheerfully cheering from the bed, they were nearly done when the nun called out only to Ray and Charlotte.

“Ray, Charlotte, could you come out for a moment?”

“Okay~”

Ray grumbled as she followed behind Charlotte.

They followed the nun to Grandpa’s room, but instead of Grandpa, the young priest from earlier was standing inside.

Only girls around Charlotte’s age were present, all looking confused.

“These are all the children?”

“Yes…”

The nun couldn’t meet the young priest’s eyes and bowed her head.

The young priest narrowed his eyes as he looked at the six girls, including Charlotte and Ray.

“Girls, I just need to check something very quickly.”

“Um… what kind of thing…?”

“It’s very important.”

He patted the nearest girl’s head and took her hand.

Then he pulled a small knife from his pocket. The children trembled in fear when they saw the blade.

“Don’t be scared. It’ll only hurt for a second.”

“Ow!”

He made a tiny cut on the girl’s fingertip and quickly healed it with magic.

The girl stared at her now-unharmed finger in amazement. The priest’s eyes showed no emotion at all.

“Everyone will do this once. Please hold out your hands.”

Though scared, once a nun entered and said there’d be cocoa afterward, everyone willingly held out their hands.

“Go have some cocoa.”

The priest cut and healed Ray’s finger, but Ray frowned and shook his hand off.

Charlotte, thinking she’d give her cocoa to Ariana, offered her finger too.

The pain was slight and bearable. Like the others, she thought it would heal right away.

But for some reason, the bleeding from Charlotte’s cut wouldn’t stop.

The priest’s eyes widened.

“It’s you.”

He looked at her with an emotion she couldn’t describe.

“What’s your name?”

“Charlotte…”

“Yes, Charlotte. You’re a very special child.”

“…What?”

The young priest grabbed both of Charlotte’s hands tightly. The strength of his grip hurt, and Charlotte tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let go.

Seeing this, Ray pushed the priest over.

“Can’t you see Charlotte’s in pain?!”

“Ray!!”

The nun shouted at Ray, but Ray glared right back, as if saying, “So what?”

“Haha… it’s okay. She’s a healthy child.”

The priest stood up, brushed himself off, and ignored Ray completely, looking only at Charlotte.

“Charlotte, would you come to the Great Cathedral?”

“…Huh?”

“You have the qualities of a Saintess.”

“…Do I really have to go…?”

He just stared silently. It was clear Charlotte didn’t have a choice.

“No…”

The words came out before she could think. Ray and Ariana had just started adjusting to the orphanage.

Charlotte couldn’t leave them behind. No, she didn’t want to leave them.

“I’m sorry… but you’re necessary.”

“…I don’t want to go.”

“I’m sorry.”

The priest just kept apologizing, but his narrow eyes glared at her sharply.

Charlotte realized it—this wasn’t her choice to make.

She turned to look at Ray, who was watching her with a face that looked ready to cry.

Ray had realized it too—this wasn’t something they could solve with a decision.

Should they run?

If they ran now, maybe they could escape together.

But it was still cold outside. Two girls trying to survive alone wouldn’t be easy.

And the priest wouldn’t just let them go.

His snake-like eyes felt like they were binding her.

“Then take me too!!”

Ray shouted at the priest.

Despite her shouting, the priest didn’t even glance at Ray—he only looked at Charlotte.

“Take me too!!!”

Ray punched his leg, but he still wouldn’t look.

He was only watching Charlotte, as if to stop her from fleeing.

A nun grabbed Ray and covered her mouth.

“Is that girl important to you?”

The priest asked Charlotte.

“…She’s my family.”

Only then did he look at Ray. Stroking his chin, he seemed to think.

“Then I’ll take her too.”

Was this a good thing?

They weren’t being separated, and that should’ve been a relief…

But when Charlotte saw the priest’s eyes, she felt she had made the wrong choice.

“Ray… maybe I should just go alone…”

She tried to leave Ray behind, listening to her uneasy gut feeling.

“I’m coming too.”

She couldn’t stop Ray’s stubbornness.

Her chest tightened.

Something felt wrong.

Her heartbeat felt strange.

It was like her body was telling her to run.

She felt nauseous and dizzy.

Feeling something rising in her throat, Charlotte quickly covered her mouth with her hand—and something came out.

Looking down at her hand, she saw it covered in bright red blood.

Her vision spun as the floor and ceiling flipped, and she saw Ray rushing toward her.

“Charlotte!!!”

That was the last thing she heard before she lost consciousness.

When Charlotte finally opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Ray, now dressed in white.

“Ray…?”

“Charlotte?! You’re awake?! Are you okay?! How do you feel?!”

Ray looked like she was about to faint from relief.

“You’ve been unconscious for a whole week!!”

“…Where… are we?”

It was an unfamiliar place. A room made of cold bricks, with just the two of them inside.

“…They said it’s the Great Cathedral. As soon as you collapsed, that snake guy brought us here.”

Her limbs ached as if torn apart. After not moving for a week, her body was far from normal.

Ray hugged her tightly and cried, and Charlotte, overwhelmed with emotion, cried too.

Why did all this happen? What was so important about being a Saintess candidate that they could just take her like that?

Creak—

“Oh? You’re awake?”

The wooden door opened, and a blonde girl about Charlotte’s age entered.

“Who are you…?”

“Oh, this girl is…”

“I’m Cersia!”

Cutting off Ray’s words with a big grin, the girl introduced herself and offered her hand.

“You’ve just been sleeping since you came, so I was worried!”

“Uh… okay?”

“Let’s get along!”

Cersia grabbed Charlotte’s hand and shook it wildly.

“Careful… she’s a bit weird…”

“She looks like it…”

“I can hear you, you know?!”

Ray made a spinning gesture near her head, calling Cersia crazy.

“Then stop acting like a weirdo!”

“It’s just how I show affection!”

“I said stop it!!!”

Cersia pouted and leaned toward Ray, who pushed her face away in disgust.

‘What happened during the week I was unconscious…?’ Charlotte wondered.