TGS - Chapter 7
Chapter 7: The Little Priestess
The priestess watched her daughter leave, then glanced at Alyuin. Her expression was still rigid, showing no particular emotion.
She said to the richly dressed man sitting beside her, "My Lord, this is Princess Alyuin."
The Lord of Kadera City was a slightly plump man with ordinary features. A cheerful smile seemed permanently fixed on his face, and even when facing the powerless little princess, his eyes showed no contempt.
"Ah, Your Highness Alyuin," he said, sounding very apologetic. "I should have welcomed you at the city gates, but I have been terribly busy these past few days. It is only today that I have found the time to visit. How terribly rude of me."
"To express my apologies, please accept this gift."
The Lord clapped his hands. A guard standing to his left stepped forward, opened the wooden box he was holding, and revealed several of Kadera's specialty pastries inside.
To be fair, the food looked quite exquisite and delicious, but as a gift for a princess, it was far too slight. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was a deliberate provocation.
The Lord watched Alyuin with a beaming smile, as if waiting for her reaction.
The little princess, as expected, demanded, "Lord of Kadera, what is the meaning of this!"
"Why is Your Highness so angry?" the Lord asked, feigning ignorance. "Could it be that our hospitality is lacking?"
"You..." Alyuin gritted her teeth, as if only now remembering her current situation, and reluctantly suppressed her anger.
She wanted to let the matter drop, but the Lord pushed his advantage. "Do the sweets not suit your taste? Don't worry, I won't force you to accept them."
As soon as he said this, the guard standing behind him actually closed the box. The meaning was clear: he wasn't even going to give her this small gift, showing complete disregard for the little princess's dignity.
Alyuin clenched her fists, her chest heaving. But she was in no position to lose her temper. "It doesn't matter," she said stiffly. "I have to go to the schoolroom, so I'll be leaving."
With that, she turned and strode out the door, clearly quite angry.
But only Lotus, who was beside her, saw that the little princess's expression quickly calmed after she turned away, becoming impassive and thoughtful.
As I thought, she isn't that reckless.
Lotus thought for a moment and floated back into the room.
The priestess's face showed indifference, but inwardly she was extremely anxious. This was the child the Goddess Lotus had entrusted to her care. What if she offended the Lord here...
"Princess Alyuin is truly spoiled. She doesn't even understand basic courtesy. Please rest assured, my Lord, I will teach her properly."
The Lord of Kadera laughed dismissively. "Muya, you are always so strict. It's fine. Do you think I would bicker with a child over such things?"
The priestess bowed her head. "You are magnanimous, my Lord."
The Lord shook his head and rose from his chair with some effort. "Since I have paid my respects to Her Highness, I should be going."
He led his two guards along the wide path toward the carriage waiting at the temple's main gate. The priestess stood behind, watching their retreating figures with worry.
Lotus followed them. It seemed she couldn't stray too far from the temple now, but thankfully, this distance was enough for her to overhear the Lord's conversation.
"My Lord, these pastries—"
"Throw them away. You don't expect me to eat them, do you?"
"I wouldn't dare, my Lord."
After a brief silence, the guard asked again, "My Lord, we didn't follow that person's instructions this time. Should we still take action later?"
"There's no need. She's just a little girl who wears her heart on her sleeve, spoiled rotten in the royal city. What kind of threat could she be?"
"But that person said..."
"That person only said to eliminate her if she's a threat, not that we must act. This princess was sent all the way to Kadera. There were plenty of opportunities to act, but no one along the way even considered it. Do you think assassinating royalty is a joke?" The Lord's voice suddenly rose. "That would bring down the curse of the gods!"
The two guards seemed stunned, not daring to breathe.
After a long moment, the Lord's tone softened. "No matter how skilled this princess was with a sword or bow before, she can only waste away in the temple. She's not a prince, so what is there to fear? Keeping her around might even be useful someday. This matter ends here."
Having heard this much, Lotus reached the farthest point she could travel from the temple. She had no choice but to stop and watch the carriage disappear into the distance.
—The little princess's caution was not without reason.
Dangers lurked all around her. Even exiled to Kadera, her enemies in the royal city were still uneasy. They held back now only because they underestimated her. If Alyuin were a prince, they would have likely stopped at nothing to eliminate her completely.
Lotus sighed softly and returned to the temple the way she came.
She peered through the small window of the schoolroom. Among all the students, Alyuin's upright figure was exceptionally striking. No matter who looked, she would be the first one they saw—a radiance that could not be hidden, even if she tried.
One day in the future, those people would bitterly regret underestimating the little princess.
As she thought this, a smile of anticipation touched her lips. She floated lightly through the wall to Alyuin's side and looked up—
The priestess's daughter, Rhea, stood in the middle of three circles of students, her face red with effort. She held a scroll and was stammering through a lesson, her voice so quiet that even Alyuin couldn't hear her clearly.
Lotus felt a little bewildered. She looked around but saw no one who looked like an adult teacher. This meant that Rhea was indeed the one teaching these children.
Looking at Rhea, who appeared even more childish than anyone else present, Lotus was speechless. "..."
Rhea felt like everyone was watching her.
The hand holding the book trembled uncontrollably. A cold sweat broke out on her skin, and she found it hard to breathe. She wasn't even sure what she was saying anymore.
She had promised her mother she would give a proper lesson to the new students, using it as an opportunity to practice and overcome her habit of getting nervous and stammering in front of others. But it was no use.
Rhea's gaze wandered until it met that of Tarsha, who was sitting in the first row. The other girl looked impatient, her eyes filled with disdain.
She hastily looked away, only to accidentally meet the eyes of Alyuin sitting behind her. The princess from Akhet had a placid expression and seemed gentle and friendly, but for some reason, she was far more unnerving than the arrogant Tarsha.
Rhea quietly mumbled the words she had prepared, feeling so dejected she wanted to cry.
If she couldn't even teach a class in a small schoolroom, how could she ever inherit her mother's position? How could she conduct the grand temple ceremony under the watchful eyes of all the people of Kadera?
Could the great Goddess Lotus truly accept such a useless priestess?
After the lesson ended, Rhea fled in a panic. Behind her, she could hear the other children laughing and mimicking her stutter.
She thought sadly:
"Please forgive me. Please don't despise me."
"Oh, Goddess of the Yilu River, what must I do to be worthy of your sacred position of priestess..."
With these thoughts, Rhea didn't go back to teach the students that afternoon. She ran to the library to hide away.
The books filled with folk tales about the great goddess, which she usually read with rapt attention, seemed to have lost their charm. Her mind was consumed by her failure in the schoolroom.
The more she thought about it, the more she resented herself. Rhea carefully set the book aside, buried her head in her arms, and sobbed quietly until she cried herself to sleep.
When Lotus arrived at the library as usual, intending to make another attempt at floating up to the third floor, she saw the little priestess asleep with half her face buried in her knees.
Lotus paused.
Should I go see her?
Lotus hesitated for a moment, then floated toward the little priestess, preparing to see if she could enter her dream.
The answer was yes. As the daughter of the head priestess of the Kadera temple, Rhea was also a devout follower of the river goddess. Her faith shone as brightly as her mother's.
The moment before the scene changed, Lotus suddenly thought of the little princess and felt a baseless sense of guilt.
Strange. I asked the priestess to look after the little princess, so of course, I should return the favor and show concern for her daughter. There's nothing wrong with that. Why should I feel guilty?
Lotus, feeling perfectly justified, opened her eyes in the little priestess's dream.
Unlike the clear and distinct settings of Alyuin's dreams, Rhea's dreamscape was oppressive and blurry, gray and depressing.
The little priestess was squatting in a corner of the dream, looking like a pitiful little mushroom.
Suddenly, she stood up, holding the book of praises that the priestess never went without. Surrounded by a circle of gray shadows, she tried to recite from it loudly. She started off fluently, but after just a few lines, she began to make mistakes.
The gray shadows immediately grew boisterous, clapping and laughing as they mimicked her mistakes.
Rhea's voice grew quieter and quieter, and she stammered more frequently. After finishing one hymn, she refused to continue, squatting down again to play the part of a mushroom.
Just then, the figure of the priestess appeared beside her, her stern and rigid expression identical to how she was in reality.
She said only one thing: "Rhea, you are a true disappointment to me."
The destructive power of this sentence was greater than that of all the gray shadows combined. Rhea looked up abruptly, tears streaming down her face.
"I'm sorry, Mother, I can't help it, I'm sorry—"
Everyone has things they fear or are not good at. To Lotus, the little priestess's situation seemed perfectly normal. But for Rhea herself and her strict mother, this flaw was fatal.
The temple priesthood in Solancia was hereditary. With the exception of the high priest, whose position was supreme and required passing numerous trials, the head priest positions in each city were passed down through generations.
From mother to daughter, from father to son, whether by blood or adoption, as long as they didn't commit a grave crime that would bring disaster upon their family, this succession would not be broken.
Therefore, Rhea was destined to inherit the temple of Kadera. One day, she would have to preside over the sacrificial ceremony in front of everyone. What would she do then?
Lotus didn't believe a person had to overcome such an obstacle, but Rhea's position demanded it, as did her own desire to become a worthy priestess.
Her mind made up, Lotus appeared before Rhea.
"Lift your head, my follower," the goddess said.
The little priestess suddenly felt that it wasn't so dark before her anymore. She looked up in confusion and saw the goddess she worshipped standing there, a soft, faint light surrounding her and dispelling the gloom.
She could hardly believe her eyes.
"Goddess Lotus! Am I dreaming...?" Rhea pinched her arm in a daze. It didn't hurt.
It really is a dream.
Lotus said mysteriously, "A dream does not necessarily mean falsehood, just as what people believe is not necessarily the truth."
Rhea didn't fully understand, but one thing she knew for sure was that the being before her was indeed the goddess she had seen in the sacrificial chamber.
Her first reaction was joyful surprise, but it quickly turned to fear.
The little priestess bowed her head low. "Have you come to punish me?"
Lotus was taken aback. "Why would you think that?"
"I'm too stupid. I can't learn to speak in front of others, and I'll ruin your ceremonies in the future."
"You spoke very well just now."
Ah, the goddess praised me.
Rhea's eyes lit up, but then she remembered something and her spirits fell again. "I can only speak properly in front of your statue and my mother. In front of anyone else, I can't do anything right."
Lotus said, "You can do it."
Rhea whispered, "Do you believe in me?"
"Yes, I believe," Lotus said with a smile. "Besides, being a person of few words is not a bad thing. Even if you were to say nothing at my ceremony, I would still rejoice, for your soul and your faith shine just as brightly."
Having said this, Lotus expertly withdrew from the dream. A few words of guidance were enough. Any more and she would become a spiritual mentor, and what kind of god would that be?
Rhea awoke and dazedly pondered Lotus's words. Her eyes gradually brightened. She ran swiftly out of the library, wanting to tell her mother about the legendary experience she'd had.
Halfway there, she stopped.
No, I can't tell her yet.
I have to wait until I can speak fluently in front of others, until I am worthy of the trust of that powerful and gentle goddess. When that time comes, I'll tell Mother, and she'll be proud of me, won't she?
And so, the little priestess's steps became steady once more.
At that moment, Alyuin was sitting in the classroom. She glanced out the window and happened to see the entire process of Rhea's transition from a frantic run to a composed walk.
How boring. She looked away, wondering why she had suddenly felt a faint sense of displeasure, never once connecting it to the little priestess outside the window.
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