As the new student Crypian Thorne settled into academy life, things were very different in the Holy Empire.
After the Saint Trial ended, the Pope and the commander of the Paladins left the church on a special tour.
Though they called it a tour, it was actually a cleaning mission.
They traveled across the Holy Empire, quietly removing all the traitors hidden among the people.
About half a month after the Saint Trial, in the quiet prayer room, Uriel knelt in front of the beautiful statue of Goddess Benigore.
He wore a pure white robe decorated with golden patterns.
His long blonde hair flowed down his back, and a white blindfold covered his eyes.
Around him, many devotees knelt and prayed together.
"Oh rciful Goddess Benigore, please look after your devotees," Uriel prayed softly.
Everyone repeated after him in unison, "Oh Goddess Benigore, please look after your devotees."
He continued praying for a while, then slowly stood up from his kneeling position.
Uriel turned toward the devotees and gave them a gentle smile.
"Thank you everyone for praying with ."
The devotees stood up as well and bowed deeply.
"Thank you! Praying with you is the greatest fortune we have. Thank you!"
Uriel smiled again and softly called out, "Cecilia."
The mont he spoke her na, a beautiful girl stepped out from the crowd.
She had long, flowing ocean-blue hair and bright ruby-like blue eyes.
Her face still had a youthful, innocent charm.
She was Cecilia Evander, the eldest daughter of the Holy Empire’s royal family.
She had co with the Emperor as a guest during the Saint Trial.
But after seeing Uriel, she decided to stay and serve him as his personal caretaker, and as his eyes, since he could not see.
Uriel reached out his hand.
Cecilia gently took it and led him out of the prayer hall.
"Saint..." she began to speak.
Uriel interrupted her with a soft laugh.
"Cecilia, I told you not to call Saint. We are the sa age, so you can be casual with ." He smiled gently.
When Uriel smiled, it was like a flower blooming in sunlight.
Cecilia’s breath caught in her throat.
It was said that Uriel was the peak of beauty, even the most beautiful girl in the world would look plain next to him.
Her cheeks turned bright red.
"A-alright... U-uriel..." she stamred shyly as she led him outside.
Once they stepped out, Uriel felt the warm sunlight touch his face.
"Cecilia, can you lead to Cardinal Raphael?"
"O-of course," she replied with a bright smile.
Even though Uriel couldn’t see it, he could feel her happiness.
She guided him carefully along the path.
On the way to Cardinal Raphael’s room, Uriel spoke up again, still wearing his kind and benevolent smile.
"So Cecilia, I heard you were planning to go to the Royal Arcane Academy. What stopped you? Is it because of the Goddess?"
"Right..." Cecilia agreed, though only half-heartedly.
As a princess of the Holy Empire, she did have so connection with the Goddess, but that wasn’t the real reason she had stayed behind.
The main reason was Uriel.
Her face turned a soft shade of red as she sneaked quick glances at him from the corner of her eyes.
Since childhood, Cecilia had always been obsessed with beauty.
Thankfully, she was extrely beautiful herself, so beautiful that she could proudly claim she was the most beautiful girl in the world.
Over ti, this pride grew so strong that she rejected every marriage proposal that ca her way.
She had even rejected Crypian Thorne, who was famous for his good looks.
Her father had still insisted she et him, which is why she was originally planning to attend the Royal Arcane Academy.
But everything changed the mont she attended the Saint Trial.
When she first saw Uriel, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
No one could be that beautiful. It felt like a dream.
For the first ti in her life, she, who took so much pride in her own appearance, felt small and insignificant next to him.
Oddly enough, Uriel never showed any pride in his looks.
That surprised her even more.
That was when she begged her father to speak with the church so she could stay and serve as Uriel’s attendant.
"Haa..." Cecilia let out a quiet sigh as she thought about it.
’But he is not soone who has room for love in his heart...’ she thought bitterly.
He wasn’t allowed to fall in love, and even if he was, he probably never would.
He had already given his entire being to the Goddess.
She understood that clearly the day he dug out his own eyes without even letting out a single groan of pain.
"Cecilia?" Uriel called gently when she stayed silent for too long.
"What are you thinking about?"
Cecilia snapped out of her thoughts and quickly smiled.
"Nothing, I was just thinking about my schedule..." she made up an excuse.
After all, she wasn’t allowed to think of Uriel that way.
There was already so dissatisfaction from the church about her serving him.
"Do you miss not going to the academy?" he asked with a soft, gentle voice.
"N-no," Cecilia stamred a little. "Why would I miss it? To begin with, I didn’t want to go there in the first place."
She shrugged her shoulders lightly.
"Hmm," Uriel humd as he walked, still holding her hand. "Would you like to go with ?"
He continued with a nostalgic look on his face,
"I was thinking of visiting the Royal Arcane Academy since long ago, when I was still an orphan."
Though the main reason was different, he needed to take the divination board from his main body to divine everything, using this wish as an excuse was a good idea.
"Academy? Did you want to attend the academy as a student?" Cecilia asked, sounding a bit curious.
"Haha," Uriel chuckled softly. "Well, there was a ti I wished to study there. But after finding Goddess Benigore, I lost that wish."
He brushed his hair away from his forehead.
"But I guess I still want to see how the academy looks like... though not like I can truly see it, haha." He chuckled again.
"Oh?" Cecilia responded. Then she spoke slowly,
"Well, I’m your attendant, so wherever you go, I should go with you."
"I will accompany you!"
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