Chapter 50: Temple Visit

 “Are you really sure you won’t regret this? You can still turn back now.”

 While receiving Edmund’s concerned gaze, Clea looked out the window.

 Under the brightly shining sunlight, a building constructed distinctively from its surroundings, as if boasting its dignity, came into view.

 Even though they had almost reached their destination, the temple, Edmund tried to persuade her.

 Not entirely disliking his concern, Clea raised the corners of her lips.

 “My choice remains unchanged, Edmund.”

 “But it’s a whole week.”

 Edmund feared the time span of one week.

 No one knows what might happen during that week.

Edmund still worried whether the withered Clea could truly endure a whole week.

 “It may be a whole week for you, but for me, it’s merely that.”

 The weight of time felt by the two was different.

 Naturally, Edmund was the one feeling regretful.

 Because when she leaves, he would naturally be the one remaining.

 Edmund’s gaze remained fixed on Clea.

 Clea approached Edmund sitting across from her and kissed his forehead, hoping his anxiety would disappear.

 Edmund, feeling slightly better, said in a low voice.

 “I’m not a child.”

 “I know that you’re not a child. So you won’t be anxious, right?”

 Edmund’s heart became even more complicated at the sound of Clea’s laughter.

 Watching Edmund in his anguish, Clea quietly wrapped her arms around his face.

 Normally, he would have raised his head to examine her appearance and more, but he didn’t.

 Understanding his feelings, Clea quietly kissed him.

 Only after their lips parted did Edmund meet her gaze.

 She whispered quietly to him, who looked anxious.

 “I want to break this curse and grow old together by your side.”

 “I’m afraid something might go wrong with you during this week.”

 Clea quietly observed him.

 She was very surprised to see a man who would one day become emperor and have everything, so anxious because of her.

 “I won’t die. I’m still alive now.”

 She placed her hand on top of Edmund’s to share body heat.

 Though her hand was as cold as ice, making it seem like she was taking rather than sharing, Edmund didn’t push her hand away.

 “I’ve contacted the temple in advance. They’re probably waiting for us to get off.”

 Looking out the window, as Edmund said, several people were already out waiting for visitors.

 Clea confirmed that they had completely arrived and the carriage was no longer moving before opening the door.

 “Is there anything else I need to hear?”

 Edmund looked at Clea standing by the door.

 She didn’t look frightened at all.

 As far as he remembered, she had never shown any signs of fear or terror.

 It was puzzling. Clearly, she was the one facing death, yet he, who was healthier than her, was this anxious.

 “No, that’s all I have to say.”

 Though he had a bit more to say, Edmund shook his head.

 Grabbing the hand she extended, he too rose from his seat.

 Thinking he had shown enough vulnerability to her, he stood beside Clea.

 Clea looked at Edmund and said,

 “Good. I wasn’t planning to listen to anything more anyway.”

 The two who got off the carriage side by side finally reached their destination.

 “Welcome. We’ve been waiting. I am Hayden, the district head in charge of the capital’s temple.”

 At their arrival, there was a considerably young district head.

 ‘Hayden.’

 She mentally traced back who this familiar name belonged to.

 And she quickly realized where she had heard it.

 ‘In the original story, Aria, who was also cursed, definitely met Hayden too.’

 Clea realized that this was the very place Aria had visited to find out how to break the curse.

 * * *

 Hayden Borrison.

 Despite his youth, he was capable enough to be in charge of the capital’s temple.

 While Edmund and Lloyd had sharp impressions, Hayden had a gentle appearance, as if revealing his inherent goodness to the bone.

 His hair was brown, and his eyes showed no aggression at all.

 After finishing the temple introduction, he confirmed the purpose of Clea’s visit today.

 “I already know the purpose of your visit to our temple. You said you came for penance.”

 “That’s right. I’ve committed quite a few sins in the past.”

 Quite a few sins indeed. Knowing this, a hollow smile appeared on Clea’s lips.

 She felt somewhat wronged. If she had truly committed sins and come here, she would have accepted it gladly.

 But since all of it was done by Clea before she possessed this body, she hadn’t done anything herself.

 “Can you tell me yourself what those sins are?”

 “Hmm.”

 She mentally retraced her memories.

 Though it was before her possession, it remained vividly in her memory.

 When Hayden asked what sins she had committed, she answered without hesitation.

 “I dirtied, broke, or stole things from a girl I hated. I pushed her down stairs or tripped her, hoping she would get hurt.”

 Hearing this, Hayden maintained his smile but was somewhat perplexed.

 ‘She speaks as if it’s someone else’s story.’

 Even though they were removed from secular life and studied theology, they weren’t ignorant of what happened in reality.

 They too had eyes and ears, and sometimes got involved in political positions, so they always secured information faster than others.

 In this case too, while the temple pretended not to care, they actually moved faster than anyone else to focus on finding out the truth.

 It would be troublesome for the temple in many ways if she, who would become empress in the future, turned out to be the villain of rumors.

 That’s why everyone had been watching her vigilantly from the moment she stepped out of the carriage.

 “Do you now repent for all those actions?”

 “Yes, I am repenting.”

 But Clea didn’t care what intentions they had in their questions.

 ‘I repent for my past actions when I acted just like them.’

 For her, the past events were all too regrettable.

 If she had not reacted at all, she wouldn’t have been connected to them at all.

 She no longer wanted this petty relationship to continue. Clea wanted to end it with this opportunity.

 “But strangely, it seems you haven’t done that many wrongs, my lady.”

 “That’s a nice thing to hear, even as a joke.”

 “It’s not a joke.”

 Clea thought it was just a pleasant lip service.

 In the empire’s history, the temple was once a powerful force that even threatened the imperial family.

 But now it had weakened to the point where it was difficult to maintain without financial support from the imperial family.

 She thought he was saying something nice because he was conscious of Edmund’s presence beside her.

 But that didn’t seem to be all. Hayden spoke to Clea in a serious voice.

 “Rather, it’s the opposite. Someone terrible is doing evil things to you, my lady.”

 Clea stopped walking and looked at Hayden.

 ‘Wasn’t he unable to recognize Aria’s curse with the naked eye?’

 In the original story, he appeared completely unaware of any curse until Aria mentioned it directly.

 But now, as if he had become a different person from the original story, he was examining her curse with sharp eyes.

 Edmund, who also knew about Clea’s curse, was perplexed by his words.

 “I rather think you are pitiful, my lady. To be entangled with such bad people that you’re covered in something so filthy.”

 “Do you know who that person is, High Priest?”

 Though she had a general idea, she was curious.

 She wanted to know if it was indeed the person she suspected.

 Hearing Clea’s question, which had reached the level of certainty, Hayden briefly observed Edmund’s expression behind him.

 He too was looking at Hayden with a very curious expression.

 Hayden shifted his gaze back to Clea.

 “Well, I don’t know. Rather, I’m more curious why you’re interested in what might just be my nonsense.”

 “Since you didn’t give me an answer, I have no reason to tell you either.”

 “Then this conversation ends here.”

 Edmund felt regretful, but Clea wasn’t that disappointed.

 Because apart from Aria Hersher, not a single person in this world knew well about her curse.

 No matter how much he knew, she wasn’t convinced he would know better than herself, who knew the original story. So Clea didn’t obsessively try to force him to tell.

 Observing her reaction, Hayden spoke about the penance.

 “You will have a week of penance. That time might be harsh, can you endure it?”

 “I came prepared for that much.”

 At Clea’s relaxed answer, Hayden inwardly smiled and asked.

 “Then I’d like to proceed with this penance in a somewhat unique way, would you like to hear about it?”

 “High Priest, this seems like something that wasn’t discussed with me.”

 Was it because of the word ‘unique’?

 Or was it because of the sudden unexpected situation?

 Edmund frowned and asked what that meant.

 But Hayden bypassed Edmund and spoke to Clea.

 Clea showed interest after hearing his words.

 “If we proceed as usual, there might be rumors that His Highness the Crown Prince secretly helped. So I’d like to suggest proceeding with a public penance this time.”

 “Public penance…… you say?”

 Hayden’s eyes, which had maintained a smile until now, turned cold.

 “Yes, public penance.”