Chapter 587: The Saintess’ Commands (I)

Not long after, one of the priests walked into the shrine hall. He was probably the first one to finish his prayers.

"Lady Rose," he greeted her.

He gave her a kind smile, but Rose wasn’t fooled by it. She had known from the beginning that he didn’t like her. Deep down, he saw her as nothing more than a disgrace to the Holy Temple.

"You’re late," he added.

Rose smiled back at him, but there was no warmth in her eyes. "Reverend Father, take me to the Holy Temple."

The priest frowned because he wasn’t allowed to leave the temple grounds without the Cardinal’s permission.

"But—"

"I command you," Rose ordered.

The priest immediately straightened his back. The hesitation disappeared from his face, and his eyes became empty the moment her words reached his ears.

"As you wish, my Lady."

The priest remained silent for several seconds before speaking again. "We can use the temple carriage, my Lady. It will be faster that way."

Rose simply nodded and the priest immediately arranged everything without another question.

Before long, Rose was sitting inside the temple carriage with the wooden box resting carefully on her lap. Her fingers remained wrapped around it throughout the entire journey, as though she was afraid someone might try to take Edmond away from her again.

The carriage carried them toward the capital of the Sorex Kingdom, where the Holy Temple stood at the heart of the city.

Primrose watched the memory in silence. She had no idea what was about to happen, but for some reason, a terrible feeling settled in her chest.

After all, Rose looked far too calm as she sat inside the carriage. There was something almost eerie about it. There was no anger left on her face, no sadness or fear either.

There was only emptiness.

When they finally reached the gates of the Holy Temple, Rose stepped out of the carriage. However, the moment she tried to enter the holy grounds, several guards immediately moved forward to block her path.

"Lady Rose, you are not allowed to enter the holy grounds," one of them said.

They did not even call her Saintess anymore. They did not bow their heads to her either, as they once would have done out of respect.

Even so, Rose showed no significant emotion on her face. She looked at them calmly, then said, "Move aside. I command you."

The guards froze for several seconds. But then, one after another, they stepped away from the entrance.

Rose walked past them without looking back. The priest followed closely behind her, while she continued to hold the wooden box safely in her arms.

The moment she entered the Holy Temple, several priests hurried toward her. Some immediately recognized her, while others stared in confusion, clearly wondering why the disgraced former Saintess had suddenly returned.

Without giving them a chance to question her, Rose had opened her mouth.

"Go to every temple in the capital," she ordered. "Gather the Gods’ followers and bring them here. I command you."

The priests became still as her power took hold of their minds.

"As you command."

A few hours later, more and more people began arriving at the Holy Temple until the grounds could barely hold them all.

Priests, believers, merchants, servants, soldiers, and common people gathered together in confusion.

Rose stood at the top of the steps leading into the temple. She looked down at the enormous crowd with disgust and annoyance in her eyes.

For years, these people had bowed before the Gods.

For years, Rose had done the same.

She had prayed until her knees hurt. She had climbed those thousand steps until her feet bled. She had devoted her entire life to the Gods, only to watch everything she loved be taken away from her.

"Saintess, would you give us your blessing?" a merchant suddenly asked from the crowd. "I’d be glad if you could bless my goods."

[But can she even still bless me?] the merchant thought.

Primrose gasped in surprise because she could suddenly hear other people’s thoughts too, not just Edmond’s.

To be honest, she had always believed that Rose could sense what other people were feeling, but she probably hadn’t been able to hear their thoughts as clearly as she could now before the Moon Goddess blessed her.

Not long after, their thoughts filled her head one by one.

[Wasn’t she the one who ran away with that filthy Lycan?]

[I heard she even had a child with that disgusting creature.]

[I knew it! We should never have given a monster the chance to live among us!]

Even though Edmond was already dead, they were still insulting him in their hearts.

His body had already grown cold, yet these people were still insulting him in their hearts. Even after his death, their hatred toward him continued to burn like hot embers.

[She’s not pure anymore, so what can she even do?]

[Disgusting. Why did I even have to come here? For years, I wanted to see the Saintess’s beautiful face, but now even looking at her disgusts me.]

Rose almost laughed because the moment she lost her purity, all of these people treated her as if she no longer had any worth.

Their thoughts continued to pour into her mind without stopping.

Some were disgusted by her.

Some pitied her.

Some wondered whether the rumors about Edmond were true.

Others were simply curious about why she had suddenly called everyone here.

Yet beneath all those different thoughts, Rose could hear the same thing again and again: they did not see Edmond as a person.

They never had.

To them, he had always been a monster who should have been grateful that humans had allowed him to live among them.

"Saintess?" the merchant called when she still had not answered him. His smile became a little awkward. "About the blessing..."

Rose looked directly at him and the merchant immediately straightened his back.

"You want my blessing?" Rose asked.

The merchant’s face brightened. "Yes, Saintess!"

Then Rose asked softly, "Do all of you want my blessing?"

The crowd quickly became excited. "Yes!"

"Please bless us, Saintess!"

"May the Gods continue to watch over Sorex!"

"Please pray for my family!"

"Pray for my fortune!"

More and more voices joined together until the entire courtyard became noisy.

Rose’s smile had not disappeared, but there was something frightening about the way she looked at them.

She looked like someone who had finally made a decision.

"All right," Rose said. "If that is what you want, then I will give you one final blessing."