/
Chapter 26
Translator: Yonnee
—
* * *
“You’re back.”
“Yes, Your Holiness.”
“Come, sit down.”
As Victor visited him, the high priest welcomed the young man.
“Then, how was Her Ladyship? Did she refuse to listen to class again?”
The high priest asked with a rigid tone, but Victor shook his head in response.
“No, she didn’t refuse.”
“She didn’t?”
“Yes.”
“Her Ladyship had no qualms about the class?”
“Yes. She even worked hard during the class. Although we had to start from the basics again.”
The young man’s calm report shocked the high priest.
He set down his teacup with trembling hands. Still, his stunned expression was soon replaced with a gradual smile.
“Hoho, I see. She truly worked hard in class?”
The part where it was mentioned that she had to ‘start from the basics’ had already been erased from his mind.
It didn’t matter whether she had to start from the very beginning or not.
Only one thing mattered.
That the ducal lady, who had been acting like a lout all this time, had finally started being serious in class.
And apparently, the good news did not stop there.
“Yes. And she also asked me to tell the other priests that she apologizes for her past behavior. That she had been acting senselessly until now, and that she’d come by later to greet everyone.”
“Really? Then…”
The high priest answered dazedly, but he soon snapped out of his reverie and smiled broadly.
All the other high-ranking priests who had been in charge of the ducal lady’s education kept saying, “She’s simply not interested in theology.” Each and every time he heard this, the high priest would feel so anxious.
‘She’s the Saintess, and yet she pays no mind to God.’
He waited and waited for her attitude to get better over time, but he never got the chance to stop waiting.
Whenever he saw how unchanging the ducal lady was, he couldn’t help but be so disappointed…
“I don’t know what’s going on, but this is all such good developments.”
“Yes, Your Holiness. And there’s one more piece of good news.”
“Really? What is it?”
The high priest’s complexion blossomed.
“Her Ladyship said that she wishes to donate to the temple.”
“Hoho, that truly is such good news.”
“I agree. Besides that, the donation method she mentioned was something that’s never been thought of before.”
“Never been thought of?”
Victor rummaged through his pocket and took out a piece of paper.
When he unfolded it, what could be seen was a picture that she seemed to have drawn herself.
After looking at that drawing carefully for a moment, the high priest immediately knew what it was.
“Isn’t this a fountain?”
“Yes, it’s a fountain.”
“Hmm… So it seems that she wishes to donate a fountain to the temple.”
Muttering, the high priest felt deflated.
He was glad to hear that the ducal lady had decided to do something good…
But there were already two existing fountains in the temple, and there was no room for yet another one.
It’s like that, but if the ducal lady were to truly donate a fountain, they couldn’t possibly just put it anywhere.
Still, in the end, the high priest’s guess was quite far from the mark.
“No, sir. She won’t be donating a fountain.”
She won’t?
Victor’s answer made the high priest blink.
“What do you mean?”
“She said that she wishes to install this fountain in the capital’s town square, and it will be called, ‘Fountain of Wishes’.”
“Fountain of Wishes?”
“Yes. She said that the fountain will be near God Luqera’s sculpture so that people can make wishes through the fountain.”
“A fountain with a well-meaning purpose. But what does that have to do with the donation she wishes to make…?”
At the high priest’s perplexed murmur, Victor nodded.
When Roella first brought up the fountain, he also found it puzzling.
—How is that related to the donation you mentioned?
When Victor had asked her, the ducal lady smiled as she answered.
—People will toss coins into the fountain to make wishes. Throwing one coin will be a wish for happiness, throwing two coins will be a wish for good luck. And, throwing three coins will mean that your wish will come true. The value of the coins doesn’t matter, just how many there are.”
—Then, the donation you spoke of…
—Yes, the money will all be considered as a donation. Of course, it will be revealed to all the people of the empire that the coins they toss into the fountain will be used as donations.
Victor was shocked when he heard her explanation.
It really was a type of donation that had never been thought of before.
Additionally, the people who couldn’t come personally at the temple could still be able to donate by tossing coins and making wishes. It would be a pleasant experience.
Many people find the act of donating as something difficult or burdensome, yet this could prove to be an opportunity to break such a prejudice.
When Victor recounted this story to the high priest, the high priest also looked shocked.
“It’s an exceptionally novel method.”
“I feel the same way. And Her Ladyship also said that she would be responsible for the fountain entirely, from the production and even the permits from the Imperial Palace as well. And once it’s complete, she said that she would hand over all administrative rights to the temple later.”
“All administrative rights?”
“Yes. She sincerely, and with a pure heart, wishes to make the fountain for the temple and for the people of the Empire, and it’s because she wants to reflect on how immaturely she had lived until now. She said that she’s satisfied with just putting her name as the chief sponsor for the fountain’s production.”
“God Almighty.”
The high priest started crying.