Chapter 78: 38

Volume 1 – 38 – Percelis, Offering Flowers to the Young Boy in the Water Casket

My name is Percelis.

The Green Shrine Maiden of the Sanctuary

 

Within the sanctuary of Vabilophos, there is a hidden underground garden not known to the general public.

 

This place is the true origin of the sanctuary.

 

Only the Green Shrine Maiden and some chosen arcbishops are allowed to enter. It is also known as the Tomb of Truth.

I have always come here to enjoy the garden’s clear water and sacred air, it is a wonderful place to offer my prayers.

 

What do I pray for?

 

I pray that the peace of the Southern Continent will continue. Really, I have no choice in that matter.

“Hey, you think so too, right?” [1] I giggle at the boy in the water casket.

At the foot of the ancient tree in the middle of the garden is a water casket. Within the casket is a young boy.

The boy is said to have been sleeping in the water casket long before I became a Green Shrine Maiden. So, I have no idea how long he has been there.

Such a young boy, he looks about 10 years old.

 

Since he’s dead, he never opened his eyes and his pale beauty is forever preserved in death.

When I look at this boy, pain swells up in my chest and I feel like crying. I feel oddly nostalgic and attached to the boy, as though I can’t leave his side.

I find myself lying down beside this boy’s casket once again, telling him all about the things that happened to me during the day as I offer up a bouquet of small white flowers to him.

“Today, Ulysses arrived for the first time in a long time. You know the Holy Festival is soon, right? I showed him the outfit I’m going to wear and Ulysses complimented me as always…”

The boy’s eyes remained closed.

Obviously, he doesn’t respond to any of the words I throw at him.

 

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“Ulysses~ Ulyssessss~~~”

“Yes yes, I hear you.”

I hugged him as I always do when he comes to the sanctuary.

[1] This has been happening since we were quite young. Ulysses is now 16 while I am 14 years old.

I have reached the age where Delgusta gets rather noisy whenever I touch Ulysses casually.

“Percelis, can’t you see that His Highness is feeling uncomfortable? You should stop these improper acts.”

“Boo, stop being so stingy. It’s no big deal!”

“… hahaha…”

I complained and fussed, refusing to let go of Ulysses’ arm. He laughed a little helplessly.

Ulysses is really kind. He always goes along with whatever selfish requests I have and always tries to make me happy.

I love how warm and gentle he is. I love his clear amethyst eyes, his light hair and his pale skin.

When we first met, I thought he looked kind of like a girl. But, he has matured a lot and looks more like a boy nowadays.

His grown-up air and calm demeanour remain the same, so I think it’s just his appearance finally catching up with his personality. He has always been a neat and composed person.

Being around him always makes me feel a little nostalgic, like I’m about to cry. For some reason, looking at him makes me a bit sad inside… I wonder why?

It is the same feeling I get when I look at the boy sleeping in the water casket. The same squeezing feeling in my chest has been happening ever since I first met Ulysses.

 However, I can’t seem to stay away from him [1] despite the pain and sadness in my chest. I’m sure, this must mean I really am in love with him.

 

“Heyy~ Ulysses, this is my outfit for this year’s Holy Festival, what do you think?”

“Hm, it matches you well.”

“Do I look cute?”

“Yes, very cute.”

When I showed him my shrine maiden outfit made with a light green soft cloth, his eyes widened and he complimented me in a gentle voice.

I was very happy to receive his compliments. However, when I thought about Ulysses saying the same thing to other girls, I felt a little disappointed.

My cheeks puffed up as I flapped the outfit about.

“Hm…? Why are you angry, Percelis?”

“Humph. I guess Ulysses is the type to carelessly say those things to any girl, aren’t you?”

“Not at all… there are only uncles and other old men in the Royal Palace, no girls to say those things to.”

He was laughing out loud as he said that. It was really unusual and really reassured me.

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Ulysses is the type to smile no matter the situation, but that’s part of his dignified and elegant self… it’s rare to see him laugh out loud.

“Ah, I almost forgot. I brought a new friend, Percelis… Look.”

Ulysses put his hand on his shoulder, looking like he was guiding something as he muttered a spell under his breath. Suddenly, an owl spirit appeared on his arm.

“Woahh…”

“This is the Spirit of the Wind, Fan Trom.”

“What?! How did you get it?!”

“Uhumm… he happened to enter my room through a window, and I somehow made a contract with him…”

His answer was a little ambiguous, like, it sounded like he was hiding something but that’s okay. Anyway, the little owl is really cute, kind of like a big brown taro. It tilted its head at me and blinked at me through huge eyes.

“Hohou, what a cute little lady. Is this your girlfriend, Your Highness?”

“Hey, hey, stop that Fan. She is the Green Shrine Maiden. If you don’t watch your words, Bishop Delgusta might turn you into a roasted chicken.”

“Houhou, what a frightening thought.”

For a little owl, it had a rather old man-like way of talking. Then again, spirits are really old beings. So, their appearance had nothing to do with what they really are.

I stroked the owl spirit’s head.

“Hello, Fan. I’m Percelis.”

“My, my, so you are the Green Shrine Maiden Percelis? How nostalgic, the Green Shrine Maiden from 2000 years ago is also a beautiful young thing with leaf-coloured hair like you… Aahhh, those were the days.”

Fan bobbed his head as he kept saying ‘my, my’ and reminiscing about the past.

 

Speaking of which, the Green Shrine Maiden from 2000 years ago is the most powerful and most famous shrine maiden of all time. She was prominent enough to appear as an anecdote even during the times of the Great Demon Kings.

“Hey, hey, Fan. This is why you old spirits are truly hopeless. Immerse yourself in your old memories as you like, but don’t cause trouble for Percelis.”

“Houhou, apologies.”

Fan blinked its large eyes once and turned its head.

 

“Even so, Ulysses is a prince, right? Why are you learning so much magic?”

Ulysses has been reading a lot of books on White Magic lately in the Vabel region. He doesn’t talk much about magic with me, but I think he’s pretty good at it.

“Eh? Ah, well… curiosity, I guess. It’s something that could be used to protect myself. The Royal Palace is a dangerous place after all.”

“But, once the next king has been decided at the Holy Festival, Ulysses won’t be in danger anymore, right?”

“Hmm… things might not go as smoothly as that. Even so, I have every hope that it does.”

The reply is a little vague, he really doesn’t like to talk about himself. I’m sure he still thinks of me as a little kid.

 

“Still, I don’t think the next king will be me.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. My father will have the final say on who the next king shall be, if things continue this way, I believe that my Honourable Uncle would be king.”

“Ah, Raymond? But, I heard that the Anti-East Factions won’t allow Raymond to rise as king. A huge rebellion could happen if he really is appointed. Alfredo and his faction are probably aiming to take advantage of that.”

“… how surprising, you seem to know a lot about what’s going on, Percelis.”

“…”

Look, this Ulysses clearly still thinks of me as a little girl.

“Humph. I’m the Green Shrine Maiden after all, in charge of protecting the Southern Continent. Who do you think I am?”

“Hahah… I admit defeat. Sorry, sorry.”

He was stroking my head as he said that, clearly trying to get me to drop the topic. I like it when Ulysses strokes my head, but it makes me feel like he’s treating me like a child and I’m starting to get a little annoyed by it.

Whenever Ulysses visits us, something bad usually happens afterwards. Right now, I’m not sure if he’s reading really his White Magic book, because he has been looking at the same page for a long while now.

“The truth is, tomorrow… Representatives from the Eastern Continent will arrive and join the Royal Family for a dinner party.”

“You don’t like that? That sounds really fun. I wonder what a messenger from the East is like.”

“They are from a country called Fresir. A princess and one of their generals… this invitation to an Eastern Royal might possibly be a signal that the tides favour my Honorable Uncle to become king. Elder Brother Alfredo would never call them over in the first place, although, I’m sure he’s prepared to put up a friendly face and a show of cooperation if nothing else. Even so, having the famous Queen Consort of the Anti-East Faction sitting down to a civilized dinner with an Eastern Princess is rather… awkward, don’t you think?”

I get to hear all kinds of information about the Royal Palace from Urbanus, who is really very funny. Delgusta doesn’t like me knowing all kinds of things, but Urbanus has a great way with words. So I get to hear about how Queen Consort Adalzeza really hates people from the East, and how Ulysses is really not good at dealing with her.

He looked depressed, so I smiled brilliantly at him. A long time ago, Ulysses told me that my smiles always made him feel better, so this is me trying to cheer him up.

“Well, the Holy Festival will happen directly after that awkward dinner, so there will be lots of fun things to look forward to, you know?”

“That’s right, I guess it could be considered that… hopefully…”

“…”

Sometimes, when Ulysses laughs, I get that lonely feeling again. Especially lately. I really don’t know why, but those amethyst eyes seemed to be looking at something far away. As though he is waiting for something or someone…

His lonely face makes me feel helpless, however, unless he directly tells me something, I can’t do anything about it.

And that… is what pains me the most.

 

[Gumihou: Personally, I think tragic, calm, mature, handsome, dignified characters like Ulysses are full of bull crap and would never waste my time on them]

 

[1] Added some details

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