Chapter 44

“…”

“Can you just get to the point? Why did you want to see me?”

“…Who are you?”

He stammered slightly, maybe because he didn’t know my name, or maybe out of sheer confusion. He bit his lower lip hard and asked,

“Why do you have Bernice’s face?”

He didn’t seem interested in my divine powers—this was personal.

Hearing him say my mother’s name again made me frown.

“And who are you to know my mother’s name?”

The moment I said “mother,” something flickered in his blue eyes—like a wave crashing.

And then, as if to prove it wasn’t just in my head, a single large tear rolled down his cheek.

“Then that means… you…”

“…”

“No, you’re…”

His voice trembled, his face crumbled completely. I should’ve stepped back, but his expression—so filled with sorrow—kept me rooted in place.

“You’re the daughter of Daniel and Lady Bernice, aren’t you?”

“You knew my father too?”

He rubbed his face as if unsure what to do next. A mix of relief and worry spread across his features.

It wasn’t a simple emotion like joy. He looked genuinely glad to see me, but deeply anxious about what would come next.

He took a hurried step forward.

“Wait—!”

Before I could react, someone’s hand pulled me back. A broader back shielded me.

“Alan…?”

Why was Alan here? I thought he’d gone back to the shop. He shouldn’t have come this way, especially knowing I was meeting a priest.

“Don’t touch her. Stay back.”

His voice was threatening, but his hand holding mine trembled. He was scared.

“Move. I don’t have business with you.”

“You think I don’t know what kind of priest you are?”

“…”

“Stay back.”

Alan was clearly trying to maintain distance, ready to flee if needed. His eyes pleaded with me to leave with him as soon as possible.

“Just confirm what you came for and go.”

I nodded slightly and stepped forward. The priest—Tamitarte—was no longer looking at me, but at Alan.

His expression was dazed, as if he’d seen a ghost. Those blue eyes reflected a complex emotion.

Despite Tamitarte’s focus, Alan didn’t seem to acknowledge his presence at all.

“…Are you…”

Though Tamitarte spoke to Alan, Alan kept his eyes solely on me.

Did they know each other?

I doubted it. If they did, Alan wouldn’t act like this.

“Were you raised in the temple orphanage?”

Tamitarte’s tone changed. No longer polite.

Temple orphanage? So the theory was true.

Usually, orphans raised there either became priests or worked under temple authority. Why didn’t Alan follow that path?

Life under the temple meant security: status, income, protection.

Alan’s face hardened at Tamitarte’s question. He looked like he was barely holding back his anger and fear.

I grabbed Alan’s hand and gently pulled him behind me. He didn’t move as easily this time.

I sighed and stepped in front of him.

“Stop dodging. I asked what your relationship was with my parents.”

“…”

“How do you know them?”

Father had once said we were being hunted for life, but never explained why. He also never spoke of the temple’s ‘god’.

Tamitarte’s face turned pale. Then came a bitter laugh.

His gaze, once soft toward Alan, now turned piercing toward me.

“If you really are Daniel and Bernice’s child… you need to flee the Empire.”

“…”

“If the temple finds out you and your father are still alive, they won’t let you go. I’ll help you escape.”

“What does the temple have to do with my father? Explain.”

He hesitated, lips sealed tight, before speaking.

“Because Daniel… your father… like me and that man—”

His voice was low, rusted.

“He was a child of the temple orphanage.”

Behind me, I heard Alan inhale sharply.

What kind of place was this orphanage that made Alan freeze up?

Tamitarte clarified:

“The temple orphanage wasn’t just a home for orphans.”

Wasn’t?

Every second dragged. No wind. No breath. Just silence.

A distant birdcall echoed.

“They conducted human experiments there.”

“What…?”

I turned slowly. Alan’s face was stone-cold with terror.

Despite living in the capital for years, I’d never even heard rumors of this.

“Didn’t Daniel tell you anything?”

“Father…”

My throat went dry. I remembered his nightmares—few, but vivid.

“He never talked about his past.”

Once, as a child, I asked. He only said one thing:

That my mother rescued him from a tower like a knight from a fairy tale.

I used to fantasize that he might’ve been a prince. But the longer we lived hidden in the mountains, the more that fantasy faded.

He never explained why we couldn’t go to the capital, or why we had to live so far away.

“Can’t blame him,” Tamitarte said with a thin smile. “The temple was hell. I wouldn’t want to talk about it either.”

“…”

“Your father was only ever used by the temple.”

“So the human experimentation is true?”

“If you don’t believe me, ask the one next to you.”

I squeezed Alan’s shaking hand.

I suspected Alan had suffered something terrible, but I never imagined it was this.

And I never imagined the temple used orphans for experiments.

“How has Daniel been since Bernice passed away?”

“…”

“If it’s too late today, I’d like to visit again. Does he know about your healing powers?”

Tamitarte now spoke like a long-lost uncle, though I had no idea how close he really was to my parents.

They never had siblings. But if they had, maybe he would’ve been like this priest.

“My father passed away years ago.”

“Oh…”

A heavy sigh escaped his lips.

“And you? Are you living in the Daus Empire?”

“Yes.”

“Then you should leave. If you have divine healing powers, it’s too dangerous to stay.”

He gripped my shoulders.

“I’ll make arrangements abroad. I have that kind of influence.”

“Irina…”

Alan spoke up, his voice still shaky, his face pale, but his eyes finally steady.

“Do what he says. The temple has deep roots in Daus. It’s not safe.”

He added:

“If they find out about your powers… there’s no telling what they’ll do.”

Tamitarte looked like he was about to cry. Not just out of grief for my parents, but from remembering the horrors they endured.

“How did you even escape the temple…?”