The Saintess' Revenge

Chapter Four: Preparation

The next morning, I woke up in another unfamiliar bed and room that didn't belong to me. Not that I ever really had one. Back in the temple, all of the children were fit about two or three per room. Nobility usually had the facilities and money to raise their children, but the nobility who didn't and were prone to beast attacks would send their children to the temple for protection. In return as payment, the nobles would have to sign a Sun Contract with Father to make donations to the temple until the debt is paid. Sun Contracts have been dated from the ancient divine texts, and are said to have been existing since the Divine Surya had walked upon the land. Those contracts are made with sworn oaths kept by both parties involved, and after being signed the contract is practically bound to the parties' souls until completion. If one party breaks the promise somehow by failing to commit, the punishment agreed upon when the contract is written will be dealt.

It was an evil tactic, more fit for thugs in the back alleys than the Pope. After all, if the noble families could not repay Father in a satisfactory manner, their children were made into hostages. But Father was just that kind of person. Rather, I suppose it's better to say that everyone who could wield a sizable amount of power and authority were cut from the same cloth. After all, while it may have not been so in the beginning, by the time my era had come along the only people who could present Sun Contracts were those in power. It's pitiful really, something Surya had created of their own divinity made to balance and divide the power of us humans had turned into something as wicked as that.

As a result, about a third of the children in the temple remained in the temple for some time. In that fraction of children, about half would show potential in being able to control their divinity. While all humans have divinity, it does not mean everyone has the capabilities to conjure and wield their divinity. By the age of ten, a child's potential will manifest clearly. Father used this as a way to pick out children who showed promise. When a noble becomes a paladin, they are to abandon their noble name. Paladins are both an honor, and also a disgrace to nobility in that aspect. Most children who knew their talent with their divinity however, often chose the temple over their own.

It's sad, I reminisce. I had given everything up to be with my family. That itself is a bad example seeing as it was the worst choice I made. It wasn't my fault though, that Father just happened to be a horrible person.

I stare at the uncomfortably luxurious ceiling. Is it possible for a ceiling to be such a pure white? It's scary.

Kaspar was one of those talents, I recall. He was practically a genius. By age ten, he already had great control over his divinity. That's how he became doted on by Father, after all. He was already Father's star pupil before I even came into the picture, since I was around eight when I was brought in and there was a... three? Four year difference between the two of us? The Divine Revelation that revealed me being the Saintess didn't happen until I was ten. Until then, I could never fully manifest my divinity in physical form.

I wonder what happened to Kaspar after the battle...

The Pope told me there was no information about anyone. Out of everyone, Kaspar probably would've left a mark. I remember Kaspar sustained a large wound, but I also remember rushing to heal him. But what happened exactly is still muddled together a bit. Even so, Kaspar definitely would have lived. Knowing him, he probably returned to the temple. For all I knew, he could've succeeded Father as the next Pope. Father was a greedy and selfish man, but if he were to let his place be taken by anyone, it would've been Kaspar.