I Became a Side character in a BL novel

52- When Faith Falters

The grand hall of the church stood in solemn splendor, its white towering stone pillars and vaulted ceiling untouched by the presence of common men.

This was no ordinary house of worship—it was a sanctuary reserved for the highborn, a sacred space where only nobles were permitted to kneel in prayer.

Of course, the common folk had their own place of worship beyond the outer gates, simpler and humbler in design, while here, within these gilded walls, faith was draped in opulence.

Stained glass windows, taller than warhorses, cast fractured hues of magenta and gold across the marble floors, their images depicting saints and sovereigns.

Yet, for all its grandeur, the silence from within here was no different from the silence of any other place abandoned by God.

The blonde man stepped inside, the scent of incense and melted wax curling around him like an old memory.

And then, he saw her.

The princess.

She was alone, kneeling at the altar, her golden veil covering her ash-blonde hair, slipping slightly from her shoulders. He stopped, caught between the present and the past, for this was not the first time he had found her here.

He briefly recalls of their first meeting had been much the same...unexpected, out of place.

It was a day just like this. She had looked up at him then, just as she did now, her beautiful violet eyes unreadable as she asked a question he had not forgotten since...

"Do you believe in miracles?"

She had asked him on that fateful day.

With a wry, bitter smile, he had answered...

"I did not. Not until today."

That was the very same day, he had attempted to murder his wife.

But he had failed. He had failed so miserably! Even though he swore on using the most potent poison known to men at that time!

He had come to visit the church, to clear his clouded mind. He had purposely chosen to visit during the evening prayers when the church was always empty, so that he could get a chance rethink of what went wrong.

However...

She was there.

Alone, unguarded, kneeling before the altar.

The Princess? Here? At this hour?

It was unusual, almost unthinkable. She always prayed at dawn, surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting, never alone, never unguarded. And yet, there she was, as if untouched by the rules that had long bound her.

The princess stared at him with her solemn violet eyes, something in them had deepened, as if she understood far more than she let on.

"Neither did I," she admitted softly.

"There was a time once, I prayed with all my heart, begged for His mercy. But He remained silent. He had done nothing. And so, I stopped asking. I stopped believing."

Arron raised his brows in surprise.  A woman renowned for her purity, a generous patron of this very church...yet here she was, confessing her disbelief in the very God she upheld!?

It was definitely not what he expected...

Even so, he nodded, "You are right. God never does anything."