Ceres

81

A certain carriage finally arrived at the capital city. It stopped in front of the Holy Cross Church in the city. A young man and a little girl alighted from the carriage. These are Roven and Paulin. They were greeted by some priests and nuns. Accompanying them are some Holy Knights.

Two priests respectfully bowed to Roven. One of them greeted him right after bowing his head.

"It is our greatest pleasure to welcome the Holy Child in our humble place."

Roven returned the bow and smiled.

"Please. Don't do that High Priest. We apologize for disturbing all of you and for asking you to prepare everything in such a rush. It is, I, who should be thanking you for your kindness."

Even though Roven said those words with his utmost sincerity, the thing that captured the people's hearts was his smile.

It is said that the Holy Child doesn't always visit branches of the church because he only goes on trips whenever necessary. Most of the times, the Holy Child is together with the High Priest seeking answers and revelations from the goddess, Amheleka. This is the reason why it is such a pleasure for everyone in a church when one of those two important people visits their place.

In addition, it is said that the aura which the Holy Child carries is similar to that of the Holy Priest. Although not to that extreme extent but still, it somehow resembles it. That is why when a person sees the Holy Child, he can feel that his soul is being cleansed and his mind being cleared.

After a few more words to the High Priest that greeted him first, Roven turned to the other one. He was also a High Priest.

"I hope that your students and those other Holy Knights were not bothered by our sudden visit. Please convey my sincerest apology to them as well."

"Oh, no. They were in fact thrilled to learn that the Holy Child would be coming and cheering for them. It was such a great boost on the morale of the students. As such, we really would like to thank you for gracing us with your presence."

The first High Priest that Roven talked to was the High Priest of the capital city. On the other hand, the other one was also a High Priest. But, he came together with the students from Holy Cross Academy.

The two priests said some more words and then, led the Holy Child along with the Holy Child's companions inside the church.

The branch of Holy Cross Church here is where the participants from Holy Cross Academy stay at. Even though there are places designated for participants of the competition, some would always prefer to stay at their bases such as those from the church.

Everyone in the church already heard that the Holy Child is coming. Even for those students and Holy Knights, it is not often that they get to see the Holy Child. Some of the people, such as the priests and nuns, haven't even seen him in all the years of their service. As such, they were also curious and prepared to greet him. It is fortunate that the High Priest of the city's church as well as the High Priest of the academy prepared a welcoming dinner for the Holy Child.

The dinner was not lavish even though it is called a welcoming dinner. It is something that the Holy Child prefers. As a matter of fact, the Holy Child as the Holy Priest's disciple and successor was taught to live a simple life. Because of this, whenever they visit a place, they would always see to it that not a thing would be called extravagant. They only prefer a simple get together and enjoy each other's company.

During the dinner, Roven talked to almost everyone; even those students. He was taught by the Holy Priest to entertain and bless people wherever he may be. Although time was limited as all of them need to rest, those who weren't able to talk to the Holy Child didn't get disappointed at all. It was actually enough for them to be able to see the Holy Child. That is how the church people are.

Roven and Paulin were assigned in different rooms however, the latter wanted to be with her brother. Roven wasn't able to reject his little sister and told her that he would stay in her room until she falls asleep.

Such scenario was not new to those who knew about the Holy Child's past. Everyone knew how the Holy Child treasures his little sister. Furthermore, even though it was actually forbidden for him to be that close to anyone other than the Holy Priest, all of them couldn't do anything about it; not even the Holy Priest himself.

"Paulin, next time, don't be that rude to your elders. Make sure you properly greet them, okay?"

Roven was lying down on the bed with Paulin by his side. The brother and sister were lying with their faces close to each other.

He brushed Paulin's hair near her ear and smiled at the latter. It was such a genuine smile that anyone who sees it would surely stop talking and be stunned.

"Okay. You're always right, big brother."

Roven lightly laughed. His little sister was really someone who couldn't get along with just anybody. In fact, his little sister would only get along with him. It seems like she hates everybody else and only sticks close to her brother.

"How can I ever leave you alone, huh?"

"Then, don't leave me."

Paulin looked at her brother with pleading eyes. Roven could only sigh.

"You know that big brother is the Holy Child. We won't always be together. There would come a time that we would be separated. Although it's not forever and only for a while but still, you have to be ready and get used to it."

"I don't want to. Why do you need to even be the Holy Child if you would just leave me alone?"

Paulin started pouting. She was a little girl yet, her thinking was not that of those her age.

Roven could only look at her with such saddened eyes.

"I have a fate to fulfill. Also, without the church's assistance... Your medicine..."

"You're only saying that because I'm sick. Maybe, if I wasn't even sick, you would have left me long ago."

Roven's eyes went big. He loved his little sister. They were orphans and the only one together through those bad times. How can he hate her and even leave her alone?

"Please don't say that."

He caressed Paulin's cheek.

"Before becoming the Holy Child, I am your big brother. I would never do things that would make you sad; much more, leave you alone."

Paulin blinked twice and bit her lips.

"Big brother... I'm sorry."

Roven assured his sister that he wasn't angry tucked her in with a blanket. He made sure that Paulin was already sleeping before he got out of the bed and proceeded to his own room.

Right after he left, Paulin opened her eyes.

"As long as you don't get to be the Holy Child..."

For such a young girl to say such words with piercing eyes, it was really a shocking surprise. If Roven discovered such thing, would he still care for her?

In Roven's room, he was lying on his bed but his eyes were still open. He couldn't sleep at all. Actually, he hasn't slept enough ever since they were adopted by the church.

He turned to his side and looked at the hand he used to touch Paulin's cheek.

"Am I really fulfilling the role of a brother? Or should I..." -tbc

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A/N: This note is on the file itself; so that I won't forget.

I do have a lot of wrong grammar, misspelling, and typographical errors. Usually, I proofread before I post chapters. I also back read before I write new chapters which leads to proofreading once again. Sometimes, though, there would occasionally be words that got stuck together. Maybe, that's an error whenever you copy-paste something to Wattpad. Nevertheless, it is really embarrassing to say that chapter 80 had a lot of mistakes. OMG. I hurriedly posted chapters 76-80 because I was losing the internet connection and it would take me a while before I could go online again. I apologize for such mistakes in my English. I will just let myself be swallowed by the ground and reflect on such actions for a while...

PS: I haven't proofread chapters 76-80. Honestly. Seriously. ;A; I'm sorry for being aliveeeeee!!