Grant me Your Grace Chapter 50

The shadow once again relied on the firefly lantern to make its way up from the underground prison.

 

Though they had marked the path with glowing mineral powder beforehand, the damp moisture of the cave must have dissolved the powder, making it difficult to find the way. 

 

Eventually, their eyes, unable to locate the next marker, darted between two diverging paths. The passages looked so similar that it was impossible to tell them apart.  

 

After a moment of hesitation, the shadow chose the right path. 

 

Just in case they were wrong, they applied a thicker layer of glowing powder at the fork before moving forward—when suddenly, a faint sound echoed from the distance.  

 

“Hey, you there… Come here for a moment… I have a desperate request.”  

 

The voice was as faint as an ant’s whisper, but it was unmistakably familiar. Silently suppressing their presence, the shadow crept closer to the source of the voice.  

 

High Priest Aaron appeared behind the bars when the firefly light illuminated the space, just as expected.  

 

“Listen, guard. Please, grant me this one request. I will never forget your kindness.”  

 

Something must have happened in the meantime—Aaron was now completely battered, his eyes oozing with tears. His head turned toward the light, but his pupils remained unfocused, staring blankly into the distance.  

 

“Please… take this to Priest Hovan at the temple.”  

 

Aaron pressed himself against the bars, stretching out his trembling hand. Between his shaking fingers was a crumpled, bloodstained piece of paper.  

 

“Just deliver it. If you do this for me, I’ll give you everything I own.”  

 

The shadow frowned slightly at the desperate plea. Even if it was the entire fortune of a high priest who had devoted his life to the temple, it likely wasn’t much.  

 

Even imprisoned underground, he was still worried about the temple’s affairs. Though the shadow didn’t know the details, they could guess the reason was far from trivial.  

 

“Please… You must deliver this to Priest Hovan…”  

 

Aaron’s hand quivered pitifully.  

 

Perhaps, at this very moment, the goddess Nuait had taken pity on him.  

 

‘Poor soul. The goddess has turned her gaze upon you.’  

 

An inexplicable sympathy stirred within them, and after a brief silence, the shadow finally took the note from Aaron’s hand.  

 

“…Hovan?”  

 

Had his desperate longing conjured an illusion? A familiar presence made Aaron’s voice echo through the narrow cave.  

 

But the one who might have answered had already vanished, leaving only the note behind.

 

✨

 

“Priest Hovan, Priest Hovan! Are you inside?”  

 

From the early morning, an urgent voice echoed through the princess’s palace. Unable to bring himself to enter, the junior priest raised his voice even louder, calling for Hovan.  

 

“Priest Hovan! If you’re inside, please come out for a moment. It’s urgent!”  

 

Dahlia, who had been reading a book with Hovan, lifted her head in puzzlement at the noise. 

 

Flustered, Hovan bowed apologetically to her.  

 

“My apologies, Your Highness.”  

 

“It’s alright. It seems something has happened at the temple. You should go and check.”  

 

“I’ll return shortly.”  

 

Bowing deeply, Hovan quickly descended the stairs. 

 

As he stepped outside the princess’s palace, he saw the pale face of Junior Priest Aaron. Though he was a novice priest of less than a year, his carelessness had often earned him scoldings. 

 

And now, he had made this grave mistake.  

 

Hovan rebuked Aaron sharply., “Junior Priest Aaron, have you already forgotten what happens when a mere junior priest dares to approach the princess’s palace without permission?”  

 

“I’m sorry, Priest Hovan. But the matter is too serious…”  

 

“If this turns out to be trivial, I will punish you severely with the authority I received from the High Priest today.”  

 

After harshly reprimanding Aaron, Hovan took the note he had brought. The note was crumpled as if it had been carelessly folded, and smudged in places with what looked like mud or something unidentifiable.  

 

Wondering if someone had played a cruel prank, Hovan unfolded the note with displeasure—  

 

“…!”  

 

His pupils shook violently as he read the contents. 

 

The handwriting was so crooked it could have been written with something other than a hand, but there was no mistaking it—this was a letter from High Priest Aaron.  

 

In one corner of the paper was the High Priest’s seal, a semicircular symbol representing the sacred sigil of the goddess Nuit.  

 

After checking the contents several times, Hovan urgently questioned the priest.  

 

“Where did you get this?”  

 

“I found it lying in front of your room while cleaning the temple this morning. At first, I thought a worshipper had left trash, but the contents seemed… unusual.”  

 

“Did anyone else see this besides you?”  

 

“A few brothers saw the paper lying there, but I was the only one who read it. I swear, I didn’t show it to anyone else—I came straight to you.”

 

Deacon Arnan looked at Hovan with desperate eyes, as if pleading for his innocence. Seeing the sincerity in his gaze, Hovan suppressed his shock and warned him,  

 

“Forget everything you saw in that note. If word gets out, not only will your life as a clergyman be over, but I can’t even guarantee your safety. Understood?”  

 

“Yes, Priest Hovan. Don’t worry. Even if I have to cut out my own tongue, I won’t tell a soul.”  

 

The deacon was visibly terrified, as if he had been dragged into something dangerous. Hovan gave him a pitying look before sending him away.  

 

“What am I supposed to do about this…?”  

 

Hovan’s eyes darkened with worry as he turned back to the note.  

 

<Priest, dye the underground with the blood of the holy grail.>  

 

What could the High Priest have been thinking, sending this to him? The message was clearly dangerous, and Hovan had no idea how to handle it.  

 

Even sending this from the underground prison must have meant Aaron risked his life.  

 

‘High Priest… What exactly are you planning?’  

 

Hovan clenched the note tightly in his hand. After a long moment of hesitation, he finally tucked it away and returned to the princess’s palace.  

 

When he entered the reception room, Dahlia looked at him with concern.  

 

“Has something bad happened at the temple? You don’t look well, Priest Hovan.”  

 

Had someone else from the temple rebelled against the imperial palace and been arrested? 

 

Hovan’s expression was unusually stiff after meeting with the priest.  

 

After hesitating for a moment, Hovan spoke with difficulty.  

 

“The High Priest… seems to be looking for Your Highness.”  

 

“The High Priest?”  

 

Dahlia’s eyes widened in surprise.  

 

Once imprisoned in the underground dungeon, not only was escape impossible, but even brief visits were forbidden. 

 

So, how had Aaron managed to send a message to Hovan?  

 

As if sensing her confusion, Hovan showed her the note he had received from the deacon.  

 

“With the blood of the holy grail…”  

 

Dahlia murmured the words quietly. The distorted handwriting, nearly illegible, was clear evidence of the hardships Aaron had endured in the underground prison.  

 

But even more shocking was the mention of the ‘blood of the holy grail.’  

 

“Does the High Priest… also know about my divine power?”  

 

Hovan gave a small nod in response. This unexpected revelation left Dahlia speechless.  

 

“I see. So that’s why he reached out to you…”  

 

Dahlia traced the symbol of the Nuit goddess on the crumpled paper with her fingertip.

 

“What path does the goddess intend to lead me down this time? Unable to easily discern her will, I found it difficult to make a swift decision.”  

 

Watching Dahlia struggle, Hovan spoke in a low voice.  

 

“Perhaps… the High Priest holds the answer Your Highness seeks.”  

 

“The answer I seek?”  

 

Dahlia’s eyes flickered faintly. A way to stop Saltar, who was plotting rebellion—could it truly lie with the High Priest?  

 

Separate from her fear of the underground prison, the hope that she might save the Kingdom of Baran stirred within Dahlia’s heart.  

 

But there was one major problem: Aaron was imprisoned in that very dungeon.  

 

“But how can I meet the High Priest? The underground prison isn’t a place one can enter so easily…”  

 

The dungeon was so heavily guarded that there was even a jest that even the Emperor couldn’t leave once he entered. 

 

Even if one barely managed to pass the entrance, the interior was a complex maze where losing one’s way was almost certain.  

 

So much so that even Dahlia, who had been imprisoned there multiple times because of Saltar, couldn’t remember which cell she had been held in. Without the help of a jailer, it was an impossible task.  

 

No—even appearing before a jailer in the first place would be impossible.  

 

“And yet, I can’t possibly commit a crime grave enough to be sent to the underground prison…”  

 

Just as Dahlia muttered under her breath—  

 

“There is… one way, Your Highness.”  

 

After a moment of contemplation, Hovan leaned in and whispered the method into Dahlia’s ear in a hushed voice. 

 

Hearing his words, Dahlia’s eyes widened in shock, and she stifled a gasp.