“We made it. Watch your step, Philia.”
“Thank you, Sir Osvalt.”
I took Sir Osvalt’s hand and stepped out of the carriage. A vast, verdant landscape stretched out before my eyes.
I’d only visited this area for work, so it felt new and exciting to be able to explore it at leisure.
“Look! It’s Lady Philia and Prince Osvalt!”
“It’s such a thrill to get to see the archsaint!”
“Esteemed Saint! Your Highness! Congratulations on your marriage!”
I glanced around to discover that a group of locals had gathered nearby. They must have heard us arrive. They all welcomed us with smiles and waves.
“Oh, we’re so grateful that you’re here!”
“This makes me happy to be alive!”
“I never thought I’d have the honor of seeing Saint Philia and Prince Osvalt visit us out here in the middle of nowhere! How moving!”
Everyone’s reaction was different—some people looked toward the sky, while others clasped their hands in prayer. I was struck by how different their reactions were from those I received in the capital.
Much of a saint’s work was done in wild, unpopulated areas, such as the mountains around Parnacorta. It was rare for us to visit remote settlements like this one.
I stood frozen, unsure what to do. “Er, Sir Osvalt…”
Sir Osvalt leaned over and whispered to me. “They’re happy to see you, Philia. Give them some sort of response.”
“U-understood!”
I did as he said and waved my hand.
This was a new experience for me, but as a saint and the wife of a prince, I would have to adapt. Sir Osvalt, standing by my side, smiled and waved like a true professional.
“Whoaaa!”
“Lady Philia! You’re so beautiful!”
“Long live Prince Osvalt! Long live Lady Philia!”
Their cheers were louder than I expected. The atmosphere felt electric.
These people were acknowledging my work. That made me happy. I accepted their passion with grace.
“Coming through. Yes, yes, excuse me.”
A dark-haired young man in a white coat pushed his way through the crowd of villagers. His obsidian-black eyes were hooded by heavy lids, and his unsteady gait made it seem like he was about to fall.
“Uhm, I take it that you are Prince Osvalt and Lady Philia. I’m the one who’s going to be, uhm, acting as your tour guide. My name is Rick Lucael. Yes.”
Rick greeted us with an awkward bow. He seemed nervous.
“Great.” Sir Osvalt stepped forward. “I’ve heard so much about you, Sir Rick. It’s a pleasure to have you accompany us.”
“The pleasure is mine.”
I followed Sir Osvalt’s example and greeted Rick, too.
“What’s the matter, Sir Rick?” said Sir Osvalt. “Lift your head.”
“Oh, understood! M-my apologies. You see, I read in a research report that, historically speaking, people bow to royals for an average of approximately forty-seven seconds. And, uhm, you see, I’d only counted to forty in my head. Yes, I-I do apologize.”
“O-okay. Right. I see…”
For a moment, Sir Osvalt appeared stumped for a response. That was unusual for him.
“I’m quite excited to have the chance to walk around the site,” I said. “What kind of things will we get to see here at the Sivaltz Ruins?”
“Uhm, I hear you. Good question, Lady Philia. Well, you’ll find the answers in these documents here. You’re more than welcome to take a look at them.” Rick handed me a messy pile of papers.
“Oh, I see.”
I leafed through the papers. All the key points were well summarized. Having these documents to refer to as we made our way around would make things easier.
“Now then, follow me. I know it’s a bit of a hike, but, well, bear with me.”
Rick staggered toward the nearby Sivaltz Ruins, which were just a stone’s throw away.
What discoveries lay in store for us at our first archeological site?
“As you can see, these are the ruins. By decree of the royal palace, they’re, uhm, tightly controlled.”
I was surprised to find the ruins surrounded by a stone wall equal to the walls around the palace. “I didn’t realize the site was so well-protected,” I remarked. “That’s very secure. We had no safeguards like this in Girtonia.”
“Parnacorta is a leader in historical research and discovery, you see. And, of course, the king’s grandfather took a great interest in archeological research. Indeed.”
Only a select few were permitted to enter the site, so Leonardo and the others would be unable to join us. But I’d hoped they’d be able to look in, at least.
“Uhm, I’ve already gone ahead and borrowed the key, so yes. Let’s head inside.” Rick opened the heavy metal gate and ushered us into the site.
“I feel as though I’m intruding,” I said.
Seeing all this tight security made me falter, but Sir Osvalt encouragingly reassured me that everything was fine. “Don’t fret. No one would object to you walking around the ruins, Philia.”
I reminded myself that I was about to be blessed with a priceless experience. There was no point in turning back. I needed to savor every moment.
A moment later, I gasped. “As soon as we passed through the gate, the atmosphere utterly changed.”
“I-indeed!” Rick nodded energetically. “Yes, you took the words straight out of my mouth. I should have known you’d pick up on that right away, Lady Philia. Yes, yes.”
The walled space even smelled different. It was as though time had stopped altogether. Only a small number of people were allowed inside, even to carry out excavation work. The place had a mystical aura that not even Loukmabatos possessed. It seemed plausible that this was due to the site’s long years of isolation.
“I-I believe Prince Osvalt already knows this, but Sivaltz Ruins have a deep connection to the kingdom of Alectron, you see.”
“They do? I had no idea.” I thought I’d done plenty of reading up on the ruins, so I couldn’t help but question this unexpected revelation. I sensed I was about to receive privileged information.
“Yes, even someone as widely read as you would be unaware. Uhh, did you know that the royal family of Alectron worship a Goddess of Creation, instead of the Cremoux church?”
“Oh, yes. They see their thriving arts scene as evidence of her influence.”
“Precisely. This isn’t officially confirmed, but the Sivaltz Ruins are believed to be the holy birthplace of the goddess herself. This claim originates from a very, very small number of texts, so most people of Alectron are unaware of the connection. Indeed.”
As we walked, Rick explained the relationship between the Goddess of Creation, whom the royal family of Alectron worshipped, and the ruins. I had never heard of these texts myself.
“Uhm, they believe this stone monument proves that the goddess was born here. Now that we’ve made long-awaited strides in the decryption of the archaic language, the theory is becoming highly credible. Indeed.”
Rick had led us to a particularly large monument. Although it was aged and hard to read, it did bear an inscription in the archaic language.
“Oh! This is a passage about the Goddess of Creation.”
“Huh? Uhh, have you deciphered it already?” Rick’s previously sleepy eyes widened. “Th-that’s incredible. Yes, indeed, Lady Philia, that’s quite right.”
Evidently, I was correct. That aside, I was struck by how thorough the preservation efforts were. I doubted that any other country took such care with its ancient ruins.
“No, I should have expected nothing less from you, Lady Philia. None of our researchers would be able to decipher an archaic text that quickly. Indeed.”
“Well, I’ve done a quite a bit of research into other religions.”
Thanks to all the books I’d read about gods in the library in Dalbert, most of them written in archaic language, I’d been able to decipher the text. Some parts were unintelligible, so I couldn’t read all of it, but…
“Yeah, you were holed up in the library for a long time,” said Sir Osvalt. “You were determined to prove that Archbishop Henry had altered the pope’s will.”
“Yes. If it weren’t for that experience, deciphering this text would have taken much longer.”
I recalled my time in Dalbert with Sir Osvalt. From my studies, I’d learned that the Alectron religion considered the Goddess of Creation the most powerful deity of all. I couldn’t imagine any entity being more powerful than Hades, whom I’d confronted during that sojourn. The thought of someone so mighty standing in this very spot filled me with awe.
“I have, well, finished deciphering the section that Lady Philia kindly pointed out. Indeed. It says here that this is where the Goddess of Creation resides. Yes, indeed.”
“I see,” said Sir Osvalt. “She was really here.”
Rick crossed his arms as he assented. “Yes. At least, that was the profoundly held belief of the ancients—and this inscription corroborates that, Prince Osvalt.”
Like a true researcher, he emphasized that this was still only a hypothesis.