The curator stopped in front of a large glass box. Inside the box was a raised platform roughly the size of a small bed, with a long, thin object wrapped in age-worn cloth sitting atop it.
“These are the holy remains of Euvtomeus.”
“H… Holy remains?! Th-this is a dead body?!”
Ophelia unconsciously jumped back a step, then immediately made a horrified face as she realized how disrespectful her behavior was. The curator smiled, trying to put her at ease, then dramatically cupped one hand around his mouth and whispered, “This is a replica. The real holy remains are preserved with the utmost care at the Cathedral.”
“Phew… That was certainly a surprise! But the real thing does exist, then?”
“Yes… Did you not know? Surely you must’ve learned of it during your religious studies lessons at school?”
“I, um, was sickly as a child, and couldn’t attend school… I was taught the basics at home by a private tutor, but…” Ophelia did her best to suppress the shaking in her hands as she spoke, and the curator’s face transformed into a pitying expression.
“…I see. That must’ve been very difficult for you. I’m glad your health has improved. Euvtomeus’s holy remains are displayed for worship during large ceremonies. Yes, if I’m not mistaken, your next opportunity to see them would be at the Ordination Ceremony that’s coming up before too long.”
“Eeek! I-I’m not in a terrible hurry to see them…”
“Hahaha, I see. Although they’re called the ‘holy remains,’ it’s really just a few arm bones.”
I don’t care if they’re sacred relics; scary things are still scary! Ophelia slowly put some distance between herself and the replica holy remains.
“Why don’t we move on to the next room? Next door is where we display artwork by up-and-coming local artists. I’ll show you my favorites first.”
Ophelia did her best to conceal the involuntary sigh of relief that escaped her as they left the exhibit hall.
To Ophelia, who wasn’t particularly interested in the arts, watching the curator ramble on endlessly was more entertaining than the actual pieces he was introducing to her. It had been a long time since she’d had a one-on-one conversation with someone without trembling or shaking. Ophelia didn’t really understand the somewhat abstract paintings and sculptures by the “up-and-coming local artists,” but even so, she didn’t feel that the considerable amount of time she spent listening to the curator’s passionate narration was wasted.
Just as they exited the second room, they ran into Claudio, who, it seemed, had been looking for them.
“Sorry for foisting the girl off on you.”
The curator ducked his head humbly in response to the effortless confidence Claudio probably didn’t even realize his voice was brimming with.
“Not at all! If anything, I should be the one apologizing. I don’t often get to speak with our patrons like this, so I may have gotten a bit carried away and talked the lady’s ear off. I’m sure it was terribly boring; you’ll have to forgive me.”
“Certainly not! It was incredibly informative, and I had a lot of fun!” Ophelia exclaimed, waving her hands back and forth in an exaggerated manner in front of her chest, causing the curator to bow his head deeply.
“Sorry for taking up so much of your time,” Claudio said. “If you notice anything else, no matter how small, please contact me.”
“Yes, sir.”
The curator escorted them to the exit, where Claudio and Ophelia climbed into their waiting carriage.
“Did you notice anything?”
Claudio immediately closed the carriage’s window. Without being able to see the scenery outside, Ophelia couldn’t help being hyperaware of the fact that it was just them inside the carriage. She uncomfortably looked anywhere but at Claudio.
“Um, well… I didn’t pick up on any lies or sense that anything was off.”
“What did the curator talk about?”
“He just explained each piece of art… That was really it.”
“Hm… What stood out to you about the paintings?”
If she told Claudio that she’d seen a painting of an angel and her first thought had been that its beauty paled in comparison to Claudio’s own, he would surely be infuriated.
Ophelia’s hands trembled the slightest bit as she bit back the words before they came pouring out. In order to hide it from Claudio’s perceptive gaze, she slipped her hands beneath her thighs.
“The painting of the angel was impressive.”
“What else?”
“Um… Uh… Oh! They had a replica of the holy remains. The curator told me that the Cathedral possesses the real holy remains!”
“Yes, and?”
“He said that the real holy remains will be on display at the upcoming Ordination Ceremony.”
“That’s right. You didn’t even know that? The curator must’ve been surprised by your lack of basic knowledge.”
“He did seem dismayed when I told him that I’d only learned the bare essentials due to being too sickly to attend school.”
“I consider basic knowledge about our country’s national religion to be part of the bare essentials. Your family certainly spoiled you…” Claudio said in an incredulous tone, leaning back against the seat. “By the way, the Ordination Ceremony isn’t held at the Cathedral, but at the chapel inside the Royal Palace.”
“What?! That’s right near the Architectural Institute!”
“It’s the ceremony where all the new clergy members from the entire country are ordained, after all. There’s not enough space at the Cathedral. Every year, there’s a huge procession where the holy remains are transported to the chapel, guarded by legions of soldiers from the Ministry of Safety. How could you not know any of this?”
“I really didn’t!”
Ophelia had tears in the corners of her eyes as she answered, but she wasn’t shaking. Claudio’s face twisted with incredulous shock at this proof that even one aristocrat existed in the entire country who didn’t know such basic common knowledge.
But I guess it couldn’t be helped… Claudio thought, quickly amending his opinion.
The Director’s Office team, who investigated the country’s most conniving criminals day in and day out, had found Ophelia’s trembling suspicious. As a result, they’d been compelled to pursue the matter and ultimately figured out that it was caused by her mysterious ability, but the majority of people would most likely simply write her shaking off as a peculiarity and label her as “that odd girl from the Narve family.” It was a wonder she’d turned out relatively normal instead of wasting away into a timid, servile creature.
Claudio was deeply impressed by that. Between his eye-catching strawberry-blond hair and the fact that he was the king’s brother, Claudio’s every word and action had been preyed upon to fuel the gossip swirling between the members of noble society, who were also intertwined with every layer of government. The only way he’d withstood such pressure was by developing a gruff and stubborn personality.
That didn’t mean he thought it was better to close oneself away and live isolated from society. That wasn’t what it meant to “protect” someone. Ophelia’s father seemed to understand that; it was her brother who was the problem. He was overprotective of his sister to an almost freakish level. And Claudio just couldn’t shake what Ophelia had said… Something was definitely strange about the siblings.
A bad feeling came over Ophelia again as she discreetly observed Claudio deep in contemplation of… something.