I feel a wash of cold air engulf me as I open my eyes, gasping, to see a familiar old lady wearing a white vestment with white mitre hat sitting on her long dark champagne hair and amethyst like eyes, looking down at me with a grey aura.
"Is there anything else that hurts, Lady Althea?" the warm voice of the high priestess ask cautiously as I groan shaking my head 'no' a little as she hold a piece of my hair on the side.
"Thank you." Is all I could say, after all, she was always there whenever I get sick, she's the one who keep my body in good state to be able to live even with my body rejecting other magic and potions, this fragile body could have been dead younger without her healing, if I wasn't killed, I could have live longer.
She wasn't surprise at all when I spoke, but it made her smile warmly and her aura turning bright yellow.
"Did the Grand Duke carelessly permit the lady to travel using the gateway?" she asked gently, I can tell she's going to scold my father like the last time, and by last time I mean every time he attempts to get all sorts of treatment and try to cure my mutism with alchemy or transfer mana into my body, which fails often times and the High Priestess would always mend my body.
Dad doesn't want to rely on just the high priestess, he want's to cure me quick to end my miserable state and experience living a normal life.
"D-Daddy gave me this." I lift my right hand and showed the ring as the high priestess sighed shaking her head as I tried to sit up, she helped me as I look around, it's inside the temple, I'm on top of the marble altar and only the high priestess is with me.
"We're inside the temple, my lady, you've been out for awhile now, your brother and your people are waiting in the garden at the gazebo, we're preparing lunch for you all, I hope you wouldn't mind eating a humble meal." the high priestess said just as my stomach growl making her hum while my face heat up in embarrassment.
"I'm sure the gateway exhaust my lady, the ring you're wearing right now really helped a lot, it could have cause severe damage on your body, a body that lacks mana, using the gateway can make your soul and body separate." she said which made me turn to her with eyes wide in shock.
"I can feel the strong protection magic casted on that ring, never lose that my lady, especially here in capital where gemstones and offensive spells are can be carelessly used everywhere." she said as she put her palm on my head and close her eyes, I shut mine as I feel my energy gradually lifting with the help of her healing magic, as if nothing happened.
"Let's go back to my lady's companions." she said as I open my eyes and she helped me off the altar and held my left hand.
She lead the way while I blink and starting to remember about the flower offering, and the holy water.
"I heard my lady would like to offer a flower to the Goddess of Light for the late Grand Duchess, I'll ask one of the deacons to prepare a fresh lily after meal." the high priestess said as I nodded while we exit the altar and walk through the empty hallway with the beautiful garden view.
"Althea!" I turnaround where the voice come from, my father, that I haven't seen for weeks, walking in fast pace full of worry with his dark turquoise aura intensify in worry and stress as I the high priestess let me go with a nod.
I run my way to my father and he quickly catch me, lifting me up and pulling me in a tight warm hug, I can feel him slightly calming down, he obviously left whatever he's doing after hearing what happened.
"Your grace, Grand Duke, I sincerely need a word with you, we're preparing a feast for the lord, lady and your people, the nanny also informed me about my lady's wish to offer a flower for the late grand duchess." the high priestess spoke as my father sighed and follow as they walk on the direction where we were about to go.
"I made sure I used the right protection spell for my daughter, the ring should've help her travel easily through the gateway-"
"It did greatly help, but you're still careless enough to let the child go through the gateway without a concrete result that she'll pass without any issues, her soul almost left her body, you know there's not resurrection magic that exist to fix that." the high priestess scolded my father, who paled from what she just said.
"You've became too relax, just because her speech was recovered a month ago, the mana in her body is so little to none, I have to keep her stable again, Grand Duke, I'm willing to do anything and everything I can for the safety of the last royal descendants of my vanished homeland, Ilia." the high priestess spoke firmly.
She's the only one aside from the emperor who can speak that way to my father, the High Priestess always have a say and has a status that matches the emperor without involving too much in politics but more on preserving the religious belief and spreading it on people, and helping at war as a medic and sometimes mediates.
And I didn't know the high priestess was from my mother's homeland, but if that's the case and she's a servant of the temple, there is a high chance that she knows about my mother's family history about the direct female descendants inheriting the sight, unless it's unknown.
"I was reckless." my father said the hold my head against his chest as if covering my ears and preventing me from hearing but I can clearly hear them still.
"Indeed you are, I hope you completely stop being rash and try another sorts of foolish ways to treat the lady too, you're only making her suffer even more, you being Grand Master and holds the highest affinity of water is more than enough to keep her stable, keep that in mind." the high priestess carry on and walk ahead till we reach the gazebo with my brother, Wendy, Paul and the knights suddenly all standing up after seeing me and dad with the high priestess.
"Your Grace! We never anticipated that my lady will react negatively with the gateway!" Wendy cried out while still having her head low along the rest.
"Don't be so burden, you did well not forgetting to give her the ring, it's my fault I didn't anticipated it will be this bad." dad said and nod his head for them to carry on as they all loosen up a little, seeing me perfectly fine now, their gloomy gray aura gradually turning back to pink.
"Thea." my brother approach, reaching for my hand and I squeeze his to assure him I'm alright.
"The flower." I mumbled while the high priestess hum and smile warmly.
"Don't worry, the lady must eat first, I hope you're good at eating vegetables, the chef here have a great skill, I'll be back and fetch you after your lunch for the offering." she said as I nod and the high priestess dismiss herself to get back in the temple, just in time when the deacons come out and serve food on the long table which is enough to accommodate everyone.
The dishes looks actually good to me, the main dish is potato salad and sourdough bread bowl with broccoli cheddar cheese soup in it, for the dessert, apple pie and ambrosia, the drinks are pomegranate juice.
My father take a seat first followed by my brother and the rest of the people, I wasn't put down, instead my dad make sure I eat properly while he's eating his own meal.
I just take my time eating, while father is talking with the knights who are explaining thoroughly what happened.