"Close off the entrance completely!" The Archbishop ordered the priests.
They immediately went to lock the main entrance, and someone removed the broken glass pieces from the floor.
"And the remaining of you, don't stand there and get the children who are working outside into the orphanage. Be careful and don't leave anyone." Other priests made their way outside, shrugging their shoulders.
The safety of the children must be taken care of before anything else. The church not only funds the local orphanages but also trains children of a certain age to become priests when they grow up. In this way, children learn to earn their keep through the work they do.
While growing up and devoting themselves to the God they pray to, they develop a kind of discipline that isn't seen in the younger generation.
If they are at the top of their work until a certain age, they will be selected to become high priests of other head churches in the other two provinces of Icemere.
Still, they are children in the end. So they need people to monitor them from time to time until they become old enough.
"You were saying something..." The Archbishop said it in a stiff tone.
He didn't like what he heard before. For a second, he thought he heard it wrong. He wanted to believe that.
"Ahem! I came here to request a blessing. Will you be able to do that?"
"I don't know what you are talking about, Viscount." The disrespect shown in those words was ignored by the Viscount.
"Everyone thought we had the gift of giving birth to the greatest talent of the century. It's true. But…" He looked at his wife.
"She lost the ability to give birth after that so-called talent was born. What wrong did my wife do for her to become like this?" He questioned himself. But there wasn't the slightest bit of sympathy in those words.
The lady held her head down.
The Archbishop didn't understand. Even if his wife lost the ability to give birth, they already had a daughter. She was the envy of the entire kingdom. And there is another child that is going to be born of their love soon, even after many miscarriages.
So, instead of showing their love for both, he is asking for something so nonsensical? That's what made the Archbishop confused.
"But as far as I know, your daughter is the pride of this kingdom, isn't it? And I don't think it is right for you to worry about a child that isn't even born yet." He said, trying to voice his thoughts.
"Yo-You don't understand! W-We need a boy child… a boy…!" He patted his chest while saying that, and his words came out shaky with no reason behind them.
What if it is a boy or a girl? Why does it matter? And to wish for him to become a mage, even? All the Archbishop could see in Viscount's eyes was discrimination. Discrimination towards gender and discrimination towards professions.
"Shouldn't you leave that choice to the kid after he or she is born? And what could we, mere humans, do to decide the gender of the child before its birth? It's all part of God's creation."
The Archbishop couldn't take it anymore and thought to put an end to this useless discussion. In the time he has known the Viscount, he has never seen him this agitated. The state of his acting out of character was something new to him.
Him demanding a boy when he already has a daughter named the strongest of the kingdom, and even if he really wanted a boy, what could he do to decide the gender of an already growing foetus?
And asking for this kind of blessing in front of the god who is responsible for birth. Isn't that pure blasphemy? He looked at the statue of Goddess Ishtar at the end of the chapel while thinking that.
"I-I heard the higher authorities of the church can directly communicate with God. So all I want is a blessing—a blessing of a boy child who has an aptitude for magic. Please…" He fell to his knees. The wife turned her head to one side.
He was continuing to ask for pointless things that had no basis. He was demanding something that was not possible for anyone. He was asking for the power to change God's will.
Why was he desperate? What was the need for that?
"Sir Nathan, I appreciate your visiting the 'Cathedral of the Holy Light' in the hopes of your wish coming true." The Archbishop had lost all interest.
"But I am sorry to tell you this. I cannot help you even if I wanted to." He turned his back to leave.
"Wh-Why!? Please… Help me! You are our last hope!" He begged while holding the Archbishop's legs.
Who would have thought the ruler of a city would degrade to this unsightly state?
"It is really important for the blood of my family to survive! I-I would do anything for it!" His voice echoed throughout the empty chapel, as no priest was present.
"If only that thing was not born. If only—"
"Stop it!" The Archbishop's voice shook the desperate Viscount.
Referring to his own daughter as an object. What has he become?
"Bang!" While they were in that state, the door of the church opened with a bang. The air rushed inside along with the few priests in white clothing. They were wet because of the heavy rain.
Noticing this, the Archbishop lifted the Viscount from the floor to his feet. Whatever his intentions were, he was still the Viscount of a city. He needs to maintain his dignity before his people for them to show respect.
With more people present, even the Viscount got his composure back.
"Sir, look at them!" Two of the priests hurried inside, still wet from the bottom up.
Everyone looked at them. Each of them was carrying something.
"The other kids found them! Their condition doesn't seem to be good!" They voiced their concerns as everyone got a clear look at who they were talking about.
It was a child and a little girl. Getting a closer look, one can say they were not in good condition.
"Keep them here!" Without further thought, the Archbishop guided them to the high stone platform in front.
Both the priests hurried and placed the two there. They were unconscious.
The child was covered with a white cloth, but it was soaking wet. It had stains of mud and crimson. Everyone present knew at a glance that it was blood.
And the clothes of the little girl were torn here and there, with slight wounds near her legs and at the exposed parts of the skin.
"The kids found them while playing down the stream. We hurriedly picked them up and came here. They were out cold by then." One of the priests said.
What could they be doing near the river in this state? Everyone wondered what could have happened to them to be like this. But there was no time for that.
"We will talk about that matter later. First, we need to treat them." The Archbishop tried to deal with the matter at hand.
"What are we going to do, sir? At this time, there won't be a healer around, even if you search the entire city. The weather doesn't look good either." One of the priests asked with concern. Following that, a rumbling sound was heard from the outside. The heavy rain had no intention of stopping.
The Archbishop thought for a second before opening his mouth.
"That's right. So, we are going to perform a blessing." A blessing is not something that can be performed willy-nilly. Everyone knew that, but they also knew they needed to save the two before them, so none voiced their doubts, even if they were a little concerned.
"Everyone gather around!"
All the available priests gathered around the two dying kids and extended their hands out of their long sleeves.
"By the power of the divine, let this blessing flow through flesh and bone and set your heart aglow."
They started their incantation in unison. It echoed throughout the entire church.
"From the infinite well of life, let healing waters pour, and grant the strength to rise once more."
A faint glow of white light flickered from the palms of many priests.
"Let sickness and pain be banished away and restored to health; let these two stay."
The light intensified.
"May their spirits be renewed, their hearts made pure, and their bodies strengthened, forevermore."
The light then went and enveloped the two entirely.
"So be it, with gratitude and grace, let this healing blessing fill this space."
It then covered the entire church, making the unbroken darkness vanish for an instant before the light subdued the next.
Everyone's eyes were locked on the two before them as their visible wounds slowly started to disappear. The wetness of their clothes vanished, and a warm feeling surrounded the two. It took a minute before their skin became radiant with no wounds.
"Ugh…" Soon after, a pained groan came out of the little girl's mouth, but the child beside her didn't show any signs of movement. One would think he had already died if his tiny chest wasn't rising and falling.