'What was that? Some kind of animal? I don't think it's hostile or threatening; otherwise, it would have attacked by now. Maybe it was just the wind...'
"Is something wrong?" Leo, who had followed my line of sight, asked me.
"No, nothing happened."
I turned my sight from him and started walking toward the road.
"Follow me, or else you'll get lost again."
***
The servant bent down in front of us.
"I sincerely apologize for this unreasonable trouble that I caused and I hope you can forgive me."
As always, I forced a smile.
"Brother, please be at ease. I have no regrets about accepting this divine request, and I view it as part of God's test."
"..."
"You can look up now," said Leo.
Suddenly, the servent straightened his back and flashed a wide smile.
"I truly appreciate your great and lucid spirit. May God rewards you."
I tried to keep my smile intact, but my lower eyelid began to twitch involuntarily.
'Don't lose your nerve... don't lose your nerve...'
The door behind us, which was in the middle of the eastern wall of the hall, opened with a loud thud as Courier entered with sound of his cane hitting the ground.
We turned toward him. This time, he wore a golden cloak and a large cylindrical hat, adorned with various jewels and stones.
'How can his neck lift all this weight ?'
He had his hand on the shoulder of a young boy beside him. The boy looked to be about the same age as me. He wore a long white robe that reached his ankles and was secured with a wooden ring around his waist. He had Egyptian hair that matched the color of leo's. The difference was that his hair didn't reflect light and was as dark as the night. His fair skin created a strong contrast with his hair. The color of his eyes and the shape of his lips and mouth were exactly like leo's. However, unlike him, his face was full of emotions, and his eyes sparkled.
'Now that I think about it, leo mentioned his brother's ceremony.'
We all moved aside from the red carpet to let Courier and the boy pass. With a jab that Aldous gave me, I turned madly toward him.
"The leaves stuck in your messy hair really make you look like a barbaric," he whispered in my ear.
I gave Aldous a hard shove.
"Ouch! You're really a barbaric," he said while scratching his head.
Courier and the boy went behind the table and stood in front of us. We all took our seats. I glanced sideways at leo, who was sitting to my right. He was smiling at the boy.
'It's obvious he's his brother; otherwise, such a smile from a rigid person like Mr. Statue seems unlikely.'
"Hey, hey!" Unfortunately, Aldous was sitting to my left, and even before the ceremony had started, he began to annoy me.
With Courier's cane hitting the ground, the ceremony officially began.
"In the name and memory of the Absolute and Exalted God, his ally is Sinn and his protector is Gaubear. We begin..."
"Hey, I'm talking to you," Aldous shook my arm and said.
"... It is narrated that when Sinn wanted to inform the worlds about the Absolute Creator and the hidden secret in the magic of Mara, two brothers served him..."
"Who's that boy next to you? You two seem close."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I shouldn't ruin such an important ceremony.
"... Sinn loved these two so much that he called them his brothers, and when she ascended, she took them with him to the throne... and since then, a countless number of sisters and brothers have been added to this family of three and have appeared at the table of the Lord..."
"I know you can hear me, so stop pretending."
Courier picked up a large, red book from the table, which I guessed was the holy book.
"Angela, didn't I— Gehgh"
I stepped on his foot.
"Are you going to shut that hole of yours or what?"
Courier began to read words that were in a sacred language we didn't understand.
He looked at the boy and pronounced his name loudly and clearly.
"Edward Stewart!"
Edward, who had kept his head down the whole time, lifted it up. From the crystal dish in front of him, he picked an olive.
All of us focused our gaze on his hand as he brought the olive toward his mouth. He held it right in front of his lips and paused. His gaze swept among the attendees until it locked onto me. I stared at him in surprise as he gave me a cute smile and nodded. Suddenly, I noticed leo discreetly waving at him.
'So his gaze was on leo?'
Embarrassed, I lowered my head. The blood flow in my head had increased.
"Angela, why your face turned red?" Aldous asked in surprise.
"Can you please just shut up for one second?"
"But—"
"Sorry, Courier, but I—"
"Shut your mouth!" My shout coincided with the continuation of the boy's speech.
A heavy silence took over the hall. But aside from the servants, everyone else was staring at me with wide eyes. Even Leo, who usually barely moved an inch of his face, was now looking at me with wide eyes and an open mouth. My heart was pounding hard in my chest from sheer shame and fear. I lowered my head to avoid meeting the astonished gaze of anyone else.
"I'm sorry. Please continue..."