The Lamb’s Lament

She stood there as if petrified, her mouth still half-open, looking like a duck.

Black, amused by her appearance, pressed on.

“You’ll what?”

Nadia snapped back to her senses, the anger on her face vanishing.

It was replaced by an awkward smile.

Her tone immediately softened by several octaves.

She said guiltily.

“Ahaha… I’ll… I’ll treat you to the new limited-edition mango mousse from the school’s dessert shop!”

She knew that Black was now a big shot in the headmaster’s eyes.

She could offend anyone but him!

The other members outside saw their usually awe-inspiring president.

Now being so humble in front of Black.

They couldn’t hold back their laughter and let out low snickers.

Nadia turned and glared at them, trying to regain her presidential authority.

“What are you laughing at?! Are your articles all written? Is the layout finished? Has the printing process for tomorrow’s paper been confirmed?! You all have nothing to do, is that it?!”

Being shouted at by her, everyone immediately fell silent.

They lowered their heads and got busy, though their shoulders still couldn’t help but shake.

Only then did Nadia turn back in satisfaction. She quickly pulled Black into the office and closed the door.

As soon as he entered, Black froze.

The walls of this room were all covered with photos.

And they were all photos of Kristine.

And they were quite well-taken.

There was one of Kristine in her academy uniform, napping under a tree.

The collar of her white shirt was slightly open, revealing her slender collarbone. Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled spots of light on her face.

There was one of her in her church holy robes, praying.

The hem of her silver-embroidered skirt fell to her ankles. She stood under the stained-glass window of the church, her head bowed in prayer. The colored light from the glass enveloped her, making her look so holy she was almost ethereal.

There was also one of her in a light-colored summer dress, playing in the sea.

She stood barefoot in the water, and in the moment the water splashed, she smiled so brightly it was breathtakingly beautiful.

Laughing, crying, quiet, angry, pensive…

Black’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He turned to look at Nadia.

“Are you serious?”

Nadia didn’t even turn her head.

“Are you questioning my love for the senior?”

Black: “…”

“…No.”

After pouring Black a cup of black tea, Nadia asked timidly.

“What wind blew a big shot like you to our humble little temple today?”

Black didn’t stand on ceremony and sat down to take a sip of the black tea.

He put down the cup and said slowly.

“Last time you followed me, I said that I might need you to do me a small favor in the future, right?”

Nadia nodded like a pecking chicken.

“I remember! Of course, I remember!”

She complained inwardly: ‘I just followed you once, do you have to hold such a grudge?’

Black nodded and took a piece of paper from his pocket, handing it to Nadia.

“Take a look.”

Nadia took the paper and read it carefully.

The lyrics of a song were written on the paper.

She read it several times and looked up, puzzled.

“Isn’t this that very famous nursery rhyme, ‘The Lamb’s Lament’?”

“That’s right, it’s this song.”

Black nodded.

“I need you to do me a favor. Find a group of students and teach them to sing this song.”

“As for the selection, it’s best if they are members of your fan club.”

Hearing this, Nadia was completely bewildered.

She simply couldn’t understand why he would make such a strange request.

Gathering a large group of students just to learn to sing a children’s song?

‘Could he have some special fetish?’

“W-Why?”

She couldn’t help but ask, her journalistic curiosity piqued.

Black didn’t answer, just looked at her calmly.

“Don’t worry about it. Can you do it or not?”

‘Tch, if you don’t want to say it, then don’t.’

Nadia complained to herself. After a moment’s hesitation, she still nodded.

As the president of the News Agency and the head of the fan club, she still had quite a bit of influence among the students.

“I can, it’s just…”

“As long as you can do it.”

Black interrupted her and stood up.

“Then I’ll have to trouble you.”

He paused and added.

“If there’s a chance, I’ll mention you more in front of Kristine.”

This instantly hit Nadia’s weak spot!

Her eyes lit up, and all her previous doubts were thrown to the wind.

“No problem! Leave it to me!”

Nadia patted her chest in assurance.

“If you have any other requests in the future, just ask! Our News Agency… oh no, I, Nadia, will be duty-bound to help!”

Seeing Nadia so excited, Black sighed to himself.

‘Yuri is infinitely good, it’s just a pity they can’t have children.’

With his goal achieved, Black didn’t stay any longer and left the News Agency.

On the way back with Leon and Land.

Black leaned against the wall of the carriage, closing his eyes to rest.

He sorted through all the details of the next event, the “Sacred Rite incident,” in his mind.

As the second to last important event in the first chapter of the game.

The Sacred Rite incident itself was not complicated.

The so-called Sacred Rite was the grand finale of the Golden Feast.

It was hosted by the Church and held at the Church of Creation in Servia on the last night of the festival.

At that time, not only would most of the citizens and believers go to watch the ceremony.

First Princess Aphra and Prince Oscar would also be present on behalf of the Imperial Family to show its importance.

The Sacred Rite was essentially a blessing ceremony.

Using the Saintess as a medium, they prayed to the gods for favorable weather and a bountiful harvest in the coming year.

Specifically, the Sacred Rite was a large-scale magic array.

It required many church priests to chant hymns in unison and jointly pour in a huge amount of magical power.

And Saintess Kristine, as the core of this vast magic array, was responsible for guiding this power.

And transforming it into an auspicious scene symbolizing divine grace.

The requirements for the person at the core of the array were extremely strict; they had to be an immaculate person.

That is, a virgin who devoutly believed in the God of Creation and had never committed any act that violated morals, religious rules, or imperial law.

Kristine naturally met the above conditions.

Of course, to put it plainly.

This large-scale spell was more of a symbolic gesture.

It was intended to bring good luck for the new year, unite the people, and give them hope.

For years, the Sacred Rite prayer led by Kristine had gone smoothly.

The auspicious scene it produced.

Was a brilliant rain of light falling from the night sky.

According to the church’s scriptures.

The deeper and more dazzling the gold of this rain of light, the more it meant that the Saintess’s faith in God was firm and reverent.

The gods would also respond to the prayers, and the harvest next year would be better.

On the contrary, if the color was dim, it meant that the Saintess’s faith in God was not firm.

The gods would send down punishment, causing famine and other disasters in the next year.

Since Kristine had been leading it, the brilliance and coverage of the rain of light had far surpassed that of the previous Saintess.

Coincidentally, the agricultural harvests in recent years had all been bountiful.

This had raised Kristine’s prestige among the common people to an unprecedented height.

However, beneath this great fame.

The extremely high expectations of the public had unknowingly placed heavy mental shackles on Kristine.