Grant Me Your Grace

“Sacrifice?”

When Khankundra asked back, Aaron bowed his head.

“Yes. The calamity happening now is surely the goddess testing us. We must offer a sacrifice to the heavens to seek forgiveness and unite the hearts of the people once more.”

At the high priest’s words, not only the emperor but also the court officials, began to stir.

‘The goddess Nuit testing the kingdom of Baran?’ 

It had only been a few months since they rejoiced at the appearance of the divine gift. No one could fathom the goddess’s sudden intention to test them.

“How could the goddess Nuit be testing our kingdom of Baran! We have revered the divine gift sent by the goddess and have been enjoying an era of peace like never before! What have I done wrong!”

The emperor, extremely angered, shouted loudly. 

Recently, his emotional fluctuations had become severe, and he often raised his voice over small matters.

Seeing the emperor in such a state, Priest Hovan calmly interjected.

“Your Majesty, the goddess’s test is not a punishment.”

“Then, then, what do you call this calamity happening now?”

“It is a crossroads.”

“A crossroads?”

Hovan’s amber eyes turned fully toward the emperor. The deep abyss, shimmering with an enigmatic light, seemed even more authoritative than the high priest, Aaron. 

The emperor felt as though he were facing the immense will of the divine, his chest heavy.

“It is a crossroads… whether Baran will stand fully before the goddess Nuit to receive her mercy, or be forsaken by her and lose all her blessings.”

At Hovan’s words, everyone fell silent, stunned.

To be forsaken by the goddess Nuit. For a powerful nation that had maintained a robust history through the goddess’s grace, this was like a bolt from the blue.

As expected, a bewildered Khankundra asked Hovan,

“Then, what must we do?”

“The only way to seek the goddess’s forgiveness is through sacrifice…”

Hovan’s eyes took on a cold gleam.

“We must offer a burnt sacrifice and pray for the calamity to cease.”

“A burnt sacrifice… a burnt sacrifice. Yes, that’s right.”

The emperor nodded, shaking his head. With bountiful harvests over the past decade, it had been momentarily forgotten, but there had been times when the kingdom of Baran faced severe famine across the empire.

Each time, Baran had conducted burnt sacrifices, offering offerings to the goddess, and through this, they had managed the people’s hearts and overcome difficulties.

The emperor, like a person who had found a rope in a deep swamp, excitedly commanded the officials.

“Listen, all the priests of the temple and the officials.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Prepare immediately to erect an altar and prepare the sacrifice to be offered to the goddess Nuit.”

“How shall we prepare the offering, Your Majesty?”

“Ah, the offering. The offering is also important.”

At the question from one official, the emperor once again looked to Hovan. He was seeking an answer from him.

Hovan, with an expression devoid of any emotion, provided the answer to the question.

“The reason the divine gift has come to our kingdom of Baran… is precisely for this, is it not?”

The divine gift that would quell the chaos in Baran. 

At Hovan’s words, everyone recalled the oracle’s prophecy and was enveloped in an eerie silence.

“Place the divine gift upon the altar.”

“…The divine gift?”

At this unexpected response, not only the emperor but also the high priest and the other officials were startled and looked at Hovan. 

Yet, Hovan repeated without blinking an eye.

“Yes. In this sacrifice, Baran must offer the divine gift sent by the goddess upon the altar.”

“But, even so… how can we place the divine gift upon the altar?”

There had been rare instances when people were offered sacrifices during times of severe calamity or famine in the kingdom, but only the most heinous criminals were imprisoned in the dungeons.

But this time, it was not a criminal, but the divine gift sent by the goddess Nuit that was to be offered. 

Everyone was too stunned to speak, their faces pale. Aaron even shook his head, saying it was unthinkable.

Scanning them one by one with his eyes, Hovan spoke, “It is the place where miracles occurred.”

The place where the divine gift had wrought miracles had now become the source of calamity. 

He argued that the divine gift should rightfully be placed upon the altar.

“The goddess Nuit, in her love for Baran, sent the divine gift.”

Hovan’s gaze was not on the emperor but on the distant void. 

The beautiful and young priest exuded an overwhelming aura, as if embodying the will of the divine. His cold, distant gaze, as if seeing beyond the realm of reality, gave everyone who looked at him a strange sense of dissonance.

“To save us from chaos.”

Hovan’s low and calm voice melted faintly into the air. 

For some reason, it felt as though they shouldn’t meet his eyes, and the officials all turned their heads away in unison.

Only the emperor met his gaze directly and smiled.

“Good. Everyone must devote their utmost sincerity.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The voices of those gathered in the audience hall resonated grandly within. 

They all prayed for the emperor to receive the goddess’s grace and wished for the success of the sacrifice.

“By the way, what happened to the remains found at the bottom of the Bial River?”

At the emperor’s question, Mindhu spoke, “The inspectors examined them, but they found nothing unusual, Your Majesty.”

“So, are you saying that the prisoners who escaped from the underground dungeons drowned in the river?”

“Perhaps they managed to escape, but ultimately met divine punishment and lost their lives.”

“That must be it. To defy Baran is to defy the will of the goddess.”

“Your words are most wise.”

At the emperor’s words, Mindhu bowed his head deeply.

“Then, what should we do with the remains?”

“What use is there in keeping the bones of traitors who have already rotted to white? Crush them all and scatter them in some random land.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The emperor gave the order indifferently. The officials, anticipating the calamity to be averted by the sacrifice, quickly regained their vigor.

Only Hovan watched the scene with a serene expression.

Now was the time to seek salvation from the goddess.

✨

Preparations for the sacrifice began in Baran.

With the schedule for the grand sacrifice set, a state of emergency was declared in the kingdom. 

Dahlia’s wedding preparations were also temporarily halted.

Though there wasn’t much to prepare in the first place, Dahlia, who had been feeling as though she was watching a blade approach day by day, was at least able to catch her breath.

“How is the Bial River?”

Dahlia asked, pressing down on the uneven leather cover of a book that had become damp from the humid weather over the past few days. Hovan shook his head slightly.

“It remains dead. Scholars say that even if new water is diverted, it’s uncertain whether the river will come back to life.”

At Hovan’s words, Dahlia’s expression grew troubled.

“Is it truly… the goddess Nuit testing us?”

Hovan had said that the series of calamities were all tests from the goddess Nuit. They were meant to test the depth of Baran’s faith in the goddess.

Not through anything else, but through the very gift sent by the goddess.

‘Why did it have to be Hissin who must be placed upon the altar?’

Both the Bunta land and the Bial River were places where miracles had occurred after the divine gift arrived in this land, but it couldn’t be definitively said that Hissin himself had gone there and caused the miracles.  

Perhaps it had nothing to do with Hissin at all—it might simply be the workings of nature.  

“Such thoughts are precisely what lead us further into the test.”  

At Hovan’s words, Dahlia looked up in surprise. 

It was clearly an answer to her earlier question, but the way Hovan gazed at her as if piercing through her thoughts made Dahlia feel as though he had uncovered everything she had been thinking.  

Pressing her lips together, Dahlia lowered her gaze and spoke.  

“But… is it really necessary to offer the divine gift as a burnt sacrifice?”  

Her worry finally broke through. She knew that Hovan had pointed to Hissin as the offering for the burnt sacrifice.  

Though he must have done so under the goddess’s will, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of resentment at this moment.  

Hissin had become her irreplaceable salvation.  

Perhaps… even more than that.  

“Originally, the divine gift was sent by the goddess to quell the chaos in Baran. If not them, who else could calm this calamity?”  

Dahlia couldn’t find the words to refute Hovan’s statement.  

It was said that the divine gift had come by the goddess’s will, and the calamity had arisen by the goddess’s will. She couldn’t stop this sacrifice for mere personal reasons.  

“Are you really going to place the divine gift on the altar? That altar where the flames will rise? Isn’t it enough to just sprinkle the offering’s blood, like during the Maksru ritual?”  

Dahlia clung to her questions like grasping at straws. She was even prepared to use her blood if it meant saving Hissin.  

Hovan, who had been staring at her intently, averted his gaze as if avoiding her desperate plea and looked out the window.  

“If the goddess Nuit desires it, then it must be done.”  

“But still, isn’t there something else we can find to replace the divine gift…”  

“Your Highness, the Princess.”  

Hovan’s voice pressed down firmly on Dahlia’s words.  

“Have you ever seen the divine gift?”  

At his pointed question, Dahlia’s eyes trembled.