The Female Knight of Doom - TFKOD 05: A Feast

After the God of Doom left, Alice felt slightly overwhelmed.

What just happened? Did it really happen?

She remembered her conversation with the god, and the information about the Immortal Rom was firmly lodged in her mind.

These things hadn’t appeared out of nowhere.

Still in a trance, she stood up, wobbled a bit, and almost collapsed before realizing her legs had gone numb from kneeling for so long. After holding on to the wall for a moment and feeling somewhat rested, she pushed open the door to the prayer chamber and stepped out.

The Great Hall was deserted outside. The other children had long since finished their rituals and left with the temple apprentices for the Feast of the Gods.

Only Lord Etienne remained, standing beside the statue of God Bertucci. He seemed to be waiting for her specifically.

Alice bowed her head.

“I apologize for being late.”

“That’s all right,” Lord Etienne heard her voice and looked up. “Did you meet God Bertucci? His blessing…”

He hadn’t finished his sentence when he suddenly changed his tune.

“You haven’t become a follower of God Bertucci. Who have you actually met?” His face displayed an uncharacteristic harshness.

Alice became frightened and took two steps back unconsciously, pressing her back against the door of the chamber.

She wasn’t sure how people changed after becoming followers, but apparently, the priests had their own way of judging. Thinking about Lord Etienne’s feelings toward the God of Doom, she realized instinctively that she could not tell him the truth.

But what could she say? She was just a child, inexperienced in dealing with such matters.

Before she could think, Lord Etienne took a few steps closer and bent down to stare intently into her eyes.

“Look into my eyes and tell me what’s going on.”

Alice had no choice but to obey him and look into his eyes.

Usually, he kept his gaze at the same level as the children’s to make them feel comfortable.

However, at that moment, his face so close to Alice’s made her feel extremely oppressed. Looking into his eyes and lying was difficult, even though he was kind. After all, he was still a priest with considerable power in this temple.

His striking golden hair and cerulean eyes seemed godlike to her. He was more intimidating than the God of Doom, who had not shown his face to her.

She was so scared that she couldn’t control her tears. Sniffling, she told him the whole story of what had just occurred in the chamber.

Lord Etienne frowned as if he were faced with a difficult decision. He stared at her for a while and tried several times to say something, but then he gave up.

After a moment of silence, he finally made up his mind and sighed.

“… Fortunately, the person you met today was me.”

Alice didn’t understand what he meant, nor did she dare ask questions. She just pursed her lips and looked at him.

He stared at her seriously and put a finger to his lips, “No matter what anyone asks today, don’t tell the truth. Never tell.”

Alice bobbed her head stiffly and instinctively, like a child who doesn’t know what she’s done wrong.

Seeing her reaction, his expression softened slightly as he took her hand, “Don’t be afraid. Come with me.”

She didn’t know where he was taking her. Under normal circumstances, it would be time for her to attend the Feast of the Gods with the other children. However, he did not seem to intend to take her to the Feast of the Gods.

Where was he taking her? She did not want to ask.

His warm hand made her feel slightly reassured, even though it meant nothing. She had nothing else to rely on; she could only hold his hand.

Lord Etienne led her through the dark corridor to a door. He composed himself, then knocked respectfully.

An old man’s rough voice came from inside.

“Come in.”

Lord Etienne pushed open the door to a spacious office.

An old man with silvery hair and a corpulent figure sat at a table reading a textbook. Sunlight streamed through the window behind him, completely shading his face. When he lifted his gaze, Alice was startled by his gray-blue eyes, which pierced her like a hawk’s.

She instinctively ducked behind Lord Etienne.

Lord Etienne paid no heed to her movement and simply bowed to the old man.

“Lord High Priest, the ceremony is over.”

The high priest was the most influential person in the temple. All the priests and temple apprentices were responsible for what happened during the ceremony.

However, the high priest did not pay attention to Alice.

Instead, he raised his head and asked Lord Etienne, “What happened?”

Lord Etienne pulled Alice in front of the high priest by tugging at her arm.

“This child made a mistake in her prayer to the God of the Future, and now no god wants her as a follower.”

The high priest just shrugged, “Such a thing is not rare, but it is not completely unknown either. Pitiful child. What will her parents say?”

Though he used the word “pitiful,” there was no concern in his tone. The remark wasn’t addressed to Alice, who shouldn’t have reacted.

However, a strange bit of courage prompted her to do so, “I have no parents.”

The high priest looked at her, a hint of sympathy showing in his gray-blue eyes, but it was fleeting.

He immediately looked back at Lord Etienne, “Take her to the Feast of the Gods. The gods are merciful. Even if they are unwilling to accept her as a follower, they will not begrudge her such a meal.”

Since the high priest had spoken, the matter was considered over and not to be taken too seriously.

Alice didn’t understand, but she could feel Lord Etienne’s body relax.

That should… be good?

Lord Etienne bowed to the high priest and prepared to lead her away.

Just as he turned, however, the high priest called out to him, “Etienne, wait.”

He looked back at the high priest, whose eyes glowed with wisdom, “The God of Light teaches us to be benevolent. However, you are destined to become the high priest. It’s hard to be efficient when your heart is too compassionate.”

The high priest seemed sincere, and Lord Etienne struggled to control his state of mind before bowing.

“Thank you for your teachings.”

The high priest lowered his head and continued reading his book, gesturing for them to leave.

Lord Etienne breathed a sigh of relief as he retreated from the high priest’s place.

“It’s all right. Let’s go. Remember what happened before; don’t tell anyone!”

Even though Alice didn’t understand anything, she could tell that he was protecting her. She was so grateful to him that her little heart overflowed with gratitude, but she did not know how to express it.

She could only grip his hand.

He took Alice to the Feast of the Gods.

This ceremony culminates in the Feast of the Gods, when the gods are said to descend from the heavens to feast with the newly initiated followers. For this reason, the feast is always as sumptuous as possible, surpassing even the Lord’s Table.

The menu for the Feast of the Gods was set, with food provided by several renowned taverns in the city. The nobles paid the bill on a rotating basis.

Like people who had been starving at sea for months, the children of the poor desperately gorged themselves on these unseen delicacies, then tried to go three days without eating. Despite the fact that their stomachs did not have the capacity to do so, they tried their best.

The temple apprentices had retreated behind the scenes. They could not enjoy the feast until it was over, so they hoped the children would eat less.

After escorting Alice to the empty seat at the end of the long table, Lord Etienne stepped forward to maintain order.

As the master of ceremony, he was required to stay until the event ended.

Alice knew she should have felt more depressed, but how could anyone feel depressed with all that delicious food in front of them? In her dreams, she had never seen so much appetizing food on one table.

It was never good for a child to be pessimistic, especially when faced with so much food they had never seen before, and all distant worries would be thrown out the window.

She was determined to enjoy the feast. And she did. All thoughts of the gods were forgotten as her insatiable stomach was filled with meat, bread, and desserts.

Suddenly, she remembered what her friend Burke had said to her the night before.

“There will be plenty of food left over at the Feast of the Gods. If you can take some of it, you’ll have something good to eat the next day!”

At the time, he had only mentioned it casually, but now, this sentence was constantly on her mind and she couldn’t easily forget it.

With so much food, no one would notice if she secretly took a little bit, right?

Hiding one loaf of bread would be enough for one or two meals and would still make for a pretty good meal.

Although Alice was stupid inside, she was still hesitant and never made a move. That changed when she saw that the last cake at the banquet was about to be served.

She knew that if she didn’t act now, she would never have the chance. She grabbed a loaf of bread and discreetly took it from under the table, ready to hide it in her coat pocket.

At that moment, everyone’s attention was focused on the huge cake that was about to be carried over. Alice thought her actions were stealthy, but Lord Etienne was standing in front of the table and could see everything.

He quickly spotted her movement. Alice looked around nervously, and her eyes met his.

Terrified, she clenched the bread in her hand, reluctant to let go. Soon, Lord Etienne came over, took her by the arm, and placed the bread back on the plate.

Then, he whispered in her ear, “Follow me.”

Caught red-handed, Alice’s legs went limp.

He had been kind to her and had even done her a favor, but she did not trust that he would be lenient with the culprit. After making such a mistake, she thought she would have to have her hand cut off.

Left or right hand? Hopefully the left, since she usually felt more comfortable using her right. However, even if she cut off her left hand, she wouldn’t be able to do tasks like washing people’s clothes.

Lost in thought, Alice was led out of the hall by Lord Etienne, through many corridors, and into a small room.

This room was similar to the high priest’s, except it was less than half the size. There was no long couch or tea table for guests; only a high chair with no backrest sat in front of the table.

On one side of the table was a precarious pile of parcels that looked like they would spill to the floor if touched.

He sat her down in a high chair and turned around to organize the pile of parcels.

Alice stared anxiously at his back, trying to muster the courage to speak, but she could not make a sound.

Finally, when he had finished organizing the parcels and looked back at her, he saw her lips quivering and could not help but ask a question.

“What did you say?”

Her voice was weak.

“Don’t cut off my hand…”