"Seraphina! The Lord of Alequessa wants to have a meeting with you!" a masculine voice said, shattering Seraphina's wish of napping.
The silver-haired girl looked up to see a middle-aged man with chestnut hair. He had dark brown eyes with sharp and straight eyebrows like a flat patch of chestnut-colored grass. His chin was trimmed, and his face was devoid of wrinkles, giving him a youthful look for his age.
Honestly, Seraphina would not have guessed he was a middle-aged man if she did not know him beforehand.
He was wearing long and baggy black pants alongside an oversized, creased gray shirt, which paired really badly.
His fashion sense was truly not great, as this man would only wear things he considered to be comfy. The only time she had seen him in good-looking clothes was probably at Father Gabriel's funeral—and that said a lot, considering she had known him all her life!
The man's nose twitched, as if he were sniffing the air, when he saw Seraphina. The air around her smelled strange—at least, different from usual.
"Did you bleed? Because you smell like the Crimson Moon," the man told her, asking a rhetorical question he already knew the answer to.
"And you, you smell like usual, Gairon," Seraphina shot back angrily. "Like sweat and dirt as always."
The Crimson Moon was said to be an event occurring every twenty years, where the moon would turn red for the duration of a single night.
The Crimson Moon did not have, quote on quote, a scent by itself; however, under its effects, the air became toxic and unbearable for humans to breathe in, almost as if the Moon itself had released its poisonous fumes all over the human world.
During this period of a single night, the Crimson Moon apparently awakened some strange powers inside the Impures' blood, making even the weakest of them as powerful as four-star beings.
Undoubtedly, each time the Crimson Moon appeared, it led to an immense bloodbath, marking the world with a thick scent of blood.
Seraphina had never experienced it, as the last Crimson Moon had happened fourteen years ago. She had only ever heard of it through word of mouth, but it was still enough to make her despise it.
To any members of the Church, being associated with the Crimson Moo—no, Impures in general—was enough to enrage them, as they were the Church's—no, humanity's biggest and most despicable enemy.
"Aah... Why are you so mean today?" Gairon asked her with a saddened expression.
"You! Why are you smelling me in the first place!?" Seraphina irritably pointed out.
Gairon was a Shining Two-Star and a former blacksmith, so naturally, his senses were sharper than most.
Even with a short distance between them, the two could still sense each other if they focused on it—and this was mainly true for Gairon, as Seraphina's sense of smell was much more advanced than his own!
"C'mon, it's not a big deal," Gairon said as he rested a hand on top of Seraphina's head before caressing her silky silver hair. "Here, take this."
Gairon handed her an already opened letter that bore the official wax crest of Alequessa—the purple barryl.
This letter was addressed to her as a representative of the Church, but it was already opened, and judging by what Gairon had said, he must have already read its contents.
Seraphina sighed.
Gairon had apparently been a blacksmith a long time ago, or so she was told. He had been forced to quit his profession when he accidentally splashed himself with molten iron, as he could not exert it anymore.
But this all happened before her birth, and Gairon had been a supplicant through two generations of High Priests!
Of course, Seraphina had healed him; even though his injuries were old-timers, it did not affect her green energy in the very least.
However, mental scars were not so easy to heal, and even she could not heal those.
Whenever Gairon would pick up a sledgehammer, his hands would shake uncontrollably, rendering him incapable of exercising the profession he had given everything to perfect.
Despite his behavior that might say otherwise, Gairon was kind and helpful to her. Whenever Seraphina had to babysit someone else's child, he would always come to her with a smile before taking over, as he knew she had better things to do.
She had been grateful to him for that, but it did not mean he could rummage through her things—especially since Coralie had long since advised her to have as little interaction with him as possible.
Seraphina did not understand why her sister would say something like that, but her sister was perfect and so much wiser than her, so there must have been a good reason.
Even if there was no good reason, Seraphina would still choose to listen to Coralie!
Seraphina took the envelope from Gairon's hands before unhurriedly getting away from him at a rapid pace while maintaining her unhurried posture.
"Ah, wait for me, Sera," Gairon caught up to her and addressed her with her nickname.
Seraphina ignored him and unfurled the letter she had yet to read from Alequessa's Lord.
"Dear High Priestess,
It has been a while since I last wrote to you, as I would rather meet face to face, but unfortunately, I could not clear up enough time for those matters.
The day you receive this letter should be the 11th of April. If it is, I think some congratulations are due both for myself and for yourself.
Since the last time you came, Claire has been asking me when she could meet you again. She was greatly saddened that you could not attend her elder brother's coming-of-age party.
Now, this season's harvest is certainly good; however, it did not yield the results I had in mind, which is the main issue I want to address with you, Seraphina.
I would prefer to elaborate in person, as some of the contents are quite delicate and in need of privacy in case this letter is read by someone else.
My daughter Claire will arrive at the Church first, before me. I hope that you can welcome her until my arrival.
Sincerely,
Ambre Arest of Alequessa."