Various voices filled the space all at once. How many people are there? I could at least hear five different voices talking over the other.

It seemed like they immediately came running here the moment they felt Theres' power.

Come to think of it, I do remember someone staring at me through Lavis. The thought made me squirm on my spot.

It would be embarrassing if they found out I was there, too. I placed my palm over my pounding heart, willing it to calm down as I listened to the voices inside the room.

"Be quiet, everyone! Your Majesty will have your questions answered. Is that right, your Majesty?" An old man said.

It was probably the Pope. But even if he was the highest authority in the Church, the emperor still responded to him smugly, "Why should I?"

A hush of silence filled the room before he continued, "I don't know what happened. Lavis suddenly glowed and fell down. That's all I know."

The nonchalance in the emperor's reply made everyone more nervous than they were. "That can't be true!" A person exclaimed.

"He's a healthy man! So, it doesn't make sense that he just randomly fell down!"

"We have the right to know what happened!" One voice screeched demandingly.

Another begged. "Please tell us!"

"... Shut up." In just two simple words, everyone fell silent. I could tell that he was looking at them with a serious expression, showing that really had no idea why Theres suddenly appeared.

"Oh, Holy Father, Lavis is awake."

"What the hell is going on here?" It seemed like Lavis had woken up. "Your Holiness?" He asked in a muddled voice, "Cardinals? What are you doing here?"

"Do you remember what happened?" The Pope asked.

"Did you know that you fainted? Did you by any chance receive a sign from Theres?"

They voiced out their questions, eagerly waiting for Lavis to answer all of them. My heart began to thump even more nervously thinking about how Lavis would say.

Does he remember what happened?

After a momentary silence, he said, "Well... I don't remember. But I think I've experienced the power of Theres..."

The way he said it made it seem like he was simply telling everyone that he had just gone for a walk, but I could feel it in his tone that he does remember everything. Shouldn't he be at least confused about his sudden fainting spell? He sounded way too calm for someone who just lost consciousness.

I think the Pope shared the same thoughts as I do, not fully convinced at Lavis' words and he was about to respond but Lavis kept on going, "How can mere, humble servants like us understand the great will of Theres? Shouldn't we wait a bit more in order to understand it better?"

An awkward silence enveloped the room. Lavis was insisting that he doesn't know what happened, so everyone was forced to ask him more questions while the Pope, who had the highest authority of them all, didn't prod him further, making the others follow suit.

They composed themselves and the Pope responded, "The High Priest is right." He turned to look at the emperor, "Your Majesty, I apologize for dropping by so suddenly and disturbing you. Rest assured we will do our best in serving you during your stay. Please forgive us."

The emperor hummed. He was rarely tolerant to anyone and maybe being here in the Temple made him more subdued than usual. It felt strange seeing him this way after being used to his brash behavior back at the emperor's palace. I wondered if he himself found the situation confusing.

Everyone paid their respects and left the room. They closed the door behind them and the bedroom was quiet once again.

Are they finally gone?

I could not hear any movement from the other side then just as quickly, someone's footsteps made their way towards the closet, stopping just outside the closet door. I took a step back and my foot caught onto something as I fell backwards.

"Oops!"

The closet door opened, revealing Lavis. "Oh my God, are you alright?"

Luckily for me, the carpets covering the closet floor cushioned my fall. I looked at the ground and saw the wooden hanger I tripped on. Flushing in embarrassment, I took Lavis' helping hand and stood up. A gentleman, just as expected.

"Thank you."

"I'm glad to hear you, and I'm glad to hear you thank me for the first time."

His words only registered after a few seconds. The smile on his face matched with his soft voice was just like the way the emperor spoke to the heroine in the original story.

Stop it! I shook the thoughts off my head. Having no experience in dating had my face instantly heating up even with such trivial words.

"Are you hurt?" The emperor grabbed my hand softly and pulled me to his side. I was about to shake my head to make him understand that I was okay, but there's no need for that anymore since I have my voice back now.

"...I'm fine."