Loving The Cursed Werewolf King-Chapter 291: The Sacred Tree

"This tree is... sacred?"

But... that time Ronan plucked a Frostberry from this tree and gave it directly to Arielle. There was no other Frostberry Tree in the garden than this one.

"Priest Jill... what would happen if someone ate the fruit by picking it straight from this tree?" asked Arielle trying to calm herself not to sound like a panicked person.

"There are no consequences whatsoever. This is the same as an ordinary tree. We just treat it with special care. The tree area is one of the real evidences of the legacy of science from the ancestors. We don’t make it sacred for magic reasons. We sacred it as a form of our respect, and a form of our gratitude to our ancestors who have made our lives easier."

Arielle’s body instantly stiffened. She didn’t dare look at the face of Priestess Jill beside her. The man stared in amazement at the tree in front of him with sparkling eyes, making her feel even more guilty.

At that time Arielle did not know if the tree was very special to the inhabitants of the Cathedral. She felt like she had done a great sin and pressed her lips, full of regret.

"Uh... Priest Jill, nice to meet you... I forgot I had something to do."

Just before Priest Jill opened his voice to offer to escort her out of the Cathedral, Arielle was gone in the blink of an eye.

Arielle walked aimlessly. She was embarrassed by her past actions. She walked with his head down until the girl realised she had bumped into someone.

"Oh, good morning, Princess. Have you just finished your morning blessing?" said William cheerfully.

"William! What are you doing here?"

"I came to look for you, and Tania said you were going to the Cathedral for the morning blessing."

"You’re looking for me? What is it?" asked Arielle, She felt she had nothing to do with the man.

"His Majesty said you would join the agenda in the hall. I was just wondering when you’d be joining, so I can arrange for Lucas to pick you up later."

"Has the agenda started yet?"

William nodded. "Your Majesty has already started listening to first-person stories."

"Well... can I visit now?"

"Of course!" replied William who was no less enthusiastic.

William led Arielle to enter the Blackthorn palace. He used another route because the passage to the palace hall was full of citizens who were standing in line. Arielle remembered her experience waiting in line there for hours.

"This way, ’’ said William when Arielle was too glued to see the long queue.

They crossed the back door to enter the waiting room. Every palace hall must have a waiting room for servants and guards to use. They usually used it to get ready when a party was being held, so that they did not mingle with the nobles.

William led Arielle to the second floor and opened the door for her. A comfortable couch had been provided there. The second floor was a great place to see what’s going on in the hall.

Arielle could see a row of high-ranking officials of the palace monarchy and also several priests who sat to listen to the story of a man who was crying in the middle of the hall.

From where she was standing, she didn’t need to feel the eyes of people gazing at him because she sat atop a row of dignitaries. They wouldn’t suddenly look up to see her.

"Please sit here, Princess." said William, who pulled a comfortable couch for Arielle to sit on.

***

Arielle watched Ronan who was so focused on listening to the story of the man who cried because he failed to farm due to being tricked by a fake priest. The story was almost the same as the story of the man Arielle had met before.

It turned out the same thing didn’t happen only once or twice. During the process of the agenda, Arielle had heard five people share the very same sad stories.

"Why are so many people being deceived, William?" Arielle asked William who stood while leaning on the railing. He looked down at the citizens.

"As the princess has seen for herself how bad the condition of the land in Northendell is. We couldn’t grow crops without the priest’s mana to warm the ground and melt the thin snow. We’ve done our best to send priests to each church throughout the Northendell area, but the needs are greater than the number of people who can control mana. Therefore, in desperation, they easily believe these fakes."

"If they are fake, how do they convince the people? They can’t form mana trigrams, can they?" asked Arielle who still did not understand.

"Villagers who don’t have knowledge of mana processing won’t understand how Mana is formed. Meanwhile, heat and light can be stored in gemstones. They would sell the gemstones as samples, receive the villagers’ money and then run away later. I’m very familiar with their modus operandi."

Arielle turned to look at Ronan who didn’t look tired in the slightest. The man was still sitting upright on his throne. She tilted her face to try to steal a glance at the full face mask the man was wearing.

"Ah ... it’s really hard to be a king," muttered Arielle who also felt the man’s fatigue.

William chuckled in his place, then turned to look at the princess.

"Right, it was very tiring. If I count, that guy probably only slept an hour last night."

"Just one hour?" asked Arielle in surprise. She thought that after seeing her off last night, Ronan would return to his room and rest.

"Hm, after escorting you off. His Majesty is back at work to prepare for the day. Before, he also didn’t sleep for days because you weren’t in the palace, and maybe after this too, he will not sleep to fulfil every request of his citizens."

Arielle looked at Ronan with pity. From the front, the man looked very majestic, but if she knew what the man was doing behind his king’s name, she felt sorry for him.