As Marie was about to climb into the carriage, Ravenna's sharp eyes lingered ohe sight of the girl, so unassumirikingly familiar, stirred a maelstrom of thoughts in her mind. The air around Ravenna grew heavy with her anding presence as her lips parted.

  “You! Girl with the brown hair! What’s your name?”

  Marie froze mid-step, her hand clutg the edge of the carriage for bahe other former sves instinctively stepped aside, creating a path between her and Ravenna. The sheer authority in Ravenna’s voice was enough to make them retreat without question.

  “Yhness, these people have already been through too much. Perhaps—” James began, his tone carefully measured as he stepped forward to intercede.

  Ravenna silenced him with a raised hand, her eyes never leaving Marie. “I asked you a question.” Her tone was firm, brooking nument.

  Marie hesitated, her head bowing low as she stammered, “M-M... Marie Leon, Yhness.”

  Ravenna's gaze sharpened, her thoughts rag. The name firmed it. This wasn’t a ce. This was her. But instead of revealihoughts, she maintained an air of casual curiosity.

  “Marie,” she began slowly, “do you want to join the church? Or would you sider another option?”

  The question made Marie gnce up nervously, her freckled face pale. She had been expeg to fade into obscurity as just another rescued sve. Now, the attention of an imperial princess made her heart ra fusion and fear.

  “Joining the church seems like... a stable life,” Marie said softly, her voice trembling. “If I were on my own, I wouldn’t—”

  “Yhness,” one of the guest priests interjected, his tone edged with uhis line of questioning is inappropriate. These people have been through hardship and deserve—”

  Ravenna’s gaze so him, dark and sharp like a raven’s eyes before swooping for prey. “Silence,” she anded coldly. “Interrupt me again, and you’ll leave my domain in pieces.”

  The priest’s words died in his throat, his face pale.

  Ravenurned her attention to Marie, her voice softer now but no less anding. “A stable life, is it? What about glory? Purpose? Do you not wish to bee something more?”

  Marie’s head tilted slightly, her gaze cautiously meeting Ravenna’s. “Is that even possible for someone like... me?” she asked hesitantly.

  Ravenna chuckled, the sound low and rich. “Even a me horse win races with the right rider. Why not you?”

  Marie blinked, unsure if she had just been insulted or enced.

  James stepped forward cautiously, his brow furrowed. “Yhness, if I may ask... what exactly are you intending to do?”

  Ravenna smiled faintly, a dangerous glint in her eye. “Nothing much, Your Holiness,” she said with mock humility. “I simply feel the time has e for me to take on a disciple.”

  The air stilled as the weight of her words sunk in.

  The priests, both her own and the guests, exged wide-eyed gnces. One of the guest priests stammered, “Y-Yhness, surely you don’t mean this girl? She’s... she was just a sve. Surely there are better—”

  “Not even my father, Emperor Andrew Sorius, dictates who I take as a disciple,” Ravenna said sharply. “A you presume to challenge me on this?” Her tone was icy, cutting through their protests like a bde.

  The priests immediately fell silent, their faces pale and damp with sweat.

  Turning baarie, Ravenna stepped closer, her imposing presening over the girl. “Well? Decide. Do you wish to join the churd live your ‘stable’ life, or will you take a d bey disciple?”

  Marie’s mind reeled. A disciple of an imperial princess? Such a fate was unimaginable for someone like her. She had dreamed only of survival and perhaps a quiet existenow, this.

  “Yhness,” James interjected again, though this time his voice was quieter, cautious. “Why her? You don’t even know anything about her.”

  Ravenna’s lips turned into a sly smile. “Must I expin my every whim to you? Fine. I like her hair color. Will that suffice?”

  The absurdity of the respounned James into silence.

  Marie looked up slowly, her hands trembling. She wao believe this wasn’t some cruel jest. Could this truly be real? Could someone like her achieve something so far beyoation?

  The other former sves whispered among themselves, their voices hushed and incredulous. Even the guest priests seemed at a loss, their jaws sck.

  Ravenna watched the turmoil in Marie’s eyes with quiet satisfa. “Well, girl? What will it be?”

  Marie hesitated, her hands g at her sides as thoughts raced through her mind. Joining the church would indeed provide a stable life, she reasoned. She could learn, groerhaps climb the ranks from a junior priestess to a senior priestess, or even—if forturuly favored her—a high priestess. A life of stability and routi was safe. Predictable.

  But as she thought deeper, doubts crept in. Was that all she wanted? Safety and predictability?

  Her mind fshed to her te father’s words, spoken during simpler times when their vilge still stood and life was filled with dreams rather than despair. He had always urged her to aim higher, to bee someone who left a mark on the world. That dream had seemed distant after the atta her vilge, after the brutal hands of Hercules’ criminal syndicate tore her life apart. Now, with her father gone and her freedom newly regained, she had resigned herself to survival, to simply existing.

  Yet here portunity so extraordinary it felt surreal. To bee an imperial disciple—directly uhe wing of someone from the Sorius imperial family—was beyond anything she had dared to imagine. Such a position wasn’t just rare; it was legendary. A door like this might open only on a lifetime.

  Her heart raced as she forced herself to meet Ravenna’s pierg gaze. Marie swallowed hard, her voice trembling but resolute. “I... I want to bee your disciple, Yhness.”

  A triumphant smile spread across Ravenna’s face, sharp and full of satisfa. “Good,” she decred, her voice ringing with authority. “From this day forward, you are no longer a nameless shadow. You are my disciple, Marie Leon.”

  The words echoed through the square, sileng every whisper and murmur. The former sves stared in stunned disbelief, and the priests—both Ravenna’s own and the guests—were frozen in shock.

  Ravenna turned sharply on her heel, her cloak sweeping behind her like the wings of a raven in flight. Without looking back, she barked her and. “James, see to it that the priests are reminded of their pce before they leave my city. I won’t tolerate another misstep.”

  “Yes, Yhness,” James replied, bowing deeply, though his face betrayed a flicker of unease.

  As Marie stood there, still grappling with the weight of what had just transpired, Ravenna gnced back over her shoulder, her sharp eyes narrowing. “Well? What are you waiting for? Climb into my carriage. Or would you rather ge your mind?”

  Marie startled, her cheeks flushing. “N-No, Yhness,” she stammered, quickly bowing. She straightened herself, her steps hesitant but determined as she made her way toward the luxurious carriage.

  The gleaming vehicle was unlike anything she had ever seen. Adorned with intricate gold filigree and embossed with the imperial crest, the carriage radiated opules polished surface reflected the sunlight, almost blinding in its splendor.

  Marie’s steps faltered as she approached the velvet-lined interior. She felt out of pce, her worn clothes and meek demeanor stark trasts to the grandeur before her.

  Ravenna watched her with an impatient expression, one eyebrow arg slightly. “Stop dawdling. Get in.”

  “Yes, Yhness,” Marie said quickly, her voice barely above a whisper. She climbed into the carriage awkwardly, her hands brushing against the fine upholstery.

  As the door closed behind her, Ravenna took her seat opposite Marie, her posture regal and anding. She regarded her new disciple with a pierg gaze, the fai hint of amusement curling at the edges of her lips.

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