Chapter 303: Webtoon Special Edition – Extra 15 Corin and His Children (8)

After the rise of the Church of the Sun, which integrated the old sect and the new one, its power grew exponentially.

Originally, gold and luxury are not considered virtues for the religious, but using the abundant offerings to elevate the dignity of the faith is, in a way, something natural.

The Grand Temple of the Church of the Sun was decorated with white marble that seemed to purify the soul just by looking at it, and golden ornaments that powerfully displayed the magnificence of the sect’s power.

“Wow~”

Although she had already come many times, every time Abigail arrived she could not help but marvel at the might of the Church.

This was the place where Mom worked.

And the place where Dad was served.

Thinking that it would also be their home made her feel proud for no particular reason.

“Be careful not to fall.”

Miruam took the hand of Abigail, who looked as though she were about to jump out of the carriage, and descended gracefully.

Without a doubt, that kind of bearing was something worth imitating from Mom Miruam.

“Where could Mom be?”

“I don’t know. The Vatican office is a bit further inside—well, there’s no need to look for her.”

Miruam pointed toward a conspicuous pink glow visible beyond the carriage area.

The extravagant figure of the Vatican’s leader stood out no matter where one looked.

Rather than a great saint of the Church, she looked more like the leader of a suspicious cult, and yet it was hard to believe that until recently she had been a devout saint.

“Abigail! My daughter!”

One of Corin Loch’s wives, and the only Great Saint and Pope of the Church of the Sun.

Estelle opened her arms with an affectionate smile toward her daughter who had come to visit the Church.

“Mom…!”

Abigail threw herself into her arms.

Estelle, while holding a newborn baby, naturally managed to embrace Abigail as well.

“My daughter, shouldn’t you greet your little brother?”

“Johan, hello! Have you been well?”

“Abuba.”

Although he had not even been weaned yet, Abigail kissed her little brother’s cheek as if he were already a proper little person.

Then Miruam approached the three of them.

“He looks healthy.”

“Oh~ little sister, it’s been a while. Why don’t you come more often? It’s not that far from the royal palace.”

“I’m far too worldly to sit around watching you play at being a cult leader.”

“It’s not a cult, it’s a god who truly exists.”

“I’m not talking about whether it exists or not, but about the method.”

Though the tone was cold, this way of speaking was, in fact, normal between them.

Moreover, since both had become wives of the same man, their relationship had softened considerably.

Originally, they were political rivals representing the old and the new, opposed over the throne.

Two irreconcilable enemies who now argued like ordinary sisters.

“Abigail, you shouldn’t be like Mom Miruam. If you’re that cynical, even your chest size will shrink.”

“R-really?”

Abigail looked back and forth between Estelle and Miruam.

More precisely, she looked at their chests.

Indeed, it seemed there would not be much milk to feed a baby.

“What are you telling a child?!”

Miruam shouted angrily, while Estelle let out a soft giggle.

Then Estelle turned around, carrying the two children.

“The ceremony will start soon. Let’s talk later.”

“Haah……”

Miruam sighed and followed her in silence.

***

A sermon, by nature, is a boring and drowsy affair.

When religious interpretations and prayers are repeated over and over, children who should be running around and playing inevitably grow sleepy.

“Fuaaaah…”

Abigail was about to yawn when she snapped back to herself.

‘No, no. That won’t do. The believers are watching me. As the daughter of the Saint, I must set an example.’

During Estelle’s sermon, the front-row seats of the ritual hall were reserved for Miruam and Abigail.

Although Abigail tried to stay completely alert under the gazes of the believers, for a child it was very difficult to endure sitting still and doing nothing for such a long time.

“Abigail.”

“Ah! I-I wasn’t sleeping!”

At her response, the surrounding believers let out soft chuckles.

Abigail’s face turned red, but to them the girl’s reaction was simply adorable.

“It’s fine. If you’re sleepy, lie down and sleep.”

“No, I can’t. I’m royalty of El Ras and the daughter of the God of the Sun, and…”

That was why she had to be a role model.

She couldn’t behave recklessly like Deokgu oppa or Park Hayeon; that would be unseemly.

However, Miruam gently took Abigail’s hand and smiled softly at her.

“If it were your dad, he’d have been asleep a long time ago.”

“R-really?”

“So it’s fine. Rest your head on my lap and sleep a little. The sermon still has a long way to go.”

At Miruam’s insistence, Abigail glanced around cautiously and finally rested her head on her lap.

The gentle stroking of her hair relaxed her, and soon sleep overcame her.

When the sermon ended, Miruam stopped the maids who tried to wake Abigail.

“I’ll carry her.”

Without even knowing that the ritual had ended, Abigail slept soundly as Miruam carried her toward the Pope’s resting room.

All eyes turned toward them, but they were warm gazes.

— Look, Princess Abigail is asleep.

— She looks like an angel, doesn’t she? How adorable.

Although she received a great deal of love and attention for being the daughter of a god, Abigail was still just a child her age.

Miruam thought that this kind of attention was what she truly deserved.

“Oh, little sister. Good work.”

In the resting room was Estelle, breastfeeding her second child, Johan.

“He still hasn’t been weaned?”

Miruam settled Abigail on the sofa across from them, lending her legs so she wouldn’t be uncomfortable.

“She hasn’t even turned one yet. She’ll probably stay like that for another half year.”

“There are men who can’t wean even as adults, so…”

“Hehe, you mean your husband, right?”

Estelle joked, but Miruam smiled bitterly.

Seeing Johan clinging to her sister’s chest looked strangely adorable to her.

Noticing Miruam’s gaze, Estelle understood that Johan was finished and slowly stood up.

“Ah, the ritual was exhausting. Sister, help me a bit with the childcare.”

“Eh? W-wait—!”

Without another word, Estelle handed her the baby.

Miruam, flustered, looked down at the babbling child in her arms.

“If you like him that much, why don’t you make one yourself?”

“……Don’t talk about children as if they were objects.”

“Then why do you keep taking precautions if you like them so much?”

Among Corin’s wives, Miruam was the only one who had no children.

And that was because she herself stopped it at the root. She couldn’t even explain the reason to her sister.

‘How could I say it? That horrible sin…’

Miruam had once been pregnant.

In a timeline that no longer existed, what Corin called the first iteration.

Even so, she abandoned everything for revenge—husband, child, family.

She sided with the Demon King Tates Valtazar, and the result was that Corin ended up killing both her and her child.

That child no longer existed.

Even if she became pregnant again, it wouldn’t be the same one.

With what right could she bring another into the world? A useless mother like her shouldn’t exist.

“There are already many children. There’s no need for me to have one.”

“Hmm~”.

Estelle looked at her sister with a thoughtful expression.

Until recently, they had been bitter enemies, political rivals fighting for the throne and representing opposing doctrines.

And now they were sisters and family, wives of the same man.

A relationship that could drive anyone crazy.

“How dramatic. Have a little dignity.”

“So what? No one’s watching us here.”

“And me?”

“You’re no one.”

“……”

Miruam blinked, speechless. Estelle wrapped an arm around her and smiled.

“Did you hear this? They say Lunia and Alisha are exercising on the same bed with Corin’s brother.”

“…Are you seriously talking about that perversion?”

“But you did participate in the nurse game the other time, didn’t you?”

“T-that was because he insisted so much…”

“Corin is very greedy with family. In Arden, two children are born every year, and they already have the names prepared.”

“That’s because that family is messed up.”

Estelle laughed and hugged her sister.

“Aren’t you curious? What two sisters would do with one man in bed.”

“L-let go…!”

Miruam tried to break free, but it was impossible.

Estelle was the successor of the Goddess of the Earth and a fighter with monstrous strength.

“Tonight your brother will come. If you agree, we could share the bed…”

“Do you want me to kill you?”

— Sssshk.

The decorative serpent on Miruam’s dress hissed.

Midgardsormr, the world serpent, was reacting to the danger to its mistress.

“Stop exaggerating.”

Tap! Estelle flicked her on the head, and the serpent returned to Miruam’s arms.

“Don’t make jokes like that again. It’s disgusting.”

“Hmm~ that wasn’t a joke.”

Estelle smiled calmly.

“I’m generous enough to share my husband with you. And just as I love Corin, I also love my sister. I’m always open.”

“……”

Speechless, Miruam watched Estelle leave.

“Hey! Take your children with you!”

“Today I’m busy making the third one~”

“That…!”

At the sound of the voices, Abigail and Johan stirred in their sleep.

“Uuuh…”

Miruam carefully soothed them.

‘…Just nonsense.’

Yes. Nonsense.

But that night was hot.

Very hot.