Chapter 114
#114. A Priest Noble in White
The sun was setting beyond the half-open carriage window.
As the carriage departed, Olivia clutched Edwin's letter tightly and leaned back against the seat.
The 'Nameless Knight's' letter was at the very bottom of her luggage. It wouldn't be too late to confirm whether the handwriting in Edwin's letter and the 'Nameless Knight's' letter was truly the same upon arriving in the Territory of Vikander.
Her heart beat faster with a strange tension. But Olivia calmed herself and looked at Bethany.
"Where should I begin... Ah, I said I'd start by talking about your beautiful green eyes, didn't I?"
Now was the time to listen to Lowell's story.
Bethany's serene green eyes, as if she was prepared, made Olivia's throat tighten. Bethany cleared her throat and laughed cheerfully, feigning brightness.
"Have you heard that green eyes are a characteristic of Lowell's royalty and high-ranking nobles?"
"Yes. From Edwin... Does that really mean I'm of royal or high-ranking noble blood?"
"To be precise, you would have been born with the blood of a priest, a high-ranking noble."
"A priest?"
As if hearing the word for the first time, Olivia savored the word in her mouth for a long time. Watching her, Bethany recalled a long time ago, when Lowell had begun to crumble.
"Yes. It's a word that referred to the nobles who served the royal family and led Lowell together until Lowell completely disappeared into the annals of history 50 years ago, after it began to disintegrate about 100 years ago."
"..."
"Half of the priest nobles dressed lavishly, and the other half always wore white clothes and veiled their faces."
Bethany waved her hand lightly. Following her fingertips, a sparkling light showed a scene as if in a play.
"...Like this."
Was this the Lowell that Bethany had seen?
A green-eyed King, wearing a solemn and simple crown, stood with those who wore white clothes and veils over their faces. A couple of other nobles also stood there, as if protecting the nobles in white.
"I don't remember it well because I was too young, but the King of Lowell held rituals periodically. I think I even heard it was a rehearsal for something."
Whether it was Bethany's lack of memory, or she felt sorry for calling it a ritual, they were just standing still. Then, when Bethany waved her hand again, the ritual gradually became more extravagant.
"But this solemn ritual gradually changed. As more and more nobles fell into indulgence, the proportion within the priest nobles began to change significantly."
Before long, those who had been protecting the nobles in white clothes changed their appearance into lavish attire.
The number of nobles in white clothes gradually decreased, while the nobles in fancy clothes gradually increased.
Were those my roots?
Olivia, who had been unknowingly focusing on Bethany's magic, blinked.
"Bethany. The nobles in those fancy clothes have light green eyes?"
"Yes. Most of the people of Lowell had light green or sky-blue eyes."
Bethany, who had answered as if it were natural, realized the part missing from her illusion only after seeing Olivia's surprised face.
As her index finger slowly drew a circle, a very small child popped out among the tall nobles watching the ritual.
"I was a very young child at the time, so I had to look up at everyone, and when I did..."
The light sky-blue eyed child in the magic picture looked up at the adults. The moment a cool breeze blew through the magic.
"Every time the veils of the nobles in white clothes fluttered, I saw clear green eyes in their veiled faces."
In the swaying veil, green eyes were clear. Bethany waved her hand lightly and ended the magic.
And she winked at Olivia and asserted.
"I can confidently say that your roots are these priest nobles in white clothes."
.
.
.
"I don't know what the difference is between the priests in fancy clothes and the priests in white clothes, or what rituals the royal family and priest nobles performed."
Bethany sighed in disappointment. It was too long ago.
"If I had known that, I would have been able to know what was hidden in the White Crystal Mine. I wish I could turn back time with my magic."
But no matter how much she regretted it, she was just a magician losing her power.
Perhaps because she had kept the Magic stone necklace for a long time, she was still able to use magic compared to the magicians of Lowell who would have already lost their power.
"Oh, I have to tell you about that Magic stone necklace too. Actually, Princess, no, when the late Grand Duchess gave me the necklace, the first thing she asked me to do was 'be sure to pass it on to someone with green eyes.'"
Bethany lowered her voice as if imitating the late Grand Duchess. She couldn't believe that she was able to tell someone the story of Lowell, which she had always only told to the silent princess in the portrait.
"But she changed her mind right before leaving for the capital, didn't she? She said, 'Give it to the person the Grand Duke truly loves.'"
Her face was excited as if recalling a faint memory.
"So, do you know how surprised I was when you first came to the castle? I heard you had green eyes, but I never dreamed they would be so clear. Thanks to you, I carried out the late Grand Duchess's wishes so well."
Bethany, who had been talking excitedly, suddenly stopped talking. And she blinked and shrugged her shoulders with an awkward face.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I talking too incoherently? It's been so long since I've talked about these things."
Olivia, who had been listening to the story quietly while fiddling with the necklace, quickly waved her hand.
"No. I just thought, Bethany really loved Lowell."
"Of course. It was my country, even though it's gone now."
Longing floated over her softly smiling face. It was a look that knew she could never go back.
Olivia looked out the window for a moment. Dian, who was riding a horse nearby as a guard, was visible through the open window, and below him, her reflection was visible in the darkness.
"Why, since when has green eyes been stigmatized as lowly dancers?"
"The rumor that they were lowly started when Lowell was destroyed, but I remember the stigma of being dancers probably started when His Majesty the Emperor was the Crown Prince, right after he visited the Territory of Vikander."
When His Majesty the Emperor was the Crown Prince... Roughly 25 years ago. Olivia's voice trembled slightly.
"Was the late Grand Duchess in the Territory of Vikander at that time?"
"Yes. The place where the people of Lowell finally settled after wandering through several territories was the Territory of Vikander. It's been 27 years since I've lived in Vikander."
Olivia blinked.
In terms of time, the assumption that the Emperor stigmatized people with green eyes as dancers after seeing the late Grand Duchess is sufficiently valid. Surprised by the unexpected gain, Olivia muttered for a moment.
"Edwin didn't know when the rumor about the dancers spread."
"I didn't tell the Grand Duke about this."
"Why?"
Olivia immediately asked back, then flinched. Bethany silently raised the window all the way up. Bethany's face, full of resentment, was reflected on the window, which was reflected in the darkness.
"...I could never tell Master Edwin. If I told him that the Emperor spread false rumors after meeting the Princess..."
"..."
"It's obvious that he would quickly deduce what kind of proposal the Crown Prince, who even had a fiancée at the time, dared to make to the Princess and was rejected..."
.
.
.
Late night. A room in the inn.
"Then, sleep well."
As soon as Bethany, who had prepared the bed, left, Olivia got up. And she lit a candle.
She could feel the presence of a guard Knight outside the door.
In this safe room, Olivia sat at the desk with the light on. All she had was a pen and paper of poor quality, but it was enough to organize the newly obtained information.
Lowell, which had been disintegrating 100 years ago, had completely disappeared into history 50 years ago.
The priest nobles in white clothes who accompanied the royal family in rituals had green eyes.
The stigma of being a dancer was after the current Emperor visited the Territory of Vikander when he was the Crown Prince.
While looking at the information written in elegant handwriting, Olivia wrote one more line below it.
Even the late Grand Duchess's will to give the Magic stone necklace to someone with green eyes.
Then, the only thing that remains unsolved here is one thing. Why, of all things, a dancer? What was the Emperor wary of?
Her heart was pounding. After engraving all the letters in her head, Olivia burned the paper in the flame of the lamp.
The flame devoured the paper, spitting out black ashes. Only after all the ashes had disappeared did Olivia turn off the candle and lie back in bed.
A room where darkness had settled.
Every time Olivia blinked, her clear green eyes gradually sank coldly. It was a sleepless night.
Meanwhile, outside the inn.
A small light flickered through the curtains. Bethany and Dian, who were watching the light, said a word to each other.
"I knew she would do that. She pretended to be asleep to send me out like that."
"Me too. Why did you say such a thing to the young lady before going to bed?"
"You heard it well too."
Dian looked at Bethany. He heard all the voices that came quietly through the carriage window. Dian's eyes shook as he was caught eavesdropping.
Bethany shrugged her shoulders and moved her steps.
"...How was it? I was about to regret opening the window for nothing."
Only then did Dian read Bethany's complicated expression.
It was on purpose.
Dian followed Bethany. When silence fell between them, Dian carefully opened his mouth.
"...Honestly, I don't know much about Lowell or anything. Is it because I knew that the late Grand Duchess was a Princess of Lowell since I came to Vikander?"
I had never thought about finding my roots.
Since I was noticed by the Grand Duke like a salvation and came to the Territory of Vikander, I have always been a person of Vikander.
"I think the animosity I originally had towards the Emperor will grow even bigger."
"..."
"I don't know about anything else, but I'm curious as to why... why he did that."
The words she couldn't bring herself to say were clear even if they weren't heard. Bethany shrugged her shoulders and stroked Dian's back.
* * *
A Nobility Council where all the nobles were seated.
"...Therefore, we have decided to conclude this post-war agreement with Heferti with a peace agreement that does not receive separate compensation."
As soon as Conrad finished talking about the first agenda in an insensitive voice, protests erupted from all over the table.
"That's ridiculous! I lost my son in the war with Heferti."
"I sent my daughter too. Do you think my daughter has returned safely now? Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
"Your Majesty, helping the restoration of Heferti, a war criminal. That's out of the question."
It was a disgusting sound. Jade knew better than anyone that the affectionate children the nobles were talking about now were nothing more than disposable bastards.
"...Still, if this war is won, I can go home too, right?"
Because the hopeful voice came to mind, Jade lowered his head without being able to hide his expression.
Meanwhile, the nobles' eyes were bloodshot.
Negotiations are only attended by the negotiating team, but the reparations were clearly a share that would return to them as well.
The nobles raised their voices to the Emperor.
But there was nothing to be gained from the Emperor, who kept his mouth shut,
"Oh, what rude words are these to His Majesty the Emperor!"
Nor from Duke Elkin, who was threatening, nor from Duke Madeleine, who was silent.
In the end, the nobles' gazes turned to the Grand Duke.
The main figure in the war. A high-ranking noble who should clearly be more interested in reparations than anyone else.
"Your Grace, Grand Duke, please speak up. We sent our children for the glory and honor of the Empire, to help Your Grace!"
Count Komode of the Imperial Faction even spoke with sobs mixed in.
The head of a harmonious family of two sons and two daughters, he found a bastard who was doing odd jobs and begging at the wharf, registered him as a collateral relative, and sent him to the battlefield.
"When that son returned as a corpse, our grief was beyond words."
As he spoke, he really felt grief. The problem was that this resentment was not because of his dead son, but because of the reparations that were disappearing before his eyes.
"Your Grace, Grand Duke, any words..."
"Count Komode."
A languid voice called the Count. That's right. The Count quickly answered and lowered his body towards the Grand Duke.
"Yes, Your Grace."
"When that son became a corpse, what was the Count doing?"
"...Yes?"
