Chapter 56
제56화
“Don’t you ever say a single word about being tired after coming all this way alone? Even a lowly priest like that ignores you, and not a single noble in this area has even come to greet you.”
“Mm-hmm. I’m actually suspecting there might have been some sort of directive from the Imperial Consort.”
I gave a bright smile.
“Since it’s a time where everyone has to be mindful of the Emperor’s mood, she probably can’t harm me openly. So I figured she’s trying to isolate me through indirect means?”
“So, you’re saying she warned the nobles in this area that she wouldn’t let it slide if they welcomed the Imperial Princess?”
Lisianthus let out a hollow laugh, as if impressed by such transcendental pettiness.
“Even though I’m right here by your side?”
His crimson eyes suddenly locked onto mine. It was an oddly intense gaze. As if to say that as long as he was standing next to me, no one would be able to ignore me. As if he would make it so.
“Ugh, seriously. Those annoying, moronic bastards. People who wouldn’t dare utter a peep in front of our family are acting like they’re actually someone special…”
“It’s fine! That’s just how social life is!”
“Is that really something an Imperial Princess should be saying?”
“When the Imperial Consort gets crushed later, all those hangers-on who were watching her moods will get crushed right along with her!”
“Oh, yeah. That’s the spirit.”
Lisianthus chuckled.
“Are you going to crush them yourself? You’re quite full of ambition, aren’t you? Or, uh, is it because I said I’d protect you… that you’re acting all confident and stuff?”
Averting his eyes as if slightly embarrassed, Lisianthus grumbled the words out. For a moment, I blinked, wondering what on earth he was talking about.
Debbie and Barbara, who had been listening to our conversation from inside the carriage without a word, froze.
Debbie mouthed silently.
‘The young master must have lost his mind.’
Well… I mean… I looked at Lisianthus’s profile as he squirmed with my heart feeling a bit complicated and spoke.
“…No, well. I just think the Imperial Consort is the type to go around touching things she really shouldn’t.”
“Oh? Things she shouldn’t touch? Like what?”
What else? Bibi.
Prince Brian is destined to be a nobody from here on out.
His only assets would be the Emperor’s affection for the Imperial Consort, the Imperial Consort’s family, and a few members of the Aristocratic Faction. From the Temple’s side, he’d have High Priest Margid’s support, and that’s about it…
Meanwhile, Adrian, the Empress’s only son, receives the tacit support of those who favor so-called ‘tradition.’
The Empress herself has never done anything to be criticized for. Furthermore, Adrian’s abilities far surpass Brian’s.
Most of all, even if she was recognized by her family, the Imperial Consort was still illegitimate, which was a huge weakness in her background compared to the Empress.
Unless the Emperor chose to throw everything away and push Brian with his full weight, I don’t know how the situation might turn out.
Imperial Consort Cleo is not stupid. To be precise, she probably doesn’t think her position will be the same ten years from now, even if things seem to be going well right now.
That’s why she went to such extreme lengths to get Titania under her thumb and shake the Castline family.
At this point, she definitely won’t want to give up on Bibi.
“I’m talking about Bibi.”
“Bibi?”
“Don’t you think she’ll be itching to stick her next to Brian?”
“What?! To that, that, that moronic bastard who looks like chewed-up cabbage?! Stick her where?!”
Lisianthus literally jumped. Neigh! The startled horse thrashed. After narrowly avoiding the crisis of falling off like an idiot, Lisianthus spoke while huffing and puffing. Inside the carriage, Barbara flinched, her shoulders trembling.
“Would that crazy woman really? Seriously? Our family’s treasure? No, more than that, that guy is around our age, so with what nerve would she even mention Bibi?! Does she want to die?!”
“If that happens, the Duke will order us to take care of it immediately!”
Debbie, who had been pretending not to listen, chimed in with a bright voice from inside the carriage. Has she completely given up on pretending to be a normal maid? Barbara let out a heavy sigh with troubled eyes.
“No, well… I mean, she might try some nonsense with that goal in mind. So be careful. Once I break off the engagement, there will be even less to hold her back.”
“Huh?! Princess, are you going to break off the engagement?”
Debbie spoke in a surprised voice. Barbara, beside her, also looked startled. Ah, only Lisianthus, who heard it directly from me back then, knew about this.
“Yeah, well, Young Duke Raymon knows all about it. We’ll need to coordinate the date and such later… but it’ll be troublesome if word gets to His Majesty or the Imperial Consort, so just keep it between us.”
The people in the carriage weren’t the type to spread such rumors for the benefit of the Emperor or the Imperial Consort, so it was fine.
It was then. The carriage began to slow down.
The carriage came to a complete stop.
The sun was slowly fading. Unlike the green scenery filled with lush vegetation and fruit everywhere as if boasting the abundance of the South, white sand—the kind you’d only see at the seaside—filled the horizon. In the middle of it stood a temple, rising up like a mountain.
How old was it? The sprawling building, made of stone the same color as the sand, was humble rather than grand. I entered the temple under the guidance of Priest Cronen. Almost everyone in the temple came out to greet me.
-Contractor! ( ´╹ᗜ╹`*)
‘Yeah, yeah. What is it.’
-I feel faint traces of a barrier! Would you like to perform the ownership ritual?
‘No~. Faint traces of a barrier?’
-Yes! The barrier here was spread by transplanting fragments of the Northern Barrier, so it is relatively faint!
By now, the Emoticon Sword’s question about whether I’d like to perform the ownership ritual sounded about the same as asking if I’d eaten. It means I’m letting it go in one ear and out the other.
Seriously, in this era where people who can use divine power have dried up, it’s asking me to bring a friend who can use every power and go through a life-risking experience? It should at least say something that makes sense.
Come to think of it, having to gather people who use divine power by type to ‘prove’ themselves? That damn ownership ritual and the Dedication Festival are pretty similar.
I responded to people’s greetings while thinking lightly of it. There were five priests in this temple in total. Cronen was the head priest, in charge of almost everything in the temple, while the other four shared the smaller tasks. They all smiled kindly and offered words of blessing, seemingly unbothered that I was an Imperial Princess in name only.
After receiving a brief briefing that I would rest well today and officially proceed with the Dedication Festival rituals starting tomorrow, I entered my room.
Barbara and Debbie were given the room next to mine. The not-so-spacious room was filled with humble furniture. Had it been the original Titania, she would have thrown a fit about how they were ignoring her by giving her such a humble room. But I didn’t care how many square feet my room was; the size of the bed was what mattered.
I barely managed to place the Emoticon Sword next to the bed before falling fast asleep.
I thought I had slept reasonably well in the carriage, but I was wrong. As soon as I lay down on the fluffy blankets, I felt like I could sleep so soundly that I wouldn’t notice even if someone carried me away…
Yes, truly.
So soundly that I didn’t notice someone carrying me away.
“…….”
When I opened my eyes, I was in a strange room I had never seen before in my life.
What is this?
Reflexively, I checked outside the window. Faint moonlight leaked through the gaps in the thick curtains. It was dark everywhere.
It didn’t seem like long since I had lain down in bed. Except for the fact that the bed I was lying on had changed!
This wasn’t the temple bed that was so humble it felt full with just me in it. Like a bed in a luxury hotel suite, it was wide enough for five or six people to roll around in.
The bedding was also incredibly fluffy, soft, and plush. The canopy—the thin, flowing fabric draped over the bedposts—was so high-quality that it wouldn’t have been strange if Imperial Consort Cleo had used it for her own clothes. Of course, since it was pitch black, I could only barely touch it with my fingertips.
‘Emoticon Sword?! Sword?! Hey, are you there?! You useless thing, worse than a guard dog! You should have woken me up if someone was dragging me somewhere else!’
I called for the sword at the top of my lungs, but there was no response. Did Debbie just stand by and watch me get dragged all the way here while claiming she was guarding me? And what happened to the security of the temple, for heaven’s sake?
Or did they late-night decide to give me a luxurious room within the temple and move me while I was asleep? I was agonizing over various thoughts when it happened.
A voice cutting through the silence hit my ears.
“You’re quite calm, for someone waking up in a strange bed.”
A youthful, yet sharp voice—as if it had inhaled ash and smoke—echoed in the air. I flinched.
Someone was sitting in a position facing the bed I was lying on. A strange voice came from there.
“Imperial Princess Titania. I have no intention of harming you. I have simply brought you here because there is something I must tell you.”
With several successive coughs, the youthful voice continued.
“You will be performing the Dedication Festival at the temple. Correct?”
“…….”
“In the middle of the ritual, there is a task where you must smear imperial blood on a sacred relic that only imperial family members can touch. You will likely do this the day after tomorrow.”
“…….”
“You must destroy that sacred relic.”
“What?!”
I was so shocked that my voice cracked for a moment.