TAPGB - Chapter 90
The Abandoned Prince's Ghost Bride
"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to."
I asked, crossing my arms in response to Javier's apology.
"Why are you against me?"
"That... I don't know either."
Caesar's eyebrows twitched.
"Fuck, does that make sense? It's obvious to everyone here that you were targeting Leah. If you're lying to avoid the current situation...."
"It's true! I don't know why I felt hostility toward that person. She is the first person I saw today."
"... Hostility?"
Lucian tilted his head as the word came out of nowhere. But Leah seemed to vaguely understand why Javier did what he did.
'Is it similar to what I'm feeling right now?'
Just like Javier, Lia also felt a subtle but inexplicable anger when she saw him.
"What kind of force did you use a little while ago? What is that? I don't think it's magic."
"It's black magic."
"Black magic?"
"When did you learn that? They said they would expose the true face of the temple."
Did you actually learn that and sit down?
When Leah and Caesar looked confused, Lucian explained.
"He learned it on purpose. Only by learning black magic can he ascend to the depths without being suspected."
"The reason why my promotion has been slow so far is because I did not learn black magic. After learning black magic, I took on many tasks and have now become a Bishop."
In short, he was willing to sacrifice himself to prepare for the big things that would come in the future.
"Let me explain."
Harry explained the changes that had occurred at the temple over the past five years.
The old faction held most of the power in the temple. So, the force consisting only of warlocks came under strict surveillance by the imperial family after Leopold collapsed during his coming-of-age ceremony and the 16th Emperor Julius suffered delirium and eventually died.
No matter how much they blamed the incident on an unknown person called a spy, they couldn't escape suspicion of what happened at the temple.
While their power was slowing down, the new priests, with Ruber and Lucian on their backs, overturned the inside of the temple.
"This is Cardinal Sebastian, the head of the new faction. He is thinking of driving out the old faction with us."
Sebastian, who appeared to be a man in his 50s, lowered his head with a benevolent smile.
"I knew there was a hidden secret in the Nine Sects, but I didn't know that he was a warlock. Even though the origin of the temple was a device to hide black magic, I truly believe that there is a God."
White light flowed from Sebastian's hand. Leah and Caesar's eyes widened when they saw that.
"For your information, Sebastian is the first priest in the temple to possess holy powers. That's why he was able to become a cardinal even though he wasn't from the old school."
Caesar was surprised and let out a laugh.
"....Ha. I thought he was an imaginary God created by a warlock."
Sebastian smiled softly.
"God is real. Otherwise, there is no way to prove my strength."
Certainly, as he said, there was no way to deny Sebastian's abilities.
That's not magic at all, it's an unknown power that can only be called holy power.
"While Sebastian is putting pressure on the old faction from the outside, Javier is gaining more and more of the old faction's trust and is sharing internal information with us"
".... At first, I was a little reluctant to learn black magic, but with His Majesty's help, I was able to fully learn black magic without being brainwashed by the old sect."
When you learn black magic, you enter into a contract that is like a curse. To put it simply, it is a contract where you lose your life if you betray your comrades.
However, thanks to Lucian and Age's efforts first, Javier was able to secretly break the curse.
"The priest's contribution is great. If it weren't for the priest, we wouldn't have known such an ugly thing was happening inside the temple."
Seeing that Sebastian even said such things, it was clear that his contribution was great.
"A dark wizard...."
Leah muttered softly. Just saying that name in her mouth made her stomach churn and discomfort rise.
"Honestly, it's uncomfortable to be in the same room."
"The same goes for me. I don't know why it's like that."
Leah and Javier looked at each other, unable to hide their subtle discomfort.
Javier said he didn't know why, but Leah seemed to vaguely know.
'Isn't it because I'm a witch?!
Although she has no memories before becoming a ghost, if what Age says is true, she is a witch. She is a bit different from a wizard.
If witches and warlocks had a hostile relationship with each other, they would be able to understand the current hostility to some extent.
"It's thanks to Javier that I dug into Leopold's case. If you have any questions, you can ask Javier."
Lucian held Leah's shoulder and spoke kindly.
"Yes, it was the place I asked for."
Now I need to erase useless emotions.
"Can you explain what exactly happened the day Leopold lost consciousness?"
"I'll explain everything based on what I found out."
Javier, like Leah, controlled his emotions and calmly explained the events of that day.
When Javier started digging into Leopold's affairs, it was two years after the incident occurred and he became Lucian's servant.
At that time, Javier had just become a warlock and was able to approach the old faction in earnest.
"I wasn't there at the time, but according to those who became close friends later, it is certain that a new soul was injected into Leopold's body. No, it would be accurate to say that he was not trying to inject a soul, but rather to replace it."
"But aren't there two souls in Leopold’s body?”
"That's because there was an unexpected interruption in the middle. At that time, His Highness Leopold was wearing a magic tool. Seeing that the child who was helping with the return was secretly processed... It appears that the magic tool interrupted the ritual and Leopold's soul was not extracted."
"Leah, do you remember? The magic tool I gave to my brother as a birthday present."
He said he wanted to give a special gift, so we put our heads together and made a magic tool with a defensive magic circle engraved on it. I never thought it would work that way.
"Who is the soul they were trying to replace?"
"I haven't found out that much yet, but they say he is a very important person to the warlock. They just one person to the warlock. They just call him 'Him' or 'The Only Sun."
"... Anyway, there are two souls in Leopold's body."
"Yes, I can be sure of that."
'Then what on earth did I see?'
Clearly, both souls felt like Leopold. If what Javier said is true, then one of the two is a different soul...
'It would be a big problem if I accidentally touched it and ended up destroying the real Leopold.'
It's a pain in the ass. I thought I would be able to wake Leopold safely, but I never thought I would face such a difficult problem.
"How could you not have done it with divine power?"
"I tried it, but it didn't work. I think it's fundamentally a matter of the soul."
"Leah... What's going on?"
When I was unable to keep my expression straight, Lucian asked worriedly. I looked at Lucian and pursed my lips.
Nothing has been confirmed yet, so I can't make him anxious for no reason.
"Javier, please do me a favor."
"Yes, please speak."
"Please investigate what soul Leopold was trying to replace. Not only finding out the person but also what the person did and whether there were any special characteristics. Please find out as quickly as possible."
"It won't be easy, but... I will try."
If you can estimate the person to some extent, there will definitely be a way to distinguish between the two souls.
For now, we have no choice but to rely on this.
"Do you have anything else to ask for?"
"I was going to ask you...."
I thought deeply about Lucian's question. There are a few things that come to mind.
For example, your past.
"Priests used to come and go in our mansion. Do you know why?"
"Priests? Ah, is that what happened?"
The day when Lucian was 10 years old when priests secretly invaded and were killed by Caesar. At that time, he met Javier for the first time.
"I said they stop by the mansion once every ten years to make a sacrifice. It seemed like there was no clue as to what purpose such actions were for."
Caesar, who was interrogating the Bishop at the time, said: I've heard that saying before, but it hits me a little differently now.
"Why did they want to make a sacrifice?"
"That's not yet...."
"Wasn't the door with the magic circle engraved on it the door to the room I was sealed in?"
At my words, Lucian and Caesar froze as if they had been hit.
"... That's right. Leah, you were on the other side of that door."
"The magic circle was clearly a technique to give energy to what was on the other side of the door...."
Lucian and Caesar came to an idea and looked at each other with goosebumps all over their bodies.
"So, someone knew you were sealed and did something like that?"
"If I were to guess, yes."
The two people frowned at my calm words. Meanwhile, people who didn't know the situation were a little confused.
"This.... I guess the scale is getting too big."
Since the mansion's affairs, Leopold's affairs, and the temple were related, I had a strong feeling that there might be a connection between the two.
'Leah... No, witch Arya.'
What really happened in the past that makes what happened 300 years ago still continue to this day?
***
Three days have passed since the secret meeting ended.
The most urgent Leopold case was related to the temple, so there was nothing for her to do until Javier came looking for information.
The only thing that could be done was to use Lucian's position to look into the collusion between the imperial family and the temple or to check the history of the time when I was sealed.
So, I tried to take a look at it anyway.
"What are you doing now?"
I glared at Lucian, who had brought me from the library to my room.
"Leah, it's been less than a month since you woke up. What did the doctor say? I told you not to overdo it, at least until your stamina comes back."
"I didn't overdo it."
"Please erase the dark circles under your eyes."
I fumbled under my eyes. As soon as the meeting ended, I locked myself in the imperial archives room and did not move a single step.
I ate my meals there, barely slept, and was intent on finding fragments of the past.
People say that only when you are a ghost can you stay awake for 24 hours without sleeping, but now I'm not a ghost but a person.
In the end, my body, which had been overworked after being locked in the archives room for three days, suffered from anemia and nosebleeds.
After hearing the news, Lucian locked the archive room for the time being and locked me in the room.
"... I know you want to find the past, but please also save yourself for who you are now."
At the sound of bitterness in his voice, I swallowed the noise that was about to escape my lips. I was concerned about his subtle reactions.
After the meeting, I revealed to Lucian and Caesar that I was the witch Arya.
'What?! For some reason, using magic seemed unusual! This is my first time seeing a witch!!'
Caesar was amazed and jumped around, but not Lucian.
'... Are you really the witch Arya?'
He was a little surprised at first, but soon he became lethargic. As if he wasn't happy about the fact that I was a witch.
Of course, I didn't see anything like that after that, so I thought it was a misunderstanding, but now that I see it, I think my guess was right.
'Disappointment... No, is it resignation?'
I don't know what words to describe Lucian's feelings right now. What is certain is that he keeps a subtle distance from me.
'I don't like it.'
If you have any complaints, let me know. Or ask me something. I can see you suffering alone, what are you doing now?
Lucian's shoulders, which were droopier than usual, caught my eye.
At that moment, I felt annoyed. I held Lucian's hand. Lucian stopped and turned back. He smiled as usual.
"Why?"
However, inside the crescent-shaped corners of the eyes were unfocused pupils.
"Are you dissatisfied with me?"
"That's right. I wish you would save yourself a little more. You have weaker physical strength than the average person, so I feel like you're overdoing it..."
"No, not that one. You don't like me being a witch, do you?"
Lucian paused. Soon, he looked at me with his smiling face stiff and shaking eyes.
After licking his lips for a moment, he chuckled and let out a faint laugh.
"What are you talking about. Why do I hate you?"
"But even when I revealed that I was a witch, the reaction was still strange. Is it because I've lived for over 300 years?"
"Why does the story suddenly jump out like that?"
"Otherwise, why are you doing that!"
When I screamed, Lucian tried to erase his smile and kept his mouth shut with a stern expression.
It seemed as if I did not want to talk to him anymore, so I let go of Lucian's hand.
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