His face turned pale in embarrassment.
“Ma, I was just about to leave.”
“...”
Black didn’t say anything. He just stood there and stared at her.
“Let’s go back. You came to pick me up, right? Did you miss me during that brief moment?”
Liene changed the subject and grabbed Black’s arm.
Her heart pounded as if she was going deaf.
Surely he didn’t hear everything... No. It shouldn’t.
Please.
“They say Manau has awakened.”
Black finally opened his mouth after a long time.
“Ah... That’s a relief. Are you going to go see him now? I’ll go with you.”
“If you want.”
However, Black didn’t move from where he was blocking the road.
"...? You said we should go.”
“...”
Instead of his lips, his eyebrows became noisy. Black’s eyebrows furrowed several times in a short time.
It was the expression of someone who wanted to say something but couldn’t.
...You heard.
What should I do with this?
“Let's go.”
Liene said, interlocking her fingers with Black’s.
“...Why didn’t you say anything?”
There was no way to force him to move.
“It’s not something you should say. It’s not even certain.”
“Nine out of nineteen is half.”
...I heard that too.
There was no way to avoid him.
“There’s a half chance that nothing will happen to you. And that’s just the number that’s left in the royal records. There’s not a single mention of the Gainers Kings getting sick.”
“Princess... Liene.”
When he called her name, it felt like someone was caressing her heart without any end.
“What... what should I do?”
“Nothing. Why are you trying to do something?”
“If I...”
“Stop.”
Liene lifted her toes and covered Black’s lips with her own.
She thinks she knows what he’s trying to say.
But it’s actually unnecessary.
Because they won’t change anything because of half of what they don’t know yet.
Black didn’t pull Liene back to kiss her like he usually did.
He was still frozen in place.
...Don’t do this.
Then I can’t do anything either.
You me, I you. We’ll just watch each other without moving and get sick of it.
I don’t like that.
“If you keep doing that, I’ll go to the temple alone.”
Liene let go of the hand she was holding and threatened.
“I’m dying to know what the high priest will say. Why are you so slow and not even knowing that? If you keep doing this, I’m going to feel really bad. I might get so angry that I want to sleep alone tonight. Then I’ll feel even worse, so I’ll want to eat breakfast alone tomorrow morning. Is that okay?”
“...”
“Then do whatever you want.”
Liene turned her back.
As she passed the cells and started walking up the stairs to the prison entrance, Black chased after her.
He grabbed Liene who was climbing one step and pulled her into his arms.
Normally, she wouldn’t have done something this dangerous. Normally, her heart wouldn’t have been beating so hard.
“What should I do?”
He asked the same question again.
“Say it. I’ll do it.”
Liene understood what he meant.
It was a plea to hold on to herself, without any pride or anything.
“It’s simple.”
She didn’t have to think about it for long.
It was really simple.
“Just think about one thing. Which of the two would make me happier? Without you, or with you.”
“...Which one?”
“I’m not asking because I don’t know.”
Liene leaned closer to him, hugging him.
Just as she couldn’t go back to the time when she didn’t know this feeling, she couldn’t imagine a life without him.
“Stay by my side, and do your best to make me happy. No matter what happens in the future, I’ll feel like nothing was better than the happiness you gave me.”
“Is that okay?”
“I don’t think that’s easy. Whenever something like nail scissors comes out, I’m going to get really angry at you, whether I misunderstood or not. It’s your fault.”
Even though she was angry, all she could do was look at the ceiling, but Liene said that.
“Then I’ll do that.”
She didn’t think the answer would be easy.
They were talking about what kind of life they would live and how they would die.
“Once you’ve made up your mind, don’t change your mind again. I will never forgive you for that.”
“...I understand.”
“You must. You have to swear it.”
“Yes.”
The two stood there for a long time, holding each other tightly.
Even when they took their feet off to say that it was time to leave, their movements were incredibly slow.
“Oh, but.”
Liene stopped walking halfway up the stairs.
“Tell me.”
“I want you to take Lord Werose with us.”
“To the Great Temple?”
“Yes. The High Priest will tell you something he knew in the past. I want Lord Werose to hear it himself.”
“The story you want may not come out.”
“That doesn’t matter. I’m satisfied that Lord Werose knows exactly what happened 20 years ago. If he still can’t change his mind, then I guess there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Black nodded.
“Do as you wish.”
Weros joined the party heading to the Great Temple. His face was pale from fasting for several days, but he refused to be helped and walked steadily on his own feet.
“You’re here. I heard that you’ve revived this old body.”
Manau was gaunt, but his mind was clear. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to have any aftereffects from the Cabino.
Fermos shrugged, saying that it was all thanks to the elixir he had made.
“Please understand that we are not properly organized to welcome the King of the world. The temple is currently in great turmoil.”
“Ma, I was just about to leave.”
“...”
Black didn’t say anything. He just stood there and stared at her.
“Let’s go back. You came to pick me up, right? Did you miss me during that brief moment?”
Liene changed the subject and grabbed Black’s arm.
Her heart pounded as if she was going deaf.
Surely he didn’t hear everything... No. It shouldn’t.
Please.
“They say Manau has awakened.”
Black finally opened his mouth after a long time.
“Ah... That’s a relief. Are you going to go see him now? I’ll go with you.”
“If you want.”
However, Black didn’t move from where he was blocking the road.
"...? You said we should go.”
“...”
Instead of his lips, his eyebrows became noisy. Black’s eyebrows furrowed several times in a short time.
It was the expression of someone who wanted to say something but couldn’t.
...You heard.
What should I do with this?
“Let's go.”
Liene said, interlocking her fingers with Black’s.
“...Why didn’t you say anything?”
There was no way to force him to move.
“It’s not something you should say. It’s not even certain.”
“Nine out of nineteen is half.”
...I heard that too.
There was no way to avoid him.
“There’s a half chance that nothing will happen to you. And that’s just the number that’s left in the royal records. There’s not a single mention of the Gainers Kings getting sick.”
“Princess... Liene.”
When he called her name, it felt like someone was caressing her heart without any end.
“What... what should I do?”
“Nothing. Why are you trying to do something?”
“If I...”
“Stop.”
Liene lifted her toes and covered Black’s lips with her own.
She thinks she knows what he’s trying to say.
But it’s actually unnecessary.
Because they won’t change anything because of half of what they don’t know yet.
Black didn’t pull Liene back to kiss her like he usually did.
He was still frozen in place.
...Don’t do this.
Then I can’t do anything either.
You me, I you. We’ll just watch each other without moving and get sick of it.
I don’t like that.
“If you keep doing that, I’ll go to the temple alone.”
Liene let go of the hand she was holding and threatened.
“I’m dying to know what the high priest will say. Why are you so slow and not even knowing that? If you keep doing this, I’m going to feel really bad. I might get so angry that I want to sleep alone tonight. Then I’ll feel even worse, so I’ll want to eat breakfast alone tomorrow morning. Is that okay?”
“...”
“Then do whatever you want.”
Liene turned her back.
As she passed the cells and started walking up the stairs to the prison entrance, Black chased after her.
He grabbed Liene who was climbing one step and pulled her into his arms.
Normally, she wouldn’t have done something this dangerous. Normally, her heart wouldn’t have been beating so hard.
“What should I do?”
He asked the same question again.
“Say it. I’ll do it.”
Liene understood what he meant.
It was a plea to hold on to herself, without any pride or anything.
“It’s simple.”
She didn’t have to think about it for long.
It was really simple.
“Just think about one thing. Which of the two would make me happier? Without you, or with you.”
“...Which one?”
“I’m not asking because I don’t know.”
Liene leaned closer to him, hugging him.
Just as she couldn’t go back to the time when she didn’t know this feeling, she couldn’t imagine a life without him.
“Stay by my side, and do your best to make me happy. No matter what happens in the future, I’ll feel like nothing was better than the happiness you gave me.”
“Is that okay?”
“I don’t think that’s easy. Whenever something like nail scissors comes out, I’m going to get really angry at you, whether I misunderstood or not. It’s your fault.”
Even though she was angry, all she could do was look at the ceiling, but Liene said that.
“Then I’ll do that.”
She didn’t think the answer would be easy.
They were talking about what kind of life they would live and how they would die.
“Once you’ve made up your mind, don’t change your mind again. I will never forgive you for that.”
“...I understand.”
“You must. You have to swear it.”
“Yes.”
The two stood there for a long time, holding each other tightly.
Even when they took their feet off to say that it was time to leave, their movements were incredibly slow.
“Oh, but.”
Liene stopped walking halfway up the stairs.
“Tell me.”
“I want you to take Lord Werose with us.”
“To the Great Temple?”
“Yes. The High Priest will tell you something he knew in the past. I want Lord Werose to hear it himself.”
“The story you want may not come out.”
“That doesn’t matter. I’m satisfied that Lord Werose knows exactly what happened 20 years ago. If he still can’t change his mind, then I guess there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Black nodded.
“Do as you wish.”
Weros joined the party heading to the Great Temple. His face was pale from fasting for several days, but he refused to be helped and walked steadily on his own feet.
***
“You’re here. I heard that you’ve revived this old body.”
Manau was gaunt, but his mind was clear. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to have any aftereffects from the Cabino.
Fermos shrugged, saying that it was all thanks to the elixir he had made.
“Please understand that we are not properly organized to welcome the King of the world. The temple is currently in great turmoil.”
It would have been strange if there had been no turmoil.
The temple had been growing in power by acting as a spokesman for the six families. The previous high priest who had been Kleinfelter’s faithful servant had died, and Manau, who was said to have died twenty years ago, had reappeared.
However, the high priests were mostly those with ties to the six families.
The young priests were wavering, not knowing which side to take.
In the meantime, Manau fell into poison, and Kleinfelter was once again identified as the culprit.
The five families that Kleinfelter had left distanced themselves from the temple, keeping an eye on the royal family.
According to the newly written Treaty of Liseberg, the temple was a completely independent entity, and the five families were not allowed to hold any events.
The five families could offer their wealth to the god, but they could not give it to a single priest. The temple’s assets were changed to be managed by the royal secretary.
In any case, it was natural that there would be defectors amid such changes.
The temple and the status of the priest were no longer related to success. More than half of the priests left the temple and returned to their secular families.
The remaining priests were still confused.
However, things would be sorted out soon. Now, only priests who truly wanted to live a life of devotion to the god remained in the temple, and it was time for them to return to the voice of the god.
“The confusion will end. The high priest has awakened.”
Manau bowed his head briefly to express his gratitude at Liene’s kind words.
“Then what do you wish for this body?”
Manau calmly looked back at the group of Liene who had come to see him.
After experiencing death twice, humans were bound to change.
He finally made a face worthy of a high priest.
“I want to hear about what happened 20 years ago. About the secret of the Gainers royal family and the key that Kleinfelter wanted to steal.”
“Did you find out about that...?”
Manau trailed off as if sighing.
However, he felt that this too might be God’s will.
Just like the end of the Gainers royal family and the drought in Nauk, it might be God who wanted to end it.
“The Gainers royal family did not steal the power of the gods.”
Manau slowly opened his mouth.
They did not steal the power of the gods.
Perhaps the gods had permitted it.
“Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense. The ability to control water.”
The foundation that led Nauk to become the most prosperous kingdom on Earth was all the flood control methods that the Gainers royal family possessed.
“That’s why the Gainers royal family had such great power.”
However, too much power was a double-edged sword.
“As a price to pay, Gainers Kings often died young. There were also cases where they were mentally unstable at a young age.”
The expressions of those listening to the story changed.
Liene held Black’s hand tightly, and Black stared silently at Liene’s hand that was holding his. Fermos, with a frown on his face, nodded to urge him to continue, and Werose gave Liene a firm gaze.
“That was called the curse of the Gainers royal family.”
After the King died, there was always a problem with the water supply.
The water supply law, which was the basis of the royal family’s power, was a secret that had to be passed down only from King to King.
Twenty years ago, a gap appeared in the secret transmission.
The young Prince was still too weak, and the King, who was starting to show signs of a disease called a curse, was skeptical about telling the Prince the secret.
No one knew how long a child could keep a secret. Furthermore, the Prince spent too much time in the temple to recuperate.
Kleinfelter took advantage of this gap.
He thought that if he could coax the young and weak Prince well, he could also enjoy the power that could control a god.
“I was foolish... I worried about what would happen if the King, who was still alive, died.”
Nauk was afraid that they would lose the glory they had enjoyed thanks to the Gainers royal family in an instant. In fact, they were only worried about the wealth that had been given to them. They later realized that it was all their own greed.
That concern became an excuse to help Ternan Kleinfelter. He made way for him to visit the Prince who was secretly recuperating at the temple.
The Prince would not listen easily, and the King learned of Kleinfelter's actions at the temple.
He prepared for a bloodbath.
The King planned to purge Kleinfelter. If King Pembrowin had been of sound mind, the name Kleinfelter would have disappeared by then.
Unfortunately, the King was losing his mind.
In the end, what succeeded was not the purge, but the treason.
Kleinfelter succeeded in the treason and took control of the temple. What he wanted was the voice of God. He wanted to spread the word that the Gainers royal family had stolen the power of God and had cursed them, and that the proof of the curse was the King's death.
The god had taken back the power that had been stolen. The waters of Nauk would continue to dry up. A new King was needed to appease the god's wrath. The new King's name would be Kleinfelter.
But it was all a lie.
Manau realized too late that Kleinfelter had not rebelled for noble reasons, such as for Nauk.
When he remained silent, the torture continued. Kleinfelter guessed that Manau had changed his mind because King Pembrowin had handed him the keys just before he died.
When his body was in shambles and he was barely breathing, a miracle occurred.
Ternan Kleinfelter fell into a stroke. His eldest son also died too soon to be a mere coincidence.
A King could not come from such a family. Since the death of the Gainers' royal family had already been shackled by the curse, the next King had to be someone who had nothing to do with the curse.
Nauk was thrown into even greater chaos.
The families that had participated in the rebellion chose a suitable King.
The Arsak family was crowned the most because of the discord between the families. They chose the smallest and most manageable family to be the new royal family.
Perhaps the Arsak family saw it as a means to pass the crown to the next King who would inherit the Kleinfelter name.
“I see...”
The temple had been growing in power by acting as a spokesman for the six families. The previous high priest who had been Kleinfelter’s faithful servant had died, and Manau, who was said to have died twenty years ago, had reappeared.
However, the high priests were mostly those with ties to the six families.
The young priests were wavering, not knowing which side to take.
In the meantime, Manau fell into poison, and Kleinfelter was once again identified as the culprit.
The five families that Kleinfelter had left distanced themselves from the temple, keeping an eye on the royal family.
According to the newly written Treaty of Liseberg, the temple was a completely independent entity, and the five families were not allowed to hold any events.
The five families could offer their wealth to the god, but they could not give it to a single priest. The temple’s assets were changed to be managed by the royal secretary.
In any case, it was natural that there would be defectors amid such changes.
The temple and the status of the priest were no longer related to success. More than half of the priests left the temple and returned to their secular families.
The remaining priests were still confused.
However, things would be sorted out soon. Now, only priests who truly wanted to live a life of devotion to the god remained in the temple, and it was time for them to return to the voice of the god.
“The confusion will end. The high priest has awakened.”
Manau bowed his head briefly to express his gratitude at Liene’s kind words.
“Then what do you wish for this body?”
Manau calmly looked back at the group of Liene who had come to see him.
After experiencing death twice, humans were bound to change.
He finally made a face worthy of a high priest.
“I want to hear about what happened 20 years ago. About the secret of the Gainers royal family and the key that Kleinfelter wanted to steal.”
“Did you find out about that...?”
Manau trailed off as if sighing.
However, he felt that this too might be God’s will.
Just like the end of the Gainers royal family and the drought in Nauk, it might be God who wanted to end it.
“The Gainers royal family did not steal the power of the gods.”
Manau slowly opened his mouth.
***
They did not steal the power of the gods.
Perhaps the gods had permitted it.
“Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense. The ability to control water.”
The foundation that led Nauk to become the most prosperous kingdom on Earth was all the flood control methods that the Gainers royal family possessed.
“That’s why the Gainers royal family had such great power.”
However, too much power was a double-edged sword.
“As a price to pay, Gainers Kings often died young. There were also cases where they were mentally unstable at a young age.”
The expressions of those listening to the story changed.
Liene held Black’s hand tightly, and Black stared silently at Liene’s hand that was holding his. Fermos, with a frown on his face, nodded to urge him to continue, and Werose gave Liene a firm gaze.
“That was called the curse of the Gainers royal family.”
After the King died, there was always a problem with the water supply.
The water supply law, which was the basis of the royal family’s power, was a secret that had to be passed down only from King to King.
Twenty years ago, a gap appeared in the secret transmission.
The young Prince was still too weak, and the King, who was starting to show signs of a disease called a curse, was skeptical about telling the Prince the secret.
No one knew how long a child could keep a secret. Furthermore, the Prince spent too much time in the temple to recuperate.
Kleinfelter took advantage of this gap.
He thought that if he could coax the young and weak Prince well, he could also enjoy the power that could control a god.
“I was foolish... I worried about what would happen if the King, who was still alive, died.”
Nauk was afraid that they would lose the glory they had enjoyed thanks to the Gainers royal family in an instant. In fact, they were only worried about the wealth that had been given to them. They later realized that it was all their own greed.
That concern became an excuse to help Ternan Kleinfelter. He made way for him to visit the Prince who was secretly recuperating at the temple.
The Prince would not listen easily, and the King learned of Kleinfelter's actions at the temple.
He prepared for a bloodbath.
The King planned to purge Kleinfelter. If King Pembrowin had been of sound mind, the name Kleinfelter would have disappeared by then.
Unfortunately, the King was losing his mind.
In the end, what succeeded was not the purge, but the treason.
Kleinfelter succeeded in the treason and took control of the temple. What he wanted was the voice of God. He wanted to spread the word that the Gainers royal family had stolen the power of God and had cursed them, and that the proof of the curse was the King's death.
The god had taken back the power that had been stolen. The waters of Nauk would continue to dry up. A new King was needed to appease the god's wrath. The new King's name would be Kleinfelter.
But it was all a lie.
Manau realized too late that Kleinfelter had not rebelled for noble reasons, such as for Nauk.
When he remained silent, the torture continued. Kleinfelter guessed that Manau had changed his mind because King Pembrowin had handed him the keys just before he died.
When his body was in shambles and he was barely breathing, a miracle occurred.
Ternan Kleinfelter fell into a stroke. His eldest son also died too soon to be a mere coincidence.
A King could not come from such a family. Since the death of the Gainers' royal family had already been shackled by the curse, the next King had to be someone who had nothing to do with the curse.
Nauk was thrown into even greater chaos.
The families that had participated in the rebellion chose a suitable King.
The Arsak family was crowned the most because of the discord between the families. They chose the smallest and most manageable family to be the new royal family.
Perhaps the Arsak family saw it as a means to pass the crown to the next King who would inherit the Kleinfelter name.
“I see...”
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