“It’s not just close to impossible, it’s downright impossible.”
Cesare answered with an unprecedented firmness. I opened my palm and urged him to explain in detail.
“The appraisal stone will not absorb anything other than blood, so to manipulate the real into a fake, a third, additional blood is needed.”
“But.”
“If the blood on any of the stones in the bowl is from three or more people, the stones will lose their effect.”
“Losing effect means...”
“Even if you put them in a bowl, the stones don’t react at all, so you have to wait another half a year from the beginning.”
Cesare answered firmly.
I slowly went back over the information in my head. I had to feed it a certain amount of blood, and when I put the judgment stone in the bowl, the blood that came in contact with it had to be from two people for it to work.
“I understand. There is a way to make the fake real, but it is impossible to make the real fake.”
There is no way Duke Kairak wouldn't know what Cesare knows...
It's probably as Dmitry said before. Whether the stone reacts or not, they'll be talking about the results being rigged.
But what good would that do? If the judgment stone judges me to be real, Duke Kairak's claims would be discredited.
“Wait a minute, no way...”
Suddenly, an ominous thought occurred to me.
As Cesare said, it is possible to make a fake real, but it is impossible to make a real fake.
Perhaps the goal of the Kairak project is not to manipulate the judgment stone, but to make people believe that I manipulated the results?
A chill ran down my spine. I bit my lips without realizing it. It seemed like the force of the moment was so strong that the taste of blood spread through my mouth.
“Cesare. I think I figured something out.”
"Yes?"
“I need to see Laskan.”
After sending a messenger and a hawk to Cesare, I went out to the terrace alone. My mind was in a state of confusion, so I wanted to take my time and organize my thoughts.
First of all, the most urgent thing in the current situation was to somehow meet Laskan.
According to the original schedule, he should have returned to the capital ten days later.
No, from the beginning, it was just a matter of suppressing the northern barbarians. Was there a need for the Ashkabad operation for something like this? Even if he had been in charge of the northern front for a long time, it would not be enough to draft him as a tester in the middle of a competition.
Yet, as if they had expected this would happen from the beginning, he was unanimously selected by the Privy Council.
And what of all the ominous signs that hang over the northern front... War materiel from Tillacen or Sedrak, the sudden assembly of barbarians, the Tarik tribesmen vastly outnumbering the numbers they had managed for decades, the hired multinational mercenaries...
One or two times can be dismissed as coincidences, but not all coincidences can overlap like this. My heart sank.
Maybe, something really might happen.
"Your Highness."
I had told Enoch not to let anyone onto the terrace, so I was startled by the sudden voice and got up from the railing where I had been resting my chin.
“D, Dmitry? What? Where are you?”
“Here it is.”
The terraces of the palace were blocked by protruding pillars that prevented me from seeing across to the next terrace, so I had to wander for a long time to find where the 'here' he meant.
But the place where Dmitry appeared was completely unexpected.
“Could you please step back a little bit from the railing?”
As I took a few steps back behind the railing in a daze, something like a large bat fell from above, swooping down on me.
It was my limit to just stand there and not scream. Just because I expected it, it didn't mean I wasn't surprised.
Anyway, that bat-like thing was Dmitry. What I thought were wings were actually his cloak.
He stood before me, looking quite normal, to my annoyance.
“Are you crazy? What floor is this?”
He answered with a sly shrug.
“I think it was a gamble worth taking.”
I looked down the railing with my mouth open. The grand ballroom where the charity auction was being held was on the third floor, and he had fallen from the fourth.
Even if you miss just one inch, you will be stuck in a hole forever, so even if you occupy that height...
“You could have just asked for an audience. Why would you do something so dangerous?”
“You really intended to grant my request for an audience?”
He asked back with a mischievous face.
I couldn't answer right away and hesitated. It was true that I had ordered Sir Enoch not to let anyone in. My head was in a state of confusion, and I desperately wanted to be alone.
Dmitry smiled as if he had expected me not to answer, as if he was not at all offended.
“Even if Your Highness accepts it, will Lord Enoch let me pass?”
“...”
“Your Highness, you still don’t know how disgusting the jealousy of men is.”
The words that were thrown out as if carelessly contained a lot of meaning.
Lately, Dmitry has been restless because he hasn't been able to prove his feelings, but I've never doubted his feelings.
It wasn't that I didn't believe he liked me, it was more like I didn't feel the need to take our relationship further. He was charming and a nice guy, but... that was all.
I looked at the corner of his tightly clenched jaw and slowly opened my mouth.
“We said we were in the same boat, right?”
“Yes.”
“There will be no betrayal of me.”
“I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but... Yes, I will never betray Your Highness.”
“Then I will trust you and tell you.”
I forced a smile. Even as I said those words, I felt embarrassed at myself for not being able to completely trust him.
“There is a way to manipulate the judgment stone.”
His pale, stiff lips seemed not to belong to him.
“Even if they are not blood relatives, if more than 10% of the blood of the same person is on both stones, they can be judged to be blood relatives.”
“Is that so...”
“From the perspective of trying to deceive the fake into the real, this is an ideal condition.”
Dmitry looked up as if he sensed something. I realized that he had reached the point where I had thought he was going.
“That’s right. Duke Kairak will claim that I falsified the results of the identification stone because I am a fake.”
“...”
“And for that condition to be met, it has to be one of three.”
I said, counting my fingers one by one.
“If my judging stone is switched with His Majesty’s, and if His Majesty’s judging stone is stained with my blood.”
“...”
“Lastly, I will put His Majesty’s blood on my judgment stone.”
“Your Highness’s words are...”
“It is nearly impossible for the judging stone to be changed, and I cannot even go near His Majesty’s judging stone. So the third situation is more likely. The last day I fed blood to the judging stone, His Majesty will be attacked.”
Dmitry's eyes opened wide. He opened his mouth with a rare, pale face.
“But, just aiming for that and causing harm to His Majesty...”
“I know. If he does something wrong, Duke Kairak will be dragged in for treason.”
“...”
“But if that succeeds, then I won’t be recognized as a proper Princess.”
“...”
“Even if His Majesty disappears forever from that day on.”
If I were the real Princess, I would be attacked for my unclear lineage for the rest of my life, and even if it were fake, there would be no way to prove it, so I would be stuck in the palace for the rest of my life.
Since nothing is clear, I will not be able to get anywhere near the right of succession and will remain a Princess in name only, confined to some convent.
It would be nice if I could just let it slip that I knew about their plans, but it was a matter of knowing my suspicions and being more thorough.
I have already sent a letter to Laskan through Cesare, asking to discuss this matter.
Nevertheless, the reason I revealed this matter to Dmitry was that now was the time to really figure out who was my person and who was not.
“I would like to speak with Lord Laskan about this matter.”
I said it so casually, as if I had never sent a messenger or anything like that.
Dmitry, who had been burying his face in his right hand, slowly raised his head. I asked, pretending not to see his pale face.
“Can you come up north for me?”
Even though it was a summer night, the wind was cold. I added, shivering from the cold.
“Prove it this time. That you are really crazy about me.”
He didn't answer right away. He just stared at me with eyes like crushed grass.
Our standoff continued for a long time. And so did the silence.
Soon, he let out a cold laugh and began to approach me. Without any words or warning.
As the distance suddenly became shorter, I panicked and kept stepping back. For every step he took, I took two steps back.
The terrace wasn't narrow, but it was clearly a limited space. After a few steps, the glass door was right up to my back.
As I groped for the handle behind my back, he quickly closed the distance between me and tilted his head down, trapping me between his arms. At the same time, my hand, which was searching for the handle, was grabbed.
“Yes, wait, ah, it hurts.”
It was a lie. The wrist he was holding was warm, not sore. He was just holding it. But even at that lie, his grip loosened reflexively.
I managed to look up at his face. His usual composed expression had disappeared, and he looked extremely irritated and sharp.
He whispered in my ear, half-growling.
“While urging me to be a loyal dog, you seek me out, not him.”
“...”
“How cruel you are.”
I couldn't find an excuse for that. It was true that I had demanded excessive obedience without choosing Dmitry, and it was true that I would not choose him in the end even after all these doubts and tests, and it was true that I had terrible doubts about him.
Maybe, ever since the moment he carried my bag during our first competition, until now.
He lowered his head and buried his face in the nape of my neck.
He swallowed hard, as if he had barely been allowed the freedom to breathe. His pulse was beating uncomfortably fast.
“I was worried because the messenger was leaving the palace in a hurry.”
“..."
“I don’t know how much of this will make you suspicious.”
“...”
“Asha, as many times as you want.”
The body temperature has returned to normal. So has the hand he was holding.
I could only stand there blankly, watching his back as he opened the terrace door and went out.
Cesare answered with an unprecedented firmness. I opened my palm and urged him to explain in detail.
“The appraisal stone will not absorb anything other than blood, so to manipulate the real into a fake, a third, additional blood is needed.”
“But.”
“If the blood on any of the stones in the bowl is from three or more people, the stones will lose their effect.”
“Losing effect means...”
“Even if you put them in a bowl, the stones don’t react at all, so you have to wait another half a year from the beginning.”
Cesare answered firmly.
I slowly went back over the information in my head. I had to feed it a certain amount of blood, and when I put the judgment stone in the bowl, the blood that came in contact with it had to be from two people for it to work.
“I understand. There is a way to make the fake real, but it is impossible to make the real fake.”
There is no way Duke Kairak wouldn't know what Cesare knows...
It's probably as Dmitry said before. Whether the stone reacts or not, they'll be talking about the results being rigged.
But what good would that do? If the judgment stone judges me to be real, Duke Kairak's claims would be discredited.
“Wait a minute, no way...”
Suddenly, an ominous thought occurred to me.
As Cesare said, it is possible to make a fake real, but it is impossible to make a real fake.
Perhaps the goal of the Kairak project is not to manipulate the judgment stone, but to make people believe that I manipulated the results?
A chill ran down my spine. I bit my lips without realizing it. It seemed like the force of the moment was so strong that the taste of blood spread through my mouth.
“Cesare. I think I figured something out.”
"Yes?"
“I need to see Laskan.”
***
After sending a messenger and a hawk to Cesare, I went out to the terrace alone. My mind was in a state of confusion, so I wanted to take my time and organize my thoughts.
First of all, the most urgent thing in the current situation was to somehow meet Laskan.
According to the original schedule, he should have returned to the capital ten days later.
No, from the beginning, it was just a matter of suppressing the northern barbarians. Was there a need for the Ashkabad operation for something like this? Even if he had been in charge of the northern front for a long time, it would not be enough to draft him as a tester in the middle of a competition.
Yet, as if they had expected this would happen from the beginning, he was unanimously selected by the Privy Council.
And what of all the ominous signs that hang over the northern front... War materiel from Tillacen or Sedrak, the sudden assembly of barbarians, the Tarik tribesmen vastly outnumbering the numbers they had managed for decades, the hired multinational mercenaries...
One or two times can be dismissed as coincidences, but not all coincidences can overlap like this. My heart sank.
Maybe, something really might happen.
"Your Highness."
I had told Enoch not to let anyone onto the terrace, so I was startled by the sudden voice and got up from the railing where I had been resting my chin.
“D, Dmitry? What? Where are you?”
“Here it is.”
The terraces of the palace were blocked by protruding pillars that prevented me from seeing across to the next terrace, so I had to wander for a long time to find where the 'here' he meant.
But the place where Dmitry appeared was completely unexpected.
“Could you please step back a little bit from the railing?”
As I took a few steps back behind the railing in a daze, something like a large bat fell from above, swooping down on me.
It was my limit to just stand there and not scream. Just because I expected it, it didn't mean I wasn't surprised.
Anyway, that bat-like thing was Dmitry. What I thought were wings were actually his cloak.
He stood before me, looking quite normal, to my annoyance.
“Are you crazy? What floor is this?”
He answered with a sly shrug.
“I think it was a gamble worth taking.”
I looked down the railing with my mouth open. The grand ballroom where the charity auction was being held was on the third floor, and he had fallen from the fourth.
Even if you miss just one inch, you will be stuck in a hole forever, so even if you occupy that height...
“You could have just asked for an audience. Why would you do something so dangerous?”
“You really intended to grant my request for an audience?”
He asked back with a mischievous face.
I couldn't answer right away and hesitated. It was true that I had ordered Sir Enoch not to let anyone in. My head was in a state of confusion, and I desperately wanted to be alone.
Dmitry smiled as if he had expected me not to answer, as if he was not at all offended.
“Even if Your Highness accepts it, will Lord Enoch let me pass?”
“...”
“Your Highness, you still don’t know how disgusting the jealousy of men is.”
The words that were thrown out as if carelessly contained a lot of meaning.
Lately, Dmitry has been restless because he hasn't been able to prove his feelings, but I've never doubted his feelings.
It wasn't that I didn't believe he liked me, it was more like I didn't feel the need to take our relationship further. He was charming and a nice guy, but... that was all.
I looked at the corner of his tightly clenched jaw and slowly opened my mouth.
“We said we were in the same boat, right?”
“Yes.”
“There will be no betrayal of me.”
“I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but... Yes, I will never betray Your Highness.”
“Then I will trust you and tell you.”
I forced a smile. Even as I said those words, I felt embarrassed at myself for not being able to completely trust him.
“There is a way to manipulate the judgment stone.”
His pale, stiff lips seemed not to belong to him.
“Even if they are not blood relatives, if more than 10% of the blood of the same person is on both stones, they can be judged to be blood relatives.”
“Is that so...”
“From the perspective of trying to deceive the fake into the real, this is an ideal condition.”
Dmitry looked up as if he sensed something. I realized that he had reached the point where I had thought he was going.
“That’s right. Duke Kairak will claim that I falsified the results of the identification stone because I am a fake.”
“...”
“And for that condition to be met, it has to be one of three.”
I said, counting my fingers one by one.
“If my judging stone is switched with His Majesty’s, and if His Majesty’s judging stone is stained with my blood.”
“...”
“Lastly, I will put His Majesty’s blood on my judgment stone.”
“Your Highness’s words are...”
“It is nearly impossible for the judging stone to be changed, and I cannot even go near His Majesty’s judging stone. So the third situation is more likely. The last day I fed blood to the judging stone, His Majesty will be attacked.”
Dmitry's eyes opened wide. He opened his mouth with a rare, pale face.
“But, just aiming for that and causing harm to His Majesty...”
“I know. If he does something wrong, Duke Kairak will be dragged in for treason.”
“...”
“But if that succeeds, then I won’t be recognized as a proper Princess.”
“...”
“Even if His Majesty disappears forever from that day on.”
If I were the real Princess, I would be attacked for my unclear lineage for the rest of my life, and even if it were fake, there would be no way to prove it, so I would be stuck in the palace for the rest of my life.
Since nothing is clear, I will not be able to get anywhere near the right of succession and will remain a Princess in name only, confined to some convent.
It would be nice if I could just let it slip that I knew about their plans, but it was a matter of knowing my suspicions and being more thorough.
I have already sent a letter to Laskan through Cesare, asking to discuss this matter.
Nevertheless, the reason I revealed this matter to Dmitry was that now was the time to really figure out who was my person and who was not.
“I would like to speak with Lord Laskan about this matter.”
I said it so casually, as if I had never sent a messenger or anything like that.
Dmitry, who had been burying his face in his right hand, slowly raised his head. I asked, pretending not to see his pale face.
“Can you come up north for me?”
Even though it was a summer night, the wind was cold. I added, shivering from the cold.
“Prove it this time. That you are really crazy about me.”
He didn't answer right away. He just stared at me with eyes like crushed grass.
Our standoff continued for a long time. And so did the silence.
Soon, he let out a cold laugh and began to approach me. Without any words or warning.
As the distance suddenly became shorter, I panicked and kept stepping back. For every step he took, I took two steps back.
The terrace wasn't narrow, but it was clearly a limited space. After a few steps, the glass door was right up to my back.
As I groped for the handle behind my back, he quickly closed the distance between me and tilted his head down, trapping me between his arms. At the same time, my hand, which was searching for the handle, was grabbed.
“Yes, wait, ah, it hurts.”
It was a lie. The wrist he was holding was warm, not sore. He was just holding it. But even at that lie, his grip loosened reflexively.
I managed to look up at his face. His usual composed expression had disappeared, and he looked extremely irritated and sharp.
He whispered in my ear, half-growling.
“While urging me to be a loyal dog, you seek me out, not him.”
“...”
“How cruel you are.”
I couldn't find an excuse for that. It was true that I had demanded excessive obedience without choosing Dmitry, and it was true that I would not choose him in the end even after all these doubts and tests, and it was true that I had terrible doubts about him.
Maybe, ever since the moment he carried my bag during our first competition, until now.
He lowered his head and buried his face in the nape of my neck.
He swallowed hard, as if he had barely been allowed the freedom to breathe. His pulse was beating uncomfortably fast.
“I was worried because the messenger was leaving the palace in a hurry.”
“..."
“I don’t know how much of this will make you suspicious.”
“...”
“Asha, as many times as you want.”
The body temperature has returned to normal. So has the hand he was holding.
I could only stand there blankly, watching his back as he opened the terrace door and went out.
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