The messenger finished speaking, bowed politely, and withdrew.
It was the most patience I could muster not to catch or punish him.
If it were any other time, I would have just ignored it, but it was hard to stay calm when someone mentioned Laskan.
“...Sir Enoch.”
“Your Highness, I object.”
Enoch responded to my call by taking a step forward.
“There are many who witnessed Duke Kairak requesting a private meeting with me. If he had wanted to kill me, he would not have pointed the finger at me so publicly.”
“...”
“Besides, the location is the Temer main temple.”
Temer's main temple did not forgive anyone who defiled its interior with blood, regardless of the reason. Even if they were members of the royal family, they were given a punishment close to dismissal.
Enoch barely opened his mouth.
"...If it were the Lord’s temple, I would believe it, but it’s the one who kept silent the whole time.”
"Yes..."
Enoch was right. The man, who had been holding back ever since the winner of the competition was decided, must have had some ulterior motive in choosing this moment. For example, about the judging ceremony tomorrow...
My heart was beating uncomfortably fast. The thought that there was something hidden here just wouldn't leave my head.
Rather than just being exposed to it without knowing what it was, I thought it would be better to go and see for myself what the nightmare really was.
I clenched my fist.
“You’re here.”
I faced Duke Kairak, who was bowing his head with utmost courtesy, with a calm expression.
The Duke's strangely calm face had a corner that somehow reminded me of Veronica.
Rather than saying that their faces were exactly alike... the way they moved their eyebrows and lips, and their bearing, were exactly the same.
It was a wrong view to look for a friend in someone you hate, but there was a saying in the back alleys.
If you hate your enemy too much, it's easy to lose your cool, and if you lose your cool, it's hard to make accurate judgments.
I clenched my fists as I recalled those words.
Duke Kairak twisted his thin lips in a vulgar way.
“It was way past the appointed time, so I thought you weren’t coming.”
“Your threats are so base that I can’t help it.”
I responded coldly and looked around. Unlike when I came for the entremete, the atmosphere was eerie and subdued.
Perhaps it felt that way because the chamber was very dark except for the lantern the Duke's servant was holding.
I pulled the shawl over my shoulders a little higher.
“Then shall we go inside?”
Since weapons were not allowed inside the main shrine, the eight knights decided to wait outside the temple.
Enoch put down his weapon with a look of extreme caution.
As we approached the door, the man who had been crouching with his hood on stood up.
He nodded to the Duke of Kairak and carefully opened the old door with a rusty key.
“This way.”
After walking for a while, we were standing in a backyard connected to the main hall of Temer's main shrine.
As the Duke nodded, the servant pushed through the grass and found a door stuck in the floor. I had passed by this place a few times during the Entremette... but it was a door I had never seen before.
The door swung open with a heavy thud. Beneath it, a long staircase descended into the basement of the main shrine.
“I will take the lead.”
Duke Kairak saw Enoch coming forward and stretched out his arm to stop him.
“This is enough for you, Sir.”
“If Sir Enoch doesn’t go, I won’t go either.”
I said firmly. Then the Duke glanced at me and said.
“It is your choice to accompany Lord Enoch, but I do not recommend it.”
“Why?”
“What I am about to propose must be carried out in the utmost secrecy.”
I looked straight into the face of the Duke of Kairak. He had a particularly long tail, giving him the impression of a snake, and his lips were thin, and his eyes were impenetrable.
His words reeked of slyness, but at least he didn't seem to be trying to deceive me.
If he had wanted to kill me without warning, he would have waited for the very moment when Lord Enoch put down his weapon. Instead of leisurely dragging me into the inner sanctuary and stamping his eyes on every priest he passed.
I opened my mouth and glared at the Duke.
“...Sir Enoch, let’s wait here.”
"Your Highness!"
The Duke's mouth twisted at Enoch's shout.
“As expected of Ashkabad’s watchdog. Her Highness will not be harmed even by a single fingertip. I swear it on the River Detua.”
“...”
I laughed at that. What could he possibly bet on a river that was nothing more than a legend and no substance? Duke Kairak would be the kind of person to break a vow he made during a pre-meal prayer before he even had a bite to eat.
But I did not change my order, and Enoch bit his lips and stepped back.
“Let’s go.”
Duke Kairak, who had come down a few steps ahead of me, looked up at me and said. I took a deep breath and started down the damp, dark stairs.
The stairs felt like a huge, long cave. Somewhere, I could even hear the sound of water dripping.
I tried to calm myself down by stroking the hilt of the dagger hidden in my bosom.
At one point, the stairs suddenly turned to the right, and shortly thereafter, Duke Kairak stopped.
“We’ve arrived.”
It was a wooden door. When the Duke knocked twice, the person waiting inside opened the door.
I couldn't help but be surprised.
“...The High Priest?”
It was true. He was wearing a hood to hide his face, but it was the same high priest who had come to draw my blood every time to be put on the judgment stone.
Perhaps because he thought that there was nothing he could do since he had already been caught, he didn't even seem to have any intention of denying it.
“You can come this way.”
There was no bowing, no acknowledgment that I was the Princess. I had the feeling that the only one receiving his tribute was the Duke of Kairak.
He was always polite to me. Only then did I begin to vaguely guess what was going on.
Following them, I was able to arrive at a large room.
“This is..”
The High Priest glanced back at my voice. Then he spoke as if he were reluctantly answering.
“This is where the judging ceremony will be held tomorrow.”
Yes, it seemed so. The space, with its floor, walls, and ceiling all made of marble, and above all, the three basins, proved it.
From two small basins, holy water gushed out like small fountains. If Cesare had said so, these would have been devices to store and purify the stones when they were not in use.
Then the biggest one will be the one used in tomorrow's ceremony.
“This way.”
The High Priest spoke to us. From under the largest bowl, the High Priest took out two small wooden boxes.
That was also a familiar object to me. I saw the identification stone that I fed my blood on every time being stored there.
According to Cesare's words, it should have been covered with stone, but since the competition period was long, it seems that the seal was released first.
The High Priest carefully opened the box with his white-gloved hands and took out the appraisal stone.
I bit my lip shallowly.
“...”
“Your face looks like you could guess the outcome before even seeing it.”
Duke Kairak spoke with a teasing grin on his face.
I ignored his words and stared intently at the priest's hand. The priest carefully placed the judging stone on top of the pedestal.
The stones did not stick together, but rolled slowly, facing each other tightly as if pushing each other away.
It was an obvious story. The only reason he would show this the day before the judging ceremony was if the judging stones weren't stuck together.
“This, this result is...”
“I swear before Temer that there was no manipulation or deception in this result.”
The High Priest took my words in a stiff voice. It felt like all the strings in my body that had been pulled taut were snapped at once.
The oath that the archon swore by God was different from the oath that the infidel swore by the River Detyah.
My breath was ragged, but I couldn't break down in front of anyone but Duke Kairak. I wanted to open my mouth as if I were fine, but my lips were trembling.
“...So, what is this offer you are making to me?”
Snake. The eyes of a vicious, poisonous snake narrowed faintly.
His face seemed both surprised and amazed that I could still see him.
“The choice is yours alone, Your Highness. But I can give you one piece of advice.”
To call me now to tell me something was nothing short of deceit.
The Duke's tongue flickered between his thin lips.
“Run away.”
Run away.
Those words cut into my throat like a sharp knife.
Suddenly, I remembered the conversation I had with Cesare on the day of the ball.
“Then isn’t there also the opposite case? If I’m real, then the Kairak Duke could manipulate the stone’s reaction to make it fake.”
"It's not just close to impossible, it's downright impossible."
To disguise the real as fake, you have to blur the stained blood, but a stone stained with the blood of three people loses its effect.
When I thought about it that far, I could clearly see how shallow my beliefs had been until then. Just the words of two people and a single piece of evidence shook me to my core.
I was really the Princess? Just because I could recall a few memories? How could I have believed that so firmly all this time?
How can I be sure that I'm not reading the memories of an old object, as sinister sorcerers often do?
As the protective shield that had supported me so firmly was peeled away, it became difficult to look Duke Kairak in the eye any longer.
It wasn't a good idea to quickly lower my eyes, because I could still see the stones spinning around in the water.
He even came forward as a High Priest and guaranteed the result by mentioning the Lord. Whether it was true or a fabricated lie... There was only one unchanging fact.
Even at the judging ceremony tomorrow, those two stones will not be entangled.
The High Priest seemed reluctant to accept my persistent gaze and put the appraisal stone back into the box.
“If you say you want to run away, we will protect you.”
Will you protect me? I raised my head. My thoughts, which had been groping, quickly rolled forward, holding on to one hope.
“Why do you have to go to such lengths to accommodate me?”
It seemed more plausible after I said it. My voice became more powerful.
“If my intention was to fall over, I could have let the judging ceremony take place tomorrow.”
“I want to swallow Ashkabad without a single flaw.”
Duke Kairak's eyes were like those of a well-fed predator. He was already extremely satisfied, and whether the prey in front of him lived or died, it was all up to his whim... Those eyes. It was hateful.
It was the most patience I could muster not to catch or punish him.
If it were any other time, I would have just ignored it, but it was hard to stay calm when someone mentioned Laskan.
“...Sir Enoch.”
“Your Highness, I object.”
Enoch responded to my call by taking a step forward.
“There are many who witnessed Duke Kairak requesting a private meeting with me. If he had wanted to kill me, he would not have pointed the finger at me so publicly.”
“...”
“Besides, the location is the Temer main temple.”
Temer's main temple did not forgive anyone who defiled its interior with blood, regardless of the reason. Even if they were members of the royal family, they were given a punishment close to dismissal.
Enoch barely opened his mouth.
"...If it were the Lord’s temple, I would believe it, but it’s the one who kept silent the whole time.”
"Yes..."
Enoch was right. The man, who had been holding back ever since the winner of the competition was decided, must have had some ulterior motive in choosing this moment. For example, about the judging ceremony tomorrow...
My heart was beating uncomfortably fast. The thought that there was something hidden here just wouldn't leave my head.
Rather than just being exposed to it without knowing what it was, I thought it would be better to go and see for myself what the nightmare really was.
I clenched my fist.
***
“You’re here.”
I faced Duke Kairak, who was bowing his head with utmost courtesy, with a calm expression.
The Duke's strangely calm face had a corner that somehow reminded me of Veronica.
Rather than saying that their faces were exactly alike... the way they moved their eyebrows and lips, and their bearing, were exactly the same.
It was a wrong view to look for a friend in someone you hate, but there was a saying in the back alleys.
If you hate your enemy too much, it's easy to lose your cool, and if you lose your cool, it's hard to make accurate judgments.
I clenched my fists as I recalled those words.
Duke Kairak twisted his thin lips in a vulgar way.
“It was way past the appointed time, so I thought you weren’t coming.”
“Your threats are so base that I can’t help it.”
I responded coldly and looked around. Unlike when I came for the entremete, the atmosphere was eerie and subdued.
Perhaps it felt that way because the chamber was very dark except for the lantern the Duke's servant was holding.
I pulled the shawl over my shoulders a little higher.
“Then shall we go inside?”
Since weapons were not allowed inside the main shrine, the eight knights decided to wait outside the temple.
Enoch put down his weapon with a look of extreme caution.
As we approached the door, the man who had been crouching with his hood on stood up.
He nodded to the Duke of Kairak and carefully opened the old door with a rusty key.
“This way.”
After walking for a while, we were standing in a backyard connected to the main hall of Temer's main shrine.
As the Duke nodded, the servant pushed through the grass and found a door stuck in the floor. I had passed by this place a few times during the Entremette... but it was a door I had never seen before.
The door swung open with a heavy thud. Beneath it, a long staircase descended into the basement of the main shrine.
“I will take the lead.”
Duke Kairak saw Enoch coming forward and stretched out his arm to stop him.
“This is enough for you, Sir.”
“If Sir Enoch doesn’t go, I won’t go either.”
I said firmly. Then the Duke glanced at me and said.
“It is your choice to accompany Lord Enoch, but I do not recommend it.”
“Why?”
“What I am about to propose must be carried out in the utmost secrecy.”
I looked straight into the face of the Duke of Kairak. He had a particularly long tail, giving him the impression of a snake, and his lips were thin, and his eyes were impenetrable.
His words reeked of slyness, but at least he didn't seem to be trying to deceive me.
If he had wanted to kill me without warning, he would have waited for the very moment when Lord Enoch put down his weapon. Instead of leisurely dragging me into the inner sanctuary and stamping his eyes on every priest he passed.
I opened my mouth and glared at the Duke.
“...Sir Enoch, let’s wait here.”
"Your Highness!"
The Duke's mouth twisted at Enoch's shout.
“As expected of Ashkabad’s watchdog. Her Highness will not be harmed even by a single fingertip. I swear it on the River Detua.”
“...”
I laughed at that. What could he possibly bet on a river that was nothing more than a legend and no substance? Duke Kairak would be the kind of person to break a vow he made during a pre-meal prayer before he even had a bite to eat.
But I did not change my order, and Enoch bit his lips and stepped back.
“Let’s go.”
Duke Kairak, who had come down a few steps ahead of me, looked up at me and said. I took a deep breath and started down the damp, dark stairs.
***
The stairs felt like a huge, long cave. Somewhere, I could even hear the sound of water dripping.
I tried to calm myself down by stroking the hilt of the dagger hidden in my bosom.
At one point, the stairs suddenly turned to the right, and shortly thereafter, Duke Kairak stopped.
“We’ve arrived.”
It was a wooden door. When the Duke knocked twice, the person waiting inside opened the door.
I couldn't help but be surprised.
“...The High Priest?”
It was true. He was wearing a hood to hide his face, but it was the same high priest who had come to draw my blood every time to be put on the judgment stone.
Perhaps because he thought that there was nothing he could do since he had already been caught, he didn't even seem to have any intention of denying it.
“You can come this way.”
There was no bowing, no acknowledgment that I was the Princess. I had the feeling that the only one receiving his tribute was the Duke of Kairak.
He was always polite to me. Only then did I begin to vaguely guess what was going on.
Following them, I was able to arrive at a large room.
“This is..”
The High Priest glanced back at my voice. Then he spoke as if he were reluctantly answering.
“This is where the judging ceremony will be held tomorrow.”
Yes, it seemed so. The space, with its floor, walls, and ceiling all made of marble, and above all, the three basins, proved it.
From two small basins, holy water gushed out like small fountains. If Cesare had said so, these would have been devices to store and purify the stones when they were not in use.
Then the biggest one will be the one used in tomorrow's ceremony.
“This way.”
The High Priest spoke to us. From under the largest bowl, the High Priest took out two small wooden boxes.
That was also a familiar object to me. I saw the identification stone that I fed my blood on every time being stored there.
According to Cesare's words, it should have been covered with stone, but since the competition period was long, it seems that the seal was released first.
The High Priest carefully opened the box with his white-gloved hands and took out the appraisal stone.
I bit my lip shallowly.
“...”
“Your face looks like you could guess the outcome before even seeing it.”
Duke Kairak spoke with a teasing grin on his face.
I ignored his words and stared intently at the priest's hand. The priest carefully placed the judging stone on top of the pedestal.
The stones did not stick together, but rolled slowly, facing each other tightly as if pushing each other away.
It was an obvious story. The only reason he would show this the day before the judging ceremony was if the judging stones weren't stuck together.
“This, this result is...”
“I swear before Temer that there was no manipulation or deception in this result.”
The High Priest took my words in a stiff voice. It felt like all the strings in my body that had been pulled taut were snapped at once.
The oath that the archon swore by God was different from the oath that the infidel swore by the River Detyah.
My breath was ragged, but I couldn't break down in front of anyone but Duke Kairak. I wanted to open my mouth as if I were fine, but my lips were trembling.
“...So, what is this offer you are making to me?”
Snake. The eyes of a vicious, poisonous snake narrowed faintly.
His face seemed both surprised and amazed that I could still see him.
“The choice is yours alone, Your Highness. But I can give you one piece of advice.”
To call me now to tell me something was nothing short of deceit.
The Duke's tongue flickered between his thin lips.
“Run away.”
Run away.
Those words cut into my throat like a sharp knife.
Suddenly, I remembered the conversation I had with Cesare on the day of the ball.
“Then isn’t there also the opposite case? If I’m real, then the Kairak Duke could manipulate the stone’s reaction to make it fake.”
"It's not just close to impossible, it's downright impossible."
To disguise the real as fake, you have to blur the stained blood, but a stone stained with the blood of three people loses its effect.
When I thought about it that far, I could clearly see how shallow my beliefs had been until then. Just the words of two people and a single piece of evidence shook me to my core.
I was really the Princess? Just because I could recall a few memories? How could I have believed that so firmly all this time?
How can I be sure that I'm not reading the memories of an old object, as sinister sorcerers often do?
As the protective shield that had supported me so firmly was peeled away, it became difficult to look Duke Kairak in the eye any longer.
It wasn't a good idea to quickly lower my eyes, because I could still see the stones spinning around in the water.
He even came forward as a High Priest and guaranteed the result by mentioning the Lord. Whether it was true or a fabricated lie... There was only one unchanging fact.
Even at the judging ceremony tomorrow, those two stones will not be entangled.
The High Priest seemed reluctant to accept my persistent gaze and put the appraisal stone back into the box.
“If you say you want to run away, we will protect you.”
Will you protect me? I raised my head. My thoughts, which had been groping, quickly rolled forward, holding on to one hope.
“Why do you have to go to such lengths to accommodate me?”
It seemed more plausible after I said it. My voice became more powerful.
“If my intention was to fall over, I could have let the judging ceremony take place tomorrow.”
“I want to swallow Ashkabad without a single flaw.”
Duke Kairak's eyes were like those of a well-fed predator. He was already extremely satisfied, and whether the prey in front of him lived or died, it was all up to his whim... Those eyes. It was hateful.
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