Palace Chaos and the Saint's Certification
I never thought they'd hide it in a place like this. For a while, the Imperial Palace was a total mess. Why? Because Sibylius had dramatically confessed to me right in front of everyone.
It happened smack in the middle of the capital, with tons of witnesses watching. There was no way the rumor wouldn't reach the palace. Sure enough, the info shot straight to Viol's ears.
"You bitch! I called you here to heal him, and you dare hit on my man?!"
Viol was furious beyond belief, but honestly, I got it. I'd be stunned too if someone pulled a stunt like that behind my back.
But Sibylius, the one getting grilled, was utterly unapologetic.
"Whoever I confess to is my business and my heart's choice."
"You acted like you had zero interest in Seres! You looked down on us, calling us pathetic for chasing after a guy!"
"That was just bravado. I admit, badmouthing others while keeping my own affairs private was wrong on my part. I apologize."
"Save your apology and get the hell out!"
Viol screamed for someone to exile the wench from the empire right then, but no one budged. Sibylius coolly eyed the Empire's soldiers, who were just glancing around nervously.
"Stop with the ridiculous orders. They know it too—no one can drag me out of here unless I allow it."
"...Fine, then I'll do it myself!"
"You're no different. Unless the founding emperor revives, not even royalty can touch me."
It wasn't arrogance; Sibylius stated it like plain, obvious fact. And she was right. The empire's strongest... well, by original story standards, she was the top among the four male leads anyway.
"Enough."
Before things got uglier, I stepped in to rein in the women.
"She's got a point. Confessing is her freedom, right?"
"What do you mean, Seres? You're not thinking of accepting it, are you?!"
"No."
I told Viol to just let it go. She wasn't trying to harm me; it was her right to confess and like whoever she wanted. What could I do?
...So that's how I ended up letting Sibylius off after that public spectacle drained all my energy.
Of course, she refused to leave the palace or stray from my side.
"Get out! I said get out now!"
"No."
She kept bickering with Viol, until—
"Seres, there you are?!"
Arios showed up soon after, her face lighting up almost tearfully at the sight of me.
"You have no idea how long I've been looking! I went to your estate, but your mother said you weren't there. When I asked about you, she snapped that you could handle yourself and to buzz off!"
Looks like she'd dropped by the Huferion estate trying to see me, but with everything a mess, Ares wasn't exactly rolling out the welcome mat.
"I grilled one of your estate's guard knights—that weird Sword Master—and finally pieced together what happened. Can you believe it?!"
Niobe must've still been hanging around the estate and filled her in.
"It's insane. What kind of guy does that? He's your mother's nephew, grabbing your weakness to shove you out of the heir spot!"
"You're the insane one."
Viol shot Arios an irritated glare as she fumed.
"How the hell did you even get in here? I never permitted you to enter the palace!"
"Just walked in."
"What?"
"Sneaking into a place like this palace? Piece of cake. Oh, your guard knights spotted me, but when they checked with their captain, they just let me through."
Viol clamped her mouth shut. Arios chattering away so casually, even dropping informal speech to the emperor herself—it was so absurd she couldn't even get mad.
"..."
"Well, if she wants to come, we can't stop her."
Surprisingly, Sibylius backed Arios while Viol was speechless.
"She's not empty-handed, so let's hear her out. Seres, ask her about the estate."
Oh, right. Arios had swung by our place, so she'd have some idea what's going on.
"Seres, don't worry. Those two at the estate seem to be plotting something to sort it out."
She tried to reassure me.
"Couldn't get details, but your mother said she's busy and not to disturb her. The guard knight said the same—they'd handle it, so don't sweat it."
"Got it."
"...You're not worried?"
Arios gave me a weird look at my nonchalant reply.
"Nah, not really."
I just voiced my honest thoughts. Yeah, I wasn't fussed. Ares might not adore me, but the guy's her nephew—threatening the family head to steal the heir position? She'd handle it no matter what, so I figured she'd find a way soon enough.
And if I'd really wanted Nemeth or Hairel gone, I could've made it happen ages ago. One word to Viol, and they'd turn up as mysterious corpses.
"Mom'll take care of it. Why should I bother?"
With everything else chaotic lately, I didn't want to waste energy on stuff that'd resolve itself.
But when I said that outright, everyone stared at me strangely.
"Seres, you...?"
"You're not just giving up, are you?"
To Sibylius and Viol, my attitude must've looked like total surrender.
"Come to think of it, you've been off lately."
"Like the venom's drained right out of you."
Viol fretted, and Sibylius frowned. I wanted to fire back: So I was full of venom before? Makes sense—they might see it that way since I'd kept rejecting their "love."
"...Speaking of Black Pain. Where do you think it's hidden?"
I considered arguing but switched topics instead.
Pulling out Black Pain out of nowhere left all three baffled.
"Somewhere secret in the Huferion estate, guarded tight, right?"
"No, probably a spot no one would ever guess."
"Definitely a place that'd mock anyone searching. The Huferions are all twisted like that. Honestly, even you, Seres."
Sibylius, Arios, and Viol chimed in one by one—Viol nailed it.
"Inside the corpse of one of the dead past family heads."
"What?!"
I explained to a shocked Arios.
"Black Pain can fit inside a human body. They used that to store it in a corpse."
"...That's certainly a blind spot."
"They bury those corpses in hidden spots no one knows about—to prevent grave robbers, you'd think. But who'd imagine using a body as a safe instead?"
"Classic Huferion style. See? Told you."
Sibylius reacted like she hadn't considered it, while Viol smirked triumphantly.
Then Viol's expression turned odd.
"But... you sure it's okay telling us?"
"What's it matter?"
Ares was carrying it around now. She'd hand it to me before dying, I bet. She must've sensed it might not make it in time if she waited for my crisis.
From here on, family heads would just keep it on them. So it wasn't a big deal—the real issue was something else.
"...How do I know the seal's location?"
"You're the heir; of course you know. Memories coming back bit by bit?"
"...Yeah, they just flooded in."
I laughed hollowly. That's how I realized my suspicions were spot on.
This wasn't possession—it was reincarnation. I'd reincarnated as Seres, lived that life, then the head injury shock brought back my past life's memories. The original ones vanishing made me think it was possession.
The absurdity of it all had left me too drained to do much lately.
Surrounded by the three women eyeing me awkwardly, that's how I passed the time—until.
"Where's Seres?!"
A familiar voice called for me, and Viol's face hardened.
"Ah, so you're all here."
"You think this is your personal bedroom, you bitches? Hames, why are you here too?"
After Arios, Hames showed up. Viol scowled at her, but Hames ignored it and approached me.
"Good news."
"What?"
I asked, bracing for whatever, but her answer was so out of left field it jolted even my listless body.
"The capital's temple will prove your bloodline and officially certify you as a saint."