The Prince's Trap
The Heretic Inquisitor (5)
The prince was quite the actor, but I was no slouch myself when it came to performing. I never let my true feelings show on the surface and always did my utmost as a priest whenever he visited. Perhaps because of that, the prince seemed to have the mistaken impression that we were growing close.
At first he had only pretended to be friendly, but before long he was speaking to me casually and asking personal questions without hesitation.
“What do you usually do, Father? Every time I come, you’re always in the temple. Don’t you ever go outside? Isn’t there a rule that priests can’t go out for leisure? Even if you wanted to pursue a hobby, you’d have to leave the temple, wouldn’t you?”
What hobbies could there possibly be in this world? All I needed was time to rest.
“I usually spend my free time praying or studying.”
“…You really live a dull life. Is there nothing you want?”
“If something catches my eye, I buy it right away.”
I didn’t have many desires, so when I did want something, I simply purchased it. As I’d mentioned before, priests were not short on money. Especially someone like me—a senior healer who saw a great many patients—earned quite handsomely. The additional fees I received per patient added up quickly into substantial sums.
“That’s true. They say you’re the youngest senior priest. You probably don’t lack for money. Still, maybe it’s because you’re a priest, but you really don’t seem to understand. Saying you have nothing you want… that doesn’t make sense.”
“?”
Why wouldn’t it make sense to have no desires? Perhaps because I showed interest, the prince continued with eyes burning with intensity.
“Do you have any idea how many things in this world can stimulate a person’s greed?! This is clearly the result of inexperience. I’d like to show you the sense of fulfillment that comes from seizing the things that awaken human desire, one by one. Spending all day cooped up in this boring temple looking at blood—how could you possibly develop proper desires?”
“……”
If I had truly been an ordinary priest, I might have felt my heart waver at his words. Like a country bumpkin longing to visit the city. But I was someone who had already enjoyed a dazzling urban life in my previous existence.
I was a Seoul native, you know.
There was no way I didn’t understand the glamour of this world. Still, I kept my expression neutral.
“How about it? Why don’t you come outside with me? If a priest wishes it, I can show you an entirely new world.”
“……”
Go outside together and show me a new world? At first glance, one might mistake it for genuine goodwill. But the prince’s proposal hid a fatal trap.
If I followed him, he would undoubtedly expose me to the luxury and debauchery enjoyed by the nobility.
If it were my first taste of such luxury and pleasure, my eyes would probably roll back in my head.
For an ordinary priest, that is.
I could roughly guess how the prince saw me.
He must see me as a blank white sheet of paper.
Because he was a wicked man, he seemed to take great pleasure in doing wicked things. The prince was desperate to stain me—his pristine white canvas—black by any means necessary.
“Once you realize there is a world you don’t know, you won’t be able to stop thanking me.”
Yes, it would certainly be fun and enjoyable at first. Even though I already knew exactly what those things were, if I followed him and experienced the real thing, maintaining my composure would be difficult. Once you dipped even a toe into that ink, you could never return to being a pure white sheet.
The serious corruption among priests is largely because of things like this.
Priests raised in the temple from childhood and then sent out into the world were too pure; they quickly became stained. And I had no intention of knowingly walking into a trap when I could clearly see what would happen next.
“I’m sorry, but I’m too busy with work. It would be difficult for me to leave the temple for personal time.”
“A priest can’t even have personal time? That’s quite problematic, isn’t it?”
My gaze must have sharpened unconsciously at his criticism of the Holy Empire’s system. The prince suddenly raised both hands and said,
“I had no intention of insulting the Holy Empire. I admit that was a slip of the tongue.”
“The Church has no problems. It’s simply that I am lacking. I will work even harder so that I don’t hear such things again.”
In other words, I had to work, so I had no time to go play with him. When I looked at him with that meaning fully conveyed in my eyes, the prince seemed to realize he had no choice and took a step back.
“What a shame. If you experienced it just once, I’m sure your thoughts would change.”
Although he had withdrawn gracefully because of his verbal slip, I doubted this would be the end. After the prince left, having left me with that uneasy feeling, Princess Reciel came to visit.
Just as often as the prince visited the temple, Princess Reciel refused to stay idle.
“Did that bastard come again today?”
“Yes.”
“He really doesn’t know when to give up.”
I wondered if she realized how impressive her own tenacity was, following the prince’s every move so persistently.
“The reason I came today is to let you know that it’s about time we entered the Labyrinth.”
The fact that she came in person instead of sending a messenger was itself a show of consideration.
“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t let me enter the Labyrinth?”
“I can’t keep suppressing you with that order forever. The prince will soon lead a subjugation force into the Labyrinth. We will enter around the same time. So I’d like you to start preparing as well, Father.”
Princess Reciel, who claimed to feel nauseous just looking at the prince’s face, would never suggest entering the dangerous Labyrinth together with him.
“We won’t be going in together. Once he enters, we’ll follow after. In a completely different direction so we don’t run into him.”
“Ah~”
It would probably be more comfortable for her to have us moving behind him rather than risk having him catch her from behind.
“Still, there’s no guarantee we won’t encounter Prince Loras inside the Labyrinth. Wouldn’t that be very dangerous?”
Of course, the Labyrinth wasn’t completely without watchful eyes, but it was a far better environment for committing crimes than the outside world.
“That doesn’t matter at all. That bastard has always tried to kill me anyway.”
She was already constantly under threat to her life outside, so there was nothing new about the danger simply moving into the Labyrinth. It was not something one could say so casually. Yet Princess Reciel spoke of such horrific things as if they were nothing.
Being threatened shouldn’t be treated as normal.
As expected, I was right to help these people. It would be far better for the Holy Empire if Princess Canaby—who at least seemed normal—became emperor rather than that insidious man.
“…Understood. Then I will prepare to enter the Labyrinth.”
“Good. The next Labyrinth subjugation will absolutely not fail. I’ve studied a lot in the meantime, so look forward to it.”
It would take a full two weeks for the prince’s subjugation force to prepare. We would enter the Labyrinth two weeks from now as well.
“This time we’ll go as deep as possible. As you know, the Labyrinth changes its terrain every three months. We’ll use that to our advantage and head as deep as we can without worrying about the return trip.”
By now, everyone knew that the Labyrinth reshaped its interior every three months. The subjugation forces were already racking their brains to take advantage of it.
“It may be fine this time, but we don’t know how long the Labyrinth will continue to show such mercy. Planning around the fact that it sends people out every three months is not wise.”
“You’re telling me not to use something so convenient?”
The Labyrinth’s mercy would not last forever. It changed its terrain every three months, yet it sent everyone outside so they wouldn’t get caught in the shift? If I had never entered the Labyrinth myself, I might have simply thought it fortunate. But having clearly remembered its malice, I had instead grown curious why it would go to such troublesome lengths.
When everyone began to take for granted that the terrain would change every three months and spit them back outside—just as Princess Reciel did—what would happen if it suddenly stopped showing that consideration?
They would only have brought supplies for a maximum of three months. By then, would they have any left for the return journey?
Not killed by monsters, but starved to death. What an absurd way to go.
It was possible the Labyrinth was like the witch in fairy tales who fattened up captured children before eating them—waiting until its prey had grown plump and juicy.
“So you’re saying that sending people out every three months is itself a massive trap?”
“Why would the Labyrinth do anything that benefits us? We are intruders who eliminate the monsters living inside it.”
“Surprisingly… that makes sense.”
Fortunately, Princess Reciel did not dismiss my words.
“I didn’t expect you to give me advice like this…. I’ll seriously consider it.”
“Yes.”
“If it hadn’t come from you, I would have kept using that method to plan our expeditions. And one day, when what had been taken for granted was no longer so, we would have faced a crisis.”
“I’m only worried because it seems many people will fall into the trap the Labyrinth has planned.”
It was foolish not to take advantage of something that clearly benefited you. Yet the fact that someone like the princess would immediately reconsider her plans upon hearing my words felt even stranger.
Most people who heard what I said would think, Just this once. One more time! and keep using it until they suffered for it. The fact that the Labyrinth used psychological traps made my skin crawl.
On the surface it pretends to be kind, but underneath it’s full of malice. In that sense, it’s quite similar to Prince Loras. Since they suit each other so well, I hope they stay together for a long time.
The longer the prince stayed inside the Labyrinth, the less pressure would fall on Princess Canaby and Princess Reciel.
“Will you tell the others about this as well?”
“I’d like to, but what weight would my words carry with them?”
I wasn’t anyone special—just a senior healer. Of course, to ordinary people a senior healer would be an enormously high-ranking figure, but to those in power, I was merely a senior healer.
Advising them not to use a method that saves supplies and maximizes efficiency would probably sound absurd to them.