227. The Saintess and the Princess (1)
227. The Saintess and the Princess (1)
- 1 -
No matter how dark it grew, the diligent never rested.
The official from the Han Nation, a Prince with no succession rights, was reviewing documents late into the night in his study.
"...What is this?"
A strange premonition suddenly crawled up his spine.
When he raised his eyes and looked out the window, he saw the spire of Hylash sinking into a faint mist.
He rubbed his eyes and opened them again, but it had already vanished.
"Was I imagining things..."
And then, soon after.
He noticed an anomaly that should never have occurred.
"...Wait a moment."
Among the numerous ornaments he always wore.
He discovered that the pendant on the necklace he kept around his neck had lost its light.
The Forbidden One, Sangoyo Saya.
It was the ornament bound to the ancient dragon called the Silk of the Full Moon.
"This is absurd."
Panicked, he activated the location-tracking sorcery connected to the token and unfurled his map.
The light extending from the necklace pendant pointed to a single spot on the map.
Saya's last location was in the mountains, a day's journey from the royal capital.
And there, the signal had been cut off.
It could mean one of two things. But excluding the nearly impossible option, only one remained.
Suicide.
'No way.'
The mere thought sent a chill down his spine.
The binding spell placed on this ancient dragon had been a project the imperial family had poured immense effort into.
If the Prince had not won her heart through carefully crafted fate and his all-out, sincere advances, securing her as his escort would have been impossible, no matter how much effort was spent.
If it were discovered that he had lost such a person as her...
'No, they've likely already discovered it.'
He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth.
He had to abandon the idea that the token in his possession was the only one. There would be other tokens tracking her in the Han Nation, or worse, in the Hwa Nation.
Now, the trade with Hysen was no longer the issue.
He had to retrieve her. If she were not alive, then at least her corpse.
She was a valuable asset of the imperial family.
So much so that the Han Nation considered distributing her bloodline to the Eastern Continent to be something of a burden.
"Azure Bird. Black Viper."
The two rings he wore on his left hand glowed.
The light flowed somewhere, and soon two spectral figures appeared before him.
A blue bird, and a black lizard.
"Azure Bird. Send a report to the home country. Inform them that an abnormality has occurred with the Forbidden One's divine transformation."
"Black Viper. Find the Forbidden One. If not her, then even her corpse."
The Prince commanded the figures who had bowed their heads before him.
And after hesitating for a moment, he soon raised his hand to his collar.
He was an agent who had pledged loyalty to the imperial family, not to his own interests, but now was not the time to be picky.
"Snowstorm."
Another ornament hung around his neck.
White light seeped from the golden choker.
It soon outlined a human shape, and that figure raised its blue eyes to glare at the Prince.
Disrespectful words flowed from its mouth.
- What has happened?
"The Forbidden One's divine transformation has vanished. Find her."
- For that loyal dog to cause trouble. What on earth did you do, Prince?
At the white figure's sneer, the Prince's face hardened.
Humiliation and anger.
But he could not say anything.
Because it was his own fault as her current lord for failing to properly discern her heart.
"Find her. Quickly."
All he could do was activate the sorcery engraved on the ornament and issue commands.
Displeasure and contempt resided in the blue eyes of the white figure.
However, it said nothing and vanished from the spot.
Only silence remained where Snowstorm had disappeared.
- 2 -
"Bring more alcohol!"
Duke Astermark's mansion was filled with the heat of a fateful banquet.
This banquet, which had continued for days, was for the sake of a single person.
Saintess Esther.
Visiting as a war mediator from the Holy Kingdom, her dignified bearing and noble conduct had instantly captured the Duke's heart.
It was the reason he faithfully followed the royal order to 'sever contact with Ironfield' while simultaneously looking for a way to demote his current legal wife to a second wife.
Marriage to the Saintess required the royal family's mediation, after all.
"Saintess! Please try this liquor! It is a rarity that can only be tasted in our family!"
The Duke was that sincere.
So much so that he casually ignored the age gap of over twenty years between himself and Esther.
To the point of turning a blind eye to the worry that this approach might be wrong.
"I apologize, but a cleric must refrain from excessive drinking. I feel I would become intoxicated if I have any more. So..."
Esther politely declined, but her expression was dark.
She was not in the mood to deal with each of his persistent advances right now.
Because her search for a 'Revelation' over the past few days had not gone well.
No matter how much she searched, she could not learn where the source was.
"I do not mean to sully the Saintess's holiness. It is just that..."
But the Duke had no intention of giving up today of all days.
He had been openly showing his impatience toward her for days already, and she had been completely ignoring him.
For the Duke, who considered himself not bad even among middle-aged men, it was something that secretly wounded his pride.
His eyes grew clouded.
"For today at least, let us be a little more comfortable... Hmm?"
Suddenly, the banquet hall stirred.
People's gazes focused on one place.
Toward the three women who were entering through the door.
A glamorous noblewoman in a black dress, and the silver-haired and golden-haired knights standing beside her.
All of them were beautiful, but the noblewoman's appearance was especially graceful.
"It is Countess Volonte."
At the appearance of the new beauty, the strength drained from the Duke's hands.
Esther seized the opportunity to step back a few paces.
'Haah...'
Sighing internally, she too looked at the beautiful women who had appeared in the hall.
As it happened, they were approaching her.
"Saintess. This is my first time meeting you. I am called Wilia Volonté."
"I am also pleased to meet you."
Esther smiled.
Countess Volonte's voice possessed a calm yet deep resonance, like quicksilver flowing over velvet.
'...Have I seen her somewhere before?'
The moment their eyes met, a part of her chest grew warm.
There was a fondness for a benefactor who had rescued her from a difficult situation, but it was not just that.
'As if I've met an old friend...'
What was this sense of comfort?
Because of this, she failed to detect the demonic energy this woman was concealing.
"Your Grace. Would it be alright if I had a brief conversation with the Saintess?"
Esther noticed one peculiarity in her manner of speaking.
The excessive politeness, awkward familiarity, or lecherousness that most nobles displayed when dealing with her was absent.
Unless it was the genuine comfort one might feel when dealing with a truly old friend.
"Hmm..."
The Duke hesitated for a moment.
He could not make a judgment.
A subtle fragrance brushed past the tip of his nose. A certain special scent mixed into the sweet aroma of the banquet hall.
"Th-that is..."
"From what I've heard, the garden here is incredibly beautiful."
Lady Volonte smoothly cut off his words.
Her manner of speaking was so natural that no one noticed the rudeness.
"Saintess. How about taking a stroll with me?"
Esther nodded immediately. Because she wanted to go anywhere to escape the suffocating atmosphere of the banquet hall.
"Then let us go together."
Esther met the Duke's eyes.
"It feels stuffy indoors. I shall excuse myself for a moment, Duke. I wish to converse just the two of us."
It was a statement that could not be refused.
The garden was a place visible to all the nobles, and the Saintess was now showing her reluctance toward meeting with him.
"Do as you wish."
The Duke eventually nodded. Though he did not miss his chance to say what needed to be said.
"However, as you are the guest of honor of this banquet, you must return soon."
"Of course."
An elegant smile rose on the lips of the dark-haired countess.
"I shan't go far, so please rest assured."
Esther followed her out of the banquet hall.
She could feel the gaze of the nobles, but the two female knights accompanying Lady Volonte naturally blocked those gazes and movements.
As she stepped out into the garden where starlight poured down, Esther inhaled deeply.
The night air was incredibly refreshing.
"Are you breathing a bit easier?"
"Yes..."
Esther nodded.
"It was a bit stuffy inside."
"I'm sure it was."
Lady Volonte smiled warmly.
"I, too, detest such gatherings. The kind of people who think they can achieve anything just by forcing their feelings on others."
The two walked in silence for a moment.
The silence with her was not uncomfortable. Rather, it felt pleasant.
It was strange.
That she felt so at ease, despite this being their first meeting.
"Is there somewhere you wish to go?"
At Lady Volonte's question, the gaze of Esther, who had been looking around, fell upon the edge of a pond.
"How about over there?"
"That's a good idea. This way..."
That was the moment.
"Oh dear."
The wine glass in the hand of a noblewoman passing by Countess Volonte's side wobbled.
Red wine spilled onto Wilia's dress.
"I-I'm sorry. I made a mistake..."
A noblewoman from an unnamed high-ranking noble family.
Her voice was filled with embarrassment, but her eyes told a completely different story.
This 'mistake' was...
'Intentional. Why...?'
Esther hesitated over how to warn Wilia about it.
That this woman, whoever she was, was using some kind of trick.
In that moment, Wilia Volonté - Yuran's eyes curved gracefully.
'If you want to cause a commotion, I shall grant it to you.'
There was no way she wouldn't recognize the 'enemy's' intention.
"Oh my."
She lifted the hem of her dress and spoke.
She seemed not to care that people's gazes were drawn beneath her skirt.
"This here. It's quite an expensive piece, you see."
Yuran's voice was still gentle.
But Esther could clearly feel the temperature difference between her voice now and a moment ago.
The countess now was a different person from the one who had been looking at Esther.
"I apologize. I will provide compensation..."
"Would you be able to comprehend the value of this dress, my lady?"
The air in the garden froze.
There was clear provocation in her words.
"...What do you mean?"
"It is a dress made by an artisan of the Western Continent. Its value is on par with that of the average mansion. I am inquiring whether you possess the equivalent funds."
The noblewoman's face turned bright red with humiliation.
Her goal had been to cause a commotion, but she had not expected to hear words that immediately connected to her honor in this way.
"There's no way repairing the clothes could cost that much money...!"
"Calm yourself, my lady."
Wilia unfurled her fan.
But the eye-smile above that fan clearly betrayed the fact that she was sneering.
Esther found it curious that, despite the lady's thoroughly aristocratic attitude, she felt oddly unbothered by it.
"Of course, I am joking. However, it is true that this is a sum that cannot be easily compensated for. How do you intend to repay this?"
The sound of giggles could be heard from around them.
The noblewoman's face could now barely manage to suppress a grimace of rage.
"Countess Volonte. You are speaking excessively."
As the attention of the other nobles gathered, the noblewoman's knight strode boldly forward.
In his posture, with a hand resting on his ceremonial weapon, the coercive intent to 'end this conversation' was clearly evident.
"Allow me a word as a knight."
Evangeline coldly sneered as she blocked his path.
Along with her high and ringing voice, her eyes gleamed icily.
"That gesture of yours seems to be a threat directed at our lord. Are you attempting to intimidate our family right now?"
When Evangeline pointed out his hand gripping the weapon, the knight's face flushed crimson.
But he had already stepped forward.
He fully placed his hand upon his sword and then spoke challengingly to Evangeline.
"If that is the case, let us settle this with a duel. That would be the cleanest way."
A somewhat heavier, but colder, smile spread across Evangeline's lips.
Because that was precisely the proposal she had been hoping for.
As the two knights' hands rested upon their swords, all the surrounding nobles sent cheers their way.
"What an entertaining event."
"The famous Countess Volonte and her knight these days... She's been refusing duels all this time, but now I finally get to see this female knight's skill."
"Women, honestly... Why on earth did she try to interfere with a conversation with the Saintess?"
While people's gazes were focused on Evangeline and Yuran, Shue quietly took hold of Esther's arm.
"This way..."
At her whisper, Esther turned her head.
She knew instinctively. That if she didn't escape now, there would be no way out of the Duke's grasp.
But.
"How do you intend to manage this? I am the main guest of the banquet..."
"You don't like that, right? It's fine. The two of them will handle the rest..."
Only then did Esther notice that her presence was not noble at all.
Somehow suspicious.
But her steps did not stop.
Because, strange as it was, she felt far too familiar to be perceived as suspicious.
As Esther briefly glanced back over her shoulder at the garden, Yuran saw her off with a gentle eye-smile over her fan.
- 3 -
- Hahaha! Excellent!
The evening in the royal capital was bustling with all sorts of banquets.
All manner of sounds coming from beyond the walls brushed past my ears.
But the place I was heading today was not a noble's banquet hall.
The ancient archduke's mansion.
This mansion, neglected because it had failed to find a suitable candidate, but which actually already had a master, was my destination.
"There should be a path underground near here. 'It was the same before.'"
Saya walked ahead, feeling her way along the wall with her hands.
And soon after, she pressed a few bricks.
"You're good at finding it."
"It is a skill to be of use to you, Master."
Saya responded politely, yet with an elated demeanor.
The excessive excitement she'd shown at the memory implantation had long since disappeared, but she still maintained a lively energy beside me, like a small animal.
Kkeugeugeuk...
Before us, the door to the mansion's basement opened.
"...Cough. I apologize. The resentment is..."
"It's dreadful."
A scream could be heard. The screams of those with nowhere to go.
Something more disgusting than the smell of rot rose from the basement.
Something even more terrible than death was waiting for me in that darkness below.