241. Winter Flower (3)
241. Winter Flower (3)
- 1 -
Morning arrived in the garden of Narcissus Palace.
Amid the cold winter wind, white puffs of breath rose into the air.
Even though February had already arrived, beneath a sky so overcast it seemed ready to snow, Yurena gazed at the nobles who filled the garden.
"Haa..."
She let out a tense sigh.
Her shoulders, exposed above the dress cut a little thicker than usual, were rigid with tension.
In her hands, the silver narcissus-shaped ornaments she was to present to the head ladies-in-waiting sparkled and gleamed.
The Head Lady-in-waiting Appointment Ceremony.
Today was the day Yuran and Etna were to officially become her closest attendants.
And this, in effect, was no different from the formal inauguration of yet another faction within the royal household.
A faction that, for the moment, would be regarded as an extension of either the King's faction or the Princess's faction.
"Do not be too nervous, Your Highness."
Etna spoke in a whisper.
Jet-black eyes and twitching antennae.
Her entire body overflowed with signs that she was a monster, yet her manner was already indistinguishable from that of a lady-in-waiting raised in the court for many years.
Her movements were disciplined, her speech courteous.
'A monster, becoming a princess's head lady-in-waiting.'
'That thing is a monster? ... It looks rather like a slightly unusual human.'
The nobles' gazes grew sharp.
A very small minority... those who had already become 'Narcissus' saw things a little differently, but it truly was only a tiny minority.
Most of the nobles still could not accept the current state of affairs in which a monster was becoming a head lady-in-waiting.
They did not, however, voice their complaints aloud.
Because this was the official appointment ceremony for a head lady-in-waiting, formally recognized by the royal household.
"For such a thing to truly come to pass..."
"It is the King's decree."
The nobles murmured and exchanged glances, but they merely cast looks of discontent, nothing more.
"We will begin."
The voice of the count who served as the Royal Steward echoed through the garden.
The sunlight illuminated his graying hair, creating a solemn atmosphere.
Yurena drew a small breath.
Without realizing it, she tightly grasped the hand of Willia... of Yuran, who stood beside her.
"Worry not, Your Highness."
Yuran's gentle voice seemed to support her back.
'For my sister's sake.'
Libertas's plan to seize control of Hysen was nearing completion.
- 2 -
"Place that pot beside the roses. We must not lose the identity of Narcissus Palace."
An elegant, antique voice resonated through the inner chamber.
A warm tone and gentle voice, despite the natural condescension.
The gestures of the woman dressed in a neat attendant's formal uniform were like those of a head lady-in-waiting who had served the royal household for many years.
It was strangely incongruous that the face belonging to these mannerisms and speech was so exceedingly young.
Black hair and violet eyes. The woman using the name 'Philia Elskopf' possessed a beauty rare even in this world.
"Place the purple narcissus by the window. Considering the angle of the sunlight, position it so that it appears most beautiful from within."
The servants moved according to her instructions.
The potted flowers, along with all manner of paintings and porcelain, gradually found their places.
The flowers, imbued with mana, would bloom regardless of the season.
"As expected of the Chief Lady Scribe."
"It is quite beautiful, even without adhering to existing forms."
The attendants and ladies-in-waiting who had a moment to spare whispered to one another in admiration.
The attendants and ladies-in-waiting who had witnessed their 'master's' eye for the first time could not stop their praise.
They too were aware.
That this beautiful Narcissus Palace was gradually being transformed into a dungeon.
For their identities were also those of monsters.
"Bring that emerald ornament over here. Arrange it so that it harmonizes with the jade ornament."
The moment the emerald ornament was hung upon the tapestry, the mana in the vicinity rippled subtly.
A movement so discreet it could not be detected from the outside.
Moreover, the flowers in the garden were also delicately assisting this flow of mana.
'To think that all of this is part of a magic formation.'
The attendants' and ladies-in-waiting's eyes glinted darkly.
They could not feel the mana seeping into every corner of the palace, but for a little while now, they had sensed their own mana moving more smoothly and intensely.
Within this space, the power of the demon tribe was strengthened, while the movements of divinity and ordinary mana were constricted.
Tak!
Of course, only when Libertas willed it.
"Splendid. Well done, everyone. You may go and rest now."
""Thank you for your hard work!""
She looked around her.
At the inner chamber where everything — pots, chandeliers, mirrors, furniture — constituted part of a vast magic formation.
Implanted in the central formation were several of the dungeon cores she had acquired beforehand.
Libertas's eyes shone as she beheld their positions.
"Master... you look happy."
Shue approached her side.
Shue, clad in the formal attire of a noble knight, looked at Libertas, her red eyes shimmering with playfulness.
After a brief show of respect, the White Wolf blatantly drew close, raised Libertas's hand, and began to escort her.
"It is rather agreeable. Even if we occupy Hysen, there will be no need to destroy the palace."
Libertas smiled faintly.
The experience of serving as a lady-in-waiting in the Demon Realm had proven useful here as well.
"Peace in the enemy camp... how very special."
Shue took Libertas's hand and brought her lips to the slender wrist.
The passion and affection dwelling in those red eyes were the sort that stirred the heart of the one receiving the courtesy as well.
"Perhaps it is."
Libertas stroked Shue's silvery-white hair.
The wolf-kin's ears and tail, invisible to others, twitched.
The palace was slowly changing.
Outwardly, it was filled with ordinary ornaments and plants, but in truth, Libertas's mana was enveloping the entire palace.
Within this Narcissus Palace, Libertas could utilize the majority of the abilities she could wield within a dungeon.
- 3 -
"Haa..."
Esther let out a sigh.
She could not help it, if only to ease her stifled heart.
"Your Eminence. The envoy from the Holy Kingdom awaits."
At the voice of the newly assigned lady-in-waiting, she nodded.
Her white eyes gazed past the slowly opening door.
'Master...'
By now, her other comrades would be by their master's side, replenishing her components and receiving ample healing.
Yet she herself had to endure, subjected to sharp glances amid the tiresome envoys of the Holy Kingdom.
Were it not for her master's sake, she would never have been able to bear it.
Were it not for her sense of duty as a saintess and her loyalty to Libertas, it would hardly be strange if a cleric's mutilated corpse were discovered one day.
"You appear weary."
As if seeing right through her, the envoy in a black priest's robe who had entered the courtyard addressed her.
His tone was courteous, but his eyes held sharpness.
'They've even mobilized an Inquisitor.'
Inquisitor.
Elite agents of the Holy Kingdom who handled all manner of dark deeds; fanatics of the Goddess.
Those who knew well the darkness of the Holy Kingdom. Those deeply involved even in selling off saints.
Answerable only to the command of the Pope, they were individuals who, given clear orders and purpose, would not hesitate to murder or torture saints.
"Is it not time for you to return to your homeland and rest?"
The underlying message — 'I cannot compel you, but I wish to compel you' — pierced Esther entirely.
Strength entered her hand, the one that gripped a hammer. Her hand kept reaching for a weapon.
Esther strove to show no emotion on her face as she looked down at the black-clad priest.
His keen gaze did not miss her fingertips.
"I still have work left to do here."
Esther's voice was quiet.
But within, she was violent.
She wished to return. Not to the Holy Kingdom, but to her master's embrace.
The shadow of the Pope was no longer her 'place to return to.'
"I am concerned for Your Eminence's health."
The envoy's voice dropped a tone.
A voice edged with a covert blade.
"Lest you have overstayed..."
Esther's fingertips trembled.
She knew all too well the truth hidden behind that hypocritical concern.
The impulse to swing her hammer surged up.
The Inquisitors had been among her chief enemies in her 'past life.'
"It is His Holiness who has instructed me to remain here. I find this place somewhat more comfortable now."
"Hmm. That is... a fortunate thing, but."
'As I thought.'
Esther sighed inwardly.
The Holy Kingdom was still thinking of ways to sell her off at 'a good price.'
Ways to make her set aside her qualifications as a saintess naturally.
The fortunate thing was that saints who left the order in that manner did not necessarily lose their power as saints.
'If I give them hints in this way, excommunication will be off the table.'
Only the forcible stripping of holy power through formal excommunication, carried out with the person's voluntary participation, could cause a saint to lose their power.
That was how her past self had lost hers.
'And then they caught me again.'
Magical experiments upon a former saint.
Had it not been for the 'seniors' within the prison and the very few 'righteous' clerics within the Holy Kingdom, she, in the first round, would never have even been able to meet her master.
The Holy Kingdom was an organization rotted down to its roots.
If she returned there, she would never come out again.
Tamping endless disappointment and resentment deep into her heart, she smiled.
"These days, Her Highness the Princess wishes to grow closer to me. Additionally, there are still elements of instability here. I would find it difficult to leave her side and the little lambs just yet."
"Hmm..."
Furthermore, these words stripped away every scrap of justification the Holy Kingdom possessed.
For they encompassed both the 'sale of a saint' they desired and the 'salvation' that was their fundamental cause.
"Understood. I shall report it as such to the Holy Kingdom."
In the end, the Inquisitor withdrew from the spot and vanished.
Watching the hem of the black sacred cloth disappear beyond the inner courtyard, Esther leaned against the training hall window and gazed at Narcissus Palace, visible in the distance.
Wondering if the silhouette glimpsed far away beyond the glass window might be her master's.
'Yurena.'
Afterward, the one who surfaced in her mind was a certain girl who would be there.
Her master's young niece. Though her body had grown large from the experiments, her heart was that of a young woman.
'That child was also imprisoned for a long time.'
Restraint as a test subject, bondage as a saintess.
Both were positions lacking freedom.
But for Yurena now, at least her master was by her side.
Whereas she herself...
"Hoo."
She sighed and picked up the training hammer once more.
As long as the Holy Kingdom's surveillance continued, she could neither go to her master's side nor meet Yurena.
Only watching from afar was permitted.
- Prepare the saintess's garments.
- Another banquet? For someone already so pitiable...
- What can we do? We must do as our superiors command.
From the far side of the training hall came the sounds of busy footsteps and the whispering of servants.
Everyone was busy preparing for the nobles' banquet soon to be held.
Esther felt her situation anew.
She would once again have to attend that banquet as a 'saintess.'
Enduring the gazes of the nobles, enduring their covetous eyes.
Hwoong—!
'Even so, it will be soon now.'
She thought as she raised her hammer.
Soon, everything would be over, and she would be able to return to her master's side.
Once Yurena's situation was stabilized, she herself could stand beside her and further solidify her position.
When that happened, this farce would also be at an end.
- Caw.
"Welcome, Mary."
- Esther. You have worked hard. At the present castle...
Her heart grew lighter at the news of her master delivered through the crow's beak.
She was grateful that she at least had this little messenger.
- 4 -
I felt a smile rise unbidden to my lips as I watched the endless stream of supplies entering Narcissus Palace.
"They bring tribute to me of their own accord."
"Indeed they do."
Saya lowered her head in reply.
"They do it under the impression Yurena does not know what it is, but..."
"Their misdeeds prove helpful."
What the servants of the Hysen royal household were moving now were items that had been in the underground of the old Grand Ducal Palace.
Namely, the Hysen royal household's research materials concerning the demon tribe and their bloodlines.
And now, all of those things were mine.