Chapter 225
Chapter 225
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 225
Chapter Title: The Voice of God
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At the same time Ian was receiving the report from the mage, Dillaina's attendant was also sprinting down a dark corridor.
Ever since it became known that Arsen was a Mana User, guests had been visiting her palace day and night without distinction.
The same held true now. At the entrance to the reception room, attendants aside from Dillaina's own lined up waiting for their masters, all unfamiliar faces.
“What commotion is this in the middle of the night?”
The attendant chief rebuked him with dignity as he arrived gasping for breath.
But the attendant paid no mind and quietly reported in a voice no one else could hear.
“It's urgent. Please send word in. A priest from the Carbo Temple has just entered the palace.”
A priest entering the palace? In the middle of the night? The attendant chief, flustered, led him inside.
As they passed through the middle doors and drew closer, the sorrowful sighs of high-ranking officials reached their ears.
“In the end, Erikse stamped the indictment.”
“I should've just killed him if I knew it would come to this. Tsk, tsk.”
“That's asking for big trouble. Everyone's caught on informally. From the Judiciary Minister down, no one's shown up for work, so they've realized it's no ordinary matter. But what if someone ends up dead—how do you plan to handle the aftermath?”
“Exactly. If Lord Ian digs into that side and makes an issue of it, things will spiral out of control. We've done everything we could within our power.”
“I heard there was even a brawl at the Judiciary?”
“Pretending not to know and breaking the mages' arms would have felt satisfying.”
“Hmm. Since it was filed today, if they push it through quickly, the Grand Council will convene before the Mana Confirmation Ritual. How many do we have on our side right now? Send word that as many as possible can't attend to push the date back. That's our only option.”
Knock knock.
Creak.
The attendant made a sound and opened the door.
The high-ranking officials looked on curiously, but she quickly approached Dillaina and whispered.
“A priest from the Carbo Temple has urgently entered the palace. There seems to have been a problem while transporting the Light of the Oracle, and they're requesting assistance.”
“What?”
Dillaina's eyes widened in an instant.
Wasn't this completely unexpected good news?
With the date still a bit away, for a priest to enter the palace personally seeking help meant they had come quite close.
For them, who needed to hold the Mana Confirmation Ritual before the Grand Council, this was extremely welcome news.
“Lady Dillaina? What's wrong?”
“A priest from the Carbo Temple has entered the palace. Seems there was a problem on the way, and they're close to the capital now.”
The sorrowful sighs had already turned into joyful exclamations.
The ministers reflexively clapped their hands in delight.
“Oh! That's great. How fortunate.”
“To come from Carbo Temple to the capital, they have to cross the eastern mountains. If there's a problem, it's likely there. The path is so steep and rugged that it was only recently cleared. If they hadn't known, the carriage would have broken down.”
They had been lamenting anxiously over Erikse filing the indictment, but now the situation had flipped again.
Ian had personally announced that the Mana Confirmation Ritual would be held as soon as the Light of the Oracle arrived, so they just needed to bring it in first, right?
“They must have gone to the Magic Department, then?”
“The Mana Confirmation Ritual falls under the Magic Department.”
“Lady Dillaina, send someone. The Magic Department wants to hold the Grand Council first, so they'll drag their feet pretending to help. Use the connection to the Carbo family and offer to assist directly. Let's hurry and bring in the Light of the Oracle.”
At the ministers' urging, Dillaina nodded.
There was no law saying they had to die— for such an opportunity to arise right after the indictment was filed.
She rose from her seat as if to go herself.
“I'll go see the priest personally. If it's the one who helped with the birth, they'll understand our position even better. You all wait here. I'll report back after handling it.”
At Dillaina's declaration of going out, the attendants bustled about.
They fetched her outer garment, summoned a carriage, and sent word to the Magic Department.
Once she left the reception room, the ministers sipped their wine glasses and added their thoughts.
“By the way, the situation is intriguing. At first, Lord Ian wanted to rush the Mana Confirmation Ritual, but now it's the complete opposite.”
“It's because Duke Haiman is in the middle of it.”
“Speaking of Haiman, I recall a rumor that the Duke requested aid from Ruswena.”
“Ah, I heard that too. Isn't it basically confirmed?”
“If so, does that mean 2nd Prince Gail is planning to flee to Ruswena?”
“What? What do you mean?”
That was the moment the rumor took its first step.
The one who opened his mouth twitched his eyebrows and whispered as quietly as possible.
“To be precise, it's an exile based on an engagement.”
“Hahaha! An engagement? 2nd Prince Gail is something else.”
“Hmm, but the timing is clever. Going to Ruswena not only saves his life but also checks both the Magic Department and Haiman at once, doesn't it?”
“From Ruswena's perspective, they'd welcome it. Securing Prince Gail gives them leverage over Bariel Empire, in whatever form. As long as 2nd Prince Gail draws breath, it's a burden to Arsen and Prince Jin.”
“But is it true?”
“We're verifying, but it doesn't seem like baseless gossip. We just got word that Lord Ian visited 2nd Prince Gail's palace. Probably to warn him about the exile.”
The ministers sipped their wine, calculating what winds Gail's exile might bring.
Would those winds carry the scent of blood, or sweetness?
The smell would differ depending on which side they stood on, so the ministers unwittingly fell silent.
“For now, it's best to watch and see.”
Clink—
They lightly clinked their wine glasses, left with no choice but to wait for Dillaina's return.
* * *
Neigh!
Creak!
A carriage came to an abrupt stop in front of the Magic Department.
Ian ascended the stairs with the mages.
The Magic Department was in disarray due to the visit of unfamiliar guests.
An attendant who spotted Ian approaching flung open the office door.
“You've been through a lot. It must have been painful.”
“No. It's healed up nicely now.”
“May the grace of the gods be with you—I pray sincerely.”
A woman in a robe knelt, conversing with Jin.
Siaoshi noticed Ian's arrival and stepped back.
“Oh, Lord Ian!”
“Prince Jin.”
Jin approached at Ian's call.
“A priest from the Carbo Temple. She says she saw me as a child, so we were exchanging warm greetings.”
“I see.”
The priests bowed in courtesy.
Beneath their white robes, translucent veils covered their eyes and mouths, hiding their faces.
Not even a fingertip emerged from their garments, so only their voices revealed them to be women.
“Pleased to meet you. I am Priest Abidel of the Carbo Temple. I apologize for visiting so late at night.”
“I am Makael.”
“I am Magic Department Minister Ian Hielroil. What brings you here? I heard there was a problem transporting the Light of the Oracle.”
“Yes. As you know, the Carbo Temple has little experience extracting the Light of the Oracle. Due to the sudden request, we set out in haste, and our preparations must have been inadequate.”
The Mana Confirmation Ritual itself was rarely held, and the Carbo Temple was not particularly close to the capital.
Aside from when Dillaina sought it for childbirth and occasional deliveries of oracles, there was almost no interaction.
By his estimate, this was likely the priests' first outing in a very long time.
“Did something happen to the carriage?”
“The wheels all broke while crossing a rocky mountain. The Light of the Oracle is fine, but we can't move, so we've come requesting help.”
Even with new wheels, the harp was so heavy and massive that two or three people would need to push together.
For priests who weren't specialists, it was bound to be an issue.
Ian fetched a map and spread it on the desk.
“The location?”
“We crossed two large rivers, so around here. It took half a day's hard ride from where we're stopped now to here.”
Ian gauged the route with his fingertip and paused.
They were closer than expected.
If they sent support now, it could arrive at the palace sooner than anticipated—before the Grand Council, meaning Arsen's Mana Confirmation Ritual could proceed.
Jin paced beside him, looking anxious.
“Lord Ian?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
What to do?
Romandro and the mages had bled from the nose to get the indictment filed, but if this happened, wouldn't it all be for nothing?
Ian smiled brightly, reading his uneasy mind.
“We'll send support.”
Publicly, they had to send it first.
But what to do once there could be decided based on the situation.
Ian instructed the one standing behind.
“Check what carriages we can send for support right now. The Light of the Oracle is heavy. Regular carriages won't do—factor that in.”
“Yes, understood.”
The priest placed a hand over her heart and bowed in gratitude.
Abidel's head tilted slightly toward Jin.
Though her gaze wasn't visible, she was clearly looking at his wound.
“If I may be so bold, how did Prince Jin come by that injury?”
“There was much unrest in the palace. It would take too long to explain each one.”
It was a response showing no intent to elaborate.
The Carbo Temple was deeply tied to Dillaina's family, after all.
In Ian's judgment, they had issued an absurd oracle that fully sparked Jin's misfortune.
Unable to trust them, he couldn't share information.
“The Magic Department also requested that, aside from the Light of the Oracle, the person who handled the oracles for Prince Jin and Prince Arsen accompany us. Is there no issue with that?”
Though phrased as a request, it was in fact a stamped official order.
At that, Abidel lifted her veil.
Freckles dotted the face beneath her pale brown eyes.
“Yes. You called for me, didn't you?”
“Priest Abidel, you?”
“Yes. And Makael is the priest handling this oracle.”
It matched the surgeon's testimony from back then.
He hadn't known the name, but hadn't it been a priest covered in freckles?
“I've always felt apologetic toward Prince Jin. Though it was the word of the gods, I was the one who delivered it. Being akin to a curse, I can't even imagine how much it crushed Your Highness.”
Jin flustered, his mouth agape.
But soon, he grasped the priest's hand and shook his head.
If there had been no irreverent intent, she had simply fulfilled her duty.
“I-it's not your fault.”
“Your Highness.”
But Ian was different.
Knowing the oracle itself was problematic, it was clear Abidel had either erred or deliberately caused the issue in the middle.
“Abidel. When you received that oracle, how many years had you been a priest?”
“It was my third year.”
Priests had no high or low rank, but among those who spent their lives in the temple until death, a third-year was...
“Hmm.”
“Why do you ask?”
“I'd like you to recount the circumstances of that time in detail once more.”
“Isn't it recorded?”
“Even so. There's something I need confirmed from your own mouth.”
Abidel bowed her head and recalled that day ten years ago.
It began with 'It was a rainy day,' just as the surgeon had said.
“At that time, I was praying with the other priests for a safe delivery. With the sole wish that our intentions reach the gods, we prostrated ourselves for hours, pleading.”
She testified calmly and steadily.
Then, she recited that curse.
“The one born later will harm the one born first. And if the one closest to the throne among the brothers dies, the imperial line will be completely severed—I heard that voice.”
“The voice. Yes. What was the voice of the god like?”
“Pardon?”
She asked back in surprise at the sudden question.
How could one remember a voice heard once ten years ago?
But cautiously, she ventured an answer.
“There was nothing distinctive about it. Just... clear and thin...”
As Abidel explained, Makael, who had been listening quietly beside her, lifted her head.
A hint of doubt flickered in her eyes.
“Why? Makael?”
“No, it's nothing.”
“It's something.”
“Well...”
She muttered awkwardly in embarrassment.
“In the oracle I heard, the voice of the god was low and heavy.”