Chapter 233: Rani Salome (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 233: Rani Salome (2)
December 14, 1797.
Jin and Murakan arrived in the Holy Kingdom of Vankella to meet Rani Salome.
The Holy Kingdom was in the midst of the Advent Festival, a week-long celebration commemorating the day the goddess Ayula first descended upon the land. It was the nation’s largest festival.
Colorful flags emblazoned with a “Dormant Volcano”—the symbol of Ayula—adorned every street corner.
“A dormant volcano… Every time I see it, I have to admit, humans chose a fitting symbol.”
Ayula, the Goddess of Peace, was the primary deity worshipped in the Holy Kingdom of Vankella. As Murakan remembered her, she was usually incredibly benevolent, but when enraged, she possessed a temper that could incinerate anything in her path.
“I heard that if any god caused too much trouble in the human world, Ayula would threaten them under the guise of a ‘consultation.’ Once, long before I was born, she supposedly erased one from existence. The God of Blessing, was it?”
“Is that so?”
“There was even a rumor among dragons that Ayula might have been the one who extinguished Numerus, the God of Hope. Either way, she’s a radical one.”
Pleasant melodies, laughter, and cheers filled the streets. The crowds were a mix of the Holy Kingdom’s citizens, tourists who had come to enjoy the festival, and journalists who were easy to spot.
And at the heart of the capital’s Grand Plaza, where the largest crowd had gathered, a stout old man stood on a platform, waving to the people.
With a golden staff in hand, a dormant volcano crown on his head, and a faint yellow aura of divine power enveloping his body, the man radiated kindness with a bright, even-toothed smile. This was none other than Holy King Miklan.
“Your Majesty the Holy King!”
“Long live the Holy King!”
The citizens’ adoration for Miklan was absolute. It was only natural; a Holy King who stripped the privileged classes of their perks to redistribute wealth among the commoners was a rarity in the kingdom’s history. Most kings granted even more privileges to the High Priests to reward them for their support during the coronation.
Jin and Murakan watched him from the plaza for a while.
So that man is Holy King Miklan, Rani’s father.
In his previous life, Jin had never seen Miklan from this close.
“So that fellow is the current Holy King?”
“Lower your voice, Murakan. Someone will hear you and cause an uproar.”
“Hmm. He feels more ordinary than I expected.”
“Really? Ordinary?”
Jin had felt something similar.
“How should I put it… The Holy Kings I’ve seen in the past all possessed a remarkable energy for mere humans. It wasn’t about being strong, but they had a divine presence that made them difficult to approach. But that man… I don’t know. He seems to have an aura, yet at the same time, he doesn’t.”
Rani’s trial had been postponed because of the Holy King. However, he hadn’t used his power to block her punishment. The delay was simply due to the Advent Festival.
It was a tradition in the Holy Kingdom not to pass judgment on criminals during the festival, but Rani had also played a vital role in the event every year.
The Holy King Consecration Ceremony.
As the name suggested, it was a ritual where the Holy King personally consecrated citizens one by one. It was the highlight of the Advent Festival, and since the age of fifteen, Rani had never failed to read the benediction on the Holy King’s behalf.
—Therefore, it would look bad if Rani Salome were suddenly absent, so it seems the Dawn Order’s execution division has temporarily released her. You should be able to meet her once before the trial concludes.
This was the information Casimir had provided just before they left for the Holy Kingdom.
It was a stroke of luck for Jin and Murakan. If the trial had an unfavorable outcome, meeting her might have become impossible.
“Hmm, no matter how I think about it, it doesn’t make sense.”
Crunch.
Jin bit into a dormant volcano-shaped candy he had just bought from a stall, his eyes still on the Holy King. The two were currently disguised as tourists, their hair dyed red with a dye from the Gold Snow Tribe.
“What doesn’t?”
“Rani caused a scene just a short while ago in the very temple where the Holy King performs his blessing rituals. It doesn’t add up that they’d insist on using her for an event as important as the Consecration Ceremony.”
“Isn’t it just to save face? You said she’s read the benediction every year.”
“Just leaving it at that feels strangely unsettling. If Rani were to cause another scene during the Consecration Ceremony, it would be a massive scandal. It’s not the kind of accident they could cover up like the last one.”
Since the disturbance at the temple had only been witnessed by the kingdom’s own citizens, it hadn’t been covered by the foreign press at all. It was an incident that would be difficult to know about unless one had top-tier informants like Casimir planted inside the country.
But this time, countless tourists were watching. If Rani caused trouble, the prestige of the Holy King and the kingdom itself would plummet.
“That’s true. Maybe they’ve taken precautions? Or maybe Rani just had a temporary lapse in judgment and still has a good relationship with the Holy King.”
“We’ll find out when we meet her.”
Rani’s official residence was a small house near the Grand Temple of Ayula, but she rarely used it. Too many citizens who revered Miklan and Rani visited it daily.
The place where Rani actually lived was the Eastern Temple of Ayula, located in the eastern part of the capital. That temple was currently undergoing extensive renovations, so entry was forbidden to anyone not involved in the construction.
Of course, such restrictions meant nothing to the duo.
“Let’s head to the Eastern Temple.”
They boarded the teleport gate heading east.
“Blegh!”
“Shouldn’t you be used to this by now?”
The moment the teleportation ended, Murakan doubled over, vomiting. He was still vulnerable to teleport gate sickness.
“Damn it. Even with forty percent of my power back, I can’t even fly when I want to.”
“Just bear with it a little longer. Once I become a Flagbearer, we’ll at least be able to fly freely over Huphester.”
There was no need to search for the Eastern Temple. The tallest building visible from the teleport gate was the temple itself.
Compared to the central district, which was brimming with festival fever, the eastern district was quiet. It was only natural, as even the local merchants had left to set up stalls in the more crowded areas.
They climbed a hill and soon reached the Eastern Temple. Unlike the heavily armored holy knights who had blockaded the city of Santel, the guards here were just ordinary soldiers, yawning lazily.
There were no workers renovating the temple; they, too, had left for the city center to enjoy the festival. Security was lax. No one in the Holy Kingdom would dare enter a temple without permission, there was nothing for tourists to see at the Eastern Temple, and all the important holy relics had been moved to the central temple for safekeeping.
Jin took a small glass bottle from his robe and uncapped it. Inside was a sleeping poison concocted by Kuzan.
I feel a bit bad, but it’s not a dangerous poison.
Jin glanced at Murakan.
Murakan shot him a look that clearly asked Do I really have to do this?, but he sighed and transformed into a cat.
“Meow.”
With the glass bottle in his mouth, Murakan trotted toward the guards.
Naturally, their eyes were drawn to the bottle. Before they could get a good look, Murakan dropped it at their feet, and the sleeping poison spread through the air.
“What’s this? Uh, my… my body…?”
Thud. Thud.
“My apologies.”
After tucking a few gold coins into their pockets, the two leisurely passed through the main gate and entered the temple. Rani’s room was at the end of the hallway on the third floor.
As they drew closer, the pungent smell of strong alcohol wafted toward them.
Fortunately, there were no other soldiers inside. The pair reached Rani’s room without any trouble.
“Rani Salome,” Jin said, quietly closing the door behind him. “I didn’t know you were so fond of alcohol.”
Only then did Rani finally look up at him. Though he hadn’t hidden his presence, she hadn’t paid him any mind until he spoke.
She looked like a person who had given up on everything.
“…Jin Runcandel?”
The firm conviction and pride he’d seen in her eyes back in Santel were gone, replaced by a grief so deep it seemed to drown her.
Rani stared at Jin blankly for a long moment, as if she couldn’t believe he was there. It was clear she hadn’t expected him to find her so quickly.
“How…?”
“Didn’t I make a promise? I’ve come to repay my debt.”
Poof!
Murakan transformed back into his human form and stood before her. Seeing him looking healthy, Rani set down her bottle, her eyes widening in shock.
“Long time no see, holy girl. Thanks to you, I’m alive to see you again. Looks like you’ve gotten yourself into some trouble, but the Great Black Dragon Murakan is here to solve everything. So, how about you share some of that drink?”
Murakan smiled, smoothly taking the bottle from her to prevent her from drinking more.
Rani merely blinked in a daze, but then her face crumpled, and she burst into tears. She gritted her teeth, desperately trying to stifle the sound of her sobbing.
The two waited a moment for her to compose herself.
“Alright, stop crying and tell us what’s going on.”
“Father… My father…”
“Your father? Holy King Miklan?”
“Father has been captured.”
Jin and Murakan exchanged a look before turning back to Rani.
“What are you talking about, holy girl? We just saw the Holy King in the Grand Plaza on our way here. He was standing there perfectly fine…”
“I don’t know what kind of trick they used, but that is a fake. It’s a double with the exact same face. My real father has been kidnapped.”
“What?”
“The Holy King… was kidnapped?”
A fake.
As soon as Jin heard that word, one person immediately came to mind.
Kinzelo’s sculptor, Bubar Gaston.
In that instant, Jin understood why Rani had been assigned to read the benediction at the Consecration Ceremony as she always did.
She’s being blackmailed.
The faction holding Holy King Miklan hostage was threatening her. They had told her to act exactly as she always did if she didn’t want the real Miklan to die. Overcome with resentment, she must have caused the scene at the temple where the fake was performing the blessing ritual, which led to her awaiting trial.
“Rani Salome, do you know who kidnapped the Holy King?”
Kinzelo.
He expected to hear that name, especially if Bubar’s shapeshifting was involved.
But the name Rani uttered was not Kinzelo.
“Zipple. Those bastards… they kidnapped my father.”
“Zipple? Are you sure?”
“I’m certain. It seems other factions are involved, too, but… ha, I don’t know. There was so little I could do.”
Rani clutched her head, her body trembling.
“It’s okay, Rani. Drink some water first. You need to calm down and tell us the story properly so we can figure this out.”
The alliance between Zipple and Kinzelo was over.
Have they joined hands again? The question flashed through Jin’s mind just as—
Thump, thump, thump, thump!
Suddenly, heavy footsteps began to echo from outside the door. Someone had clearly realized Jin and Murakan had intruded and was coming for them. But this sound…
It was by no means the sound of human footsteps.