Chapter 56
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 56
He wasn’t exactly scowling, so why did the air feel so heavy?
Athros, who had been looking away while fidgeting with a button on his coat, finally looked up after a long silence.
Sir Sieorkan had already moved to the left transept and was deep in conversation with the High Priest. Athros narrowed his eyes, sensing the gravity of the atmosphere.
Though he couldn’t see their expressions with their backs turned, he could see the veins bulging on the old priest’s thin neck. As the priest’s shoulders shook while he protested something, a cold aura flickered across Sir Sieorkan’s face.
Even at a glance, they didn’t seem to be on friendly terms. Athros’s eyes glinted with curiosity.
What are they talking about?
The priests were staunch supporters of the Crown Prince, and the same was true for the future Grand Duke of Sieorkan. He wondered why two people within the same faction were clashing so openly.
Driven by curiosity, Athros slipped out of the pews. He tried to hide behind a pillar at the crossing to overhear their conversation, but someone suddenly grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.
Athros looked up and, seeing Berens’s stern face, let his eyebrows droop. The man looked down at him with a somber expression and scolded him in a low voice.
“They are Your Highness’s political enemies. Do not go near them.”
“What do you mean, political enemies? I don’t have anything like that.”
Athros pouted and tried to argue, but the man didn’t budge. With a dissatisfied expression, Athros rolled his eyes and looked back toward the transept.
Sir Sieorkan had already finished his conversation with the High Priest and was walking toward the crossing. Athros quickly ducked behind Berens’s legs.
Sir Sieorkan cast a brief, indifferent glance at him before crossing the main aisle with an elegant, effortless stride.
Hiding behind Berens and watching the man’s retreating back, Athros asked in a hushed voice, “What do you think the High Priest said to Sir Sieorkan?”
“He was likely reprimanding him for the recent incident.”
“Why? Sir Sieorkan and the Grand Temple are allies. Even if Sir Sieorkan did something wrong, shouldn’t they cover for him?”
A faint, bitter smile crossed Berens’s eyes. “The world is not that simple.”
Berens spoke as if to chide him, then turned his head toward the altar where the funeral rites were underway and continued slowly.
“Many among the priesthood harbor animosity toward the Khan people. In particular, the fundamentalist priests’ hatred for the Sieorkan clan runs deep.”
Athros was about to ask why, but then he held his tongue. The lessons from his history classes flashed through his mind.
In the past, it was the Khan people who had fought until the very end against the unification movement led by Darian Roem Guirta. They had even managed to inflict a fatal wound on Wigru, the knight said to have been chosen by God, during the ‘Last Battle’ in the North.
Even after the war ended and the Easterners were incorporated into the Roem Empire, the Khan people had never fully assimilated into the Western world. The hostility the Imperial citizens felt toward them had never truly vanished.
Reflecting on those facts, Athros suddenly let out a scoff.
“That’s stupid. Other tribes fought just as bloodily. Isn’t it too petty to ostracize them just because they were the last ones to surrender?”
Berens looked down at Athros with a momentarily surprised gaze, then his lips curled slightly.
“It is not solely for that reason. It is more that they are wary of the Sieorkan clan because they possess such formidable strength.”
“Formidable strength?”
When Athros tilted his head in confusion, Berens remained silent for a moment before slowly opening his mouth.
“According to records, a certain percentage of the Sieorkan clan were born with strange abilities—such as seeing the future, peering into people’s hearts, or commanding all sorts of beasts at will. Thanks to that eerie power, they once reigned as objects of fear.”
Athros’s eyes sparkled at the intriguing story. “Does Sir Sieorkan have some kind of special ability too?”
“It is highly unlikely. The priests conducted a thorough examination, but they reportedly found nothing unusual.” Berens stroked his chin as if lost in thought. “Perhaps the power faded as the blood was diluted over many generations. No ‘Primitive Mage’ has appeared in House Sieorkan since a powerful telepath was born eighty years ago.”
Having stated that definitively, he added as if something had suddenly occurred to him, “Come to think of it, I did hear a rumor that the Former Empress possessed the power of foresight, but…”
“My brother’s mother?” Athros asked, his face full of surprise.
Berens hesitated for a moment as if considering something, then soon shook his head.
“It is likely nothing more than a rumor created by those who wished to deify her. After all, the Crown Prince and the First Imperial Princess are ordinary, are they not?” He then added with a gentle smile, “Perhaps the abilities of the Khan people have completely vanished.”
Athros felt a bit annoyed by the reassuring tone. Why should the loss of the Khan people’s ancestral abilities be something for him to feel relieved about? He had no intention of opposing his brother. Therefore, the Sieorkan clan was not his enemy either.
However, knowing that saying such things would only be dismissed as a child’s tantrum, he kept his mouth shut.
“It seems the ceremony is almost over. It would be best for you to return now.”
Seeing the high-ranking officials leaving the main aisle one by one, Berens placed a hand lightly on Athros’s back. Athros followed him out of the chapel immediately. He, too, had no desire to run into his half-siblings, who viewed him as an eyesore.
They avoided the main gate crowded with mourners and headed toward the rear garden. However, even in the backyard, a group of nobles sat gathered together, gossiping. Athros’s brow furrowed sharply when he spotted Gareth’s fervent followers among them.
They wouldn’t dare harm him, an Imperial Prince, but there was no reason to subject himself to their unpleasant faces. He grabbed Berens’s hand and turned toward a narrow, heavily shaded forest path.
Just then, a familiar name reached his ears.
“What do you think the chances are that Thalia Roem Guirta will recover?”
“Who knows. I heard she was found in a state barely better than a corpse. Even for elves, it would be difficult to heal her completely.”
Athros’s eyes widened as he looked up at Berens. “Is that true?”
Berens hesitated for a moment as if debating something, then slowly nodded. Athros’s face instantly turned grave. He had heard that his sister was not in good health, but he hadn’t realized she was injured so severely that such rumors were circulating.
He asked accusingly, “Why did no one tell me Sister was hurt?”
“Because it is not a matter Your Highness needs to know.”
“She is my sister! Of course you should have told me.”
When he raised his voice in a sudden outburst, the noisy garden fell silent as if cold water had been poured over it. Athros turned his head and scowled at the nobles who, upon belatedly discovering him, were hurriedly paying their respects.
Not wanting to deal with them, he hurried out of the garden with the widest strides his small legs could manage. Berens, who had been following silently, let out a sigh.
“Your Highness, that lady hates you. No matter how much concern you show, you will not be rewarded for it.”
Athros came to a dead stop and glared at him. In his head, he knew Berens wasn’t wrong. Thalia Roem Guirta hated him. Hadn’t she said so herself? But he didn’t want to admit that fact so easily.
“Maybe… maybe she regrets saying those things to me. Maybe she was just… being mean that day because she was in a bad mood. People are like that sometimes.”
“……”
“If I go to visit her, won’t she say she’s sorry?”
It was an impulsive remark, but it sounded quite plausible to his own ears. Without even waiting for Berens’s answer, Athros immediately turned his steps toward the Annex Palace. On the way, he gathered an armful of the prettiest flowers from the garden to prepare a gift for his visit.
She’ll be surprised when I show up, right? Maybe she’ll even feel like being a little fond of such a kind younger brother.
Swelling with anticipation, Athros walked across the vast grounds without rest. Before long, a rugged, gray stone building revealed itself beyond the lush garden of flowers and greenery.