Destroy That Holy Relic
“You came all this way alone, yet you haven’t uttered a single complaint about how exhausting it is? Even a nobody priest looks down on you, and not a single noble in this entire region has bothered to come pay their respects!”
“Mm, I do suspect the Empress Consort issued some sort of directive.”
I offered a sunny smile.
“Right now, she has to tread carefully around the Emperor, so she can’t openly harm me. Which makes me wonder if she’s using underhanded tricks to isolate me instead.”
“So you’re saying she warned the local nobles that anyone who welcomes the Imperial Princess won’t be spared?”
Lisianthus let out a dry, disbelieving scoff, as if marveling at pettiness that surpassed all imagination.
“When I’m right here beside you?”
His crimson eyes abruptly locked onto me, glowing with an earnest intensity—as if to say that as long as I stood beside him, no one would dare look down on me, and that he would make damn sure of it.
“Agh, seriously. Annoying little bastards. They wouldn’t dare make a peep before our family, yet they act like they’re hot shit...”
“It’s fine! That’s just how social life works!”
“Not exactly the kind of words an imperial princess should be saying, don’t you think?”
“When the Empress Consort gets crushed later on, all the sycophants sucking up to her will go down with her anyway!”
“Oh, yeah, that’s the spirit.”
Lisianthus chuckled.
“You gonna smash them yourself? Full of fighting spirit, aren’t we? Wait... is it because I said I’d protect you? Does having me around make you feel that confident?”
Averting his eyes with a bashful look, Lisianthus grumbled the words out. I blinked, momentarily wondering what on earth he was babbling about.
Sitting inside the carriage and silently listening to our conversation, Debbie and Barbara both froze.
Debbie silently mouthed,
I think the young master has lost his mind.
Um... well... I gave Lisianthus’s profile a deeply troubled look as he squirmed and fidgeted, before speaking up.
“...No, well. It’s just that the Empress Consort seems like the type to go around provoking the one person she should never cross.”
“Oh? Someone she shouldn’t cross? Who’s that?”
Who else could it be? Bibi, of course.
Prince Brian was destined to remain utterly mediocre. All he had going for him was the Emperor’s affection for the Empress Consort, her maternal family, a few members of the Noble Faction, and the backing of High Priest Marjid from the temple. That was about the extent of it.
On the other hand, Adrian, the Empress’s only son, enjoyed the tacit support of traditionalists. The Empress had never committed any glaring missteps, and Adrian’s competence far outstripped Brian’s. Above all, no matter how much her family acknowledged her, Empress Consort Cleo was an illegitimate daughter, leaving her lineage vastly inferior to the Empress’s. Unless the Emperor threw everything away to back Brian unconditionally, her prospects were murky. And Cleo was no fool. Strictly speaking, even if she appeared to be riding high right now, she wouldn’t expect to hold that same ground ten years down the road.
That was why she had schemed relentlessly to bring Titania under her thumb and shake the Castrein Duchy. And at this point in time, she would never give up on Bibi.
“I’m talking about Bibi.”
“Bibi?”
“Don’t you think she’s itching to tie Bibi to Brian’s side?”
“What?! Where the hell does she think she can stick that half-chewed, spit-out cabbage of an idiot?!”
Lisianthus practically leaped out of his saddle. Neigh! His startled horse reared violently. Barely managing to avoid falling off like a fool, Lisianthus huffed with fury. Inside the carriage, Barbara flinched, her shoulders trembling.
“That crazy woman is seriously—truly—after our family’s treasure?! And besides, that bastard’s our age! What kind of shameless nerve does she have, aiming for Bibi?! Does she want to die?!”
“If that ever happened, the Duke would order us to eliminate them on the spot!”
Debbie, who had been pretending not to listen, chimed in cheerily from inside the carriage. Has she completely given up on pretending to be an ordinary maid? Barbara let out a troubled sigh.
“Well... what I mean is, she might try some underhanded scheme with that goal in mind. So stay on guard. Especially since she won’t have any reservations once my engagement is broken.”
“Wait, what?! Your Highness, you’re breaking off the engagement?”
Debbie’s voice rose in shock. Beside her, Barbara looked equally stunned. Ah, right—only Lisianthus, who had heard it directly from me back then, knew about it.
“Yes, well, Young Duke Raymon is well aware. The exact date still needs to be coordinated later on... but it would be troublesome if word leaked to His Majesty or the Empress Consort, so just keep it between us.”
The people inside this carriage certainly weren’t going to go spreading rumors to please the Emperor or Empress Consort, so it was fine.
Right then, the carriage began to slow. Moments later, it came to a complete halt.
The sun was slowly sinking. In stark contrast to the lush green landscapes bursting with ripe fruits that showcased the southern region’s abundance, pure white sand—the kind usually found along a seashore—stretched out to fill the entire horizon. Looming in the very center, rising like a mountain, stood a temple.
How old could it be? Built of stone the exact shade of the sand, the sprawling structure was rustic rather than ornate. Guided by Priest Cronen, I stepped inside. Nearly everyone in the temple had come out to greet me.
—Contractor! ( ´╹ᗜ╹`*)
Yeah, yeah. What is it?
—I sense faint traces of a barrier! Will you perform the Master Succession Ceremony?
No way. Did you say faint traces of a barrier?
—Yes! The barrier here is relatively faint because it was spread by transplanting a fragment of the Northern Barrier!
At this point, the Emoticon Sword asking whether I wanted to perform the Master Succession Ceremony sounded about as routine as asking whether I’d eaten lunch. In other words, in one ear and out the other.
I mean, in an era where wielders of divine power were virtually extinct, it expected me to bring along companions wielding every single element and undergo a life-threatening ordeal together? Make it make sense.
Come to think of it, gathering wielders of divine power across different attributes to “prove” oneself? That blasted Master Succession Ceremony and the Offering Festival were surprisingly similar.
Pushing the thought aside, I acknowledged the greetings of the temple staff. There were five priests in total at this temple. Cronen served as the chief priest, overseeing nearly all major affairs, while the other four divided up the minor duties. All of them smiled genially, offering warm well-wishes without minding that I was an imperial princess in name only.
After receiving a brief orientation explaining that I should rest well today before the Offering Festival rituals officially commenced tomorrow, I entered my assigned room.
Barbara and Debbie were given the room next to mine. My quarters were not very spacious, furnished only with modest amenities. The original Titania would have thrown a massive fit, screaming about whether they were looking down on her, but I couldn’t care less about square footage. All that mattered to me was the size of the bed.
Barely managing to prop the Emoticon Sword against the bedside, I crashed instantly. I thought I had been sleeping passably well in the carriage, but I had been fooling myself. Sinking into the plush quilt, I felt ready to sleep so deeply that someone could carry me away without my noticing...
Yes, truly.
So deeply that someone could actually carry me away without my noticing.
“...”
When I opened my eyes, I was inside a room I had never seen before in my life.
What on earth?
Instinctively, I checked the window. Faint moonlight leaked through a sliver between the thick drapes. Everything around me was steeped in darkness.
It felt as if barely any time had passed since I lay down. Except the bed I was lying on had completely changed!
This wasn’t the modest temple cot that had barely fit me alone. Sprawling like a bed in a luxury hotel presidential suite, it was wide enough for five or six people to roll around without bumping into each other.
The bedding was unimaginably fluffy, silky, and soft. The gossamer fabric draped from the bedposts—a canopy, was it?—felt so luxurious that it wouldn’t have been out of place on one of Empress Consort Cleo’s dresses. Of course, because of the gloom, I could only gauge it with my fingertips.
Emoticon Sword?! Sword?! Hey, are you there?! Useless piece of scrap, you’re worse than a watchdog! If someone carries me off somewhere, aren’t you supposed to wake me up?!
I screamed for the sword with all my mental might, but there was no response. Had Debbie just stood by and let me be hauled off after swearing to guard me? And what kind of temple had security this pathetic? Or had the temple belatedly arranged a lavish room for me and moved me while I was dead asleep? My mind raced through every absurd possibility.
Just then, a voice slicing through the stillness struck my ears.
“You appear remarkably calm, considering you just woke up in an unfamiliar bed.”
It was young, yet raspy and sharp, as though the speaker had inhaled ash and smoke. I flinched.
Someone was seated opposite my bed. The strange voice drifted from that direction.
“Imperial Princess Titania. I harbor no desire to cause Your Highness any harm. I brought you here solely because there is something I must tell you.”
Cough, cough... After hacking repeatedly, the youthful voice continued.
“You are here to conduct the Offering Festival at the temple. Correct?”
“...”
“Midway through the ceremony, there is a step where imperial blood must be smeared upon the Holy Relic—a relic that only royalty may touch. It will likely take place the day after tomorrow.”
“...”
“You must destroy that Holy Relic.”
“What?!”
In my sheer shock, my voice cracked into an ungraceful squeak.