The Snapped Bridge of Judgment
I glanced behind William Hamilcar and saw a few knights following him.
For the sake of climbing the Grand Hall, it was striking that some wore only a sword and a warm fur cloak rather than full armor.
“Damyang, Hamilcar.”
The count of Hamilcar repeated his matter once more.
From that brief exchange, I could grasp several things. First, William Hamilcar had no idea where Damyang was. Second, he had recently picked up a clue about Damyang’s location. The Serpine lord, of course.
Hamilcar and Serpine could never get along well with each other due to the difference between the south and the north. Yet they shared one point of contact: the lands of Arian.
In short, dividing by north and south made them enemies, but dividing by east and west tied them both to the east. Thus, the enormous ritual celebrating Serpine’s successor’s wedding and proclamation could not be skipped.
Moreover, Aud was there in the east. This had been Aud’s wedding as well. Hamilcar had to attend no matter what. And he must have heard talk of Damyang moving with Pythia in that place.
He had attended Serpine’s wedding, only for Aud and Serpine to clash despite being allies. Naturally, the situation changed. So the count of Hamilcar would have prepared countermeasures for the new reality back at his duchy.
Thinking that he rushed straight to the Mount of Light afterward, the timeline roughly fit. Hamilcar had arrived here in the shortest time possible. That meant Damyang remaining here was reason enough for such haste.
But from the start, it seemed Damyang and Pythia had been close. How could that be?
“Excuse me, miss. Can you not speak?”
When I gave no answer to Hamilcar, the knight behind him growled at me.
Anyone could tell I was noble from my clothes and bearing. So this knight had committed the worst offense one could dare toward a noble.
“In the light of truth, welcome visitor. From where do you hail?”
I first greeted him as if he were a healthy temple. This was a formal greeting, so I had to confirm first whether the count would reveal his true identity. It would complicate things if it was an official visit.
“Count Hamilcar, William.”
How annoying. I clicked my tongue inwardly, yet smiled brightly on the surface. The situation seemed to be unfolding poorly, so I needed to stay sharp.
I raised my hands to my chest in greeting toward him. “I am Arian, disciple of the saintess. I have come to convey a message to the saintess, so please wait.”
Pythia was at the table right behind, so he could not have failed to hear. I was pretending to deliver the message while planning to probe the situation with Damyang. I needed to judge his relationship with the count and whether he had come to fetch his son or break that leg. Only then could I respond properly.
However, the arrogant gaze of the count from moments ago had wavered slightly. He hesitated briefly, then whispered to me. “I am Damyang’s father, and I do not need to enter this temple. I merely came to retrieve my son. I have no desire to trouble the saintess with a formal message. Just summon Damyang.”
Unlike before, I smiled faintly upon seeing the man speak Damyang’s name so gently. It was strange. Even Treven Serpine, who had not yet recovered from his first love, had rushed to Pythia’s side, yet he had never been this cautious.
It was as if… he was holding something extremely precious hostage. What could that precious thing be?
“Ah, that is a bit…”
I covered my mouth in embarrassment and lowered my head. Then I moved my lips quickly. ‘Show me, the thing William Hamilcar holds most important.’ Haha, finding out via search is truly the greatest.
When I cautiously lifted my head, I saw a large, clear golden text flashing behind William Hamilcar.
[Past, Pythia Morihan]
?
I had no idea what I was seeing. I looked up and stared hard at William Hamilcar. Who was the ex-husband of whom?
I had suspected Treven Serpine. Their engagement had seemed unbroken. But upon thinking, yes. Saying the engagement had not been broken meant they had not married yet… Wait a moment. Why had I not been troubled by that at the time?
Clearly, Treven Serpine’s status showed ‘engaged to Pythia Morihan.’ Yet no such mark appeared on Pythia’s status. What did this mean?
Engagement was like slapping hands. It required a mutual sound. Why did one side seem to recognize it as engagement while the other did not? Ah, perhaps this guy simply thought of Pythia as his ex-wife. Mad dog, one or two?
Medieval times were truly the back of the world. So…
“Wil…”
From behind me, Pythia called William by his nickname in a voice so heartbreakingly tender. I could tell without checking the status. This was not Hamilcar’s fantasy. They really had been married…
At that moment, I slammed the door shut before Hamilcar.
When I turned around, I saw three people staring at me with piercing eyes. Damyang, sitting at the table, looked shocked. He blinked repeatedly, unable to believe that I had slammed the door on Hamilcar’s land. His lips moved as if asking, “Was the person outside the door just the count of Hamilcar?”
Demyia beside him furrowed her brow slightly in discomfort. Whether it was because her father had come to retrieve her or because I had slammed the door, I could not tell. In any case, she clicked her tongue lightly and began to rise from her seat.
And in front of me stood Pythia. With her usual innocent eyes, she smiled gently and called to me. “Arian.”
I pressed both palms to my cheeks. Thus covering my mouth, I quickly pulled up Pythia’s status. ‘Show me the relationship between Pythia Morihan and William Hamilcar.’
Around Pythia, several golden sparkling text clusters floated. [Married in 1173, divorced in 1174.]
Only a year of marriage. Married fourteen years ago, divorced thirteen. I understood at once. And right after, the count of Hamilcar must have married Marie Zepine, and Damyang was born to them.
After that, the count married three more times. So William Hamilcar had married a total of five times, and Pythia had been nibbling on stale black bread at the mountain’s peak, enduring the hardships of starvation.
Ah. At this moment, I finally realized. I could not marry that man. I knew I had to become the wife of the count of Hamilcar, but I could never form a marital relationship with William Hamilcar. “Arian, you see…”
Pythia muttered. She seemed to sense that I had noticed something and was trying to make excuses. But unable to decide what to say, her mouth only opened and closed. A princess who was also a saintess having a secret marriage? It was unthinkable. No excuse could ever forgive such an act, so she simply opened and closed her mouth.
I approached her and embraced her body. “You do not need to say anything.”
Pythia’s back was still unnaturally thin. The dress wrapping her body was an old garment. The kind of thing only wealthy merchants’ wives would wear. Yet she had been thrilled to receive such a thing, and now cherished and wore it carefully. She happily nodded while saying she could not steal food from the Demia temple despite loving delicious food. She was that kind and innocent that she would accept full responsibility if anything went wrong without knowing what mischief she had caused. All of it was this guy’s fault. When a person had everything stripped away and felt lonely and abandoned, they naturally missed others. Pythia had quickly given her heart to me as well. Just after a week of meeting, she had called me her daughter. So the speed with which she had fallen for a man once a romantic relationship began was crystal clear. It was a form of Stockholm syndrome. A woman who has no time to analyze the other person’s true nature, who is forced into the environment and becomes dependent on the other, and who feels love—that is Stockholm syndrome, right? It only happens with the perpetrator, doesn’t it? It was definitely this guy’s fault. I stroked Pythia’s back, and she hugged me tightly in return. “You see, Arian…”
In a very small voice, she whispered near my ear. “I… if I make a huge mistake…” “No. Whatever that huge mistake is, it is all right. I will make it right. Do not worry.” While holding Pythia, I saw Demyia standing before the table. He had stopped walking the moment I and Pythia embraced each other, as if to avoid disturbing us. I could not marry William Hamilcar. But could I use Demyia as a means? If both were impossible, what should I do? In the middle of the snapped bridge, with the path ahead and behind broken, I held Pythia and looked at Demyia. Demyia did not avoid my gaze.