#78
The knights repeatedly told the angry nobles that nothing had happened. It was absurd. Not only had a massive black light shot up into the sky, but the phenomenon had occurred in the temple inside the palace. It was an opportunity the nobles who had been keeping the temple in check couldn’t miss.
To begin with, it made no sense to claim nothing had happened when such a major incident had occurred. Moreover, the people here couldn’t possibly be unaware of what that black light signified. A similar phenomenon must have appeared during ‘that incident’ that shook this country a few years ago.
When that light first appeared in the original work, there was a passage like this:
[Everyone couldn’t take their eyes off the black light that rose high into the sky. Some recognized the form and were shocked, while others screamed in terror at the sudden strange phenomenon. Through the confused crowd, someone pointed at the black pillar and shouted.
‘Demons! The demons have appeared!’]
“Do you really think we don’t recognize that?”
The noble couldn’t bring himself to ask if that power that destroyed the temple originated from demons. It would be pointless anyway. If the temple had actually been attacked by demons, they wouldn’t admit it straightforwardly as it would damage the temple’s prestige, and if the temple was plotting something using demonic power, they might threaten the nobles’ safety to silence them.
That’s how unbelievable this incident was. Nevertheless, the knights continued to block the nobles’ path and gave the same answer over and over.
‘Nothing happened,’ ‘Everything was planned, and the temple is handling it.’ The same words came out of the knight’s mouth repeatedly, like a broken tape.
“We need to get inside.”
Rikin whispered to me in a small voice as I grew impatient. I nodded and swallowed dry. I had expected the area around the temple to be chaotic. Since we had rushed here shortly after the incident, I had anticipated fewer knights guarding the front, but I never expected them to block us so extensively.
Perhaps the temple wasn’t attacked by someone, but rather the temple and the imperial family were working together on something.
The Duke wasn’t behind this.
The Duke I knew would have stabbed the imperial family in the back before joining hands with them. He would have destroyed the temple and then devoured the entire imperial family. I was certain he wouldn’t even give the nobles and knights time to argue in front of us.
Someone other than the Duke used the power of demons. More precisely, the power of ‘him’ who was in the temple underground, connected to this demon sword…
“Wait a moment.”
Rikin said to me as he moved in among the nobles.
“What’s going on here?”
“You are…”
“I am Rikin Parten from the Parten Count family, sent as support.”
The knight who recognized Rikin frowned in displeasure. Then another knight beside him whispered something to him.
It was a completely different attitude from when we had encountered the nobles earlier. Perhaps they might let us in. The aura of him still remaining in the sword told me that he was inside the temple. I could almost see the line connecting the sword and him right before my eyes.
“This area is sufficient. Return to your original posts and stand by.”
Another knight from behind tried to say something, but since the speaking knight was blocking the way, he couldn’t voice his opinion. It seemed that this knight in front of us was preventing us from entering.
Maybe if we spoke more forcefully, we could get inside. Rikin must have thought the same, as he stepped forward and was about to open his mouth.
Just at that moment, I heard murmuring from behind. Turning my head, I saw familiar faces walking quickly toward us. All of those familiar people were pale-faced. The man walking at the very front quickly approached me.
The gathered nobles scattered to the left and right as if it were the most natural thing, allowing him to come to me.
“Andelion!”
I didn’t have time to pay attention to the others following behind him. The one at the front ran straight to me. Coming right up to me, he looked me over from head to toe, not caring about others’ gazes.
The emotional dam that had been weakening since this morning seemed to shake once more.
“Father.”
When I called him, the eyes of the knight blocking us widened. Apparently, he hadn’t thought I was the Young Master. Since I had stopped being Persis’s playmate and stayed cooped up at home, few people knew my face.
I had attended the seminar, but the focus then was more on Persis than me. As a result, not only the knights but also the nobles gathered around were surprised to see me.
They quickly hid their surprise and bowed to the entourage that had come with the Duke. Through the nobles paying their respects, I could see Persis looking relieved. Persis, who had briefly stopped when he saw my face, started running quickly toward me again.
Meanwhile, the Duke stood in front of me and glared at the knight.
“What is all this about?”
“Ah, well, there was a small accident…”
“Accident? You call that an accident?”
The Duke pointed fiercely at the destroyed temple as he asked.
“Is there anyone here who doesn’t know that was the work of demons?”
I thought it was both impressive and typical of the Duke to mention demons right away. Hearing the Duke’s words, the knight couldn’t hide his stiffened face.
With the Duke’s arrival, I felt a little relief, thinking the situation would be somewhat resolved. I even had a small belief that everything would be alright. As my posture relaxed slightly due to this sense of security, someone supported me from behind.
Turning around, I saw Persis’s face, who had just arrived with the Duke.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
Just thinking about everything that had happened today made my head spin, but I was fine. There were no injuries on my body, and I hadn’t experienced anything painful. Only the image of him inside the temple lingered in my mind.
“Demons, Your Grace? Someone might misunderstand if they hear that.”
“Are you saying that to me? Do you think I might have mistaken demons?”
At the Duke’s words, the knight closed his mouth tightly without saying anything. Who would deny it when the person who had protected this country from none other than demons was saying that the black light just now was demonic power?
Among those who had come with the Duke were Kara and Iria. If it became known that a princess from another country was casually present here, it wouldn’t be good for Iria… I was worried about her being here, but also grateful that she cared about me.
Before I knew it, the Duke and Persis, along with Rikin, Iria, and Kara, had surrounded me. The palace, which had only felt anxious when I was forcibly kidnapped by Yaksi, was gradually changing into a space that felt somewhat safe.
“What are you saying? Demons?”
At that moment, another voice was heard. Turning my head, I saw a man I had never seen before, but someone everyone living in this country would recognize.
“I pay my respects to His Highness Kuatrin.”
It was the First Prince of this country, Kuatrin Keinan.
His red hair, similar to Persis’s, was neatly combed back, and bold features were set on his snow-white skin. His eyes, black as if they couldn’t be read, seemed to convey how intimidating a person he was.
“What is this commotion, Duke? I heard from a distance, something about demons?”
“Your Highness, what just came out of the temple was demonic power.”
“What do you mean?”
Kuatrin smiled brightly and revealed the rest of his words.
“Are you saying the temple in the palace is colluding with demons?”
Having dispelled the Duke’s statement in one go, Kuatrin looked around at the people with a confident face.
“I’ve been instructed to hear the details, so please go ahead. You must have many matters to attend to today.”
Hearing this, the nobles looked at each other and gradually moved away. No one could remain still when Kuatrin, the most powerful among the princes, acted like this. After dismissing the other nobles, Kuatrin looked at us who still remained, and his eyes met Iria’s.
“My, I never expected a princess from another country to come to a place like this. From whom did you receive permission to enter the palace? Surely it wasn’t you, Persis?”
Kuatrin, who had revealed Iria’s identity with a gentle tone, clicked his tongue briefly and treated Persis like a child with limited thinking.
It felt like someone was ringing an alarm bell in my head repeatedly. As Kuatrin said, it was indeed problematic for a foreign princess to enter the palace at will. However, how could Persis have known Iria was a princess? Even if he did know, this wasn’t the situation to question the circumstances. After all, the heir of the Duke’s family had been kidnapped by someone inside the palace.
Come to think of it, I’m not sure how they figured out I had been brought here. Perhaps the Duke traced the magic power used in Yaksi’s spell?
Kuatrin didn’t stop there and continued to speak.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
