#85
Unlike me, however, Persis and Rikin didn’t seem surprised. It was as if they had anticipated all of this. Persis looked somewhat displeased, while Rikin was trying his best not to reveal his emotions.
‘What does that mean?’
‘It’s just nonsense. So…’
Before the Duke could say more, Kara walked in front of me and placed her hand over mine that was holding the sword. Her eyes, looking down at the sword, were filled with an inexplicable longing.
‘Only Young Master Andelion can trace that person’s energy.’
‘Kara, that’s enough…’
‘I’m just helping find the way. If it were more dangerous, I wouldn’t have mentioned it. Besides, Young Master Andelion should know exactly what he can do. If he doesn’t know and can’t use his power when in danger, that’s the end.’
The Duke couldn’t say anything in response to Kara’s point-by-point explanation. He seemed to agree with Kara’s words, but couldn’t fully accept the situation.
‘In other words, Young Master Andelion, if this sword is to be used, you must go along. However, I would prefer that you not go.’
Kara told me what I could do and what direction she wished for, asking me what choice I would make. It was always like this. She would tell me all the information I hadn’t yet grasped and then wait for my decision.
‘What will you do?’
If I go, the chances of rescuing him from the temple increase. Plus, I could protect Persis and Rikin from danger. If that’s the case, there was only one thing I could say.
When I said I would go along, there was more opposition than I expected, but I insisted that if there was something I could do, I would definitely accompany them. I persuaded them many times that since we were literally just going to check where he was, it wouldn’t be that dangerous.
In the end, I was able to join this group instead of Kara.
“Wouldn’t it be better if you stood in the middle?”
Persis said to me in a worried voice.
“No. It’s better if I stay at the back. Don’t worry.”
Of course, I might not seem reliable, but I didn’t want to have Persis at the very back. Concern and worry appeared on Persis’s face, slightly illuminated by the torch. Considering my usual abilities, it was understandable to be worried.
But somehow, I felt like I could solve most problems with this sword in my hand. If, as Kara said, I was the only one who could properly use this sword, perhaps I too could do all those things that the Duke did in the original story.
I couldn’t try it right now, but it would be a way to overcome the situation when things get truly dangerous.
How long had we walked down the dark corridor? Rikin, who was leading, gradually slowed his pace. Stopping in place, Rikin looked around as if surveying the surroundings, then put his ear to the wall. Rikin’s eyebrows trembled slightly, visible through the dim light, as if he was listening to sounds that ordinary people couldn’t hear.
“Well, we’ve come to the place you showed me, Persis. Do you know where this leads?”
“I know because I came here a few times as a child.”
Thinking of Persis wandering around the palace as a child, I was newly impressed. Back then, Persis was so unpredictable that he made all the palace employees fret. Thanks to his extensive wandering at that time, he seemed to have discovered secret passages as well, which ultimately benefited us, but I could imagine how much the employees must have struggled, unable to find the young Persis no matter how much they searched.
“The area ahead connects to a secret archive, so there shouldn’t be any people. You don’t hear any signs of people, do you?”
Rikin nodded at Persis’s words. He seemed to have detected sounds from beyond that thick wall. Truly, both men before me were possessors of remarkable abilities.
One was born with extraordinary physical abilities and would become this country’s greatest knight, while the other was a genius, perfect in everything from swordsmanship to magic and political skills.
Compared to these two, I was just an ordinary person with countless deficiencies. However, these two were also still young men who needed someone’s protection. For now, we were just checking the situation, but if these two were ever in danger, I decided to properly use this sword then.
When Persis pressed a part of the wall, it slowly began to move.
“You’re really something. How did you know that was a button?”
“Why, doesn’t it look different? Can’t you see it’s slightly raised?”
“Hmm? Looking closely, I guess it does seem like it.”
I gently ignored the two who were exchanging words I would never understand. How could one see a stone slightly protruding in this dark corridor? It was something I could never comprehend, even if I were reborn.
As Rikin had said, there wasn’t a single person in the secret archive inside. I could have drawn a little magical energy from my fingertips to check if anyone was around by circling the area, but we decided to use magic as little as possible in case there were magical detection artifacts here as well.
Rikin extinguished the torch he was holding, hid it in his clothes, and looked around.
“Now, where should we go?”
The two’s gazes converged on me. I was the only one who could precisely locate “him” from here. I didn’t know why I had such power, but for now, using this power to find him was the most urgent task.
I closed my eyes and, gripping the sword tightly in my hand, tried to locate him. He would be somewhere. Tracing his presence that seemed just within reach yet not quite, I pictured his face that had briefly flashed by.
The Duke had said he was someone he loved. What did that mean? Since I was born, the Duke had been alone. Come to think of it, the fact that I was born would mean there was a wife, but no one in the Duke’s household ever mentioned the Duke’s wife.
I heard that some people outside referred to me as an illegitimate child. Of course, no one had directly said that to my face. I had only seen it briefly described in the game, never experiencing it directly.
I had thought that romance was a concept far removed from the Duke. But that wasn’t the case. The Duke had also loved someone.
If that was the case, I couldn’t understand why “he” cared for me. From his perspective, I was nothing more than evidence that the man he loved had been intimate with another woman. But it didn’t seem likely that the Duke, who was this obsessed with him, would have loved my mother more.
The relationship, which was clearly complicated and tangled, made my head spin. Even though that wasn’t important right now, once a thought started, it continued to expand, trailing one after another.
At that very moment, I felt an intense heat from the sword, as if stabbing my fingertips. Startled, I opened my eyes wide, and the image of him, his whole body bound with white cloths, appeared before me. As if unconscious, his head was drooping.
“Ana, are you okay?”
It seemed I had staggered slightly. Persis looked at my face with a worried expression. Fortunately, the hallucination I had just seen allowed me to know where he might be. I couldn’t see the exact path, but I felt I could properly set the direction.
“Yes. I think I know which direction he is in.”
“It’s not just a general location, right?”
“No. I think we’ll get a better sense as we move around.”
Just as I raised my head while straightening my slightly disheveled body, my eyes met with Rikin, who was looking at me. As soon as our eyes met, Rikin sharply turned his gaze away. It was the first time he had behaved like this, so I was the one who was confused. I had expected him to give his usual relaxed smile or at least a word of concern, but he didn’t.
“For now, I’ll lead the way like before. Ana and Persis, follow behind me.”
Rikin moved ahead without even glancing in my direction. I wanted to insist that I should follow at the very back for Persis’s sake, but I couldn’t readily approach Rikin.
We put on the priest robes we had brought. Since we couldn’t wander around exposed, Kara had secretly procured and prepared them for us.
With our bodies covered, we quietly left the secret archive. The temple’s secret archive was located inside a corridor that resembled a side path. Since it was situated in a place where people didn’t come and go, we weren’t worried about other people being outside.
Moreover, like the door that connected the secret passage to the temple, the secret archive was also formed by the corridor wall opening to create a door. Probably very few people even knew of the secret archive’s existence.
For now, we moved while holding our breath.
“Go straight from here.”
Following my words, Rikin walked forward. Walking through the empty corridor, I tried to follow the energy felt from the sword.
How far had we gone? We saw priests walking toward us from the opposite direction. Rikin casually bowed his head to the priests and lightly placed his hand on his chest. It was the greeting method used by priests. I imitated Rikin and checked the priests passing by us. They showed no signs of suspicion or caution.
Despite the major incident that had pierced the ceiling, the priests’ faces showed no concern. As if they had anticipated everything, they passed by us without a care.
Just when I thought the situation had been resolved, one of those passing by slightly turned his head toward us. Then, as if sensing something strange, he tilted his head and slowly approached us again. Rikin stopped in his tracks without showing tension.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
