#89
“Then what should I do? Should I go to His Majesty and tell him everything? Knowing what would happen if I did? This was the best choice.”
“I don’t know what you might do with that card.”
“I know the risks better than Your Highness. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure nothing like that happens.”
[You’re not human, are you?]
Rolling my eyes as I struggled to follow the conversation between the two, I opened my eyes wide at the sword’s sudden remark. Yaksi wasn’t human?
In this world, the only non-human intelligent beings were demons. Moreover, in the original story, the Duke only used the power of demons; demons never directly appeared as characters. I never expected that, on top of the sword, another demon would appear before me.
I wasn’t the only one disturbed by those words. Even Rikin, who had been walking ahead, stopped and looked at Yaksi. Though her hood concealed her face, he was probably giving her a highly suspicious look.
“I’m not a demon. If I were a demon, I wouldn’t be doing this. Please don’t say things that cause misunderstandings. And we’re still in the temple, so keep your voice down. Be aware that now other people can hear your voice too.”
[Who doesn’t know that?]
“Yes, I’m sure you’re aware. So you responded to my words, didn’t you?”
There was no way to win against Yaksi no matter what. Though I couldn’t see her expression, I could easily imagine the sword with its mouth firmly shut, wearing a disgruntled expression.
The sword’s voice, which had only been audible to me, now reached others as well. Could this also be the effect of that magic I had unleashed earlier? What was that, anyway? The sensation of my reason being paralyzed remained imprinted on my entire body. I even thought that if I were engulfed by that power just once more, something terrible might happen.
At that moment, a wave of nausea swept over me, along with a shock as if someone had hit my head. I quickly grabbed the hem of Yaksi’s clothes as she walked ahead. Yaksi stopped and turned to me.
“What is it?”
“…We can’t go.”
It was clear that something serious would happen if we continued walking. I slowly shook my head and pulled Yaksi a bit more firmly.
Rikin, who had been leading, sensed the ominous atmosphere and turned toward us. Yaksi, who had been silently looking at me, glanced ahead. She looked like someone confirming something in front of her.
“There he is.”
Yaksi briefly stated, as if she had confirmed something that even I couldn’t see.
“His Highness’s brother is truly remarkable. I wonder when he noticed. He’s standing right at the entrance.”
If Persis knew about the secret passage that only a few royals were aware of, it was possible that Kuatrin knew about it too. But he probably hadn’t wandered around the palace like Persis had, so I wasn’t sure how he learned about the secret passage. Was it because he was the 1st Prince, with a high possibility of becoming the Crown Prince, that he naturally learned about it? Or had he discovered the location of the secret passage on his own? I couldn’t know the exact method, but I could tell that this situation had become more dangerous than we thought.
We could no longer return the way we came. I thought we should find a place to hide and wait for the situation to calm down.
“I’ll go. I’ll lure him to another direction first. Wait a little, then check the situation from a distance and escape through the secret passage. I’ve blocked the magical energy flow so it won’t be detected. And reapply the invisibility spell if it wears off.”
“You can’t go.”
Not as strongly as when I stopped Persis from entering the temple, but strangely, I felt that Yaksi shouldn’t be sent away. The strong premonition that everything would go wrong if we made a mistake wouldn’t leave my mind.
Yaksi was clearly bewildered, not expecting me to stop her like this. Even I hadn’t imagined that I would stop Yaksi. What would I say if she asked for a reason? I was suddenly worried. It seemed like she might push me harder than before.
“You think something bad will happen to me?”
“Well…”
Yaksi smiled slightly and spoke nonchalantly. I hadn’t meant to disrespect her. It was just that the situation was that dangerous, and I kept feeling that she shouldn’t be sent.
“It’s certainly dangerous. You have reason to worry.”
The Yaksi who had kidnapped me without listening to me and threatened me didn’t seem like the same person as the Yaksi now. Yaksi leaned her face closer to me and asked somewhat playfully:
“What do you think? Is it absolutely terrible? Do you think I’ll die if I go?”
“Not to that extent, but…”
“Right. So you’re saying there’s a slim chance that I’ll be okay. Then there’s no reason not to try, is there?”
That was true, but I kept my mouth shut, fearing that if I said it was okay, Yaksi would just go. However, that seemed to be enough of an answer for her, as Yaksi nodded a few times and turned around. There was nothing I could do to stop her. The ominous premonition still lingering inside me screamed to use any means necessary, but it was beyond my abilities.
As Yaksi was about to leave, Persis, who had been quiet, stood in front of her.
“There must be another way.”
“There isn’t. Don’t worry. I can at least buy time for you all to escape.”
Persis shook his head, trying to counter her words. But Yaksi didn’t give him a chance, opening her mouth to cut off Persis’s words.
“Don’t forget. Even if it’s an undercover job, I’m still a teacher. I need to do at least this much to be called a teacher. Your Highness should observe the situation a bit more and then escape through the secret passage. Understood?”
There was nothing we could say when she put it like that.
[Why are you helping us?]
The sword, which had been silent after being scolded by Yaksi, asked her. Yaksi looked back and forth between the sword and me, then shrugged once. She looked like someone who had just heard an incredibly obvious question.
“Let’s just say I owe a debt.”
After saying only that, Yaksi left us and walked ahead. How did she plan to divert Kuatrin’s attention? I was just anxious. But there was no one here who could stop her.
While Yaksi distracted Kuatrin, we decided to hide for a while. The perception interference magic cast on us was quite robust, so there wouldn’t be any danger even if we stood still, but you never know. The reason we hadn’t used other magic on the way here was to prepare for dangerous situations.
We took shelter in a corridor where people didn’t tread, following Persis’s guidance.
I shouldn’t have let Yaksi go like that… A heavy burden, as heavy as the weight of the sword in my hand, settled inside me. The anxiety that grew without any way to address it slowly gnawed at me.
After Yaksi left, Persis and Rikin were silent. Though we came here thinking we needed to retrieve the sword, this wasn’t the result we wanted. I didn’t know how to deal with this enormous situation.
As I glanced around to check Persis and Rikin’s expressions, I caught Rikin’s eye. Rikin looked at me briefly, then turned his gaze away. That behavior seemed extremely cold. From the moment we decided to come to the temple, Rikin had seemed somehow different.
It felt like he was consciously distancing himself from me. Did he feel that all of this was my fault? Maybe he was blaming me for putting Persis in danger.
At that moment, an intense emotion as strong as in the prayer room engulfed my body. Surprisingly, it was indignation. Despite knowing it was my fault, I resented Rikin for blaming me. All the time we had built together and the numerous things he had done for me all faded and disappeared. I had the sword in my hand, and in my current state, I felt I could do anything.
[Andelion. Snap out of it. Don’t get swept away.]
At that moment, I heard the sword’s voice. I unconsciously took a sharp breath. I felt the emotion that had engulfed me disappear in an instant. Taking rapid breaths, I gripped the sword I was holding even more tightly.
“Ana?”
Persis called my name with a face full of concern. Even Rikin was observing me, trying to check my condition.
[Sigh, I thought you’d be okay. Anyway, if your emotions surge like this again, you must suppress them unconditionally. Got it?]
“What is all this?”
[There’s no time for lengthy explanations now. My voice isn’t only audible to you anymore, like before. Let’s think about this after we get out of here.]
The sword was right. If we talked more here, someone might notice our presence.
After some time had passed, we started moving again. Since the only way we could escape was through the secret passage, we decided to head there. Thanks to Yaksi, Kuatrin was nowhere to be seen. However, instead, we could see knights guarding the area around the secret passage like an iron wall.
It seemed that Kuatrin had given separate orders. Yaksi probably couldn’t stop the knights, so she had only managed to make Kuatrin leave his post.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
