#4
It was a time-saving approach to just choose a horse that was in poor condition from the start.
I mounted the horse as I had become accustomed to after three years of practice. And I took my time to position myself as gently as possible so the sickly horse wouldn’t be startled.
The horse that had been standing unsteadily found some stability. I slowly drove the horse, gradually increasing speed bit by bit.
The stable keeper’s face that briefly flashed by was colored with surprise.
‘Right. Ersen didn’t like horses.’
Since he didn’t like them, he wouldn’t have ridden horses like this.
This would also be reported to the Emperor or His Highness Theodore… but this level of discomfort is fine.
I didn’t mind and headed to the temple.
To the great Lusete Temple that serves the goddess Mielle.
* * *
It didn’t take long to reach the temple.
“Your Highness the Second Prince?”
“I came to pray.”
When I spoke with a relaxed smile, the priest hesitated.
Then he slyly hid his condescending attitude and tilted his head slightly, before beginning to guide me obediently.
‘There are advantages like this when you act confidently.’
For a week like that.
I stopped by the temple almost every day, only prayed, and returned.
‘Before, I spent a whole week in the marketplace all day trying to catch the moment when Sercil got pickpocketed.’
Not knowing that was excessively provoking the imperial family.
The temple would be less so than that.
“Your Highness, you’ve come.”
“Mmhm.”
When I smiled slyly while drawing out my words, the priest guided me carefully with a subtly wary expression, unlike the first time.
As always, I was going to the prayer room when the priest suddenly spoke.
“You said you wanted to prepare your body and mind purely before attending the holy day service, didn’t you?”
“Right.”
When I nodded vaguely recalling what I had told the priest, he spoke in a pleased tone.
“To think Your Highness was such a devout person…! Mielle will surely value Your Highness’s devotion.”
“Thank you, Priest Yuan.”
If he had said those words to someone else, it would have just been pleasantries, but the words spoken to Ersen were interpreted quite differently.
In short, it meant why are you suddenly making a fuss.
‘Priests were experts at indirect criticism.’
At first, I naively believed these people were kind humans, but later I realized I had been completely wrong.
The source of the malicious rumors that made me unable to move before my regression was the temple.
“I only hope that will be the case.”
“Haha! It will be so. Mielle especially favors those who strive to repent. She will welcome Your Highness of noble blood even more gladly.”
How dare someone with demon blood flowing through them, which stands in opposition to the temple, come to the temple so frequently – are you in your right mind?
That’s roughly what he meant.
Anyway, I consistently left my mark for a week while letting such reactions go in one ear and out the other.
‘Now gradually…’
As soon as I thought it, the moment I had been waiting for arrived more dramatically than expected.
“Let go! Let me go! Where does this make sense? You said you were looking for someone to be a substitute in a play, but these are complete swindlers!”
At the end, the person who disappeared with their mouth covered, making “ugh ugh” sounds, had hair the color of a clear summer sky.
‘…Sercil.’
The image of him never once cursing at me even while dying under an irresistible curse flashed before my eyes.
Because he didn’t blame me, I couldn’t forgive myself even more.
My ignorance and childishness that had provided the cause for his inevitable death.
‘It won’t happen this time.’
Because now your enemy won’t be some minor curse, but Ersen Mayer.
That enemy will be an illusory enemy who won’t cause any harm.
When I stared intently in that direction, the priest smiled awkwardly and said.
“Oh my, when people report life’s ups and downs to Mielle, we sometimes get people who make loud noises like that. After we calm them down even by force, they feel unnecessarily sorry and such. Though they don’t need to…”
“Aha. I see.”
I responded casually with an expression like I understood everything.
It was a mistake that only one corner of my mouth went up, but he seemed flustered and avoided my eyes.
“Since you know, shall we go quickly? I need to finish my confession, don’t I?”
The priest who always guided me to the ‘confession’ room right next to the punishment room nodded repeatedly and hurried his steps.
And immediately after entering the confession room, I left the prayer room as soon as he departed from the door.
* * *
The attendant walking behind the Crown Prince glanced at his master’s profile that was briefly visible.
‘He had no gains today either.’
Theodore Mayer, heir to the Emperor who inherited the fire magic and unique magic ‘disguise’ passed down through the imperial family for generations.
He had been living anxious days for several years due to a curse that suddenly appeared one day.
‘…A curse that makes you go mad when you see blood.’
While it was known to the public that the Crown Prince had strong magic but lacked control over it, the truth was that he had become unstable due to this curse.
The only ways to break the curse were the unique magic ‘nullification’ or divine power, but no one with the former ability could be found in the current generation, and the latter wasn’t strong enough to break this curse.
So in the end, they were tracking through the high priest to find out which half-demon had cast the curse.
If they knew who cast the curse, they could interrogate them or use their bloodline to break it.
The half-demons insisted they knew nothing about it, but if they presented the high priest’s tracking as evidence, they wouldn’t be able to say anything.
But unfortunately, for several years, the high priest had only given the answer that he was still tracking.
“It doesn’t seem like a curse cast by an ordinary half-demon.”
“You say the same thing every time.”
“I apologize, Your Highness.”
His Highness said it wasn’t pleasant to see the gentle old priest at a loss, so recently he had been restraining himself from going to the temple as much as possible.
He even said he would manage things so no problems would arise even if he lived with this curse for life.
‘Though he did become gloomy on days without news…’
The person who always accepted situations with composure seemed unable to easily calm his mind today.
And the attendant knew the reason.
“That bastard, hah… The Second Prince is at the temple?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Bring him here.”
Because it would bring great dishonor to the imperial family if what happened between the Emperor and the pure-blood heir of the half-demons leaked out, a gag order was issued about that fact.
But anyone in the palace, except for those who had recently arrived, all knew.
That the Second Prince was the result of that incident.
So if he had any shame, he shouldn’t have been wandering around outside like this. The Emperor could have killed the Second Prince at any time, and while that would have been easier, he had kept him alive.
‘Even if he has no memories from childhood, shouldn’t he be reading the room and living carefully by now?’
Unless the palace servants of the prince’s palace were doing nothing and raising the prince as a scoundrel…
Just as Theodore’s attendant, hiding his inner thoughts, was about to go fetch the Second Prince.
“Oh! This, this! Isn’t this hyung?”
That very shameless person appeared and caused an even bigger incident.
“…Hyung?”
Seeing Theodore’s face turn frighteningly cold, the attendant started hiccupping.
Of course, no one paid attention to him.
“Yes! Heup-cha.”
Where on earth had he appeared from?
The Second Prince climbed over the railing of the corridor that opened toward the garden, then lightly landed two steps away from the Crown Prince.
And with a grin, he smiled with a very scheming expression and said.
“How about it, since we’re meeting after a long time, shall we have some tea?”
Was he… always someone who spoke like that?
Elegant pronunciation. A way of speaking that wasn’t slow but seemed to drag, making it feel like whispering right next to one’s ear.
The attendant forcibly suppressed his hiccups while squinting.
Theodore’s cold golden eyes slowly followed such a Second Prince.
“Hm? Theodore hyung.”
…The shame of the imperial family that he faced head-on for the first time in 12 years had grown up to look exactly like a demon from old books.
A demon playing malicious pranks.
* * *
“Have you lost your mind?”
Theodore hyung’s face was expressionless as he asked, tilting his head slightly.
I grinned with my eyes crinkling and bobbed my head as I spoke.
“Let’s say I’ve become shameless. So, don’t you have time?”
“…”
For a moment, an intense aura concentrated on me so strongly that my heart seemed to shrink.
It was uncommon for a Sword Master to release such aura toward someone with no martial power.
‘He must hate me that much.’
Fortunately, since this was something I experienced constantly before my regression, I was able to maintain my suspicious appearance without wavering.
Hyung looked at me quietly, then turned around indifferently.
“Follow me.”
“Oh!”
I playfully added an exclamation of joy, then followed behind him with light steps.
As expected, the place he headed to was one of the interrogation rooms in the basement that no one visited.
Well, this was the only place without the temple’s ears right now.
Throughout the descent, I deliberately chose actions that would provoke him.
“It’s dark. Is this your taste, hyung?”
“…”
“Or are you embarrassed to talk with me?”
“…”
“Hyung, hyuung. Can’t you hear me?”
“His Majesty.”
He who had been quietly listening suddenly stopped and spoke without even turning to look at me.
“Would not punish me even if I cut you down here.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
