Chapter 163
‘Could the Empress be watching us?’
More precisely, there was a high possibility she was watching Alice.
The Empress must have noticed from the series of events that Alice was no ordinary rural lady.
And then there was her holy power.
The Empress likely knew Alice’s holy power was unusual, but she wouldn’t have expected it to be strong enough to break her black magic.
After all, the Empress’s black magic would have been received from the Dark Specter, its source of power.
She couldn’t have imagined someone could break it to that extent.
But after the hunting ground incident, she would have realized that Alice’s holy power was stronger than expected…
The Empress would have grown suspicious.
The suspicion that Alice might be very close to the Chief Deity, that she might be a human specially chosen by the Chief Deity.
The Empress was not a stupid person.
If her thoughts had reached that far, she would also wonder why the Chief Deity, who hadn’t given an oracle for a hundred years, suddenly bestowed special power on Alice.
As her suspicions deepened and more connections were made, she would eventually notice the reason the Chief Deity had chosen Alice.
That the Chief Deity knew there was a Dark Specter beneath the Empress’s Palace.
And she would conclude that the Chief Deity was trying to use Alice to destroy the Dark Specter’s magic circle.
Of course, these conclusions could only be reached if the Empress were thinking perfectly clearly.
But even just suspecting Alice wasn’t a good situation.
Because word of Alice’s exceptional nature might reach the ears of the Dark Specter.
If the Dark Specter sensed something amiss before the Empress reached her conclusion and tried to break its seal…
The Empress would stop at nothing.
Despite deducing all this, Kylus could do nothing.
He couldn’t see or eliminate the Dark Specter’s magic circle.
So both sides, with their shrewd minds, could only theorize and wait.
Until the Chief Deity made a move.
‘Surely Chief Deity Helios hasn’t told Alice to stand back and given up on everything.’
The entire continent would be destroyed if the specter awakened.
Kylus felt he was overthinking and abandoned this line of thought.
After all, Helios was the master of this world.
He wouldn’t abandon the world he created.
Still, he couldn’t help feeling troubled.
Just as he loosened his cravat and let out a deep sigh in frustration, a knock sounded at the quiet office door.
“Commander. A priest from the temple is here to see you. He says he has something to discuss with you about the upcoming blessing ceremony for the knight brigade.”
Kylus straightened up from his reclined position and replied, “Show him in.”
The door opened with a click, and a priest with a familiar face entered and greeted him.
“Commander-in-Chief. I am Violet, a junior priest of the temple.”
“Haven’t we met before? My wife is quite fond of you, so I remember your face.”
“I am always grateful that the Duchess holds me in such high regard.”
Violet smiled sincerely.
An ordinary person would have responded to that pure smile with at least a faint smile of their own.
But unfortunately, Kylus was someone whose capacity for empathy was not expressed toward anyone except Alice.
After a brief pause, Kylus cut to the point.
“Priest Violet. What message does the temple have about the blessing ceremony? Is there a problem?”
The blessing ceremony. It was a routine event held once a year.
A ceremony where priests bestowed blessings for good fortune in battle upon newly appointed knights.
According to the event report Kylus had approved, there was nothing particularly problematic.
Yet they suddenly sent a priest.
As Kylus’s gaze sharpened slightly, Violet unexpectedly said,
“I apologize, Commander. I lied to see you.”
“…What? Lied?”
Kylus’s eyebrows raised askew, and his demeanor turned severe.
He was suppressing his aura as much as possible, recognizing that this was someone Alice cared for.
But despite his efforts, his presence was still overwhelming, causing Violet’s shoulders to tremble slightly before taking a deep breath and speaking.
“I didn’t come today regarding the blessing ceremony. I… was ordered by High Priest Prion to deliver a letter to you.”
Violet, visibly tense, approached the desk step by step and carefully placed the letter that Prion had instructed him to deliver.
Kylus’s gaze followed down to the desk.
A common black envelope rather than the Temple of Light’s official correspondence envelope.
Even the seal pressed into the wax wasn’t the temple’s insignia.
This meant it was a personal letter from Prion to him.
Away from others’ eyes.
Kylus raised his gaze to look at Violet.
“Did High Priest Prion give you any special message to deliver along with this letter?”
“…He didn’t give any special message.”
Violet swallowed dryly under Kylus’s piercing gaze and answered.
“He only instructed me to deliver this letter to you discreetly, and to burn it after you’ve read it.”
Kylus lowered his gaze from Violet and picked up the envelope.
Without hesitation, he cut out the wax seal with a golden paper knife.
Upon opening the envelope and seeing the contents, Kylus’s eyebrow twitched.
And for good reason—there was only a single line written on the paper.
[Please come to the temple alone at midnight tomorrow.]
It was a highly suspicious letter.
To come alone to the temple late at night.
Anyone’s first thought would be the dangerous suspicion: ‘Is this an attempt to lure me to my death?’
At midnight, alone.
Every word was significant.
For a moment, Kylus himself harbored such suspicions. After all, even the envelope wasn’t from the temple.
‘Is this really from Prion?’
He had his doubts, but seeing the name written below the brief sentence, he set them aside.
Prion Minasterio.
The handwriting, including the ceremonial name received from the Pope, was certainly High Priest Prion’s.
He could tell because there were framed quotes from the high priests hanging on the temple lobby wall, complete with their ceremonial names.
Though he didn’t visit the temple often, Kylus’s eye for detail was exceptional, so he naturally remembered the high priests’ handwriting.
So this was indeed from Prion.
But why would he suddenly send such a letter?
It wasn’t as if Prion had suddenly gone mad and was calling him to kill him.
And if such a situation arose, it would be Prion who died, not Kylus.
Kylus let out a low groan before his face hardened.
He seemed to understand why Prion was summoning him in the dead of night.
Kylus applied slight pressure to the hand holding the letter, then eventually burned it in the scented candle as Violet had instructed.
The envelope too. All of it.
Fresh black ashes accumulated on top of the black ashes that had already settled from the burning parchment.
Kylus pushed the pile of black ashes under the desk and said to Violet,
“Tell High Priest Prion I received his letter.”
“Yes, Duke.”
Violet hastily bowed to Kylus, whose face had frozen like frost, and left the office.
Kylus gazed at the black ashes that had fallen beneath the desk, resembling the Dark Specter, and murmured softly,
“…So you’ve finally decided to move.”
Behind him, the evening bell of the administrative palace rang loudly, signaling the end of the day.
A night with an exceptionally clear sky.
Alice was having dinner alone with Kylus, something they hadn’t done in a long time.
The table was laden with all sorts of food: juicy steak, roast duck, salad, cheese and bread, and vegetable stew.
But the masters of the table were barely touching the sumptuous feast before them.
Alice, especially.
She was chattering incessantly to Kylus about what had happened at the First Prince’s palace.
Alice, unable to hide her excitement, was just getting to the climax of her story.
The moment when Count Latrang created a twist just as she thought they would have to give up on catching the Empress.
“When Count Latrang simply stated that he had the book, it was like seeing a ray of light in the darkness, you know?”
Alice placed both hands on her chest as if overwhelmed.
“Even now, my heart races when I think of that moment. To think evidence from two years ago that should have disappeared was still there.”
“That is surprising,” Kylus replied softly.
“Surprising indeed. And it felt like fate. Like a divine message to reveal the Empress’s evil deeds.”
Alice continued with sparkling eyes.
“Think about it. The moment I save the First Prince, evidence that can expose the Empress’s crime appears—it’s too miraculous to be a coincidence.”
“It is miraculous.”
As Kylus nodded, Alice exhaled with satisfaction and moved her pink lips.
“Anyway, once it’s revealed that the Empress was the true culprit who attempted to poison the First Prince, her true face will be thoroughly exposed to the world. She’ll have to relinquish her crown. And naturally, she’ll be driven out of the Empress’s Palace.”
After speaking excitedly, Alice lowered her voice and added,
“Then that dangerous thing in the Empress’s Palace will be safe for the time being.”
“…Yes.”
“Isn’t that wonderful?!”
Alice looked at Kylus with a bright smile. And then she paused.
Because Kylus wasn’t looking at her. He was staring down at his plate with lowered gaze.
He wasn’t even cutting his steak. His hands holding the fork and knife were motionless.
The corners of Alice’s mouth, which had been raised high, slowly descended as she observed his face, which seemed to be in deep contemplation.
‘Come to think of it… Kylus’s reactions have been lukewarm throughout my entire story.’
Alice now realized that Kylus’s responses had been mechanical the entire time she was speaking.
‘They were almost one-word answers…’
While she was talking, she had been so eager to share this joyful news with Kylus that she hadn’t noticed anything else.
‘Is something wrong?’
As Alice gazed quietly at Kylus, he raised his head, sensing her gaze.
