Chapter 06
The priest placed a stiff, rectangular bag, decorated with gold leaf and made of fine leather, on top of a small table. Then, in a low voice, he chanted an incantation.
Click.
The latch opened on its own, and the bag unlocked.
‘Wow! That’s like magic!’
Witnessing such a mysterious sight for the first time, Rorre’s eyes grew wide.
‘I want to show this to Mom and Grandpa too!’
But since the atmosphere around him was so solemn, Rorre couldn’t openly express his excitement. Instead, he just tapped his feet a few times on the carpet.
Inside the bag lay a small box, only large enough to fit a ring.
With careful hands, the priest took out the box. On the lid was engraved the crest of the temple.
“Since it bears the temple’s crest, this is indeed a sacred relic of the temple,” Hagenz remarked after seeing the box.
“That’s right! It has already been verified. As soon as I was summoned, I brought it at once,” the priest replied.
When he opened the box, a shining ring was revealed.
“First, His Grace, Grand Duke Atelleon, will wear this ring. Then, the person undergoing the bloodline test shall wear it. That would be this young girl. If the transparent gem at the center of the ring remains clear, it signifies true blood. If it changes color, it means she is not of his blood.”
The priest pointed at the ring as he explained. Then he bowed and handed the box over to Alcade.
The Grand Duke Alcade first wore the ring. After waiting a moment, he removed it and handed it to Rorre.
“So now I should wear the ring?” Rorre asked with sparkling eyes.
The priest kindly nodded. “That’s correct.”
Smiling brightly at the ring, Rorre suddenly noticed a big problem.
“But the ring is too big for me!”
A ring that fit an adult man like Alcade could hardly fit properly on a five-year-old child.
If Rorre wore it as it was, the ring would spin around his finger and slip right off.
And since the room was enormous, what if the precious ring rolled away and got lost?
At Rorre’s worried remark, the priest laughed heartily.
“This is no ordinary ring. Since it’s a sacred relic, it automatically resizes to fit whoever wears it.”
Rorre’s eyes widened again.
‘Wow, that’s amazing!’
A ring that could change size!
He didn’t know what a sacred relic was, but he clearly understood the part about the size changing.
As Rorre gazed at the ring with twinkling eyes—
Flutter—
The golden book appeared at his side again. But, as always, no one else in the room seemed to notice it.
[Rorre, that ring is….]
Words appeared on the pages. When Rorre read them, his eyes grew round in shock.
“Excuse me.”
While Rorre hesitated, distracted by the book, the priest slipped the ring onto his finger.
Flash—
The ring instantly shrank to fit Rorre’s small finger.
But then, the transparent jewel in the ring turned black in an instant.
A heavy silence fell.
The gemstone had changed color.
Its meaning was clear as day.
The priest carefully looked toward Grand Duke Atelleon and declared:
“…This child is not Your Grace’s blood.”
The moment the gem darkened, the aides in the room all froze.
They couldn’t speak at first, then burst into confused exclamations.
“See, I knew it…!”
“How dare she impersonate His Grace’s child…!”
Their anxious gazes darted between Alcade and Rorre, but none dared step forward.
As the tension in the room mounted, Hagenz suddenly erupted at Rorre.
“What nonsense is this! How dare you try to deceive the Grand Duke! Even if you are a child, such blasphemous behavior cannot be forgiven!”
His voice rose sharply, his face red with anger.
He had seen firsthand how desperately Alcade had been searching for Elaine.
And now someone dared mock him with this? Unforgivable.
“Enough.”
Alcade’s calm voice cut through the uproar. Just a single word, yet it was enough to silence the room. Even Hagenz fell quiet.
A heavy stillness weighed over the office.
Then, Rorre raised her small hand high.
“What does true blood mean?”
Her innocent voice was warm and childlike, but the air in the room froze at once.
Did she just ask… what true blood meant?
Sharp eyes turned on Rorre.
But she only blinked her wide eyes and looked around in confusion.
‘What is true blood that makes the adults so angry? I never learned that word either… Adults use so many hard words that I don’t understand…’
Rorre turned her trusting gaze toward Alcade.
‘Since my dad is a grand duke, he must know everything!’
Her eyes sparkled with pure faith.
“Ha!”
Hagenz let out a bitter laugh—not out of amusement, but rage.
Plenty of frauds had claimed to know Elaine’s whereabouts before, but to use a child in such a scam?
If not for Alcade’s command, Hagenz would have already thrown her out himself.
At that moment, Alcade met Rorre’s eyes and spoke.
“Not being true blood means… you are not my daughter. It means you lied.”
“Mm. I see.”
Rorre nodded seriously, her eyes wide.
As expected, my dad is amazing. He knows all the hard words.
But then—
She scrunched her face, lifted her head, and smiled at him.
“But I really am your daughter!”
She puffed out her chest proudly, as if declaring victory.
That was the last straw for Hagenz.
“Your Grace, you don’t need to listen any further. That child should be—”
“Why do you think so?”
Alcade interrupted, turning to Rorre.
“Because this ring was used wrong!” Rorre exclaimed, waving her tiny hand with the ring.
Beside her, the golden book fluttered as if praising her.
On its shimmering pages, glowing golden letters appeared.
Rorre squinted at it and tried to wink. To the adults, it just looked like she squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again.
The priest’s face flushed red. Even while glancing nervously at Alcade, he raised his voice.
“This ring is a certified sacred relic of the temple. Are you saying the temple is mistaken?”
To claim the relic was flawed was to insult the temple itself. No priest could let that go.
But though the adult man shouted, Rorre did not flinch. She planted her hands on her hips and retorted boldly:
“It wasn’t the temple, it was you who was wrong! You opened the box upside down!”
With raised brows and determined green eyes, she glared up at the priest.
‘Book, I did well, right?!’
The book had just explained the priest’s mistake to her:
[Rorre, the priest opened the box upside down. Normally, the temple crest’s pointed side should face down when opening the box. But he opened it with the pointed side up.]
The explanation had been simple enough for even little Rorre to understand.
Though she didn’t remember every word, she confidently repeated the most important part.
The Atellion Empire worshiped the god Atan, famous for its sacred crest with unique symbolism.
The crest showed a large circle in the center with several small triangles beneath it.
The circle symbolized the source of life and divine power. The downward-pointing triangles represented the blessings of the noble god descending upon the world.
The first commandment of Atan’s faith: Deliver the god’s grace faithfully to the world.
Thus, the temple crest always had to be placed with the triangles pointing downward.
[The crest must be properly placed, Rorre! Only then will the relic’s divine power function.]
The book had cut short its lecture and given her the key point instead.
[If the crest is not positioned correctly, the relic cannot work properly!]
Which meant—
The fact that the priest, who should have known this, had opened the box incorrectly was very suspicious indeed.
