Chapter – 27
After breakfast ended, the people of Fitencia all began preparing to return to the Empire.
Dee, who had been extremely uncomfortable during the meal, felt as though even the small amount she ate had completely settled in her stomach.
Sitting under the shade of a tree to digest her food, Dee took out the button Kyle had given her and began examining it, now that she had a moment to spare.
As she focused on the emblem of Phaeton—a combined crest of the Fitencian imperial family and the House of Tolte—a man’s voice sounded from behind her.
“What are you staring at so intently?”
Dee turned around to see Jason standing there. She clenched her fist to hide the button, but Jason grabbed her wrist.
Forcing her hand open, he snatched the button from her palm. After checking the emblem, Jason clicked his tongue once and asked,
“How did you know? That it was this emblem.”
…He admitted it himself?
Not missing the opportunity, Dee cupped her own face with one hand and said,
“I tried not to read it, really. But my divine powers kept showing me this emblem. It couldn’t be helped.”
“I told you not to be curious. Do you want to die?”
At Jason’s threat, Dee let out a deep sigh.
“Jason. Since coming to Phaeton, the thing I’ve heard most often is death threats. I’m not even scared anymore.”
“You’re really something… You’re the least priestess-like priestess I’ve ever seen.”
Grumbling, Jason sat down beside her. Still holding onto her wrist, he asked,
“So. Did you also figure out who the person I was thinking of is?”
She had no idea, but Dee nodded anyway.
“I couldn’t help but find out.”
“Then you know I could kill you right here.”
Jason pulled her closer, but Dee slapped his hand away, glared at him, and said,
“In a place this open? You, who covets the emperor’s throne—how exactly would you kill me, a priestess? Stop trying to scare me. I’m not afraid at all.”
Jason, who had been threatening her, let out an involuntary chuckle.
She looked cute, yet those fearless eyes glaring at him intrigued him. And to casually mention “coveting the emperor’s throne” like that—she had nerves of steel.
Jason shrugged.
“You’re right. Still, let’s both agree our lives are precious, Priestess. The button is confiscated.”
He slipped the button into his pocket and walked away. Shortly after, Dee stood up as well.
It seemed that emblem on the button had struck a nerve with Jason.
Arms crossed, Dee walked along deep in thought. Then she spotted Kyle standing in front of the castle gates to see off the emperor and ran toward him.
Focusing on the emblem, Dee grabbed Kyle’s uniform jacket with both hands and pulled him closer to examine the button. Kyle, flustered, asked,
“W-What are you doing?”
“Jason took my button. Don’t talk to me for a second. I’m thinking.”
Kyle couldn’t even bring himself to look directly at Dee, who was studying the emblem with a serious expression right in front of him, and instead stared blankly into the air.
Meanwhile, Dee examined the Phaeton crest closely. Fitencia’s sun. The Tolte family’s rose…
If the emblem Jason had in mind was the imperial crest of Fitencia, then did that mean the person he was thinking of was Emperor William?
If so, Jason would be—
A loyal subject!
Dee shook her head. If that were the case, there’d be no reason to hide it. What kind of world hides loyalty?
Then… could it be a hidden love?
Finally letting go of the button, Dee covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes welling up.
Well, even in modern society it would be hard to reveal. And here? Even harder. And a “little uncle” at that—what a mess… Or maybe not?
Watching Dee cycle through expressions on her own, Kyle began to worry instead of feeling tense.
Thankfully, before Kyle could ask if she’d lost her mind, Dee thought of a woman.
Two crests overlapping in Phaeton’s emblem—the woman of House Tolte and at the same time the Empress of Fitencia, Rona Cleis.
Dee swallowed hard. Looking around, she spotted Rona and Jason greeting each other in front of a carriage. The two chatted cheerfully, laughing, and Jason kissed the back of Rona’s hand before stepping back.
Unable to bear Dee’s constant facial changes any longer, Kyle asked,
“What are you thinking about that your face keeps changing like that?”
“Hey, Kyle.”
“Yeah?”
“So… cousin marriage is allowed here, right?”
“Yeah. Especially among royalty—bloodlines matter. Cousin marriages are actually more common.”
“What about remarriage? Are empresses free to remarry?”
“Not exactly free. But once the emperor dies, empresses lose power, so very rarely they remarry into influential families to maintain it. Dating, though—that’s pretty common.”
Dee’s mind became a tangled mess. It was unlikely, but if what she was thinking was true…
What if Jason and Rona loved each other?
What if the two of them were conspiring together…?
Dee asked,
“Have you ever thought that Jason might like Rona?”
Kyle responded as if the idea were absurd.
“What kind of horrible thing is th— huh?”
“Huh?”
“Huuh?”
Kyle’s pupils shook as he searched his memory. He opened his mouth as if to explain, then immediately sighed. A brief silence fell between them.
After a moment, Kyle muttered,
“Jason originally wanted to marry Rona, his cousin. But Rona didn’t. Her marriage to my father, who’s thirty years older than her, was basically an escape.”
Dee felt bitter, suddenly feeling sorry for Rona, when Kyle continued,
“So if you look at Jason alone, it’s obvious. That bastard is obsessed with Rona. And as you’ve probably heard, it’s true he’s changed completely and started ruling benevolently. It’s also true that the two of them have grown much closer recently.”
“You mean Jason’s change could have swayed Rona’s heart?”
“Then Crown Prince Sian being critically ill could be a joint crime between those two.”
“That could be… Ah! What if they try to hurt you too?”
“They probably would. In this continent, the most powerful forces are the Fitencian imperial family, House Tolte in the northwest, and House Depp in the south. If Rona and Jason join hands, there’s nothing to fear.”
“Kyle… Don’t die.”
As Dee spoke with a face on the verge of tears, Kyle let out a small laugh.
“Alright. I won’t die.”
He headed toward the carriage to see off the emperor. Watching his back, Dee clenched both fists tightly.
It seemed that safely surviving and enjoying castle life was still a distant future.
* * *
The mages scattered across the Lukina continent were powerful.
If they ever worked as a team, they could probably tear Phaeton off the map and attach it to the south. Of course, they never would.
Jason Depp, riding in a carriage, was still suffering from a hangover.
It took ten days from Phaeton to the Fitencian Empire, and another ten days from there to the south—but riding a carriage made by a mage family turned ten days into ten hours. Twenty hours total to reach the south.
The cost to operate such a carriage was enormous, so only the highest nobility could afford it. Even then, they usually packed it with as many passengers as possible.
Yet the king of the south lay sprawled alone inside this money-guzzling carriage.
The south was overflowing with wealth. After all, when Jason Depp was exiled there, he took two-thirds of the Fitencian imperial treasury with him.
“And yet there’s not a single way to cure a hangover…”
Jason grumbled.
Lying there alone, the image of the priestess with light-green eyes unexpectedly came to mind.
The biggest variable in his carefully laid plans was the unforeseen appearance of Priestess Diana. That was why he’d gone to Phaeton—to confirm whether she truly possessed divine power.
As it turned out, divine power aside, Roxand was at her side. She was undeniably a legitimate priestess.
The mages of the Lukina continent possessed great physical power, but were helpless against the unseen. They couldn’t manipulate emotions or heal illnesses without visible wounds.
That was why priestesses existed—those who controlled emotions and healed disease.
“Ah, what a headache.”
Jason pulled out the arm he’d been using as a pillow and lit a cigarette. Roxand’s appearance in Phaeton was not a good sign.
It would be best to get off the carriage and return to the western temple.
Either take Priestess Diana to the south—or, if that wasn’t possible, kill her on the spot.
Jason reached for the curtain hanging by the carriage window to stop it. At that moment, a green-eyed fox leaped in through the window.
This carriage was incomparably fast compared to ordinary ones. No real animal could jump into it.
Jason looked at Roxand and asked,
“Why did you appear in front of Kyle? Do you want him to be the next emperor?”
Roxand curled up on the seat, wrapping his unusually long, fluffy tail around himself. When he fell asleep just like that, Jason let out a small laugh.
“Or are you going to follow me to the south?”
He lay back down on the seat.
“Well, either way, I don’t really care.”
* * *
After that, Roxand didn’t return to the western temple for several days. Tired of waiting, Dee’s temper finally exploded again.
“That bastard Roxand didn’t come back again, AGAIN! If he’s going to keep running away, then don’t ever come back, you jerk!”
Seriously—every time she looked away, he disappeared. Making people worry had its limits. If he were at least strong, she wouldn’t complain. Just a fox, for goodness’ sake!
“Maybe foxes aren’t animals you can let roam free. Next time I see him, I should put a leash on him.”
At Dee’s irritated voice, Ritader asked worriedly,
“You said the last time you saw him, he followed Prince Jason, right?”
“Yeah. I saw him go after Jason.”
Dee sighed deeply.
“Well, he’ll come back when it’s time.”
“That’s right. I’ll keep leaving alcohol in the temple reception room every day, Priestess.”
“Thanks. That fox is making humans suffer for no reason.”
Saying that, she left the temple.
It was midsummer in Phaeton.
Since arriving on the continent, the hottest it had ever gotten in Phaeton was about 28 degrees Celsius.
On days like that, the heat-sensitive people of Phaeton lay in the shade, writhing and barely surviving the day.
From what she heard, even in winter the lowest temperature only dropped to around −2 or −3 degrees. It was a very comfortable country for Dee to live in.
For her, the current summer heat was just “a bit warm,” but the others looked like they could barely breathe.
To prepare for summer, Dee tied her hair tightly into a single braid. She tucked a carefully packed snack box under her arm and greeted Ritader.
“I’m heading to the library again today, Ritader.”
Ritader’s eyes sparkled as he clenched his fist in encouragement.
“Yes! Succeed today! You can do it, Priestess!”
“Yeah!”
Determined, Dee headed to the third floor of the library, where the theology books were.
The book she decided to read today was The Priestess Compendium. While The Catiline Faith Biographical Dictionary summarized all religious figures in one or two pages, this compendium provided far more detailed accounts of each priestess.
Today, Dee planned to study the figure named “Diana Estrella.” She’d been living as Priestess Diana without knowing who she actually was.
Today, at the very least, she resolved to finish reading everything about Priestess Diana.
Taking the compendium from the shelf, Dee placed the soft cushion she’d brought by a wide sunlit window and sat on it.
The life of Diana Estrella was dull from the very beginning.
[Born as the second daughter of Count Estrella, Diana Estrella faithfully believed in the god Roxand from a young age. One day, the god Roxand chose her as his priest—]
Dee fell asleep.
