Chapter 94
“So that’s how it turned out. Princess, you’ve been through so much.”
“That’s not exactly what I wanted to hear… Is that really how it happened?”
I let out a hollow laugh, and Cedric shrugged as if it were unbelievable.
“After everything you’ve been through, what could I even say? Falling into the middle of Dreis Prison with no memory… I can only imagine how shocked you must have been. Your time at the prison must have been really eventful.”
Since learning that I had possessed Lemoni, and then realizing that Lemoni had been me all along, Cedric had kept me company for several days, apparently bored without anything else to do.
After that, the past Lemoni mostly traveled with Kice and the knights of the Southern Empire, going here and there. Some days, she would talk with orcs in the dining hall; other days, she would stroll through the outdoor garden with elves, laughing freely.
It seemed that past Lemoni wasn’t particularly despairing about the time she hadn’t existed. If it were me, I’d have been confused and struggling, but she instead moved energetically, making new companions and gathering information. If this continued, she would become the complete Lemoni, combining both her past and future selves.
Even if I died, I would never know my past.
“By the way, it seems Reilia is facing execution.”
My thoughts were interrupted by the sigh Cedric let out across from me.
“How dare she split Princess Christina’s soul in two.”
His expression was complicated, his brow furrowed as if the tea he drank had suddenly turned bitter. He probably still hadn’t recovered from the shock of hearing what Reilia had done.
“I heard from Ian that she’s currently in the torture chamber.”
“And what about Deon?”
“Hmm…”
He didn’t really know.
“I’m not sure,” Cedric admitted.
I sipped my tea as if I weren’t bothered. In truth, I hadn’t seen Deon since then. I had tried, but the rooms and reception areas where he stayed were always empty.
“Didn’t you ask him? I thought you’d be the first to want news of Reilia,” I said.
My lower lip twitched slightly as I drank. Cedric had seen more than anyone else just how obsessed Deon had been with me ever since our time together in the prison.
“He’s probably busy with negotiations. I haven’t seen him since dinner.”
With the appearance of the procession, the headquarters of the Khan Confederation started to mix various monsters with vampires, and as a result, the tension between the vampires and the monsters became palpable.
In that chaos, my position was ambiguous. Outwardly, I was a princess from the Southern Empire, but the monsters seemed able to sense Ian’s aura, and so they neither approached me nor spoke first. Nor did the vampires under the Duke of Ermenst pay me much attention.
“Of course Deon would be busy. In a way, it’s thanks to Ian that we managed to get out of the centaur territory alive,” Cedric continued.
“Did it really take that long?”
All I could do now was stay in my room, sipping tea.
“At first, we thought we might die there. But Deon volunteered to become a monstrosity himself and suppressed all the monsters at the entrance of the territory. Of course, I treated him afterward to restore him from monstrosity.”
“…Is that even possible?”
I thought I’d misheard. Only I could calm Deon when he became a monstrosity.
“Yes. Even Deon, once transformed, was still human underneath. I thought he might die. Pouring holy power into him while he was in that state made me question whether I was a saint or a knight myself,” Cedric said.
I paused mid-sip at that.
Deon no longer needed me. For some reason, I remembered his face from before—when he had looked at past Lemoni with such intensity.
Could it be that he distanced himself because he no longer needed the voice of Lemoni? That the Lemoni he knew had appeared as a soul, and her voice was no longer necessary?
No, that can’t be it.
I quickly tried to reason. Even if Deon didn’t need me, the camaraderie we built while surviving Dreis Prison together would remain. So the only reason he hadn’t come to me afterward was because he was busy with negotiations.
“Anyway, that’s a relief. We came straight to the fortress, but I was worried whether the Western Empire would even allow us in,” Cedric said.
“Wasn’t this supposed to be about negotiations in the first place?” I asked.
Fortunately, I could focus on this interesting topic with Cedric.
“Not at all. Deon came to the fortress on his own. If the Western Empire hadn’t allowed him in, he planned to force his way in. But Prince Ian unexpectedly permitted it. From what I hear, this was entirely Ian acting alone. Apparently, the Western Empire is in chaos now.”
“Excuse me?”
Hmm. My assumptions had been wrong. This wasn’t just interesting; it sounded serious.
“…Cedric.”
“Yes, Princess?”
“I don’t really understand. To what extent does Princess Christina of the Christina Duchy hold influence here?”
Cedric answered without hesitation.
“As you probably know, the title of princess is second only to the royal family in the noble hierarchy. It might even rival the royals themselves. Especially the Christina Duchy is so powerful that even the Emperor of the Southern Empire cannot easily control them. Some say the Southern Empire’s actual military strength is under the Christina Duchy’s command.”
“So it’s as influential as the Ermenst Duchy?”
Cedric’s excitement spilled over as he spoke.
“Of course! As a saint of the Southern Empire, I can assure you, the Ermenst Duchy and the Christina Duchy are equally unmatched. Even the firearms used in Dreis Prison were made by the Christina Duchy. Of course, the Ermenst Duchy has vampire princes, and I didn’t expect them to wield force collectively like that. Nor did I expect them to have enough strength to surpass Christina’s famed firearms…”
“Stop explaining about the vampires; it’s exhausting.”
“Ah, understood.”
I fell into thought, still watching Cedric smile obliviously. According to him, Princess Christina’s position was quite high. But here? During the kidnapping, as a hostage, and even in the negotiation meetings, I wasn’t even called upon.
“Cedric. Are the Southern Empire knights still here?”
“Yes. They’re safe. They’re probably in the room with the knights who came with the procession.”
“Then guide me there.”
“You look so cute heading toward the Southern Empire knights, Princess,” someone said.
“Humans are everywhere now,” I muttered.
“Keep your mouth shut. Who are you to speak to the Princess so boldly?”
The corridors of the fortress were rougher than I expected. As soon as we stepped outside, the waiting Ermenst knights sneered at us.
Though the Southern Empire knight protecting me led the way, the Ermenst knights looked at us like we were just more appetizing prey.
“Mouthwatering…”
“I told you to keep your mouth shut,” I snapped.
As their faces twisted in offense, a tall man appeared behind the Ermenst knights and dropped a hand onto one of their shoulders.
“It seems you don’t realize how your words could affect negotiations, a mere knight, when speaking to the Princess.”
Kice, standing with an aura that made even vampires flinch, lowered his eyes.
“Typical stupidity, speaking lightly,” he muttered.
“It was a joke in a private space. Not even funny,” the knight retorted.
“Making boundary-crossing jokes seems typical of half-hearted vampires. Such jokes will land with neither humans nor monsters,” Kice remarked.
“…Human.”
“It’s a joke. Not funny anyway.”
When the Ermenst knights bristled at Kice’s words, he lightly nudged their shoulders and approached me.
“Sorry for being late, Princess,” he said calmly.
His gaze remained neutral as he apologized. But what could I say? After being freed from prison, Kice no longer hid his emotions as he once had.
“Why are you late?”
“…I’m sorry.”
He repeated his words after a brief pause.
“If you don’t want to say, it’s fine.”
“I’m sorry,” he replied again.
With a brief bow, he quietly followed behind me. He clearly found it difficult to explain why he had been delayed. It didn’t matter now, but usually, Kice would have stayed by my side out of duty as my protector.
Yet I soon realized why he didn’t need to explain: I could already tell why Kice had been late to guard me.
“Princess, are you alright?”
Cedric, guiding me, tilted his head. My gaze drifted to the outdoor garden beyond the pillars. More precisely, I was watching past Lemoni and Deon sitting on a bench, deep in conversation.
