CH:12
“Is there truly someone who dares to undermine the authority of the gods?”
It was when Amelia opened her eyes again. The people, forgetting for a moment that it was supposed to be a solemn time of prayer, lowered their bodies slightly and whispered among themselves.
“Who is it?”
“The North?”
“Reed?”
Normally, Aaron would have strictly controlled even the smallest noise. But now he stood still, silently observing everything.
“If it’s them, it makes sense. They’ve done it before…”
It was all unfolding exactly as he had planned. Aaron had said that the greater the commotion among the people, the better. Amelia took a relieved breath. A sudden dizziness overcame her.
“The priestess seems tired.”
Aaron quickly climbed the platform and held Amelia’s arm, supporting her.
“Let us end the prayer time here for today.”
The seated people stood up in murmurs. As Aaron helped Amelia down from the platform, they bowed their heads deeply.
“……”
It was clearly fanatical devotion. As she walked down the central carpeted aisle, Amelia lowered her gaze, unable to bear the overwhelming guilt. She couldn’t look at the people who sought her prayers. Regardless of the reason, Amelia was deceiving them. Excuses meant nothing.
“Well done.”
It was just as she exited the prayer room. Along with the sound of the door closing behind her, Aaron’s praise pierced her ears. Though softly spoken, it stabbed Amelia with self-loathing.
“Let go of me.”
She tried to wriggle out of Aaron’s grasp. In truth, his touch was unbearable. A fierce sense of repulsion surged through her.
“I must speak with you anyway, so let us go to your quarters like this.”
But Aaron did not release her. Just like always.
“……”
Amelia fell silent and walked beside him in resignation. Aaron, under the pretense of supporting her tired steps, accompanied her into the small sitting room attached to her bedchamber.
“If you have something to say, say it and leave.”
As soon as the door shut, Amelia smacked his hand away in defiance. As if expecting it, Aaron calmly folded his hand back.
“The Night of Coming of Age.”
With a smiling face, Aaron dropped a bomb. He knew it was the very topic Amelia least wanted to hear. Perhaps, from his perspective, the more she resisted, the more fun it was to torment her.
“You know it’s not far off.”
Amelia bit her lips tightly and turned her gaze away from Aaron. But her trembling eyes betrayed her shaken emotions.
“One month remains.”
Perceptive as ever, Aaron informed her of the time left, mocking her with the countdown to her remaining freedom.
“I plan to allow you a certain degree of freedom until then.”
“……”
“So long as you behave like you did today.”
It was a calculated tactic—offering a carrot before tightening the reins.
“You know, don’t you? As a priestess, you have a duty to ensure the holy legend continues through the generations.”
His soothing tone made Amelia turn to look at him. He was watching her with the face everyone praised as benevolent.
“Why?”
“……”
“Why must that holy legend go on? Why must it not end here?”
His supposedly kind expression turned to one of pity.
“You still don’t understand?”
His look asked how she could still not know the reason.
“Because your value lies in that.”
“…That’s all?”
Amelia asked with a trembling voice. A slow smile crept across Aaron’s lips.
“……”
His silence was a clear answer. Amelia froze like a statue.
“I’ll be going, then. Don’t want any unnecessary misunderstandings.”
Aaron turned his back to her and left. Only after he had completely disappeared beyond the door did sensation return to her limbs. She finally noticed that her hands were trembling pathetically.
“Leave… I need to leave…”
Even as she clasped her hands in prayer, the shaking didn’t stop. Aaron’s words weren’t merely about fulfilling a duty.
Giving birth would ensure the priestess’s life continued—but it also meant the beginning of a death sentence.
“Run away.”
Terror consumed her mind. It was different from the fear of confronting beasts. It was a distant despair, the certainty that something would eventually devour her. Not a visible danger, but an ever-tightening noose. A kind of dread that would surely drive someone mad. And Amelia knew this all too well.
Her mother had slowly gone mad as time passed. At first, it was hatred and anger toward those who had cruelly killed her child. But eventually, it became terror toward her own looming death.
“…Where did you go, Mother?”
Maybe she had wished for time to stop. But time only passed faster as Amelia grew. And so, not long ago, her mother was discarded—deemed no longer useful.
“Mother? You don’t have a mother.”
From then on, Aaron treated Amelia as if she had descended from the heavens.
“If I have a child, I die. Either the child dies or I die. That’s how this life is.”
Her mother’s voice—whispered during their rare, infrequent meetings—was faint, but certain. Aaron claimed she had gone mad long ago, but Amelia wasn’t so sure.
“Run, please…”
Her mother had wanted to go mad but could never fully lose her mind. Instead, she lived her entire life in torment, like burning alive.
“……”
Now, she truly had to escape.
Amelia’s hands, clasped together, had gone pale from the force of her grip. She knew she would share her mother’s fate if she didn’t escape.
“There is one in the North who weakens the power of the gods.”
Ivan laughed briefly upon hearing the contents of the divine revelation. As he mulled it over, he looked like someone barely suppressing his joy.
“Do they mean Reed—or me?”
Normally, Lordan would not have hesitated to speak plainly to the emperor. But now he held his tongue. Understandably so—his master was far from pleased. Lordan, who had spent years at Ivan’s side, knew this well.
“……”
Ivan turned his gaze from the reticent Lordan. It wasn’t that he wanted to torment his loyal retainer. He was simply irritated by the situation.
“The timing is suspicious. The moment I announce plans to reestablish diplomacy with Reed, this revelation appears about someone defying the divine will in the North.”
So who issued that divine will?
If a true god existed, then it was indeed the will of the gods. But if not, then it was the work of someone falsely invoking the divine. Ivan believed the latter.
“Bring me a cigar.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
At his order, the attendant hurriedly opened the cigar case. After cutting the end, he handed it to Ivan. Ivan took a deep drag and pondered.
Who believes this revelation?
“……”
The answer came with his exhale. It was a belief passed down for 200 years. Most Escliffians would believe and obey that message. Unless they were like him—a skeptic.
With each inhalation, his thoughts branched out further. What impact would this revelation have on him and the Escliff imperial family?
A warning that the gods might withdraw their favor and blessings from Escliff would instill fear in most citizens. That fear could effectively hinder his plans and tie the imperial family’s hands.
“Reestablish diplomatic ties with Reed immediately. Before the rumors spread too far and become uncontrollable.”
But Ivan had no intention of dancing to their tune. He wasn’t going to abandon his plans just because of their schemes.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Lordan, understanding his thoughts, responded without resistance. At Ivan’s gesture, he quietly exited the emperor’s office.
“I’m simply following the will.”
Alone in his office, Ivan recalled the bold face and voice that had claimed to follow the divine will. The small hands that had clung to him like a lifeline.
“Insolent…”
A twisted smile formed on his lips. She feigned kindness and pitifulness, yet constantly mocked the imperial dignity and interfered with him. In truth, he found her utterly loathsome. She was someone he could never let go unpunished.
“I’m glad I met you.”
He recalled the small voice that had once told him, “I’m glad I met you,” and made a vow.
Amelia would not die peacefully. He would make her lose everything she held dear and die in despair. He would make her regret ever thinking it was fortunate to have met him.
That would be the price for daring to manipulate him—and the rightful punishment for a fraud who deceived the world.
