21.
My mother always resented my biological father, who vanished one day without a word.
But wasn’t that too naïve of her?
‘More likely than that, it’s the Emperor who schemed to take her for himself.’
Like… maybe he killed Cardinal Heather and hid the body so no one could find it.
The Emperor is the kind of man who’d do anything to get what he wants.
‘…But that’s not the most important thing right now.’
More than the identity of the father I’ve never even seen, it’s far more important to understand the origin of my power.
The more I listen to Hist, the more the puzzle pieces fall into place.
‘A child of God killed by the Emperor’s hand.’
That probably never happened in the original story.
In the original version, Mother never even ran away from the capital to escape the Emperor.
Her diary says my biological father helped her escape—but again, that’s different from the original.
‘Have the gods been keeping an eye on me all this time—because I’m the product of events that never existed in the original story?’
It wouldn’t be strange if that were the reason they gave me such immense power.
Ever since I began seeing spirits, I’ve always wondered where my strength came from.
I just didn’t have any way to find out—or the environment to even try. So I ignored it.
‘Even this encounter with Hist today… is it the will of the gods?’
For a brief second, I had a rare moment of fatalism—but I quickly dismissed it.
Whatever the case, I have a goal to accomplish. That’s more important than anything else.
“How are you feeling, Princess Neroli?”
Hist’s voice pulled me from my deep thoughts.
Still smiling with interest, he rested his chin in his hand and watched me.
“Got your thoughts sorted out?”
“More or less.”
“Aren’t you curious why I’m telling you all of this?”
“Not really.”
At my flat answer, Hist blinked in surprise.
“Huh? Really?”
“It’s obvious. You’re going to ask me to come with you to the Pope.”
Judging by how gently he spoke when he mentioned the Pope, it seemed they were still in contact.
Besides, the current Pope had no successor.
‘He’s probably trying to lure me to the Vatican one way or another.’
Since the Emperor hates the Dahlia Church, the Pope can’t enter the Empire.
When I said this, Hist stared at me dumbfounded—then burst into laughter.
“Hahaha! Wow, Princess! Why don’t you leave the palace and open a detective agency with me? It would be so fun!”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
I replied coolly, tilting my head.
“Was that why you were interested in me from the start? Because you knew I was a child of God?”
He grinned slyly at my question.
“Hmmm~. It wouldn’t be fun if I told you everything at once, would it? I’ll tell you that next time.”
“You really think we’ll get a next time?”
“Of course. I believe it without a doubt!”
Leaning toward me, he made a confident proposal.
“Princess, how about I make a suggestion to help us grow even closer?”
“Were we ever close to begin with?”
“I only drop honorifics with people I consider close, you know.”
“You almost spoke informally with the Emperor too.”
“Oh? So you’ve been paying close attention to me. That’s a good sign.”
“You really don’t make any sense.”
With a playful smile, Hist snapped his fingers.
Suddenly, a small orb appeared in front of me.
‘What’s this?’
I frowned slightly as something flickered inside the orb—and then it started to take human form.
I couldn’t help but jump to my feet when I saw who it was.
“Morren…!”
Reflected inside the orb was a dim room.
My younger sibling Morren was lying helplessly on the bed in a room I knew all too well.
The sight made me clench my fists instinctively.
That helpless figure overlapped too much with my mother.
I tore my gaze away from Morren and glared at Hist.
Meeting my eyes, Hist quickly spoke.
“Don’t misunderstand—I don’t have a hobby of spying on people.”
“Then how do you explain this? Is that really Morren right now?”
“Well… actually, I was assigned a mission by our Vice Tower Master.”
Hist avoided my gaze and gestured to the orb.
“To check if there was anyone in the Imperial Palace with potential for the Mage Tower~ I used this magical energy detection spell I specially developed!”
“So you’re trying to recruit talent. Using unauthorized magic the palace hasn’t approved.”
“It’s not stealing—it’s more like… persuading~. And this magic? Well, let’s just say it’s the palace’s fault for failing to block me.”
Oh, but don’t worry! The Princess’s palace seems impenetrable, probably thanks to the spirits!
Hist laughed as he said that.
‘How is that reassuring?’
I looked at him coldly—then suddenly, a thought struck me and my eyes widened.
“Morren has a talent for magic, doesn’t he?”
That’s the only explanation for why he showed up in that suspicious orb.
When I muttered that, Hist snapped his fingers with a cheerful grin.
“Correct! Ding ding!”
My mother’s side—the Miban family—was a traditional line of mages.
But there hadn’t been a proper mage in generations, so the lineage had mostly been forgotten.
‘But Morren inherited that bloodline.’
And from Lord Lornod’s side, Morren inherited a body of unmatched strength.
With proper training, Morren could become a powerful mage.
‘There was no mention of this in Mother’s diary, so I never suspected it!’
As my eyes sparkled with excitement, the surrounding spirits cheered along.
[Hmm! A true child of our master’s bloodline!]
[Magic~ What a fun power~.]
[I don’t get it, but Master’s happy, so I’m happy too! Yay!]
“So your proposal is…”
“I want to take your younger sibling as my apprentice. You know being taught by me is an incredible opportunity, right?”
“The disciple of the Tower Master…!”
“If needed, our Mage Tower can even become a cozy refuge.”
“Is that true?”
That was a significant offer.
If Morren ever couldn’t stay in the palace…
It meant the Mage Tower would take him in.
‘That would secure his future.’
With the power of the Mage Tower, even the Empire would struggle to interfere.
In some ways, it was the most ideal proposal for Morren.
‘As long as he’s safe, even if everything else goes wrong…’
I quickly assessed the situation and stared into Hist’s violet eyes.
‘It’s suspicious how all his proposals benefit me, though.’
Whether he knew what I was thinking or not, Hist puffed out his chest proudly.
“So? I’m worth getting closer to, right?”
“No one is kind without wanting something. If you’re offering to protect Morren, that means you want to make me the Pope, right?”
At that, his expression turned more serious.
“It wouldn’t be bad for you, either. Word is you don’t get along well with the Crown Prince.”
“…”
“To escape the next man in power, there’s nothing safer than the Pope’s position. I’m offering a deal that guarantees your safety.”
That made me laugh bitterly.
“My safety, huh…”
If I could truly run away without guilt, I would’ve made plans a long time ago.
But I couldn’t leave the palace.
‘Not until I’ve avenged my mother.’
I could still picture the crown of flowers I never got to give her.
If I ignored her death, I’d live the rest of my life haunted by guilt.
I never trusted gods much anyway, so being Pope didn’t appeal to me.
‘Most of all, I protect myself.’
Didn’t the prophecy say so?
That I would not be the one to leave the palace—but Gobard would.
‘I’m not the kind of coward who throws away a winning hand.’
Still, the offer was too valuable to turn down outright—since it concerned Morren’s safety.
So I made a counter-offer to Hist.
“How do you plan to make a kid who won’t leave his room become your disciple? Get Morren to come out voluntarily. If you can prove your skills, then… I might agree to meet the Pope once.”
“That’s a pretty one-sided deal for you, isn’t it?”
To that, I smiled sweetly.
“I only get close to people who are good for me.”
He blinked at me for a moment—then broke into a broad grin, showing perfect teeth.
“Don’t go back on your word, Princess.”
I glanced at Modway.
‘Modway, can you keep an eye on him?’
[Okay!]
Modway eagerly flew toward Hist.
[I’ll watch this bad man closely! If he does anything mean to Master’s sibling, I’ll punish him right away!]
As Modway circled above, Hist laughed brightly.
“Oh, is this spirit so I won’t feel lonely? I’m a little touched.”
I was already used to his nonsense—so I answered with a smile.
“Then make sure you repay me, Hist Netern.”
…Because I’m starting to expect something from you.
✦✦✦
“Princess Neroli, a letter has arrived!”
“Ah, thank you!”
I smiled brightly as I received the envelope from Agatha.
Agatha smiled softly too.
These past few days, her expression had brightened again, as if she’d found peace.
‘She must have full faith in Gobard’s promise.’
Breaking off an engagement… a broken engagement, huh.
Leisurely, I opened the envelope and began reading the letter inside.
The more I read… the more I couldn’t help but smile.
