Chapter 23

What benefit would there be in discovering the identity of someone who possessed divine power?

If this had still been an era where divine power held overwhelming influence and magic could be freely wielded, I too would naturally have agreed with unni.

Even princes who were not born with red imperial eyes could still wield immense authority if they were supported by the Temple or capable of using divine power.

Even if they never ascended the throne, they still retained powerful influence throughout their lives.

After all, those who possessed miraculous healing abilities bordering on resurrection stood behind them.

But now, even if the Temple offered support, wouldn’t people merely accuse them of colluding with heretics?

“Do you mean we should advise His Highness not to associate with that person?”

I doubted words like that would accomplish much.

If that had truly been the intention, he would never have gifted me an item blessed with consecration in the first place. No matter how he appeared outwardly, Lucian was an incredibly meticulous person.

Wouldn’t he only dare do something like this because he already considered that individual someone he absolutely trusted and would never abandon?

“No. We should let them know that we’re trustworthy as well and draw out whatever information they possess. There’s no way he approached the divine side without purpose.”

“I think so too.”

Had he really given me this purely out of goodwill?

If that were the case, he would’ve chosen something less conspicuous.

Not a necklace so obviously extravagant that anyone could recognize its value.

He must have been trying to convey something.

But because the letter could potentially be intercepted, he had likely chosen to express it through the necklace instead.

“And it must be the kind of matter he can’t discuss directly in person.”

Unni seized the opportunity to add another unnecessary comment.

“Besides, Tie, your eye color is much prettier anyway.”

“I don’t think that’s exactly solid reasoning, unni.”

Ignoring my words entirely, unni continued carefully examining the necklace.

She listened attentively to everything else, but whenever I denied her compliments, she truly never listened at all.

I subtly changed the subject.

“Do consecrated objects usually stand out a lot?”

“Hmm. People carrying them can definitely feel the difference. Even simply being near one, you can sense it. But merely possessing such an object isn’t grounds for punishment or suspicion. In the past, there were far too many consecrated items.”

To begin with, unless someone was the Emperor himself, there likely wasn’t anyone capable of determining whether an Empress’s or Imperial Consort’s necklace had once been consecrated.

“If someone questions it, you can simply say it must have been consecrated while in the possession of one of the Imperial Consorts.”

“C-Can I really just say that on my own?”

“From what I can tell, I think the sender intended for you to say exactly that. He’s worried about your health, but since he can’t remain by your side himself…”

Unni, who had somehow deciphered even hidden intentions I hadn’t noticed, wore a deeply displeased expression.

Not wanting to hear her criticize Lucian again, I pretended to focus on the necklace instead.

Maybe I truly did share blood with unni after all. We both had the habit of letting unpleasant words go in one ear and out the other.

“Tie, do you remember which Imperial Consort this belonged to?”

“Hmm.”

I began searching my memory.

Unfortunately, at the time, all sorts of voices had overlapped chaotically.

The Empress’s belongings had probably been auctioned first, followed by the Imperial Consorts’ items in order.

Then I remembered.

The Second Imperial Consort, Pertonna.

“It belonged to the Second Consort. Her belongings rarely appear on the market.”

“Most of her possessions originated from the Holy Kingdom, after all. Though actually, several years later there was almost talk of resuming relations with the Holy Kingdom.”

“Almost?”

“Yes. Every person who suggested it ended up losing their heads, so the matter collapsed midway.”

“……”

I see.

I probably didn’t need to know exactly whose heads were cut off, right?

That was terrifying enough already.

For the sake of my mental well-being, unni mercifully didn’t elaborate further.

“Why did they want to resume relations?”

“Because disease spread. I’ll explain that later if the situation ever comes.”

I nodded with a bitter smile.

“There are really so many problems waiting for us in the future…”

Living peacefully was far harder than I’d imagined.

Honestly, everyone should just stop getting caught.

* * *

The Second Imperial Consort, Pertonna, had originally been a princess of the Holy Kingdom whom the Emperor married during the height of the Empire’s reverence for divine power in order to consolidate influence with the Temple faction.

Though her divine power was weak for royalty, the marriage itself played a major role in softening the Temple’s subtle displeasure toward the Emperor.

“Does it even make sense that Her Highness’s body decayed within a single day? Unless it was a curse?”

“How could something so vile emerge from the body of one blessed with divine power?”

After the Consort’s sudden death, countless rumors spread throughout the Empire.

The Holy Kingdom strongly demanded the return of her body, but the Empire refused.

The Imperial court declared that the Consort now belonged to the Empire and would therefore receive burial according to Imperial law, and that no conspiracy whatsoever had been involved in her death.

Even after the Holy Kingdom offered to pay any price necessary, their request was rejected.

Unable to contain their fury, the Holy Kingdom severed diplomatic relations with the Empire.

Afterward, once the Empresses and Imperial Consorts gradually died off, the next person to disappear was Aden.

Aden Edvain, son of the Second Imperial Consort and Second Prince of the Empire, suddenly vanished long ago without any warning signs.

“Did Prince Aden possess divine power?”

“He did. And he was also highly knowledgeable in magic.”

Her tone was extremely decisive.

Those were words only someone who knew the truth could speak.

“They said he disappeared. Did something happen to him…?”

“Not exactly. If anything, it was closer to him hiding himself away voluntarily.”

That answer, too, sounded like something she had personally heard.

Why was unni always so careless about things like this?

People had once claimed that because the Imperial family never actively searched for the missing prince, Lucian or Vincent had surely been responsible.

“Unni, have you ever met the Second Prince?”

“……”

For the first time ever, unni—who usually answered every question effortlessly—fell silent.

Because she never acted this way normally, it only made her seem even more suspicious.

And somehow, it also felt like I shouldn’t ask any further.

“Sorry, unni.”

“What are you apologizing for? I have met him before. But it was much later than now, so I didn’t think my memories would be particularly useful.”

I heard her mutter something about never having really talked about his old stories before, but I desperately pretended not to hear it.

Well, that could happen.

Unni had said she met many men in her previous life.

Among them, there could naturally be a prince everyone thought was missing.

Though admittedly, I had now accidentally learned the survival status of a supposedly vanished prince in a way I absolutely hadn’t intended.

Still, I was getting used to things like this.

“Anyway, if consecration is involved, then there’s a high chance the source is connected to the Holy Kingdom.”

I smoothly shifted the topic.

As she searched through her memories, unni muttered thoughtfully, sounding as though she was on the verge of grasping some hidden clue.

“Then could he have someone he knows in the Holy Kingdom? Relations with the Empire were severed long ago.”

After all, the Holy Kingdom had no reason to maintain relations with an Empire that rejected divine power—especially after even the return of the Second Consort’s body had been denied.

Not only divine power but military strength as well rivaled the Empire’s. No one could recklessly invade them, so the two nations merely maintained an awkward distant relationship.

The Second Prince whom no one deliberately searched for.

The Holy Kingdom.

The belongings of the Second Imperial Consort.

Consecration.

And unexpectedly deep brotherly affection.

The scattered fragments in my mind slowly connected together.

“Unni.”

“Yes?”

“Unexpectedly… all the things we just talked about might actually be connected.”

“What do you mean?”

Of course, this was nothing more than my own baseless speculation.

At the moment, there was no way to prove any of it.

“I mean, for some reason, His Highness somehow… well…”

“He had no choice but to hide himself, and he couldn’t remain within the Empire? And since you suddenly brought up the prince, you think the owner of the divine power might actually be him.”

Unni truly was incredible.

I had only vaguely hinted at the idea, yet she perfectly deduced the rest.

“Of course, there’s absolutely no evidence for any of this. It’s really just… speculation. There’s a high chance I’m completely wrong.”

Honestly, it felt less like a theory and more like a story I’d fabricated myself.

Unni tapped the table lightly with her index finger as though deep in thought.

I hadn’t even known she had a habit like that until now.

“Hmm…”

Truthfully, if I ever said something like this publicly, people would immediately think I was insane.

The idea that a prince of the Empire was under threat of assassination, and because of that had fled to the Holy Kingdom—the homeland of his mother, the Second Imperial Consort—to hide himself away.