Chapter 53
Translator: wuttisyun
“Oh my, where is Sir Soricks?”
pαndα---noνɐ1,сoМ As I looked left and right for Soricks who had just disappeared, the one I saw him last with, Metaus, appeared.
“There was an urgent call for him from the Central Palace so he left.”
“Is that so?”
“Uhm, though it might not look like much, his powers are quite useful. That’s why that guy is often requested by other palaces for help.”
I remembered that Soricks’ powers were similar in effect to a radar. It seemed like the ability to detect a templar was more useful than I thought it would be. Metaus led the way, telling me that he would escort me in Soricks’ place.
That was how I was escorted by a middle-aged, bald-headed man with bulky muscles. From what I had heard, he was part of the squad of patrols known as the ‘Chosone’. This name had popped up from our conversation earlier in the day. Just then, a young knight interrupted us.
“Hold on, Commander! I have to bring the little one back!” (1)
“Quiet. I have to vent my anger because of some young upstart today.”
“I mean, why do I have to do it! Are you angry because you realised you were weak, Commander?”
“You’ve just opened the gates to hell. My dear junior.”
As he dragged the rest of his squad away, Meta desperately asked one of the other patrols to take me back. I turned down the courtesy of the tall patrol to escort me and set out on my own. Now that I looked closely, the place I was at was not far from the carriage pick up point where I always met Lord Ray at. It was also at a walkable distance. After saying goodbye to some of the patrols, I left the training grounds.
As I walked along the forest path, I looked up at the sky only to notice the sunset. The dark-purplish clouds I could see in a distance indicated that much time had passed.
“The Lord must be waiting.”
I kicked off the ground. I wondered why my steps felt so light today. Looking back, I thought it was because I had such a fun and calming time, surrounded by friendly people although I had been my same clumsy self.
I should not do this but I was getting greedy.
If I was going to live a life filled with turmoil, I would not be able to stay in the Administration Office for long.
I liked the times when I would be able to watch Granius as he worked. Because he had no reason to be conscious of my presence.
He always treated me like a young child and it reminded me of my Palace and how friendly the staff there were. Yeah, the Administration Office felt like Terena Palace.
Just when I was wondering if I could stay here for a long time, something unexpected fell right in front of me. Surprised, I quickly took a step back before squatting down slowly.
I thought it was already dead but it seemed like it had just been hurt.
“… A bird?”
It was a white bird. And I had seen it before. The bird which had the tips of its feathers coloured blue must have been the unnamed bird the diary had mentioned and the one I saw in person back in the Forbidden Forest.
The bird looked at me before flapping its wings and flying to my eye level. Then, as if it recognised me, the bird looked at me with a clear, fine and glistening gaze like that of a lake. I slowly examined the bird carefully and tried to recall where I had seen these colours before.
—Keu… Don’t… Come… Chirp… Chirp… Promise…
“… Promise?”
I only heard it say one word but I was sure a human was speaking. It went back to chirping like a beast again but I was sure I heard a human speaking though it sounded muffled like the sounds through the radio. It was as if I was listening to a recording. It felt a little strange. Maybe I should try talking to the bird. The tree next to the bird shook three times.
“Ashley Rosé Auresia Kaltanias, I greet the precious flower of the Empire and the 8th Imperial Child.”
Suddenly, a man dressed in black appeared in front of me and at the same time, the bird pulled at my hair.
“Who are you?”
My eyes blinked slowly as I retreated when the man began to approach me. He was dressed in all black. He was wearing clothes similar to what Castor was wearing on the first day I met him.
“His Highness, the Crown Prince, is calling for you. Please follow us.”
Although his voice sounded gentle and soft, the way he said it so drily, gave his words strength, making it clear that this was an order. He then rose and pulled me along. I glanced back for a moment.
“Do I have to go?”
“Do you not want to?”
“…..”
I felt a pain in my head. The bird had been pulling at my hair this whole time. The carriage was not too far away and the bird continued to tug hard at my hair towards the direction of the carriage.
As if it was telling me not to go.
“I’ll go.”
***
Solle Heliosphera.
The Palace in which the second most important man in the whole Empire lived was immaculate. The outer walls of his Palace looked huge in the sunset and had no windows in them. Even if there were, they were small, seldomly seen and could only be found in high places. As if the whole Palace was a tightly closed clam. There were no balconies and the entire Palace was surrounded by walls that isolated the inner Palace from the outside world.
Passing by the tranquil and antiquated garden, I noticed a small room along one side of the hallway. The room was covered by a thin cloth akin to a curtain and beyond the room, I noticed a lightly-armoured templar while next to him was a hound the size of a bull sitting on the floor like the one I saw in the Forbidden Forest.
I swallowed my saliva and averted my gaze.
‘… Running away will be difficult.’
The end of the hallway opened to a spacious area. And in its middle, there was an atrium. I could see the huge and colourful square fresco painting dyed with vermillion as it reflected the sunset. I looked up to see that the roof was covered just like Amor’s Palace but there was a square opening in the middle.
When I opened the door decorated with golden branches and laurel leaves, Castor greeted me.
“Hurry and come in.”
Under the dazzlingly intense sunset, he stood still like a tombstone. However, my gaze did not linger too long on him and instead flickered across the room. It was more like instinct at this point.
Castor’s room was very empty.
In the middle, there was a large table with some chairs that had solid arm and back rests. There were also solid decorations made out of ivory and gold on all of the chairs but other than that, there was nothing. There were no candles to light up the room, which would have been common in both me and Amor’s rooms, a brazier on the floor to warm the place, decorations or even any writing tools. I tried not to leave my mouth agape.
This place, was even emptier than Amor’s room.
“I greet the future Sun that will shine light on the Empire. Have… you been well? Brother.”
Castor looked up to see me with his golden eyes before smiling openly.
“Because of you.”
The man who had brought me here bowed his head and left.
Seeing him greet so naturally and calmly, I managed to relax.
I could not let myself be nervous here. I had to stay focused. No matter what happened, I had to stick to acting like a moron.
“I heard that you called for me.”
I gulped before rolling the corners of my mouth up.
“Are you finally calling for me?”
“Ashley. Did you miss me?”
There was a glint in his beautiful gold eyes that looked as if it had been made of molten gold. Hoping my lips were not shaking, I replied clearly.
“Of course. I wondered why you called for me?”
Looking at me smiling so broadly, Castor parted his lips slightly as if he was about to say something before pressing them tightly in a straight line. Then, he narrowed his eyes.
“In this world.”
The moment he spoke, I began shivering. I did not know why but an ominous feeling took over me. As if I had been tied up, I could not move.
I was reminded of the familiar anxiety. Castor whispered in a fascinatingly dizzying and beautiful voice. He sounded like a demon that had lived in hell for his entire life.
“There are some things that should be addressed first. Don’t you think so?”
Before I could decode and analyse his words, with one gesture from Castor, a huge cloth that had been covering one of the walls rose.
‘A person?’
The things I had not noticed till now were revealed. There were two people.
One was a man in all black, someone whom I had never seen before. And the other one.
“… Soricks?”
It was Soricks who had been called to the Central.
“… Soricks!”
He had already lost his sanity and was being tied up. His face, which had always been so cheerful and refreshing to see, was now being contorted in pain.
“Is he someone you know?”
My heart was pounding.
“… W-we worked together.”
I hid my trembling hands behind my back. No, not yet.
“B-brother, what’s going on?”
I pointed at Soricks.
“One is someone you know and the other is someone you also know but you don’t know his name. They are both sinners.”
Sin? Who? Soricks? What did he mean? Why? I blinked for a moment as I pressed down the shock I was receiving from this nightmare.
As I held my hands tightly, I spoke slowly.
“Sinners… you said?”
At that moment, the unknown man jumped up and screamed.
“Crown Prince!”
Perhaps only Soricks had fainted and was lying down but the man who was shouting had his face completely disfigured that it would be difficult to recognise who he was.
“Urgh, you shameless devil! Argh…, you should never covet for the Emperor’s throne…!”
With his face half-swollen like that, it would have been difficult for him to just open his mouth.
“You are using your divine blessings in the worst possible way and the moment you ascend the throne, the Empire will be ruined! Our ‘Templar of Chaos’ will not stand by and watch! The one who becomes the Emperor must be a wise successor and not a madman! Cursed Prince, I curse you in the name of my town that you destroyed! Argh, curse-curses! Only curses shall remain!”
His voice was hideous. It sounded as if his vocal cords had been shredded and could be compared to the scratching sound of iron. Nevertheless, he raised his voice desperately.
“Even if we die, we will find a successor! Even after our death, our successor shall light the path! They shall light the way! We shall find them. Find them! Argh.”
After placing a terrible curse that was horrible to even just listen to, the man coughed up handfuls of blood. He looked like he was out of breath. He looked just like Hannah when she was on the verge of death.
Having gone through countless deaths, I was able to endure the pain in my heart, resist the urge to cry at the sight and ignore my fears as I asked calmly.
“Who’s… that?”
“Well, I’ll tell you since you don’t seem to remember. That angry sinner was the one who strangled you.”
The necklace thief?
“As soon as I heard, I went to catch the sinner.”
“I see. T-then, the one next to him…”
Why Soricks?
“Ah. He’s here because he couldn’t keep something simple.”
At that moment, I wiped the smile off my face.
“Basically, he’s loose-lipped.”
Looking regretful, Castor raised his eyebrow before whispering softly.
“First, let’s start judging the first person’s sin.”
Castor glanced at the necklace thief.
“How dare he strangle you.”
“B-brother.”
He certainly took less than a few steps to reach me but before I knew it, he was right in front of my eyes.
“How could I not worry when you were left alone in an unfamiliar place? I left you there for a moment and something this unfortunate happened. How could I stand it?”
The man with a gaze of a predator stretched his hand towards me.
The hand that reached out for me just like the 43th regression. I was being suffocated by its weight.
“… You. Were you worried about me?”
“Worried?”
He tilted his head.
“Right. Worried. I was worried. Worried for you. I was.”
He looked as if he had just realised it.
“Why?”
“You’re asking strange things.”
Castor smiled before tilting his head again.
“You called yourself my younger sister.”
“…..”
“You said you liked me.”
“…..”
Like any scientist that believed that the Earth revolved around the sun, his calm smile was filled with conviction.
“You were the first one to say such things even after seeing that side of me.”
T/N:
Okay after tling this chappie (this one was fun to tl hehe) i realised I made more than just grammar/typoes in my previous chappie. I shld just drink more coffee next time HAHA
(1): So, Chosone was not the Vice-Commander. He was the Commander my bad. My eyes are bad.
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