Chapter 66

Chapter 66

The round pendant was embossed with the same characters engraved on Mazvin and Epist.

“Ke, fi, e, na.”

Declan’s eyes widened slightly as he heard the murmur. It was because Kefiena was one of the undeciphered words in Epist.

“Princess, do you know the meaning of the words engraved here? The person who deciphered Epist is curious.”

At his question, Stella glanced around. However, she seemed very confused because there was no one else but her there.

“I don’t understand Your Majesty’s words. There is only me and…”

“First, answer my question. Do you know what kefiana means?”

“How did you get that word… Did you really read this?”

At his question, her eyes fluttered like an earthquake.

“The person who deciphered Epist says they can read it, though don’t know the meaning of the word.”

“Your Majesty, please be honest with me… Please.”

Stella suddenly knelt down on her knees and was in tears.

“I never lied to you.”

“If Your Majesty is the owner of this necklace, I have a duty to show allegiance.”

Declan’s actions so far have been well misleading. Nevertheless, was it enough to be so sure…?

“Why do you think so?”

He immediately asked as he was curious about that.

“This necklace recognizes its owner.”

“Is that a holy relic, too?”

“Yes. The necklace gets hot when the owner is close to it.”

Hearing that, he seemed to understand why Stella thought that he was the owner of the necklace.

‘…Because I was always by his side.’

So yesterday, Stella touched the necklace and looked around.

“When I met Your Majesty, the necklace was always hot. That’s why I thought that Your Majesty might have come yesterday as well.”

She stared at Declan with anticipation and eagerness to tell the truth.

“Your Majesty, can you see if that necklace reacts if it’s really close to me?”

Even though seeing Stella show so much desperation didn’t mean she was lying, I just was not sure…

Eventually, Declan nodded his head and opened his mouth to Stella, “Princess, can I check the necklace myself?”

She hesitated for a moment and then handed the necklace.

‘Shall we go outside first?’

I got up and went through the wall and out.

“Did you check?”

Declan nodded at my question.

“Your guess is correct.”

…It seemed to be really reacting to me.

I didn’t know what happened with Mazvin or Epist, although it felt like I was chasing after trails that someone deliberately spilled. It was unpleasant to feel like I was being swayed by a board that had already been woven, but I was also anxious because I didn’t know what was going to appear in front of me.

‘Now, what should I do?’

Would Stella believe me if I told her honestly about my existence?

Suddenly, my mind became complicated. Then, I glanced back at the necklace. Mazvin responded to my wish that she wanted to live and offered her a path.

‘If this necklace is one of those paths, wouldn’t it be believable…?’

Stella said it was her own mission to find the owner of the necklace, and she had a duty to pay allegiance to the owner of the necklace.

‘…Let’s gamble for once.’

“I want to reveal my existence to Princess Este and learn more about that necklace.”

Declan pondered for a moment with a serious face. It was clear that he was considering the possibility of her betrayal and measures to deal with it.

“I don’t think she will be difficult to deal with if something unpleasant happens.”

Scary words like permission was given.

“Princess Este, I wasn’t the one who deciphered Epist.”

“But, I can’t explain this.”

Stella cried.

“Well. I’ll be away for a while, so you can check it out yourself.”

Saying so, Declan handed her the necklace back and got up before going outside. Stella blankly followed his figure blankly and glanced down at the necklace. Meanwhile, I approached her and sat down next to her.

Her eyes trembled slightly as she touched the necklace.

After a while, Declan came back into the parlor and sat down on the sofa.

“Did you confirm it?”

“Why, how could this be…”

She stared at Declan and the necklace alternately, and stuttered, “However, there is only Your Majesty and me here.”

“No, there is one more.”

“What?”

Stella asked with a puzzled face.

“You won’t see it, but there’s one more person by my side.”

“…Are they hiding themselves? By magic or witchcraft?”

Stella, who had been grunting alone, asked carefully.

“It is a soul.”

As Declan gave an answer in spite of his worries, she blinked her eyes blankly.

“Mazvin also reacted to this person. Even if it’s a soul.”

“Mazvin…?”

Stella asked in surprise.

“I’ll show you.”

He then told Noah to bring Mazvin. The next moment, I put my hand on it.

“Is Stella kefiena?”

Epist asked me to find Kefiena so I asked. Then, Mazvin began to turn with vivid white light.

“Gasp…!”

Stella gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.

“It says Princess Este is kefiena.”

“Princess, are you kefiena?”

As Declan spoke my words, she gave a small nod.

“….Please, wait a moment. Give me time to think.”

“Yes.”

Stella took her trembling hand and held it still for a while, closing her eyes. When she opened her eyes, she looked more calm than before.

“I’m sorry to show you how troubled I was. My mother wouldn’t have predicted this.”

“I understand.”

“Your Majesty, can you see the soul?”

“Yes, we can talk. Only me.”

He emphasized the last words in particular.

“You were told to keep your necklace a secret right?”

“Yes.”

“I also want you to keep a secret about the existence of this soul. They’re precious to me.”

Stella stared at Declan closely.

“If you do not keep the secret, your body won’t be intact.”

“…I, I promise.”

As soon as he heard the answer, Declan ceased his murderous energy. Stella took a long breath and spoke with a pale face when she saw that.

“As I said, I have a duty to be loyal to the owner of the necklace.”

What on earth was this necklace that made a princess of a country do such a thing…?

“Then, tell me now. What does kefiena mean? And, what is this necklace?”

“Kefiena…”

Stella caught her breath and paused for a moment.

“…It’s about those who keep Perseum.”

It was a story I had never heard. There was no such word anywhere in the temple records.

“Kefinea is a name only God and us call. It’s known by other names in the world.”

“What is it?”

“I told you my mother was from a desert tribe, right?”

Declan nodded his head silently as if trying to examine her intentions while Stella continued.

“Etila was the name of the wandering tribe of the Byrne Desert.”

Etila was a tribe that only had three or four lines in history books. A tribe that did not leave the desert and did not even show itself well.

“It’s interesting to know that Etila was the keeper of Perseum.”

Declan leaned back against the backrest and chuckled.

“My mother followed a divine revelation and came out of the desert with Epist.”

It seemed that she left a will to Stella to protect Epist and the necklace.

“Then, why did you tell me about Epist?”

“Because the necklace responded to Your Majesty.”

“If the necklace didn’t respond, what were you trying to get me to deal with?”

“I would have told you other secrets of the Este Royal Family.”

Looking at Stella speaking calmly, Declan grinned. Even though her outward appearance was very fragile, she was surprisingly strong-willed.

‘Is it because of her mission to keep her mother’s will?’

Whatever it was, it was something that was not seen in the original story.

“Well, let’s go beyond that. Epist said to look for the kefiena… Does that mean that I should meet you?”

“It would mean both me and the tribe.”

“What does that mean?”

He asked for Stella’s answer.

“Because we need this to meet our tribe.”

Saying so, Stella held out her own necklace again and continued, “With this, our tribe will be revealed.”

“So you mean, we had to go to the desert?”

Declan tapped his fingers on his lap for a moment, immersed in thoughts.

‘Instead, I was trying to figure out a way to fix it without having to go to the temple…’

To meet Kefiena, I was forced to go to the desert.

“Your Majesty, what to do?”

“What to do? We have to go.”

A carefree answer came to my anxious question.