Chapter 31

Chapter 31

It became my daily routine to grab a book from the library and spend time reading it in the secret room where the priestess was staying. The room was dim and cold, so I kept a lantern close. The prince sat in front of a low table to study while I sat on the nearby carpet.

Across from us was the Virtuous Priestess, who looked much calmer than before. She was wearing a thin see-through outfit and sitting down comfortably. The only difference today was that she now had two odalisques from the harem serving her. These women hesitated to show their faces to men, so for them, a semi-transparent curtain was placed for privacy. One of them looked like she was over 30 while the other one looked younger, perhaps around my age.

I asked the prince, “Who are those women?”

“Oh, well, it has been a few days since Hawaki came here, and she needed someone to serve her. At first, I took care of her, but I can’t be spending all of my time with her, and… According to the books, priestesses go through monthly bleeding, which lasts about 15 days. They say that any man that gets her blood on himself will be cursed, so I got these women to help.”

“But can we trust those women? This is a sacred place, and you need to be careful not to let just anyone in…”

Not many people knew about the fact that the Virtuous Priestess was hiding here. If it was a regular occurrence for her to be able to leave the harem, she would have done it a long time ago already, and I didn’t think she has been waiting or expecting someone to rescue her. After her “disappearance,” the harem door was covered with blood, and most of it was still there.

The prince looked at me uncomfortably, but I knew that I had no power or authority to send these women back.

Prince Camille explained, “I didn’t call for them, Juya. The odalisques left the harem by themselves secretly and asked to serve the priestess. They told me that the Virtuous Priestess was close to having her monthly bleeding, and without them, she would be in trouble. I thought it made sense, especially because it doesn’t seem like Hawaki likes talking with me… I thought she would feel more comfortable around them…”

“…?”

I had no choice but to accept his explanation even though I didn’t like it. Besides, based on what I saw, the women didn’t seem like they would do anything suspicious.

It seemed that the women were also curious about us. They were whispering among themselves, and one of them suddenly pointed at me and said to the other woman, “Hee hee hee, ??? ???”

“Aha??”

I couldn’t understand at all what they were saying. It was a strange language. One of the girls peeked through the curtain and looked around the surrounding. When her eyes met with the prince’s, the prince told her something in this unfamiliar language. When he was finished, the two odalisques smiled and nodded at me.

“…? Your highness, what are they saying… and what did you tell them just now?”

Were they talking about me? If so, what were they saying? I felt a little upset and curious. I knew it was rude to ask his highness, but I wanted to find out. As I expected, the prince gave me a long answer.

“Oh, the language they are using? It’s a special dialect. It must sound odd to you, but it is the main reason why Hawaki trusts them so much. I had no choice but to accept them. Don’t overthink it, Juya. Like I told you before, Hawaki doesn’t say much in our language, which means there aren’t that many people she can talk to…”

Suddenly, something clicked in my head. I asked, “Is it Hwenian?”

I remembered that the intruder who came from Hwen was asking to save the Virtuous Priestess. Among everyone in Minurd, Prince Camille was the most familiar with the language of Hwen. This must have been why the priestess trusted the prince and also why Prince Camille accepted the Hwenian-speaking odalisques without protest.

His highness answered, “Yes… It’s true. Do you think… It’s strange?”

Just like The Innocent Ones, Arim Sevan Camille was not a good liar. When he looked uneasy, I couldn’t push him any further. I said to him as nonchalantly as I could, “No, not really. It’s just…. What did the women say just now? I think they were talking about me.”

“Oh…” The boy prince grinned and replied, “They were saying that they expected all of The Innocent Ones to look like scary and hairy old men, but… They were just surprised at seeing you, Juya. You don’t look anything like a scary hairy man.”

I didn’t know if I should laugh. Feeling awkward, I covered my mouth and turned around.

“Huh… So what did you tell them, your highness?”

“I told them that it doesn’t mean they should underestimate your strength and skills, Juya! I explained that you are my teacher, who trains me to become a soldier. I also told them that you are teaching even someone like me, who is weak and small, to fight efficiently. You are a sagacious man. I said that just like how I think I can become strong, Hawaki… She can learn to become strong too. At least, that is my hope.’

“Is that so?”

I knew why the prince needed to become stronger, but I couldn’t understand why the priestess had to feel the same way. However, overall, we had a pleasant conversation. Whenever I was with the prince like this, I felt calm and peaceful. The happiness I felt wasn’t overwhelming, but it was still delightful. I smiled slightly.

This was my primary responsibility nowadays. Lately, and within a short time, I learned a lot of secrets. Many of them were unbelievable, making me see Minurd with narrow eyes. The world looked uglier to me, but the prince, who was sitting in front of me, looked happy. Looking at him… I felt happy too.

I was reporting back to the Goddess’ warrior on what I found about the prince, but he never really said anything to me. Spending all day with Prince Camille was terrific.

However, after my time with him, I had to return to my other world. Before I arrived at the building I lived with my brothers, I made sure to wipe my smile off my face.

When I entered, the building was dirty and messy. There were pieces of ripped arms and legs on the floor still. Thankfully, because the place was well heated, I didn’t detect any unpleasant smell.

I muttered, “Those dirty bastards… why won’t they clean up?”

I refused to clean after them. I wasn’t shocked or scared at all. I suspected that, since none of them wanted to clean this up, my brothers didn’t bother gathering here.

Ignoring the mess, I went to the washroom and cleaned myself. I then went to Eriez’s room. Eriez looked very unhappy, and I didn’t say anything. All I did was take my gown off and revealed my naked body.

This was now part of my daily routine, as well.