Chapter 87

Story 51. Blessed Man (1)

Chapter 87

“What?”

I blinked my eyes, forgetting the fact that I was angry at the prophet. Somewhere in my head, something clicked.

Letters…?

“The gifts to a child. Too precious, so I didn’t throw them away but very dangerous.”

I had some experiences with letters recently. The letters of the traitor… They became evidence after her death. She never had the chance to destroy them, I guess.

The prophet continued, “There are many letters. Too many so I could not keep all of them.”

“Try to make some sense, you crazy man! What letters? What happened to them?”

I had a sneaking suspicion that this man could speak our language perfectly well. When I screamed at him, he became quiet for a second. I wondered if I should do what Fatima did: throw something at him. I looked around, but before I could find anything, he continued, “I received them. The most dangerous danger. The rest were just unclear doubts and suspicious. I convinced the old guest to take them away and leave… I was bored, so I tried to read them. Tried my best, but your language letters too hard. Can’t do more than make paper airplanes. You are interested, yes?”

He was definitely talking about Manar. This mad prophet has been in the harem this entire time, so how did he know about her? I thought that perhaps he was talking nonsense, but what he was saying was too similar to the story of Manar. He even said the evidence was here.

Suddenly, I realized what he was referring to. I gathered the white paper airplanes that were littered around me. When I opened them, I realized that it was too dark to read them clearly, but I could see that there were indeed writings on them.

“…!”

How did the prophet get this many papers when he could not escape that cage all this time then?

The prophet said to me, “The pagan girl told me. You follow Akarid very well. The traitor who may be dangerous to Akarid. He would like it if you told him. The owner of the letters never returned to take them back for a long time. Meaningless now. You know this, right? The guest general already predicted death? Hahaha…?”

Somehow, I could get an idea of what he was trying to tell me. When he noticed how I looked at him with an understanding, he became even more excited. He began to shake the cage like a crazy bastard. I could tell that he was smarter than he was letting on. I grabbed as many of the papers as I could, and still, with the blanket around me, I ran towards the stairs.

I felt a sudden burst of strength. I had been lying on the floor for a while now, and perhaps it helped. This definitely was not the time for rest. I had to remember what I am.

An Innocent One.

This meant that until my dying breath, I needed to do what was honorable. I needed to not fear death.

I walked up the stairs and was about to take the path around the lake before changing my mind. I was afraid I might be seen on this route, so I left the harem crawling through the drain.

It was the middle of the day, so the selamlique was empty of my brothers. I grabbed my clothes quickly and combed my messy hair. I laid out the letters on the floor and looked at them one by one. I didn’t have enough time to read them all thoroughly, so I looked through them and marked anywhere that mentioned the words “traitor” and “apostate.”

Just what did Manar say in her letters that made her younger brother reply with these words?

I was busy reading when someone came to visit me. I opened the door and found the prince’s servant, who offered me an empty scabbard.

The servant explained, “This was found near the harem a while back. We looked for the sword too, but we could not find it. The prince kept this safe until now, and he asked me to return it to you today.”

“…”

I took it and wrapped it around my waist. This was ridiculous. A scabbard without a sword. It was just like me, an empty shell.

I continued to look at the letters, and I found an unusual paragraph.

“Arim Hakim Karid is a heretic who worships a pagan god. There is no other name for him than an apostate, just as you say, Sister.”

I put the letter with this paragraph on top of the bundle. It was time for me to return to where I belonged. By the time I left my room, it was dark outside. Before it became even later, I followed the path Prince Camille took to save me and returned to the place I was imprisoned.

When I arrived, my master was standing there with his back to me. I announced myself respectfully, “My Warrior, I, Iztal Juya, am here.”

I kneeled on the floor and bowed to him deeply and explained, “I was investigating the traitor Manar and found more evidence that was hidden in a secret place.”

“I never ordered you to continue with this investigation.”

He turned around towards me, and I kept my head on the floor. He walked towards me, and when he saw the bundle of letters I put on the floor in front of me, he kicked it. The papers flew everywhere in the room. I knew what he was going to ask.

The same question he asked every time he visited me.

“Did anyone come here to see you? Tell me the truth.”

“My Warrior…”

I wished I could dare to not answer him, but I knew this was not possible. Before I answered him, I hoped that he would allow me to ask him a question myself.

“… My warrior, do you know of the mad prophet that came from Hwen?”

I wanted to tell him what I knew. I wanted to tell him how the crazy man insulted the former Goddess. I wanted the warrior to know the nonsense the crazy bastard babbled and how he bullied Prince Camille. I also needed him to know that it was this very man who caused the incredible noise and rumbling to our Minurd.

The warrior replied, “I do not know who you are talking about. I ask you again. Did anyone come here to see you?”

His calm nonchalant voice made my face crumple into a frown, but I kept my face down so he couldn’t see.