CH 214

“Princess, let me accompany you back to your carriage.”

Soricks was the one who offered to see me off. There seemed to have been a fight amongst the patrols for this role behind my back and it looked like Soricks won. 

On such a bright day, I walked back to my carriage with Soricks. 

To my surprise, he started the conversation without hesitation.

“Isn’t the weather nice today?”

Like a gentleman from a movie, he escorted me back skilfully. 

“It’s the Empire. The weather is always nice here.”

“Please speak comfortably. Pi… No, I should address you as the princess, right?”

I glanced at his arm which I had been grabbing. 

“That’s right, Soricks.”

With every one of his gestures, I could sense his consideration towards me. He was treating me like a lady he met from a banquet. Seriously, if I had been any other girl who just turned 20, my heart might have skipped at his actions. He was a man who could make just about anyone smile. 

“I had a strange feeling as soon as you entered the office, princess.”

“A strange feeling?”

Soricks spoke softly. 

“My eyes felt like they were contracting painfully and my heart started pounding.”

His voice was both gentle and polite. 

“It felt as if you were the only one I could see in the room. And I could tell that I was feeling that because of you, princess. I’m sure Commander Chosone could feel it too.”

“You’re talking about the [Power of the Lords].”

“Yes.”

Soricks replied confidently. I could tell that Soricks and Chosone were especially sensitive to my powers. Someone did say that my divinity was at a level where only those sensitive to divinity could sense. 

“Your [Awakening] is probably not too far away now. People usually go through it when they’re much younger but you are a special case, princess, since your divinity only manifested after you turned into an adult.”

So, it seemed like I was still currently in transition. I did have divinity but it was not enough to make good use of it. It is said to be a condition that only young, immature templars go through.

“Have you ever encountered any special symptoms yet? Like strong headaches or your eyes stinging.”

“Ah.”

“I’m guessing you have? That’s the pain candidates of templars typically go through before they awaken.”

He reminded me of the headache that had been bothering me this whole time. 

‘Is that why I had them?’

I tapped on my forehead unknowingly. In any case, I was not officially a templar yet.

“But people still swore their loyalty to me.”

Soricks burst into laughter. 

“Perhaps it was because they trusted the Commander and i?”

“Really?”

“No, I was kidding.”

Whilst still holding my hand, Soricks tilted his head as he stared at me. 

“You have something that makes me want to follow you without hesitation, princess. It wasn’t only me who felt that, the rest of the patrols must have felt it too.”

He emphasised every word he spoke. It was as if he wanted to make sure I knew.

“I think that’s the true nature of your power.”

“You mean my divinity?”

“No, your own capability.”

My own capability. Those words made me feel special.

“Soricks.”

Smiling, I stared back at his gentle expression.

“Had you… perhaps known?”

It was only then did I realise how overtly calm Soricks was being. There was only one explanation for how he adapted to the situation so quickly. 

“What?”

“My identity.”

Though he was flustered for a moment, Soricks kindly admitted. 

“Yes. Honestly, there were also other people who managed to guess who you were. But it was only me, Meta and Commander Chosone.”

His response was as simple as his smile. 

“… How?”

“Well, there were a lot of things that stood out…”

Soricks spoke with a smile. 

“Only the patrols would be fooled by that scribe, Penne’s poor act.”

In any case, he said that it was because Penne’s attitude around me was strange. So, it was obvious who used their brains and who relied on purely muscle alone in the patrols. Though many of the patrols were, like Granius, Templars of Strength, there were also people like Soricks, who came from a prestigious aristocratic family, Meta, who was quick-witted and Chosone, the commander who managed to guess who I was. 

“But, please don’t misunderstand us, princess.”

I paused and stared at Soricks. 

“I just wanted to clarify.”

All he did was smile but there was something deep and tranquil in his silent gaze. 

“The fact that you have the [Power of the Lords] is only one of the many reasons why we chose to follow you. We have cared about you for a long time now.”

Only then was I reminded of how much older than me he was. He reminded me of an older boy-next-door from the neighbourhood. 

“You’ve always been special to us. And I’m sure everyone would agree. Meta did complain to Granius at first because he had no idea where you were from but before he knew it, he started adoring you too. The commander talks our ears off about you whenever you’re not here.”

He continued to chatter as cheerfully as a bird’s chirps. The sun shone intensely on one of his cheeks. 

“You seem like a different person today, Soricks.”

Unlike my gloomy future, the weather in this Empire would always be clear. Come to think of it, if I wasn’t wrong, I used to like this weather back when I lost my memories. It was funny but I used to love how the sky would be clear throughout the four seasons before I found the diary. But I hated it now. 

“Pi, I mean, princess, you feel like a different person now too.”

He almost called me pipio out of habit but he quickly addressed me properly. My empty heart was warming at how he called me so calmly. The moment our eyes met, he smiled like the summer breeze. 

“At first, I had thought you were just a young lady who wanted to hide her real name.”

“Yeah.”

“But soon, I found out that you were actually the princess.”

“How?”

“That day, 4 years ago, back in the Crown Prince’s Palace, I was actually awake.”

I stopped mid-step. Mimicking me and stopping as well, he nervously gulped. 

“That day when I was taken to the Crown Prince’s Palace. I couldn’t say or see anything but I remember how the Crown Prince called you by the princess’ name.”

I stared into the green eyes that were staring back at me. I think I now know why he had wanted to see me off. This was what he wanted to tell me. 

“Even against the Crown Prince’s madness, you stood up for me.”

“Soricks.”

“This is something I could only say four years later.”

He held my hand.

“Thank you for trying to save me.”

He smiled quietly. The freckles scattered across his face sparkled like remnants of sunlight especially along his smile lines. 

“I, Soricks, the Templar of the Eyes and the Owl, will be your eyes from this moment forth.”

Each patrolman had a weapon they preferred to use. Some used swords, some spears and some, like Meta, liked to use a Gladius with a dagger. Just like regular swordsmen, when they introduced themselves, they would always place their weapons down before pointing the tip of their blade towards their heart, as if to say that they won’t do you any harm. It also meant that they were willing to give up their life for you.

I stared at the hilt of his blade pointing towards me. 

“On behalf of all the patrols, ‘Keres’, I swear to be your loyal servant.”

When Soricks looked up, his reddish-brown hair fluttered in the wind. 

“And this is everyone’s will as well.”

His clear green eyes revealed themselves under his fluttering hair. The ends of his pupils were coloured like drops of purple ink falling through green-colored water. 

“You seem to be in good shape.”

Soricks slowly turned his head. 

Boom.

Someone dropped onto the ground. 

“Meta?”

Meta flashed a toothy grin. He smirked at the kneeling Soricks as if he knew what Soricks was up to before turning to me.

“This bastard is representing all the patrols? How greedy of you to take all the good roles?”

“What, stop setting me up.”

“Look at him. He’s usually so full of himself and armed with flattery.”

Meta flashed his teeth and laughed as his brown eyes curled in playfulness. 

“Please forgive me if I speak informally, I’m still not used to addressing you with honorifics just yet.”

His dark skin only made his white teeth stand out even more. 

“What brings you here, Meta?”

As if he had noticed my expression, Meta spoke. 

“Pi, no, princess. I have something to relay to the princess.”

While speaking uncomfortably, he scratched his cheek. I then assured him that he could speak to me comfortably. The reason why I didn’t want to reveal my identity to them at first was because I knew they would treat me so politely. As long as they didn’t call me by my name in public, I was good. 

At my response, Meta widened his eyes for a moment before quickly accepting my conditions. 

“Then, could you speak comfortably to me until you get used to it?’

He nodded his head. As if he had been waiting, he approached me. That was when I finally saw what I hadn’t noticed because he had been standing in the shadows. 

“That…”

“It’s proof that that bastard, Soricks, had made up his mind. Have you ever heard about the Crown Prince’s eyes? I mean, princess?”

Instead of pointing out his strange way of speech or how he was speaking informally, I stared at his hand. 

Chirp!

I noticed the bird flapping its wings in Meta’s hand. My eyes widened. As I lowered my gaze, I noticed the bird’s blue collar. The bird looked familiar. 

“… Hernan?”

Because it was Hernan’s bird. 

“Ah? Do you know it? This is the Crown Prince’s eyes. The aedile has remained neutral thus far which is why he left it as it was but as long as he was backing the 2nd Prince, there’s no need for him to leave the Crown Prince’s eyes and ears alone. Anyway, the aedile might seem stubborn at first but it’s always refreshing to see him make a decision.”

Meta glanced to the side.

“Soricks’ ability is able to sense this bird’s presence. He can sense any surveillance or bugs  and locate them.”

“Surveillance?”

“Yes, He can use his ability to find hidden bugs. In other words, princess, this means that you can stay out of the Crown Prince’s sight.”

I hesitated for a moment before asking.

“Then, why have you left it alone until now?”

“I couldn’t get rid of them because the aedile didn’t give me permission to. His ability is what makes this bastard dangerous. This is an ability that even amongst the Templars of the Eyes and Owl, only those close to Head Templar status possess. Who could leave this power alone?”

“But Meta, you guys liked Hernan.”

“Ah. Aside from the Crown Prince, he’s a good man.”

“It’s just disappointing to see him on His Highness’ side.”

So, they liked him because he was a knight like them? Actually, Sorick’s abilities are still unknown to Castor as he made sure not to stand out in front of him. Listening to Meta explain, I glanced at the bird again.

“Birds like this one are everywhere in this Empire.”

The blue bird flapped its wings as if trying to escape from Meta’s grip. 

“Everyone knows but they remain hush about it. Because they’re not so confident they can still live after touching one of the Crown Prince’s eyes.”

“Is this the Templar of Beasts’ doing…”

“Correct. It’s because of these birds everyone thinks that ‘his eyes are everywhere and anywhere’.”

When I tried to get closer, Meta stepped back.

“It’s dangerous.”

But even with his warning, I couldn’t take my eyes off the bird. 

“Every templar has their own word of eventuality. The word points to the templar’s eventual end.”

Flap.

The bird’s movements looked desperate.

Hernan, was that you?

T/N:

double updates this week because i have once again missed one whole week of uploads ;-(