CH 215

I returned to a week ago, the night when I last met Hernan. Weeping as the spell he had drawn on the ground glowed brightly, Hernan whispered. 

The man had confessed his love for me, proclaiming that it would be for the last time he would do so as he put an end to that love of his. 

“The life of  a Templar of Beasts is driven by subservience. We die from the overuse of our powers and we end up completely losing our ego.” (1)

Wearing white, the colour that suited him the most, the man grinned as brightly as the first rays of the rising morning sun. When I asked if this was the last time I would be seeing him, Hernan replied. 

“Well, I probably won’t be able to return as myself anymore.”

At those words, I jumped into his arms and squeezed him tight. Why? Why would he be doing that? 

I wanted to tell him to stop. I screamed silently. As if the white light bursting from the ground was covering my lips, for some reason, my words never left me. 

“The next time you see me, I won’t be myself. I would just be a beast who has lost his ego and is programmed to only carry out his orders.”

As I tried to open my mouth, my eyes gradually closed. It was strange. It felt almost as if he had finally given up on me. Feeling as if I had been left alone, tears fell from my eyes. An inexplicable sadness forced my entire body to shudder. 

“Princess!”

I opened my eyes to pain. Before I realised it, my hand had reached out to touch the bird only for it to peck at my hands fiercely. Soricks who had been next to me called out for me in shock. I spotted red blood trickling down my hand from the corner of my eye. 

“Are you alright?”

The bird that had once been gentle to me was now acting differently. 

“This bird can be considered synonymous with the Templar of Beasts!”

“So, we can say that the Duke of Devolo has officially become our enemy now.”

Staring at the bird, Meta quickly chimed in.

“… Let the bird go.”

“What? Isn’t killing it better…”

Seemingly at a loss, the two men glanced at each other before prying my hand off Sorick’s. 

“Let it go.”

Meta and Soricks glanced at each other once more before letting the bird go. Rather than listening to my command, it seemed more like they were being wary of my emotional state. 

“If you kill it, he’ll notice.”

It was only then did Meta nod, saying what I said made sense. Finally leaving his hand, the bird chirped before flying away.

“This bird.”

I recalled him saying how Castor was no longer going to kill me. And in exchange, it seemed as if he had lost his ego. He might not have said anything that night but I knew. 

“You can consider the bird me.”

An oath sworn on the River Styx was absolute. It was thanks to Hernan that I was now free from Castor’s direct harm. Castor could no longer try to kill me like he did in the past. Because Hernan had chained him up with that oath. 

“… Why?”

Hernan. The man I could never understand till the end. I did not particularly like the path he took to sacrifice himself but this was how he repaid his debt to me. 

I might be rubbing my wrist now but the wound I just received didn’t hurt.

I wondered why my heart was aching instead. 

As I stared at the bird flapping its wings and flying further and further away before disappearing into the blue sky, I closed my eyes.

***

When I returned to my palace, Dane was nowhere to be seen. I wondered what happened. I definitely told Hannah to ask him to wait for me? As I stared at the empty seats in the empty drawing room, someone entered. It was Hannah.

“Where is Dane?”

“Something urgent popped up and the prince had to spend some time taking care of it. But he did say he would return later this evening.”

Something urgent. If Dane said it was urgent, it must have been something he could no longer hold off. Dane had been the one guarding this place every day for the past week. I felt both apologetic and frustrated. 

“Alright. I got it.”

After relieving my tension, fatigue quickly rushed into my body to take its place. I slumped into the sofa before slowly touching my forehead. In the meantime, Hannah notified me that she would bring me some tea so with my eyes still closed, I nodded my head. 

“It’s still the middle of the day.”

It was too early for me to sleep now but the sofa was so soft it was making me feel sleepy even though all I did was close my eyes. But what was this scent? Leaning my back onto the sofa, the scent of flowers from somewhere in the room drifted into my nose. The scent was intense as if someone had poured an entire bottle of perfume on themselves. The familiar scent reminded me of the man who had been waiting for me up till a while ago. 

“… Dane.”

Not only did he look like a flower, he also smelled like a flower. Fleon carried a musky yet refreshing scent while Lord Ray smelled faintly of iron. This manufactured scent of flowers was unique to Dane. 

Deros, Dane’s uncle, did say that all of their people knew what this scent was and any one of them could have it. That was why both Dane and Deros had the same scent. Did that mean all of his people were working for the emperor as his hands and feet? 

“Princess.”

Hanah, who came in a little while later to bring the tea, placed the teacups down on the table. As she glanced at me worriedly, I told her to leave. With a smile of course. All I would see if she continued to stay here would be her concerned expression. 

When I opened my eyes, I noticed the steam rising from the teacup. But I had no thoughts on touching it. Thoughts took over my headspace. Just like the piping hot tea, there was something that I had to cool between Dane and I. 

“What should I do now…”

Firstly, I have managed to widen my influence after the patrols and Granius had decided to join my side. I also managed to find a way to escape Castor’s surveillance. This was a good start for a counterattack. 

But I wondered why I didn’t feel comfortable about this. That was probably because of…

“Dane.”

I slowly recalled my memories of him as I pulled out the flower pin tying up my hair. Even though it was a little tangled, my long hair cascaded gently down my shoulders. Come to think of it, Dane really liked my long hair. Now, I couldn’t figure out how I was going to face him. 

Just when I leaned back with my eyes closed, I suddenly heard a creak from the door’s hinges. The door opened and I could hear someone walking in. They sounded familiar. As far as I knew, there was only one person who could walk with such force. Even from his breaths alone, I could tell it was Fleon. 

“What happened?”

He grumpily responded. 

“Huh? That’s rude of you?”

“Brother.”

“This is the first time I ever had to get permission to come see you. When you’re just a chick.”

When I opened my eyes again, there Fleon was. Without my permission, he sat on the couch opposite me, crossing his arms before staring at me. 

“I’m busy so I’m only going to say what I came here to.”

I burst into a fit of laughter. Though we might be talking for the first time in a while, we talked as if no time had passed at all. I soon lowered my back and lifted my teacup. The tea had cooled down at that point. 

“You. Do you know how busy I was today?”

As if he didn’t like how relaxed I was being, Fleon frowned. I smiled. 

“Why didn’t you just come tomorrow if you were that busy?”

“Huh. You’re being sweet, aren’t you?”

Though he might be smirking, he lifted one of his eyebrows so high it almost reached the top of his handsome forehead. He let out a brief sigh before speaking slowly. 

“I heard you woke up. You did say you were going to sleep like a log. So, are you satisfied?”

He might sound calm and composed but if I listened closer, I could tell his every word was laced with anger. It was only at the next moment did I realise why he had rushed here in a hurry.

“And as soon as you woke up, you made some big changes. If what the aedile wrote in his letter to me is the truth, you’ll be joining hands with him to do something soon.”

“Did Granius say that? That was fast.”

“Damn it, alright. Out of pure coincidence, I was in the 4th Administration as well. And I just happened to overhear what you said. What? You’re going to be joining forces with the 2nd Prince?”

This man. I chuckled halfheartedly before smiling dryly.

“I didn’t say much.”

“To hell with that! Have you gone crazy or just forgotten about the situation you’re in? Do you know what it means for a princess to intervene in politics…”

“I know. And I have the [Power of the Lords], brother. You heard that part, didn’t you?”

As he muttered about some honey-eating chick, it did seem like he had heard the whole speech. Though he might be arming himself with brashness, I could sense the slight anxiety in his gaze. A butterfly effect was about to ripple through this world. 

There were currently two princes in the Empire who had the [Power of the Lords]. The Crown Prince and the 5th Prince. However, the latter was often ignored since the Crown Prince was immensely more powerful. However, the 5th Prince’s powers could not be simply ignored. Because the 2nd Prince was backing him. 

But what if another potential successor was to appear right at this moment? What would happen if word about this spread? 

“You know what this means better than me, brother.”

“Seriously, you! Ha, fine. You can’t take back what you’ve said but can I just ask what you were thinking of doing?”

If I had spoken thoughtlessly, he would have only gotten angrier. But I had really just wanted to take Castor down. Ah, I also wanted to survive.

“Would you like a cup of tea?”

I smiled brightly. He looked pretty busy at the moment so I had decided to tell him later. Of course, Fleon only looked more frustrated but it was fun to watch him squirm. 

“Fine. It looks like you have no intentions on telling me anything. I’m still busy now so I’ll just wait and see. You.”

“Yeah.”

Ha. Fleon let out a long sigh before ruffling his grey hair and raising his head. 

He looked like he was about to say something before soon swallowing his words. When I asked why he held himself back, he remarked that there were too many ears in the palace. He was being very cautious which was very unlike Fleon. 

“Ashley Rosé.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, whatever. No matter what you’re planning on doing, just give it a go.”

Was I talking to Fleon? I unknowingly tilted my head.

“… You’re not angry?”

“Do you think I’m not? I changed my mind after seeing your silly face.”

I was not used to seeing this side of him but his back that was facing me seemed a lot wider than before.

“Damn it, what else can I do if you chose to walk through hell yourself?”

“It’s not hell.”

It was then did he tilt his head as he stared at me. He might be looking down on me but it didn’t displease me. This was more like him.

“That guy and I will be supporting you whatever you choose to do.”

He walked towards me before roughly ruffling my hair. Even through the mess of my hair, I could see him smiling widely. The boy I was so used to seeing was dissipating in front of my eyes. When we separated, he became a young man. 

“Have you met Dane?”

”Not yet.”

When I said that, he looked perplexed.

“Why?”

“Because he’s dying.”

I was taken aback from his reply. I shifted my gaze without being able to find anything to say in response. The colour of the sky outside the room was still a light blue. Perhaps it was because I had visited the 4th Administrative Office so early in the morning but it was still mid-afternoon. I looked away from the once again dazzlingly clear sky before looking at Fleon again. 

“What do you mean he’s dying?”

Was he sick? Was he struggling with something? I tilted my head. Fleon got up from his seat but he still maintained eye contact with me. He must have been really busy because his hands were filled with scrolls. 

“Ask him yourself.”

T/N:

(1): Here, Hernan says that templars of beasts die from the overuse of their powers. In korean, he said 폭주 which is conceptually the idea of things rushing at you that ultimate overwhelm you. I translated it so it would fit the context of what he was saying and I hope it stays accurate but you’ll know when the meaning starts falling off because you’ll see another footnote!