CH 86

Celia awoke and retrieved the egg of the divine beast from Leonis’ magic pouch.

It was still big and warm and shook from side to side as if it was relieved that Celia had taken it out. The soft clattering sound gave her the impression that the egg was about to break and hatch.

‘Is it okay?’

She had a moment of clarity about eggs hatched in an incubator, but it seemed the egg didn’t hatch that way.

It would be better to warm it up first, so Celia brought out a convenient basket and blanket from the dressing room and placed the egg on it.

She spread the blankets into two baskets, sandwiched the eggs between them, and then covered them again. The basket appeared to be filled with round blanket piles.

“Hmm~ Are you comfortable?”

Rattle, rattle.

She couldn’t tell if the egg rattled from side to side because it liked it or not. Celia pondered where to place this egg.

It should not have been seen by servants and maids.

‘But I can’t send it to the temple.’

She had to avoid the Emperor’s eyes. At least until the start of Leonis’ Rebellion. For the time being, it seemed that keeping the egg close to it was necessary for its safety or the hatching process.

‘Should I keep this with me and put it in my magic bag when I need it?’

If it were stolen after she had left it in the room, she would be in big trouble. Celia gently hugged it, which had a soft warmth to it. For a brief moment, the clattering seemed to stop.

She couldn’t tell if the egg could hear what she was saying or if Celia understood what the eggs were saying, so hugging seemed to be all she could do at times.

‘If it’s a regular egg, I need to warm it up to a specific temperature.’

She thought she heard someone say that the egg should be moved slowly. As Celia contemplated while holding the egg, someone opened the door.

“……You woke up.”

Of course, it was Leonis. He charged forward when he noticed an egg basket on Celia’s lap.

“Doesn’t it feel heavy?”

“Not to that extent. Have you met Zeppel?”

“Yes. He said Nicole did a good job.”

While explaining what happened at the palace the day Celia was kidnapped, Leonis handed over a third piece of heart. Celia was surprised to learn Giel had stabbed Michael.

“Prince Michael……”

“He is not dead. Thankfully.”

Leonis did not want Michael to die now because he wanted the three princes to bite each other and die together.

Because Michael had a fatal flaw, it was hoped that he would defeat the other two princes and ascend to the throne.

“Prince Giel is on probation, and Prince Michael and Prince Phil are in treatment.”

And they finally got three pieces of heart on their side. They could now proceed in earnest if only one piece of the emperor could be obtained.

“I don’t know when the pieces of the emperor will be retrieved, so I’ll offer at least three pieces to the temple.”

The former Duke of Cardian distanced himself from the Church of the Heavenly Gods, but this did not imply that he persecuted and forced the existing temple to close.

Asylus is a bustling city with a church of gods of heaven, and it has long been where the temples of the three most famous churches were located. So he didn’t have to go far to find the Temple of the God of Heaven within Asylus.

“Wouldn’t it be better if we waited until the last piece was obtained?”

“No one has noticed so far, but you never know what the future holds. It is better to offer it in advance in case it is stolen. I’m curious how the egg of the divine beast reacts inside the temple.”

“If that’s the case, our family has a priest who works with us.”

Celia hesitated at Leonis’ words.

A priest who cooperates with the Cardians? Haha, someone from the church would have been needed to solve the clue to the curse.

“… … It would be interesting to hear what he said, but I’d rather see what happens if I give a heart piece or take a divine beast egg.”

Specifically, I wanted to see if the goddess would answer. It wasn’t too late to seek assistance from the priest who had previously worked with the family.

“Are you sure you won’t get in trouble?”

That’s all he needed to know, but she wondered why Leonis was worried.

“Well……I’m sure everything will be fine. Why would you say that?”

“Because you collapsed every time the goddess spoke to you.”

No, isn’t it the other way around? I passed out when I heard the goddess’s voice, and the goddess passed out when she spoke to me…

‘Is it not? It may seem right……’

“We can go together. Leon must also go in order to change the image of the Cardian family.”

Leonis hesitated before sending Celia to the temple, but he agreed.

✦ ✦ ✦

Hellion, who had left the Emperor’s Imperial Palace and returned to the Great Temple in the empire’s capital, was taken aback by the news as if the sky was collapsing. The news was that monsters had attacked the Duke of Cardian’s procession, and the Duchess had gone missing.

He didn’t know what to do because he had heard an oracle. He quickly dispatched the Holy Knights to find the Duchess, but the emperor was likely to be suspicious.

‘However, the safety of the person who will become a saintess takes precedence!’

The Duke of Cardian, who was staying in a village near the accident site, stated that he had ordered his departure to the duchy.

It was unclear whether he wanted it or if his aides had taken it away.

Hellion was in the mood to urgently request assistance with the search, but the priest who delivered information from the search party spoke cautiously.

“They claimed to have discovered conditions that indicated the Duchess had died. That and a piece of clothing…… There was some flesh.”

“It can’t be!”

Despite his denials, the Imperial Palace believed the monster had already killed the Duchess. Hellion prayed in confusion.

The man who slayed the dragon, symbolizing the imperial family, had to be the Duke of Cardian in his dream. The pink-haired lady who helped the duke and awakened the divine……

‘I thought she was Duchess of Cardian.’

Following his prayers, the priests brought Hellion some unexpected news.  An intruder was said to have broken into the second prince’s palace and seriously injured the second prince, Phil. Furthermore, there was a commotion in the first prince’s palace, and word spread that Prince Michael had been stabbed.

Both of them requested treatment from the High Priests. Hellion went to the palace of the first prince because the emperor had requested that Michael be treated first.

Prince Michael’s wounds were severe, but it didn’t mean Hellion could not save him. While the high priestess treated Michael, he sent a high-ranking priest to the second prince’s palace.

The priestess’ side possessed higher divine power, but knowing the second prince’s behavior, he couldn’t send her there.

Hellion received unexpected news from a high-ranking priest after returning from treatment. He speculated the intruder who broke into the second prince’s palace was the Duke of Cardian.

‘The Duke of Cardian? Really?’

Hellion had no choice but to consider the reason. There must have been a reason for Duke Cardian’s incursion of the second prince’s palace.

Prince Phil had previously been charged with numerous crimes. There have recently been rumors that he is also interested in the Duchess of Cardian.

‘Could it be that the duke went to rescue the duchess after the prince kidnapped her?’

According to reports, the Duke of Cardian, with a broken arm, was seriously injured and could not participate in the search. But if he appeared in the palace of the second prince…..

Hellion’s heart started to pound.

If he was who appeared at the Second Prince Imperial Palace was true, the Duchess would also be safe.

‘The oracle came true, just as predicted! The Duchess must have been saved and protected by the Duke of Cardian!’

Hellion felt compelled to tell the duchess about his own oracle as soon as possible.

If Duke Cardian did not act now, when the princes were threatening them, the god of heaven’s plan could be jeopardized.

Going to the church’s headquarters and meeting the emperor is not the same as going to the Duchy of Cardian and meeting the duke. The former felt natural, but the latter could raise the emperor’s suspicion.

“From today I…… I will begin one hundred days of prayer.”

Just as Duke Cardian disguised himself and hid in the second prince’s palace, the high priest had a way to secretly leave the church.

One of them was to enter prayer like this.

“I will go to the tower and ask God for a question. Do you know the procedure?”

The sudden declaration of High Priest Hellion did not surprise the high-ranking priests. The high priests of the church had wandered and entered prayer after the divine beast had stopped coming down to the continent.

Furthermore, Hellion assumed he was going into prayer to gain enlightenment through a conversation with the emperor because he had just returned from the headquarters.

Hellion summoned his disciple and gave him instructions.

He went into a special room and prayed all day for one hundred days, eating only one meal a day.