Episode 107
As Sylvia left, Cesar heard a rustling sound from the trees behind him. A sudden gust of wind, and Heron appeared before him.
“I have something to tell you. Do you have a complaint, Duke Clovis?”
Despite Cesar’s clear displeasure, Heron casually spoke to him. Cesar frowned and turned to leave. He wasn’t worth interacting with.
But Heron’s next words stopped him.
“It’s about Valerie. I have something to tell the woman, or rather, the bird Lily, you’re currently keeping.”
Cesar had already guessed that Heron knew about Lily. But he didn’t understand why he would approach him directly like this.
“Why are you telling me this, instead of telling her yourself?”
“Because Valerie refused my help.”
A flicker of sadness showed in Heron’s usually languid eyes. But the brief glimpse of his true feelings quickly disappeared.
Smiling as usual, Heron asked,
“Do you know about the Holy Kingdom, the ones who are coming for Valerie?”
Cesar paused at the mention of the Holy Kingdom. He contemplated whether to ignore the question or not.
He decided to answer.
“Besides what’s publicly known, I know they might be targeting Lily.”
“You’re right. They want Valerie. And there’s a reason why they want to take her. Although you don’t seem to know.”
Cesar didn’t like the man smiling smugly in front of him. He wanted to get rid of him, but he couldn’t ignore someone who might have information about Lily.
“As you said, I don’t know the reason. So I’ll make you an offer. Tell me your purpose for being here, the information you have.”
“And what will you give me in return, Your Grace?”
“Anything you want.”
There was nothing a Duke couldn’t give. And he never skimped on payment when it came to buying and selling information.
“What about Valerie? Can you give her to me, too?”
Heron asked, testing the waters, and observed Cesar’s reaction. He felt a chill at Cesar’s sudden, intense killing intent. But he didn’t flinch.
Their gazes clashed, neither willing to back down.
“No.”
She was the light he had found, the woman he loved. How could he offer Lily in exchange for information?
“I was just kidding. You’re taking this quite seriously, Duke.”
His voice, cutting through the tense atmosphere, was playful, but Cesar knew he wasn’t joking.
“That’s a ridiculous joke. Is there any man who would take that as a joke?”
The look in his eyes when he asked for Lily was the same look he himself had when he looked at her. Heron, sensing his instinctive wariness and hostility, erased his smile.
“I can’t lie. But regardless of my intentions, all you need is the information, isn’t it? Don’t you want to know why they want to take Valerie?”
It was a rare, serious expression.
Cesar, looking Heron over, nodded. Heron replied smoothly,
“They want to take Valerie to deprive her of her freedom and use her for their own purposes. A life of praise, yet hidden from the world, a life of sacrifice for others, bound by duty. That’s the life Valerie was supposed to live.”
Cesar’s brows furrowed at his words.
“…What is Lily, exactly?”
“Well? I don’t know the details either. The spirits won’t tell me. But according to the Holy Kingdom, she’s what you would call a sacred artifact.”
A sacred artifact. An object imbued with divine power…
But Lily was a living being, not an object.
Cesar was about to ask more, but Heron had already turned around, preparing to leave.
“That’s all the information I’m willing to give you. Find out the rest yourself.”
“Wait. Is your information reliable?”
Heron chuckled at the suspicion in Cesar’s eyes.
“Why? Do you think I would give you false information? Unfortunately, I’m not the type to bother with such things. If you don’t believe me, bring me before Valerie and ask her yourself. This information is from spirits, who can’t lie. You’ll be able to tell whether I’m telling the truth or not by asking Valerie. I wouldn’t mind seeing Valerie again.”
Cesar’s eye twitched at Heron’s unnecessary addition.
“That’s enough. I’ll believe you.”
He cut him off curtly and added,
“I’ll gratefully accept the information, but I won’t hand over Lily.”
Heron had already been rejected. Well, he hadn’t given up, but…
“It doesn’t matter. Even if Valerie likes you now, you never know how the human heart might change, do you?”
With those last words, needling Cesar, Heron disappeared.
Cesar gritted his teeth, glaring at the spot where he vanished.
“As if I would stand by and watch Lily’s heart change.”
He wasn’t a fool to let another man steal his woman.
‘It was an unpleasant encounter, but I did gain some useful information.’
He now knew that the Holy Kingdom was after Lily herself, and that she would never be happy if she went with them.
Cesar briefly considered killing the delegation from the Holy Kingdom at the hunting competition but decided against it. It would complicate things if a diplomatic dispute arose amidst the current internal turmoil.
He would put that aside for now and thought of someone he had to deal with first.
“You better be doing your job properly.”
Cesar wondered if the subordinate he had planted in the Imperial Palace would bring him useful information.
As the banquet was in full swing, those who had discreetly slipped away met in a secret location.
Under the moonlight, the Second Prince, who hadn’t attended the banquet, appeared.
“So, how was the banquet?”
A voice among those who had been silently waiting spoke,
“It seems the political climate is turbulent. It was quite chaotic. And I wanted to meet the Empress; why are you here, Second Prince?”
The person lowered their robe, revealing startlingly white hair and pale eyes.
The Second Prince frowned, displeased at being asked about his mother.
“What? Do you have a problem with me being here?”
The High Priest of the Holy Kingdom replied calmly, unfazed by his sharp tone,
“Well, it’s more convenient to have these kinds of conversations with the Empress.”
The Second Prince was the one who felt offended, his inferiority complex triggered.
“Do I seem that unreliable compared to my half-brother?”
“I’m aware that the power struggle for the throne is fierce. But we’re not interested in such matters.”
The High Priest observed the Second Prince as he spoke.
Their goal was to retrieve what they wanted and return to the Holy Kingdom when the time was right, so there was no reason to provoke the Second Prince.
“Then why are you here in the Empire?”
“Let’s just say we’re looking for something. It’s unrelated to the Imperial family. So we hope you won’t restrict our movements based on your baseless suspicions, Second Prince.”
They couldn’t have a meaningful conversation unless it was with the Empress. The High Priest, deeming it a waste of time, told the other priests to leave.
The Second Prince, seeing them leave, spoke,
“…What about Petri? How do you plan on handling that? It’s time for you to return it.”
“Why don’t you ask the Empress? She doesn’t seem to want to return it yet.”
“Why not?”
“I’m surprised you’re asking me that. Shouldn’t you, her son, be the one to know?”
The Second Prince’s expression instantly darkened. The High Priest, sensing the obvious power dynamic, looked towards the quiet window.
He actually understood why the Empress didn’t fully trust the Second Prince.
“I’ve been hearing a faint noise from the window. I was told this place was secluded.”
It was a cold night, and if there was an unfamiliar presence in such a secluded place, it could only be… a rat eavesdropping on their conversation.
The High Priest walked over and drew the curtains. But there was nothing there.
“It seems like it was my imagination.”
He felt a lingering sense of unease but couldn’t investigate a place that wasn’t his territory. And whether it was a real spy or not, it would only harm the Second Prince, not them.
“Then, have a good night. May the blessings of the gods be with you.”
With that farewell, they quietly left.
Wilhelm, who had barely managed to avoid being discovered, was determined to quit this job, thinking of the information he had to convey to Cesar.