Episode 110
“Olivia.”
It was Olivia who had called out Elonia’s name. She had been unsure at first, seeing the black hair, but she had recognized Alberich and Elonia’s backs.
Olivia, wearing the mandatory red-embroidered uniform of Heilan, but with a long coat over it, rushed towards them.
“Elonia, what are you doing here?”
“What about you, Olivia…? Enjoying the festival, I see.”
Olivia’s purpose was obvious. She was holding a half-eaten blue cotton candy.
“Yes, it’s more fun than I expected. I wish Garnethia was here too.”
Olivia, tearing off a piece of cotton candy and feeding it to Elonia, murmured. Garnethia was still at the academy, working on the magic tool. She had insisted on staying, saying she had a new idea.
Elonia made a mental note to buy her some treats as a thank you. Just then, Olivia said something unexpected.
“Lucius asked me if I wanted to come. I was getting bored at the academy, so it was perfect timing.”
“Lucius did?”
Elonia, after swallowing the cotton candy, asked, her voice rising in surprise. Hoping to find out where he was, she asked,
“Do you know where he is now?”
She wouldn’t be able to find him on her own if he was deliberately hiding. Olivia, pointing behind her, shook her head.
“We came together, but it’s just Simon now.”
Simon, who was also holding a pink cotton candy, as if they had shared one, noticed Elonia and rushed over, bowing his head.
Olivia, noticing that someone was missing, asked,
“Where’s that ill-mannered pink-haired brat? You wouldn’t have left him alone, would you?”
“Ah, he’s… in that back alley.”
“Huh?”
That whiny and troublesome young master in a back alley? It seemed like an unlikely combination. But Olivia, not particularly concerned about his well-being, whispered to Elonia,
“You’re here for Lucius, aren’t you?”
“…Is it that obvious?”
“I saw Lucius picking a fight with the pink-haired one. That’s strange. He’s not the type to start a fight.”
Ah, so that was it. Alberich’s ridiculous question had caused a misunderstanding.
Olivia continued,
“Lucius should be around here somewhere. He’s officially our attendant, so it’s his job to escort us back to the academy.”
“I see. Thank you, Olivia.”
Elonia’s face relaxed. Olivia sighed.
“Seriously, why would you go through all this trouble for that guy? Disguising yourself and everything. Well, I understand.”
Alberich, hearing her words, slumped to the ground, defeated.
Olivia’s words had meant, “I understand why you’re doing this, considering Heilan’s suspicious activities,” but Alberich had interpreted them as, “I understand why you’re doing this, considering your interest in him.”
Elonia, ignoring Alberich’s misunderstanding, abandoned him and walked away.
“Wait here, Alberich. I’ll be back soon.”
“Y-your, wait…!”
“What? Are you planning to follow me to the bathroom?”
“That’s not where you’re going…!”
“If you follow me, I’ll ban you from the Imperial Princess’s Palace.”
Alberich, frozen at the threat, could only stare after her, his mouth agape. Elonia quickly disappeared into the crowd.
She weaved through the throng of people, searching for Lucius’s presence.
His aura was faint, as if he was trying to hide, but she could still sense it. It was close.
‘Ugh, he’s good at hiding.’
She didn’t know why he had called her here. She clenched her fists, vowing to punish him if it was for something trivial. Just then,
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
“…!”
Lucius was suddenly walking beside her. He was wearing a cloak over his uniform, probably to avoid being recognized.
Elonia dragged him to a secluded alley and asked, getting straight to the point,
“What are you planning? Bringing Olivia and Simon here?”
Lucius, despite being cornered, smiled calmly.
“Your Highness, you made a mistake.”
“What?”
A mistake? What mistake? Was he betraying them after all?
A chill ran down her spine, but Lucius, his eyebrows furrowed in a mock scolding, continued,
“You didn’t cast a silence spell on me that day. If I had changed my mind and betrayed you, you would have been captured by Tristan by now.”
“Ah.”
“You should cast it now. That’s why I called you here.”
Elonia, relieved that his purpose wasn’t betrayal, released him and sighed.
“…You scared me. I thought you were betraying us.”
“Me?”
“It seemed that way. When I heard you were here, I thought you were here to cause trouble.”
“My apologies. But I do have another reason for being here.”
“What is it?”
Surely it wasn’t betrayal.
Lucius, ignoring her suspicious glare, smiled and said,
“Julietta’s faith is wavering.”
“…Really? How?”
Elonia couldn’t believe it.
Lucius, his face lighting up, replied,
“Professor Caroline said something to Professor Julietta at the prayer meeting. I couldn’t hear clearly, but it must have been something significant. Julietta has been holed up in her office ever since.”
What had Caroline said?
It was unbelievable. Noah had said Julietta’s brainwashing was unbreakable.
“Anyway, thanks to that, I was able to come here. The devotees are easily influenced by my actions, so Julietta would have stopped me if she hadn’t been distracted.”
Elonia easily understood his true purpose.
“You used Olivia and Simon’s request as an excuse to leave the Theology Department. And you brought the other devotees here to weaken their faith.”
“Yes.”
Elonia had been grateful that he hadn’t betrayed them, but she hadn’t expected him to go this far to help her.
But,
“…Did you forget about my warning? To cherish your life?”
“Did it seem that way?”
“Yes.”
Lucius, flustered by her immediate and unwavering response, averted his gaze.
Well, it was understandable. Natalie had lost her memories when her brainwashing was broken. But if someone broke free on their own, their memories remained intact, as Count Rossi had demonstrated.
If the brainwashed individuals regained their senses and accused Lucius, Elonia wouldn’t be able to protect him, even if she was the princess.
Lucius, of course, had anticipated this. And he had a plan.
“I have an ally. A Ravanta citizen who isn’t brainwashed.”
“…?”
Elonia frowned, confused by his sudden change of subject. Lucius continued,
“He’ll visit you soon and introduce himself. I’ve given him a code phrase, so just ask him.”
Lucius whispered a long and complicated code phrase.
Elonia wondered why he couldn’t just tell her who it was, but she decided to let it slide. This seemed to be his true purpose for being here.
“Alright, I believe you’re not betraying us. But I’m still not casting a silence spell on you.”
“Why not? Verbal agreements are dangerous.”
“I know. But you’re constantly being monitored and reporting through that earring, aren’t you? Do you think Tristan wouldn’t notice a change in your behavior?”
Elonia pointed at his piercing.
Lucius touched his piercing, then lowered his hand, his face grim.
“As expected, you noticed.”
“I would be an idiot not to.”
She hadn’t noticed it before the prayer meeting. She hadn’t had any reason to stare at his ear, and its aura had been similar to his own.
But after seeing his Holy Power in action, she had felt like the piercing’s aura was different.
So she had tested him, and her suspicion had been confirmed.
“As you said, he might not be a god, but he’s more powerful than an apostle. So there’s no guarantee that your communication is secure.”
“…But Your Highness—”
Just then,
“El!”
Llewellyn’s voice, filled with urgency, echoed from afar. He must have recovered and heard about the situation from Alberich.
Elonia, wanting to hear what Lucius had been about to say before Llewellyn arrived and caused a scene, asked,
“Lucius, what were you saying?”
“It’s nothing. It wasn’t important.”
Lucius shook his head, his expression carefully neutral. His evasiveness made Elonia suspicious.
“…Don’t do anything reckless. I’m grateful that you’re even helping me.”
“I understand.”
“…I don’t think you do.”
“I do. You promised to save me from Heilan.”
Lucius held out his hand, as if asking for hers.
Elonia hesitantly took his hand, and Lucius knelt down, gently pressing her hand against his forehead.
“So I won’t do anything reckless.”
“…”
Lucius smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. Elonia was speechless. She had never seen him smile so genuinely.
‘He’s quite handsome.’
Alberich’s words about Lucius being attractive suddenly came to mind.
Even Alberich, known for his high standards, must have found Lucius beautiful. And with such a face, it was understandable that he would be misunderstood…
‘Wait, what am I thinking?’
She had to snap out of it. When she was fourteen in her past life, he had been a baby. She was twenty-three now, mentally, and he was only fifteen.
The thought calmed her down. It was all Alberich’s fault for putting such ridiculous ideas in her head.
“I’ll be going now.”
Elonia, flustered, quickly left.
Lucius, left alone in the alley,
He would have avoided such a dark and secluded place in the past. But he had changed since that day.
He erased the smile from his face and spoke to the empty air,
“You’re always quiet when she’s around.”
[…]
The voice didn’t answer.
Lucius had expected this. He had learned a lot during the prayer meeting.
That Elonia was Chelon. That she had also heard a voice. That the voice had dispelled Elonia’s disguise spell when they tried to uncover its identity. And most importantly, that the voice always hid whenever Elonia was present.
“I know who you are now.”
He had another reason for coming here today, a reason he hadn’t told Elonia. He wanted to uncover the voice’s identity.
The voice remained silent.
But he had all the pieces of the puzzle. She had said she was an apostle, just like him.
“You’re Alexia, the former apostle, Lady Chelon’s mother, aren’t you?”
The voice remained silent. But Lucius, persistent, pressed on.
“I won’t ask why you’re still alive. Just answer this one question. Are you Alexia?”
[…Haah.]
The voice sighed, then, after a long pause, finally admitted,
[Yes, I’m Alexia.]