Episode 132
Lucius lay still, receiving treatment from Valerian. Valerian, after assessing his condition, couldn’t hide his shock.
“You were walking around like this? No, you even danced at the debutante ball? You’re one tough cookie.”
Lucius was practically a walking corpse.
His internal injuries were severe, his organs screaming in protest even as he lay still.
“And what happened to your Holy Power? You could have died today.”
His Holy Power, which should have been abundant for an apostle, was completely gone. Lucius, turning his head away, murmured,
“…Please don’t tell Her Highness.”
Valerian pressed down on his chest, where his hands had been resting.
“Ugh…!”
Lucius groaned in pain.
He glared at Valerian, but Valerian, his expression even angrier than Lucius’s, retorted,
“Don’t tell her? She summoned me. It’s already obvious.”
Lucius averted his gaze.
Valerian sighed, then unleashed his Holy Power, healing Lucius’s injuries.
After a while, he chuckled, his earlier anger replaced by amusement.
“I never thought I would see you again.”
“…Is that so?”
“And I certainly didn’t expect to be healing you like this.”
“…”
Lucius hadn’t expected to be treated by Valerian either.
Valerian, after a brief moment of nostalgia, began his nagging.
“Do you know how worried I was? When I heard you were murdered? Of course, I didn’t believe it.”
“You have too much faith in me.”
“You don’t look like the type to die easily.”
Lucius wasn’t sure what “the type to die easily” looked like, but he certainly wasn’t in a position to die.
“How is Professor Julietta?”
“She’s fine. She was quite shocked by your ‘death,’ but time heals all wounds.”
Lucius felt a strange pang of guilt. He had orchestrated his fake death, but hearing about it from someone else was unsettling.
‘Is this how the princess, Lady Chelon, felt?’
Chelon’s situation had been even worse. She had been condemned by both sides, accused of dying uselessly and dying as a traitor. He couldn’t even imagine the pain she must have felt.
And he was surprised that Julietta had been so affected by his death. Perhaps it was because they had worked together.
“That’s good.”
He was relieved. Valerian, seeing his reaction, asked playfully,
“Aren’t you curious about what Llewellyn is up to?”
“…Not really.”
Valerian burst out laughing at his blunt reply.
“You haven’t changed. People usually become more irritable when they’re sick, but you seem less prickly than before.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Perhaps it’s because you’ve faced death.”
“…”
Lucius had to admit, he had felt more at peace since returning to Ravanta, or rather, since seeing Elonia at the debutante ball.
But hearing it from someone else made him feel strangely self-conscious.
‘…Her Highness has grown so much.’
Her hand in his during the dance, her surprised expression when she saw him…
She had changed considerably since their academy days.
The four years he had spent imprisoned in Heilan, the three years he had barely survived at the Luneus estate… seeing Elonia had made him realize how much time had passed.
She looked so different from the Chelon he remembered that it had startled him.
Valerian, seeing him lost in thought, clapped him on the shoulder, his hand surprisingly heavy.
“Alright, that’s all for today!”
“Ouch.”
Lucius groaned, then frowned at Valerian.
“I thought you said I shouldn’t be hit.”
“You weren’t listening.”
Lucius, embarrassed, fell silent.
Valerian chuckled, then his expression turned serious.
“You know you won’t recover overnight, right? It took seven years for your body to deteriorate to this state, so it’ll take at least that long to heal.”
Lucius, having expected as much, nodded silently. Valerian, misinterpreting his silence as resignation, smiled reassuringly.
“I’ll come and treat you at the same time every week. My Holy Power might not be as strong as yours, but it’s not useless. Don’t worry, you’ll recover.”
“…Thank you.”
“Then I’ll be going.”
Valerian stood up. Just as he was about to leave, Lucius, his voice small, said,
“…Thank you, High Priest.”
Valerian’s eyes widened in surprise.
He hadn’t expected such a sincere expression of gratitude from Lucius. He must have been in a lot of pain.
Valerian smiled brightly.
“Take care, Young Master Luneus.”
Back at the Imperial Palace,
Elonia, as soon as she returned to the Imperial Princess’s Palace, retrieved Philemon’s secret box and placed the two rings inside, then locked it securely.
‘I can’t open this box anymore.’
The box locked automatically when closed. And since she had placed the key, the ring, inside, only Philemon, from the inside, or Lucius could open it.
Elonia, after a moment of quiet contemplation, headed towards Artius’s office.
Artius, as always, greeted her warmly.
“Elonia, you’re back early.”
“Yes.”
Elonia, seeing his expression, knew what he was thinking.
It was about her love life, the topic everyone seemed to be obsessed with.
To put an end to his needless worries, she got straight to the point.
“Tristan is causing trouble in the Luneus Duchy.”
“…What?”
It was too abrupt. Artius’s hand, which had been holding a pen, froze, leaving a large ink blot on the paper.
Elonia, thinking Aaron would cry later, took the pen from him. Artius, startled, finally focused.
“…Explain.”
They sat down, and Elonia told him everything she had learned from Duchess Luneus. His face turned grim as he listened.
“Only the Four Dukes have the power to do something like this in their duchies.”
Elonia agreed.
House Luneus, Cielun’s family.
House Asta, Elonia’s maternal family.
House Fiona, the family of Elonia’s maid, Vivian.
And House Benedict, the family of the girl who had proposed to Alberich.
“Elonia, which family do you think is the most suspicious?”
Elonia, after a moment of thought, replied,
“All of them.”
“All of them?”
Artius, feigning surprise, asked. Elonia crossed her arms and leaned back against the sofa.
“Logically, it would be House Benedict.”
House Asta and House Fiona were both connected to Elonia. And House Luneus wasn’t ambitious. They wouldn’t normally target the Imperial family.
“But individual ambitions don’t always align with their family’s interests.”
Why did the nobles constantly defy Artius? Did they have multiple lives to spare? No.
They were driven by their own selfish desires, or, to put it more elegantly, a large group of people inevitably had conflicting opinions.
Each Dukal Family had numerous vassals. And if even one of them went rogue, it could spell disaster.
“So they’re all suspicious. The Dukes, their families, and their vassals.”
Elonia, having reached her conclusion, leaned back against the sofa, and Artius, his face filled with a strange mix of pride and sentimentality, murmured,
“My daughter has grown so much…”
“Oh, please. We’ve been having these conversations since I was at the academy.”
Elonia cringed. They had discussed everything, from prayer altars to political strategies. But Artius, lost in nostalgia, continued,
“Elonia, do you remember when you were fourteen?”
“…”
Elonia turned away, her cheeks flushing slightly. She remembered.
It had been her first rebellious phase.
“You said you didn’t want to be Empress after attending a political science class.”
“…Did I?”
“You did.”
She had had a good reason.
It had been after they had eradicated the prayer altars and the brainwashing. But Lucius and Philemon hadn’t returned, and she had been filled with a sense of despair and futility.
Artius, seemingly pleased that she had changed her mind, nodded.
“I was worried, but I’m glad you’ve learned your lesson. I’ll summon the Dukes immediately.”
Elonia nodded.
She wouldn’t be able to attend the leadership meeting, which was exclusive to the Emperor and the Four Dukes.
Just as she stood up to leave, Artius, a smile on his face, said,
“Elonia, you have to attend as well. You know that, right?”
Elonia’s eyes widened.
“B-but my inauguration ceremony isn’t until later…”
She stammered, her surprise evident. Artius, amused by her rare display of nervousness, chuckled.
“Of course. You’ve graduated from the academy, and after your birthday, you’ll be the Crown Princess.”
The Crown Princess.
Her birthday after graduation was also the day of her inauguration as Crown Princess.
Elonia swallowed nervously.
“I’ll help you prepare for the meeting tomorrow.”