Chapter 64

At that very moment in the imperial palace, Lehan felt a deep sense of unease.

“…Where’s Edelis?”

“She said she returned to her room.”

“Is that so?”

Lehan was a man who trusted his gut feelings. When he had such a feeling and went to investigate, it was always something minor, like the ridiculous Berman Pasis confessing his feelings to his beautiful wife, or the wily Johannes Frache making a move on his lovely Edelis. Johannes would have been horrified to hear that, but ignoring that thought, Lehan put down the documents he was reading and stood up.

“I’ll go see my wife for a moment.”

“Yes.”

The officials who had come to the Emperor’s office were pleased, as this wasn’t the first or second time the Emperor had done this, and it gave them a short break. Furthermore, the likelihood of a document being approved skyrocketed after the Emperor returned from seeing the Empress. They were so tempted to create a permanent seat for the Empress in a corner of the office.

“Where is my wife?”

But when Lehan arrived at the Empress’s room, his mood turned sour. She wasn’t there.

“She said she was taking a short walk in the garden with Sir Berman Pasis.”

“At this hour?”

Since she always had meals with him, there was no way Edelis wouldn’t know he would be coming around this time.

‘And she went for a walk in the garden?’

He waited for a while, but there was no sign of Edelis returning. He was about to send a servant to tell her he was looking for her, but then he remembered her guard was Berman Pasis. So Lehan went out to the garden himself to interrupt Berman Pasis’s schemes. But no matter where he walked that she might be, he couldn’t even see a glimpse of her dress. In the end, he ordered the chamberlain,

“Summon Johannes Frache.”

“He’s already left the palace and returned to the Duchy…”

“I said summon him.”

“Yes.”

The chamberlain, sensing the ominous atmosphere, bowed his head. Before Johannes arrived, Lehan ordered the head lady-in-waiting to find Edelis. And he personally ran through his bedroom, the library, and various parts of the garden again, but he couldn’t find a single trace of her. Furthermore, the story the head lady-in-waiting returned with after questioning the maids was devastating.

“Your, Your Majesty. About four hours ago, they saw Her Majesty the Empress heading towards the outskirts of the imperial palace, and since then…”

“Since then.”

“No one has seen her.”

Lehan’s fists clenched, and the veins on his hands became prominent.

“Order the Imperial Knights to find Edelis. The command will be given to Johannes Frache.”

“Your Majesty, she’s with Sir Berman Pasis, so I’m sure she’s alright.”

“…”

Despite the chamberlain’s reassurance, Lehan’s unease didn’t subside. When Johannes, who had belatedly returned to the palace, searched with the entire Imperial Knights, there was no news of her being found. He decided to expand the search outside the palace. Lehan, in his anxious state, wanted to ride out himself to join the search, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave when he was told the Emperor could not be absent from the palace.

“…It would be wise to prepare to lose your heads if even a single strand of my wife, Edelis’s hair, is harmed.”

“Yes!”

“Find her before my patience runs out.”

Even after sending the knights out, Lehan paced restlessly around his room. He worried if she had been hurt. He couldn’t feel at ease with just Berman Pasis. How could she have disappeared without a trace within the imperial palace? He felt as though Edelis would open the door and return with a smile at any moment. And he wouldn’t even be able to get angry; he would just tell her never to leave his side again. He would tell her that from now on, they would be together no matter what, state meetings or not. And if anyone dared to object, he would behead them. Knock. Knock. As if in response to his wish, there was a knock at the door. Lehan moved to the door at a speed as if he had teleported and opened it himself. But the person standing in front of him wasn’t Edelis—it was the Saintess.

“…What is it?”

“The imperial palace seems to be in a commotion, so I came to see if something was wrong.”

“It’s nothing…”

Lehan couldn’t bring himself to say it was nothing. He was terrified that something had happened to Edelis at that very moment.

“Please rest in your room.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“…”

Lehan was tempted for a moment. If it meant finding Edelis, he was desperate enough to ask even for the help of a child. It didn’t matter who it was, as long as he could get some help.

“Can you… find a person?”

“A person? Did someone disappear? Oh, perhaps…”

“…”

“Her Majesty the Empress?”

“…Yes.”

Lehan gave up on lying and hiding the truth. He wouldn’t be acting this desperately if it wasn’t for Edelis. Besides, to get the Saintess’s help, he had to reveal that Edelis was missing anyway.

“Isn’t the Empress with a guard?”

“She is.”

“Since she’s with a guard, won’t she be alright?”

“…Having a guard doesn’t mean you’re safe from all danger.”

As she had been attacked before, a guard was just a bare minimum safety measure.

“Hmm, I’m sure the guard will protect her, but…”

The Saintess walked to the window and knelt as if to pray. She put her hands together, bowed her head, and began to pray, muttering quietly. With the atmosphere suddenly changed, Lehan held his breath, hoping that he would get a clue to find Edelis.

“…The Empress hasn’t run away, has she?”

“Run away…? That’s impossible.”

“But unless she wants to hide herself, her voice wouldn’t be this difficult to hear.”

The Saintess tilted her head, looking puzzled. Lehan felt his blood run cold. Was Edelis unhappy with her life in the palace? Unhappy enough to leave the palace without a word to him? And the person who disappeared with her was Berman Pasis, of all people.

‘Could it be…’

The Saintess’s words created a ripple of anxiety in Lehan’s mind. As if to deliberately stir his anxiety, the Saintess spoke.

“Which guard is she with right now? I’ll try to pray to find him.”

“…Berman Pasis.”

“You mean Sir Berman Pasis, my follower, right? That’s great. It’s easier to hear the voice of someone I know.”

‘I don’t know why I couldn’t hear any news about the Empress, though,’ the Saintess added with an awkward laugh, and her words pierced Lehan like daggers. The Saintess put her hands together and bowed her head to pray again. The prayer was a little longer than before, and Lehan felt a glimmer of hope. But when the Saintess raised her head, she kept tilting it and looking perplexed.

“Why can’t I hear anything about Sir Pasis either?”

“…”

“Oh, come to think of it, Sir Pasis once came to the temple and prayed…”

Lehan didn’t want to hear it. He had no interest in any story that wasn’t about Edelis. And about Berman Pasis, of all people. He wasn’t curious about any news of him other than an obituary or news of his immigration. Oh, but since he had once risked his life to save Edelis, he was willing to send him to any country he wished.

“I don’t know if I should say this, but he was conflicted because he liked Her Majesty…”

“…”

“If it had been any other time, I would never have said anything! But since you said Sir Pasis was the one who disappeared with the Empress…”

“So.”

“No, it’s just… Sir Pasis, who likes Your Majesty, and the Empress, who seems to be praying to not be found… it just doesn’t make sense.”

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

Lehan looked so threatening that an ordinary person would have taken a step back. But the Saintess steadfastly delivered her message.

“It’s possible that the Empress left on her own free will…”

“Stop. I will not tolerate any more of your slander.”

“It’s not slander! Don’t you think it’s possible?”

“Even if it were, I will not believe it unless Edelis tells me herself.”

Yes, that was the right thing to do. Even if Edelis’s heart had turned towards Berman, he would hear it directly from her. What to do after that, whether to tear Berman’s limbs apart or hide Edelis in a deep, secluded part of the imperial palace where only he could see her, was a decision for later. Even if what he was most worried about was precisely what the Saintess had said.

“Now, please rest in your room.”

“Alright, I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help.”

“It’s alright.”

The Saintess left the Emperor’s parlor and calmly returned to her own quarters. After confirming that the guard, who was a disguise for a surveillance agent, was standing at the door, she quietly slipped out through the window. She had already created all her alibis.

***

“Now it’s your turn to answer. What did you see in the book?”

“Did the person who commissioned you also ask you to get the contents of the book?”

“I’ll keep my words to myself. But I told you my justifiable reason, so I hope you’ll do the same.”

Berman calmly drew his sword from its sheath as he spoke. His words were an invitation and a suggestion, but his actions were a clear threat. However, she didn’t have to tell him everything she had seen in the book.

“I died.”

“…By my hand?”

“No, by the Emperor’s.”

“Is that true?”

“Yes. That’s why I was so afraid of the Emperor at first. You understand, don’t you? He pierced my heart with a long sword in the hall of the Emerald Palace.”

“It shows the future?”

“Yes. The Emperor killing me was the future. So even if you don’t kill me, I’ll die by the Emperor’s hand.”

There was no need to tell him that the future had changed. She was the only one who knew all the contents of the book. But she wasn’t lying, so Edelis spoke with confidence.

“I can’t believe that.”

“The place where I last lost consciousness, that’s where I’m confined. And you said you’d get me out. You said we were on the same side.”

“…That can’t be.”

“Why else would I have deliberately kept you as my guard? It’s because you would be on my side in the future.”

“Then what about the Emperor?”

“After he stabbed me to death, my father started a rebellion, so he had my family wiped out, right?”

Edelis said this to persuade Berman Pasis. That was better than being beaten or stabbed to death right now.

“In the latter half of the book, my family is wiped out. If you turn back a little before that, I die.”

“Then what happens to me? Is there any mention of me meeting the princess, or anything like that?”

He desperately clung to her, begging for an answer, but Edelis knew nothing about that. The princess… she hadn’t known about her at all until she heard the story from Berman Pasis just moments ago.

“I don’t know everything in the book either. I was kidnapped by you while I was in the middle of gathering the contents. If you were so curious, you should have waited longer until I had gathered more.”

“…Then what about the Saintess?”

Why was he suddenly asking about the Saintess?

“What makes you so sure that the Saintess, who’s just staying here for a while, would appear in the book?”

“…It’s a Saintess who has appeared for the first time in hundreds of years, so of course she would.”

It couldn’t just be that. Otherwise, the Saintess wouldn’t have appeared so suddenly.

“What’s your relationship with the Saintess?”

Berman Pasis picked up the book without a word. He turned and walked towards the stairs leading out of the cellar.

“Wait, where are you taking that?!”

“To the person who commissioned me.”

“Who is that? The Saintess?”