Chapter 70

Edelis braced herself, but when the door opened, she couldn’t help but flinch at the metallic stench of blood that assaulted her nose. Lehan’s large hand immediately moved to cover her eyes. But before he could completely shield her, Edelis had already seen. Berman Pasis was bound to a chair, his limbs restrained. His clothes were so covered in blood that their original color was unrecognizable. He was in a horrible state, almost unbelievable for a former Empress’s guard. The transformation in just one night was tremendous. Nausea rose in her throat. She now understood why Lehan had suggested they eat after they returned.

“…Can he even talk?”

Lehan, realizing from her question that she had seen Berman Pasis, let out a small sigh. It was a sigh that seemed to say, ‘This is why I didn’t want to bring you here.’

“He can.”

Lehan gestured with his chin, and the baron splashed water on Berman Pasis to wake him up.

“Khk, h-heugh…!”

“Berman, are you awake?”

The current situation reminded Edelis of when she had gone to the colosseum to find Lehan in the past. She had been so furious at the way they were treating the dying Lehan back then. Even though he was a complete stranger, it had pained her deeply. It had pained her so much that she had unconsciously brought the dangerous gladiator to her home. So why was it that she felt absolutely nothing for Berman Pasis, a man who had guarded her day and night just a short time ago?

“…The S-Saintess?”

“Why are you looking for the Saintess?”

“I… want to pray.”

“You don’t necessarily need the Saintess to pray.”

“…Then, at least call a priest.”

Berman Pasis thought it was currently impossible to meet the Saintess directly. However, since all priests belonged to the Holy Empire, he intended to deliver a message through one. Perhaps the Saintess would come here herself, or she might be able to get him out. No, it was okay if he couldn’t escape this place. All he wanted was to see Ariella just once. If he could do that, he could endure guarding the Empress next to that disgusting Emperor and being tortured all night like this. So it was okay even if he couldn’t get out of here.

“No, answering our questions comes first.”

“Berman Pasis, you’re not a noble anymore, are you? You can’t request a priest for prayer.”

“…If you don’t call a priest, I won’t say anything.”

“I’m curious about three things: why did you take my book, why didn’t you kill me but took me with you, and who is the mastermind?”

“If you want to get answers from me, call a priest…”

Before Berman Pasis could finish his sentence, Edelis cut him off.

“Don’t be mistaken, Berman Pasis. I saw what kind of place this is, even if it was just for a moment.”

With just a glance, she could tell that this was not a place for simple conversations. The tools that littered the room gave her a good idea of why Pasis’s face was so disfigured, and the iron rods in the brazier hinted at their purpose.

‘They probably use fire for torture.’

And even now, the metallic smell of the iron was stimulating Edelis’s sense of smell.

“I don’t know how long you can hold out, but you’ll eventually talk.”

“No matter what you do, my answer will not change.”

Edelis sighed at his words. Despite his miserable state, he was very firm. What on earth was he thinking?

“…Princess Ariella.”

When Edelis mentioned the princess, Berman’s pupils trembled rapidly.

“You said someone told you they could show you the princess.”

“The princess? They said they could show him… the princess?”

“…”

When Lehan said it was impossible, Berman’s teeth ground audibly. But it was a natural reaction, as not a single royal family member related to the previous emperor remained in the world. Currently, the only people who could be called royals were Lehan and Edelis.

“Then it must be a memory stone.”

Lehan’s voice was heavily laced with the thought, ‘Just a mere memory stone.’ But he too might have begged for a memory stone of Edelis if he had failed the coup. He could only mock Berman because he had the composure of someone with his precious person by his side.

“If I say I can show you the princess, will you reveal who the client is?”

“How can you show me?”

“It would be better to speak respectfully, Berman Pasis. That way, you might live a little longer.”

“…”

“There are almost no families that own a memory stone with the princess in it, so the mastermind will be exposed soon, Pasis.”

But that wouldn’t be enough to perfectly catch the client. So, giving Berman a memory stone and getting a confession would make things much easier.

“I don’t need it.”

“What?”

“Just a mere memory stone…”

“Just a memory stone?”

Hadn’t he kidnapped Edelis to get a memory stone?

“Yes, I mean I don’t need a memory stone.”

Berman just stared at her, as if his stance was unchanged, and gave no further answer.

“Alright, in that case, there’s nothing to be done. Let’s call a priest and get his answer.”

“Lehan?!”

They could get the answer with just a little wait, but if they brought a priest, who knew what Pasis would do? Lehan smiled reassuringly at a worried Edelis, as if to say it was alright.

“Let’s go back up for now.”

“B-But.”

“It’s alright.”

“…”

Edelis wondered if it was really okay to just leave, but since it wasn’t a suitable place for a conversation with Berman, she decided to go back up first. On their way out, Lehan, for some reason, instructed the baron to stop the torture and rest for a while. The baron was disappointed, as he could have continued for several more days, but he followed the emperor’s order.

***

“Lehan, what are you thinking?”

“Perhaps, as you said, the Saintess is behind it.”

Lehan explained his doubts to Edelis one by one.

“If he says ‘just a mere memory stone,’ he must have been promised something more valuable than a memory stone.”

“But the princess is already dead. There’s no way to see her except through a portrait or a memory stone.”

“They might have promised both, but I don’t think that’s what this is about.”

“Then what?”

“Perhaps… the Saintess promised to let him meet the dead princess?”

“What? Is that possible?”

“There were heretics who claimed that was possible. But it wasn’t true. I don’t know about the Saintess.”

“No, but… meeting a dead person… that can’t be real.”

“But wouldn’t a desperate person cling to anything? Especially if it’s a Saintess who appeared for the first time in hundreds of years, he might want to believe it just once.”

“Could that be…? It might be, especially since Pasis was also a believer.”

There was also a possibility that he wasn’t a believer. He could have just pretended to be to create a connection with the Saintess. But for now, the Saintess emerged as the most likely suspect, as she was the one who could offer something more than a memory stone.

“So he asked to see the Saintess, even just for a moment, before he died?”

“That could be.”

“But how would she show her to him for just a moment? She’s not going to revive her, is she?”

“…I don’t think so. I’m just guessing, so I can’t imagine.”

“Hmm, I guess I’ll have to probe her when I see her later.”

She was worried about how to bring it up with the Saintess. But she couldn’t concentrate because of the intense gaze from Lehan.

“Is there something else on your mind?”

“Yes?”

“No, you keep staring at me, so it’s distracting.”

“…Listening to Pasis’s story, I felt like I was looking at myself.”

“You? Pasis?”

‘In what way? The part where he tried to kill me? Oh, no. The current Lehan isn’t trying to kill me.’

“I think if I had been locked in a special prison, I would have demanded a memory stone of you.”

“Why would Lehan be locked in…”

Edelis’s mouth closed tightly mid-sentence. If Lehan had failed the coup he risked his life for, he would have been locked up there. And he might have been tortured even more terribly and miserably than the Berman Pasis she had just glimpsed.

“I didn’t start a rebellion to see you, but to have you by my side.”

“Lehan…”

“I thought that if you weren’t alive, I might have been the one clinging to the Saintess.”

Edelis, saddened by the hardship he must have gone through, hugged Lehan tightly. There was nothing she could say. The happiness she felt now was thanks to Lehan risking his life.

“Still, I might not have been as bad as him, since I saw you from time to time.”

“…Huh?”

“Yes?”

“Wait, what did you just say?”

Lehan quickly covered his mouth, but the words had already spilled out. He had probably gotten carried away by the mood and made a mistake.

“You saw me from time to time? How?”

“Uh, no, that…”

“After you left the mansion? You came to see me after that?”

“…”

“Lehan.”

Edelis, still hugging Lehan, raised her head to look at him. She stared at him as if to say, ‘Explain now, or else,’ and Lehan confessed.

“…Whenever things got too hard, or I had to be in the area, or I missed you, or I thought of you, I went to see you.”

“So it wasn’t just once or twice.”

“N-No, of course, I couldn’t go at first. I was still young and not confident I could see you without being caught, and the training was so grueling that I often fell asleep in the bathroom at night.”

Lehan was scared that Edelis might say she wouldn’t share a room with him, or eat with him, or talk to him.

“But you could have told me you came! You could have just said ‘I came, I’m doing well’ once in a while!”

“I didn’t know if you would remember me, and I would just secretly watch you sleep and then leave…”

Lehan rarely avoided Edelis’s gaze. He wanted to hide his actions like a child who got caught, but Edelis was filled with half sadness and half happiness. To think he had been thinking of her all this time. She felt loved and happy.

“Did you also come the night before you came to get me…?”

“Yes, I went then too, thinking you were asleep, but you were awake. Actually, I didn’t plan on coming to get you the next day, but you said you were going to run away, so I rushed over.”

Lehan smiled awkwardly. Edelis felt a pang of regret that if she hadn’t stayed up so late that night, she might have met him sooner. She buried her face in Lehan’s chest again.

“Now that you’re close, I can see you whenever I want.”

“Yes, that’s the best thing. I guess the rebellion was worth it.”

“Ugh, but I feel like it would have been better if you just got a knighthood and married me, what with the Saintess and Pasis.”

From being afraid that Lehan would kill her to the present, the stress had been immense. It was good that Lehan had become Emperor and could use his abilities, but the stress was unavoidable.

“How do you only say things that make me happy? You said it would be okay even if I weren’t the Emperor.”

“But that’s the truth.”

Lehan hugged Edelis tightly and chuckled.

“But since I’m already the Emperor, I’m going to use the wealth and power I’ve gained for you.”

“I like that too.”

Edelis giggled, feeling Lehan’s warmth, but then she paused, remembering the words about using power.

“But are you really going to send a priest to Berman? Is that okay?”

“Are you worried that the priests are under the Saintess?”

“Yes, just in case something happens.”

“Don’t worry. Do you think Berman can tell if he’s a real priest or not?”

“What do you mean?”

“Even if someone pretends to be a priest, there’s no way for him to distinguish if he’s a real priest, is there?”

If they called a real priest, he might be able to convey Pasis’s location to the Saintess. Furthermore, there was a connection between the former Emperor’s faction and Berman Pasis. Could the Saintess and the former Emperor’s faction also be linked? In that case, Berman Pasis could be poisoned, just like the attackers were poisoned in prison last time. Lehan didn’t want Berman Pasis to die so easily. Poisoning him? That was out of the question.

“So, shall we see what Pasis has to say?”