Chapter 96

“Is it like before, now?” Lehan asked, his hands cupping Edelis’s cheeks, after a long kiss.

“No.”

“Then how is it different?”

“You know, the original Lehan used to call me by my name.”

“…Edelis.”

As her name was called, Edelis felt as if Lehan had truly returned. Her heart seemed to drop, and then quickly returned to its place, beating fast. It was pounding so hard, like a person who had been running without a break, and it made her feel breathless.

“Lehan, you used to speak to me in formal language, like when we first met.”

Lehan took in every single detail of Edelis, as if he didn’t want to miss a single thing. It didn’t take long for him to find his own reflection in her green eyes. He had seen his face in a mirror countless times, but his reflection in her eyes felt different.

‘Was I always a person who smiled so foolishly?’

But the more he thought about it, the deeper his foolish smile became. Lehan and Edelis grew closer, unnoticed by both of them. Their noses touched, their breaths mingled, and they could hear each other’s heartbeats.

“Do you need more preparation?”

“No.”

The current Lehan was just as she remembered him. He looked at her with eyes that seemed to drip with honey and called her name with an affectionate voice.

“Kiss me, Lehan.”

As soon as Edelis finished speaking, Lehan’s lips descended on hers. The green eyes that had held Lehan’s reflection vanished as Edelis closed them. Her arm, which had been free, wrapped around Lehan’s neck. As if it were a signal, Lehan embraced her waist more tightly.

“Edelis.”

“Mmm, Lehan.”

Calling him by the name she hadn’t been allowed to use before felt different. It felt like they had taken a step closer. Of course, he had called her name before, but that was when he was in a daze, right before he lost consciousness, and now he was perfectly lucid. She thought she must be crazy to find even the name ‘Lehan,’ which he had disliked so much, to sound so pleasant. But Lehan didn’t hate it. He loved it. Only one person was allowed to call him “Lehan,” and that was her.

“I love you, Lehan.”

But at Edelis’s words that she loved him, his body stopped dead.

“Edelis.”

“Mmm.”

“…Who do you love?”

“You, Lehan.”

“Even if I don’t have my memories?”

Edelis’s body, which had been in his arms, stiffened.

“Didn’t you say that the Lehan you love is different from me?”

“…Yes.”

“Do you still love me?”

“…”

Edelis couldn’t say a word. She did love Lehan. Of course, she loved the Lehan from her childhood, the one she married, the one who cherished her. But what about the Lehan now? He had no memory of cherishing her at all.

“I… I don’t know. You are Lehan.”

“But didn’t you say that I am not the person you loved?”

“…”

He could feel Edelis’s confusion. But Lehan didn’t want Edelis to chase his past self while looking at his present self. That’s why he brought it up on purpose. And unlike the ‘Lehan’ she loved so much, he could be by her side. Therefore, he might be able to win a corner of her heart, which he had so longed for.

“Edelis, tell me about the Lehan you love. I… I’ll become that person.”

Then, perhaps, you’ll give your heart to me, too. As Lehan spoke, forcing a difficult smile, Edelis’s lips were sealed. Then she pushed him away with a faint force. Lehan obediently moved back.

“I don’t know who I love either. You are clearly Lehan, but you are different. It would be best if you got your memories back, but that’s just my hope.”

“The time we spent married wasn’t that long, compared to the time we will spend together from now on. So, tell me. I’ll remember it.”

“…Alright.”

Edelis began to tell the story from the night Lehan came to her. By the time her story was over, the sun had already risen.

***

Edelis finished getting ready to go out, her eyes dark with circles. Lehan was busy looking through the documents she had sorted, so she took the opportunity to leave quickly. She entered the Duke’s mansion with Frache, who had come to meet her. The Duke had already sent the servants away, so they could go directly to the Duke’s dungeon without being seen by others.

“Berman Pasis.”

“…Why have you brought me here?”

Berman didn’t look like his situation had improved at all, though he hadn’t been tortured. Since his attempt to murder the Empress had already been confirmed, they hadn’t given him any treatment or nutritional supplements. They couldn’t release him, and they couldn’t let him die, as they needed him to reveal the mastermind behind it.

“I came because there’s something I want to tell you.”

“…”

Berman Pasis turned his back to her and lay down on the floor again, as if he wouldn’t listen to anything she had to say.

“The Saintess told you she would show you the Princess again, didn’t she?”

But at the mention of the Princess, he immediately stood up and looked at Edelis.

“Tell me if it wasn’t the Saintess.”

“…”

“Because the Saintess doesn’t have the ability to do that.”

“What… what do you mean?”

Even though Berman hadn’t said anything, Edelis was already certain that the person behind it was the Saintess. So, she wasn’t surprised that Berman was asking in a trembling voice.

“The Pope came yesterday. Just in case, I asked him about the Saintess’s abilities.”

– Is it possible for the Saintess to revive a dead person?

– That is only possible with ancient black magic. If the Saintess could do that, she wouldn’t even need divine power.

– But I heard the Saintess said she could show a dead person again…

– Doesn’t that sound like she’s saying she’ll kill Berman Pasis? Like, she’ll let him see the Princess in hell.

– Surely not…

– Whatever the Saintess’s intentions, I have never heard of anyone being able to revive a dead person.

– Then, what about summoning a soul…?

– …Your Majesty the Empress. If you try to do anything to a dead person, you will lose your divine power immediately.

– What?! They’ll lose their divine power?

– Yes. All those who follow God know this.

“That can’t be.”

“The Pope didn’t seem to be lying. He said that if you try to do something to a dead person, you lose your divine power immediately.”

“…If the Saintess was behind me, she might have wanted to kill His Majesty even at the cost of losing all her divine power.”

Berman let out a cynical laugh as he spoke. But Edelis had no intention of entertaining that idea.

“Well, she might have been like that back then, but it seems she doesn’t have any divine power now.”

“…What did you say?”

“You’ve been locked up, so you wouldn’t know, but why do you think the Pope came all the way here?”

“…”

“The number of priests is rapidly decreasing because the Saintess is not only taking their divine power, but also depleting it.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

Pasis, who had been locked up, knew nothing. So, he couldn’t tell if Edelis was telling the truth or a lie.

“That’s why I went through the trouble of bringing him. Because I thought you wouldn’t believe me.”

Edelis motioned to Frache, and he, along with a servant who was waiting outside, brought someone in. The man was a priest who had worked at the temple and served the Saintess. He had his divine power taken away in an instant and was then cast out.

“He said you were acquaintances.”

“…I have seen the knight at the temple before.”

Edelis asked Berman, but he couldn’t answer and was just staring at the man who had been a priest. His face was definitely familiar. He was someone he had seen several times while going in and out of the temple. The fact that he was here made him wonder if the Empress’s words were true. Moreover, he was not wearing a priest’s robe. A priest’s robe was like their pride.

“I couldn’t believe everything the Pope said, so I checked. Fortunately or unfortunately, there were many who were cast out of the temple, so I could easily confirm it.”

“…Is it really true, Father?”

“I am no longer a priest. Just as you are no longer a knight.”

“That’s nonsense. I can’t believe it. Am I jumping to conclusions?”

“You can see for yourself that the Saintess has no divine power and is receiving it from the priests. And as for touching a dead person… that is also a fact.”

He said that he had seen a case where a former priest had lost his divine power after trying to revive a close family member, but Berman didn’t hear him.

“If that’s not possible… then how… how could she…”

Berman shook his head in denial, but finally seemed to understand the situation. Tears streamed down his face as he screamed.

“Aaaaaah! Ariella! Aaaaaah!”

“…And I also looked into the Princess. Unfortunately, it was a suicide.”

Hearing Edelis’s voice, Berman looked at her with bloodshot eyes, his veins popping.

“What did you just say?”

“They say she was already dead when Lehan went there.”

“…No, do you think it makes sense that she did that in the short time I was away from the Imperial Palace? If you’re going to lie to me,”

“There was a suicide note, a note entrusted to the Princess’s nanny.”

Edelis handed a neatly folded letter through the iron bars to Berman. She said that the nanny, who was also related to the Imperial family, should have been purged at that time. However, after Ariella’s suicide and before the rebellion, the nanny went down to her territory, and since her husband had belatedly supported Lehan, her life was spared. Berman unfolded the letter with a trembling hand, and it was indeed written in Ariella’s neat handwriting. 

<I never wanted to live as a princess for a single moment, but there was a time when I thought it was a good thing to have lived as one. But the man who made me feel that way seems to not want me because I am a princess. I never wanted to be a princess, and I was going to go down to where he was at any time. So I’m going to come down on my own, without anyone’s help. Thank you.> 

Berman’s hands trembled as he read it all.

“H-how… when I went to fetch her, she was already gone… But how… how could I tell her I loved her then?!”

Berman sobbed and screamed, but no one answered him. Berman, who had been crying and hitting the stone floor with his fist, suddenly stopped crying and got up.

“Just answer one question.”

“…Go ahead.”

“Did the Saintess know that she could lose her divine power?”

“My guess is that the reason the Saintess lost her divine power is that she tried to fix Lehan’s memory using the book. Even if she had fixed his memory after killing me, she wouldn’t have had any divine power left.”

“I understand that she knew she would have very little divine power left. So, I’m asking if she knew she couldn’t bring Ariella back.”

When Edelis couldn’t answer because she wasn’t sure, the man who had been a priest answered for her.

“Anyone who enters the priesthood hears this story first, so she must have known.”

“…Alright, I understand.”

Berman brushed the dust off his clothes and stood up. He walked to the door and stood in front of Edelis.

“Let me out.”