Episode 112

 

Seeing my father’s determined expression, tension filled me, and I immediately became alert.

Instead of just being sad, it was time to come up with some countermeasures, as Father said.

That was precisely why I came to see him today.

To gather my thoughts, I clenched my fists tightly and began to speak.

“What should we do?”

“Hmm, is there anything else you saw in your dream?”

“Well…”

I paused for a moment, lost in thought.

I was debating whether or not to mention the person the princess had talked about.

‘No matter how I think about it, it seems like it was Jade…’

But that was just my speculation.

To avoid any confusion, I decided it would be better to find out more before saying anything and began to speak again.

“In my dream, I met with Her Highness the Princess.”

“Her Highness the Princess?”

“Yes. It seemed like I was in the reception room inside her palace, as if I had gone to meet her.”

“So what did you talk about?”

“Her Highness hesitated for a while and then suddenly told me to run away.”

“Run away? Tell me more.”

“She said that since His Majesty the Emperor found out, neither he nor the temple would stay still, so I should take my family and run far away.”

“And what else did she say?”

“That’s all. The dream was very short. It ended suddenly before the conversation could finish.”

“The princess told you to run away…”

“And because of that dream, I realized we don’t have much time left.”

“If we don’t have much time, could you tell roughly when it might be?”

“No, I couldn’t. But… Ah!”

“What is it?”

In the midst of talking to my father, I realized something.

“Both the Princess’s dress and the people’s clothing that day were very thick.”

I remembered seeing the breath of the people talking around me on the day of Lloydin’s execution.

When I met the Princess, she was wearing a brown velvet dress that came up to her neck.

Additionally, she had a thick checkered shawl draped over her, so it must have been quite cold.

“Then it must be winter.”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Winter…”

Since it was summer now, if all this happened this winter, there would be less than half a year left.

Given the Princess’s appearance hadn’t changed much, if it wasn’t this year, it would likely be next year at the latest.

“Do you have any ideas?”

“Not yet. But we will have to keep investigating.”

“Then I’ll look into it separately as well.”

“Whatever you do, be more cautious now.”

“Yes, I will. Father, what kind of person is Princess Daina? To understand why she said that to me, I need to know more about her.”

“Of course. I don’t know much either. You know that Princess Daina trained at the temple for a long time, right?”

“Yes, I know.”

I nodded as I answered.

“Being born with divine power is very rare. Even the current priests acquired their divine power through training, not by being born with it.”

“So Princess Daina was born with divine power?”

“Yes. Initially, it was just a faint feeling, but as she grew, it became uncontrollably powerful.”

“Ah, so she stayed at the temple to control her divine power?”

“If one cannot control their divine power, they might be consumed by it. That’s why she stayed at the temple until she could manage it herself.”

“I see. It must have been very difficult for her.”

###

Now I understood why the princess lived in the temple.

Although it was already in the past, I felt sorry for her, who had to stay there from a young age out of necessity.

“Controlling divine power is very difficult. Her Highness the Princess managed to do that.”

“She is amazing.”

“Indeed. That’s why His Majesty the Emperor cares so much for her.”

Seeing the Emperor’s face full of smiles as he introduced the princess at the banquet, it was clear that he cared for her deeply, just as my father said.

“But, Father…”

“What is it?”

“Because the imperial family and the temple have always looked down on and excluded the Blighton family, I thought Her Highness the Princess would be the same, but she wasn’t.”

“Wasn’t?”

“Her Highness the Princess was different from them. She sympathized with and understood the oppression and sorrow the Blighton family faced.”

“Did the Princess say that to you?”

“Yes. She even said it was unjust. I think she told me to run away in the dream because she knew that what we were trying to do wasn’t wrong.”

“Hmm, that might be the case.”

“Mother and I will visit Her Highness the Princess once a week, so I’ll learn more about her.”

“Alright. As I said earlier, be very cautious.”

“Yes, I will.”

A brief silence fell.

It seemed like our conversation for today was over.

As I met my father’s gaze, I couldn’t hold back my rising worries and spoke out.

“Father… everything will be alright, right?”

“It will be fine.”

Surprisingly, that one sentence made all my worries vanish instantly.

Yes, because it’s my father.

I just needed to trust him and work together to solve this.

“Okay. I’ll take my leave now.”

“Alright. If I keep you any longer, your mother will scold me for holding onto you.”

“Oh, it’s best to keep everything a secret from the family, right? About my illness and everything else.”

“For now, it’s best if only the two of us know.”

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

With that, our conversation ended, and we left the study.

After spending more time with my family, I boarded the carriage with my brother Jade to return to Blighton Manor.

I had asked Jade to take me back.

Luke insisted on coming along, wondering why he couldn’t go, but I refused outright.

I wanted to talk to Jade alone.

No matter how much I thought about it, Jade was the only person who could help solve the mystery of the dream involving the princess.

After pacifying a sullen Luke, I left for Blighton Manor with Jade.

“Do you have something to say to me?”

“Uh? Well, I just wanted to talk to you alone.”

“Really? You talked with Father for a long time, too. Is there something going on?”

“No, nothing. There’s nothing like that.”

As soon as we got into the carriage, Jade asked, and I smiled faintly, saying it was nothing serious.

“But, brother.”

I called Jade softly, staring at him intently.

“Hm?”

“I want you to answer honestly, without any jokes. Can you do that?”

“Of course. When have I ever lied to you, Ayla?”

“That’s right. You never lie to me.”

“Exactly. So, what’s this about?”

“You said you have nothing to do with Her Highness the Princess, so I’ll ask differently. Have you ever met Her Highness alone, even once?”

“…What?”

Jade’s usually calm expression turned to one of bewilderment at my question.

“I mean, have you ever met her alone, not in a crowd?”

“Uh, Ayla, why do you keep asking about Her Highness the Princess since last time?”

From his perspective, it was natural to be curious since I had asked repeatedly.

Since I had agreed with Father to keep it a secret, I used a different reason I had prepared.

“When Mother and I met Her Highness, she spoke as if she knew you.”

“Her Highness knew me?”

“Yes. But you said you didn’t know her well, so it seemed like your words didn’t match, so I asked.”

“Ah…”

Something seemed to dawn on Jade as his face took on a deeply troubled expression.

“I’m your sister, and I like you a lot, so that’s why. But if my asking makes you uncomfortable or it’s hard to talk about, I won’t ask again after this.”

Seeing his expression, I deliberately tried to provoke him emotionally.

This almost always worked, and I didn’t forget to look at him with a disappointed and sad expression.