Episode 139

“I don’t know either. It’s just… right now, there’s nothing I can do.”

“Yes…”

It seemed the Princess had decided not to share the reason with me, as she answered evasively.

As I watched her, the strict security around the palace earlier suddenly came to mind.

‘Could the Crown Prince be keeping the Princess’s palace under surveillance?’

But why would he do that?

Judging by the Princess’s behavior, although she said she didn’t know, she clearly knew the reason.

I glanced at her cautiously but soon gave up on asking further. If she had decided not to talk about it, it was likely for a reason, and pressing her would probably be useless.

“Since I can’t go out, I’ll tell you what needs to be done on my behalf, Duchess Blighton.”

If I couldn’t go outside with her, I needed to gather as much information as possible here.

I steeled myself and focused on what the Princess was about to say.

“You mentioned that Noah Anaïs stabilized Ian Blighton’s runaway magic by infusing divine power into him, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“If what His Highness the Crown Prince says is true, there should still be traces of divine power left in Ian Blighton’s body. Each priest, cleric, and holy knight has a unique signature to their divine power, so the temple can quickly identify whose power it is.”

“Ah, then it’s only a matter of time once they start investigating.”

“Yes. And once the temple or the imperial family discovers it, they won’t stand idly by, just as His Highness the Crown Prince said.”

“Then what should we do?”

“If they decide to investigate Ian Blighton, the truth will inevitably come out. There’s no way to completely prevent that.”

Hearing the Princess’s words, I couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of despair. I had hoped that she might have a solution to this problem…

It felt as though all hope had vanished in an instant.

‘Is there really no way?’

As I sat there feeling despondent, my head hanging low, the Princess continued.

“But we can delay it as much as possible.”

Her next words made me lift my head in surprise, and I quickly asked her to clarify.

“We can delay it?”

“Yes. We can confuse them about whose divine power is inside him. As I mentioned, the temple will eventually identify it as Noah Anaïs’s power. But during that time, we can buy ourselves some time.”

Time was crucial, especially when we were pressed and had little room to think clearly. The more time we had, the better our chances of finding a solution to the predicament we were facing.

“What’s the method?”

My eyes, which had been filled with despair just moments ago, now fixed intently on the Princess as I asked.

“By infusing another’s divine power.”

“Does it just need to be someone else’s divine power?”

“Exactly. So…”

The Princess paused in the middle of her sentence and suddenly took something out of her inner pocket.

“Take this.”

“What is…?”

I examined the small glass vial she handed me closely.

Inside, there was a small round pill. I had seen something similar before—Noah had given a pill filled with divine power to Ian.

“Is this a pill containing divine power?”

“Yes. I’ve infused this pill with my own divine power.”

I looked at the Princess with a puzzled expression, unsure of her intentions.

“Give this to Ian Blighton.”

“Give it to Ian?”

“Yes.”

“But Ian’s magic isn’t unstable right now. Is it safe to give him this?”

“It’s fine. In fact, it’s better this way. Even though his magic isn’t unstable now, Noah Anaïs’s divine power alone won’t be able to keep it stable indefinitely. There’s always a risk that it could spiral out of control again. If you give him the pill now, it will help in the future. But more importantly, the purpose of giving him this pill is to obscure the presence of Noah Anaïs’s divine power within him.”

I nodded, signaling that I understood her explanation.

“Here, take it.”

I took the small vial from the Princess’s hand and placed it deep inside my pocket.

“And there’s something else you need to do.”

“What is it?”

“Have you ever heard about priests or clerics who were expelled from the temple or who fled on their own?”

“Yes, I’ve heard of them. Noah initially refused to make the pill for me because he considered it an act of betrayal against the temple. He only agreed because of my persistent pleading. If he hadn’t, I would have tried to find those individuals.”

“Since you already know, I’ll be brief. You need to find them.”

“To obtain more pills filled with divine power?”

“Yes. But finding them won’t be easy.”

“I know. I’ve heard that selling divine power is considered a serious crime in the empire, so they try to stay hidden, constantly moving around to avoid getting caught.”

“Exactly. So, you’ll need to find them, obtain more of those pills, and give them to Ian Blighton. The more pills you acquire, the more time you’ll be able to buy.”

“I understand. I’ll do that.”

“Since those who possess divine power can recognize each other, it would be easier if I could help, but unfortunately, I’m confined here… Has Noah Anaïs returned yet?”

“My father sent a letter a few days ago, so I believe he’ll return as soon as he receives it.”

“That’s good to hear. With Noah Anaïs’s help, it will be much easier to find them.”

“Yes. But since we can’t just wait for him, I’ll start searching on my own for now.”

“That sounds like a good plan.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“I’m sorry I can’t offer more help than this. I wish I could do more…”

The Princess trailed off, looking regretful.

“Just your assistance is more than enough. Thank you so much.”

I bowed my head to express my gratitude.

“Oh, there’s one more thing I want to tell you. I debated whether or not to mention it since it’s so far-fetched, but I think it’s better for you to know.”

“What is it?”

“As far as I know, there is a way to completely erase the divine power from Ian Blighton’s body.”

“What? Really?”

I was instantly alert at the Princess’s words.

A way to completely erase it?

If such a method existed, why hadn’t she mentioned it earlier? Why had we been so worried?

But as soon as I heard her next words, I immediately understood why she hadn’t brought it up before.

“It involves extracting all the magic from the body. If you remove the magic, the divine power attached to it will also be completely eliminated. But as you know, the magic in the Blighton family has never disappeared and has been passed down for hundreds of years. There’s no way such powerful magic would suddenly vanish.”

“Removing the magic… that really is an unrealistic solution.”

I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh, feeling a mix of frustration and relief.

“Exactly. That’s why we have to find another solution by buying time.”

“I see. If we infuse enough different sources of divine power, it might take years before they can identify Noah’s divine power, right?”

“Yes, that’s likely.”

The Princess gave a small smile, which brought a sense of relief washing over me.

Yes, if we can gather divine power from many different sources, we might be able to hold out for years, maybe even longer.

So I resolved to focus firmly on what I needed to do from now on.

“Duchess Blighton.”

“Yes?”

“No matter what happens, you must push forward.”

“What do you mean? What could happen?”

“…It’s nothing. I’m just saying it in case.”

What could she mean?

‘It feels like there’s something she’s not telling me.’

I scrutinized her closely, trying to decipher the meaning behind her words.

But her expression remained unchanged, her smile unwavering, giving nothing away.

“Your Highness, may I ask one more thing?”

“Of course. Ask anything.”

“Do you… know anything about the Black Forest?”

“The Black Forest? The one on the empire’s border, where monsters live?”

“Yes. I’m curious about what kind of place it is and what it’s like inside.”

“To be honest, I don’t know much about it myself. Even though I spent a long time in the temple, I didn’t hear much about that place. However…”

The Princess paused, appearing to gather her thoughts before she spoke again.

“I once overheard some holy knights who had joined a monster subjugation force talking about the area near the Black Forest.”

“What did they say?”

“They mentioned that the entire forest and its surroundings are filled with such intense magic that it’s difficult to approach. And the deeper you go into the forest, the stronger the magic becomes. They said that even when they tried to counter it with divine power, it felt as though the magic would consume them, making it impossible to proceed further.”

“Ah, I see…”

The deeper you go, the stronger the magic becomes…

I repeated the Princess’s words in my mind, almost as if trying to imprint them there, when suddenly, I recalled something Priest Gabriel had once told me.