“Huh?”
“No, what kind of nonsense…”
“…”
The knights seemed more shocked than Lescal. But it wasn’t true. In Lescal’s case, there was no time to show his shock.
“…It can’t be.”
After a long time, Lescal let out a very quiet voice. He expected Lasilia to be like that too. Instead of telling people not to like other humans, saying they would do anything for them meant not leaving them, not the other way around.
“When it becomes clear that I am not your Majesty’s companion, then please divorce me.”
Even though the mark had disappeared, the emperor still believed that she was his companion. Now the mark no longer had any meaning. He said that his death would be the moment when that trust was broken. Divorce was a safety measure for that time. If the divorce went through before he killed himself, he might be able to leave safely without anyone getting hurt. You will be able to avoid the death that God has shown you.
“If it’s the right companion. Then you don’t have to get divorced?”
Lescal asked. The answer didn’t matter. After all, you are not his companion.
“If I were Your Majesty’s companion, there would be no reason to divorce.”
“What if you don’t like me after all? Does this mean you won’t ask for a divorce anymore?”
The answer to that question was the same. The question was wrong in the first place. He could not possibly be a companion, but if he were to be considered a companion, he would fall in love with the emperor.
“Yes.”
“Okay then.”
Lescal came forward. Golden eyes surrounded by blood-soaked eyelashes glistened in front of his nose.
“I’ll do that. Gladly.”
“…Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Lasilia unconsciously shrugged her shoulders and gave her answer. Aside from the fact that they were so close, the sudden change in their eyes was strange. The eyes that had looked so painful now looked happy, as if they were about to dance. She was embarrassed by the change so quickly.
“Now.”
Lescal stretched out her arms and hugged Lasilia. It felt different to be hugged by her in her skimpy outfit. I could vividly feel the emperor’s solid body beneath a layer of cloth that did not look like clothes, rustling every time he moved.
“Your Majesty, I feel uncomfortable.”
“Hold on a little. I’ll show you.”
“Yes? What do you mean to show me?”
“Proof that you are my companion.”
“…?”
The sound of rustling clothes rubbing against bare skin tickled her ears. The sound of him brushing my hair down the back of my neck was tickling, and the sound of his lips touching Cho-ok’s ear was tickling. All that tickling became an unfamiliar pounding. Lasilia held her breath and endured the strange sensations that coursed through her body. She had no idea what he was showing her.
“Are we done now?”
Lescal asked. It was a question to Ryan, not Lasilia.
“Yes, Your Majesty. It’s done.”
With those words, Lescal let go of Lasilia. He removed the arm that was wrapped around her body and held out his hand in front of Lasilia.
“Do you want to know?”
“This…”
She didn’t know and couldn’t see it. The hand that had been mutated became fine. Surprised, Lasilia raised her eyes and looked into Lescal’s face. The same was true for her face. All traces of scales disappeared. The emperor was showing off his brilliant features as usual.
“This… Are you saying it’s because of me?”
“Okay.”
“Hasn’t it returned to its original state over time? Even in a blue moon, time passes,”
“It didn’t come back this quickly. And she doesn’t feel pain that makes it difficult to control her body.”
“…”
“It’s because of you. You are there for me.”
Confusion filled her mind.
‘How can I be real? I have nothing to do with the Empire. I am only a prophet of Del’Arta. why…’
So why did he, who had no connection whatsoever, see a future related to the emperor? Why does he come back to life in the body of the empress and why does she die by him? Lescal placed his lips on the forehead of Lasilia, who was standing there with a confused look on her face.
“If you don’t believe it right away, keep watching. There will be ample evidence that you are my companion.”
“…”
Lasilia was unable to say no in the end. The trial was postponed indefinitely. Lasilia returned to the palace with her court clothes on. Because Lasilia was barefoot, Lescal insisted that he must carry Lasilia himself. He said that if that didn’t work, she would have to wear her own shoes. If the emperor was walking barefoot next to him dragging his shoes that were much larger than his own feet, someone might leave a note saying, “Some aspects of the imperial family you will never forget.” In the end, it was agreed that the Royal Guard, who had run down the road ahead of time, would bring Lasilia’s shoes while traveling in the carriage. It was natural that the expenses of the Empress’s palace were doubled. Blockade and tracking magic circles were spread throughout the entire imperial palace, and the wizard guild was able to receive a very generous research budget for next year.
* * *
“Oh, my, what?”
Malik, who was sipping wine while leaning back on the spacious single-seater sofa, became irritated.
“Shit.”
Bang!
The tin cup filled with wine fell to the floor, staining the surrounding area. As the high priest stared at his wine-splattered shoes, Malik waved his wrist.
“Ugh!”
Then the high-ranking priest fell backwards, clutching his feet. The other priests held their breath as they looked at him. They didn’t even know what happened. But it was certain that it was Saint Malik who did it. Saint Malik’s abilities were superior to any divine power they had ever seen. Compared to his divine power, which could only help others at best, Malik’s abilities had no limits. The most frightening thing was suppressing human consciousness. Just by looking at Malik, the human was robbed of consciousness. And she sacrificed her life to achieve what Malik wanted. If Malik had not been limited by space, he would have long ago become the new god of this continent. Malik could not leave this place, this space where there was a barrier in the middle of the temple. The priests could not tell whether that was fortunate or unfortunate. The only thing they knew was that if they went against Malik, he would die.
“Ha… If my body was in good shape, I wouldn’t have ended up losing just one ankle.”
Malik made a sour expression, as if he had eaten something wrong.
“It’s noisy, so take it out. And you keep talking. What did the imperial family say?”
“I have come forward to exercise my right to veto the trial.”
“What do you mean? So you’re saying the complaint is useless?”
“That’s right.”
“No, is there anything like that? We went through all the trouble of creating a witness who didn’t exist, but you’re saying it’s okay if the imperial family rejects him?”
“That is… That’s the law… I sent a complaint to the nobles to get the imperial family to take notice, but even that seemed to be of no use. It is said that the emperor is more resolute than expected.”
“Ha, you’re a clueless guy, that is. Is that true even though the mark has disappeared? Aren’t you curious?”
“I don’t know about that, saint…”
Malik, who was twitching his lips, waved his wrist. Then the tin cup that had been rolling on the floor was placed in Malik’s hand as if nothing had happened. Inside was again full of fresh wine. Dan Malik, who gulped down his wine, wiped his red lips and continued speaking.
“Are you sure about what the duke said? You said the emperor hasn’t checked the mark since his engagement ceremony. Are you saying that it was just something I saw at the engagement ceremony?”
“Lord Piellion has confirmed that there has been no formal contact between the Emperor and Empress. She also said that she would rather be dethroned because she was afraid of the Emperor discovering that she had lost her mark.”
“But the emperor protects his empress?”
“It appears so, saint.”
“Why?”
“We don’t know that either…”
“Ha… That’s annoying.”
Malik threw down his tin cup again and sprawled out on his sofa, snapping his fingernails in the air.
“Why are you holding on to fakes and being such a pestilence…? Was it really true? No, it’s fake. I already changed it… Oh, wait. Has it changed without me even knowing?”
Malik jumped up from the sofa and gestured to the priests.
“Go and pick some guys with light asses. There’s a long way to go, so be young and strong.”
The priests asked with puzzled expressions.
“If it’s far away… Where are you talking about?”
“Dell’Arta.”
“Dell’Arta…?”
In a small kingdom with no exchanges at all, most of the priests did not even know their names.
“There is a place like that. If it’s a new building, shouldn’t you be able to go anywhere on the continent regardless of the pass? Please send me away. Go and see how a woman who looks exactly like the Empress is living.”
“…Did you say she looked like it?”
“Okay. Why do you keep asking me?”
“Oh, I understand. However, no matter how small the place, it is extremely difficult to find a person based on appearance alone, saint.”
“You talk too much. What would be the best place to hide someone?”
“Yes?”
“Where am I hiding now?”
So it seemed like they were telling me to search the temple of dell’Arta.
“…I understand.”
You have to follow orders anyway, but there were many cases where you couldn’t figure out the purpose of Malik’s actions. It was like that in this trial alone. He knew that he was going to risk the imperial family and the empress, but he had no idea that he would expose the temple without the slightest caution. The high-ranking priests were constantly worried that the emperor might hold the temple responsible for the imperial tailor’s work. However, no matter how annoying the emperor was, he was not as annoying as Malik, who had built a nest in his own home. Malik could have broken my neck right now with just a flick of his wrist.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
Malik grabbed his shoulder and turned his neck to speak. A crunching sound came from my throat, a horrifying sound that could hardly be described as coming from human bones.
“Something interesting will happen in the capital in the future, so please spread the word.”
“What kind of rumor do you want to spread?”
“The emperor is crazy because the empress is fake… ah, I think it would be better if rumors were a bit exaggerated. They say the emperor will go crazy and burn the empire down. Well, it’s okay to say that an oracle came down.”
“If you call it an oracle, the responsibility of the temple becomes too great, saint…”
“What?”
Malik’s eyes sparkled. The priests hesitated and took a step back.
“You sound like a liability. I have a lot of fear.”
Malik snapped his fingers. Then, suddenly, one of the walls of the room where the barrier had been placed began to crumble.
After a while, there will be no time for such idle nonsense. Don’t talk nonsense and do as you’re told. The imperial family is so messed up that they don’t even have the sense to place blame.”
“Oh, I see… I understand…”
One wall was blown open. Light leaked in from outside. The light illuminated Malik’s back.
“Uh…!”
“Huh, no, I…”
The priests opened their mouths in surprise. She rubbed her eyes in doubt. It looked as if wings had suddenly grown on its back when the light hit it. It was a very large and black wing. It was not a wing covered with feathers like a bird, but a wing with exposed bones like a bat. If the sun had shone from the front, the priests would have seen the horns sprouting from Malik’s forehead. The appearance of the demons exactly matches the records from the early days of a very old continent.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on March, 3.
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