He didn’t hear it wrong. Just by looking at Lescal’s expression, he could tell how happy he was. His eyes softened, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly. Just because of that, he looked so different from usual that Decan was embarrassed.
“First, report it. How much progress has been made on the work you instructed?”
“Oh, yes.”
Decan tried to control his embarrassment and maintain his usual polite posture.
“The whereabouts of Duke Piellion are still unknown. Since I can’t find it, I think it may be moving under the protection of another shaman. Once the move is over, you will be able to start tracking it from then on, and…”
Lescal’s guess was correct regarding the demon race. All of the corpses left in the temple were dressed in priestly clothing. There were no people who appeared to be members of the Knights of St. Malik. It seemed difficult to deny the connection between the Demons and the Knights of St. Malik.
“We are following as much as possible the traces left by the Knights of St. Malik. Because they are so little known, information is limited. And as instructed, I cut off all of Marquis Parshad’s financial sources. The marquis will go bankrupt sooner or later. His relationship with Her Majesty has become so strained that he will have no place in social circles, so I think it would be better to leave this matter to Her Majesty.”
“What about the Marchioness not leaving the house? Wasn’t she related to the aftereffects of having her consciousness taken away like the imperial tailor?”
“Unfortunately, such symptoms were not confirmed. However, it seems clear that the Marchioness is pathologically afraid of her going out. Locals say that as soon as the Marchioness opens her window, birds appear and start chirping fiercely. She said she once had a peck on the area around her eye that caused a cut.”
Lescal chuckled.
“It seems like the undergrown ones are doing their job. That’s enough. Just make sure it doesn’t crawl out again.”
“I understand, Your Majesty. What new tasks would you like to give me?”
“Bring in the shaman hired by the Piellion family. It’s okay if it’s not forced. If you come back on your own feet, they will give you as much financial compensation as you want.”
“Is there something you want me to do?”
Ryan asked curiously. It also meant that Lescal did not need to hire another shaman since there was Decan.
“To the Empress, not me.”
“Aha. Could it be…?”
Ryan expressed concern as to whether this would be okay. On the day of the trial, the Empress tried to escape using the power of witchcraft. Unless she knew exactly what the Empress was thinking, there was no guarantee that she wouldn’t try something like this again.
“That’s not right.”
But Lescal remained calm.
“Ah, it looks like you had a good conversation with Her Majesty.”
“There is still a lot to know, but I agreed that the Empress is my companion. What you need is a Trinidad shaman to know the process.”
“Is it true that something has changed because of the spell?”
“It’s true that my body has changed.”
Because Lescal said such a thing so casually, both Ryan and Decan were slow to react.
“Okay, then… yes? I’m not saying that’s true, but you really said that? Does Her Majesty the Empress agree?”
“Is there a spell that can change your body? No matter how Trinidad it is, it is close to God’s territory, Your Majesty. It is impossible with human power.”
Lescal nodded his head calmly. No, he didn’t look calm, but rather excited.
“Such a thing was possible for the Empress.”
Ryan looked at Lescal and eventually came to terms with it. The feeling of loving a companion was something that only Lescal could feel. Even if she asked him to understand it, nothing changed. Even if Lescal could explain it, he, a complete human being, would not be able to understand it.
“Then I will accept it too. Well, we used to say that it seemed like Her Majesty the Empress had become a different person. There is nothing I cannot accept.”
“The Empress is a different person. So I want to find a body.”
“Please speak.”
“The empress’ body will remain in Dell’arta.”
Decan had to quickly shake his head at those unkind words.
“So what you’re saying is… I guess what you mean is that you want to find Her Majesty’s original body before it changes.”
“The tomb will be built in Eliadan. Since time has passed, the body may not be intact. Please take that into account.”
“It may be presumptuous, but is there any clue that could help us identify the body?”
“I know her name.”
When he said those words, Lescal’s expression looked so gentle that Ryan swallowed her saliva for no reason.
“Lasilia.”
“We just need to find the body of someone named Lasilia in Delarta.”
“Yes. The empress will know the detailed location.”
“Do we have permission to ask her a question?”
“Yes… Oh, not today. Ask her tomorrow.”
Ryan quietly intervened and asked on behalf of Decan. Decan’s loyalty was too stubborn to ask such personal questions.
“Why tomorrow, Your Majesty?”
“Because I have to spend tonight by the Empress’s side. I don’t want to remind her of her death for no reason.”
“Aha…”
That’s why his expression was so soft. Ryan and Decan imagined that Lescal had had a very useful and good time with the Empress earlier during the day. Anyway, it was really fortunate that the two people were on good terms. It was also true that the Empress did not love the wrong person. More than anything, they were grateful that she was the real companion.
Like Cartagena Piellion, she was not a human being who could never be loyal to the Empress. She was old and it was not enough to toast her until the day she retired from the Imperial Guard. Ryan tried to hold back the hum that seemed to come out of her own accord. She couldn’t wait to tell Serven this good news. Serven was depressed not only because he had been demoted to the lowest knight in the fortress, but also because he had been given a strange order that he could not approach the empress more than ten steps, but it was none of his business. She was in a very happy and joyful state after following Lescal.
‘We’re having a toast tonight, so I’ll tell him to make something delicious.’
After all instructions were given, Decan moved first.
“I will send three shields to Dell’arta. We can start tracking the shaman’s whereabouts starting now.”
“Do it that way.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Until the moment Decan left the office, Lescal’s hands were busy signing and stamping. As soon as he finished these troublesome tasks, he could see the Empress.
* * *
“Uh, uh… Well, that…”
After carefully removing Lasilia’s inner dress, Yvette swallowed her saliva. Lasilia had turned towards the mirror. No matter how hard she tried not to look, she couldn’t help but notice the pattern peeking out from her underwear.
“Hey, Her Majesty… that is…”
She knew what Yvette was trying to say. Yvette, who was quick-witted, must have thought that the mark had disappeared.
“It looks like the mark has returned.”
Yvette was startled when Lasilia calmly spoke her words.
“Yes-yes. It’s very clear… I don’t think we can say this is disappearing, Your Majesty. But why on earth did the temple write such a complaint? I don’t understand.”
“The temple would have thought that was true.”
“Oh, I see. Ah…? But wasn’t there a reason for that?”
“Because it was true that the mark once disappeared.”
“It seems like it disappeared and came back… Ah, then Her Majesty… You thought the mark had disappeared and decided to leave the palace…”
Yvette’s expression darkened. Seeing her tears welling up, Lasilia turned her body back and took Yvette’s hand.
“That’s right. “I thought I was fake.”
“No, it can’t be! Her Majesty the Empress treats birds like the first companion! Above all, Ren follows suit like that… Just looking at that, it’s definitely not true!”
“Yes. I didn’t know that the princess knew it and Pipi knew it. Maybe he was just trying to pretend not to know.”
Yvette’s eyes truly filled with tears.
“Your Majesty the Empress… In that case, maybe it was because of your feelings for Lord Piellion…”
“No.”
Lasilia quietly looked into Yvette’s eyes. Now she wanted to read Yvette’s mind. But she was not seen separately. Looking at things like that, it seemed like there were some other conditions when the heart was visible.
“It was because I was not the Empress of Cartagena.”
“Ah, then I’m glad… Huh? Huh?”
Yvette must have been quite surprised and made a strange sound. Yvette, who realized her mistake late, quickly covered her mouth with one hand.
“Oh, sorry… No, that’s… Very, very strange… that is…?”
“The Empress Cartagena was losing her mark. That’s for sure. Marquis Parshad knew that. So she would have known about the temple as well.”
“I understand that. But her Majesty the Empress said that she was not the Empress… Ugh, huh? No, not this.”
Yvette fumbled in vain, as if trying to erase the strange sound that came out inadvertently. Then he seemed ready to hit me in the face.
“That was something even the Piellion family knew. So it looks like they hired a shaman. A shaman from Trinidad created a spell to reverse the mark, and that’s probably why I’m here.”
“Well, being here…”
“It means I became the empress. A prophet from the small kingdom of dell’Arta who has lived without anything to do with the empire.”
“Yes? …Hiccup!”
Yvette started hiccuping like she did one day. It seemed like he did that when he was too surprised.
“Are you okay?”
Lasilia patted Yvette on the back. Yvette felt sad even though she couldn’t stop hiccups.
“No, hiccup, you don’t have to do this, hiccup! It’ll be okay soon, boo! No, it’s not okay… Hiccup!”
“You don’t have to say anything right now. I said it because she had no reason to keep it a secret from her princess anymore. I don’t plan on telling everyone in the palace, but you’re my person.”
“Ah, those words are so… hiccup! …ah! It’s okay now!”
The hiccups stopped, and Yvette looked at Lasilia, her eyes sparkling.
“I guess everyone is surprised now, Her Majesty! Oh, can I continue to call you the Empress, Your Majesty? If you would like a different title, please let me know. No, no, so are you saying that you became Empress through the power of magic? Master Ren and His Majesty the Emperor recognized that, right? Am I right?”
“That’s right. I tried to hide it, but it was no use.”
“Ugh, this can’t be happening! I can’t believe I’m watching this amazing, mysterious, and absolutely amazing thing right next to me! I can’t believe it!”
Yvette did not pay any attention to the fact that Lasilia was not the Empress Cartagena.
“I guess everything you said about your first pet was true! Oh my god! I can not believe it! No, it’s not that Her Majesty doesn’t believe what she says! It’s just rhetoric! Anyway, it’s so huge!”
Yvette grabbed the end of the sleeve of Lasilia and shook her. It seemed like a movement she did without even realizing it when she got excited.
“The more you think about it, the more amazing it is. Changing her body! Oh my gosh, at the same time it’s a bit scary. If witchcraft is so great, how scary must Trinidad be? I heard that all the shamans who were driven out to Trinidad were fake. Why were shamans with such terrifying power driven out to such a remote area? Isn’t it strange?”
That was when Yvette said that. As if in response, a black shadow appeared in the air. It was a moment before the black shadow deepened and became a passage. And then someone appeared in the passage with the answer to Yvette’s question.
“That’s because they weren’t kicked out. We left on our own.”
Someone walked out from inside the passage and lifted up his hood. Unidentifiable black patterns were drawn on the exposed skin. The only place that was clean was both eyes.
He looked at Lasilia with those eyes and lowered his head.
“Greetings, Empress of Eliadun and Master of the Birds.”
—————————————————————
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 tomorrow.
Want to read more?
