“You still mock me from places I can’t reach, Master.”
Perhaps it was due to the revived unnecessary emotional cells.
“Just like always… I can’t stop your will, Master.”
Or maybe it was the heat of his body so close behind me. Ironically, at that moment, I realized once again that this situation was not unfamiliar at all.
“Please promise you won’t hate me even if your memories return,” Redian whispered endlessly to me as I lay with my back turned to him. “Promise me you’ll stay by my side no matter what.”
“…”
“You know I can’t embrace you first, Master.”
Redian, who could have touched me at any moment, waited until I turned around.
How many moments had he been searching for me? How many lifetimes had he wandered in search of me?
“I’m getting a bit restless staying inside the castle all the time.”
Therefore,
“I need to go for a walk,” I said as I pulled up the soft blanket, muttering like any other day.
“…”
Whenever this feeling of déjà vu washed over me, I was overwhelmed by an unbearable weariness.
“Come with me.”
“…Pardon?”
I felt his breath catch in surprise at my unexpected words.
“Let’s go out together. The weather’s nice these days.”
Thinking back, even though I had spent quite a long time with Redian, I had rarely stood with him under the bright sunlight.
“Of course, Master.”
After a long pause, a warm, sweet scent drew closer…
“Let’s do that. It’s a perfect day to walk hand in hand.”
Redian, who was tidying up the blanket, lightly kissed my shoulder.
“You can go anywhere you want.”
The warmth of his touch was comforting, and his hand around my waist was cautious but firm.
“As long as I can be by your side.”
I closed my eyes and thought.
“Ah, by the way, make sure to lift the barrier tomorrow since we need to call the empress.”
“Yes, Master.”
How should I deal with this white fox suffering from separation anxiety despite being so obedient?
* * *
It was the next day.
“Oh my goodness.” The empress, Juyong, who entered the castle through the lifted barrier, covered her mouth in amazement. “Big Sis, can I stay here too? The empress palace doesn’t have an outdoor pool of this size.”
The pool’s surface sparkled under the sunlight.
“Are all those men… your servants?”
Where her gaze landed, there were devils.
“What kind of flowers are these?”
“Look closely. You have to water them like this…”
To be precise, they were devils tidying up the garden under my orders. Upon closer observation, each had different powers that were quite useful.
“Yes, the blond one over there controls fire, so he’s great at baking cookies.”
“It’s really fortunate they’re on our side.” Juyong nodded, looking at the high-quality cookies on the tea table.
“Seeing Daisy out here means you could come out too, but you just didn’t because it was too bothersome. Hoho.”
Juyong seemed well aware of my goal-driven nature. Now that the next target was set as the Sea of Ananke, there was no need to waste energy for a while.
Honestly, it did feel like a luxurious retreat.
“Ah, by the way, how are things outside?”
This was the reason I had called Juyong. Since leaving Pronaea, I hadn’t heard any news from the outside for a while.
“Well, actually…” Juyong’s expression turned serious. “Big Sis, have you heard anything about Grand Duke Benio’s family since then?”
“Grand Duke Benio’s family?”
Come to think of it, it had been a long time since I heard that name. After daring to commit the atrocity of bringing fake insignia to the crown prince’s baptism, they had to lie low for a while.
Their hiding period is indeed longer than expected. But then again, I thought it was oddly quiet.
“There’s a rumor that Grand Duke Benio is gathering his forces.”
“What forces?”
Juyong continued in a low voice. “Those marked with scorpion tattoos, the ones imprisoned in the temple.”
Scorpion tattoos?
A forgotten memory flashed through my mind. It was the night of the festival when Moriana was kidnapped.
“Say it. Who is your little master? Ah, should I ask which family it is?”
“As I expected, you moved after receiving orders from someone higher up. So, if you’re deeply involved in this matter, you won’t be spared.”
That guy I encountered in the warehouse.
Of course. It was Grand Duke Benio’s doing after all. I thought that guy was from the underground guild, but it turned out to be a mark of the temple prison. The Grand Duke Benio family seemed to have been using them for quite some time.
“Those scorpion tattoos are called the mark of fallen angels. Essentially, they’re ‘truly’ fallen priests.”
Listening to Juyong’s explanation, things started making more sense. Pronaea, known as the forsaken land of the goddess, was actually under her protection…
The truly fallen ones were still here. So, the real hell was not Pronaea but here, in this place.
“Why is he gathering such shady people?”
As I frowned, Juyong added. “The emperor and I suspect it’s to strike against our Rixon imperial family and Redian.”
“Wait a minute.”
Unlike Juyong’s calm voice, the implication was quite shocking.
“Is he planning a rebellion?”
“Yes. What other reason could there be?”
I almost scoffed. “He must be losing his mind since he couldn’t make Ash Benio the crown prince.”
Driven into a corner, he was clearly losing his rationality.
“He couldn’t even outsmart Luna, so how does he plan to become emperor?”
Blinded by ambition, he couldn’t see his own limits.
“Besides, the son he plans to make crown prince is just a puppet, isn’t he?”
Seeing how Redian dealt with his mother, Raphiel, and his uncle, the emperor, I realized that to achieve such ambitions, you had to forget even your family.
“Alright. Let’s say Grand Duke Benio gathers his forces and commits treason.”
An inexplicable sense of discomfort washed over me.
“What’s the justification for his rebellion?”
Even if Redian wasn’t the son of the royal princess, or if it turned out that he wasn’t of Rixon’s blood, none of that would be enough to dethrone him.
“He was acknowledged as crown prince by the goddess herself. What justification is there?”
Moreover, he survived the Sea of Ananke.
“That’s why they’re gathering fallen priests,” Juyong muttered with an even calmer face. “If they can prove that the sea and the goddess herself are a lie, they can overturn everything.” She seemed quite certain.
“Thinking about it, it wouldn’t be too difficult. The goddess is sealed and hasn’t resurrected, only remaining in records…”
As she said, in Meteora and this continent, the goddess was just an ancient myth. No one had experienced her power, no one had faced her directly, and no one had been rewarded or punished by her. She was known to be sealed and sleeping in a very deep place.
“Unless the goddess revives and punishes them, creating the justification for rebellion is easy.”
Juyong spoke elegantly, but to put it bluntly like this. They’ve lost their fear. It meant they intended to shake the very foundations, unafraid of the goddess or anything else. After all, the goddess, who remained only in the words of history and myth, could do nothing.
“…Seriously, how arrogant.”
It was a shocking story, but I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Why are you laughing, Big Sis?”
“What if…”
Yes, hell was right here. And that’s probably why I ended up here instead of peaceful Pronaea.
“What if the goddess actually resurrected?”
“Pardon?”
With that, the destination for my next path was decided.
“Didn’t the history books say that the goddess we serve is a strict one?”
The Sea of Ananke.
Again, I emphasized that I was very strict…
“Grand Duke Benio must be terribly bored.”
I really hated insubordination.
Do you think I’d allow the insubordination from that greedy old man when I didn’t even allow it from the Norma?
Especially when it involved those I cherished.
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