I Don’t Trust My Twin Sister

The door opened so softly and without a sound that you could not believe it was from an old building, revealing the scenery inside. Inside, a soft fire illuminated the space.

“Torches’ light?”

Torches hanging all over the walls caught my eye. When I looked down, there was a red carpet spread out all over. I raised my head. I saw an altar stretched out in a straight line at the end of the carpet. As I slowly entered the box, the box slowly closed. I looked around briefly and moved inside, stepping on the carpet.

I looked around very slowly and carefully. I walked, conscious of traps and boners that might be out there, but there was no trouble until I reached the altar. I arrived so comfortably that I was embarrassed to have been intimidated, and from there, I quietly looked down at the altar. A wide altar covered with red cloth. What is placed on top?

I scrubbed the altar with my hands. I raised my head and looked around at the feel of the fabric and the wide, flat feel. A place so quiet that you can clearly hear footsteps, breathing, and even the sound of tearing cloth.

“It took a lot of hard work to get here.”

I felt the hair on my whole body stand up as I heard a voice coming from behind me. As I turned around, I heard quiet footsteps in the darkness.

I stepped back and widened the distance. There was no one here…?

I bit my lip hard to suppress my pounding heart.I stared straight ahead with wary eyes.

It was the only place where the light of the torch did not reach, no… it was dark enough to give the illusion of avoiding fire. The first thing I saw was feet, and white clothes were fluttering over them. As I looked up, her face, which I had seen once before, caught my eye.

“Theses?”

He was smiling. The way he bowed with both hands together, as a priest would, was comparable to that of a priest. He also referred to himself as a person who serves God.

“You had a hard time coming here. Did you encounter any inconveniences on the way?”

“How did you get here…”

“Oh, here.”

He grinned and slowly walked forward. On the contrary, I stepped back a little.

Theses walked up to the altar, spun around, sat down on it and looked down at me. The thin smile on his lips and his eyes are very interesting. It seemed to shine.

“It’s because I am the priest who protects the temple here, Praeteritum.”

I snapped his fingers with the sound of ‘click!’ and the torch grew bigger in an instant, brightening up the entire temple.

A suddenly bright light hit my eyes. He stretched out his palm to slightly block the light and frowned. However, because of the bright light, I was able to see the temple. Stone statues of enormous size, reliefs carved on the walls and a stone statue standing firmly in the center. The stone statue was incredibly beautiful, as if it had been made in the image of a goddess.

I rolled my eyes, accustomed to the light. He lowered his hands, looked around, looked at Theses, and frowned.

“Temple of Praeteritum?”

He was smiling. He spread his arms wide as if to introduce his pride and then nodded his head.

I had never heard of a religion called Praeteritum. After researching this, there was only a brief record that it was a religion that disappeared about a thousand years ago. It is difficult to say that the religion of that time and the religion this man talks about now are the same, but at least one thing seemed certain.

“Is this a religion that has already disappeared into history?”

“No, the Praeteritum still exists,” he laughed cheerfully.

He looked around. Can we say that this temple built in this huge tomb is a religion that still exists today?

“What is the meaning of a religion that doesn’t even go to the temple to be flattered?”

“Priteritum does not need believers. It only needs priests who believe in God. That is enough.”

“That can’t be called a religion.”

“Most people say that.”

He laughed cheerfully, got down from his seat, walked forward, and opened his mouth.

“Would you like to tell me about history? Lawrence Ajstain.”

“My Name…”

“About a thousand years ago, Praiteritum was a religion so weak that even those in the know doubted its existence as it was unknown as it is now. However, whenever the emperor of the time passed away, he was enshrined in the temple of Praiteritum. Do you know why?”

His hands flowed from top to bottom. Then the wall moved gently, revealing a space. A wide space beyond the wall. Dozens of coffins were placed there. It was not just any wooden coffin, but a coffin made of gold and studded with numerous jewels.

“Because they were all emperors who received the protection of the Praeteritum. As I said before, we do not need believers. We just need priests. Many powerful people competed to increase their power, but in the end, they bowed down to the emperor. And the emperor bowed his head to us. Isn’t this a very simple principle? Even without believers, there is no shortage of funds, and even without the Holy Knights guarding the temple, it can be safe.”

I looked at Theses’ smiling face. His voice rang loudly like an echo in the huge and silent temple. He didn’t stop talking, as if he was giving a history lesson. He looked so excited that he frowned and shook his head, feeling uncomfortable watching him explain what he knew.

“Priteritum has trained so many powerful people, and we are descending from them…!

“I’m not interested in that type of history lesson.”

“…It was a position where you can see everything. Don’t you think it’s fun? It’s one of the most interesting parts.”

“If that’s the most interesting, I don’t think there’s any need to hear the rest.”

I reached into his bag, grabbed the handle of the dagger, and looked at him with wary eyes.

“Answer me more.”

His head tilted as if he was wondering what to say. He frowned.

“Are you the one who brought me here?”

“Oh, no. I wasn’t the one who brought you here, it was someone else.”

“Who is it?”

He turned his head to the side at my question. Footsteps were heard from beyond the wall that had just been opened. I also turned my attention to the clear sound, like the sound of a woman’s shoes. The rustling sound of the fabric of the dress clashing against each other, the flowing hair, and an appearance that did not suit this place caught my eye.

“Princess Fervi?”

“You’ve come to the right place. I think your conversation with me was helpful.”

“How could you…”

She grinned.

“I am also a priest of Praiteritum.”

The person who was laughing and I, who was holding my head in confusion and stepping back, couldn’t understand the situation, and the person who had been tightly closed behind me opened violently. He turned his head. He was a shocking figure who seemed to laugh at me when I thought I couldn’t be any more surprised. The moment he saw the person standing there, his head tingled as if he had been hit.

“This is the temple of Praeteritum.”

A soft voice, relaxed eyes, and a smile that makes you want to tear it apart. The man I curse like crazy…

“I never thought I’d see Lawrence here too. Things are getting fun.”

Beralt spoke with a twisted mouth, and Prince Deoreden was stepping on the carpet.

* * *

I took a few deep breaths. The most unpleasant people were standing in front of me. Moreover, he was also someone I should not meet now. We knew that the crown prince was trapped, and we knew that Beralt went in to find him faster than we did. When he heard the news, he thought it was surprising. Beralt takes it upon herself to save the crown prince in a dizzying situation where one cannot confirm who set it off and one does not know when it will explode again.

Even though he was a man whose greed for power was unlike any other, I wondered if he would be more precious than his own life. However, I thought Beralt would fall as soon as she lost the crown prince, so she became desperate to maintain her power. But to meet like this?

I felt like I was standing on a cliff where both front and back were blocked. He bit his lip and raised his head.

Before I could open my mouth, the eyes of Crown Prince Deoreden, who spotted me first, narrowed into a half-moon shape.

“They said the enemy would meet at the single-tree bridge… That’s unfortunate, Lady Ajstain.”

“Oh, that doesn’t mean you’re an enemy. You still have no ties to the Verdian family, so there’s no need to be too scared of me.”

Deoreden’s hand gently pushed my chin up. His eyes met diagonally. The gray eyes were eerie.

“Isn’t that so?”

What kind of answer do you want? I rolled my eyes as I looked into his greedy eyes. Beralt was seen approaching over Deoreden’s shoulder. After gently biting the flesh inside his mouth to calm his mind, he opened his mouth.

“Please refrain from unnecessary physical contact.”

As he took a step back, his hand floated in the air. Prince Deoreden scanned his hand with his eyes. The corners of his mouth that had been rising gradually cooled down. His eyes were staring at me so blurry that I could feel the cold wall.

Are you kidding me now? He frowned. Beralt approached me in shifts, rolling her dirty eyes and smiling. Disgusting…

“Why is that man so important?”

“You are precious because you are Ian. And even if there is only one man left in this world, he will never choose you.”

“You don’t have eyes for men.”

“Couldn’t it be the other way around?”

When he smiled, Beralt let out a laugh and then nodded her head. He twirled the palm of his hand as if he was not interested and reached out to touch my chin.

I frowned and avoided his hand, but he persistently followed me. Finally, he reached out and swatted away his hand, then opened his mouth and spoke in a low voice.

“I guess you think that because I’m quiet, you can touch me carelessly, but you’re not mistaken, right? It’s unpleasant.”

Beralt stared at her hand that I had struck off, then rolled her eyes and looked at me. His mouth opened slowly.

“Just a year, maybe less.”

His eyebrows narrowed slightly, producing incontinence.

“You never made a mistake, but at some point, you changed. You rejected the rose I gave you and didn’t appreciate the sweet compliments you gave me. You avoided me, got angry, and rejected me. You were so arrogant that you were all for me.”

“A man obsessed with the past is unattractive.”

Beralt, wriggling her eyebrows, quickly approached me, grabbed my wrist, and walked towards Prince Deoreden. He held it so hard that it was throbbing. He gritted his teeth and rebelled, but could not easily overcome the physical differences.

Beralt approached the crown prince standing in front of the altar and stopped behind him.

 

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