I Will Disappear, Grand Duke

“Your Highness, where are you going?”

Lloyd, who had been waiting outside the castle, blocked Fernan’s path.

When Fernan silently tried to pass by him, Lloyd grabbed him once more.

“Didn’t you hear the doctor’s advice? Please rest for a while. The knights are continuing to search the territory, so don’t worry too much…”

“Did you check with the priest at the Illion Temple?”

Fernan suddenly spoke up. In his obsession with the search, he had temporarily forgotten about the possibility that the priest might have been involved in Julia’s escape.

Lloyd, suddenly remembering, quickly replied, “Yes, but the priest named Mateus was reportedly in the Imperial Palace at the time of her disappearance. It seems unlikely that he was directly involved in her escape.”

“Julia had a pendant with divine power.”

Fernan murmured in a fading voice.

“Whether it was him or someone else, there was definitely an accomplice. There’s a possibility that they have Julia.”

“I will investigate this matter further. So, Your Highness, please return and…”

“No, I’ll go myself.”

Fernan walked quickly. He might find a clue about Julia’s whereabouts by interrogating the priest.

Fernan mounted his horse in one swift motion. Despite his blurred vision due to the lingering effects of the medicine, he forced himself to ride.

He couldn’t waste a single moment. He needed to find Julia rather than lying around uselessly.

He had to find her. He had to find her and…

‘…Misery, I’ve had enough.’

Fernan abruptly stopped his horse. Julia’s face, speaking of misery, flashed in his mind, making it hard for him to breathe.

He hung his head for a long time, exhaling shallow breaths.

* * *

Inside a priest’s room at the Illion Temple.

Mateus was kneeling on a small platform, his eyes closed.

When there were no masses, he often conducted blessing ceremonies at the request of outsiders.

However, for the past few weeks, Mateus had spent his time praying for someone.

‘I wonder what happened to Lady Julia…’

Having abandoned everything and fled, Mateus had no idea where Julia was or what she was doing.

Cedric, who had directly assisted Julia’s escape, had reported that he had to leave her alone due to unforeseen circumstances.

After that, Cedric had no knowledge of what had become of her.

He could only hope she was safe somewhere.

“Father Mateus, you have a visitor.”

A quiet voice accompanied by a knock at the door.

As Mateus opened his eyes halfway and turned around, someone barged in.

“Your Grace.”

Mateus slowly stood up in response to the unexpected guest.

Fernan strode towards Mateus with steady steps. Despite his determined gait, Fernan’s face looked on the verge of collapse.

“What brings you here so far?”

Mateus guessed that Julia had successfully escaped, as there was no other reason for the Duke to come here in person.

“Tell me everything you know about Julia’s whereabouts.”

Without any preamble, Fernan went straight to the point, which made Mateus look at him with a peculiar expression.

“May I ask why you are inquiring about her whereabouts?”

“I know you gave Julia a pendant with divine power, so don’t try to deny it.”

Fernan snapped with a furrowed brow.

“Tell me where she is, or at least where she might be.”

“…….”

“Anything you know, please tell me, I beg you.”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

Mateus answered in a calm voice.

“While it is true that I gave Lady Julia a pendant imbued with divine power, I do not know her whereabouts.”

“You don’t know?”

Fernan’s sharp gaze tried to discern Mateus’s true feelings.

But Mateus, truly innocent, simply faced Fernan with a calm expression.

Fernan, his voice rising in frustration, continued, “Julia jumped off the cliff herself.”

“…….”

“She must have had something to rely on, a certainty that she could survive somehow.”

“…….”

“Otherwise, she wouldn’t have thrown herself off so decisively…”

Fernan slowly lowered his terribly contorted face. Yes, Julia wouldn’t have willingly tried to end her life.

She must have had confidence that she would survive, be it through divine power or some other means.

Contrary to Fernan’s thoughts, however, Mateus’s face showed signs of a crack.

Mateus, staring into space for a moment, spoke with a serious expression.

“Did Lady Julia have the pendant with her?”

Fernan’s brow twitched. The pendant had been torn from Julia when he first took it from her.

Seeing the answer in Fernan’s expression, Mateus’s face darkened further.

“If she had kept it close to her heart, she might have been able to survive using its divine power…”

“…….”

“But without it, I can’t be certain of anything.”

Julia’s ability to use divine power came from Mateus’s power, which had been embedded in her heart since birth.

The pendant was a conduit, and it needed to be near her heart to resonate with the divine power and exert its strength.

Since Mateus couldn’t be with her at all times, he had given her the pendant to enable her to use the divine power herself.

Even then, he wasn’t at ease, so he sent Cedric to assist her. What happened after Cedric left her was up to her own judgment.

“So, Julia…”

Fernan murmured in a voice barely audible.

Mateus, turning away from him, answered in a heavy voice.

“She might have judged that she could survive, or perhaps… she intended to end her life.”

“…….”

“Whatever the case, what Lady Julia wished for was one thing.”

“…….”

“To avoid misery and find even a little happiness.”

Mateus looked at Fernan, who had turned to stone.

There was one thing Mateus hadn’t told him.

If Julia had truly died, the divine power in her heart would have returned to its original owner, himself.

Since that hadn’t happened, Julia was likely still alive.

He didn’t know how she had survived without the pendant.

“I will wait until you have gathered your thoughts.”

Mateus spoke quietly, watching Fernan stand motionless.

He had no intention of telling Fernan this fact. It was better for Julia, who was alive somewhere.

After Fernan left the temple, Mateus fell into deep thought with a somber expression.

He tried to think of where Julia might be, but no clear answer came to mind.

As he gazed at the setting sun through a small window, his eyes widened.

A white messenger bird flew in and landed on the window sill.

“It looks like Cedric sent you.”

Mateus, his face brightening, carefully untied the cloth from the bird’s leg.

Unrolling the cloth, he found a brief message hurriedly scrawled: they had found Julia.

* * *

After being submerged in the river, it felt like she had been in a long dream.

A desperate dream of helplessly struggling in an all-encompassing dark sea.

Sinking deeper into the endless abyss, she felt she would never emerge.

Then, a ray of light descended upon her. Simultaneously, a strange sensation enveloped her, and she could breathe again.

The dream ended like that. Julia’s eyelids slowly began to open.

“Lady Julia, are you awake?”

Turning her head with difficulty at the faint voice, Julia saw green eyes through her blurry vision.

“…Cedric, Father.”

As she mumbled quietly, Cedric sighed in relief and nodded.

Julia slowly opened and closed her eyes, looking around. It was an unfamiliar place, an unfamiliar bed.

As she gradually gathered her hazy thoughts, she asked in a faint voice, “…Where am I?”