"Where are you off to in such a hurry, Priest?"
"...Your Majesty."
"If the temple finds out you slipped out without permission, you won’t hear the end of it."
"I don’t think that’s something the ruler of the empire, who snuck into the temple, should be saying."
Natalie silently glared at Zerpheus.
Zerpheus smiled brightly, as if amused by her glare, and walked over to Natalie.
"It’s been a while, Natalie."
Natalie cautiously looked around, then took a short breath.
"…Yes, it's been a while."
"Where are you headed?"
"I have no obligation to report my affairs to you."
"How cold of you. That’s a little hurtful."
"Enough with the nonsense and move aside."
Natalie stepped to the side to avoid Zerpheus.
Zerpheus shoved his hands in his pockets and watched as Natalie walked away.
"You’re going to Schwarhan, aren’t you?"
“...”
"I heard that the slave isn't in good condition."
"The slave? Watch your mouth."
Natalie stopped in her tracks, turned around, and shot Zerpheus a glare.
"So what? It's true that she's a slave."
"You, of all people, shouldn’t be saying that."
"Why not?"
"You’re the one who made it that way."
Natalie sighed irritably and rubbed her forehead.
"That's right. I made it that way. But what can I do? It’s because they were weak that it ended up like this."
"Don’t lie. Do you think I don’t know how you operate?"
Like termites gnawing wood unnoticed, quietly burrowing inside and destroying it bit by bit — that was Zerpheus’s specialty.
"The land was already so barren from the start that I didn’t even need to interfere. I didn’t rot the roots — I just pulled out the ones that were already rotten."
"You sure know how to talk. You’re still good at sugarcoating your greed, just like always."
"That’s part of my charm."
"Don’t delude yourself. Someone like you isn’t attractive in the slightest."
"We were almost married once, and yet you’re so harsh."
"Why don’t you ask yourself why that engagement fell apart?"
Natalie’s gaze turned icy cold.
She still hadn’t forgotten the past.
"Then I have to apologise to you."
Zerpheus smirked slyly.
"You don’t have the slightest intention of apologising."
Natalie couldn’t hide her annoyance, her voice rising at the end.
“If you say you’ll forgive me, I might be willing to try.”
“If I could have forgiven you, I would have done it a long time ago.”
Natalie openly scoffed, pursing her lips.
Even though a long time had passed since she devoted herself as a servant of God, nothing had changed.
In the eyes of the man smiling toward the temple, she saw the ghosts of the past reflected.
"I’ve told you time and again, all I can do is listen to your sins. If you expect anything more, don’t ever come back."
"My priest is unusually cold today."
Zerpheus smiled bitterly.
"Every time you come to me, it’s always after you’ve gotten involved in some dirty business."
"You’ve got a sixth sense. I can fool everyone else, but never you."
"So, what did you do this time?"
Natalie bowed her head insincerely.
Even though he didn’t believe in God, Zerpheus visited the temple every time he committed a sin.
Instead of seeking atonement, he performed his own ritual by confessing his sins to Natalie.
"It’s for Cabelenus."
Zerpheus laughed, and Natali’s expression hardened coldly.
She hoped her uneasy feelings were just a misconception, but she knew Zerpheus better than anyone.
"…You… What did you do to that child?"
"I told you it’s for Cabelenus."
"Not your younger brother."
There was no way Zerpheus would harm Cabelenus.
If Zerpheus had a target, it would be someone other than Cabelenus.
For example, someone like that pitiful woman whose whole body was covered in scars.
At that thought, Natalie roughly grabbed Zerpheus’s collar.
"Cancel it immediately."
"Sacrifice is necessary for a greater cause."
“Not just to satisfy your own greed?”
Natalie’s eyes hardened.
She had always turned a blind eye to Zerpheus’s sins.
Because the more his sins piled up, the more it served as her revenge.
Whenever she heard Zerpheus’s stories, she abandoned her duties as a priest and faced him as the Natalie of the past.
But this time, she couldn’t do that.
At the very least, Cabelenus was off-limits.
"Everything is for Cabelenus.”
"Has he ever once said he wanted that?"
"He’s just too young to understand."
"What do you mean by ‘young’? He’s a fully grown adult. Isn’t it ridiculous to call the Grand Duke who governs the vast territory of Schwarhan ‘young’?"
Natalie openly clicked her tongue and frowned.
"Natalie. Cabelenus is special."
"Sure, he’s special. He’s just a tool to satisfy your greed."
"Don’t say it like that."
"I'm not saying anything wrong, am I?"
Natalie snapped coldly and immediately turned away.
Though they had only met briefly, she recognised it instantly.
Alicia was someone special to Cabelenus.
It was only natural to protect her at all costs.
"Where are you going?"
"To clean up the mess you made."
"No. You can't go. The reason I came to see you today isn't simply because I had some free time."
Zerpheus blocked Natalie’s way and grinned slyly.
"What do you mean—"
Before she could finish, soldiers suddenly stormed in.
Natalie desperately tried to shove Zerpheus aside, but it was useless.
The eyes with which he looked at her were no longer smiling.
"The High Priest said that a new star has begun to appear in the sky."
"What?"
"And coincidentally, one of the hounds I set loose brought back word that the slave woman might be pregnant."
Could this be a mere coincidence?
Zerpenus feigned ignorance, a faint smile playing at his lips.
"In the end, a precious seed has been sown in that wench’s womb."
"...What are you thinking?"
"At first, I thought I’d just kill it. But then I reconsidered — flawed as it may be, half of it still belongs to Cabelenus, right? And with that in mind, it might actually be quite useful."
“The child hasn’t even been born yet.”
"That’s why I’m even more hopeful. The fact that it’s still unseen leaves plenty of room for expectation, doesn’t it? Even if it’s only half, the blood is exceptionally fine."
Of course, since it was a flawed specimen, it should be used carefully and disposed of when no longer needed.
With not a single change in expression, Zerpenus continued speaking with a cheerful smile, causing Natalie’s face to contort more and more.
Zerpheus was sincere.
"Don’t."
“That’s unlike you. You usually let me do whatever I want.”
“The other party involved is Cabelenus. I don’t know about anyone else, but that child is off-limits.”
Unable to hold back her swelling emotions, Natalie closed her eyes.
By now, it should have been forgotten, but the shackles of the past refused to come undone.
"Nothing is impossible, Natalie."
“...”
"And by now, I've come too far to give up."
"That’s just an excuse. You could stop even now, but you simply choose not to."
"Don’t pretend like it doesn’t affect you. You’re just as unable to forget the past."
"Whether you remember the past or not doesn’t matter. The past is nothing more than a finished story. It’s impossible to turn it back."
‘Just like the relationship between you and me.’
Swallowing the words she couldn’t bring herself to say, Natalie glared harshly.
She wasn’t the only one haunted by the ghosts of the past.
Zerpenus, too, was struggling desperately to piece together the shattered fragments of a past that was already over.
Unaware that he, himself, was bleeding all over from the broken fragments.
"Even if I can’t restore it perfectly, I should be able to recreate something similar."
"Zerpheus."
“No use looking at me like that. The seeds have already been sown.”
And now, it was time to reap the harvest.
At Zerpheus’s signal, armed soldiers closed in around Natalie.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Zerpenus gently wrapped his arm around Natalie’s shoulder.
Natalie roughly brushed his hand away, her eyes blazing with defiance.
“Do you really think you’ll get away with messing with a priest inside the temple? The High Priest will never overlook this.”
"I’ve already spoken to that old man.”
"What?"
Zerpheus smiled brightly, tucking a stray lock of Natalie’s hair behind her ear.
"Rejoice, Natalie. That greedy old man has finally put a price on you."
“What do you mean?”
Natalie’s voice trembled noticeably.
The power of healing was worth a fortune.
Because of that, the temple strictly regulated all healing priests.
For years, the High Priest had refused Zerpenus’s requests for Natalie, so there was no way he would change his mind now.
The High Priest was a man who wouldn’t budge unless it served to fill his own pockets.
"Even if it’s only half, the High Priest seemed to like it."
"You, surely not..."
"Come to think of it, it’s quite interesting. Even things that seem useless have their own purpose if you look closely."
Zerpheus leisurely stroked his chin.
A deeper smile spread across his lips.
・・・・・
"What about her? If everything went as planned, shouldn’t she have arrived by now? Have you tried contacting her?"
"Yes, I have, but I can’t get through."
"You can’t get through?”
"Just in case she’s trapped by the heavy snow, I’ll send people out, but in the worst case, we should also consider that the temple side might have interfered."
Gazeff wore a troubled expression.
No matter how exceptional Natalie was, she belonged to the temple.
If the High Priest had caught wind of her, it wouldn’t be easy to get away.
“This is the worst case.”
“Still, for now, waiting seems to be the best option.”
“We can’t wait too long. Being unconscious for such a long time is never a good sign.”
“...”
As Cabelenus ground his teeth fiercely, Gazeff couldn’t bring himself to reveal his true thoughts and looked away.
Knowing that speaking any further would only upset Cabelenus, everyone stayed silent — but in truth, they all already knew.
Paradoxically, Alicia’s condition looked much better now than before she collapsed.
The pale, ashen look had completely vanished. The longer she stayed unconscious, the more vitality returned to her face, and her once-thin body gradually gained weight, becoming healthier by the day.
She looked less like she was unconscious and more like she was simply in a light, peaceful sleep.
"Please don’t worry too much. The young lady will be fine."
“We can only be sure once she wakes up.”
Cabelenus half-closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath.
He made decisions and acted as he always did, but he couldn’t understand why things kept getting complicated.
Both then and now, Alicia herself was the unpredictable factor.
Her very existence confused Cabelenus and made him anxious.
“…If all else fails, contact the High Priest.”
"The High Priest?"
“Though I don’t like feeding that old man’s greed, if it means saving her, then we have to.”
“That could lead to the High Priest finding out about the child.”
The Temple of Prime wielded power comparable to the imperial family, and for generations had been at odds with them. The same was true for Cabelenus, a member of the imperial family.
"He probably already knows.”
"Pardon?"
“I had a hunch, and sure enough, that monster resembles me.”
Cabelenus smiled bitterly and looked down at his hands.
Calloused hands shaped by years of wielding a sword.
Although Natalie erased his wounds and scars each time, the memories of those moments remained.
But even that only lasted briefly.
The endless battles and the constant crossroads between life and death had numbed him.
The boy who had once lost sleep over nightmares after hurting someone for the first time had, at some point, stopped dreaming — no, he had become unable to dream.
"Gazeff."
"Yes, Your Highness."
“Which is stronger — a created monster, or the one born a monster?”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“I mean ‘that thing’ inside Alicia’s womb.”
He referred to it more like an object than a child.
Gazeff didn’t know what expression to make, so he lowered his gaze.
“It’s already using its powers before it’s even born.”
"..."
“Just from that alone, it’s not weak. But then, why did it deliberately hide its existence? For what purpose?”
“It’s just a child. I don’t think there’s any deeper meaning to it.”
“Maybe we’re underestimating it because we think it's just a child.”
Cabelenus’s mouth twisted noticeably into a crooked smirk.
“For example, hiding inside its host’s body, waiting for the right moment. Something like that.”
Seeing this, it was clear that the blood of a monster couldn’t be hidden.
He spoke calmly with his chin resting on his hand, but Cabeleus’s eyes burned with deadly intent.
"Why do you look at me like that? Don’t you understand?"
"No, it’s not that. It’s just that Your Highness seems to already know who the child is..."
“Know? Of course, I do. How could I ever forget this damn bloodline?”
Gazeff's eyes widened.
It was unusual for Cabelenus to curse so openly.
And even more unusual to display such raw hatred so directly.
“Let me say it again: ‘that thing’ isn’t an ordinary child. It’s just a monster. Treat it as such.”
"...Yes, Your Highness."
Cabelenus’s conviction was unmistakable.
There was no room for argument.
All Gazeff could do was confirm the presence of the ring hidden beneath his glove.
He bit his lip as he glanced at his master, who had turned his back
He couldn’t judge what was right, but the sensation pressing against his skin felt unusually vivid.
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