Chapter 31
The Red Letter
As soon as Illina returned to the count’s estate, she sent a few of her most tight-lipped knights to Rory Rolls. She had to retrieve the letter she had written, no matter what. But when the knights told her that the letter had already fallen into someone else’s hands, she felt like she was going mad.
That letter must never see the light of day.
“Someone from the Imperial Palace took it!”
According to the knights, Rory Rolls had been extremely drunk, and Illina’s letter had already been taken by a man from the palace.
“A noble from the palace took it!”
repeated one of the knights, recalling Rory Rolls’s words.
“He said, ‘A high noble from the palace took it.’”
“Do you think there’s only one high noble in the Imperial Palace?”
“Hic… His High… hic… ness took it! Damn it! If I still had that letter, I wouldn’t have had to suffer disgrace or fight a duel of honor! Hic!”
The knight thought carefully about what Rory Rolls had said.
“He said it was the prince.”
After finishing their report, the knights left. Illina trembled. She didn’t want to think about it, but Lorençia’s words surfaced in her mind again.
‘Illina, whose hands do you think that letter you sent to Rory Rolls is in?’
“That monster is lying. She’s just trying to sow discord.”
‘You’re not going to be the crown princess, Illina. And certainly not the empress.’
“No. Prince Luance told me he loves me.”
‘He already has a chosen fiancée.’
“We love each other.”
‘Do you want to know who she is?’
“It’s not one-sided.”
‘The person Prince Luance has in mind…’
“Lorençia is lying.”
‘…is the High Saintess of the Temple of Ella — not just any saintess, but the High Saintess.’
“There’s no way some temple woman could become the crown princess! No way! It’s a lie!”
Illina spat the words out with a mocking laugh, but the uneasiness in her heart only grew — far greater than before she met Lorençia.
If that letter she had sent to Rory Rolls was really in Luance’s hands, then she was walking on thin ice.
Should she ask him why he had it? But the moment she did, she might lose his trust forever.
“What should I do…”
Illina bit her thumbnail nervously and slumped into her chair.
Meanwhile, Magus of the Spencer family was temporarily managing the household in place of his son, Teyshar, who was serving as Princess Charlotte’s escort.
He set down the document he was reviewing and sighed deeply.
“This isn’t the time for me to be sitting here comfortably doing paperwork…”
He was still searching for the last child of the Goddess Ella — Mushila, who had disappeared twenty years ago.
Magus had journeyed through perilous seas, across tall mountains, over scorching volcanic lands, through rainless desert kingdoms, and deep into vast forest realms.
But nowhere could he find even a single strand of Mushila’s hair.
It was as though she had never existed at all.
“Mushila… are you still alive? I just want to know that.”
He sighed and pulled a small black jewel box toward him. Inside, shattered pieces of amethyst glinted sharply. Magus gazed down at them sadly.
“Please… just be alive and well.”
Every day without fail, Magus clasped his hands and prayed tearfully to the Goddess Ella for Mushila’s safe return — or if that was impossible, that she was at least somewhere peaceful, her roots unrotted.
Knock, knock—
The door suddenly burst open. Butler-chief Holio came running in. Magus hastily wiped his eyes with his sleeve and shouted,
“Holio! You’re supposed to wait for permission before entering!”
“I’m terribly sorry, Lord Magus. But this is an urgent matter—”
“Urgent?”
“Yes.”
The young butler, newly appointed to the Spencer household, hurried toward him, face pale.
“Lord Teyshar has sent a red letter to the estate.”
“What? That boy sent a red letter?”
“Yes, my lord. I’ve only ever heard of such a thing, never seen one before.”
The red letter was used only in the gravest emergencies — war, rebellion, or matters of top secrecy.
For Holio, new in his post, receiving one was shocking.
“You fool! Are you planning to shout all over the manor that a red letter has arrived!?”
“Ah— I’m sorry, my lord!”
Scolded, Holio scratched his head and bowed deeply.
“I miss old Evan…”
“My grandfather, sir… I’ll do better, Lord Magus.”
“Tsk, tsk.”
Holio, grandson of the legendary former butler Evan of House Spencer, blushed crimson. Since Evan’s retirement, he had devoted himself to training the servants — and if today’s blunder reached his ears, Holio knew he’d face harsh drills and punishment all night.
Trying to shake off the embarrassment, he presented the red letter on a silver tray with great care.
Magus glanced at it, then threw his quill on the desk in irritation.
“Holio! When your master is busy with documents, how do you properly present a letter?”
“I was taught to open the seal with a knife and hand it directly to you, sir. I apologize for not following procedure, Lord Magus.”
“Evan…”
“My lord! Please don’t— I mean, I’m sorry! I’ll do it properly.”
Holio cut open the envelope neatly and handed it over. As Magus began to read, his red eyes widened in shock.
By the time he finished, tears were spilling down his face. Holio panicked — what was he supposed to do?
Grandfather Evan had warned him that Magus was strict and stoic, a man who hadn’t shed a tear since the late marchioness’s death. Yet now he was crying — deeply, mournfully.
“My lord Magus?”
“Holio… gather the Red Moons immediately! Call Evan, too. House Spencer is in a state of emergency.”
Holio’s face went pale. So the red letter truly was urgent.
Was it war? Rebellion? Or… had the Demon King descended into their world?
“Quickly!”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
Though dying of curiosity, Holio couldn’t dare read the contents without permission.
What on earth could it be? Shoving down his curiosity, he sprinted out of the room.
Left alone, Magus reread the letter — again and again, unable to believe what his eyes saw. Finally, he read it one word at a time.
[Father, I have found the Young Tree.
The Young Tree was on the brink of death, but fortunately, I rescued it.
According to the Young Tree, the Great Tree died seven years ago.
Please summon the Red Moons and servants who can care for the Young Tree and send them to the Ishuter Empire to protect it.
For reference, I discovered the Young Tree at the estate of Count Paul Heredian of the Ishuter Empire.]
“At Count Paul Heredian’s estate… he found a tree? Impossible.”
If Teyshar had seen the tree, that meant he had seen the child of the Goddess Ella — with his red eyes.
Then the Young Tree could only be the child Mushila bore, and the Great Tree referred to Mushila herself.
Which meant… Mushila had died seven years ago.
Magus slammed his fists on the desk.
The “tree,” visible only to those with the red serpent eyes of House Spencer, was the symbol of Ella’s child.
Each of the Goddess’s children bore trees whose flowers and fruits matched the color of their eyes.
Mushila’s tree had been a snow-white cornelian cherry tree, its blossoms dazzling like snow, its fruit a deep indigo — the color of her eyes.
Even now, when Magus closed his eyes, he could still picture it.
After the white blossoms fell, the sapphire-like fruits that shimmered on the brown branches had been a sight beyond words — unforgettable.
“How dare they…”
Thinking of Mushila filled Magus with rage. No matter how he considered it, he couldn’t understand how she had ended up in the Ishuter Empire — or why her daughter would be at Count Heredian’s estate.
“It can’t be… Mushila must have fallen into some kind of trap.”
He hadn’t told Teyshar all the details, but Mushila had once had a man she loved — Kain de Gloston, Captain of the Second Knights of the Polroid Imperial Palace, and second son of one of the empire’s three ducal families.
Kain had pursued Mushila since his coming-of-age ceremony. At first she had refused him, but as his courtship continued, white blossoms began to bloom on her tree — a reflection of her growing feelings.
But Kain’s parents, Duke and Duchess Abrelina and Welson de Gloston, refused to accept an immortal child of the Goddess Ella as their daughter-in-law.
“Lady Mushila may live forever, but our Kain will only grow old, wither, and die.”
Both Mushila and Kain knew of their opposition.
Kain had struggled under the burden — until, one day, he began to smile again.
The reason, Mushila herself told Magus:
“Magus… I’m with child.”
“What?”
“It’s Kain’s child.”
A child born of love between them — it was only natural.
