CHAPTER 64…………………………………………………………….
Jacq, his face twisted, pushed the empty liquor bottle aside.
“If the prophetic sorcerer hadn’t died, by now the glory of the empire would belong to Lodraki, not Giovanni. I don’t understand why everyone believes in what charlatans who sell love potions spout so fervently.”
“Hey, I get that you dislike the Fifth Prince, but that’s not it. It’s true that the sorcerers disappeared long ago, leaving only con artists selling love potions, but the one who prophesied the Fifth Prince also foretold the Khan’s ascension. He belonged to the sorcerer faction, too.”
“How would you know that? Someone who died ages ago.”
Jacq’s still-defiant attitude made Sinou click her tongue.
“Speaking of which, why do you dislike the Fifth Prince so much?”
“Just dislike him. Do I need a reason?”
“That may be, but… you’re prickly.”
Jacq gave her a cold glare, twisting the corner of his mouth as Sinou shrugged.
“He was born with everything. Everyone knows Kun is nothing remarkable aside from royal blood, but the Fifth Prince…”
“Truly a man befitting the glory of the empire.”
Under Jacq’s fierce gaze, Sinou pretended to shrink her shoulders and then giggled. Jacq sighed, looking utterly exasperated.
“It’s unbearable. Call it jealousy if you like. It pisses me off that someone who has everything pretends not to care about the throne, acting aloof. As if he’s certain he’ll become Khan without struggling at all.”
“That doesn’t seem to be the case. It looked more like people around him were scrambling to make him Khan.”
“Really?”
Jacq sneered.
“If he doesn’t want to be Khan, then we just have to make it happen. Follow Kun’s orders, get promoted, and take down the Fifth Prince. First, we need to prevent him from returning to the desert.”
Sinou nodded, sucking the last drops from the bottle’s neck.
“Good. It looks like the Fifth Prince will stay here for a while. If Kun absorbs his power while he’s away from the desert, the Fifth Prince’s influence will be significantly reduced when he returns.”
“Exactly. Kun’s initial goal is to reduce the Fifth Prince’s power, which is a nuisance. After that, it’ll be easy. When Kun’s coronation happens, the Fifth Prince will be purged that very day—either dead or fleeing with no hope of return. Quite fitting for someone called the glory of the empire to meet such an end.”
“I don’t care about the Fifth Prince. I just hope for a huge reward of wine. Or maybe Kun will grant me governance over a kingdom? Judging from Kun’s character, he won’t just leave it alone once he becomes emperor. Since other empire people can’t survive here, someone like me will be needed to rule! Then I can pile up wine in the warehouse and drink to my heart’s content!”
Sinou spread her hands, looking delighted at the thought.
Even Jacq’s face softened as he thought about future rewards.
“I don’t know why the Fifth Prince is still here, but while he lingers, his desert support will crumble. Until then, let him enjoy the women here. White, soft, a different kind of fun than with men.”
Jacq grinned wickedly, exuding a cruel aura unlike the one he showed around Aris.
Amid their giggling, the life of the priest came to an end.
Sinou scowled and cursed.
“Finally dead, Sanchai! Throw him out! Grind him up completely.”
She waved her hand over the priest’s face, handling the corpse like it was an animal.
Sanchai nodded and slung the dead priest over his shoulder.
Jacq and Sinou giggled lewdly, ignoring the priest’s corpse entirely.
Blue light bled from the priest’s body and shot off somewhere like an arrow.
“What was that just now?”
I looked at Tyryn, bewildered.
I had spent the whole day catching up on family business delayed by various events, and now, finally, I had gone out for a walk with Jenny.
The clear sky, the sunny weather, the fragrant flowers. I was thinking about Aris, strangely quiet lately, and Giovanni, when it fell from the sky.
A cluster of blue light.
At first, I thought it was a hallucination from the sunlight, but when the blue light landed in my chest, I realized it wasn’t.
A refreshing sensation, spreading from head to toe as if water had entered my mouth and flowed through my body.
It was similar to the moment I absorbed power.
But why, when I hadn’t touched anyone?
Tyryn, whose tail had curled around my shoulder, answered.
「A human who inherited power has died.」
“You mean the priest is dead?”
「Yes.」
Tyryn’s affirmation left me startled. Questions naturally arose.
“But this never happened before. Didn’t the succession of blood give the kingdom’s new ruler power when a priest died? Why did it come to me?”
「The power you speak of is the spirit’s consciousness. A spirit that has mostly lost its strength and intelligence and now only retains the ability to control water is still a spirit. When the body that bound it disappears, it naturally returns to a familiar place.」
“Familiar place… is me?”
Tyryn nodded as if it were obvious.
「Yes. In your semi-awakened state, you were no different from a normal human, so you didn’t notice. But now, you are closer to a spirit than anyone else in this land where spirits have vanished.」
“……”
「Don’t you feel your body changing?」
I glanced at my hair, tinged with bluish water.
「Your body was probably always meant to hold a spirit’s power.」
“So that’s why I was strong since childhood.”
「Yes. And spirits will continue to seek you. Though it may take time, as long as you live, spirits freed from bondage will belong to you.」
Tyryn spoke with certainty, adding a warning.
「Of course, it’s likely you’ll die before all humans who inherited the blood.」
That was true. There is a priest register somewhere in the kingdom, but as a minor noble, I couldn’t access such a secret document.
Even if I sought out each priest to absorb their power, it could take years.
Even if the dead priest’s power came to me automatically, absorbing all the power in the kingdom would take considerable time.
「Still, don’t worry. If your power grows, and your presence as a spirit increases, spirits drawn to you will break evil magic on their own. So growing your power is the top priority.」
After absorbing Aris’s rampaging power, changes had begun.
I had already absorbed quite a bit of power and felt confident I could make it rain wherever my sight reached.
No matter how much I worked through the night, I wasn’t tired, thirsty, or sleepy. I felt refreshed.
‘As if I’ve transcended humanity.’
I looked at my hand, then at Tyryn.
‘Tyryn wants me to absorb the power of all the priests.’
Of course, I didn’t have to follow that.
He thinks I am the spirit Hilda, but I don’t see it that way. Revenge against the entire kingdom feels vague.
But I agreed with increasing my power—it would become my leverage.
On the way back to the mansion after the walk, lost in thought, I noticed the carriage was unusually quiet.
Jenny, who should have been chattering happily, was silent.
“Jenny?”
“Y… yes?”
The dazed Jenny looked at me in surprise.
“You’ve had a bad expression for a while. Are you hurt?”
“No, milady. Sorry for worrying you.”
“I’m glad it’s nothing serious.”
I watched her quietly.
She was fidgety, twisting her fingers, uneasy.
I reached a conclusion.
‘That’s odd.’
“Jenny.”
“Y-yes!”
“Tell me.”
“……Yes?”
“Tell me what’s wrong.”
“There’s nothing wrong, milady.”
I glared.
“Trying to make me angry? Is Georgiana bothering you again?”
“No! She’s completely out of energy these days and can’t do anything.”
“Then?”
“Actually… it’s not my problem.”
Jenny looked around the carriage as if embarrassed to speak.
“I wanted to tell you after I was sure…”
“Tell me now.”
Jenny hesitated, still flustered.
“When I was thinking alone, I didn’t know what to do and kept worrying.”
“Oh, so what is it?”
“It’s about Miss Aris.”
Finally, the main point.
Still conflicted, Jenny whispered.
“I think she has a boyfriend.”
“Huh?”
…Aris has a boyfriend?
‘Wait, think. She always knew many men.’
Mostly young nobles. Even the gifts they gave on her birthday could fill a small warehouse.
But Aris only exchanged casual words with them, never anything beyond that.
Still, her feelings for Hubert were sincere.
Foolish and greedy, yes, but following Hubert, she showed a childlike purity. If you put it nicely.
‘The combination of naive Aris and cunning Hubert is perfect.’
Anyway, Aris liked Hubert very much. Before and now, that hasn’t changed.
And now… not just a friend, but a lover?
Just as I shook my head to deny it, a chill ran down my neck.
‘Could it be him?’
The beginning of my betrayal.
Jacq!
