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chapter 11
“Could it be…?”
“Could it be that you’ve already found a lover?”
For a moment, my brain seemed to freeze for about three seconds.
“What did you say?”
Lily gave a mischievous smile and looped her arm through mine.
“Going on an outing with the Knight Commander, just the two of you, carrying a basket of sweets—it’s basically a public announcement, isn’t it?”
Snap!
I flicked her on the forehead.
“Ouch.”
“You think something that small can’t do any damage? Really.”
Pouting, Lily raised her voice in protest.
“Just because they’re not married yet doesn’t mean they’re young! They’re about the same age as you, and they even know more than you do!”
Well, they might be similar to Cielina, but not to me at all.
“You usually ask me everything from one to ten, and then you treat me like a child just at times like this….”
“Yeah, yeah. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know how I would have survived here. It’s all thanks to you.”
“Well… I don’t know if it’s that much…”
Lily puffed up proudly, her face flushed.
“So, here’s the thing.”
I pulled Lily closer by her arm and held her tight.
“What kind of people are the Gilotte family?”
Lily brought a fragrant cup of Loti tea.
“Why all of a sudden are you asking about the Gilotte family?”
She didn’t bother hiding her discomfort.
“I just heard about them somewhere… I might have learned it before but forgot, so I thought I’d ask again.”
Usually, at this point, she would let out a big sigh—but today, she remained silent.
“Well, the Archduke made sure that nothing about the monsters reached your ears.”
“The Gilotte family is connected to monsters?”
Lily was too busy reminiscing about the past to even notice my question.
“Oh, right. That first theology teacher of yours—they were actually fired because they mentioned monsters to you, I think.”
I didn’t know the story, but I played along.
“I wonder why my father forbade speaking about monsters so strictly.”
Could it be related to my ability to see monsters as not monsters?
“Well… I think he just wanted to show you only beautiful and good things, don’t you think?”
Lily said this casually and returned to the original topic.
“That’s why you might not know. Nowadays, you can’t talk about the Gilotte family without mentioning monsters.”
I took a sip of tea, waiting for her to continue.
“The Gilotte family were all generations of priests serving the goddess Havina. When the temples of goddess Havina were destroyed, they naturally scattered and fled.”
“Why were the temples destroyed?”
Lily pressed her index finger lightly against my lips as a warning.
“Shh. If you openly mention goddess Havina’s name in the Empire, you’ll get dirty looks. Because….”
But what followed wasn’t much.
In short, the goddess of abundance, Havina, at some point became twisted in her judgment, covering her fertile lands in snow and creating monsters to torment humans.
“You don’t know why her judgment twisted?”
“Gods are fickle, aren’t they?”
“Hmmm.”
I tried to fill in the gaps in the story.
‘Even if gods are fickle, they wouldn’t wreak havoc without reason.’
Unless it was a mischievous prank, this was excessive.
To destroy the livelihoods of humans who had worshiped her for centuries meant she was extremely angry.
So there must have been a human who provoked that level of wrath.
‘Wouldn’t she give that person the harshest punishment?’
Throwing them to monsters, casting them into a blizzard, or just turning them into a monster themselves… perhaps.
“Havina’s curse.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
Lily, clearing the teacup, looked back at me.
“Nothing, I didn’t say anything. Go ahead, look outside.”
I shook my head and sent her out, opening the northern window. Far away, the magical stones embedded in the black castle walls reflected the moonlight, scattering an eerie glow.
“What on earth did my ancestors do to deserve divine punishment?”
The scattered pieces of the puzzle slowly began to fit together.
Night fell.
Cielina was in a deep sleep.
“Ugh….”
The heavy drapes above moved slightly, creating a gap.
A translucent, floating spirit entered through the drapes.
『Judging by your thinking, you’re not a complete fool. I think I can communicate with you. I’m glad it’s you.』
From the round, orb-like spirit, a gentle female voice flowed.
Like a tadpole swimming through water, its waving tail swayed softly in time with the voice.
『But if you’re this slow, when will you ever accept me?』
The spirit approached Cielina’s face. She frowned and let out a sharp sneeze.
“Ah-choo!”
The spirit leapt toward the ceiling, tail trembling.
『How dare you defile me…!』
But Cielina just turned and buried her face in the pillow.
Soon, her breathing became steady and rhythmic.
『You little brat.』
The spirit approached her again.
“Cielina.”
The spirit tried persistently to wake her.
It bumped its body against her head, tickled her ears with its tail.
『Wake up…! Hey, wake up! I’ve gone this far, so get up already!』
But it was all in vain.
“Hmm….”
The slightly shrunken spirit settled gently next to her face.
『Sigh… when will you realize? There’s really no time left.』
The faint light surrounding the spirit gradually dispersed.
『You are my last hope, Cielina.』
Morning came.
I stretched as soon as I opened my eyes.
‘Did I have a nightmare?’
Though I slept as usual, my body felt oddly stiff.
But today wasn’t a day to laze in bed.
‘I need to see Royena before she goes into the prayer room.’
I was about to pull the cord to call Lily.
“Milady, Anna here.”
The head maid knocked just at that moment.
“Come in.”
She was surprised to see I was already awake.
“Was your sleep uncomfortable?”
“Oh, no. I just woke up early.”
With her help, I quickly finished getting ready.
“Anna, could you have Lily do something that will take her an hour or two?”
I felt sorry for the children, but I wouldn’t have time to play with them today.
‘Lily is perceptive, so sneaking to the annex every time is tiring.’
If she went out alone two days in a row, she’d notice something odd.
If I said I was meeting the Knight Commander secretly, she might not suspect anything—but…
‘I’ll keep that as a last resort.’
No matter if it’s a fake romance, I couldn’t allow the mustachioed man to meddle.
“Is there anything else you need?”
I remembered a gift I almost forgot.
“In my study, there should be dolls that Lily bought yesterday. Bring them to me.”
Anna hesitated and spoke carefully.
“Are these for the little ones?”
“Yes. I thought the dolls in the children’s room were worn out, so I wanted to give them something new.”
Her eyes reflected feelings I couldn’t easily understand.
Chewing her lip, she asked in a trembling voice,
“What do the little ones look like?”
Thinking of the two children, a smile naturally appeared on my face.
“Erhi looks exactly like Kilian. His hair shines black like the magical stones in the northern walls, and his eyes, of course, are golden. When he frowns, one eyebrow lifts—it’s very cute.”
“Ah, the Duke had that habit as a child too.”
Anna clapped her hands with delight.
It was the biggest reaction I’d seen from her, normally so reserved.
Feeling pleased, I boasted about Irin.
“Irin has pink hair. She’s so pretty when she smiles. Her chubby cheeks form a tiny dimple that appears and disappears.”
“She takes after her mother, then.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The dimple when she smiles is very beautiful.”
“I see. I wish I had a chance to meet her…”
Anna’s eyes filled with tears, as if recalling something painful.
I quickly changed the topic.
“The children love sweets.”
She lifted the edge of her apron to wipe her tears.
“I can always make more sweets for them…”
Her voice was tinged with deep regret.
Seeing that, I felt somewhat at ease.
‘They aren’t monsters living here without care while keeping the children trapped.’
If I could find a way to lift the curse, Erhi and Irin could live here loved.
“By the way, Anna, have you ever met Royena?”
Naturally, my thoughts shifted to Royena.
Anna shook her head.
“The Gilotte family, who live their entire lives as priests, don’t interact with others. They believe it would interfere with hearing the voice of the god they serve.”
‘The god they serve’ must refer to goddess Havina.
