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Chapter – 12
“Shh!”
Di warned, and Rita immediately covered her mouth with her hand. But then she was startled when Jin suddenly hopped over the wall.
“Prince Jin? Why are you here?”
At the mention of “prince,” Di quickly turned to look at Jin and said casually:
“There was a prince hiding his identity in prison, so I came to rescue him, Rita.”
“My goodness! You must be seeing the prince for the first time. How did you know? He doesn’t look anything like His Majesty!”
“I could sense the royal aura.”
Rita, amazed, exclaimed, “As expected of a priestess!”
Jin leaned over and whispered into Di’s ear.
“You didn’t know, did you?”
“You’re going to tell Kyle I caught you stealing.”
“Ugh… my apologies, priestess.”
Jin then gestured toward Rita, signaling her to go inside. Rita bowed politely and hurried into the temple.
Di grinned and looked up at Jin.
“So, you’re the pretty younger sibling Kyle mentioned.”
“I’ve never seen Kyle call anyone ‘pretty’ in my life.”
“Exactly.”
“That’s why he’s not popular.”
“Oh, so you really are Kyle’s sibling.”
Di seemed certain, and Jin nodded, asking:
“Don’t I look like him?”
“Not even a little.”
“My eldest brother and I resemble our mother. The second brother Kyle and the third, Phyllia, resemble our father.”
Indeed, Jin was a handsome young man.
‘But why does Kyle look so terrifying…? What kind of genes did their father pass down…’
“…Your father must be quite imposing.”
“Yeah. He’s really scary… If it weren’t for my second brother, I might have run away…”
“Why Kyle?”
“You don’t know our family. Kyle is the only normal one in our family.”
“You’ve had it rough… and you’re the youngest, too…”
Di patted Jin on the back.
“But judging by the way you dress now, haven’t you already run away?”
“Oh! Precognition!”
Jin pretended to be surprised, then chuckled quietly.
‘His older brother only ever scoffed, but this one laughs a lot. That Kyle is probably quietly working somewhere by now. A bad guy. Workaholic. Ungrateful.’
Meanwhile, Di realized something crucial after escaping from prison: she could no longer avoid facing the ghost.
While she had excuses in prison, now that she had escaped, if she didn’t deal with the ghost, Kyle would be furious.
Moreover, since people were suffering from the ghost, she felt compelled to help.
Di smiled at Jin.
“Looks like you’ve got plenty of free time. Want to help me, Jin Clayce?”
“No. I have to deal with the merchant who sold me defective goods first.”
“What kind of goods?”
“A glowing rod for dark places. It was supposed to be sturdy, but the glowing material was too weak and kept going out. I asked for a replacement, but they said it’s hard to get glowing material these days, so just use it. We argued, and they reported us, which got us imprisoned.”
Di listened carefully and said:
“Alright. Take care. See you next time.”
“…You’re making it too easy to leave, I don’t want to go.”
Jin muttered and followed Di, who was walking briskly somewhere.
Since being caught by Giyon would mean going back to prison, Di pulled the hood of the cloak she had brought over her head and observed the crowd. Jin asked:
“What are you doing?”
“Trying to gather information about the ghost.”
“The people of Gotins don’t talk to outsiders much. Your noble manner might scare them off.”
“Oh, good tip, thanks.”
Di picked up some stones from the road. After carefully choosing round and pretty ones, Jin tilted his head and asked:
“What are you doing?”
“Just stay hidden. You stand out too much.”
She nudged Jin aside and waved at a passing pretty girl.
“Hey, miss! Want a free fortune reading?”
“Really?”
“Of course! Just looking for someone to talk to.”
“Then, my love life!”
Di squatted against the wall and dropped half of the stones in front of her. The rest she gave to Grizia, letting her throw them too. Di pretended to read the random placement of the stones.
“Let’s see… Ah.”
“Why… why are you doing this?”
“You’re naturally destined to be popular with the opposite sex, based on your stars.”
“Really? But then why am I single…”
“But the local ghosts have blocked your love luck.”
Di clicked her tongue disapprovingly, and Grizia frowned.
“That’s right! Recently, ghosts have been showing up, and I’ve been feeling unlucky… How do you know this as an outsider?”
“Well, if a fortune-teller doesn’t talk to ghosts, how do they make a living? Anyway, where exactly are these ghosts gathering?”
“Over there, on the hill northeast, there’s a cave.”
Di handed her a stone and pointed to the ground:
“Draw a map while you explain. Your hands look bored.”
Grizia provided an accurate map, indicating a fairly well-known cave.
Di, having obtained the needed information, decided to reward Grizia for her help.
“Grizia, I’ll teach you a dance to attract the man you like.”
“Even that’s free?”
“Of course. You have someone you like, right? Look him in the eyes and perform this dance.”
Di stood, bent her arms at a 90-degree angle in front of her face, poked twice, tossed her head back, made a triangle with her hands above her head, and rotated her waist right then left.
Jin, hiding in the alley, laughed and covered his mouth.
Grizia tried not to laugh, watching seriously.
“How… how do you do that in front of a man?”
“If you’re embarrassed, just imagine it in your head. It will help with him.”
“Really?”
“See for yourself. If it works, come to the Western Priestess in Patton Capital later. Then it’ll cost you.”
“Western Priestess? You mean Diana Priestess?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Eh.”
“Believe it or not.”
Di brushed herself off and left.
Jin, now able to relax, ran toward her and laughed.
“What was that dance?”
“It’s a courtship dance I made up.”
“How can you perform that in front of someone you like?”
“Was it really that funny?”
‘I was just reading a book on bird mating because the theology books were boring… Is it really that funny, or does he just laugh a lot?’
Jin laughed so hard, tears streaming, that he wiped them away.
“Alright, let’s go to that cave together.”
“No thanks. You go with your subordinates.”
“What? That’s ridiculous. It looks like it’s going to be fun from now on.”
Di clicked her tongue.
“You don’t see your subordinates quietly following you from behind?”
“They’re not subordinates, they’re comrades! And when did they even start following me?”
Shinta had been hiding behind the wall, watching Jin carefully. Jin averted his gaze, leaving her looking disappointed. Di said:
“She’s been following since earlier. Come on, prince, time to head home.”
Jin reluctantly fixed his hair and approached Shinta, pinching her gently:
“I’m not a child. What are you fidgeting for?”
“Probably because you were charmed by that trickster.”
Shinta muttered, relieved to have her leader back. Jin turned to Di and smiled.
“Let’s visit the castle sometime soon.”
Di believed that at a time like this, she needed someone who couldn’t feel fear.
Opening the cold temple door, she said:
“Amila, I escaped!”
Amila, praying in the center of the temple, turned around lazily.
Di waved cheerfully.
“Shall we hunt some ghosts for fun? You love archery, right? I’ll let you shoot as much as you want.”
Amila flinched at the mention of shooting. Di teased further:
“Did you know it hurts a lot to get hit by a ghost? If we catch one, I might get hurt a lot.”
Amila hesitated but finally stood up.
After her fortune reading, Grizia walked home, muttering:
“Could she really be Diana Priestess…?”
She was suspicious as she walked when she noticed the boy she liked approaching.
Grizia blushed. He seemed a little interested, but she had never spoken to him, barely even made eye contact, and always acted like she didn’t notice him.
Di’s ridiculous dance had destroyed some of her trust in the priestess, but she thought, “Why not give it a try?” She thought she saw faint green eyes under the hood.
She followed Di’s instructions and focused on the boy, recalling the comical dance in her mind. She tried to be serious but couldn’t help laughing.
Smiling slightly, Sol’s face turned red. He didn’t know what to do, took a deep breath, and ran to her:
“Uh… hi!”
“Yes?”
‘I’m so surprised… why is he approaching me?’
“I thought you hated me because you always ignored me… but today, if I’m not wrong, you’re looking at me… Shall we… have tea together?”
“Sure!”
Grizia shouted happily. Sol was startled, but seeing her smile at him gave him courage.
“I’ll take you to a nice tea house!”
Following him, Grizia’s face flushed. She thought this might really be the Western Priestess Diana.
Meanwhile, Kyle frowned in his castle office.
He couldn’t stop thinking about Di’s frightened expression when she claimed ghosts were terrifying.
“Ghosts don’t exist.”
He rubbed his face roughly, trying to forget, but couldn’t stop thinking. A woman who wasn’t afraid of him being scared of ghosts… She must have lied.
As he tried to focus, a soft growl came from the window. A white fox jumped onto his desk.
Kyle smiled, something he rarely did for people.
“Roxanne.”
The fox flinched. Kyle gently scratched its chin.
“If your master wants it, then I’ll call you that too.”
