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Chapter – 29
When Kyle heard the news that Sian had died, a smile escaped him before he could stop himself.
At his smile, Dia flinched in surprise and asked,
“Kyle?”
“Huh? Ah. Right. I see.”
Realizing that this wasn’t the moment to smile, he quickly wiped the expression from his face.
As soon as the official delivered the message, Kyle immediately began preparing to attend Sian’s funeral with the people of Peyton Castle.
He entrusted the royal castle to Jin, who had already visited Bitencia once, and Amilla—whose ability to comfort others was a solid zero—also stayed behind at the temple.
Early the next morning, before the sun had even risen, the group heading to the Bitencia Empire gathered in front of Peyton Castle.
Jin, who had come to see them off, glanced at Amilla standing stiffly beside him with a blank expression, then grabbed Dia and Kyle as they were about to leave and tearfully said,
“If I die at the hands of the Eastern Priestess, please bury me somewhere sunny…”
Dia clenched both fists and replied with equal seriousness,
“Got it. I’ll make sure it’s a sunny spot.”
“Don’t answer like that! You’re supposed to comfort me by saying I’ll survive!”
“You’re so fickle.”
The two, perfectly in sync, burst into laughter. Dia then said to Amilla,
“Oh, but I’ve never gone far away while leaving our Amilla behind, so I’m kind of worried. This must be how parents feel when they send their kid on their first errand…”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“Anyway, we’ll be back within a week, so don’t get bored.”
“I don’t feel emotions like that.”
“That’s kind of hurtful.”
When Dia pouted, Amilla shot her an icy glare. Dia flinched, ran toward the carriage, and waved her hand.
“Then we’re off! I’ll buy you a souvenir!”
As soon as Dia climbed in, the carriage immediately departed. Amilla simply stared silently at the carriage as it disappeared. Jin cautiously asked,
“Priestess, are you going back to the Eastern Temple? Maybe we could at least eat together and get to know each oth—”
Amilla slowly turned her head to look at him. Under her threatening gaze, Jin teared up and apologized.
“N-no! Never mind! Sorry for calling you! It’s my fault! Please do whatever you want!”
“I’m going hunting.”
“H-hunting? Why all of a sudden?”
As Jin stared in confusion, Amilla mounted her horse and muttered expressionlessly,
“…Time isn’t passing.”
After she left, Jin froze. It hadn’t even been five minutes since they departed—if time already wasn’t passing for her…
Shivering for no reason, Jin hurried back into the castle.
Inside the carriage, Dia complained,
“What is this supposed to be? Seriously. I know Peyton isn’t a huge country, but is it so poor that the king has to travel like this? It’s not that bad, is it?”
She had wondered why Kyle had paid an outrageous amount to rent a carriage from a mage family. It turned out he had crammed as many people and as much luggage as possible into a ridiculously narrow carriage—himself included.
Squeezed between piles of luggage, Dia kept venting to Kyle, who sat across from her pretending not to hear.
“What kind of king rides in a carriage this cramped? No—what kind of king gets shoved into a cargo wagon to travel?”
“Then would you rather ride in a carriage for twenty days round trip?”
“That sounds horrific, but still… spend a little more money, you cheapskate.”
Luggage behind her, luggage on her knees, luggage on both sides. At least this carriage was technically for cargo; the two behind it had ten men and ten women crammed separately, so they had it even worse.
Of course, the carriage Dia and Kyle were in—with the baggage of all twenty of them stuffed inside—wasn’t much better.
Kyle, who was more than twice Dia’s size, suffered the most. Seeing him crushed under luggage sticking out from every direction was oddly amusing.
“What kind of king is that?”
Dia burst out laughing.
Unable to move at all due to the tight space, Dia activated her positive mindset.
“On one hand, I feel like I’m going to die, but since everything fits so tightly, it doesn’t shake at all. It’s kind of comfortable.”
“……”
“This carriage is supposed to be really fast, right? I want to look outside.”
“Don’t move.”
Kyle tried to stop her, but Dia squirmed her way free of the luggage and pressed herself to the window, pulling the curtain aside.
“Wow! It’s insanely fast!”
She shouted in amazement. The speed was comparable to a car racing down a highway. With nothing but open plains around them, it felt almost unreal.
Because she moved, her leg brushed against Kyle’s knee. Grimacing, Kyle closed his eyes, trying to sleep. Dia grabbed his arm and shook it.
“Look outside. You’re so stingy you probably never ride in carriages like this.”
“Stop bothering me.”
“Ugh, even Amilla would find me less annoying than you do.”
Grumbling, Dia returned to her seat and pulled a book from her bag.
“I knew this would happen, so I brought sleeping pills.”
“The book is the sleeping pill?”
“Yeah. A history book. I picked the most boring-looking one.”
She opened it—and after reading just the first line, began nodding off. After finishing one page, she completely fell asleep. Kyle stared at her, dumbfounded.
“She’s really something.”
He muttered under his breath, then chuckled.
The carriage arrived in the capital of Bitencia in just ten hours. But after being stuck without moving for that long, everyone felt so miserable they thought it might’ve been better to suffer over ten days instead.
As the carriage slowed upon entering the capital, Dia woke up.
“Are we there?”
“Almost.”
At Kyle’s answer, Dia excitedly pulled back the curtain again, her mouth falling open.
Peyton’s “busy district” was just a tiny strip of shops with a bank and post office. But Bitencia’s capital dazzled from the entrance alone.
Rows of three-story buildings painted in colorful dyes lined the streets, merchants calling out to customers. Noblewomen in jewel-studded dresses walked beneath parasols.
With sparkling eyes, Dia asked Kyle,
“So you really grew up in a rich neighborhood?”
“This is actually less lively now. Jason took two-thirds of the imperial treasury. The southern region is more prosperous these days.”
“There’s somewhere even more extravagant than this…?”
She muttered blankly, then pointed to a massive structure in the distance.
“Is that the Imperial Palace? It looks twice as big as Peyton Castle!”
“Oh, that’s the Gagnier family estate. Stephanie’s from the Gagnier family, right?”
“…What? Which Stephanie? You mean our Stephanie?”
“They’re a fairly influential family near the capital.”
“So someone born in that house is working as a maid in that tiny, shabby castle with a mediocre king?”
Dia joked and laughed, but Kyle sighed.
“The head maid at the temple isn’t a minor position. You’ve seen it— even the High Priest can’t treat her lightly. Being chosen as the head maid directly beside the priestess at such a young age means Stephanie is no ordinary talent.”
“That’s true. She knows everything.”
Dia nodded, gazing at the Gagnier estate. The grand mansion, covered in beautifully trimmed deep-green ivy, was mesmerizing. At the same time, she thought it might be nice to let Stephanie visit home while they were here.
The carriage slowly entered through a massive gate.
“Kyle, can I get off and look around?”
“Looks like everyone’s stopping. Probably better to walk than stay in the carriage.”
Kyle opened the door.
Dia jumped down first and stared in awe at the enormous palace complex.
Near the gate were banks, pharmacies, post offices, and libraries. Deeper inside was a plaza, and far beyond that stood the true Imperial Palace.
As Dia wandered around distractedly, Kyle warned,
“You’re seriously going to get lost. Pay attention.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll follow you.”
Her reply was half-hearted, making him uneasy. He even considered tying a rope to her so she wouldn’t wander off—when Dia suddenly came back and asked,
“Where’s the funeral?”
“At the Temple of the Goddess Catiline.”
“They have a priestess here too?”
“There’s one at the Catiline Temple, but not inside the palace.”
“Oh, we have two. Let’s give them one.”
“Sure. You go.”
“Right, that’s what I meant.”
“What?”
Kyle stopped walking. Dia, busy looking around, didn’t notice his expression stiffen.
“This place is amazing. So lively. I’ve loved busy districts since I was little, so I even forced my shop to open in Cheongdam—”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Dia was having too much fun to care. She spotted a fountain in the plaza and ran toward it excitedly.
When Kyle paused, a Peyton official who had exited the carriage asked nervously,
“Y-Your Majesty… did something upset you…?”
“Let’s go.”
Kyle replied flatly and continued walking.
Kyle and Dia headed straight to the Catiline Temple. The funeral would take place at dawn the next day, followed immediately by Sian’s burial. Before that, there was a ritual where people placed flowers on the coffin and bid their final farewell.
They entered the temple.
Unlike the plain Roxand Temple, the massive stone Catiline Temple was filled with magnificent wooden decorations that radiated authority.
The priests carefully opened the coffin.
Preserved by magic to prevent decay, Sian Clayce looked as though he were merely asleep. Dia placed her flower on the coffin.
It was already filled with flowers placed by others, completely surrounding Sian.
Seeing him for the first time, Dia froze.
Golden hair, pale and flawless skin. Sian—whom Kyle had described as “rather pretty” despite calling Jin frail—was so beautiful it was almost irritating.
As Dia stepped back, Kyle ascended the steps.
Holding a single flower, he looked down at Sian.
Dia quietly watched his back.
She always teased him for being stingy and indecisive, but in moments like this, he carried an authority that made it hard to even speak to him.
With movements steeped in royal etiquette, he placed the flower near Sian’s hair and knelt before him.
Clasping his gloved hands together, he performed the ritual offered to the Goddess Catiline.
The polished black mourning cloak and silver ornaments worn for royal funerals shimmered in the sunlight streaming through the windows.
Kyle stood and looked at Sian’s face one last time.
As he turned away—
There was a smile on his face.
Dia swallowed unconsciously.
This was the second time. Once could be a mistake—but twice wasn’t.
He had definitely smiled.
And to Dia, it was clear.
Kyle was enjoying Sian’s death.
…Come to think of it, is he the same type as Amilla too…?
