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Chapter 30
Before long, the unconscious Tain was tightly bound and loaded onto a horse like a sack of luggage. The outcome had been a little different from what I’d expected, but it was still satisfactory.
“Olivia, you can relax now.”
“Milady…”
Olivia looked as though she was about to burst into tears. After all the torment she’d endured from Tain, it wasn’t surprising.
“I thought I was going to die from worry, thinking something might happen to you.”
Ah… so that was her concern. I pulled her into a comforting hug and gently patted her back.
Once Olivia’s spirits had calmed somewhat and we chatted lightly, I approached the knights guarding us.
“I… I’ll try to smooth things over with His Highness, so please don’t worry.”
The knights assured me it wasn’t necessary, but I still felt terribly guilty. I’d been the one to push for this, and now that it had ended like this, I had no excuse.
At last, I walked over to Lushel.
He stood in the shade, arms crossed, silently observing everything I did.
“Either way, I intended to use your necklace. Since I forced them to back down, please don’t hold the knights responsible.”
“I have no intention of punishing them just because I was upset with you.”
“Mm… thanks…”
Lushel still wore a stern expression, but he seemed calmer than before.
“What brought you here, anyway?”
“Well, I wasn’t the one who chose the hunting grounds.”
So that was it—he was here for a hunt. No wonder he’d come with a horse and so many attendants.
There was something in his eyes—something indescribable. But it wasn’t anger or sorrow.
“You look tired.”
It struck me suddenly. He seemed even more subdued than usual, and he wasn’t smiling at all.
When I said that, Lushel slowly rubbed his eyes with one finger.
“Haven’t been sleeping well.”
“How long?”
“A week?”
“You’re insane!”
I couldn’t help but yell at him. Even missing one night of sleep can mess a person up. A whole week? That explained why he seemed so on edge today.
“Go sleep now! What are you even doing hunting after a week without sleep?”
“I can manage.”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
As I threw a fit, a smile crept onto the lips that had remained grim all this time. He started chuckling, and I just stared at him in disbelief. Then, in a sudden fit of frustration, I grabbed the front of his cloak with both hands like I was about to grab him by the collar.
“You think I’m funny?”
“No, it’s not that.”
When I glared at him, eyes narrowed, he finally stopped laughing.
“It’s because I’m happy.”
His shameless response made my face heat up. Embarrassed, I let go of his cloak and took two steps back.
“You can’t just deflect with answers like that.”
“Okay. I’ll go get some sleep now.”
He spoke like he was placating a child.
“What are you going to do about Tain?”
“Treason means execution, but right now, I don’t have the power to eliminate the House of Broke.”
He tilted his head, sounding almost disappointed.
“But I can just imprison him until I take the throne, right?”
So he planned to execute them all once he became emperor… He was smiling sweetly, but his words were downright chilling.
“Lily.”
Just as I turned to return to Olivia, thinking Lushel had calmed down, he suddenly called my nickname.
“The Garden of Oz.”
It was a name I’d never heard before.
“Up until now, it’s been off-limits. But now, we should be able to get permission to enter.”
His voice wasn’t full of confidence, though.
“I want you to go with me.”
He said that and stared at me, almost strangely intently.
As if perfectly timed, a breeze swept through and tousled his hair. Through the strands blown by the wind, his golden eyes glimmered even in the shadows.
It was only then, as I met his gaze straight on, that I understood the emotion I hadn’t noticed before.
A profound sense of burden.
Like something would fall apart if he let go.
I didn’t know whether that something was Lushel, or me, or the empire itself—or maybe this entire novel. That much, I couldn’t tell.
“Okay.”
And with that, he softly smiled, eyes crinkling gently. It was hard to believe this was the same person who’d just been glaring daggers at the knights.
Yeah… that was the kind of expression he always gave me—hoping I’d fall for him, again and again.
Calix resisted the urge to rake his fingers through his hair in frustration. In a situation like this, he couldn’t afford to look weak or lose the upper hand. At the very least, he understood that much.
“So you’re really going to go this route?”
“The temple’s position has always been clear.”
“Unbelievable.”
It was almost unbearable looking at the High Priest’s serene expression as he pretended to smile politely.
Just a month ago, this very man had come crawling to the palace, begging for more time. What wind had shifted to make him sit so straight now, acting like he was the one with all the power?
“You know very well you cannot force your way into sacred territory.”
Even the emperor himself couldn’t.
Calix ground his teeth. He’d known that rule, of course. He just hadn’t expected this to land on his desk.
The High Priest kept repeating the same line: The sacred grounds of Pallium couldn’t be entered. Neither could the altar of Fonts.
These places were blessed by the gods. Demanding more would be overstepping.
“Right…”
He wasn’t insane enough to want divine punishment raining down on his head. And he couldn’t just bulldoze through the temple. As much as it infuriated him, he had no choice but to back off.
But Calix wasn’t the kind of man to back down quietly.
That’s exactly why this had ended up in his lap. If the request was doomed to fail, they’d at least expected him to rattle the temple’s cage.
“I’ll make an official statement, then.”
Calix didn’t have to manage his image like his power-hungry younger brother. He had no need to act noble.
“After careful overnight investigation, we’ve concluded that Pallium was complicit in Fonts’ murders and has been aiding in the abduction of civilians.”
He spat out each word with calculated venom.
“And that the High Priest of Pallium is plotting to overthrow the imperial family and establish the temple as the sole ruling power.”
It was both a declaration—and mockery.
“How’s that? Something that’ll get my bedridden father to rise from his deathbed, don’t you think?”
For the first time, the High Priest’s smile disappeared. Which only made Calix grin wider.
“No one would believe such a thing.”
“Oh, I think they would. In this empire, nothing outweighs the word of the emperor.”
“How could a prince of the empire stoop to such low threats?”
When the High Priest shouted, Calix burst into laughter.
“Why would I need to threaten you?”
He gave a lazy smile.
“I could just kill you right here and install a puppet. Easy.”
“You’re nothing but a proxy at the moment. Don’t forget your place.”
There was a bite to those words—know your place. A clear insult. Calix’s expression darkened.
“I know.”
With that, he slammed his fist on the table. He regretted having had to leave his weapons outside—damned temple rules. But had he brought them, blood might’ve been spilled already.
“And that’s the only reason you’re still breathing.”
Beneath his crimson glare, a black serpent flickered at his feet. It was just for show, not meant to be used—but it was more than enough to intimidate.
“We are simply doing our duty as servants of the gods.”
The High Priest closed his eyes and lips, signaling the end of the conversation. Calix glared for a long moment, then stormed out.
“What do you think the temple’s really playing at?”
Calix’s footsteps outside were sharp and angry.
This serial murder case couldn’t be solved without the temple’s cooperation. But the High Priest clearly had no intention of cooperating.
Even if it had always been temple tradition to protect criminals, some basic moral sense should have remained. At the very least, they should’ve pretended to cooperate.
“If it weren’t for that damned sacred ground…”
The sacred ground—where anyone without divine blessing would instantly perish upon entry.
Only the High Priest or the Grand Sage could grant the blessing needed to enter.
“If the temple really did aid Fonts’ crimes, they would’ve lost the blessing by now.”
His subordinate’s words weren’t wrong.
Divine blessing was granted by offering one’s vow to carry out the will of the gods. Betray that vow, and the power should vanish.
“So… you’re saying all of this is the will of the gods?”
Click—he clicked his tongue.
There wasn’t a single part of the palace or the temple that didn’t disgust him. No, it was the entire empire that he loathed.
Outside the temple, Calix reattached the yellow brooch he’d removed earlier to his collar. He couldn’t feel it through his gloves, but it was enough to help steady his mind.
“No way forward, huh.”
He swallowed the curse that had reached the tip of his tongue. For now, it was time to withdraw.
