🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 11
The temple?
At those words, I searched my memory and recalled what I’d read in the book.
The temple, and Saint Seira…
They were one of the strongest factions supporting Blake.
More importantly, the prophecy had come through the temple.
Naturally, they regarded the subject of that prophecy as their savior.
“The temple? Why are we going there so early in the morning…?”
If Saint Seira were there, that would be one thing.
But with her missing, was there any reason for Blake to visit the temple?
Blake wore an inscrutable smile and replied with a mysterious expression.
“Well… there are people who doubt that I’ve truly ‘resurrected.’ And those who believe the prophecy are practically worshipping me like a god.”
“…”
“So it’s become quite a troublesome and complicated situation.”
That made sense.
How shocked must they have been when they heard the chosen one of the prophecy had died?
And then they were told he’d come back to life?
The priests probably wanted proof that he had truly been resurrected.
At the same time, they wanted even stronger confirmation that the prophecy given by the gods was genuine.
“See? The hero of our prophecy has even returned from the dead! The prophecy bestowed by the gods will surely come true!”
That was what the temple wanted to proclaim.
“On top of that, there are people who think the one who brought me back to life might have been the missing Saint Seira.”
“…”
“They seem curious whether I know where she is.”
“Um… then when we get to the temple, are they going to examine your body?”
“The temple dares examine me?”
Sitting with one leg crossed over the other, Blake’s pale face twisted into a crooked smile.
His tone and attitude were arrogant and commanding, yet somehow they suited him perfectly.
Without realizing it, I lowered my head and muttered,
“I was worried they might sprinkle holy water on you or something. What if they find out you were revived by a necromancer?”
My face stiffened with anxiety.
Blake, however, seemed completely indifferent.
No…
If anything, he looked a little sleepy.
As though struggling to stay awake, he gazed lazily at me and said,
“That’s why I’m bringing you along, Master.”
“What do you mean…?”
“It’s fine. Once they see what you look like, no one will think you’re a necromancer.”
My eyes widened.
But then I understood.
Yes, I had possessed Ariel’s body…
Ariel was an incredibly cute and lovable-looking woman.
She had the kind of innocent, kindhearted appearance that made it impossible to associate her with something like necromancy.
Still, more than anything else, it amused me that Blake seemed to think of Ariel the same way.
“So why do I have to go to the temple with you?”
“Why?”
“If they discover you were resurrected by a necromancer, won’t I be in just as much trouble…?”
“If those people were actually capable of finding that out, they wouldn’t have been so desperate to cling to the Saint in the first place.”
“…”
“Examine me? Prove it? How exactly? Besides, the Imperial Palace has already tried everything—blades, silver, holy water. I’ve had enough of all that.”
Blake added tiredly.
So the Imperial Palace had already put him through all sorts of tests.
Well, with the Empress and Prince Alec around…
There was no way they’d simply sit back and accept his resurrection.
They must have tried every possible way to find fault with it.
…Blades, silver, holy water.
So none of those worked.
I didn’t know that before… but that’s a relief.
I cautiously glanced at Blake.
Unless someone checked whether his heart was beating, it seemed no one could find anything unusual about his resurrection.
Perhaps noticing the look on my face, Blake spoke again in a slightly reassuring tone.
“And besides, all the books related to necromancers have been locked away in the temple as forbidden texts. If you need information, the temple is the fastest place to find it.”
His logical explanation made perfect sense.
I’d been on my way to the library earlier, after all.
I’d even worried those books wouldn’t be there because they’d been classified as forbidden.
“I understand.”
I nodded and fell silent.
I couldn’t help wondering whether all my worrying had simply become a nuisance to him.
Yet once I stopped talking, Blake looked oddly dissatisfied.
A slight frown appeared between his brows, and his eyes were half-closed.
“Talk about something. At this rate, I’m going to fall asleep in the carriage.”
“Hmm… About what?”
“For example… yes. Tell me what you talked about with that ghost who looked exactly like me.”
It seemed anything that kept him awake would do.
Grinning, I deliberately lowered my voice in an eerie tone.
“Ahem… I was on my way to the library…”
I was trying to imitate the atmosphere of someone telling a ghost story to a friend.
Apparently, Blake found even that amusing.
“…Can’t you just tell it normally? It doesn’t suit you at all. It’s actually funny.”
Resting his chin against the carriage window, Blake looked at me with amused curiosity.
“…”
“Sorry. Just do whatever you want, Master.”
“Anyway, I was walking to the library… when someone with Your Highness’s exact face suddenly greeted me!”
“What did he say?”
“He just said, ‘Hello,’ like that!”
“…”
“So I asked if you weren’t supposed to be in the office with Prince Alec. Then he suddenly said he’d come to see me.”
“…Hmm.”
“What was really strange was that he looked exactly like you… but he spoke gently, was kind… and both his hands and his face were warm.”
“Wait. There are too many things to point out. Setting aside the part about him being kind… you touched his face?”
“Uh… yes. The ghost took my hand and rubbed it against his face.”
“…”
Blake’s expression suddenly turned terrifying, as though he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.
But what exactly was so shocking about that?
Wasn’t the creepy part the ghost itself?
As I blinked in confusion, he waved a hand as though forcing himself not to say anything.
It seemed he was telling me to continue.
I hesitated for a moment, but he didn’t look offended, so I kept talking.
“Then all of a sudden, he asked what dress I’d be wearing to this year’s Golden Harvest Festival.
When I didn’t answer, he asked whether I’d be dancing with Ian Harmel again this year…”
“…Ian Harmel?”
The instant I said the name, I immediately realized my mistake.
The faint smile on Blake’s face disappeared in an instant.
Even if ours was only a marriage in name…
No husband would particularly enjoy hearing about his wife’s former fiancé.
Carefully watching Blake’s expression, I continued.
“Then he said something really strange. He said that if I matched dresses with Ian and danced with him again this year… he’d probably kill Ian.”
“I kind of like that.”
“What? Don’t agree with something that terrifying!”
“Why not? Doesn’t that guy come looking for you every chance he gets just to badmouth me?”
At his words, I shut my mouth and blinked.
So he knew!
I’d warned Ian so many times to watch what he said.
Yet Blake, despite knowing Ian constantly insulted him, remained completely calm.
No…
His expression was so composed that it almost felt as though he were coaxing me into telling him the truth.
“What does that guy talk about every time he comes looking for you, Master?”
“Well…”
“He seems to talk with you more often than your own husband does. More warmly, too. It’s irritating.”
Blake’s last remark sounded strange.
Only for a brief instant, but the expression on his face felt unfamiliar.
It was like I’d accidentally caught a glimpse of an emotion I was never meant to see.
Something thick.
Something stale.
Something old that had never truly been put away…
Something like that.
Blake looked…
Jealous of Ian.
Even though that couldn’t possibly be true.
Before I realized it, our eyes met, and the words slipped out of my mouth.
“He talks about you, Your Highness.”
“…About me?”
His expression grew unexpectedly serious.
Mesmerized by that face, I found myself voicing a feeling I hadn’t even realized I’d been harboring.
“I… said that even if Your Highness died and came back to life… I’d never hear you tell me you loved me.”
Blake froze.
Would he deny it?
Maybe he’d grin mischievously and say, “Now that’s unfair. Of course that’s not true.”
Maybe he’d smile teasingly and ask whether I’d be sad if that were the case.
But perhaps…
If that deep emotion I’d glimpsed a moment ago hadn’t just been my imagination…
“…”
Yet the face before me revealed nothing.
Without a trace of emotion rising to the surface, Blake tilted his head slightly and answered in an even voice.
“That’s not wrong.”
