🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 26
From Mille Village, Cookie had been an excellent informant for Lucilea.
Small and nimble, with wings for agile movement, and a cute, harmless appearance. No one ever suspected that Cookie could understand human speech and relay it.
Thanks to this, stories circulating among the villagers could reach Lucilea, and news that the elite corps would visit Mille Village was learned in the same way.
And today, with the help of Cookie, whose skills had been honed over time, Lucilea planned to eavesdrop on a conversation between Elbadin and the priest.
“The more information, the better.”
She knew very little about the Decart Grand Duke’s family. In a situation where unknown details kept cropping up, even a tiny bit of information could prove useful someday.
“Also, I’m curious what kind of conversation the temple, almost like a rival, and His Grace the Grand Duke would have.”
Lucilea stroked Cookie’s small head.
“Do you know where the Grand Duke’s office is? Next to it is a reception room. They’ll probably talk there. Listen and then tell me about it.”
Cookie’s eyes glimmered with determination.
[Leave it to me… I’ll show just how useful a parrot I am…]
His breathing grew a little rough, excited, as if he could take off at any moment.
Lucilea gently patted his head.
“But Cookie—”
[Yes?]
She looked into his innocent black eyes and quietly advised:
“If it seems dangerous, just come back. Got it? Don’t push yourself.”
Curiosity aside, Cookie’s safety came first.
Cookie saluted with his wings folded to his forehead and said:
[I’ll remember! Safe flight!]
“I’ll be back, Lucy!” Cookie immediately flew out the window.
Whoosh—.
A cold north wind blew just then. Cookie flapped a few times, then let the wind carry him carefully toward his destination.
Soon, he safely landed on the window ledge of Elbadin’s reception room.
“Long time no see, Your Grace.”
Priest Lucanel greeted first upon entering the reception room.
Elbadin responded lazily and walked to the sofa.
“Yes, was it three years?”
Lucanel lifted one corner of his mouth in a cold smile.
“Haha, still indifferent to others, I see. Not three, but five years.”
Elbadin tilted his head slightly and replied nonchalantly.
“Was it?”
“….”
“Please, sit.”
“…Very well.”
Elbadin pointed to the seat across from him with an expression utterly indifferent. Lucanel sat reluctantly.
A brief silence fell.
The priests who had accompanied Lucanel exchanged nervous glances, feeling the chill flowing between the two men.
“But,”
Elbadin’s sharp gaze turned to Lucanel.
“What brings someone so busy to the Grand Duke’s residence?”
Lucanel’s mouth twitched slightly at the short question. He quickly composed himself.
“…The High Priest wishes to see you personally.”
Elbadin, appearing uninterested, replied as if it were someone else’s matter.
“It’s not like a cordial conversation will be had, either.”
Lucanel forced a smile.
“It’s for the safety of the Empire.”
“The temple, which sucks the lifeblood from the citizens, talks about safety?”
Lifeblood? Lucanel’s face turned red, his voice rising.
“Your Grace! That’s too much! Our temple is by no means—”
“The temple can only claim to be virtuous when it actually fulfills its duties.”
“….”
“….”
The air in the room grew cold.
Elbadin, dismissing Lucanel’s glare as trivial, spoke slowly.
“Everyone, leave.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Under Elbadin’s command, Riart and the guarding knights left the room immediately.
The two priests brought by Lucanel hesitated, unsure of what to do.
Lucanel instructed them:
“You should leave and wait outside.”
“Yes.”
Thus, only Elbadin and Lucanel remained in the reception room.
In the cold silence, the two men exchanged nothing but sharp glances.
Then, huff…
Lucanel exhaled softly, closed his eyes, and reopened them.
Finally, with a more relaxed expression, he spoke.
“Apologies for visiting so suddenly.”
“No, it’s fine. There must have been a reason for coming personally.”
Lucanel smiled faintly at Elbadin’s words.
The tense, wary atmosphere from before was completely gone.
In fact, Lucanel, though a temple priest, was also a spy for the Grand Duke’s family within the temple under Elbadin’s orders.
He had been secretly monitoring the tensions between the imperial faction and the temple faction, reporting back on the situation.
To avoid suspicion, he had kept face-to-face meetings with Elbadin to a minimum, communicating only through encrypted letters.
Yet now, Lucanel had come to the Grand Duke’s residence in person.
He continued with a slightly serious expression.
“Yes. The matter is critical; letters alone wouldn’t suffice.”
“Something happened in the temple?”
“More precisely, inside the palace.”
Inside the palace? Elbadin tilted his head slightly.
“This morning’s report said nothing unusual happened in the palace.”
“Yes, that’s probably true. Only the High Priest, I, and a very small number of people know about this matter.”
Lucanel continued immediately.
“A new magic department has been established within the palace.”
Elbadin’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“It’s common for departments to be dissolved and new ones created.”
“Indeed. But the problem is…”
Lucanel’s expression grew even more serious.
“The personnel filling this new magic department are not mages from the Mage Tower.”
“And?”
Lucanel slowly shook his head.
“Their identities are unknown.”
“….”
“That means, unknown individuals are being brought into the palace…”
“Exactly.”
“Presumably, this was led by the Empress.”
“Yes. And…”
Lucanel paused briefly before continuing.
“She said she would use these unknown magicians to find individuals with special abilities.”
“….”
“So, she intends to create a group like the Decart Grand Duke’s elite corps.”
Elbadin’s eyes narrowed as he muttered under his breath:
“The intention doesn’t seem pure.”
“Yes, so the Emperor’s approval has not yet been granted.”
“Probably won’t be easily approved. He promised me something.”
“Then that’s a relief. …Ah, right.”
Lucanel took out the documents he had prepared in advance.
“This is the list of children who joined the temple this year. Unfortunately, none were exactly eight years old, but abandoned children rarely have precise ages.”
“…Thank you.”
Children with divine power entered the temple, not the Grand Duke’s household. Elbadin was prepared in case his own child was born with divine power instead of magic.
He checked each name on the list Lucanel handed him.
“If by any chance…”
“Yes.”
“…If your identity is at risk of being discovered, leave the temple immediately without hesitation.”
“….”
Lucanel looked momentarily surprised but then smiled faintly.
“Of course. My life is precious above all. I would have done as you said regardless.”
Elbadin let out a faint chuckle.
“Indeed.”
Lucanel laughed and asked:
“Ah, a child with special abilities joined recently, correct?”
“Has the rumor already reached the temple?”
“The Grand Duke’s situation is being carefully watched by both the palace and the temple. So, what kind of child is it? Aura or magic?”
“They haven’t discovered that yet.”
“Don’t even mention it. I only noticed the child by the carriage heading to the Grand Duke’s residence; it’s hard to know what happens inside.”
Elbadin nodded.
“It will soon be revealed anyway, so better not to know—”
He stopped mid-sentence, turning sharply to a window.
“…Wait.”
“Yes?”
Elbadin silenced Lucanel with a finger to his lips.
Lucanel closed his mouth nervously. Elbadin carefully rose from the sofa and quietly approached the window.
Lucanel tilted his head, puzzled. ‘What’s he doing?’
Though the reason was unclear, Elbadin’s expression and careful movements created a tense atmosphere.
Swallowing hard, Lucanel watched him closely.
At that moment, Bang! Elbadin flung the window open without warning.
Whoosh—.
A cold wind burst inside, scattering his hair and fluttering the dark blue curtains.
“….”
Elbadin slowly surveyed the surroundings with his eyes, then closed the window and returned to the sofa as if nothing had happened.
Finally, Lucanel, who had been silent, spoke softly:
“Was there someone outside? Could it be a shadow sent by the palace?!”
Elbadin sat calmly and answered:
“No. It was just…”
His red eyes glanced briefly at the window before returning.
“…The wind.”
At that time:
[Huff, huff, huff—!]
Cookie, hiding just below the reception room window, panted heavily.
[Ugh, damn! I thought I’d been caught!]
