TTPB 40

Chapter 40

 Sleeping As If Dead

Clatter. Clatter.

The smell of greens wafted from the porcelain bowl. When the powdered herbs were poured into the cup, the water turned a deep green. Sabbas carefully spooned some of it and trickled the medicine into her soft pink lips. A week had passed, yet those impudent blue eyes remained firmly shut.

Drip. Drip.

“It’s Arsen. I’ll be coming in.”

When the burly man entered the quiet bedchamber, it felt as though the room itself had shrunk.

“How is Her Highness?”
“The same as yesterday. Neither better nor worse—just sleeping as if dead.”

Arsen stepped closer to the bed and gazed at Rose with sorrow. Her tightly shut eyes and lashes looked pale and lifeless.

“How is Arachne?”
“She is currently in solitary confinement under disciplinary measures. Since this matter is grave, His Majesty will not overlook it this time.”
“…I see. It was my failure to teach her properly.”

Sabbas blamed himself for failing to guide the Second Princess rightly.

“The power she inherited was not meant to be used to cause strife within the family. I never imagined she would be so short-sighted.”
“……”

Arsen could not bring himself to comfort the troubled old man. He lacked the luxury to do so himself. Instead, his thoughts drifted back to the conversation he had had with the prince not long ago.

“So you mean… it may not have been Princess Arachne’s doing?”

Arsen had asked, slamming the file shut. The papers the prince had given him directly contradicted the Knights’ official investigation.

“More precisely, Arachne was manipulated.”
“……”

Arsen recalled the name written at the edge of the report:

Duke Ludwig.

The document laid out a reconstruction of events based on the assumption of Ludwig’s second fairy blessing.

“Your Highness, you are speaking based on an uncertain premise.”
“Lord Lafayette, mind your tone.”
“It’s fine, Dian. He’s right—the investigation began from a hunch.”

Thanasis tapped the sheet of paper with his finger.

“We can’t confirm Ludwig inherited the second power, ‘Enthrallment.’ But the likelihood is high, given it could have come from his father.”

Ludwig de Calonne had already inherited ‘Curse.’ It was reasonable to suspect he also possessed the previous generation’s mind-control abilities.

“Moreover, it is suspicious how often events have occurred that just happen to benefit the duke.”

Thanasis pointed to Ludwig’s swift domination over the aristocratic faction.

“One day, the nobles suddenly began supporting him. Considering that his father was Crown Prince in the previous reign, the nobles stood to gain nothing from such allegiance.”

His tone grew colder.

“And then, while I was away, a monster appeared near the capital.”

Arsen nodded grimly. On his way to Bastia, he had encountered a Garum, a creature that should have dwelled only in Hinnom Valley. Its sudden appearance near the heavily guarded capital had been strange indeed.

“They say Duke Ludwig’s father, Gain de Calonne, could enthrall even non-humans. Was the monster’s presence near the capital mere coincidence?”
“Are you suggesting the duke released the creature into Eretria?”

Arsen’s expression grew complicated.

“You’re saying… he might even be plotting treason?”
“As I said before, no one must ever hear this conversation.”

Dian’s stern reminder cut through the dangerous speculation.

“If he was unwilling to accept the last succession arrangement, it’s entirely possible.”
“So you think he covets the throne itself.”

Arsen began to grasp the imperial faction’s stance. They were clearly in a power struggle with Duke Ludwig. Whether or not he had truly orchestrated the incident was, in the end, a secondary matter.

“I believe Ludwig enthralled Arachne and used her for this incident. There was contact between them before the Founding Festival.”

Thanasis showed him a visitor log, obtained from Arachne’s handmaiden, clearly listing the duke’s entry into the princess’s residence.

“He wouldn’t have been careless enough to leave such a record…”

Then Arsen met Thanasis’s icy gaze and realized: there had been a spy among the handmaidens. The prince had planted his own confidante among Arachne’s attendants. At that, Arsen understood why Rose had always looked so lonely and uneasy. The imperial palace had never been a home to her.

“Fairy blessings are far too unique to be ideal tools for assassination. And yet, poison of ‘Mountain’ was found in the champagne.”

Thanasis summarized the case coldly.

“Arachne isn’t foolish enough to leave such obvious evidence behind. Ludwig used her as a pawn to eliminate one royal. Perhaps even two. A perfect throwaway piece.”
“What do you intend to do, Your Highness? Even if this is true, the evidence still frames Princess Arachne as the culprit.”
“Exactly. Everything has unfolded in his favor. Punishing Arachne is pointless.”

Punish.

Arsen mulled over the word. It was not something one should say about family. To him, who had devoted his life to his family and fief, the prince’s bloodless tone felt chilling.

“I will petition His Majesty to spare her life. Only then can we tie this to Ludwig. You are to proceed with her interrogation accordingly.”

Returning from the memory, Arsen’s gaze grew darker. He could not tell Sabbas the truth—that Ludwig was the mastermind and Arachne had been enthralled. Even before Dian’s command of secrecy, it was a matter of conscience.

At least to an old man grieving his family’s tragedy, such words could never be spoken. Ludwig was, after all, also of imperial blood. Arsen quietly brushed the strands of Rose’s flushed hair away from her forehead.

“So the power of ‘Mountain’ is strong?”
“Of course. It is a fairy’s blessing.”

Sabbas gave Rose another dose of a neutralizing medicine.

“Fortunately, her blessing is ‘Regeneration.’ Her body is slowly healing itself, which is some comfort.”
“This… is healing?”

Arsen frowned at Rose’s pale face.

“The fact that she still cannot open her eyes is proof.”
“What do you mean…”
“I believe Rose’s price is narcolepsy.”

Arsen’s eyes widened.

“Did I not tell you before? Every royal bears a sin when they use their blessing.”
“Yes.”
“From the start, whenever Rose used her power, she would lose consciousness.”

The old man fiddled with the handle of his ornate cane, its polished wood marked by years of use. He recalled his own despair when he had first realized his own sin.

“She once mentioned it in passing—that she was sleeping more. When I asked her head maid, she confirmed it began after the orphanage incident. She would often oversleep.”

Arsen was unsettled. He had always believed the princess’s price was her fear of water. But narcolepsy? Then… was her aquaphobia merely a separate condition? Judging by Sabbas’s demeanor, he seemed unaware of it.

“Could it not simply be the poison keeping her asleep? We cannot yet confirm that narcolepsy is truly her price.”

Arsen probed carefully, but Sabbas firmly shook his head.

“No one in this palace knows more about fairy blessings than I. Judging from her symptoms, Rose’s price is undoubtedly narcolepsy.”

He sighed.

“In fact, she is slowly recovering even without my intervention. For a body tainted by a blessing to heal naturally is rare indeed.”
“You mean Her Highness is unconsciously using ‘Regeneration.’”
“And as a side effect, she keeps falling asleep.”
“Is it safe to leave her like this? What if overuse leads to a harsher price?”

Arsen’s voice trembled with worry.

“I have warned her often not to rely on it too much. If narcolepsy truly is her price, she may one day never wake again.”

The knight’s unease was plain. Sabbas clicked his tongue.

“Don’t fret too much. A human body has an uncanny instinct for survival.”
“We can’t just sit back and do nothing.”
“There’s no choice. We can only hope ‘Regeneration’ overcomes ‘Mountain.’”

Emperor Euclide rubbed his temples endlessly. Both victim and perpetrator of this disgraceful affair were of imperial blood. The nightmare of seven years ago was repeating itself. Things that should never happen kept happening. As he brooded, a messenger announced a visitor.

“Let them in.”

The doors of the audience hall opened, and an envoy of Tebere in the white uniform of a holy knight entered.

“Herya Deon greets His Imperial Majesty.”
“I had nearly forgotten to send Tebere my reply. Forgive the delay. As you can see, the palace is in turmoil.”
“That is not why I’ve come, Your Majesty.”

The emperor studied his sand-colored eyes carefully.

“Since Her Highness the Saint collapsed, I was too disheartened to even think of your letter. I was entrusted with her care, yet I failed in that duty.”
“Do not trouble yourself. It is not your fault.”
“But I hear the princess has still not awoken. As a humble servant of God, I could not simply stand by when I know a way to help her recover her consciousness.”
“You know a way to wake her?”

The emperor’s eyes narrowed. Even Sabbas, the court’s foremost apothecary, had been unable to rouse her. And now a foreign envoy claimed otherwise. Could this be another scheme of the Papacy? Before suspicion deepened, Herya added quickly:

“This is not Tebere’s will, but my own.”
“Very well, let’s hear it. What method?”

Herya answered with a faint smile.

“I am a priest before I am a knight.”
“Ah. Then you can use Prayer Arts.”

Prayer Arts were divine powers granted to those who walked the priest’s path. Only Tebere’s high clergy could wield them—miracles attained through years of devout prayer. And the knight before him was indeed a high-ranking cleric.

“Though not comparable to fairy blessings, Tebere’s Prayer Arts also carry miraculous power.”

The man’s humble tone caught the emperor by surprise. He seemed different from his last visit—his earnest eyes now sought trust.

“Can your prayer truly awaken Rose?”
“Not just this once. My prayers will continue to aid Her Highness in the future.”

The emperor liked that answer. Trusting his earlier instincts, he nodded.

“Very well. May your prayers take effect on the princess.”
“In return, I have one request.”
“What is it?”

The emperor braced for demands of religious expansion. But what Herya asked was entirely unexpected:

“Grant me the position of the princess’s knight.”