TSHF 20

Chapter 20

“I wasn’t staring because he’s handsome.”

If I wanted to admire a beautiful face, I wouldn’t have to look far.

I could just look in the mirror and be done with it.

At my comment, Hist tilted his head, folding his arms.

“Then why were you staring so hard? Don’t tell me you were having scary thoughts again?”

“Dragons and spirits are incompatible. Did you know that?”

“Of course. Spirit power is generally considered a form of divine power.”

“Then that means a ‘Child of God,’ who can contract with spirits, is also incompatible with dragons, right?”

“In theory, yes.”

As I exchanged this brief Q&A with him, I slowly reached for the shelf.

Hist seemed too focused on me to notice.

“What do you think of the fact that a royal of Lornord—descendants of dragons—made a contract with spirits? Does that make me a freak?”

“Why would you be a freak?”

Hist responded as if I’d asked something obvious.

“You’re not really of Lornord royal blood, are you—oh, crap!”

Clack!

Hist hastily grabbed my wrist.

The red liquid inside the vial I was about to throw sloshed ominously.

“Princess, lying seems to be your habit, huh? Didn’t you say you weren’t planning anything scary?”

“What makes you think you can trust me?”

I tightened my wrist in his grip and whispered.

“Don’t you know you can’t trust anyone in this imperial palace?”

“Wow—if I collapse from this, how are you going to handle the cleanup?”

“Don’t be scared. It’s not that dangerous.”

Just something that erases a bit of memory?

Well, with a few possible side effects.

As I spoke, Hist quickly snatched the vial from my hand.

Of course, I expected to lose in terms of strength, so I wasn’t disappointed.

‘That was just a distraction anyway.’

Only then did Hist seem to realize my true intentions. He made a regretful expression and sighed deeply.

He gently placed the poison back on the shelf and spoke.

“I wasn’t planning to tell anyone anyway. So, can you move that Modwey up there?”

[Hmph!]

As he said, Modwey was waiting right above Hist’s head.

Clutching another vial in its tiny claws that it had snatched from me earlier.

If Hist had even hinted at threatening me or made a suspicious move, Modwey was ready to pour it all on him.

[Tsk tsk~ You noticed too late~?]
[Too bad! So close!]
[Guess even freaks like her can’t see us if we completely hide our presence.]

“Modwey.”

I held out my hand, and Modwey flitted over and dropped the vial into my palm.

It was another amnesiac like the red one—but milder and with fewer side effects.

‘Well… I haven’t tested it on a human yet, though.’

Still, I learned one clear thing from this.

Just as Nesgal had said—if spirits hide their presence carefully enough, even Hist can’t see them.

And…

“If you’re not a Lornord royal, you’d better watch out for assassins.”

“So violent.”

Hist grimaced at me but quickly changed his expression to a wide, goofy grin.

“That’s why I like you.”

I frowned slightly at the unpredictable man in front of me.

‘…Wasn’t that a threat?’

It was supposed to be a threat.

Guys like him, so chaotic and carefree, were hard for me to deal with.

‘I shouldn’t have dropped the mask.’

Because of Modwey’s incident, I’d let my emotions slip and showed my true face too easily.

With people like him, it’s easier to act bright and clueless.

‘Oh well.’

I could still use this opportunity to extract new information from him.

I tucked the vial Modwey had handed me back onto the shelf and asked,

“When did you figure out I wasn’t of royal blood?”

“Just now. You said it yourself. You pointed out that Lornord royals can’t become Children of God.”

“And you’re sure I’m a ‘Child of God’?”

“Without a doubt. Just look at those spirits flying around.”

Hist seemed fascinated by the spirits—he couldn’t take his eyes off them.

Seeing that, Nesgal glared in displeasure.

[Impudent human! Don’t stare at us!]
[Nesgal~ You’re paying too much attention to that guy~]
[Hmph! I hate him! Don’t let him look at our master either!]

“Oh, they’re talking again.”

Muttering to himself, Hist observed the spirits and then spoke casually.

“But one’s missing, right? Aren’t there supposed to be four?”

At his remark, I slowly closed and opened my eyes.

“If you’re talking about the Earth spirit, unfortunately I haven’t contracted with it.”

“Really? I suppose it’s hard to contract with four spirits, even for a princess.”

“Now that I think about it, didn’t you call it favoritism earlier? Because I’d made contracts with three spirits.”

“Ah—right. According to the records, most Children of God only contract with one spirit. At most two, if they’re truly blessed. More than that is considered extremely rare.”

“One?”

At my question, Hist nodded lightly.

At that, Nesgal exploded in outrage and stormed over to Hist.

[Hey! You dare belittle our master without knowing anything! Our master is more than capable of contracting all four of us!]

“I think this one likes me best. Look—it’s even warming me up with fire.”

Somehow using magic, Hist grinned like a child as he stirred the fire with his fingers.

I turned to Modwey and Marin beside me and asked silently,

‘Is that true? Are people usually limited to only one spirit contract?’

[Umm~ I dunno! But I don’t think we’ve ever had the same master before!]
[I have~. Maybe twice, with Dimody~.]

Marin swam over and slapped Hist on the cheek with her tail.

“Ow.”

[Still~ That wizard’s not wrong~. I’ve only seen that happen with Dimody~.]

Dimody…

An unfamiliar name—the Earth spirit.

As I repeated that name, Nesgal returned to me, ending his showdown with Hist.

[Master can definitely contract with Dimody too. I can feel an immense blessing within you!]

‘I know, so don’t worry.’

“Wow, you’re talking to the spirit with your eyes, right? That’s so cool.”

Hist’s eyes sparkled with envy—he was clearly interested in spirits.

He kept staring at mine longingly.

I pulled Nesgal, Marin, and Modwey into my arms and glared at him.

In response, Hist just shrugged.

“Anyone without spirits must feel so left out.”

“If a Child of God normally contracts with one spirit, then… did the previous one contract with the Earth spirit?”

Hist nodded enthusiastically.

“Yup.”

‘Then something must’ve happened to them.’

That would explain why Dimody hadn’t appeared to me.

Maybe understanding my question, Hist leaned in closer with excited eyes.

“Princess, can you contract with the Earth spirit too? Ah~ is that why this guy got mad at me earlier? Because he thought I was disrespecting you?”

[You purple-haired brat! How dare you joke that I like you while knowing I’m furious!]

“See? He’s mad again. Keep this up and I’ll get attached to you.”

[You insolent fool! I’ll burn you to ash!]
[Oh my~ Nesgal’s totally falling for that wizard~.]
[You two are getting along! Don’t get close without me! Wah!]

“Hist, your turn.”

“Hahaha! Why?”

“My predecessor as the Child of God—was her name Heather?”

“Huh? How’d you know?”

Hist grinned widely.

“Cardinal Heather. She was named the next Pope, but unfortunately, she died young. So you know that name, huh? You must be really interested in the Church of Dalia.”

At his words, I sighed involuntarily.

‘Of course I do… because that person… is my biological father.’

Listening to Hist’s words, a stronger suspicion grew in my heart.

‘Why did God choose me?’

Was it simply because my mother was a “possessed one”?

Because I’m a character who didn’t appear in the original story?

‘If that’s all it was, the power I have is too immense.’

If Hist’s words were true, I had power far exceeding that of an average Child of God.

Even using all three spirits—Marin, Modwey, and Nesgal—simultaneously never once tired me out.

‘And now it turns out I could contract with Dimody too.’

Given all this, there had to be more than just my mother’s background.

‘Then that leaves only one possibility.’

My father.

My biological father.

The one whose name was mentioned only once in my mother’s diary.

“Heather…”

While discussing the Earth spirit, a sudden realization struck me.

That my biological father might also be connected to God.

Maybe… he was the previous Child of God.

‘I asked just in case… I didn’t think it’d actually be true.’

Hist, unprompted, continued the story.

“I never met him myself, but the Pope always speaks of him with such regret. He said Heather was incredibly bright, loved all creation deeply, and had a noble heart.”

“…”

“But 25 years ago, he left to investigate a rift in the world—and never returned.”

“Never returned? They never even found a body?”

“Apparently not. That’s why the Pope grieves him so much.”

‘The Emperor…’

That thought surfaced in me like instinct.