Chapter 20
“Untie him.”
The butler approached with a startled expression. Bernar’s doubtful face came into view. It had been years since he could see at all, and the sudden return of sight seemed to cause Illeon a considerable shock—his head felt slightly dizzy.
“Y-Your Highness…”
Bernar’s voice trembled. Illeon closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“You can cut it if you want.”
At his urging, Bernar finally rushed forward, grabbed scissors, and cut the cloth tied to the bed. Snip. Snip, snip. One arm, two, a leg, another leg. With each piece of tightly bound cloth that had prevented him from harming himself being cut away, the sensation of blood flowing freely back into his limbs was indescribable. Illeon looked down at his own hands, covered in bruises and bloodstains. Contrary to appearance, it didn’t hurt much. He was a knight who had trained for years, and wounds like this were nothing. Moreover, among the traits inherited from Oder’s blood was a strong body and rapid healing. It would likely heal completely within days without even needing medicine.
Illeon moved his own hands and tore off the remaining knots with brute strength. Now that he could see, nothing stood in his way. He no longer needed to grope or rely on touch to move.
Bernar, who had been watching him tremble as if in awe, suddenly dropped to his knees and cried out as if wailing.
“Grand Duke! Your Highness! Congratulations!”
Hearing the sobbing voice, Illeon could sense the heavy burden the man had carried for the past three years. He helped him up and patted his shoulder.
“You’ve worked hard all this time. I owe you for my shortcomings.”
“Not at all! I was only doing my duty.”
Illeon slowly stood up from the bed. After losing his sight, he had walked slightly hunched over, needing to orient himself with his hands or a cane. But now, standing upright again with his vision restored, he seemed somehow larger, as if his body had expanded.
Seeing this, the butler teared up again, forgetting even his pride.
“Thank goodness… truly, thank goodness…”
Illeon asked him,
“By the way, where is Rona? Where is she?”
The Imperial Capital, Constantin Avignon
The place where Hadunsha was located was the northern annex of the imperial palace in the capital. Surrounded by a vast forest of ancient trees whose ages could not be determined, the white stone building exuded a dignified atmosphere. Normally, apart from prayer meeting hours, only birdsong and the sound of an artificial waterfall filled the contemplative space—but today, it was somewhat noisy.
After the disappearance of Elisia and an investigation in Grelosa, the high priest who had been recovering there had returned to Hadunsha.
“That person is High Priest Alejandro,” Iris explained.
Rona looked at him.
The high priest was a middle-aged man with white hair and black eyes. His smooth skin and youthful gaze made him look young, but his hair was completely white like an old man’s, giving him an odd, mysterious presence.
“Hello,” Rona said awkwardly, bowing slightly.
Alejandro smiled wryly at her but still bowed gracefully in a practiced, picture-perfect motion.
“May the blessing of the Five Gods and Oder be with you.”
“May the blessing of the Five Gods and Oder be with you,” Iris and the Duchess of Uther echoed naturally.
Rona felt like a stranded outsider watching them.
“Seeing that you don’t even remember the basics of greeting, it seems you truly have lost your memory,” Alejandro said calmly.
His tone was so polite and intellectual that it made others feel reverent and solemn. It even made one feel as if they should confess anything wrong they had done.
“Could you specify how much memory you’ve lost?” he asked.
“All of it,” Rona replied firmly.
Alejandro examined her again.
“What about your hair?”
“My hair?”
Iris answered for her.
“It looks like it was cut.”
Rona asked, “Why does my hair matter?”
Iris explained quickly.
“Among the clergy, dyeing the tips of the hair white symbolizes purity and a vow to become the voice of God without a single lie.”
Rona looked at her golden hair, wavy and long. It had apparently always been like this; perhaps Elisia had once bleached its ends like theirs.
“This is troublesome,” Alejandro said again.
“Can you hear the voice of God now?”
“No.”
“A scar, but no calling.”
The Duchess of Uther asked anxiously, “What should we do?”
“If she had heard God’s voice despite losing her memories, Elisia would have returned to Hadunsha. She would have known she was a servant of God,” Alejandro said.
Then he asked Rona again,
“Do you remember the passphrase?”
Rona shook her head.
“To not hear God’s voice and not remember the passphrase means she is unqualified as a cleric,” he concluded.
“Wait,” the Duchess said, turning pale.
“This child… was meant to become a high priest.”
“But now it seems the god has withdrawn his grace,” Alejandro said.
“This is unprecedented,” he added.
“The scar remains, but the god has not yet taken his voice away from Elisia.”
“Then Elisia will be excommunicated.”
At those words, the Duchess’s eyes trembled. Rona felt uneasy seeing her reaction.
Alejandro continued, explaining that excommunication would be decided by the sacred council. The Duchess pleaded desperately, but he remained firm yet not entirely unyielding.
“If Elisia regains her memories, please reconsider the excommunication,” she begged.
“That too is for the sacred council to decide,” Alejandro replied.
Eventually, the decision was made.
“Elisia is hereby excommunicated. Elisia Yuter is to leave Hadunsha today.”
The Duchess burst into tears again.
The carriage of House Uther was extremely comfortable. Despite traveling over rough roads, there was little shaking. However, the Duchess remained deeply disheartened.
Rona tried to understand her feelings.
It’s like parents who poured everything into tutoring their child for an elite university, only for them to drop out to start a business.
She felt guilty even though she had done nothing wrong.
What happened to Elisia’s soul now?
Rona wanted to help somehow but couldn’t.
“Mother,” she called.
The Duchess looked up in shock.
“I’m sorry I can’t remember,” Rona said calmly.
“But I believe I can still live happily. My life belongs to me.”
“Elisia…”
“I’ll try to fill in the missing time. I’ll learn everything if you teach me.”
“Ah… my child…”
The Duchess hugged her tightly and cried.
Rona felt like crying too.
What happened to me in the real world? Is my mom okay?
But she soon stopped thinking about it. This world had become her reality.
Illeon searched through his room.
He had entered a knight academy at thirteen. Graduated at sixteen, became captain of the knights, and went to war for seven years. He returned home at twenty-three after losing his sight, and two years had passed since then—he was now twenty-five.
It had been ten years since he last truly lived in this house.
When he opened his eyes, everything felt unfamiliar. When he closed them, it felt comfortable.
“Need to adapt,” he said.
Knock knock.
The butler entered.
“You called for me, Your Highness?”
“I need to go out.”
“Where to? Shall I prepare a carriage?”
“No. I’ll walk.”
He was going to Café Cardinal.
The place where Rona had disappeared.
