Chapter – 41
That evening.
Grandfather had gone to the Imperial Palace because of some business, so the ducal residence was quiet. I had rested all afternoon as well, so I was completely sober.
‘At this point, there are two things bothering me.’
One was that I had gotten way too drunk and emotional with Cesare… and the second was what Mayer had said.
‘A Saintess’s divine power can’t turn back time? Then what am I?’
I was the very person who had experienced Melissa unleashing divine power and returning one year into the past.
‘But now that I think about it, Ppiyakie also said she doesn’t know that much about divine power either….’
Still, neither of those things was something I needed to worry about right now. There was nothing I could change, nothing I could investigate further at the moment, and nothing urgently necessary. And I was the type of efficient person who cut off unnecessary worries quickly.
Most of all…
“Even if your marriage goes the way you want, it’ll still be difficult to get along with Prince Hiten.”
Originally, one of my goals had been to become enough of an equal conversation partner to Grandfather that I could openly tell him Hiten was targeting our family. Then I thought Grandfather might say, “Really? I had no idea. I’ll look into it myself!” and handle everything on his own.
But Grandfather had casually said that to me.
‘He already knows that Hiten dislikes the Prelai Ducal House. He already knows the relationship has broken down beyond repair.’
If that was the case, then even if I warned him, nothing much would change.
‘…Right. I was being terribly unfilial. I was trying to dump everything onto my poor elderly grandfather.’
In the end, I gave up the idea of leaving everything to Grandfather and washing my hands of it. I had to do the best I personally could.
Anyway, with a completely clear mind, I secretly left the ducal residence. Instead of the flashy dresses noble ladies wore, I was dressed in a plain checkered one-piece dress worn by commoners. I even wore round glasses as part of my disguise.
Now that I had figured out where the holy relic was, it was time to retrieve it quickly. After all, the High Priest had already spilled the location to me without hesitation. I had absolutely no confidence that he would keep it hidden from others.
“Lady, are you really sure about this…?”
The spy maid followed behind me anxiously. I smiled brightly and said,
“Didn’t both you and I learn this time that your muscles just aren’t enough?”
If there was one thing I realized earlier in the market alley, it was that I needed stronger protection than I had expected.
“You lost me in nothing more than a crowd. This is secretive business, and if I take you along, you’ll only get in the way.”
The spy maid looked devastated. Feeling a little sorry for her expression, I patted her arm.
“Of course, physical strength isn’t a spy’s greatest virtue, so don’t take it too hard.”
“…From now on, I’ll attend the knights’ dawn training sessions, Lady.”
The spy maid clenched her fists sadly.
“I think I finally understand why Lord Ppiyakie always wants to stick close to you. I can’t believe I have to miss witnessing such a rare spectacle….”
At those words, I glared at the spy maid with chilling eyes.
“How dare you treat me like some kind of spectacle? I’m getting very angry right now, you know?”
Grinding my teeth irritably, I spoke sternly.
“To atone for this sin, right now you should go and buy cof—”
Just as I was ambitiously about to say the word coffee—
“No, Lady! Someone’s coming!”
The spy maid immediately changed the subject, and at that moment a gentle male voice politely interrupted.
“You’ve come out, Lady.”
The man now standing beside me was none other than Avian Rishinis. Dressed in ordinary clothes rather than his captain-of-the-guard uniform, Avian smiled awkwardly.
“What brings you out this late at night…?”
Earlier that morning, I had sent the spy maid to deliver a letter to the Rishinis Ducal House. I had written that I would give him a chance to repay his debt to me if he escorted me during tonight’s outing. And Avian had arrived in front of the ducal residence right on time, dressed plainly like me.
“Ah, there’s somewhere rather dangerous I want to go. But as you can see, I’m rather delicate.”
I explained while waving my thin arms around.
“Lately Grandfather seems to have become very fond of me, so if I asked the Prelai Knights for an escort, the matter would probably become too big.”
“Ah, I see.”
“But I can’t go alone either, so I need protection… though ordinary guards probably won’t be enough….”
Looking at Avian’s somewhat bewildered face, I smiled brightly.
“So I decided to give Captain of the Guard a chance to repay his debt. You only need to escort me tonight and keep your mouth shut. Simple, right?”
In Melissa’s memories, Avian was an extremely discreet and serious man. He repaid debts so faithfully that it bordered on stubbornness, and he protected Melissa’s secrets until the very end. Since he had become captain of the guard at such a young age, his martial skill went without saying. So he was the perfect companion for this dangerous nighttime outing.
“So where exactly are you going? Just how dangerous is this place…?”
“To Allford Harbor.”
“…Pardon?”
“To be exact, we need to go to Pier 4 of Allford Harbor.”
Avian swallowed dryly with a somewhat grave expression.
Allford was a small harbor, but because it was close to the capital, it handled quite a bit of cargo traffic. Not long ago, Allford Harbor had undergone a massive search operation because of smuggling. An enormous quantity of contraband had been uncovered, turning the place upside down once already.
“Lady, if by any chance you’re trying to get involved in smuggling…”
“If I were a smuggler, I wouldn’t do something as foolish as bringing the Captain of the Guard with me, would I?”
“Hmm….”
I casually dispelled Avian’s suspicion and kindly added,
“Your logical reasoning seems a bit weak. Maybe you should study more mathematics? You said you got stuck on functions, didn’t you? We can discuss where to start little by little later, but for now just focus on protecting me well tonight.”
“…Understood.”
Avian answered in a low voice.
“However, once all of this is over, would you perhaps answer my questions?”
“Yes. After we finish talking about functions.”
Answering cheerfully, I climbed up together with Avian. His face seemed to darken slightly.
‘Ugh, Crown Prince whose face I can barely even remember! I’m going this far for your sake!’
To think that a frail scholar like me was riding a horse instead of a carriage…. I let out a sigh, waved once at the spy maid, and set off.
The spy maid was already jogging in place to train her body. She waved sadly as she saw me off.
Allford Harbor, Pier 4.
“The ship’s not leaving, I said it’s not leaving. The guards are watching like hawks right now. This is the time to lie low.”
The harbor, once bustling with smugglers and middlemen, was quiet.
“Didn’t you hear about the crackdown a few days ago? There aren’t any ships operating right now. But instead….”
There were many people secretly approaching the loiterers.
“There is a pretty decent way to make money. Since you’re here anyway, wanna come take a look?”
It was an area swarming with vicious-looking people, obviously a bad neighborhood no matter who looked at it.
Of course, even the pyramid-scheme recruiters instinctively avoided one particular man cautiously.
That man was Cesare.
Cesare strode forward without hesitation and entered a path tucked away in the corner of the pier.
Among the docks lined with all kinds of shady establishments stood a small statue of the Goddess. Even though the temple had been shut down, the little statue still guarded this corner of the harbor.
Every sailor believed in superstition. That was why no one touched the Goddess statue. Whenever the weather turned bad or they had to transport something truly important, everyone prayed before the statue.
Cesare glanced once at the position of the moon.
Then, without hesitation, he firmly pressed the smallest scale on the fish carving the Goddess statue was holding.
Not long afterward, a black, glossy pebble rolled out from beneath the statue’s feet. The pebble bore the emblem of Tailrise engraved upon it.
The moment he grabbed the pebble, it immediately began emitting a brilliant light. The holy relic had reacted to royal blood.
“So the High Priest did use his head a little.”
Cesare smirked and tucked the holy relic into his robe.
Sailors treasured the Goddess statue deeply and would never dare treat it carelessly. Since the temple’s closure, outsiders no longer bothered praying to the statue. Naturally, no one would think to touch it. The High Priest, being a man of the temple, knew the statue’s secret mechanism well and had hidden it there.
‘When moonlight shines upon the Goddess statue located at Pier 4 of Allford Harbor, press the smallest scale on the fish carving, and it will roll out from beneath the statue’s feet.’
Honestly, even Cesare himself thought it was such a difficult location and method that he never could have predicted it. Without Kiana’s unexpected help, discovering it would have been nearly impossible.
