Chapter 13

#013 Little Guest (3)

The difference is this.

My room in the Palace of Juliet is similar to the central library of a university campus.

It's the fact that while cherry blossoms are starting to bloom outside, I have to study indoors, and the fact that the white noise from the servants, including Bézame and Ganel, who often come in and out, helps me.

On the other hand, the confessional in the royal chapel feels like the premium study room that Eunseo used to attend last year.

It's narrow and dim, but the chair is comfortable and there are partitions.

It's similar in that I can fall asleep easily because the only sounds are my breathing and the rustling of my clothes.

This brat, why isn't he here? Is he not coming today?

“‘Regulating the flow of ether is simple if it is simple, and complicated if it is complicated. The simplest training method is to freely change the size of the circle...’ So, that’s it.”

I read the textbook aloud to keep the drowsiness at bay.

These days, I sometimes get confused about whether I'm in the Royal Academy or in a school setting.

Apart from the recently added confessional ceremony, all I do in the palace is sleep, eat, and study.

Of course, I don't dislike it.

It's a hundred, a thousand times better to live quietly and luxuriously like a college student preparing for exams than to be swept up in a love affair I don't deserve and die.

If I keep this up, I'll be able to go home.

I looked down at the floor.

My circle, which I had reduced in size, was now sprawling out of the confessional.

I recalled how the cardinal had pressured me on the first day of tutoring by freely increasing and decreasing the size of his sacred space.

Let's give it a try. I have nothing else to do while waiting.

I took a deep breath and exhaled.

Focusing my mind, I imagined turning the ether faucet halfway and relaxed my body.

-Tsutsutsu...

The sacred space, as if it had a will of its own, hesitated slightly before slowly shrinking.

As the diameter of the light source decreased, the confessional, which had been brightly lit without shadows, became dim as if a mood light had been turned on.

“This works.”

It succeeded easily again. I tilted my head.

When it comes to handling ether, everything I intend seems to proceed quite smoothly.

It was the same when I dealt with the assassin twins, and when the confessional ceremony went well.

Is it the same for other priests?

According to Bézame yesterday, the only priests residing in the palace are me and Cardinal Boutier.

Moreover, I am the only one officially appointed, while the cardinal stays as the emperor's partner.

So, the only priest I can talk to is the cardinal, but she is called the genius of the century, so she doesn't seem like an appropriate comparison.

Well, it's good to have something I'm good at.

There was no reason to interpret it negatively, so I maintained a positive attitude.

Feeling a bit hungry, I closed the book and opened the picnic basket Bézame had prepared.

Some people might scold me for setting up house in the confessional, but I can't help it because my concentration drops when I'm hungry.

“Here, you put it.”

The antipyretic and digestive aids I had asked Ganel for yesterday were in one corner of the basket.

I couldn't tell what was in the round medicine container, so I opened the lid and sniffed.

It had a bitter herbal scent. It seemed like something to apply to a scrape.

There's food, two bottles of tea, and medicine.

No one, not even a child or an ant, has visited the confessional for hours.

I thought I'd wait another 30 minutes and then call it a day since it would be evening soon.

“Wow, this is really crazy.”

In the meantime, the calisson I had taken a bite of was incredibly delicious. I couldn't help but exclaim aloud.

It tastes like fruit. Is there melon in it?

Taking a sip of the ginkgo leaf tea, the slightly bitter aftertaste of the tea complemented the sweetness of the calisson perfectly.

While alternately sipping the tea and nibbling on the calisson, my gaze suddenly fell on the rope attached to the left side of the confessional.

It was still cut at the end where the boy had thrown his dagger a few days ago.

I stopped snacking and turned my eyes to the right.

I saw the wooden window that had been pierced by the dagger, leaving a gaping hole.

Only then did I feel a sense of unease.

Why didn't Sir Elizabeth say anything about the confessional being in this state?

Could she not know yet?

But it's hard to believe that she didn't search the area when the prince collapsed.

It could have been due to health issues or divine power, but in a situation where someone could have been attacked while alone, it's unlikely that Sir Elizabeth, the commander of the palace guard, didn't check the surroundings.

Did she know and just cover it up?

I stiffened at the thought.

-Knock knock

I was startled again by the sudden knock.

It wasn't from the next compartment but from the door where I was.

A strange woman's voice was heard. I briefly pondered what to do and then opened the door.

The woman outside looked to be in her late thirties.

When our eyes met, she was startled and bowed deeply with her sturdy frame.

“Oh, I see a noble person. I, I didn't think the prince would be here...”

“It's fine. But how did you know I was inside...”

I clearly put up a sign saying 'Priest is absent' when I came in.

“That's because I saw this on the floor...”

I followed her finger and looked down.

The circle I had reduced in size earlier had somehow grown and spilled out of the confessional.

It must have been because the calisson was so delicious that I lost control...

“Ah, I see. Yes, I'm here for confession. Have you eaten?”

I was embarrassed and started talking about anything.

*

“I am honored, Your Highness. To receive the royal food... I will treat it as communion.”

What is communion?

There was a sacrament where the priest gives food to the believers, but I vaguely remembered it was related to that.

I couldn't recall the exact meaning, timing, or what was given.

I need to study this properly.

“There's tea too.”

I handed a few calissons to the woman and poured ginkgo leaf tea into the small cup Ganel had prepared.

When I extended the cup through the broken wooden window, she hastily took it.

I could see her fingertips trembling.

“I, I am honored. I will never forget this. Oh my...”

“Please enjoy it.”

I didn't bring it to eat alone anyway.

I waited for the confession to begin while listening to the woman slowly nibbling on the calisson.

After moistening her mouth with the tea, she began.

“Ahem, the last confession was... ten years... no, twelve years ago, I think.”

“Yes, please continue.”

“I work as a caretaker of the mountain behind the palace with my husband. Thanks to His Majesty's grace, the work is not too strenuous. When we see dangerous wild animals, we catch and remove them. We check if the trees are diseased and report any suspicious activity to the palace guards.”

“The mountain behind the palace, you mean the mountain behind the Palace of Juliet?”

“Yes, yes.”

I recalled the mountain visible beyond the training ground behind my room.

When I first saw it, I only thought, 'There's a mountain here, so there will probably be a lot of mosquitoes in the summer,' but I didn't know there were caretakers.

“A while ago, some creatures that looked like demons appeared, and my husband and I scared them away.”

“Demons?”

My voice suddenly grew louder in surprise.

It's not like we're near Bukhansan, and now I have to worry about wild animals appearing?

“It's not that rare. Since it's a small mountain extending from a large mountain range, sometimes creatures come down along the ridges. The strong barrier around the palace prevents dangerous ones from entering, so only small creatures like rabbits occasionally appear.”

“Hmm...”

I let out a sigh of relief.

It's already unfair to die getting involved in someone else's love story, but dying from a wild boar attack while taking a walk would be even more of a shock.

“Anyway, after that incident... these small creatures kept reappearing. I was worried they hadn't been eaten by other animals and were still lingering... so a few days ago, we set a fire to drive them away.”

I had read about this in a book.

Demons have various abilities, but they fear water and fire. It said that using this to your advantage can make hunting them easier.

“I forgot about it after they disappeared. But today, while talking with the carpenters in the palace... I heard that they might be divine beasts.”

“Divine beasts?”

I recalled a phrase I had read in a book about demons.

‘From ancient times, when divine beasts appeared, those with divine power would lead them to the divine realm.’ It was something like that.

There were no illustrations to reference, so I thought it was just a folktale.

“Yes, they say that since the servants of the Palace of Juliet have been having good dreams since the prince arrived, the divine beasts might be coming to absorb that energy.”

“Ha ha...”

My cheeks burned when I heard that the talk about dreams had spread throughout the palace.

I should have stopped the servants from flattering me.

Early education is important for this reason.

“Since the prince arrived, I haven't had any dreams, but I've been sleeping soundly or having good dreams. I've never seen such creatures in my 20 years as a caretaker. They seem to follow people, so I wondered if they were divine beasts.”

Agnes's voice grew softer.

“So, I came to seek forgiveness. Maxim said that tormenting a divine beast is a serious sin. My husband said it wouldn't be, though.”

Maxim? Isn't he the carpenter who made my sign?

[Well, um. First of all, it was good that you didn't harm the small animals and just drove them away. The Lord would have seen it as a kind act.]

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

[Even if they were divine beasts, there was nothing else you could have done as caretakers. Divine beasts can only be tamed by those with divine power. So...]

I suddenly ran out of things to say.

It wasn't easy to switch from a side character to a professional.

[I forgive you. I know you did it for the safety of the palace. If this happens again, please inform the royal guard first. You can tell Commander Elizabeth about my words. This is my blessing.]

Agnes kept muttering her thanks.

In the bright light, she seemed to be crying a little.

*

I waited for four hours in the confessional, but the brat who threw a dagger at me and stole my ether didn't show up at all.

Agnes was my first and last guest today.

“There are many books about demons.”

So, now I'm standing in front of the table in my pajamas.

I returned to my room, had dinner with Bézame and Ganel, took a bath, and am now looking through new books.

Since it seems like this will be a long-term battle with the brat, it's better to focus on my studies as usual during my free time.

“There are almost no books about divine beasts.”

Are they really like legendary animals?

If so, Agnes might feel more at ease.

-Rustle, rustle

The curtain fluttered. The pages of the book rustled in the wind.

Ganel usually comes to check the doors every evening, but today the balcony door was wide open for some reason.

“I must have forgotten.”

I moved to the balcony, closed the door, and drew the curtain. It wasn't cold.

In Korea, spring can be quite chilly, but here it has been warm since March.

“Your servant has done his job.”

...What?

“Despite having so much ether, you are incredibly dull.”

At the clear voice, I slowly turned around. My body felt stiff.

A small figure filled my vision.

Black hair like ink, and amber eyes that became even more vivid in the light.

That damn brat was standing right in the middle of my room.