015 The Duke is Suspicious (1)
“Cedric Lister! Just break my sword again!”
Elizabeth Mutte, the commander of the Imperial Family Nearby, followed the man with loud footsteps.
In the halls of Romero Palace, where the prince lived, there were more servants and escorts than those of Juliet Palace.
But no one was surprised to see her calling the prince by name.
He just bowed his head towards them with a face that the usual thing is happening again.
“Why don’t the neighbors brag about the abundance of ether?”
It was only natural that she burst into anger. The prince’s condition was remarkably good these days.
He could not control his ‘strength’ during the fight and would break his opponent’s sword or burn his collar.
It was a very positive change when I think about the days when I was struggling with ether depletion for a long time.
But Elizabeth couldn’t help but smile when she remembered her sword, which had already been cut in five, and six uniforms with tanned sleeves.
“David, coffee.”
“I will prepare, my lord.”
“I would like juice, please.”
“Yes, Count So.”
Instead of responding to the whispers of his close friends, the prince called his servant David Capusson and asked for coffee.
Then Elizabeth quickly spoke up.
He couldn’t get a proper apology or answer from Cedric anyway, but the juice his servant gave him was cool and delicious.
The two sat comfortably in the prince’s drawing room.
“Yesterday Prince Jesse asked me. Did you know that the confessional wooden spear broke? The line is also broken.”
“·················ogue.”
Elizabeth emptied more than half of the pineapple juice that Capusson had brought.
He took off his jacket and wiped the sweaty forehead and nape of his neck.
Her neat olive-colored short hair was messed up, but neither she nor the prince cared.
“It’s an old temple, so I thought it was the case, and I was told that I was about to apply for repair. You know I can’t lie There must have been blemishes on his face, but the prince passed by.”
Her gray eyes stared at the prince with irritation. The man was still expressionless.
“I don’t want to lie to him again. Be respectful.”
Contrary to popular rumors, Prince Jesse was gentle and listened to others.
It was shocking that he threatened what he would have heard with words by throwing a dagger.
I was well aware that I had a personality that showed marks wherever I went, but I didn’t know that I could not kill my temper even if it was like that.
“Why don’t you just say it out loud? It’s a plate to be helped every day.”
“Not every day.”
The man finally opened his mouth. Orange eyes showed an unpleasant look.
“Why are you hurting yourself? You are too…”
Elizabeth clicked her tongue and buried her head in the juice glass again.
Cedric fell in thought without even touching the coffee.
It wasn’t even a topic to consider in the first place to tell Prince Jesse about his circumstances.
He was a prince, and he was going to ascend to the throne with the background of ‘political companion’ on his back when the engagement was concluded.
It was impossible to inform the ‘hostage’ of the state of the state that was a secret of the Empire.
Even if the prince was threatened with his life from the new kingdom and was alone in the empire.
but······.
“The Duchy is strange.”
“what?”
Elizabeth put the cup down on the table.
His voice was low, as if he had noticed that the prince wasn’t talking for nothing.
“I led the divine beast and crossed the border between the zodiac and Sarnez, but the beasts could not sense the direction of the divine beast.”
“Should I go closer to Yeongjuseong?”
Sedric tilted his head without saying a word.
As Prince Jesse said, there were not many records or information about the divine beast.
Searching the most secret places of the Imperial Archives did not yield much.
However, it was clear that the divine beast could recognize the energy of the gods from afar, and instinctively turned to the place where the gods were.
The gods were called ‘the messengers of the gods’ sent down from heaven to protect the gods.
Then, it was right that the ‘Blessing of the Blue Sea’, a divine creature that the Duke Sarnez has been protecting from generation to generation, should also radiate the energy that attracts the divine beast.
However, those little divine beasts, even when they reached the Duchy, just hovered around the prince’s feet without any unusual reaction.
I thought that if I let it go, it would find the holy thing on its own, so I turned around, but until Sedric returned to the Imperial Palace, the divine beasts did not leave his back.
It was difficult.
“Isn’t that holy thing also stolen?”
Elizabeth mumbled seriously.
She recalled the theft of the ‘Temple of the Boundary’, which was a riot not so long ago.
“A phantom thief who steals only for the gods has appeared.”
“It’s nonsense.”
The prince broke off the delusion of Count So with words like a sigh.
First of all, as she said, it seemed that the divine beast had to be brought to a place close to the lord of Sarnez.
Maybe the gods are dumber than I thought, so they didn’t know that they were the kind who only had to have a god in front of them to do their job.
The hypothesis that the gods may have disappeared was mere speculation. No, it had to be a guess.
“I need that sickness.”
It was a kind of resolution. At the prince’s words, Elizabeth quietly nodded her head.
The engagement to the Duke of Sarnez would be of great help to Cedric in many ways.
This was especially true in the sense that the sacred object of the household would be given to him as a gift.
‘Changhae’s Blessing’ was the best treasure to solve his chronic ether depletion and his uncontrollable ‘power’.
“Still, don’t you feel good when you use your Shinsei? You say you feel free. It feels free.”
Cedric snorted.
It would be a lie if he said he didn’t like the power he had experienced for the first time after receiving the prince’s ether.
But I had no intention of adding to the nuisance to enjoy it.
‘Strength’ was a talent that would disappear anyway if she was engaged to Christel de Sarnez.
The prince called the servant again. He bit the cold coffee and asked for sage tea.
*
“I will enjoy this food.”
“Listen a lot. I did a good job in the kitchen.”
There was a humble laugh.
After seeing Cardinal Bootier raise the fork, I grabbed the tableware.
The lunch menu was fantastic.
I didn’t know it was such a good thing to be taught by a high person.
It was worthwhile rolling over the floor of the office.
“If you want to meet the paladin in person, I can put you in the Vatican.”
The cardinal said, slicing the roasted asparagus.
I diligently chewed the duck and lifted my head brightly.
“Of course, he was also a paladin, but he probably couldn’t have a good conversation.”
By ‘that child’ here, I meant ‘Peter’, one of the twins of assassins who wanted my life.
Sinki was a priest and Peter was a paladin.
At the end of class, I asked a question about the Paladin, which seemed to be an extension of the story.
“yes. Still, I know what his abilities were. It must be ‘air’.”
“okay.”
she replied I’m revisiting what I learned a while ago.
Unlike the priests, who possess the ‘God’s power’, ether, in its purest form, the Paladins were a group that transformed and used ether in four special forms.
The four were roughly expected from the beginning, but the author of ‘Toegye Gong’ incorporated the powers of water, fire, air, and earth into the paladin setting.
It seems to have been inspired by the novel of the temple.
Peter wanted to suffocate me, so his power was ‘air’ without a second thought.
“I don’t think it’s necessary to make an appointment. Maybe you will see it at least once in your life?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
At my words, the cardinal smiled and turned his gaze to the plate.
I bit the tail of my thoughts as I dipped the bread in Mul-Marinière’s sauce.
A paladin possesses only one special ether until he dies, and the amount of ether consumed varies according to the level of ability.
I naturally remembered the kid who had stopped by my room last night as well.
When asked again if he was a priest or a paladin, Sadie remained silent.
“Do paladins or priests often use their divine power until the ether is depleted?”
“It’s rare for a priest.”
said the cardinal firmly.
“Unless the healing power is overused, the priest will rarely run out of ether.”
“okay.”
“Well, there are exceptions like you.”
“ha ha ha······.”
It wasn’t that I used a lot, but a son of a certain family stole it.
“But the paladin is different. The special ether gnaws at the divine power by its very existence, and as it manifests outside the body, it tests the divine power once more. Paladins are responsible for protecting the priest, so there are many things to use their abilities even if they don’t.”
The cardinal raised his eyebrows slightly. It was a smile that looked awkward.
“The reason paladins and priests go as a pair is for a stable supply of ether.”
So, it was said to be inefficient.
It doesn’t matter if a priest like me uses pure ether, but since the Paladin uses ether in the form of water or fire, it seems that resources are doubled.
“Your Majesty, I know that paladins are only born in a new country.”
I continued my query.
This was the reason why Sadie couldn’t make a quick conclusion that she was a paladin.
This was the heart of the Lister Empire, far away from the New Kingdom.
“I don’t know what it is in reality, but that’s how it was written in the book. ‘A priest makes his first cry anywhere on the continent. It is because the Lord looks down upon human beings. But the paladin only awakens in the land of the gods’…”
“’Because he must defend him with life.’”
As a cardinal whispered, he completed the sentence. Her eyes met with a secretive look.
-smart
“come in.”
I stared blankly into my eyes, and then I came to my senses.
When I turned my eyes, I saw the cardinal’s attendant entering the dining room.
“Sorry during the meal, my lord. Prince.”
“it’s okay. What’s going on?”
“The Emperor has sent you an invitation to the spring ball. We would like to deliver it immediately in honor of Hwang Myung.”
“Okay, it’s already time for that. thank you.”
Ah, it’s finally here. I don’t have to go anyway, but my heart is pounding for nothing.
Knowing that I was in the Imperial Palace, I was surprised to send an invitation to this place.
While the cardinal opened his invitation, the servant approached with my share of paper on a silver tray.
“This is an invitation from the Prince. Here is also a letter from the Duchess of Sarnez.”
“yes?”
As I looked at the emperor’s coat of arms stamped with cherry-colored sealing wax, I doubted my ears.
“For me?”
“Yes, it says ‘To the noble Prince Jesse Penetian’.”
“Why did he, the Duchess, tell me . . .”
The servant Natalie had a troubled expression on her face. How would I know that? It was a face.
I forcefully moved my disliked finger to pick up the letter.
The paper felt especially heavy because of the main character’s last name, ‘Sarnez’.
“The Duchess of Sarnez would be in the palace now. Did you get it right away?”
Cardinal Bootier asked Natalie.
“That’s right. It is said that the Duchess delivered a letter to the vassal while the Duchess had entered the palace with Princess Kristel to attend an audience with His Majesty the Emperor.”
I once saw the cardinal nodded like everyone else, then looked down at the letter in my hand again.
The signature ‘Duke Isabelle de Sarnez’ was clearly visible.
Since they clearly pointed out me, I couldn’t pretend not to know or avoid it this time.
Even more disturbing was the existence of Christel.
The thought that she was in the same place as me right now, maybe even in this imperial palace, gave me a little fear.
“I wonder what it will be about.”
I opened the folded letter. Wouldn’t it be great if it was just a greeting.