Chapter 26. Eye of the Storm
“The reason for contact.”
“Specific information about the ‘saintess’.”
It was after Theo learned that Delkan was a pawn of the Bios Empire.
Ulysse investigated the letter Delkan was trying to send to the Empire.
To be precise, it was data about the prophecy.
The main content of the prophecy was that if a saintess with the imperial family’s imprint is sacrificed, one can obtain the power of god.
‘Saintess’
The messenger of Goddes Daphne mentioned in the forbidden book.
The ‘saintess’ in the forbidden book was described like this:
The saintess, filled with divine light, is white and brilliant.
When the saintess sets foot in the world, red dots will appear on both ears.
When the saintess’s mark appears, the reason why she is needed in the world will be revealed.
The saintess can both illuminate the world and make it disappear.
If you encounter the saintess, pray.
So that through the messenger, Goddess Daphne can keep the world safe.
Light the way so that the saintess does not fall into darkness.
That was all there was to the story of the saintess recorded in the forbidden book.
Delkan had been searching for the saintess based on this record. With that obsession alone, he discovered Yuelina.
Yuelina had red dots on both ears and lived with the concept of a ‘tribe’ on an island country not found on any map.
Although Delkan taught her the common language, the tribes only used their own language.
It was that isolated of an island.
If it weren’t for Delkan’s obsession to find the saintess, the existence of Luhae Island might not have been discovered even now.
But to Theo, the forbidden book was just an ancient text.
The world recorded in the forbidden book was very different from now.
The people in the forbidden book knew how to use magic directly and were full of unfamiliar races.
The problem was that the Emperor firmly believed in the prophecy of the Bios temple.
He was full of greed to make the imperial state into an empire1T/N: 황국 into a 제국, and from an empire to the sun of this world.
Just looking at the Book of Prophecy showed that. It only said one would gain ‘power’, but not what kind of power or how it would be gained.
But if Yuelina had even one similarity to the saintess, the Emperor was the type to bet on that possibility.
He would willingly try to sacrifice Yuelina as an offering.
So that’s why he pushed for Yuelina’s marriage to him, even blocking Theo’s marriage.
Theo never had any intention of sacrificing Yuelina from the start.
Above all, the idea of sacrificing someone to gain power was quite ridiculous.
What did they want to become with such power anyway?
“So, what did you find out?”
“First, it seems they want to make sure if Her Highness the Grand Duchess is really the ‘saintess’.”
“Oh?”
Theo was intrigued.
If Yuelina wasn’t the saintess, he could imprint her right now and keep her by his side for life.
“What did the elder priest say?”
“He says Her Highness the Grand Duchess is likely the saintess. Because ‘Luhae Island’ was warm.”
“What?”
“The seasons on ‘Luhae Island’ started to change after Her Highness the Grand Duchess completed her coming-of-age ceremony and got the red dots.”
“Then…”
“It seems they judged it matches the saintess in the forbidden book. As the times have changed, the appearance of the saintess has also changed, they say.”
Theo closed his mouth.
It would have been better if Yuelina wasn’t the saintess, but…
Being the saintess wouldn’t change anything.
What husband would give his wife as a sacrifice?
“There’s one more thing. The reason they’re certain Her Highness the Grand Duchess is the saintess.”
“What is it?”
“When coming down from the ‘Eye of the Storm’, there was a rock inscribed with the language used by the people of Luhae Island.”
Theo looked at Ulysse.
“A rock?”
“Among the words written on the rock, the elder priest remembered only one word. When he wrote it down for Delkan, he recognized it immediately.”
“…What was the word?”
“‘Protection’. He said it was on a rock in the middle of the Eye of the Storm mountain. The content was longer, he said.”
Eye of the Storm.
It was the name for the mountain where the main temple of Daphne was located.
“I’ll try to contact the people of Luhae Island separately. They might know something about the rock.”
The main temple was located at the top of a mountain entirely covered in eternal snow.
From the entrance, a massive typhoon raged, and the harsh snowfall made it impossible to see ahead.
That’s why people called it the Eye of the Storm.
Only recognized priests could enter the Eye of the Storm.
Priests who entered couldn’t come out until they stepped down from their priestly duties.
Priests who retired and came out into the world couldn’t even remember what they did in the temple.
But there’s a rock with the language of Luhae Island inside that Eye of the Storm?
Theo stroked his chin.
“Did Your Highness… perhaps see it?”
“No.”
“I see. Understood.”
Theo poured a full glass of wine.
Thinking of the Eye of the Storm automatically made him think of alcohol.
It felt like that wretched snow was still chasing him.
* * *
Ulysse climbed the stairs of the tower early in the morning. Every time he climbed, he thought he was seriously lacking in exercise.
He heard that Theo told Yuelina she could use any room in the Black Mansion.
But Yuelina said she had gotten used to the attic room and wouldn’t change rooms.
“Are you okay?”
Ulysse looked back at the bespectacled woman following him.
“Is this hard for you, brother?”
“Yeah. Isn’t it hard for you?”
“Didn’t you go to war following His Highness the Grand Duke?”
Ulysse pouted his lips as he looked at his grumbling sister.
Her name was Maelyn.
She was Ulysse’s younger sister by one year.
“How do you feel about becoming Her Highness the Grand Duchess’s lady-in-waiting?”
“Thinking about seeing your face while working makes me a bit…”
“Even when you speak…”
Despite her grumbling words, Maelyn’s expression was flushed with excitement.
She was the Grand Duchess of the principality.
Just becoming her lady-in-waiting would get her invited to various social gatherings and parties.
Ulysse, the head of the family and responsible for Maelyn’s livelihood, was terrible at social gatherings.
He even let his own debutante pass by uneventfully, causing him to cry for days.
“What kind of person is Her Highness the Grand Duchess?”
“She’s kind. And gentle.”
“And?”
“His Highness the Grand Duke cares for her a lot.”
Maelyn nodded.
She had already heard rumors that the Grand Duke had gone on a date with the Grand Duchess in the square.
Maelyn’s friend, who had seen their backs from afar, also said the two looked quite good together.
“Your Highness the Grand Duchess, I’m coming in.”
“Yes, come in.”
Before opening the door, Ulysse looked at Maelyn with a stern expression.
“Don’t be careless. Don’t say unnecessary things, and don’t talk about what you see here outside.”
“Am I an idiot?”
“The two are married, but it can’t be seen as a marriage. Do you understand what I mean?”
Maelyn shrugged her shoulders.
Ulysse opened the door and entered with her.
Yuelina was in the middle of changing her dress with Raye’s help.
Maelyn saw her and greeted her politely.
“Hello, Your Highness the Grand Duchess. I’m Maelyn Ardante. I will do my best as Your Highness the Grand Duchess’s lady-in-waiting from now on.”
“Thank you, no… Thank you, Maelyn.”
Maelyn tried to manage her expression.
Ulysse had talked her ears off about the attic room where the Grand Duchess lived.
Perhaps because of that, she felt it was cozier than expected.
Of course, if it were the Grand Duchess’s bedroom, it should normally be full of luxurious furniture and decorations, not a simple attic room.
Yuelina was the Grand Duchess of the ‘Phaenyx’ principality, so it could be a special case.
But Maelyn was unprepared for Yuelina’s appearance.
She had just heard she was a foreigner, but didn’t know she would be this fair and beautiful.
Moreover, her hair color was something she had never seen before. It was so white it sparkled.
This foolish brother should have warned her about the Grand Duchess’s appearance first, not about the environment she was living in.
Maelyn approached Yuelina with the most calm face she could manage.
“Since it’s the first day, may I personally attend to Your Highness by your side?”
“Ah,”
Yuelina looked at Raye. Raye took a step back.
“I’ll also take care of the training ground work today.”
Raye had been neglecting the training ground work for a while to take care of Yuelina.
Being with Yuelina was so nice, but she needed some personal time.
That way, she could completely organize the training ground work and then stick closely to Yuelina’s side.
Raye found it much more enjoyable to be by Yuelina’s side than at the training ground.
Her enjoyment was doubled by being able to see a new side of her lord, staring blankly at Yuelina.
“Then, I’ll be going.”
Ulysse and Raye left the attic room together.
Maelyn approached Yuelina from behind and retied the dress knot.
“Your Highness the Grand Duchess, you’re so beautiful.”
“Ah… Thank you.”
“Especially this hair. It’s so enchanting. Just like pure white snow.”
Yuelina smiled shyly at Maelyn’s compliment.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
