Chapter 10 – Part 2

“Lady Vanessa.”

“Ah, yes, Your Highness.”

Anne stuttered, shifting her gaze from Evan to Ailon, who had called her.

Ailon spoke to Anne.

“Come this way. I will guide you to the temple. There should be no problems.”

He extended his hand. Although Anne was puzzled as to why the crown prince was in charge of her blessing, she took his hand.

She had heard that offering a hand was a gesture knights used when escorting ladies, but it seemed to be used here as well.

However, she remained cautious. After hesitating for a moment, she spoke to Ailon.

“I did not expect His Majesty to care about something as trivial as my blessing.”

“…Is that so.”

Encouraged by his unexpectedly polite response, Anne continued.

“Is it true that the wife of a titled person cannot enter the main palace?”

Evelyn, who had accompanied Anne to the palace, had been escorted elsewhere by a servant. When she asked why, she was told that Evelyn could not enter the main palace.

It was almost certain that they had deliberately separated her mother, but Anne wanted to test if the crown prince would help her.

Ailon internally scoffed at Anne’s question.

He hadn’t expected the emperor to use such an excuse.

And he hadn’t anticipated that the person would be such a foolish girl who couldn’t discern the truth.

He knew Anne Vanessa was someone Evan cared about. He had expected something special about her, but she seemed more like an untrained filly.

Sparkling green eyes stood out strikingly, but the red hair didn’t fit conventional beauty standards. It only made Ailon think the Duke had peculiar tastes.

Ailon smirked as he reconsidered his thoughts.

Regardless of the truth behind the rumors, the presence of such a girl on a battlefield teeming with men could have been quite the temptation.

“Your Highness?”

“Oh, I apologize. It’s possible. In special cases.”

“…So, this is a special case now?”

“Hmm. Who knows?”

Ailon offered only a sheepish smile.

In silence, they reached the temple with seventeen white columns. At the entrance, a priest awaited them.

The priest, seemingly expecting their arrival, had a basin of water with floating white gardenias next to him.

“Please wash your hands here.”

“Yes.”

After inspecting their clean hands, the priest spoke.

“We’ll go underground. Follow me.”

“Yes.”

Passing by the white columns and statues of angels flying through the sky, they arrived at a clearing where nothing else existed. In the middle of the clearing, there was a hidden passageway leading underground.

As they descended, the space, with barely finished walls and only flickering candles, felt ominous. Even the Crown Prince seemed unfamiliar with the place.

“This doesn’t seem like a place for blessings.”

“It’s believed that the place closest to the earth is the most sacred. Your Highness has been here before.”

The priest referred to Ailon’s childhood visit. Despite the priest’s words, Anne’s heart kept pounding.

She felt something bad was about to happen here.

“We’ve arrived. Your Highness will stay here, and Anne Vanessa, please follow me.”

Anne, bewildered, walked through the dark, humid corridor. Women priests stood at intervals along the way.

At the end of the corridor, there was only a single torch and a long cloth.

“Change into this.”

Startled, Anne instinctively covered her waist and responded.

“I’ll change myself!”

“It’s the rule. Do not touch anything with hands washed in gardenia water.”

With those words, the female priests grabbed Anne’s arms. Anne shouted in desperation.

“Wait, stop!”

The head priest spoke.

“This is a ceremony usually performed on young children. It’s all part of the procedure, so please comply.”

The blessing ceremony was typically for very young children, so no one really knew what was done here.

It was unclear why they broke tradition to bring Anne, but the priests’ attitude toward her was certainly not friendly.

The priests holding her arms tried to undress her forcibly. Anne struggled desperately but to no avail.

“Enough, I don’t need this ceremony!”

“Are you rejecting His Majesty’s kindness?”

Anne hesitated at that. From the Crown Prince’s reaction earlier, it was clear they had deliberately confined her stepmother.

Refusing this “kindness” would be burdensome. It was also a matter of the Vanessa family’s honor.

Ultimately, showing this ominous mark seemed inevitable.

Anne let her strength go.

“Fine, fine. What do I need to do?”

“Wear this.”

Seeing the garment, Anne laughed bitterly. She couldn’t tell if it was meant as an insult or was truly part of the ceremony. Either way, she had to wear it without complaint.

It was a white cloth that barely covered her—more like a long piece of fabric than actual clothing.

As she wore it, she realized everyone would see her mark. She hadn’t expected to reveal it so publicly.

“Follow me.”

Anne sighed, exasperated, but the priests simply smiled and led her along.

“Prepare yourself. This is a sacred ceremony where God blesses the noble bloodline through you.”

“…….”

“Answer.”

Anne remained silent.

She resigned herself, thinking that must be why the Crown Prince was here.

“Remember His Majesty’s grace.”

This is a cult, she thought. ‘How should I handle these lunatics?’

Deciding not to respond, she yanked her arms free and walked ahead on her own.

After a long walk, they arrived at the place of blessing.

There, the Crown Prince stood, shocked by Anne’s appearance.

Anne sighed and spoke to Ailon.

“So, this really is your first time here, Your Highness?”

“…Yes.”

Ailon nodded, unable to look at Anne directly.

“Priest, is this really a blessing ceremony? I won’t get hurt, will I?”

“It’s a normal blessing ceremony. You won’t get hurt.”

Reassured by the priest’s quick response, Anne felt at ease.

“Then guide me. What should I do now?”

The priest smiled satisfactorily at Anne’s compliant question.

“The child to be blessed will sit in the center. Your Highness will place your hand on the center of her spine. There will be a brief moment of divine contact….”

As Anne walked to the center, Ailon stared at the chrysanthemum mark on her back.

He recognized it instantly, having seen the weeping wound on that child numerous times.

The slightly tilted mark has now healed completely.

“Aaron!”

Anne turned abruptly at the sudden shout, looking at the Crown Prince.

His eyes, tinged with red, were trembling incessantly.

“Your Highness?”

Ailon’s tears fell freely from his eyes. This was the face he had longed to see so much.

How had he not known?

The short hair once hidden under a hood had grown longer, and she had clearly matured in the meantime. The small dot next to the chrysanthemum, the sparkling green eyes—they all confirmed that she was the person he had been searching for.

Ailon slowly approached Anne.

“I’ve missed you so much.”

“…….”

“Not a day went by that I didn’t think of you.”

“…….”

“I hoped you wouldn’t choose death over living in my place.”

“…….”

Anne tilted her head in confusion at his inexplicable words and looked at the priest. The priest seemed just as startled by Ailon’s sudden actions.

The priest approached Ailon.

“Your Highness, you must wait a moment. Anne’s ceremony is not yet—”

Before the priest could finish his sentence, Ailon’s hand grasped his neck.

Crack—

With a horrific sound, red blood flowed from the priest’s mouth.

Anne gasped in shock, but the Crown Prince did not release his grip on the priest’s neck.

“Your Highness, please stop!”

Anne rushed forward without a moment’s hesitation, examining the priest lying on the ground.

‘He’s already dead.’

A question arose. It seemed strange for someone to cough up blood and die just from having their neck grabbed.

Moreover, there wasn’t a single mark on his neck.

Anne hurriedly tried to open the priest’s mouth to look inside.

But his body had stiffened too quickly for her to see down his throat without equipment.

At that moment, Ailon’s low voice spoke again.

“Aaron, come with me.”

Aaron? It was clear Ailon was seeing someone else in Anne.

Should she lie to him to calm him down?

Anne hesitated briefly but then spoke calmly while looking at Ailon.

“Your Highness, I am Anne Vanessa. Aaron is not here.”

“That’s a lie. Come to me now. Stay by my side.”

His eyes were filled with a madness no one could approach.

The priests had never imagined the once gentle and weak Crown Prince would look like this.

“…Your Highness, please look closely. I am not Aaron!”

“Aaron, hurry. It’s dangerous here. Stay by my side, forever. I asked—no, I begged you.”

Ailon slowly walked toward another priest. The priest turned pale and tried to flee but was ultimately caught by the Crown Prince.

Anne hurriedly grabbed Ailon’s wrist.

“Your… Highness?”

“Aaron, come with me to a safe place.”

As their eyes met, Ailon pulled Anne into an embrace.

A different scent from Evan’s overwhelmed her. The sweet smell, like apples, tickled her nose, and she took a deep breath before gently pushing Ailon away.

“I am Anne Vanessa, Your Highness. Please let go.”

At her words, Ailon released his hold on her and took a few steps back, his gaze still fixed on her.

He seemed to be seeing someone else through her.

Just then, familiar footsteps echoed through the corridor.

Not too fast, not too slow—the rhythmic steps made Anne quickly grab a blanket from the dead priest and wrap it around her waist.

As she looked up, a voice she missed dearly rang out.

“Lady Vanessa, come here.”

The person descending the stairs was Evan. Despite their brief separation, he had often crossed her mind. The Duke of Davis had come to this confined space.

“Commander!”

“Aaron, don’t go.”

Anne’s gaze turned to her wrist, held by Ailon.

Blood stained her blanket and arm. The sight wasn’t scary or frightening.

Her only worry was that the chrysanthemum mark on her lower back would be seen by the commander. She feared the look of contempt that might follow.

“I… I am…”

Evan, now close enough, spoke in a low voice.

“Your Highness, do you realize what you’re doing?”