April 8, 2021
"...Can you tell me how much time I have left?"
[At most, you won’t see twenty more nights.]
"......."
[It’s alright. You already know the answer.]
"What do you mean, I already know the answer?"
Instead of responding, the monster motioned with its snout toward something behind Alicia—toward Cabelenus, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword.
"Is your conversation over?"
"Well... the monster said I already know the answer."
"The answer? What answer?"
"The way to heal my body."
"...What?"
A sharp breath escaped Cabelenus, turning white in the freezing air.
[We gave the answer to him.]
"They say they gave it to you."
"The only thing I received from them was a book."
"A book?"
"It’s a botanical compendium, but..."
Cabelenus trailed off. The ingredients used in the soup Alicia's mother had once made were all poisonous plants. If that truth were revealed, Alicia would inevitably be hurt.
"If you know something, please tell me."
"It will hurt you."
"I don’t care."
"......."
"I want to live. I want to be with you and Mikael. Even if it means my body is torn to shreds, I don’t care."
Cabelenus swallowed hard.
"You..."
Once again, she was terrified but refused to give in. Trembling, yet forcing herself to endure. It was pitiful, and yet, at the same time, it made his heart pound. He knew it was contradictory, but to him, it was beautiful.
"...I’ll stay by your side."
"......."
"Just as you chose to endure the pain, I choose to stay beside you."
Once he made a decision, he never wavered. Cabelenus strode forward. He knew Alicia would be hurt by what he was about to say. But he also knew she would endure. Still, he wished she wouldn’t suffer so much. He wanted his presence to be a source of comfort.
"You once said you wanted to taste your mother’s soup again. The truth is, back then, Lady Morco was able to find the ingredients."
"But she told me she couldn’t..."
"She couldn’t tell you the truth."
Cabelenus let out a bitter smile.
"And what is the truth?"
"The ingredients she found were all poisonous."
Alicia’s face twisted with each word. Cabelenus clenched his fists. It hurt to watch her expression crumble, but he wouldn’t look away. He wouldn’t leave her to bear it alone. If he had chosen to stay by her side, that meant seeing everything through with her.
"Do you know what kind of poison?"
"All of them were deadly. They kill without pain."
"......."
Alicia’s already pale face turned completely white. As she staggered, Cabelenus reached out to steady her. She looked utterly lost, her vacant expression cutting into his chest like a knife. He felt like he would go mad seeing her fragile hands tremble.
"...It was a life where dying would have been easier. I’m not even surprised my mother tried to kill me."
"......."
"...But that’s not the end of it."
Alicia wiped her eyes roughly.
"The monster said there’s a way."
"......."
"That’s what I’ll focus on right now."
"Can you?"
"The dead don’t speak. Even if I try to understand her intentions now, it would only be through the lens of the living."
Even though her eyes were red, no tears fell. Alicia bit down on her lip and stared at the monster.
"Tell me. What is the answer you mentioned?"
[Humans are weak. But they are persistent. That is the answer.]
"That’s the answer?"
[You are special. You can overcome it.]
"...Wait. Are you telling me to consume poison?"
[If you endure, your vessel will become stronger.]
The monster nodded, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"That’s insane."
Cabelenus stepped in front of Alicia protectively. He had tried to stay silent out of respect for her choice, but this was unacceptable. Telling a woman who was barely clinging to life to drink poison? That was no different from telling her to die.
"...If I take the poison, will I survive?"
"Alicia!"
Cabelenus raised his voice. But Alicia wasn’t ready to give up. She desperately wanted to live.
[It is not a perfect solution. It will only buy time. The limit will come eventually.]
"...Is there no other way? A way to fully restore my vessel?"
[Once a vessel is broken, it cannot be restored.]
The monster’s narrow eyes darkened. From its perspective, Alicia’s vessel was barely holding together. The fractures were growing, and with them, the power leaking out increased. The more it leaked, the faster the vessel deteriorated.
[Do not use your power. If you do, even twenty nights will be impossible.]
"...There really is no way?"
[From the beginning, this was a problem that could not be fixed.]
The monster averted its gaze. Like tempered steel, a vessel could become stronger when tested—but that principle didn’t apply here. The instinct to survive could strengthen a being, but not to the degree Alicia needed. Even if she could reinforce her vessel, she wouldn’t be able to contain the power she held forever.
"...So it’s useless?"
[Even without using your power, your vessel would have shattered eventually.]
"What do you mean?"
The monster sniffed the air around her.
[Your vessel is unusually small.]
Alicia followed its gaze down to her exposed wrist. Against her pale skin, her blue veins stood out starkly.
"I inherited my power from my mother. And she inherited it from her mother before her."
[.......]
"The one you’re referring to... it’s probably my ancestor, not me. That’s why my power is weaker."
[Even so, it is strange.]
The monster shook its head.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
"Strange?"
[Power is granted in proportion to the vessel that holds it. But you... that is not the case. Your power and your vessel’s capacity do not match. There is a problem.]
"......."
Alicia lowered her head, unsure how to react. She had thought that meeting the monsters would solve everything—but it hadn’t. The problem still remained, and nothing had changed.
"It’s alright."
"......."
"It’s too early to give up."
Cabelenus, quick to notice, said nothing else. Instead, he firmly clasped her hand. Only then did Alicia lift her head, gripping his hand with equal strength.
"You’re right. It’s too soon to give up."
She forced a smile. In the past, she wouldn’t have understood, but now she did—so long as she was alive, there would always be a chance. And knowing that, she couldn’t give up just yet.
***
"Our so-called divine representative seems to be quite popular."
"Nothing more than a fraud."
"And yet, not a single one of them sees him that way."
Jerpeneus rested his chin on his hand, watching James move through the crowd, basking in their admiration. The man was said to be handsome, but seeing him from afar, he was more striking than expected. With silver hair flowing and a charming smile directed at the people, he fit the image of a divine messenger perfectly.
"Are you really going to let that fraud into the palace?"
"Of course."
"But—"
"Honestly, I trust a fraud more than a mindless dog of the temple."
Jerpeneus continued watching James, gauging his worth. He had wanted to determine whether the man would be useful, and so far, he seemed promising. Even if he needed to be discarded later, for now, he could be useful.
"Don’t look at him too negatively. We can’t get rid of him anyway."
"There is no one in this land who can defy Your Majesty’s orders."
"That would be true if I were a proper emperor. Unfortunately, I’m not. Instead, everyone whispers behind my back that I’m not the real emperor."
"Your Majesty..."
Peltion lowered his head urgently.
"And when there’s someone with true legitimacy waiting just around the corner, it only makes matters worse."
Despite his words, Jerpeneus remained composed. The rumors spread by the temple had weakened his position.
"Ultimately, this throne will belong to Cabelenus. So, I don’t particularly care about the criticism. But I still haven’t retrieved what’s mine."
"......."
"Until I get my dog back, I need to hold my ground."
Jerpeneus slowly traced his fingers along the corner of his eye. He wasn’t particularly bothered by the stolen attention. After all, the murmuring crowd didn’t matter.
"Your Majesty, the High Priest has requested a private audience."
"Requesting a private audience so urgently... It seems our venerable priest is quite furious."
Jerpeneus chuckled at the expected news and turned toward his aide.
"He suspects that I created the divine representative."
"That, and the fact that the thorn in his side has arrived in the capital, basking in admiration. That must be infuriating for him."
"What do you propose we do? Should we grant him the audience?"
"Unfortunately, I already have a prior engagement—with the so-called divine representative."
Jerpeneus hummed a tune, folding his arms. He wondered just how much patience the old fox had left.
***
"You’ve done something truly remarkable—purging the witch, that is."
"It was merely my duty."
James smiled, but his heart pounded faster than ever. Sitting across from the emperor, sharing tea, was not an opportunity many could experience.
"How humble for someone called the divine representative."
"That title is simply what the people call me. I am not such a great man."
"It is quite the feat. Not many can stand before the emperor under false pretenses with such confidence."
Jerpeneus raised his teacup leisurely. He had expected James to crumble under the sudden attack, but the fraud remained unfazed—almost as if he had known this would happen.
"Your Majesty considers me a fraud, then."
"People say I’m incompetent, but I didn’t get this throne by accident."
"That is reassuring."
"Reassuring?"
Jerpeneus’s eyebrow arched.
"If Your Majesty is not blind, then our conversation will proceed quickly."
"So, you do have another agenda."
"It’s nothing complicated. I’ve had only one goal from the start."
Revenge. James’s expression darkened noticeably as his voice dropped. He was ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) filled with anger.
"And who is the target of your revenge?"
"The Duke of Schwarhan."
"The Duke of Schwarhan?"
"Because of him, my beloved was killed."
The best way to hide a lie was to mix it with the truth. James fluently recited the fabricated story Fenril had crafted for him, pressing his fingers to his forehead. Even though it was a falsehood, speaking it aloud left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"Revenge for a lost love, is it? That’s a rather romantic motive for the chaos you’ve caused."
Jerpeneus smiled, but behind his calm exterior, his mind was racing. James’s background checked out. He was a painter from Schwarhan, and he had indeed spent time in the duchy’s castle. Nothing about his story contradicted the information Jerpeneus already had. There was nothing suspicious—yet.
"It is not romance that drives me. My beloved is dead, and yet the duke seeks happiness for himself. I cannot stand by and watch that."
"The duke... happy?"
Cabelenus and happiness were words that should never go together. Jerpeneus hid his distaste as he took another sip of tea.
"Perhaps Your Majesty is unaware, but the duke has a woman. A woman with hair as red as a harlot’s."
"I think I know who you mean."
"I want to kill her."
James’s grip tightened around his teacup.
