Chapter 99…………………………………………………..
The Night the Morning Star Rose
On the night the morning star appeared.
Sertina, who had returned to the empire with the diplomatic delegation, rested not in the princess’s palace but in the main palace.
Her visit had been decided abruptly.
Since she hadn’t finished organizing the princess’s palace, she planned to stay in the main palace for a few days.
Exhausted from the long journey, she went to bed earlier than usual, but she couldn’t sleep for long. A strange feeling stirred her awake.
Before her eyes floated a shining object.
“What… is this?”
Rubbing her eyes and looking closely, she realized it was an alchemical sigil.
Alchemy is a power focused on destruction and amplification.
So for an alchemical sigil to appear suddenly, it probably didn’t mean anything good.
She was about to call her bodyguard when she paused.
Wait a moment.
Having studied various disciplines with the emperor as her goal, she had learned basic concepts of alchemy. Luckily, the meaning of the sigil at its center was familiar to her.
This… is being deactivated, isn’t it?
It wasn’t a sigil meant to activate alchemy but one to cancel an already active spell.
That meant alchemy had been cast on her.
When on earth…?
Was it from the potion the Tower Lord had given her?
Even as Sertina pondered this, the alchemical sigil gradually darkened and turned to ashes, scattering away.
At the same time, a pale green light shone from the window in her room. It was so bright she almost mistook it for the sun rising again.
Startled, Sertina looked outside.
A pale green star shone brighter than the high moon.
Is that… the morning star?
Sonia had come to the empire in disguise for her final awakening.
Sertina was one of the few who knew Sonia’s secret.
She’s awakened.
The newspapers had said that when a healing priest completes their final awakening, the morning star rises.
Although it was a first-time sight, the brightness confirmed it was indeed the morning star.
Yes… she has achieved her final awakening.
Sonia had gained great power.
While happy, a corner of Sertina’s heart felt uneasy.
Once, she had slapped Sonia simply because Sonia couldn’t achieve her final awakening.
Excited about fixing her legs, she had thrown a tantrum and taken it out on Sonia.
Though they had grown closer afterward, she had never apologized for venting her frustration.
I had plenty of chances to apologize…
When she stayed in the Holy Kingdom as a trainee priest, Sonia had helped her pull her wheelchair countless times.
There had been enough time to say she was sorry, but she never did.
Sonia hadn’t mentioned it either, so Sertina had chosen to ignore it.
There’s no way she would be okay with that.
Every time she saw Sonia smiling brightly in front of her, Sertina’s lips almost formed the words:
I’m sorry for slapping you. I took out my frustration on you.
She had never been able to say those simple words.
It had happened in front of the maids. Thinking of the humiliation Sonia must have felt made her bow her head in shame.
Now, looking back, she felt pathetic for only realizing how sorry she was.
The alchemical sigil that had been floating beside her disappeared completely.
At that moment, Sertina felt a sharp headache, as if a needle had pierced her head.
“Ah!”
Pressing both hands to her forehead and gasping for breath, strange scenes began to flash in her mind.
“What is this?”
They were memories from her childhood.
They were moments she could never forget, so she even remembered her exact age and the date.
It was the memory of the day her seven-year-old self lost both legs.
The entire royal family had gone out for a picnic.
Then Shane led her into the forest.
“Sertina, there’s something amazing over here.”
Trusting her older brother, she followed without question.
Deep in the forest, they found a man she had never seen before.
A man with bright red hair and unusual earrings muttered, and she felt as if her feet were glued to the ground.
The red-haired man spoke politely:
“The preparations are complete, Your Highness.”
Excited, Shane drew a hidden dagger.
“You’ve been acting up a lot lately. Remember, the throne is mine!”
With that shout, Shane cut the tendons in Sertina’s legs.
Sertina writhed in pain as the red-haired man gripped her forehead tightly.
She remembered his exact words:
“To ensure His Highness feels at ease, I will manipulate his memory with my power. I will even seal it with alchemy, so you needn’t worry about him regaining his memory.”
Her memories had been manipulated by his power.
She had only thought she had been injured by a nearby tree.
The criminal Shane had dropped the dagger into the lake and feigned falling into it himself to hide the weapon.
Having recalled all the memories, Sertina’s anger erupted.
“Ah…”
Her mind burned hot with rage at Shane, who had ruined her legs.
She whispered around her head:
“That man…”
The man with red hair and flashy earrings who had been beside Shane.
He was the Tower Lord she had seen several times via the communication device while trading potions.
She wanted to confront Shane immediately, but the dagger, the murder weapon, had sunk to the bottom of the wide lake.
Moreover, the only witness, the Tower Lord, was allied with Shane, so she couldn’t interrogate him.
How could this happen…!
Her body trembled with rage.
Having just discovered the truth, her hatred flared, but there was nothing she could do at the moment.
Unable to calm herself, she shattered the wind spirit stone she kept in her pocket, lifting herself into the air.
She headed toward the nearest window.
The morning star was hope incarnate to her.
She tried to calm herself by gazing at the star, but her turbulent heart continued to surge.
As she stared blankly, she noticed someone returning to the main palace.
The starlight was so bright she could clearly see his face.
It was Shane, hastily entering the palace after dismounting.
That bastard… I’ll kill him!
How much despair had she felt when told she would never walk again?
She had sometimes wanted to give up entirely, yet all of it had been Shane’s plan!
She wanted to leap from the window and eliminate him on the spot.
As her hatred burned, she noticed something and hastily stepped back from the window.
Shane’s unusual-colored earrings reflected the morning star, sparkling brilliantly.
What… are those earrings?
Shane rarely wore accessories, finding them cumbersome.
And those…
She had only seen them briefly, but their flashy and unique color made them immediately recognizable.
They belong to the Tower Lord.
Why would Shane be wearing the Tower Lord’s earrings?
A ridiculous thought struck her, making her heart race.
The Tower Lord sometimes appeared by borrowing other people’s bodies.
Could he be using Shane’s body?
It felt too ominous to ignore.
I need to find out for sure.
If it really was the Tower Lord, he might read her thoughts with his mental powers.
Thus, confronting Shane directly was not a good idea.
From the next day, claiming illness from the long journey, Sertina stayed holed up in her room.
Since she rarely went out anyway, no one found it strange.
Cassius and I rode together in the carriage toward Count Theodore’s mansion.
The distance from the palace to the mansion wasn’t far, so we arrived quickly.
Having informed them of our visit in advance, the mansion was brightly lit.
The carriage door opened, and Cassius stepped down first, extending his hand.
“Give me your hand.”
I took his hand and slowly stepped down from the carriage.
Around him, Jurgen and the knights were unloading well-packed luggage.
Wow, he brought a lot again…
I had barely had time to rest before being dragged by Rosebell’s tailor to fit clothes.
Noticing my gaze at the luggage, he said:
“I couldn’t come empty-handed, so I prepared a separate gift.”
“You’ve already prepared enough, haven’t you?”
A vineyard complete with a free brewery.
He extended both hands.
“It’s still considered empty-handed otherwise.”
Ah, so the vineyard was far away and couldn’t be given immediately, so he prepared a gift that could be handed over directly.
The thoughts of someone with too much money were unique.
I guess I’ll have to get used to it.
You can’t be surprised every time.
Escorted by him, we headed to the mansion.
At the entrance, my parents, Lancelot, and the servants, including the maid Marie, were waiting.
I gave my father a smile, hoping for a good first impression.
But he averted his head as if he didn’t want to see me, wearing a displeased expression.
My mother held his arm firmly, smiling cheerfully.
It seemed she had to drag him out since he didn’t want to come.
Releasing my father’s arm, my mother politely greeted according to etiquette:
“I pay my respects to the rulers of the Holy Kingdom.”
“Welcome, Countess. Today I visit not as a ruler, so please be at ease.”
Hearing Cassius’s words, my mother’s gaze turned to me.
Come to think of it, when preparing the last ball at Count Theodore’s mansion, my mother had been excited, suggesting Cassius might be interested in me.
And now he had come personally…
Oh my, Sonia. See? I told you, His Majesty seems interested in you. I want to hear more about this from you.
Her mother’s eyes seemed to say exactly that.
