Chapter 43
It was a crude ornament made of rough clay.
An oval-shaped sculpture, barely recognizable in form.
Yet the moment I held it, a strange energy flowed through my hand.
The aura of a spirit…!
Marin, who could read my inner thoughts, cried out.
[She’s here~! Dimodi’s here~!]
The earth spirit, Dimodi.
Marin had always said she was closest to her, and it seemed she was the first of the three spirits to sense this energy.
The others nodded in agreement.
[That’s right! This is Dimodi’s energy! I feel it too, Master!]
[She must have been trapped here and couldn’t come to you!]
Trapped…? Are you saying the spirit was sealed inside this object?
[Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it before! A force strong enough to imprison one of us…!]
Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind like lightning.
Dragons and spirits are natural enemies.
If that’s true—
As if to confirm my suspicion, Gobard, who had followed me here, spoke up.
“That too contains dragon magic. I don’t know exactly what kind of magic it is, but… is that what you were looking for?”
I knew it—dragon magic.
Just as nature resists all shackles and longs to be free, so too do spirits.
Even I, who am bound to them by contract, cannot force them against their will.
But perhaps with a force directly opposed to their nature—dragon power—it’s possible.
To find Dimodi here, after she had vanished and driven me mad with worry…
I carefully held the piece of clay with Dimodi’s aura and said,
“Yes, this is the keepsake my mother left behind.”
“A mere Fourth Consort had something imbued with dragon magic? And this isn’t even a recent addition to the vault.”
He stepped closer.
“You’re lying, Neroli Mivan Lornord.”
“I warned you already.”
I looked him dead in the eye and responded coldly.
“You’re no longer the Crown Prince. I have no reason to care what you think.”
“…”
“You abandoned your place—so stay out of this, Gobard Luim Lornord.”
As I said this, I took out the final letter I’d been carrying.
“And besides… shouldn’t this be what you’re really concerned about?”
“!”
A spark lit in Gobard’s eyes.
He snatched the letter from my hand and read it.
Then he muttered softly,
“So it really was Senderine…”
As his attention shifted to Agatha, I turned toward the mirror I had entered through earlier.
Gobard, noticing where Agatha had gone, quickly followed.
Wuuung—
In his haste, Gobard passed through the mirror first, and I followed him out of the vault.
If only I had more time to search this place.
It was disappointing that time wouldn’t allow it.
Well, stealing something not even in my plan was already a huge risk.
I’ll need to find a fake version of this piece as quickly as possible.
Even if the Emperor technically owned this vault, he couldn’t possibly keep track of every Lornord treasure gathered over the centuries.
If I replaced it before the next inventory cycle, it might be enough to fool him.
If I have the chance, I’ll make note of other treasures to smuggle out too.
Just as I was thinking this, a sharp sound rang behind me.
Crash!
I turned swiftly and met Gobard’s piercing blue eyes.
Expressionless, he spoke.
“You’re right. I betrayed His Majesty—I have no right to interfere in imperial affairs anymore.”
“You…”
“But I still have one final duty as a member of the royal family—to protect these treasures.”
Clatter—
He slowly opened his fist, and the shattered mirror shards clattered to the ground.
Despite breaking the mirror with his bare hand, Gobard’s hand was unscathed.
As expected of a direct descendant of the monstrous Lornord line.
“You’re going to stop me?”
“You never should’ve entered this secret vault to begin with. I don’t see why stopping you would be a problem.”
At that, I fell silent and stared at him.
Gobard stared right back, unmoving.
As our gazes locked, I could clearly see the emotions shifting in him.
I instinctively tried to read those changes.
Anger. Confusion. Guilt… and regret?
“Neroli.”
“!”
I froze.
It had been so long since he’d called me by name.
Unavoidably, it brought back memories of our childhood—of a time when we got along.
“I have something I want to ask.”
“What’s your angle?”
I took a step back, wary.
Then Gobard, eyes fixed on me, finally spoke.
“The Empress… my mother’s death. Were you truly saddened by it?”
“What?”
The question came out of nowhere.
I eyed him sharply, trying to grasp his intent—then realized it.
This question… was deeply important to him.
…Maybe that’s why.
Why I felt compelled to answer honestly.
“Yes. I was sad. I felt helpless. And once I learned the truth… I was consumed with guilt.”
“I see.”
“I told you this so many times.”
Gobard let out a deep sigh.
“Then why… why did you act like that all this time…?”
He mumbled, then shook his head.
“No… never mind.”
“…”
“This is enough. It’s all I needed.”
I didn’t ask what he meant.
The emotions that had flashed in Gobard’s eyes today—
The strange flicker when I said I was looking for my mother’s keepsake—
And the words he had murmured after seeing my true self—
I understood all of it now, thanks to that answer.
—
“Yeah… you were always like this.”
—
Come to think of it, my act as the sunny, cheerful girl began after the Empress’s funeral and my nanny’s betrayal.
Before that, I had spent nearly every day with Gobard. He knew my unfiltered self better than anyone.
But then I buried that self behind a mask.
A mask of brightness, purity, and unfiltered emotion.
No one questioned it. On the contrary, many sighed in relief that I had finally begun acting like a child.
Gobard… did you find that strange?
When I changed so suddenly, did it warp even my sincerity in your eyes?
I swallowed the question that rose to my throat.
Even if we understood now, we couldn’t undo all that lost time.
Maybe that’s why Gobard stopped himself from asking more.
I didn’t know if he asked me that now because I had taken off the mask…
…Or because he thought this would be our last meeting.
But if our misunderstandings could be cleared in this brief exchange, then it was right to end things here.
We’ve both chosen very different paths now.
Just then, perhaps reading something in my gaze, Gobard stepped closer.
As he passed by, he whispered,
“Don’t worry. I don’t plan to interfere in this any further.”
The sharpness in his voice, once aimed at me, had softened.
And so, I too decided to shed the old emotions I held for Gobard.
Breaking the mirror wasn’t ideal, though.
But I had expected it.
Knowing his personality, I knew he’d destroy the mirror rather than let it fall into the wrong hands.
And I had already prepared for that.
Marin.
[Yes, Master~]
Marin chirped and darted toward a shard that had landed in the corner.
Gulp.
Her body, glowing faintly blue, rippled as she swallowed it.
[All set~]
Hearing her, I quietly smiled.
Now begins a battle of time—known only to me.
I gently stroked the piece containing Dimodi and watched Gobard walk to the door.
Before I let him go, there was something I needed to say.
“Don’t forget.”
Gobard paused.
I spoke calmly to his back.
“Remember how those outside the Lornord line lost their lives in this imperial court.”
Gobard didn’t reply.
But he didn’t leave either, standing still just past the open door—listening.
“Your mother, and my mother too… they were devoured by this monstrous palace.”
“…”
“Agatha won’t survive here either. If you earn her forgiveness… protect her. Don’t let her end up like them.”
“…Ha.”
Gobard, silent until now, let out a quiet laugh.
He turned slightly and looked back at me.
“So now you give emotional warnings not to return. Is this how you plan to lord over me, now that you’ve found my weakness?”
Agatha wasn’t just his weakness.
She was Brillint’s precious family.
My friend’s blood relative—so, in a way, she was important to me too.
But I didn’t say it out loud.
How could I, after using Agatha the way I had?
If I was going to be the villain, I might as well be detestable to the end.
“The moment you return… it will be.”
So don’t return.
That was the last sincere truth I could offer him.
But I left those words unsaid.
Because Gobard clicked his tongue and walked out of the room.
“This place means nothing to me now. I don’t care about anything… except love.”
His voice was faint—like it might vanish any second.
A cold morning breeze swept in through the wide-open door he left behind.
I stood there, letting it brush against me.
Maybe Gobard isn’t just obsessed with Agatha.
He was acting differently than the Emperor, who had fixated so desperately on my mother.
And that difference brought a strange sense of relief.
Love. Huh…
I repeated the unfamiliar word silently, and I too stepped out into the dawn.
Above the gaping ceiling, the sky was visible.
In the distance, the sun was slowly beginning to rise.
