Chapter 92
His gaze was tangled with fear and a killing intent.
“Y-Your Highness….”
A servant, carefully observing Kardan’s agitated demeanor, cautiously spoke.
“I-I-if you’re not feeling well, shall we c-cancel the training scheduled for this morning?”
The servant stammered to finish his sentence.
“No, I’ll go!”
Kardan shouted harshly.
His only hobby was hunting, but in winter, he couldn’t go out for it. Instead, he occasionally attended the palace knights’ archery training sessions. Today happened to be one of those days.
‘I need a change of pace.’
Kardan stomped forward, his mind foggy from several days without proper sleep.
‘I should at least move my body.’
He thought that perhaps this would shake off the uneasy feeling.
He urged his subordinates to prepare quickly and arrived at the training grounds slightly early. Despite it being morning, the knights and soldiers were already gathered and training.
He took up a bow.
Swish! Thwack!
The arrow pierced the target without hesitation.
“Wow, as expected.”
The knight commander clapped vigorously.
Nearby soldiers and knights training also expressed their admiration.
Kardan felt slightly better.
He drew the bowstring again, and another arrow hit the mark.
“Oh my, another hit.”
“…Resilia?”
Kardan sharply turned his head.
There stood the crown princess, Resilia Bertania, smiling sweetly.
“I heard you were training outside even on a cold day. I brought you a warm meal.”
Kardan’s expression was grim.
“You did something unnecessary.”
“I wanted to surprise you. It’s been quite a while since I last saw you…”
Resilia whispered. Kardan clicked his tongue lightly and picked up another arrow.
“Thank you, my lady. But as you can see, training is in full swing. This isn’t playtime.”
“Then I’ll just watch and wait.”
Resilia smiled brightly.
Suddenly, the arrival of the crown princess prompted the quick setup of tall chairs, a small tent, and a brazier at the training grounds.
A maid draped a fur coat over Resilia’s shoulders.
“…….”
Kardan silently observed the maid. Their eyes met with a meaningful look.
She was the head maid who had visited last night. Her name… Sepia, perhaps.
‘Rosebell… had been sneaking in and out of the sealed princess palace every night!’
Kardan’s eyes darkened.
Swish! Thwack!
“Bullseye!”
A soldier waved a flag in the distance.
“The Marquis of Morias has been quiet lately.”
Kardan fiddled with the arrowhead. Resilia, sitting nearby and clapping, widened her eyes.
“Your father? Why is that?”
“You didn’t know? My lady.”
What have you been doing all day at the crown princess palace?
Kardan clenched his jaw, holding back the words.
After all, she was the daughter of the Marquis of Morias, a central figure among the noble factions. He couldn’t treat her carelessly.
“Hmph. Anyway, since we have some time, try contacting the marquis.”
“I’ll do that.”
Resilia smiled softly.
Swish! Thwack!
“Bullseye!”
The flag waved again.
Resilia giggled and pulled something out from behind her.
“I brought some wine, warmed. How about some?”
“Alcohol during training?”
Kardan shook his head briefly.
“It’s a rare wine Prince Erdan gave me…”
“What did you say?”
A flash of suspicion crossed his eyes. He moved toward Resilia like lightning.
“You met Erdan?”
“Uh? Yes. A few days ago, we had a meal together… Your Highness, it hurts.”
Resilia furrowed her delicate eyebrows. Kardan released the arm of Resilia he had been gripping tightly.
“Did I… do something wrong?”
Resilia’s frightened face quivered slightly.
Kardan bit his teeth.
Erdan went to see Resilia?
‘Suddenly? Why?’
Normally, he would have ignored it; Erdan’s impulsive behavior wasn’t new.
But…
‘Here is the list of books Prince Erdan borrowed.’
According to the wizard, Kardan had tracked Erdan’s movements, noticing that he had been frequenting the library recently.
And every single book on that list…
‘So Erdan was researching the Holy Grail.’
“Arrow! Bring the arrow here!”
Kardan shouted harshly. Resilia flinched in fear.
“Damn it.”
He cursed under his breath and turned around.
As he aimed at the target…
“…!”
A familiar sprig of flowers had fallen in front of him.
“Lilac…”
He muttered blankly.
Thunk. The arrow fell from his hand. Anxiety crept up the back of his neck.
What is this? What the hell?
“Your Highness?”
“Highness?”
Resilia and the knight commander called him in turn, but Kardan didn’t hear them.
“Oh dear, there’s an obstruction.”
The commander noticed the fallen sprig in front of the target. He signaled a nearby soldier, who quickly removed the lilac.
Kardan’s aversion to lilacs was well known.
His recent behavior of burning down every lilac tree he came across had etched it into everyone’s mind.
“Y-Your Highness… you dropped your arrow.”
The soldier timidly approached and handed him an arrow. Kardan gripped it tightly.
Half in a daze, he aimed at the target again. His eyes were bloodshot.
Snap. The bowstring was drawn taut. The arrowhead wobbled. His mind was about to explode with all sorts of thoughts.
Lilac. Princess palace. Erdan. Library. Holy Grail. Maid. Maid…
The maid sneaking into the princess palace…
The wretched lilac-colored…
‘You’ve always been greedy.’
“Ha……”
At that moment, Kardan’s body went limp.
Yes, he thought, I’ve heard that tone somewhere before.
“Haha……”
Thunk. Another arrow fell from Kardan’s hand. The knight commander and knights looked at him in confusion.
‘But… this can’t be.’
He felt a weak sense of territory.
His hypothesis felt utterly impossible.
Yet his thoughts kept rushing in one direction.
‘Is that even possible?’
To bring the dead back to life?
Ah, Kardan groaned shortly.
‘Dierian Frey.’
If it was that wizard, somehow…
He remembered the scene of the two at the crown princess palace. That was why. That’s why Dierian Frey had been there.
The pieces of the puzzle were falling into place.
‘So the reason Erdan Bertania suddenly investigated the Holy Grail…’
It was all for Eslyn.
Kardan stepped back slightly, staggering.
“Your Highness, you dropped your arrow.”
Someone handed him an arrow. He shook his head, holding his temples.
“Let’s call it a day…”
But he couldn’t finish the sentence.
“…!”
“What if you miss the arrow?”
The apparition—the very specter he had feared—stood before him.
“You should have shot until the end.”
The maid, Eslyn, the deceased princess whispered.
“The target is still intact.”
The corners of her mouth lifted coldly.
“Y-You…!”
Thunk! He shoved the maid.
“Ahhh!” Screams erupted from the other maids and Resilia.
“Your Highness!”
The knight commander rushed over.
“You’re aiming a bow at a person…!”
“Shut up! Shut up!”
Snap! Kardan’s eyes gleamed with madness as he drew the bowstring. The arrow pointed at Eslyn.
Her deep blue eyes were calm, without a flicker of fear.
Yes… why hadn’t I realized it before?
Kardan curled his lips. Resilia cried out in alarm.
“Your Highness! If my maid is at fault, I’ll take responsibility!”
“It was you! It was you!”
Kardan shouted with a demonic expression.
The nightmare had become reality. He was no longer in his right mind.
“First Prince!”
Soldiers and knights alike panicked at the rampaging prince.
The taut bowstring could strike the maid at any slight relaxation.
Yet Kardan saw nothing. His eyes were bloodshot, his breathing labored. As the ground seemed to collapse beneath him…
‘It’s been a while, Kardan.’
The maid whispered with her lips.
“Eslyn! Eslyn!”
Thwang. The arrow finally left the bowstring.
Screams erupted everywhere. Blood spattered across the ground.
“Haah… haah….”
Did he kill her? This time, really?
Kardan gasped and lifted his head. His narrowed vision finally returned.
“Your Highness, please, calm down. Why are you doing this?”
The knight commander whispered desperately, gripping both of Kardan’s arms firmly.
Only then did Kardan look around.
The knights, soldiers, Resilia, servants, and maids—all watching in horror…
“Your Highness….”
Even the maid with lavender hair, sitting on the ground, crying.
“My name is Eslyn, but… that is the name of the late princess.”
The maid spoke through trembling lips.
“I dare not use that name, so I am called Rosebell…”
She finally buried her face in her palms.
“If I did anything wrong, please tell me. I only picked up the arrow you dropped… what did I… what did I do…”
The maid trembled violently. Her pale cheek bore a red mark where the arrowhead had grazed.
“Your Highness, perhaps it would be best to return for today.”
The knight commander said calmly.
Kardan looked at him blankly.
What is this?
He looked down at the bow and arrows scattered on the ground.
And the lilac sprig someone had dropped in shock.
“….”
The maid was crying again.
The faces around him were full of fear.
“Please, return for today, Your Highness.”
Resilia approached and spoke gently. A faint vibration could be felt from her hand.
‘What have I done?’
As Resilia guided him away from the training grounds, Kardan thought.
Something… something feels off.
He felt as though he had done something irreversible.
“It’s been a long time since I heard that name…”
Someone murmured. Kardan spun around like an attack. He couldn’t see who, as servants and maids followed in a line.
He trembled slightly.
Eslyn.
The name was very common in the Bertania Empire.
But in this palace, it referred to only one person.
So even someone with that common name had to hide it here.
‘Eslyn! Eslyn!’
Why did the prince act that way?
He didn’t know.
But thanks to that, everyone recalled the name of the deceased princess once more.
Somewhere, the scent of lilac lingered.
All the maids, servants, attendants, soldiers, and knights present smelled it.
Come to think of it, lilacs bloomed in the princess palace every spring.
Someone whispered as such.
What was thought to be a simple incident might actually be a prelude to a greater anomaly.
Some brushed it off, while others began to take it seriously.
Regardless, the seed was sown for everyone.
“….”
And Duke Tebet Ripherius watched the entire scene.
