Chapter 36
They began talking as if they didn’t even realize the weight of the words they were speaking.
“Not sure if you know, but there’s a forbidden book hidden underground in both the Mertiel and the Jefino ducal households.”
I inhaled sharply.
It was so unexpected that the gasp escaped me before I could stop it.
Hian and His both caught my reaction in their eyes.
“And not just any forbidden book—it’s a legendary healing grimoire.”
“It was created in the temple centuries ago, but they feared the imperial family would covet it, so they made a contract with the two ducal houses and sealed it underground.”
“Didn’t your parents ever tell you about it?”
I shook my head without hesitation.
Of course I hadn’t heard about this before.
“They… passed away in an unexpected accident, so I never got to hear it.”
Hian hesitated for a moment, but I was too shaken to notice his exact expression.
“The healing grimoire is said to be able to cure any illness.”
At those words, the deep scar on my chest came to mind.
And with it, my life—conditional and limited.
It felt like I had stumbled upon a clue in the most unexpected place.
If the healing grimoire could truly heal any disease, maybe my life—practically a countdown—could be changed.
But the words that followed shattered that brief flicker of hope.
“Yeah, it’s an incredible book. Which is why it’s under a seal.”
“A seal?”
His made a gesture of drawing his thumb across his throat.
“The only way to break it is through the death of the ducal bloodlines who placed it—meaning, direct descendants like us.”
So to break the seal… it would have to be in exchange for my life.
“And here’s an even more interesting fact.”
His leaned closer, cupped his hand, and whispered into my ear.
“The Emperor has contracted a terminal illness.”
“What?”
I’d lost count of how many times I’d shouted “What?” today.
But this was the kind of thing you couldn’t not yell at.
I couldn’t keep my face under control today, no matter how hard I tried.
His spread his hands and shrugged.
“We don’t know exactly what the disease is. Her Majesty the Empress didn’t tell us that much.”
“What’s certain is that only the healing grimoire can cure him.”
At that, I suddenly understood why the Emperor had been so quick to approve me becoming a duchess.
Whether he aimed for Jefino or Mertiel, if his target was Mertiel, then keeping the only remaining direct heir—me—locked inside the ducal estate would be the perfect setup for his plan.
“If you think I’m lying, search the ducal mansion’s underground for the grimoire. It’ll be hidden, but since you’re the lady of the house, it shouldn’t be too hard to find.”
I hesitated for a moment before exhaling deeply.
The flood of information was beyond anything I’d imagined, and my head was in chaos.
“And what if I betray you and side with the Emperor after hearing all this?”
Hian and His exchanged amused smiles, as if I’d just told them a good joke.
“If you knew the Emperor even a little, you wouldn’t dare think that.”
“To him, we’re nothing more than good prey.”
When I pictured the Emperor, I had no choice but to agree, and I swallowed a sigh.
“So we’re proposing an alliance.”
“Well? Will you… join hands with us?”
The two men in front of me spoke with absolute confidence.
“It wouldn’t be a bad choice.”
“Satisfying a lady is our specialty, after all.”
Looking at their faint smiles, I slowly opened my mouth.
✦ ✦ ✦
It was a place removed from the rest of the world.
Inside it, Iris was quietly smiling at the birds, meeting their eyes. Then, suddenly, she lifted her head.
The man sitting across from her spoke first.
“If I say I’m curious about what Your Holiness has just seen, would you answer me?”
At his words, she turned her head slightly, the white cloth covering her eyes fluttering.
A graceful curve touched her lips.
“I’ve seen the reason His Majesty has come all the way here today.”
The man in front of her—the Emperor—rested his chin on his clasped hands and smiled pleasantly.
“Then I suppose you already know exactly what I’ve come to hear.”
The Emperor reached out and gently scratched under the chin of a bird lingering nearby.
“Will you answer me?”
As Pope and Saint, she was the only one who could truly stand as an equal to the Emperor.
And so, the Emperor addressed her with honorifics, showing her respect.
But no matter how refined the tone, the content itself was anything but pure.
Iris took the bird from the Emperor’s grasp.
“As expected, you’re keeping your lips sealed this time as well.”
She covered her mouth with her sleeve and laughed.
“My god wishes for me, His precious one, not to be involved in your affairs.”
“Well, of course. The embodiment of God Himself should be showered with nothing but love. It wouldn’t do for you to see something filthy.”
“……”
“……”
Though he could not see where her hidden eyes were looking, the Emperor was certain she was staring at him.
Iris slowly released the bird into the air.
“But Your Holiness, do remember that I hold countless hostages in my hands. I thought perhaps you’d forgotten, so I remind you again.”
Iris untied the cloth covering her eyes.
Her serenely closed lids came into view.
“You always speak of such boring things, Your Majesty.”
The “hostages” the Emperor referred to were the people of the Empire at his feet.
“They are my subjects, yes, but they are also those you are tasked to protect, Your Holiness.”
“That’s what I enjoy seeing in you, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor was called a wise and virtuous ruler, even though he had killed his own brothers and sat upon a throne soaked in blood.
But those who knew his true nature could be counted on one hand.
“You remind me so well that I cannot take a single life.”
The day Iris was elevated to Pope and Saint, the Emperor had come to her and said:
[The temple will always need the Empire’s aid, and having the temple is no bad thing for us. So this fight is meaningless.]
Thus began their ambiguous relationship, which continued to this day.
“But there’s one thing you’re mistaken about, Your Majesty.”
Her white eyes, hidden beneath pale lashes, slowly came into view.
“The only reason I love them is because my god loves them.”
At that, the Emperor chuckled as if amused.
“You really don’t understand that none of them have any value to me, do you?”
“Hah.”
The Emperor’s laughter gradually faded, though his smile remained.
“Of course I understand. Which is why, as long as your god loves all creation, Your Holiness will have no choice but to dance to my tune.”
Iris gave a faint, subtle smile at that.
“My, at this rate, our conversation will never end.”
At the Emperor’s words, Iris clapped her hands.
A priest in white robes entered.
The smile on the Emperor’s lips deepened.
“Shall we make a wager, as usual?”
At Iris’s voice, melting softly into the air, the Emperor smiled in satisfaction.
“As always, the winner gets whatever they wish.”
The priest placed a chessboard on the table between them.
White pieces and black pieces were neatly arranged before them.
“Chess today, is it?”
“I chose the game, so you make the first move.”
The Emperor moved his hand.
“I’m curious what Your Majesty will want from me this time.”
“You already know.”
The Emperor moved a pawn. Iris glanced at the still-empty board and moved a piece of her own.
“Yes, I know you’re curious about many things. But even if you win, all you get is one question—and one answer.”
They had played chess many times before.
Countless games.
Each match unpredictable in its outcome.
“I’ve been wondering what question to ask if I win this time.”
The perfectly smooth white piece looked almost tiny in the Emperor’s large hand.
“Whether I should let my wife keep amusing herself with her current little project.”
He placed his piece without hesitation on the alternating squares of the board.
“Or what exactly the young masters of House Jefino know—and how much.”
Who could have guessed that each move they made on this board could change the future?
“Or perhaps…”
Of course, Iris and the Emperor knew this well.
“What weakness Duke Mertiel is hiding.”
Iris placed her piece down without a flicker of hesitation.
The Emperor rolled the cold, fragile chess piece in his hand as he watched her.
“If I want an answer to even one of those, I’d better win, wouldn’t you say?”
In the entirely white space, the Emperor remained the only outsider.
