~Chapter 119~
Elcayan spoke to Delphina.
“Are you alright, Delphina?”
Delphina nodded. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t surprised.
She had guessed Piaje might do something, but she hadn’t expected him to order Johannes to kill her.
He must have been that cornered.
But Johannes and the Empress Yuria were the ones who had dealt with her parents by evil means. Having succeeded once, the second time would have been even easier.
Delphina couldn’t stand that they had even thought of such a thing.
If they’d succeeded, I would have died.
And Johannes would have been branded with false charges and suffered guilt for the rest of his life.
He would have lived as a criminal, stripped of his title as prince.
On top of that, it could have led to war between the Western and Eastern Empires. If that happened, countless people would have died.
Delphina walked toward Piaje and met his eyes.
“To be honest, I didn’t hold a grudge against you.”
Piaje’s mouth stiffened.
“I often saw you at Northern Chicken, eating tteokbokki and chicken with such enjoyment. I thought maybe you weren’t a bad person.”
Delphina whispered softly,
“I also know what your mother did to my parents.”
Piaje’s eyes trembled slightly. He knew what Yuria had done to become Empress.
Thanks to that, he had enjoyed a rich and happy childhood.
On the day his mother became Empress, he saw the nobles who had been on Johannes’s side turn around. They watched his face and bowed to him.
So even after he learned the truth, he thought his mother’s choice was right—because it let him have everything.
But while he laughed and enjoyed himself, Delphina’s world collapsed.
Piaje had never once felt guilty about that.
He thought there was nothing to be done—his life had become prosperous because of it.
Delphina continued,
“I didn’t think you were at fault. A child doesn’t get to choose.”
Delphina hadn’t blamed Piaje. When the Empress committed her crimes, Piaje had only been a child.
“But now, you made the choice yourself.”
Delphina wore a bitter smile. In the end, Piaje had chosen to walk the same path as Yuria.
Piaje squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t know what punishment he’d receive, but one thing was certain.
I’ll never eat chicken and tteokbokki again for the rest of my life.
It was a trivial thing, but it felt horrifying.
Because of Piaje’s actions, the hunting competition was stopped and the schedule was delayed.
Once the hidden facts came out, other buried truths naturally surfaced as well.
Sestia was visiting the Lohaim Grand Duke’s townhouse in the capital. She looked at Johannes beside her.
Johannes had arranged to visit with Sestia to see Delphina. He wanted to tell Delphina directly what was happening now.
Johannes looked brighter than ever. After it was revealed that Piaje had used black magic, Johannes became very busy—because he was investigating, together with Sestia, what the Empress and Piaje had done.
“You look much better these days, Prince Johannes.”
Sestia held out a fortune slip to him.
“Your Highness Johannes, congratulations. I’ll let you draw a special fortune.”
“Fortune draw?”
“The temple’s fortune draw played a big part in helping Lady Delphina this time. The accuracy is amazing!”
“Oh? That sounds fun.”
Johannes picked one of the papers Sestia offered.
<You will be overflowing with work. Your fate is to live with work all your life.>
“Hm, that’s too obvious. It’s already expected that I’ll work a lot.”
“Draw one more.”
Johannes drew another slip.
<A thief will take away the person you cherish most. Shouldn’t you open your eyes wide and keep watch?>
At that, Johannes’s face hardened.
Sestia’s expression also grew serious.
“This looks troublesome again. That can’t be right.”
Sestia also knew that the person Johannes cherished most was Delphina.
Johannes narrowed his eyes at Elcayan, who was sticking closely to Delphina’s side.
“Don’t tell me this thief is…”
Elcayan shrugged.
“I don’t know.”
“Hm.”
Sestia also looked at Elcayan with suspicion. The “thief” in the fortune draw was clearly pointing to Elcayan.
“We probably don’t need to care too much about the fortune.”
Sestia quickly put the fortune slips away. Johannes nodded and said,
“His Majesty has turned completely away from the Empress… No, she’s not Empress anymore. From Yuria and Piaje.”
Sestia, standing next to Johannes, nodded.
“Yes. Leaving the punishment to our temple means he’s completely changed his mind. He truly doesn’t care about them at all.”
Sestia began to tell Delphina what had happened so far.
“The temple has launched a large investigation into black magic—starting with who supplied the bead that Second Prince Piaje had.”
Delphina nodded.
“That’s a relief, that everything is being revealed one by one.”
She had already told Sestia about the memory the god Frad had shown her.
“The Empress has been confined in the temple. His Majesty has stated he will not involve himself in this matter. It’s all thanks to your excellent plan, Lady Delphina.”
Sestia smiled slightly.
“If you want power, you should gain it fairly. I plan to take the criminals to the North.”
“To the North?”
“Yes, and while we’re at it, I plan to take the Duke and Duchess of Rikeion to the North as well. Since they were involved in incidents related to black magic, they must now pay a proper price.”
Johannes said to Delphina,
“Thanks to you, we were able to reveal that our parents were wrongfully killed. I will repay this debt.”
Delphina nodded.
“Hm, but who is that thief? Saintess, is this fortune draw really accurate?”
“It does seem to be quite accurate.”
“How dare someone steal what I cherish? I’m curious.”
Johannes and Sestia kept looking at Elcayan as they spoke. Of course, Elcayan had no intention of playing along with their jokes.
“Shouldn’t you both be going now?”
Johannes was quick to read the room. Noticing that Elcayan was in a foul mood, he answered immediately,
“I was about to. Saintess, let’s go.”
“I also have urgent business at the temple. Then, Lady Delphina, I’ll see you next time.”
The two of them quickly left.
Unlike Johannes, Elcayan didn’t look well. Since meeting Delphina, he had always maintained an excellent physique—because her food satisfied his picky tastes.
But in the past few days, he hadn’t been able to eat. His nerves were so tense that he often couldn’t sleep.
I can’t help but worry.
Elcayan knew it too. He could no longer delay talking about the contract with Delphina. So he planned to settle the matter clearly today.
The fortune draw is incredibly accurate.
The thief who would take what Johannes cherished most was clearly referring to him.
And today, he planned to give Delphina a proper confession.
