CHAPTER 30
. The High Priest’s Plan (6)
My heart dropped.
At that moment, Minte shouted at someone.
“What do you think you’re doing, Priest Halkion?!”
“What do you mean, Knight Cerberus?”
That smooth, composed voice sent chills down my spine.
Talos, the one who had confronted me earlier, appeared with a cold expression.
Even seeing Sisyphus’ bloodied face didn’t faze him.
Minte gritted her teeth, clearly furious at Talos’s attitude.
“You dare whisk them away without our permission?!”
“You claim these people are from the Holy Nation? I’ve never seen them before.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! I saw that bastard use divine power!”
Minte pointed an accusing finger at Sisyphus, voice rising with fury.
“That barrier spell—I’ve seen it a hundred times in Karon! Don’t you lie—!”
“Now, now, Sir Epicus.”
Drakon, standing nearby, smoothly cut in.
“The princess is watching. Let’s stay calm, shall we?”
“Urgh…!”
“And as for you… Priest Halkion.”
Drakon and Talos locked eyes.
Talos snorted dismissively.
“I understand your nerves are still frayed from the last war, but this is excessive.”
“Excessive…?”
“Do you suspect every suspicious human of being one of ours?”
Talos raised his voice just enough for the other human delegations to hear.
Drakon seemed to pick up on his intention and chuckled slyly.
“You’re right, priest. There’s no proof. If you’re offended, I apologize.”
“Whew. Glad you’re quick to concede—”
“Because,” Drakon said, clapping Talos on the shoulder, voice low and mocking even to my ears,
“proof is something you can make, after all.”
Is this what birthdays are supposed to be like? Full of threats and veiled violence?
The next evening.
Back in the Persen Palace, I stood on the balcony of my room, staring across at the main palace.
“So what Drakon meant was… they’re going to torture them for a confession, huh?”
They’ll probably twist their arms this way and that…
Just imagining it made me grab both cheeks in horror.
“Ughhh, horrible. But… I really want to know what happens next!”
At least now, I had a better sense of what the priests were after.
“They propped up a fake Saintess like Armene while they look for the real one’s soul.”
Because the Saintess’s divine power is tied to her soul.
But… how did they know it was in Tartarus?
“Divine power doesn’t even manifest here. So what tipped them off…?”
“Hey, Sion.”
“Eek!”
Ares suddenly poked his head up from the floor below.
For a moment, I froze at the sight of his disembodied head.
Then, a sudden realization made me raise my voice.
“…Ah! It was because of you, Ares!”
“Ugh, why are you yelling?!”
I should be the one saying ugh, damn it, you brat.
Because of Ares’s magic going haywire, I had used divine power, even if just for a moment!
“Is that what tipped them off?! But still…!”
Ares climbed all the way up onto my balcony.
“Ares! What are you doing?!”
Unfazed by my shock, Ares beamed at me.
“Sion. Let’s go to the Hades Palace.”
“…What? Ares, are you insane?”
“Aw, come on! Aren’t you curious?!”
What’s this kid even saying?
There were Epicus sisters downstairs, plus tight security!
Ares’s eyes gleamed even more intensely.
“They dragged those weird humans to Hades Palace, right?”
“Y-yeah.”
“So let’s go see what happened to them!”
“W-why are you curious about that?”
“If my brother brought them in on a dragon, of course I’m curious!”
“Ahem.”
“You’re not?”
Obviously, no one here is more curious than me.
Sure, I could wait until morning and ask the adults, but…
“It’s not like the Demon King would tell a kid princess like me anything.”
I glanced wistfully toward the Hades Palace.
Curiosity definitely outweighed fear.
“How are we supposed to get out? There are guards everywhere.”
“Oh, that’s—”
“Flyboy, I’m coming up now.”
…What?
I could’ve sworn I just heard a boy’s voice from below the balcony.
“I must be hallucinating. No one would be out at this hour…”
But then I heard a grunt—“heave-ho”—and a head of bright blond hair peeked into view.
Just like Ares had done, a boy pulled himself up onto the balcony.
Ares growled at the sight of him.
“Ugh, you again, blue eyes!”
“Good evening, Lady Sion!”
“Hey! Don’t call me that!”
“Shut it, flyboy.”
Why is Calion here again?
“C-Calion?!”
“Yes, Lady Sion!”
I didn’t say your name so you could beam at me like that!
Ares looked ready to explode like a tiny dragon.
“Didn’t I tell you not to come?!”
“I told you during the day—I don’t need your permission.”
“Stop acting all buddy-buddy with Sion!”
“What’s a mosquito like you gonna do about it?”
“You blue-eyed little—!”
Before Ares could actually swing, I hurriedly stepped between them.
“Wait, wait! Calion, how’d you get back in?!”
Calion glanced smugly at Ares.
Ares shrugged both shoulders arrogantly.
“I called him back. So what?”
“You did?”
“Yeah. Told him to hide in any tree. Just wait for my signal.”
“But there are way more guards than during the day…”
Calion looked annoyed at Ares, but smiled brightly at me.
“There were tons of guards, but I dodge them all the time back in the Holy Nation!”
I looked up at the sky, speechless.
“This kid’s been trained way too early…”
No wonder he found me.
Then, a sudden idea made me look up at Calion again.
“Calion.”
“Yes!”
“Can you tell me if those people… were really from the Holy Nation?”
“Ah…”
The brightness in his expression dimmed.
“To be honest, even I’m not sure if they’re really our priests.”
“Hmm. I see.”
“Priest Talos already said they weren’t…”
Well, someone like Calion, who was treated like a disgrace to the royal family, would have less say than Talos.
Calion looked awkward.
“I-I really am useful! So if you’re curious about what’s going to happen to them—”
“Calion.”
I took both of his hands in mine.
“You don’t have to prove you’re useful like that.”
“…”
“So don’t worry, okay?”
“Lady Sion…!”
Calion tried to take my hand in return—but Ares suddenly grabbed his wrist tightly.
“Hey, blue eyes.”
“…What, red mosquito?”
“Watch your eyes when you talk to our princess.”
Before Calion could respond, Ares grabbed my hand this time.
His eyes sparkled with determination.
“Let’s go, Sion. It’ll be fun.”
“Urgh…”
“C’mon! This all happened on your birthday. Don’t you wanna know what’s going on?”
They might be big for their age, but they’re still kids.
But… just this once…
I swallowed hard.
“How long am I going to keep shrinking back in fear and guilt?”
Even if I go hungry, I’ve always fought back when something feels wrong.
“And even if we get caught, I’ll just say I dragged them along.”
“…Fine. Let’s sneak a peek!”
“Yesss!”
“W-Whaaat?!”
As soon as I agreed, Ares immediately scooped me into his arms.
Calion scowled deeply.
“H-how dare you lift Lady Sion like that—!”
“If you’re jealous, try it yourself!”
“What did you just say?!”
“Ares, stooop!”
I pounded on his shoulder.
“Where does this kid learn these words?!”
Calion ground his teeth, then turned and marched ahead.
“Keep up, mosquito boy.”
“Don’t pick fights in someone else’s country, blue-eyes.”
“Stooop it…!”
“Oh, and Sion, watch your tongue for a second.”
“Huh? Mmph! Mmgh!”
If I hadn’t clamped my mouth shut at that moment, I might’ve bitten my tongue.
Because those two idiots—carrying me—leapt straight off the third-floor balcony!
