Chapter 65
“Your expression doesn’t look good.”
At my words, Hyst stepped closer and quietly stared at me.
I met his gaze and frowned slightly.
“What? If you have something to say, just say it.”
“Ugh…”
He seemed conflicted, wearing a serious expression as he scratched his head.
Then, he suddenly lifted his head and blurted out,
“Are you really going to marry him?”
“What?”
“No, right? Your birth has always been a known issue. If you were afraid of it being exposed, you would’ve fled to the Papal State long ago, right?”
“Hyst.”
“So is this all part of the princess’s scheme too? Using marriage as bait to get something from that guy?”
“Stop.”
At my word, Hyst, who had been chattering non-stop, came to a sudden halt.
I crossed my arms and looked up at him.
“Start with this. How do you even know that? Did you see everything?”
Hyst avoided my eyes, looking sheepish.
“I didn’t exactly see it on purpose…”
He peeked at me cautiously, his voice low as he tried to explain.
“I had some business with the princess, so I teleported toward the greenhouse. I could hear voices from over there, so I used invisibility magic and went toward the voices—and that’s when I saw the princess and that guy standing side by side.”
“Huh. So you were spying. How much did you hear?”
“Just a little. Really just a little!”
“Be precise.”
“…From the part about flowers needing to attract insects and birds with bright colors in order to reproduce naturally?”
Right from the beginning, huh.
I let out a hollow laugh in disbelief, and the spirits quietly appeared, glaring at Hyst in disdain.
[Looks like he even got past the sound barrier I made and listened in~?]
[Wow, how close was he?]
[Hyst had no idea we were here! How dare he spy on the master! Bad!]
I agreed with the spirits’ outrage.
When I gave him a cold look, Hyst froze and quickly apologized.
“Sorry, Princess. I couldn’t resist my curiosity…! I won’t ever do it again!”
“….”
“Really! So please don’t glare at me… Ah! But I brought something really good. I even postponed everything just to bring this to you.”
Hyst said this as he quickly rummaged through the air.
It looked like he was searching a pocket dimension warehouse that only high-level mages could create.
I shrugged lightly at the sight.
‘He postponed everything just to bring this…’
The heir of the Mage Tower is going to pull another handful of his hair.
Honestly, I wasn’t really angry at Hyst.
Eavesdropping on my conversation with Count Zelaur was annoying, but it wasn’t exactly important information.
‘Besides, he immediately apologized.’
He admitted his mistake and promised not to do it again, so I could let this one slide.
As I relaxed slightly, Hyst smiled brightly and revealed something.
“Found it!”
“That’s the ‘good thing’?”
It was tightly wrapped in cloth, with patches of dirt on it.
‘Did he dig this up from the ground?’
Even with my dry reaction, Hyst chuckled quietly.
“You’ll be surprised when you see what it is, Princess.”
He carefully removed the cloth.
It was the first time I’d seen Hyst handle something so delicately, so I stepped closer to see it.
Soon…
“Ta-da! What do you think?”
[Wow!]
[Oh my~!]
[Oho!]
“This is…”
The spirits and I were all mesmerized, staring at the object Hyst brought.
It was none other than a dagger with a pure white blade.
‘And the energy flowing from it is very similar to the spirits’ own energy.’
A single flower was engraved on the dagger’s hilt.
I immediately recognized the flower.
“A dahlia.”
“That’s right.”
Hyst handed the dagger to me confidently.
“Anyone can see this is the goddess Dahlia’s artifact, right?”
“Where did you even get this… Did you secretly take it from the temple?”
He was the type of man who acted on impulse.
He had once sneaked into the Imperial Central Museum just because he wanted to see a dragon’s treasure.
When I gave him a suspicious look, Hyst grinned mischievously.
“If that were the case, I would’ve met the temple people and had some fun. But unfortunately, not this time. I found it in the Duchy.”
“The Duchy? You mean in Imperial lands?”
A divine artifact in Lornod?
Hyst seemed pleased by my surprise as he explained proudly.
“There was a wheat field that got completely burned in a fire, so we cleared it out. We buried the nutrient-depleted soil and dug up the fertile inner soil. Our tower was helping with the work, but one section had unstable magical energy.”
I focused on Hyst’s explanation.
“Most mages wouldn’t notice it, but how could it escape my eyes? And since the fire itself was caused by strange magical energy, I dug that part up thoroughly just in case.”
“And that’s when you found this.”
He muttered this as he examined the dagger carefully.
Hyst nodded enthusiastically, folding his arms.
“The cloth covering the dagger was a magical tool that concealed its energy. And since this land had never been left fallow, no one realized this was buried here.”
“So someone intentionally hid the dagger.”
“Certainly not a commoner.”
“Right, it was probably someone from the Telum Duchy lineage.”
So many people must have passed through that wheat field.
Even with mages coming to install magical tools, no one noticed it—except Hyst.
‘Then the cloth itself must be a high-value magical tool.’
The dagger was clearly not ordinary, so it would have been difficult for anyone but a powerful authority to possess it.
Moreover, the wheat field was personally maintained by the Telum Duchy.
If the dagger truly belonged to a member of the Telum Duchy, then hiding it carefully like this made perfect sense.
‘The Lornod royal family has always been opposed to the gods, and it was even stricter in the past.’
If a member of a ducal family with succession rights were caught possessing a divine artifact…
I could imagine the consequences clearly.
“But… can you just take this? If it was found in the Duchy, it’s obviously the Duchy’s property.”
“That’s something the Duchy would have to know about, isn’t it~?”
Hyst grinned mischievously, shrugging.
“I was the only one who dug up the dagger. Absolutely no one knew.”
“So you just took it without asking?”
“Don’t worry, Princess. I’ll take care of everything. And since it’s a temple artifact, it’s not exactly the Duchy’s property anyway.”
I frowned slightly, giving him a sharp look.
But I realized there wasn’t much reason to scold him.
‘As Hyst said, it’s a waste to give this to the Duchy.’
Officially, all divine artifacts found in the Empire are collected by the Imperial family.
The emperor decides how to dispose of them.
Even if the Duchy managed the dagger alone without reporting it…
‘The chance of it ending up in my hands would be slim.’
If it were just for viewing, fine—but asking for it would have no justification.
It would just spread rumors that I’m a child of the gods.
Since Marin’s copying ability won’t be usable for now, Hyst’s unilateral action actually benefits me.
“I did well, right? This is definitely good for the Princess, isn’t it?”
Maybe he noticed I wasn’t scolding him.
Hyst regained his usual composure and grinned.
I smirked slightly at the sight.
“Huh? The Princess is smiling?”
“I always smile.”
“No, that last one was genuine.”
“Think what you want.”
“So… can you finally tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“Are you really going to marry him?”
“….”
[Persistent! So persistent!]
[Guys like that aren’t attractive~.]
[Hey, fool! Our master wouldn’t marry some one-eyed nerd like that!]
“Oh! Nesgal is mad! Did you just call me an idiot? So that means you’re not getting married, right?!”
Honestly, why does it even matter?
Whether I marry or not doesn’t hurt him at all.
But Hyst seemed determined to get an answer.
With his sparkling, pleading eyes, I eventually gave him the response he wanted.
“I won’t. Just as you guessed, it was all part of a new plan.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Marriage is just bait.”
“Then why were you so close to that guy? Almost hugging him?”
“Hyst Neton.”
“Ah, got it. You’re saying ‘don’t cross the line,’ right?”
He knows me well.
Even after explaining everything, Hyst pouted, dissatisfied.
But I ignored him and focused on the dagger.
“By the way, what can this dagger do?”
“Ah.”
