The current king of Poseidonia, Tyndareus, believed himself to be the direct descendant of Diocles and the rightful guardian of the Spear of Pontos. However, the Spear of Pontos that Diocles had received long ago had been lost for ages.
Tyndareus was notorious as a tyrannical king, but originally he had been a very timid and introverted boy. He was a bastard son by birth, cast aside by his own father and treated worse than an insect in a corner of the royal palace.
Trampled pride and accumulated inferiority.
The boy’s transformation into a monster was truly lamentable, yet natural.
After ascending the throne, the young Tyndareus was obsessed solely with establishing his authority for the first ten years. However, he had no interest whatsoever in state affairs and detested the nagging of his ministers; so rather than achieving feats himself, it was only natural that he wished to lean on the reputation or achievements of someone already renowned.
The first of these was the priestess of Delphi.
Tyndareus asked the priestess: what must he do to find the Spear of Pontos? Despite having already wasted much of the nation’s resources on countless futile efforts, he could not abandon the legend of Diocles.
The priestess, discerning the king’s intentions, uttered tantalizing words.
“The Spear of Pontos slumbers across the sea in the Eastern Continent, waiting for the touch of the true successor.”
Tyndareus immediately organized a private army. He scoured every inch of the land of deserts and oases across the sea. The treasure hunters he supplied were mostly nothing but street ruffians and swindlers, but the young king was as blind as a bat to the ways of the world, and there was no one to enlighten him.
The national treasury soon began to run dry.
Eastern Continent merchants and treasure hunters continuously offered all manner of slaves and entertainments to win Tyndareus’s favor. Tyndareus was pleased and kept them as his closest confidants.
The palace structure gradually changed to allow them easy passage. Secret rooms multiplied, the shaded gardens grew more complex, and hidden doors disguised here and there opened and closed, evading the guards’ eyes.
The palace was like a vast labyrinth. Like an ancient grand temple, countless stairs and pillars were connected in a lattice pattern, forming an altar-like structure.
Tightly shut red doors and guards standing before them. A colonnade with tall pillars erected in a row. Passing one colonnade and ascending stairs that spread like a horizon, another firmly closed door appeared, with a guard standing before it.
An Eastern, mystical palace.
The king’s chamber likely awaited at the end of the highest stairs, past the most sacred pillars.
Seeing Gainas with his hands behind his back, the guards silently opened the door. As he nodded and walked, the ever-arrogant smile hung at Gainas’s lips.
Asteril, dressed in borrowed priestly robes, adjusted the hood on her head with her hand and glanced around. A thick floral scent wafted from deep within the palace.
Flower petals floated atop the shallow square pond, heaped thickly. On a cart, colorful flower petals were stacked high. Asteril stared intently at the flower cart.
“Lord Gainas, have you arrived?”
The guard captain rushed out from within and, bowing obsequiously to Gainas, guided them inward.
It was finally the main palace garden where one could have an audience with King Tyndareus. It was also called the King’s Garden.
Following the gold-leafed walls, a flower garden planted with exotic flowers spread out, filling the horizon.
Asteril paused. For a moment all her senses went numb. The faint voices of the garden trees and flowers reached her ears. They were groans mixed with pain.
Asteril covered her nose and looked around. Then she saw something that caught her gaze.
“What… is that? Is it a floating fountain?”
“Indeed. This main palace was originally built by His Majesty Diocles, the first king, but the secret of that fountain hanging in the air has never been solved. At its peak, the legendary treasure—the trident—was originally preserved, but it is now lost. Truly a regrettable matter.”
Asteril watched with curious eyes the fountain floating like a lotus before the gabled roof.
Triton, a city where the development of commerce and civilization had once been dazzling. The royal palace was classical and beautiful, befitting its grandeur. Yet many things seemed to have faded, having lost their original meaning.
Following the guard captain, she entered the king’s chamber. Between rows of red pillars standing side by side, guards standing at attention were visible.
The floor was glossy and clean like a mirror. The walls, decorated with gold, glittered blindingly. At the front was a wooden dais, and upon it stood an ornate throne waiting for her.
The throne was made with a wooden seat and backrest coated with plaster, upon which tree resin was applied and gold leaf attached. It was undoubtedly a masterpiece crafted by one of the most skilled artisans in the capital.
It was a lavish room that drained one’s soul, as if it were the dwelling of the sun god. Anyone would be overwhelmed and fall to their knees. Yet Asteril lowered her eyes with an expression devoid of emotion.
It was all because of Callian.
Since her first encounter with him, who had sat leisurely in the darkness looking down at her askance, she felt nothing no matter what throne she saw or what sovereign she faced.
“Are you Princess Asteril?”
A figure emerged from behind the pillars, resting a hand on the throne’s backrest as he asked.
Auburn hair and dark pupils.
The short, thin man struck a peculiar pose, thrusting his jaw forward and pulling his neck back, as if flaunting his position.
Hadn’t Tyndareus been said to be over fifty?
As she narrowed her eyes, Gainas’s whisper reached her ear.
“He is Prince Perius, first in line for the throne.”
Tyndareus had taken to his sickbed several days ago due to poor health. He had suffered from various chronic illnesses, but this was the first time his condition had deteriorated enough to impair his movement.
He had delegated all state affairs to the twenty-five-year-old prince and was resting deep within the palace.
The retainers showed Prince Perius the same courtesy and dignity as the current king, as he would soon inherit the throne. It was virtually no different from him having already ascended.
Prince Perius had shown deep interest in her, the Miracle of Cocytus. The reason he had readily accepted her audience was born of personal curiosity.
Perius plopped down on the throne in a crooked posture.
When he crossed his legs, proudly displaying his protruding knees, the red garment wrapped around his body rolled under the chair, yet no one seemed inclined to point out his ridiculous appearance.
Everyone merely watched the prince’s mood with tense postures.
“If it were your sister, she would arrive in at least fifteen days; it seems you have arrived far too early.”
Having heard of all the complex domestic affairs, the prince’s informal insolence was somewhat understandable. Still, she couldn’t help but frown.
It was an attitude that knew nothing of propriety. No, one could easily guess that he wasn’t the type to listen even if someone tried to teach him. Only someone so immature could have developed such mannerisms. That wasn’t rudeness; it was ignorance.
The prince seemed quite infatuated with playing at the throne.
Asteril gracefully lowered herself and bowed her head.
“I greet Prince Perius. I am Asteril, the Third Princess of Demeter.”
“So, you are the Miracle of Cocytus?”
Perius leaned forward from the throne and asked with excitement.
Asteril smiled quietly. Having met all sorts of people in the border city, she was sick to death of dealing with eccentric humans.
“Your Highness surely knows well. Unlike my sisters, I am a priestess living a life devoted to the gods in a small city on the provincial border, not the capital Sidae. So at times, I even forget that I am a princess. His Majesty my father does not send me palace news unless there is a major incident. I also failed to receive word that my sister Penelope was going to Triton. Has the date for your gamos been decided?”
Perius’s expression shifted from surprise to curiosity.
“I see. Even though you are a princess, you must live an austere life as a priestess? Commendable, truly excellent! Princess Penelope should be on her way to Delphi by now. I sent a messenger to your mother asking to send her to Delphi. She will receive the gamos date directly from the priestess of Delphi as my betrothed. She will also prove her body pure, blessed by the gods.”
Listening to the explanation, Asteril narrowed her eyes. She recalled her father clenching his fists in humiliation.
“I see. We do not have such customs in Demeter, however….”
Perius laughed heartily. “You wouldn’t, since Demeter is ruled by a woman,” he said, raising the corners of his mouth.
Thinking that Penelope too would kneel to this immature man feeling such contempt and shame, Asteril’s breath grew short.
Asteril regained her composure and curved her eyes into crescents again. She could see Perius’s expression brighten each time she smiled.
“The reason I requested an audience today is to meet my friend who resides here.”
“Oh? Your friend? Who might that be?”
“Princess Tethys. How does she fare?”
The smile on Perius’s cheerful face cut off abruptly. His expression suddenly hardened as he stared down at her.
“You were close with Tethys? Since when?”
“I first met Lady Tethys in Hades. She has been a very precious and dear person to me since then.”
“You met in Hades?”
“Yes, for I too was a maiden sent to Hades.”
“A maiden to Hades? I see….”
Perius asked as if displeased, then firmly shut his mouth.
Soon he rose from the throne and signaled to Gainas and the guard captain.
“I have another schedule, so it would be best to end the audience here.”
“Then what about Lady Tethys—”
“Tethys is unwell, they say. Wouldn’t it be better to give up on meeting her?”
Perius, his attitude completely changed, ended the conversation in an irritable tone. He disappeared through the king’s private passage behind the pillars with annoyed steps.
Gainas rubbed his temples anxiously. Having spun in place, he examined the guards standing at each pillar, then took a frustrated breath.
Asteril gazed at the empty throne, lost in thought. Gainas, watching her, opened his mouth as if to scold her, then quickly lowered his voice.
“No, I! Hoo…. Didn’t I tell you? Prince Perius and Lady Tethys are ill-fated enemies that will end only when one of them dies?”
The allied forces that had raided Lethe included the Poseidonia army as well. It was Prince Perius who had sent the troops. The power of Poseidonia had already tilted toward him enough to move generals without the king’s knowledge.
Moreover, he had added a secret order to assassinate the princesses if the raid succeeded. He even set the condition that it must be disguised as death by the King of Hades’s hand.
“How could you openly say that Princess Tethys is your precious friend to such a person?”
“I did it on purpose.”
“Excuse me?”
Asteril silently stared at the floor, then rose. If her thinking was correct, Prince Perius was rash and hot-tempered—a man who acted the moment he thought.
“By the way, there’s something I’ve been wondering about since earlier….”
Gainas, who had been sighing deeply with a complicated face, raised his eyebrows as if asking what. Asteril covered her nose with the cloth on her head and cast her gaze toward the garden outside the door.
“What is the identity of this scent permeating the entire palace?”
“Scent? Ah, you mean the floral fragrance? It must be the flowers brought from Delphi. They were brought in recently and planted throughout the garden, and they happen to be in full bloom. The petals have a very mystical color, and the scent has a calming effect on the mind and body, so His Majesty favors it greatly.”
Calming the mind? No matter how you looked at it, the thick scent permeating even inside the building….
—Welcome, beautiful stranger….
—Closer, come closer….
Whether flower or beast, there is only one reason to dazzle and disorient one’s opponent.
Warning.
Those dazzling things capable of paralyzing the senses usually harbor poison while waiting for their prey.
“How is King Tyndareus using these flowers?”
“They say he brews them into tea.”
“I see.”
Gainas made an expression of incomprehension. Asteril walked past him as if to say she was done.
Her head was beginning to ache.
Ψ
The sky grew dark, and with a rumbling sound, a lashing rain fell.
Sssshhhh.
It was a short, fierce shower.
Suddenly, she recalled a discussion with the princesses that had started one day with the sound of thunder.
“There is a story that Uranus’s wife is not Gaia, but Ananke.”
“It is said that the Mother God loved the beings of this land so much that she did not pair with anyone.”
When she had met Ananke in Lethe, she had actually wanted to grab even the hem of her robe and ask.
Is my mother truly Gaia? Do you know where she is now? If you do, please tell me, please….
The sound of the cool pouring rain gradually subsided. Before long, birds chirped again, and the smell of wet earth flooded in.
Having toured the palace under the pretext of wanting to see the temple, Asteril moved back toward the main palace.
Perius showed her favor, saying, “If you wish, you may stay in the palace as long as you like,” and arranged lodgings for her in a detached palace annexed to the main palace.
She thought there was no need for him to go so far, yet she didn’t even want to send a refusal.
“This way.”
It was a room overlooking the King’s Garden at a glance. Asteril narrowed her eyes after reading the inscription carved beside the door.
Room of the Red Rose.
The court lady watching her cues lowered her head hastily in confusion when Asteril’s expression scrunched up in displeasure.
When Asteril closed the door and entered her quarters, Bukpung followed and asked why she was like that, and she sighed.
“This place… is a room that insults the Mother God.”
The red rose was known as the symbol of the promise between Gaia of the earth and Ananke of fate.
Gaia took immense interest in human lives, and despite the dissuasion of her husband and peers, she secretly descended to the surface to mingle with humans.
To avoid the eyes of those who disapproved, she sometimes disguised herself. Yet no matter how perfect the disguise, she could not deceive the eyes of Ananke, her closest friend who possessed the spiritual eye.
But contrary to her fears, Ananke secretly presented Gaia with a red rose as a sign that she would keep the secret. From then on, the red rose came to mean secrecy.
“What is this?”
“Peach blossom wine.”
Could it be that the wine Gaia presented in return for the secrecy was that peach blossom wine?
Asteril lay down, pulling a purple blanket over herself. Rose vines carved into the ceiling were visible. They spread tangled, like the hair of a reclining woman.
By the window overlooking the garden was a chair with its armrests wrapped tightly in papyrus, and beneath it, beautiful fabrics with Eastern patterns were layered.
Opposite the window was a balcony open to the east. The salty scent of the sea before Triton drifted in on the breeze.
This place, the second floor of the detached palace, was designed to be connected to the king’s chamber in the main palace by a hidden passage, allowing easy travel without needing to go through the garden.
“It is a room for the king’s secret comings and goings. Look at the furniture and decorations. They are all for women.”
Asteril sighed with a tired expression.
“The secret symbolized by the red rose is not something so vulgar….”
Once again, she clicked her tongue at the frivolity and ignorance of this nation’s king, Tyndareus. It was unbelievable that the learned and cultured Lady Tethys was his daughter.
Unable to contain her curiosity, Asteril rose from her bed and walked to the window. She caressed the soft chair arm wrapped in papyrus, trying to guess who the chair’s owner had been.
“What is this…?”
A small lidded bottle lay toppled on the ash-tree woven seat.
It was a container with geometric patterns incised into it, wide and round at the bottom and narrowing toward the top.
A jewelry box? No, cosmetics?
Asteril carefully opened the lid and smelled it. It was an unconscious act born from her habit of tending herbs at the temple.
Soon she closed the lid as if startled and about to drop it. Bukpung tilted his head and asked.
—What’s wrong?
“I don’t know, something smells terribly foul.”
Something like viscous yellow clay was inside. It seemed to be applied to the body like an ointment or cosmetic.
Asteril examined the bottle closely with suspicious eyes.
The handle protruding from the lid was unusual. It was a coiled snake sculpture. The open-mouthed snake’s fangs were intricately crafted.
“Someone must have left it behind after using it.”
As Asteril lifted the lid and carefully examined the craftsmanship again, her pupils trembled slightly.
Pythia (Πυθία).
It was carved on the inside of the lid.
—Why are you acting like that?
When Bukpung asked in puzzlement, Asteril cast him a sidelong glance. As expected, that one definitely couldn’t read.
“Pythia means priestess.”
“Priestess?”
“Among them, Pythia refers to a specific priestess….”
Before Delphi became an oracle, it was called Pytho. Python is a serpent. Therefore, Pythia means the woman of Python—that is, the serpent priestess.
Priests of Demeter mostly knew divination. Especially those who rose to the rank of high priest or above learned geomancy, and Demeter’s people, who had long believed in Kore’s geomancy, trusted their own high priests’ readings more than the oracle of Delphi, whose location they didn’t even know.
Therefore, unlike Poseidonia, Delphi’s presence was weak in Demeter. Even the priests showed little interest.
Thus Asteril too had been unaware.
That Delphi’s breath would obscure the world so completely, enshrouding it like fog—she had never imagined it.
That evening, Perius invited Asteril to dinner, but she expressed her refusal, citing an upset stomach.
Gainas dropped by with his hands behind his back. A large bouquet of flowers that Perius had personally sent was nestled against his thick chest.
He closed the quarters’ door and immediately approached Asteril, bending down. After checking beyond the window with a wary gaze, he lowered his voice.
“Things have grown complicated.”
“Why?”
“Lady Tethys is not in the palace.”
“If not in the palace, then where is she?”
“This is something I didn’t know either…. It seems Prince Perius sent Lady Tethys to the Valley of Death. Because he moved so secretly, even my close associates failed to notice. It appears he is determined to kill the princess at any cost.”
“No matter how great the prince’s power, how could he dare kill Lady Tethys, the legitimate eldest daughter of the royal family, so arbitrarily….”
“Once dead, covering it up is easy. While alive, there are attendants and so-called close associates, but once dead and in the coffin, there is no one to remain by one’s side. Parents, siblings, children—all useless. The beautiful, noble final moments of those who died after being pushed from power are fabrications in every nation. Lady Tethys too will be recorded to Prince Perius’s taste. ‘The princess who blamed herself for the people’s suffering volunteered to become a sacrificial offering on the altar, and thus met her end atop the cliff.’”
Poseidonia’s national fortune was declining. The people grew increasingly enraged, glaring at the royal palace and temple. One could see how the public mood had grown ominous in recent years just by looking at Triton’s agora.
Beggars hiding behind shops at every turn. Shopkeepers never let go of their clubs with angry faces. They would not spare even children from the cudgel.
Everyone seemed to have something broken in a corner of their hearts.
“What about Lady Amphitrite?”
“She is nowhere to be seen. She likely escaped the palace or was sent as a sacrifice together with Lady Tethys. In truth, Prince Perius has little interest in Lady Amphitrite…. He probably won’t bother hunting her down to kill her.”
“What about Lady Melinoe? Have you looked for her?”
“Do you mean the princess who came from Aphrodisias? There was no record of her entering the palace in the first place.”
“There isn’t?”
Asteril, lost in deep thought, asked a question she had almost forgotten.
“What about the court lady I asked you to look into?”
“Ah, do you mean the embalmer?”
“Embalmer?”
“It seems there was some mistake. There are no bodies in the palace, yet suddenly an embalmer…. The guard captain found it suspicious and temporarily imprisoned her. Usually, when women are brought suddenly from outside the palace, it’s for the Pleasure Palace; plus, the court lady who said she’d introduce the job disappeared without a trace, so….”
“What is the Pleasure Palace?”
“It is a place meant to provide pleasure to His Majesty. Though recently it seems His Highness Prince Perius is building something similar as well….”
Asteril was at a loss for words. Black, ashen dregs seemed to rise in her chest.
“Anyway, that woman seemed to know nothing, so she was released. She must have returned to the agora by now.”
“I see, that’s a relief.”
A dark, murky emotion mixed with rage and frustration coiled thickly in her chest. This nation was beyond salvation. If things continued this way, it would clearly end in one of two ways: collapse by foreign invasion or self-destruction by civil strife.
Tethys’s desperate eyes kept surfacing in her mind.
“Um… but Lady Asteril.”
When she looked at him with a questioning gaze, Gainas rubbed his hands together and forced a smile.
“At this point, I believe I have done everything I can for you….”
“Yes, you’ve worked hard.”
“Then next, to Princess Penelope, please put in a good word for me—”
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
Asteril replied halfheartedly. One could call it a punitive compromise, but such a sly man would never expect no reward.
“I shall surely remember your labors, Gainas.”
Ψ
She lay quietly straight under the flower-scented blanket. Her long black hair was left outside the blanket. It was a sign to the god of eternal sleep: I do not wish to go to the underworld yet.
Moonlight from the window fell as if caressing the ornamental chair. She stared endlessly at the pouring moonlight illuminating the floating dust with an inexplicable sense of foreboding. The light seemed to blur hazily across her retina.
Creak.
The firmly closed door to her quarters opened. Asteril unclasped her folded hands.
Bukpung, sitting on the windowsill, glared at the intruder. An uninvited guest. He whispered in a tone full of hostility. She gently raised herself so the blanket wouldn’t rustle.
“Miracle of Cocytus, you… are you already asleep?”
Perius, walking in with his hands behind his back, sat astride the bed. His voice seemed to emit a foul stench.
“Were you waiting for me?”
He reached for her as she sat with her back to him. Asteril cast a sidelong glance and slipped away as if sliding through his fingers.
“Eos has prostrated herself in the sky. It is the hour when Demeter’s people kiss the sacred jar and fall asleep. To soil the cleanly swept threshold with the dirt of night is a very blasphemous act.”
A smile spread across Perius’s lips.
“You are a woman who serves the gods down to your very soul. How could my heart not tremble?”
“….”
“From the beginning, I wanted you, who are called the incarnation of Gaia. But His Majesty my father scolded me fiercely. How dare I covet the Miracle of Cocytus, beloved by the gods, he said. He told me to cast aside that filthy desire at once.”
For the first time, she saw something human in Tyndareus. Was that hatred of his own kind?
“His Majesty was contemptible. You yourself have lived a life mixed with blasphemy and contradiction, yet now you speak of divine censure…. In any case, I could not openly oppose the king’s will, so there was nothing to be done. Naturally, marriage negotiations proceeded with your sister, Princess Penelope. Though it is a bit regrettable for you….”
Regrettable? It was so out of the blue that she almost cut in abruptly.
“But facing you today, my heart sways carelessly like the reeds of the underworld. Certainly, in beauty your sister Penelope is superior. That is the truth. But why is it….”
As Perius’s eyes grew hazy, Asteril tensed with foreboding.
He wasn’t even drunk, yet his pupils were dilating so easily. At that level, he probably couldn’t communicate normally even on a regular day—like a man living on clouds. In short, he was mad.
“You do not exude sensuality like the dancers of the East, nor do you tempt me with a honeyed voice that would melt the ears…. Yet strangely, I cannot take my eyes off you.”
Asteril swatted away the hand reaching out as if to caress her cheek, a bitter smile touching her lips.
“Then please, keep your eyes closed. I am about to leave.”
“This room is a place for sharing secret love. My royal father also took many lovers here.”
He smiled grimly.
“Become my woman. I shall make you my principal wife. As for Princess Penelope, she can be a concubine.”
“You must be joking.”
“Ah, I had forgotten you are a princess of Demeter. I heard Demeter has no concubine system. Very well, I shall break off my engagement with Penelope and bring in no other woman besides you. Will that suffice?”
The word shameless was not enough. Had Tyndareus truly seated such a deficient son in the position of successor merely because he was a prince?
*Bring him here, Princess.*
The North Wind whispered from the balcony. His tone suggested he could listen no longer.
*What shall I do?*
*The old geezer from the West sent a gift. I think it would suit that fellow perfectly.*
The “old geezer from the West” was a term referring to the West Wind. A gift from the West Wind, who should be in Cocytus?
*What is it?*
*Bring the prince here and you’ll find out.*
The North Wind’s voice sounded frigid. Having once faced the crisis of annihilation and been reborn, the North Wind was no longer the perpetual underdog he had been before. Would it be more accurate to say he had developed somewhat cynical and cruel facets?
“Then shall I read your fortune?”
Perius raised his eyebrows. The princess of Demeter, who had seemed furious, was now smiling gently, her dimples showing.
“I often read the futures of lovers on the eve of gamos. The people of Demeter believe in fate, you see. I am truly curious about the future of the prince who is both the successor of Poseidonia and my suitor. Prince Perius, what pattern of cloth is the thread of your fate weaving? Will you not lend a gentle ear to the whisperings of Lord Pontus?”
Swaaaa.
The sound of waves that should not have been audible seemed to crash against the white palace pillars. An illusion made him feel as though sea foam shattering into pieces against marble columns was sparkling within the eyes of the woman standing before him.
The princess whom the people of Demeter cherished and loved so dearly.
The corners of Perius’s mouth twitched, drawing a curve. It was the petulant, cheeky face of a child who had just learned to steal. All the while unaware of what lurked behind the smile of the woman standing before him.
“I have always found it strange. How my father, who knows nothing but wine and women, could be so obsessed with the oracles uttered by priestesses of other kingdoms.”
It was said that His Majesty the King had seen the priestess of Delphi in person but once in his youth. So deep was the impression that after ascending the throne, he sent messengers to Delphi to request oracles whenever deciding matters of national importance.
“And yet today, Princess Asteril, seeing you, I feel I understand a little. Might my royal father have felt the same? It is as though a goddess has descended to stand before me….”
Perius took a step toward Asteril. At that, Asteril—clad in a dress so thin it revealed the flush of her skin—retreated like a feather.
“You torment me so, Princess of Demeter.”
He reached out again. Asteril subtly twisted her body to slip away. She ran out as if fleeing toward the balcony where the sea breeze blew.
Her long black hair melted into the night sky as it fluttered. Perius watched the scene with a blank expression.
What a strange woman. He had thought her too prim and dull, but look at her now. Was she not just like the dawn goddess Eos, emerging after her bath with flushed cheeks, smiling shyly?
His heart pounded.
“Come here, Princess. Did you not say you would read my fortune?”
“I am standing here precisely to read your fortune.”
Asteril burst into laughter and turned around. The railing of the marble balcony, where moonlight fell thinly. Leaning her body slightly over it, she arched her slender, supple waist and reached toward the sky.
Her posture looked as though she were trying to grasp the wind. Perius watched her with an anxious face.
Why did it look as though she would hurl herself outside the balcony and fly away at any moment? The wind approached as if to kiss her. He was certain some unknown male god was disguising his lustful touch as the passing breeze to toy with her.
Impatient, he opened his mouth. His intention was to say something to make her turn back toward him.
“Do the gods truly know all?”
“In some ways yes, in others no.”
It was a voice that seemed to hold a soft laugh. Perius cautiously took another step closer. Asteril, leaning out past the balcony, seemed unaware that he was secretly approaching from behind.
“If they so wished, they could easily discern the fortune and fate of mortals… Unfortunately, the omnipotent ones do not bother to take such interest. The gods are truly lazy, you see. They care nothing for the currents of human affairs or fate.”
Suddenly, she stared intently into the empty air. He looked outside, wondering if something had passed by, but the place where her gaze was fixed as if bewitched was merely the black darkness of the garden thick with trees.
“North Wind, that gift couldn’t possibly be….”
A slender breeze brushed her cheek as she muttered blankly. Perius was captivated once more by the sight of her laughing as if tickled, tossing her hair behind her ear.
Swallowing dryly, he suddenly began to swagger, puffing out his chest and shrugging his narrow, bony shoulders.
“I am a warrior. A very strong warrior. In Poseidonia, only the strong are respected. I have heard that the men of Demeter are all weaklings. I hear the men there all wish to become priests?”
She too before him had surely never experienced the charm of a true man.
“Is not a woman only a beautiful creature when she lies in a man’s arms and acts coquettish? Beyond bearing children, she is utterly useless…. A dull, emotional creature who can do nothing without a man. A being who should do nothing.”
Asteril, who had been looking outside the balcony, lowered her gaze. His hand, which had grasped her waist, was slithering slowly toward the swell of her breast. A spasm crossed the corners of her lips.
“Your skin feels soft even through your clothes. Do you know the pleasure of union? Seeing you tremble so, I suppose you do not yet know. Today, I shall teach you ecstasy more rapturous than the kiss of the gods.”
Perius’s breath against her neck emitted an unbearable stench. Asteril gripped the balcony railing and bit her teeth together.
“Rea!”
The moment she shouted at the top of her voice, a growl was heard from the bushes below the balcony.
“Wh-what?”
The flustered Perius stumbled backward. A beast sprang up from the ground in the darkness and landed on the balcony with a light tap, its movements fluid.
The owner of the sleek, elegant black fur lightly climbed onto the railing and growled, baring its fangs.
It was a massive black panther.
Its tail puffed up greatly in anger. Its glowing yellow eyes blazed with murderous intent.
“Where on earth did such a panther come from….”
Could it be that one of the beasts kept by the royal father had escaped its cage?
Rea, greatly agitated, opened her mouth threateningly, baring her fangs. Then she lowered her body and sprang swiftly as if attacking.
“Kyaaaaah!”
He saw Perius scream and fall backward. He was pinned beneath the panther, which was as large as himself, and flailed his arms and legs.
Rea pressed his lower abdomen with her front paws and sank her teeth deep into his left shoulder.
“Aaaaack! It hurts! Save me! Save me….”
Rea shook her head, tearing away flesh, then lowered her body to bite his left thigh. Whenever she growled, the flesh she spat out fell to the floor with a wet thud, splattering crimson blood.
Perius howled in agony.
“Kyaaack! Get it… get it away! Aack! Aaaack! I said move it! No, kill it! Kill it! Huaaack!”
“Enough, Rea.”
At her words, the black panther that had been relentlessly attacking him immediately calmed and raised its head. The panther looked at Asteril with docile eyes, licked its paw, and approached her softly.
“Hah… hah… wh-what….”
Perius stared blankly at Asteril and at Rea rubbing her head against her hand, his face pale as a sheet.
If it were a beast kept by the royal father, that woman couldn’t possibly handle it like that. Moreover, she had called it by name. Rea?
“In-insane….”
Perius wheezed, breathing roughly. His wide eyes glared as he screamed:
“Kill it now! I said slaughter that mad beast!”
“How can you say something so terrible?”
“What? What’s terrible about this situation is that thing dared to bite me! It dared to… the firstborn of Poseidonia! Do you think this will be swept under the rug? I won’t let this go! You sacrilegious Demeter bastards! I’ll kill you all! So kill that black panther right now! Tear it to shreds! Are you not listening? Kill it! That dog-like beast….”
Perius, who had been shouting in fury, seemed to feel pain again and groaned, “Kyaaack…”, clutching his leg. Asteril wore a look of pity.
“Since ancient times, the black panther has been called the messenger of the gods, so sacred is its existence. Thus, it also delivers divine punishment upon the foolish.”
“Wh-what….”
Is she insane? Perius glared at Asteril with a bloodless face.
“Did you prepare this from the start to kill me? You wench! What is your purpose!”
“Not at all. It was a simple accident.”
“An accident?”
Asteril smiled kindly. Seeing that, Perius’s facial muscles spasmed as if convulsing.
“Then why is no one….”
Did she mean no one was coming? He had screamed at the top of his lungs, so why was the palace quiet as the grave? Was this not the most heavily guarded place in the royal palace, near the king’s garden?
“I am a woman utterly useless and incapable of doing anything, so I truly do not know what to do, Your Highness.”
“Then come here and treat me. Perform that miracle of Cocytus or whatever it is!”
“I am sorry, but I am a woman utterly useless and incapable of doing anything….”
“Shut up! Stop that dog-like act and come heal me!”
Asteril sighed and stood up. Seeing the blood pooled on the floor, she wore a pitiful expression.
Unable to bear the pain any longer, Perius grabbed his torn thigh and gasped, letting out screams. It was pathetic how he boasted of being Poseidonia’s strongest warrior with those unimpressive shoulders and arms, yet his whining could put the North Wind to shame.
“No one is coming, Prince Perius.”
“What?”
“The soldiers are all asleep. The flowers of Delphi planted in the garden… I instructed that their pollen be mixed into the soldiers’ canteens and the well. They seem to contain a soporific agent; those who ingest it faint and fall asleep.”
“You are truly mad. Do you expect to survive after doing this to me?”
“Kings change countless times, but the gods always remain in their place. So too do those who serve the gods. We bend our bodies this way and that like reeds, enduring well no matter how the secular winds blow. To live according to the laws of the supernatural is our fate.”
“You truly wish to die… Stop playing with words and treat me! If you wish to live, you must save me! Me! I said save me!”
“If you become so agitated and make a fuss, blood loss will occur more quickly. If you wish to hasten the kiss of the God of Eternal Slumber, I will not stop you, but….”
Perius, who had been screaming with veins bulging in his neck, abruptly stopped. This time, it seemed too frightening even to tell her to shut up with her nonsense.
“For a priestess, words are sound, and sound is a passage through which the language of the gods flows. Words are sacred and fearsome; how could we play with them? Every word I speak is an arrow lodged in the target called fate.”
Asteril, looking down at him with cold, merciless eyes, appeared as imposing as a stone statue of a goddess issuing a command.
“By dawn, you shall be able to meet the God of Eternal Slumber in the underworld. Ah, are you not looking forward to it?”
“Wh-what kind of joke….”
“Of course, if the bleeding is stopped, the wounds stitched, and medicine properly applied to prevent infection, you would recover… but I am a woman utterly useless and incapable of doing anything.”
“I understand, I was wrong. So please treat me quickly, quickly….”
Asteril wore a look of regret. She approached the prince, who was barely reaching out his arm, crouched down, and whispered:
“Beg.”
“Wh-what….”
“Well, what should you say?”
Perius’s complexion grew pale. The eyes of the woman smiling sweetly as she asked were terrifying.
“Save me… I was wrong….”
Asteril looked into the air for a moment, thinking. Her furrowed gaze harbored anger.
“Even if I save you, you are the type to repay kindness with revenge. Very gladly so. Is that not right?”
“No! I won’t! Never….”
“I shall have to think about it. Women are creatures who take a long time to ponder and make decisions, are they not?”
Perius wept and reached out his hand.
“I… hic… was wrong! No! Wh-where are you going? Don’t go… don’t….”
“Come here, Rea.”
The black panther sitting quietly in a corner sprang up at her call. Asteril took out a small bottle tied inside her sash, opened the lid, and poured the contents onto the floor.
She cast a brief glance over her shoulder and began to lead Rea away.
“Come back… no!”
His consciousness grew hazy. Cold, his body was growing cold! Don’t go, don’t abandon me! Save me….
But she did not look back even once.
As the shadow of the black panther disappeared behind the door that slammed shut, Perius’s pupils dilated in terror.
The howling wind was bleak.
“Guards! Is there no one outside!”
Perius, trying to move his body by crawling across the floor, suddenly felt a chilling sensation. He turned toward the balcony with ragged breathing.
Whiiiiing.
A fierce wind came bearing darkness. His teeth chattered and clacked. His bones froze. His hair stood on end, and he felt the down all over his body rising.
He blinked blankly, even forgetting the pain of his clutched thigh.
Was he truly seeing an illusion? Or had he already lost consciousness and was wandering in a dream?
The moonlight pooled on the white railing undulated like waves. The crashing moon-waves gathered and surged into shape. The light, thin and transparent as scales, thickened like fog, and rising in wisps like smoke, it grasped a precarious outline and gradually formed a distinct shape, as though tangible.
A shadow that seemed to hold the moonlight shining behind it. A man sat astride the railing, his long hair fluttering.
Amethyst-colored eyes with a mysterious glow gazed coldly this way.
“Gust.”
His exhaled breath spread as white mist. Perius trembled with a pale face.
Shiiik.
He squeezed his eyes shut at the wind sharp as a blade. He felt something stinging and falling away near both ears and both hands.
What?
The moment he looked down, a scream of horror burst from his swollen lips.
“Kyaaaack!”
What! What happened! My hands! My wr-wrists… Who! Someone help me! Aaaack! Huaaack….
Perius toppled forward. He crawled across the floor on his shoulders like a worm, his rear in the air. Groans escaped his lips as he pressed his forehead to the ground and rubbed forward with his shoulders.
“Kkuk, kkeuuk….”
He stopped moving, weeping with suppressed sobs. Blood drops were falling in a steady patter along his forehead pressed to the floor.
Why are my ears so hot?
Raising his head, he discovered two ears rolling about on the ground like fallen leaves. Behind them lay his severed wrists, curled and sprawled.
My e-ears… my ears!
The streaks of blood running down his forehead and bridge of nose had flowed from his severed ears. Perius tasted the blood pooled above his lip and staggered, collapsing.
Thud!
He fainted shortly after whimpering. His bloodless lips did not stop twitching even after losing consciousness.
Callian, who had been sitting on the balcony watching the scene, rose as if in contempt. He exchanged glances with the North Wind, who had been hiding behind a pillar, and cast a wordless look.
How on earth did he get here? Was he not imprisoned in Tartarus? And what is that transparent body?
While the North Wind was bewildered, Callian raised his hand and generated a fierce wind. The atmosphere twisted, whirling and gathering.
The human figure holding moonlight began to lose its light and darken within the whirlwind. Its outline, like a crumbling full moon, was growing blurry.
Soon, the billowing shadow poured out light as if scattering in a shower of flower petals, then vanished with a flashing glare.
Shortly after, the tightly shut door opened.
Gainas slipped in and clamped his hand over his mouth with a “Hick!”
Perius, with both ears and wrists cut off, already seemed to have drawn his last breath.
“Prince Perius, please come to your senses! Prince Perius!”
The floor was deeply pooled with blood like a puddle. The words Asteril had spoken earlier that day flashed through Gainas’s mind.
“There is something urgent I need you to do. Pluck the Delphi flowers planted in the garden, grind the petals, and extract their essence. When the sun sets, put it into the soldiers’ canteens. And bring me a vessel containing the extract as well. Something small enough to hide in my hand.”
He had guessed it was to put the soldiers to sleep.
The prince’s dark intentions toward Asteril had been obvious to anyone, so he had thought she intended to put even the prince to sleep in order to secretly escape the palace.
He had been a good-for-nothing prince, but laying hands on his betrothed’s younger sister was an act only a madman could commit.
So he had assisted her.
The plan had been to help Princess Asteril escape the palace first, then calmly soothe the prince… but what in the world was this disaster?
Had an assassin broken in? Was Lady Asteril safe?
Gainas gently lifted the face of Perius, who lay face down as if collapsed, then turned his head away as if he had seen something unsightly.
The severed surfaces of his ears and wrists were very clean. Whoever the hired hand was, they were no ordinary skilled worker.
Gainas furrowed his brow with an expression that said things had become troublesome. “Ha, this is a mess….”