"Lady Anelli!"
Someone caught my body as I swayed, losing my balance. I had nearly tumbled down the steps, and I reflexively grabbed his collar.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"...."
My vision, blackened by the intense light, gradually returned. Cold air, and somewhere, a damp and musty smell.
My floating senses returned, and only when I met Xenon's worried gaze did I feel that I had come back to reality.
"Xenon."
"I thought you had disappeared again. I was startled."
His words didn't seem to be a lie; his hand gripping my shoulder was trembling slightly. It seemed that losing me before his eyes previously had been quite a shock to him.
"I'm fine."
As I steadied myself in an awkward stance, I finally discovered Samuel watching me. Incredibly subtle emotions filled his eyes.
With his gaze wavering like that, I couldn't exactly pretend not to notice.
"Sir Samuel."
"...So you found out."
"Yes."
I moistened my lips with my tongue and added briefly.
"He showed me."
Samuel, who had been staring at me, slowly lowered his gaze. At first glance, his face appeared indifferent to this entire situation.
However, perhaps because of the illusion just moments ago? Samuel's expression now looked to me like someone who had dropped his shoulders, ready to accept any judgment.
Unable to find words, I was about to remain silent when Minte quietly approached.
[Did you meet Dearis?]
"I met his traces."
[Aah... He is a loyal knight. He sought to uphold the Commander's will until the very end.]
A bitter emotion seeped into Minte's voice, which had always felt rational. As I quietly looked down at her, my mood sank as well.
I had originally separated the past Commander from myself thoroughly. But perhaps because I had momentarily merged with fragments of the past, facing Durahan felt slightly different from before.
The twelve knights that 'I' had first liberated.
I still had no memories of being with them. But... it felt somewhat wistful, and somewhat close.
I don't know if these were emotions accumulated through the journey so far, or a longing I hadn't even known existed.
"If you've found what you wanted, let's leave for now. If we delay too long, things could become awkward."
Xenon gently suggested. Samuel nodded as if agreeing with that opinion.
"We don't want to take the blame unnecessarily, so we should close this up tightly."
Xenon clicked his tongue and pointed at Dearis's coffin.
"...What happened to this?"
"It's because the magic dwelling here has disappeared, I suppose?"
The corpse, which had been preserved with almost miraculous intactness, had sunken in and turned to dust.
"I'll close it now. May I close it?"
"Yes."
Even though the magic had disappeared, to think it couldn't even maintain the form of bone fragments.
Suddenly, I recalled Dearis's words that the moment I returned to reality, even the last trace dwelling in his own flesh would become dust.
Dearis's face as he spoke those words had been peaceful. Though it was merely a trace left by a perished soul, it was certainly a part of him. And so I hoped.
That what he obtained after a long wait might be the rest he had dreamed of.
* * *
Outside the Imperial tomb, the Emperor's chamberlain was waiting for me.
After visiting the tomb, the Emperor's face had aged considerably once again. If only his lifespan had decreased by about ten years, it would have been quite satisfying.
"Did the prayer go well?"
The Emperor wanted to hear the result directly from my lips.
Having nothing concrete to present to him, I rambled on with what he wanted to hear.
Imagining an oracle and combining words appropriately, I completed what sounded plausible even to my own ears.
"So you're saying I can be at ease?"
"The deity bestows equal protection. To save this turbid world, He has established His proxy, so the world will flow correctly. The noble Imperial family's protection has been granted another chance."
Though I was the one speaking it, I wasn't quite sure what the main point was.
If one examined each word carefully, it would be hard to interpret that the Imperial family's problem had been resolved, yet the Emperor merely rubbed his forehead and nodded.
In fact, I had already arranged for the flock of crows circling above the Crown Prince's palace to withdraw when I emerged from the tomb.
The crows were one of the sources producing ominous rumors inside and outside the palace, beings that bestowed groundless foreboding upon many.
'The Emperor must have seen the crows disappear too.'
From the Emperor's perspective, he would have no choice but to connect the disappearance of the crows with the resurrected one's prayer of blessing.
Of course, since I was the one who did it, his thought wasn't mistaken. It was simply that the culprit was also me, but he couldn't possibly know such a fact.
"I am deeply grateful to my lady."
The Emperor's voice was filled with relief as he spoke. I glanced at him briefly, then modestly lowered my gaze.
"Then may I make a small request?"
"Speak whatever you wish."
He smiled benevolently, ready to grant anything. At least in this moment, I could feel that I had gained some of his trust.
I deliberately hesitated, then lowered my chin slightly further. Hoping this action would make my appearance seem more sorrowful and poignant.
"I was a stain on Roam. Please withdraw the title that invites misunderstanding."
"...I see."
The Emperor's belated response held a trace of surprise.
The Emperor called me princess not because he truly thought I was Roam's second daughter.
It was to emphasize that I was a noble serving the Imperial family. To subtly reveal that despite being a resurrected one, I was not affiliated with the Temple but was an Empire noble.
In that regard, my request had a high possibility of going against the Emperor's wishes. If I had made such a request at our first meeting, I might have been rejected on the spot.
"If that is your wish, I must respect it."
However, circumstances had changed now.
It wasn't simply because I had helped with the Imperial family's problem. The Emperor would bear in mind the possibility that true divine will dwelled within me, and this would bring about a change in how he treated me.
First of all, he wouldn't want me remaining as a mere second daughter of a house. For if I were that sacred a being, I wouldn't be able to shed the family name.
Even if I were to marry a prince, the tag of being Roam's second daughter would attach itself, making it difficult to declare that the Imperial family had monopolized God's blessing.
'So he would rather want the resurrected me to become an independent existence.'
Since I happened to dislike being called Roam, there was no reason for him to refuse.
"You must have endured great hardship carrying out God's will, so rest well in the Imperial Palace. Both the Temple and the Magic Tower have accepted my invitation, so the Empire intends to take the lead in a gathering of harmony."
"That is a fitting role."
This time, he revealed his firm intention to announce that God's resurrected one was with the Imperial family. It wasn't simply for political purposes; his face looked as if he truly believed that divine blessing had descended here.
'Well, I don't think I need to tell him that I plan to leave whenever I want?'
Just as I was thinking about ending this boring and uninteresting conversation, the Emperor suddenly changed the topic.
"By the way, I heard you're close with Heinri."
When I raised my lowered gaze to look at the Emperor, he wore an affectionate smile.
"I have two sons, so if you wish to escape Roam's fence, there couldn't be a more perfect choice."
Ah, he really doesn't give me any rest. Today I visited the tomb, so I planned to rest appropriately.
'He's going to weigh me and Heinri in place of Maxel and Lilia?'
I smiled with my eyes and spoke gently.
"I am grateful for Your Majesty's grace. However, Your Majesty must also know that the bond of blood is tenacious and persistent."
"The Imperial family's dignity can surely surpass that fence."
"If one wishes to escape the fence, it is proper to break it and clear the path."
At my explicit and radical expression, the Emperor's eyebrow twitched. I pretended not to notice and dropped my shoulders, lowering my gaze slightly.
"However, since this would be an impossible dream to bear, I must wander the world according to my station."
"The Empire's embrace is generous enough that there is no dream too great to bear. Therefore, Roam will also fulfill the duty of a loyal subject serving the Imperial family."
The Emperor boldly promised to hold back Roam for me. So come to the Imperial family.
He must be trusting the loyalty Roam would offer to the Imperial family. The Emperor must be thinking that Roam would once again willingly offer Roam's daughter for the sake of the Imperial family.
The relationship between Roam and the Imperial family was close. This also meant that the Imperial family's power and Roam's power were mutually complementary. Their relationship was not one-sided.
"I will permit it, so enjoy my favor in the palace. A splendid banquet will be held solely for you."
Sick of hearing about banquets.
I changed the words that had reached the tip of my tongue and spoke them softly.
"It is an honor."
Well then. What would happen if a relationship that wasn't one-sided was made one-sided?
* * *
Since the pest control work wasn't finished, I had to take another detour.
To be precise, even though the pest control work was finished, a single locust was sighted, so they said they were starting the work again from the beginning. Much more thoroughly than before.
Since I hadn't intervened in this locust appearance, it was a bit annoying, but having done what I did, I couldn't exactly complain either.
I fastened my coat and diligently crossed the garden.
'Would Xenon be in the palace?'
The fact that the Magic Tower accepted the Emperor's invitation was a reference to Xenon. The guests who came with the Emperor's invitation were treated with great care in the palace, and Xenon also seemed to have been granted relatively free movement.
Since no one from the Magic Tower had ever come so officially before, it would be difficult to suppress them.
So perhaps he was waiting for me in the detached palace even now.
'But how did he get an invitation?'
The Emperor's invitation must have specified the Tower Lord. Can the Magic Tower easily divert an invitation addressed to the Tower Lord?
Walking with such trivial thoughts, someone suddenly blocked my path.
"Anelli."