“Shall we set a date for next time?”
Ivan was the one to propose it first. Beneath the light that had reappeared, Amelia fixed her gaze upon the dazzling man as if entranced. Who was he trying to bewitch? For a priest, he possessed the appearance of a beautiful young man.
“Every Friday night at around eleven, right here.”
At Ivan’s proposal, Amelia nodded.
“Good. Let’s part ways for today, then.”
She couldn’t say why, but recently, the surveillance by Louis and the servants had slackened somewhat. It was no longer common for them to remain by her side every single hour as before. So spending just over thirty minutes in the prayer room under the pretext of prayer didn’t seem like it would be much of a problem.
“If I’m away too long, they’ll come looking for me.”
Even after saying that, as if some regret still lingered, Amelia could not easily rise from her place. It was only natural that she couldn’t let go of Ivan’s sleeve, either.
“You said you had to go.”
At Ivan’s words, Amelia smiled awkwardly. She didn’t feel as though she could stand of her own will. Ivan reached out with his free hand and gently removed Amelia’s hand. The hand that had enveloped her slender wrist and shifted was now beneath Amelia’s own before she knew it.
“Because we’ll meet again.”
Ivan whispered as if coaxing her. Amelia’s gaze turned to the hand he had captured.
“…Yeah.”
The lingering attachment that could not be hidden in the depths of her dark eyes still remained, yet her answer was meek.
“You go first.”
At Ivan’s words, Amelia nodded and rose from her seat. Ivan’s hand gradually drew away. The tips of his long, firm fingers grazed across her palm before falling away.
“Hey.”
Just as Amelia reached the prayer room door, she turned back. Ivan’s languid gaze, still seated on the dais, was directed at her.
“Why?”
Ivan asked. It was impossible to tell whether he was using casual or formal speech. It was simply a comfortable, relaxed attitude, as though dealing with a close friend without reservation. Swear upon the heavens, Ivan was a type of person Amelia had never met until now.
Perhaps that was why. Strangely, Amelia found him comfortable. She didn’t know the reason, but she felt an inexplicable fondness for him. The fact that he lacked enough faith in God to choose deviance pleased her as well.
“Can’t you call me by my name?”
And she had a strange intuition that Ivan, of all people, would accept that fondness.
“My name is….”
“I know your name, at least.”
Ivan cut her off.
Just as she thought he wouldn’t call her after all, disappointment was rearing its head in her heart—
“Amelia.”
Ivan called Amelia by name. With a name that existed, yet had never existed.
“…….”
At the moment her name was called by Ivan, Amelia felt a thrill run through her body. As if she had been born anew. As if she had been wandering the world as nothing but a spirit all this time, and had finally set foot upon the earth.
“See you again.”
Ivan waved a hand with a smiling face. Over him, genial moonlight poured down in fragments. Unable to say anything, Amelia gripped the handle on the prayer room door.
“…Yeah.”
Amelia answered with a choked voice and barely managed to open the prayer room door. And leaving Ivan behind, she slipped out of the prayer room. Once the door closed at her back, the world fell silent.
No. In truth, the temple at the dead of night had always been this quiet. She had simply failed to notice that fact, her mind preoccupied with Ivan.
“…….”
It was when she arrived at her bedroom after passing through the corridor via the garden. A servant who could not speak, having no tongue, sensed a presence, woke from sleep, and rubbed her eyes.
“Sleep more. I’m going to sleep too.”
Amelia whispered thus and climbed onto the bed. The servant lay back down in her place and closed her eyes.
“I know your name, at least.”
Without even pulling up the covers, Amelia lay in bed and recalled that gentle voice. Beyond the open window, curtains fluttered, and crickets played the music of the deep night.
“Amelia.”
Amelia. Amelia Escliff. My name is…
Amelia, who had recalled her name over and over, closed her eyes and curled up like a baby. An unstoppable flush spread across her soft cheeks.
***
“Your Majesty.”
Ivan, who had been walking down the corridor toward the audience chamber, came to a sudden halt. Rodan revealed himself at the end of the corridor. The black shadow that exquisitely covered half of his face looked rather bizarre.
“Standing there like that, you look like a ghost.”
Yet Ivan’s reply was cheerful. He showed no sign of surprise.
“Did you truly visit the temple again yesterday?”
“They told me to use the identity token if I stole it.”
Ivan replied indifferently and began walking again with large strides.
“If you intended to scale walls, I was asking whether there was any need to obtain an identity token.”
Rodan spoke with a small sigh.
“That’s why yesterday, I didn’t climb the wall but passed through the temple gate pretending to be that apprentice priest. Though I couldn’t kill the Saintess.”
“What will you do if you get caught?”
“I have to make sure I’m not caught.”
Ivan answered shamelessly. Even though he must know that wasn’t something he could control at will. Rodan was the only one with a headache from dealing with an impulsive liege.
“Whether you climbed the wall or used an identity token to pass through the main gate, it’s the same as having infiltrated in secret. If you are discovered by any chance, the temple will not sit still.”
Rodan tried hard to persuade him.
“I’ve already made arrangements to meet that woman regularly.”
“Are you planning to go to the temple again? When something happens, the identity token cannot serve as a perfect excuse—… You are not listening.”
However, Ivan clearly looked as though he was listening with one ear and letting it out the other. He had always been like that. Being indifferent to anything other than what interested him was his nature.
“Even so, I can buy enough time to lie about being a lost priest and escape. Subverting the holy legends is what you want as well.”
“I do not wish to do so by wagering the Emperor’s life.”
Rodan denied it as if he had no intention of gambling with Ivan’s life. That was his true sentiment as well. The imperial authority had already weakened from confronting the theocratic power for so long. To those who supported the imperial household, Ivan was no different from their final card. If something happened to him, the imperial household of Escliff would no longer be able to remain as a name of glory.
“You must kill her the next time you meet.”
Rodan said. Ivan made a sound of *hmm* and avoided Rodan’s gaze.
“Your Majesty.”
“Yes, someday.”
When Rodan urged for an answer, Ivan replied. It wasn’t an unwilling attitude. It was simply not right now; he too was thinking that he would kill Amelia someday.
“The more frequently you come and go from the temple, the more dangerous it becomes.”
At Rodan’s words, Ivan stopped walking. It was a commonsensical worry. It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand Rodan’s concerns. But he had already failed to kill her.
“But isn’t it a bit of a waste to simply kill and eliminate an existence that seems to hold value for use?”
Regretting past events did not suit his temperament. He might think about what came after, but if he had failed to kill the woman, he merely needed to find a reason to keep her alive.
“Rodan.”
“Yes.”
“That woman is starving for attention and affection. And she knows everything that occurs within it.”
Ivan turned around, a grin on his face, to look at Rodan standing a step behind.
“She already believes I am her friend.”
“…….”
“Since she doesn’t bring any attendants when she comes out, she is a woman I can kill at any time when we meet. Then wouldn’t this be an opportunity too good to miss?”
Whether to let live or to kill, every single moment Ivan faced Amelia was an opportunity.
“Why do you ask when you have no intention of heeding my words anyway?”
Rodan shook his head. He had already given up on persuading his reckless liege. He had no power to break Ivan’s stubbornness. Moreover, ironically, it was a fact that Ivan’s recklessness had created the first opportunity to make contact with the Saintess.
“Because I don’t think this opportunity will come twice.”
The spies sent by the imperial household to the temple had all failed to reach Amelia. Men who were not priests found it difficult to approach the Saintess’s side, as she rarely went outside.
The same was true of the women. They merely did odd jobs in the kitchen or stable. With the exception of the handmaiden Louis, the servant who watched Amelia most closely could not speak. Naturally, she couldn’t write either. There was a plausible reason attached—that one could falsely claim God’s will using stories overheard while attending the Saintess’s side.
“Do as you please.”
Rodan answered with a sigh. It was an insolent attitude, but Ivan did not point it out. Rather, his face looked refreshed.
“Stand down. I’ll open it.”
Having arrived before the doors of the audience chamber before he knew it, Ivan stopped the guards from moving and opened the door himself.
“Duke Russell.”
“I greet the Sun of Escliff.”
Duke Russell, who had been waiting seated on a sofa, rose from his seat and offered a greeting toward him. Without responding to his greeting or giving him leave to straighten his back, Ivan stared at the round back of Duke Russell’s head.
“I recently injured my back and am in pain. Please forgive me for raising my head without permission, Your Majesty.”
It was not long before Duke Russell straightened his back with fluid agility and smiled while meeting Ivan’s gaze. Of course, the Emperor’s permission had not been granted at that point. Moreover, Duke Russell looked anything but a man in pain.
“Of course I understand, Duke.”
*Impudent bastard.*
Ivan thought.
“I thank you for your understanding.”
Duke Russell, who had read his mind, replied leisurely. While pretending to express gratitude, he was disregarding the Emperor’s authority.
“It is about time you, too, thought about passing your title down to your child.”
Unable to let such a display pass, Ivan continued. At that, a faint line was drawn across Duke Russell’s gently curved lips.
*Presumptuous whelp.*
Duke Russell thought. Ivan, who had bluntly exposed his senility, read his mind and grinned.