Chapter 58 : Likeability and a Sense of Kinship (2)

“Get lost.”

I can say with certainty that those last words were not uttered by Jing.

He had, at best, intended to say something like, ‘That’s enough, everyone.’

Although, if they didn't listen, he couldn't be sure what words might have been exchanged.

Jing, who was standing awkwardly, turned his head to find the culprit of the voice that had suddenly cut into the conversation.

Ratel, who must have approached at some point, was looking down at those sitting on the ground.

With his hands full of bread.

“Didn’t you hear me say get lost?”

Ratel spoke again toward the young Jing and his colleagues, who were sitting blankly, their eyes captivated by the bread in his hands.

He hadn't particularly threatened them, but they all hesitantly stood up from their spots.

Because there was no one gathered here who didn't call Ratel a 'psycho' behind his back.

“Ah, s-sorry.”

Even though the young Jing was the one who had been sitting there first, he even offered an apology.

“Then I’ll be on my way.”

He gave Jing an awkward bow and moved away from Ratel.

Ratel plopped down in the spot they had vacated.

Although he wanted to praise him just this once, Jing still thought it wasn't right to go around picking fights, so he gave a small warning.

“Don’t go around picking fights like that. You never know what might happen among comrades traveling together. In an unexpected moment, those people might be the only ones left who can help you.”

“I wasn’t picking a fight. Just telling the stupid bastards occupying the spot to move.”

Ratel, who had answered as if annoyed, picked up one of the pieces of bread he had brought and took a large bite.

“They aren't bad people. Just ordinary people of Abalan.”

“They're all just idiots.”

Jing smiled bitterly at the aggressive choice of words.

Because the 'idiot' Ratel was talking about was sitting right in front of him.

“You may not understand, but for the people of Abalan, that's unavoidable.”

“Do you feel a sense of kinship or something?”

Ratel once again silenced him with a question that was difficult to answer rashly.

Ratel, who was looking at him, turned his head again and focused on the bread.

Ratel and Jing implicitly did not ask much about each other.

But strangely, Jing often felt that Ratel knew much more about him than he knew about Ratel.

Just like right now.

***

The Little Duke hurried his steps, his heart in just as much turmoil as his father's, or perhaps even more.

“Tollin, what on earth is going on?”

It was late at night.

A night where the three moons and stars embedded in the dark sky shone with unusual brightness.

It was a time when he normally should have been fast asleep long ago, but Tollin, who had come to his room unable to hide his urgency, had ordered the servants to pack his things, and then brought him out.

Moreover, unlike usual, Tollin was rushing his steps, looking only forward, without opening his mouth except for the bare minimum that needed to be said.

Following behind him as he walked like he was being chased, the Little Duke suppressed the anxiety created by the silence.

The place where Tollin finally stopped his steps was a place familiar to the Little Duke as well.

No, it had been at least a month since he'd set foot here, so it was hardly a place one could call familiar anymore.

It was the bedroom Agoni Piteos had used before he died.

Tollin, who had paused to catch his breath and look around, entered inside with the Little Duke.

“Little Duke, I apologize for the suddenness. A letter came from the temple. They say we must escort you to the temple to prepare for the ritual.”

As soon as the door closed, Tollin poured out the words he had been holding back, as if vomiting.

“What does that mean? Without the priest visiting the ducal mansion directly?”

For a noble, especially a high-ranking noble, it was common to call a priest from the temple to perform the ritual.

And, why were they having this conversation in his deceased father's room?

Looking at the Little Duke's clear eyes, which were full of confusion, Tollin calmed his heart.

“Yes, they said that the time is too tight to prepare for the ritual, so as soon as the 1st Imperial Princess announces the start of the ritual, they must prepare for your Tinas ritual immediately after.”

Even as he continued to speak, Tollin’s eyes scanned every corner of the room.

Tollin was a realistic person.

He didn't have dream-like thoughts that he could completely avoid the eyes of the Imperial family while living within Abalan.

There was no one in the Empire who wasn't the eyes and ears of Abalan, and there was no one who would go against their will.

Even taking all that into account, the temple's movements were too fast.

Too fast, and too precise.

It also meant that the speed at which information was leaking from within was just as fast.

“Please do not worry too much. I, too, will be accompanying you. No, perhaps I alone will be able to follow.”

Tollin muttered self-deprecatingly.

The Little Duke looked at Tollin worriedly at the grave atmosphere.

The time the letter had arrived from the temple was even before Pale had returned to the ducal mansion to report to Tollin.

The transmission of information was too fast.

There was no one left to trust inside the ducal mansion.

“Little Duke, there is something you must do as soon as you go to the temple today.”

“What is it? If it is something I can do, I will do anything.”

Tollin looked into the gray eyes, which held a firm will.

“The priests will tell you to change your clothes, saying you must cleanse your body before the ritual. They will confiscate all the belongings you originally brought.”

As the Little Duke nodded as if he understood, Tollin continued.

“Please check carefully where the priests take the clothes and belongings and put them. If my memory is correct, the place where the ritual is performed will probably be the second room to the left of the prayer room on the 2nd floor of the wooden building. If there is nothing special, the belongings will be stored in the room next to it.”

The Little Duke's eyes widened at Tollin's overly detailed explanation.

The Little Duke, too, was familiar with the temple in the capital, as he had to go there periodically to offer prayers.

But he didn't know the exact location where the ritual took place.

No, there was no reason to know.

The temple was open to any citizen of the Empire, but at the same time, it was conservative and exclusive.

Unless one was a priest of the temple, there was no way to know what happened inside.

Or, unless one had experienced it directly.

Tollin noticed the Little Duke's questioning gaze but added no particular explanation.

“However, this is also from quite a long time ago. They expanded the temple 6 years ago, so the location might have changed. Therefore, even if they take everything, if possible, do not part with this, at least, and keep it on your person. If you say it is a family treasure, they might let you keep it.”

Saying so, what Tollin held out was a pair of rings.

The Little Duke, who carefully received the rings, likewise carefully turned them over and over.

But he soon concluded that they were just rings made of gold, with no particular features at all.

They were smooth, plain bands, just a little thick, without the common seal or engraving.

Still, Tollin, who was watching the Little Duke's face, who was concentrating hard on the rings again, trusting that there must be something he hadn't found since Tollin gave them to him, finally let out a small laugh.

“Even if you stare at it like that, nothing will come out. They are just gold rings with no pattern.”

“Why are you telling me to keep this?”

“I'm giving it to you just in case. If a difficult situation arises, please throw them that, at least. There are more priests in the temple who are greedy than you think, Little Duke.”

“……Is it okay to say that?”

The Little Duke looked around, worried for Tollin, even though he knew no one was there, at the rather shocking assessment of the priests.

“It doesn't matter anymore.”

Tollin answered, smiling faintly.

It was Tollin's sincere feeling, not just words to reassure the Little Duke.

He knew well that there was nowhere to run, no hole to escape to in Abalan anymore.

He couldn't become a traitor by refusing the ritual, nor could he hide the Little Duke away now.

It wasn't a fight they could win in the first place.

If so, he had to protect the one family member he had left, at least.

Tollin knew it wasn't exactly appropriate behavior, but he carefully placed his hand on Flinn's head.

“Everything will be alright, Little Duke. Everything will be fine. That is why you must remember everything I teach you today.”

Everything will be alright, I'll make it so.

***

Isn't he going to die from stress at this rate?

I clicked my tongue, looking at Tollin’s flashing eyes.

The window to the Little Duke's room was closed, for a change, so I came in, and the two were having a more serious conversation than I thought.

Tollin's gleaming eyes, visible under the ceiling, were flashing murderously.

It was the face of a human who had resolved to not shy away from death, if it was for the Little Duke.

Tomorrow, huh…….

I went back the way I had crawled, along the narrow gap in the ceiling.

“What is it? Is it okay to do nothing?”

El, who had turned into a mouse and was now almost the same size as me, asked, bringing his face uncomfortably close.

I ignored his words and moved my four feet.

“Have you ever seen such an arrogant fellow? If I speak, you should at least answer.”

The creature followed behind me, spitting out its anger in a low voice.

It was a creature whose insolence had already pierced the heavens, but after finding out I wasn't the protagonist, it seemed poised to pierce through the heavens and into space.

Should I call that transparent, or,

***

Unlike my expectation that it would cling to me, asking me to tell it Ratel's location so it could go find the master of the prophecy right away, El was very quiet.

“Child, am I not asking if it is really alright to just come back from there? Is the child of Piteos not in danger? You seem to quite cherish him, so is it okay to just leave him like that?”

No, it wasn't quiet.

It was loud.

It was just too loud.

After getting caught being able to talk, the creature chattered relentlessly, to the point I wondered how it had held back until now, and didn't shut its mouth for a moment.

Its endless questions continued until I left Agoni Piteos's bedroom and returned to the Little Duke's room.

My ears were about to bleed.

As soon as I came down from the ceiling, I immediately returned to my human form.

“No matter how I look at it, it seems like you cherish that kid more than I do.”

“Me? The child of Piteos? How could that be.”

The creature, having finally heard my reply, snorted as if it had heard something ridiculous.

The creature, who hated the Imperial family despite being one of them, didn't seem to like Piteos, the sword of Abalan, very much either.

“You’ve been taking care of that brat quite a bit, haven't you. Because you feel bad about sending his father far away. Don't pretend you're not. I already know everything.”

The creature bragged, as if it knew me very well.

It would have been nice if it ended there, but its chatter didn't end there.

“You strangely try to hide yourself when you help humans. Don't tell me you're doing it because you're shy? When their true feelings are revealed, they jump and say it's not true. Yes, when you touch their weakness, humans tend to lash out even more. A human child of that age, it's possible. I understand it all. Young children are originally like that. Still, you don't need to be like that in front of me. Even though I look like this, I am very, very old. I have often seen humans get buried in worthless things and miss what they really need. So you, too……”

“Right.”

The creature's long, long speech began again.

I cut off El's words, which were being spun out endlessly.

The creature hit the floor a few times with its tail, as if displeased that I had cut it off.

“You're right. I'm worried about the Little Duke.”

I was very worried about how the Little Duke's survival, amid the overlapping incidents that arose as the original story was pushed forward, would affect the original story any further.

“So I need you to stay here.”

“What did you say?”

“You'd like that too, right?”

It was clear that I really liked the solution I proposed.

Since it started jumping up and down from its spot.

“What are you talking about! Why must I stay in a place like this?!”

“I can't be the one to stay. I have to watch and make sure the master of the prophecy arrives properly. I have to guide him, if needed.”

Yes, this was a matter of necessity.

It was definitely not my intention to leave it behind because it was too noisy.

“Are you telling me to stay here and watch the Piteos family's brat, because you're busy and can't do it?”

“Yes. No need to be shy. The Little Duke really likes small animals. He'll be head over heels for a squirrel friend.”

“I don't want to! What if I miss the master of the prophecy? Besides……”

The creature, which had been raising its voice in anger, abruptly stopped talking.

“Besides what?”

“……Besides, I detest children. Especially brats that young……”

The creature mumbled, frowning.

“It's not a bad condition for you, either. If you just stick by the Little Duke's side like this, you'll be able to meet the real master of the prophecy.”

At the words 'master of the prophecy', the creature's head shot up.

Just by seeing that, I could tell the creature was already halfway convinced.

Looking at it this way, it was truly a transparent creature.