TPOP 142

Chapter 142

***

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣ ⁣⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠“Diana!”

The Queen strode toward her and scrutinized Diana’s face closely. Noticing her cheeks, now smooth and radiant from the spirit energy, and her luminous pale green eyes, Ianna let out a deep sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness. I’m glad nothing happened.”

“I’m fine. The problem is that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince went through such an ordeal.”

Hearing a familiar voice, Elliott, who had been sleeping in a corner of the cave, opened his eyes sleepily. Spotting his mother, the boy scratched his head sheepishly.

“You made it here safely, Your Majesty.”

“How was the experience of hanging from the city wall, Crown Prince?”

“I don’t think it would hurt to go through something like that at least once in my life. It also made me realize I need to build up my stamina.”

The mother and son’s peculiar way of conversing remained unchanged. After briefly checking on her son’s well-being, Ianna turned back to Diana.

“Well, we don’t have much time, so shall we get straight to the point? How do you plan to conduct the test, Diana?”

Diana, who had been sorting through dozens of possible apologies to offer the Queen, replied in a daze.

“I’ve already… figured it out to some extent. I plan to speak with each person individually before assigning their roles.”

“Roles?”

“Once we’ve brought them inside the Spring, I don’t plan on letting anyone leave easily. Everyone needs to have their own role.”

As she led the strangers to this place, Diana carefully reviewed the information relayed by the spirits. She needed people to take on four specific roles.

The Spring’s confidant, a decoy to lure the enemies, and a sword and shield to confront the enemies lured by the decoy. She had already decided on them to some extent from the moment she sent the leaves flying.

“Grenia is more than capable with a sword. It doesn’t need to be loyal or trustworthy. It’s enough that it’s sharp.”

“As long as the blade is pointed in the right direction, that’s all that matters?”

“For someone who isn’t a friend or a vassal, that’s quite sufficient.”

Elliot nodded in agreement.

“If we’re talking about the Second Prince of Grenia, it must be Allot. His reputation wasn’t exactly great, even among neighboring countries. First of all, the First Prince is so widely respected that, to defeat his brother and claim the throne, he’d need at least one historic achievement to even have a chance. He’d probably stop at nothing to win Diana’s hand, so conversely, it would be easy for Diana to use him.”

“What about the shield?”

“I summoned the Commander-in-Chief of Ielon. I figured he’d need to hold a position of that caliber.”

Lelon was the kingdom closest to Karman and Ormance. While it possessed a military might far superior to Ormance’s, it was true that it fell somewhat short of the Empire’s. However, since most of Lelon’s territory was covered by rugged mountains, it served as an ideal refuge should the situation turn against them. In particular, Lelon’s capital was situated in a high-altitude basin, earning it a formidable reputation as an “impregnable fortress.” The Grand General of Lelon was the highest-ranking military position overseeing the defense of that very capital. In many ways, it was the perfect role to serve as a shield.

“So, does that leave the Herder?”

“Yes. As for the Herder… I’m not entirely sure yet, so I think I’ll need to look into it some more.”

Information on Delos was extremely scarce compared to other nations. The intelligence brought by the spirits was sparse, and what Elliott had told her was incredibly vague.

“Delos has maintained the stance of a cowardly pacifist for the past several decades. Princess Rodette is the very epitome of the Delos royal family. They say the royal court began searching for a suitable husband for her immediately after her birth, and there were rumors that they were carefully evaluating a nation’s power. In that sense, Ormance was ruled out as a candidate long ago.”

Diana had assumed Ianna’s story wouldn’t be much different, but she was wrong. After a moment’s thought, Ianna added a new detail.

“There were probably marriage talks with Karman a long time ago as well. Since the lower reaches of the Main River connect the two regions, there’s always been a lot of interaction between them.”

“Marriage talks?”

“It’s just speculation, of course. Even if there were talks, it would have been at least 14 years ago.”

Marriage talks. Had she ever heard such a story while living in the imperial palace…?

Diana absentmindedly searched her memory. It was easy to recall those days—days she had buried deep in her heart and trampled down with her feet, yet never forgotten.

She was certain she had never heard any talk about the Princess of Delos while at the Karman Imperial Palace. It seemed Duke Christen had once asked in passing what she thought about a royal marriage—but what had she been doing at the time?

Ah, it must have been when she was sprawled on the bed, looking as if she were dead, exhausted from Felix’s touch as usual. Felix wasn’t one to mince words, whether she was listening or not. Diana let out a weary chuckle.

‘Come to think of it, if he’d had a fiancé, he wouldn’t have been talking to me about the empress’s throne.’

Or maybe not—couldn’t there have been some progress with the Princess of Delos over the past year? If so, there would be no one better suited than the princess to act as the decoy to lure that man into a trap….

“Nothing is certain yet. Since I haven’t figured out what kind of person the princess is, it might be a good idea to meet with her alone….”

Having thought that far, Diana paused, overcome by a slightly unfamiliar feeling. Something didn’t quite add up.

Was he—the Emperor—the sort of man who could be easily lured away by someone? Especially by a woman—more precisely, a woman other than herself.

Diana recalled the look on his face when he had dared to speak of “love” in her presence. His eyes, imbued with an undiluted coolness, still trembled like a ship caught in a storm, unable to hide his anxiety and longing. They were eyes that revealed even his most primal desires without restraint. His gaze never strayed from Diana, from beginning to end.

Felix Asthean loved her. Whatever form that love took, that much was certain.

That arrogant emotion was also Diana’s weapon. So the one truly suited to be the “Hunter” was not, in fact, the Princess of Delos, but…

“…No, that’s anyone’s guess.”

Just as she was about to reach a conclusion, Diana quickly changed her mind.

‘He simply acts according to his own desires; there’s no way he’d come just because I tell him to, or go just because I tell him to….’

If that were the case, things wouldn’t be this difficult. Then as now, Felix treated her like an object that rightfully belonged to him. Even if Diana were to act as the bait herself, it would be difficult to lure him into a trap. Therefore, to completely drive the man out of this land, a more intricate plan was needed.

She had already determined the order in which she would meet with them. Since each person’s role had already been assigned, all that remained was to verify their qualifications. After finalizing her plan, Diana stood up.

“Well then, I’ll be on my way. Please rest here, Queen Ianna. If anything happens, just call out my name.”

“It would be best not to reveal your true form, Diana.”

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

Diana flashed a confident smile at the Queen, whose expression was filled with concern, to put it at ease. Droplets of water forming inside the cave gently enveloped her.

The moment she closed her eyes and opened them again, the scenery around her had changed.

***

“Ugh, so they’re going to lock me up in solitary confinement, are they? Is this a warning not to mess around?”

Allot kicked a rock at his feet with all his might. The water column had trapped him and carried him to the top of the spire closest to the royal palace’s main gate.

‘The Spirit said this was a test. If that’s the case, I shouldn’t let my words slip carelessly. There are surely ears listening everywhere.’

For now, winning the spirit’s favor comes first. Allot swallowed his curses and climbed up and down the narrow interior of the spire, searching for a way out.

‘Since she’s hiding her true form so carefully, her weakness might be her bare face. Is she a flawed human? Or perhaps a powerless, frail old man or woman, or a very young child…? Judging by the time since the fall of Dortes, she’s probably a bit older than fourteen, right?’

Although it was half-collapsed, the dense thicket of thorn bushes provided a clear enough view to take in the entire scene of Mepen at a glance. Though he kept his words to himself, he couldn’t hide the greed revealed in his eyes and expression.

Karman’s flag was fluttering on the bridge leading to the city. As he imagined erasing the tiger emblem from that flag and replacing it with the image of Grenia’s blue bird spreading its wings, Allot felt a little better.

‘If only this place were to fall into my hands….’

It was at that very moment that leaves began swirling through the air.

Startled, Allot looked up, and from the ceiling of the spire—covered in thorn vines—came that same mysterious sound he had heard just moments before.