Chapter 6

Chapter 6

“So, what brings you here today?”

Ivan asked first. He naturally headed for the seat of honor. He knew Duke Russell’s gaze was following him, but he walked exceptionally slowly.

“I requested some of your valuable time because there was something I needed to discuss.”

“Sit.”

This time, Ivan didn’t try to provoke him either. Ivan gestured with his eyes, and Duke Russell sat in the seat allotted to him.

“I heard you ordered the easing of security at the northern border, near Reed. Are you considering re-establishing diplomatic relations with them?”

He asked directly, without mincing words. Ivan leaned back comfortably in his chair, legs crossed.

“That’s right.”

Ivan’s straightforward answer followed. Duke Russell’s eyebrows twitched at the unwelcome response.

“They are the ones who dared to insult the Priestess, and to insult Escliffe.”

Duke Russell recounted the reasons why Reed and Escliffe had severed diplomatic ties. His intent was to remind Ivan why the border had been closed.

“Did you come to tell me that because you thought I wouldn’t know? How kind of you.”

Ivan let out a short laugh. He swept a hand through his hair and answered dismissively. Anyone could see he wasn’t listening carefully to Duke Russell.

“They merely harbored doubts about the Priestess’s existence.”

“Your Majesty.”

Duke Russell was about to open his mouth to retort to Ivan.

“Even the god said to have existed since the beginning descended to this land and departed as a spirit. So how could a mere proxy live an eternal life? Isn’t it natural to have some questions?”

Ivan spoke coldly. He pretended to reference the opinion of the neighboring country, Reed, but in truth, their views were no different from Ivan’s true feelings.

“The Priestess is the divine proxy who protects Escliffe.”

“…”

“To doubt her existence is tantamount to doubting and denying Escliffe itself.”

Reading Ivan’s thoughts, Duke Russell calmly asserted. He meant that insulting the Priestess was an insult to God, and furthermore, an insult to Escliffe, the land’s master.

“What a miraculous logic.”

Ivan murmured with a smile on his lips. Yet, no matter how one looked at it, it was far from a pleasant or joyful laugh.

“Above all, I, the head of the Imperial Family, do not feel insulted.”

“…”

“And Duke Russell. If a god truly existed, they wouldn’t act so narrow-minded.”

Ivan refuted Duke Russell’s argument and rose from his seat.

“You might not die even if you starve for a year and don’t drink water, but the people of this land are not like that.”

He walked over to the window and flung it open. The lukewarm breeze swayed the curtains and poured cheerfully into the room.

“Reed is a country built on flat land, so it has vast granaries. Conversely, while our land is wide, we have little farmland. Moreover, the land is barren.”

Ivan pointed to the top of a mountain, towering above the Imperial Castle, and highlighted Escliffe’s reality. Duke Russell’s gaze slowly shifted to the mountaintop.

“For ten years, diplomatic relations were severed. Every time there was a famine, countless people starved to death in the streets.”

Duke Russell’s gaze returned to Ivan’s face.

“Your family hasn’t starved to death, so you seem uninterested, but another famine is predicted this year, isn’t it?”

Ivan was smiling as he condemned the actions of the great nobles. He also condemned their cruelty in severing diplomatic ties for the sake of honor, making food supply difficult, and causing people to die by being chased by soldiers for petty theft committed before starvation.

“Even that must be the will of the gods.”

Duke Russell replied calmly. The artificial smile on Ivan’s face completely vanished.

“If you’re so fond of God, it would have been better for both of us if you’d just joined the clergy altogether.”

Ivan spoke, looking directly at Duke Russell with an expressionless face.

“Ten years is enough. Now, God should live God’s life, and humans should live human lives. Don’t you think so?”

“Is that what Your Majesty believes?”

Duke Russell replied softly.

“I understand. As the presiding official, I merely wished to ascertain Your Majesty’s intentions. We will discuss it again at the meeting.”

Then he bowed respectfully to Ivan and left the audience chamber. Ivan’s gaze lingered on the empty space after Duke Russell had departed.

“Summon Rodan and have everyone else leave.”

Ivan shook the summoning bell, called a servant, and gave his order. Not long after, Rodan, who had received his command, entered the audience chamber alone.

“Duke Russell has realized that I’m pushing to re-establish diplomatic relations with Reed.”

“He already knows?”

Rodan frowned and asked. They had only just begun to open discussions. While Ivan hadn’t tried to hide it desperately, it was still too early for Duke Russell to have found out.

“Find out where the leak came from. It must be someone nearby.”

Rodan nodded at Ivan’s weary voice. He then quickly withdrew when he saw Ivan wave his hand, signaling him to leave.

“What kind of god closes their eyes whether their followers die or not…”

In the solitary room, brilliant light streamed down upon his head. Ivan sat on the windowsill, gazing blankly at the sky, and muttered in accusation.

His head felt warm. He couldn’t tell if it was from the hot light or because he was angered by his conversation with Duke Russell.

“You don’t care about the other person’s feelings, no matter what kind of pain they might suffer…”

Amelia’s voice, speaking as if one should not ignore or hurt another’s feelings, came to mind.

“She’s the same, though.”

It was absurd that Amelia would criticize someone when she and the god she served were no different. Ivan scoffed coldly at Amelia. He felt a craving for alcohol, though he rarely drank it.

He was a man who stood utterly on the side of humanity. If that thing was a god, then Ivan and God could never walk the same path.

Amelia tilted her head and touched her ear as she headed for the Prayer Room.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. My ear just feels a bit itchy.”

“You’re not planning on leaving because you’re ‘sick,’ are you?”

Louis asked suspiciously. Amelia shook her head.

Nevertheless, a faint hint of distrust lingered in Louis’s eyes. Amelia often disappeared, claiming to feel unwell, tired, or needing to use the restroom, and wouldn’t reappear for a long time. Naturally, Louis was left to clean up the mess.

“This time, my ear really just itched.”

Amelia replied with a touch of annoyance. Louis was a decent enough person, aside from her stronger allegiance to Aaron, but moments like this often irritated Amelia.

“Please, allow me to see the Priestess!”

It was then. A clamorous sound drifted in on the wind. Amelia’s gaze naturally turned toward the source of the noise.

“Priestess!”

It was a woman holding a baby. Seeing Amelia, the woman’s face lit up, and she tried to push past the priests and rush forward. Just as Amelia flinched and began to retreat, two priests forcibly restrained the woman.

“Didn’t we tell you no!”

Amelia’s path and the commoners’ prayer room were in completely different directions. It was astonishing that she had managed to sneak in this far.

“Priestess, quickly, to the Prayer Room…”

Louis tried to lead Amelia to the Prayer Room. But Amelia’s steps did not lead there.

“What’s going on?”

At Amelia’s question, the priests bowed their heads deferentially.

“We apologize for the disturbance, Priestess. We will have her removed immediately.”

“Priestess, please, save my baby.”

Despite the priests’ rough handling, the woman holding the baby did not give up. She begged for her baby, wrapped in cloth, to be saved, so limp she seemed to lack even the strength to cry.

“Please, lend us the power of the gods…”

There were no gods. Amelia knew that fact better than anyone. But she understood the desperate desire to grasp at any straw.

“Save my child, please!”

Hadn’t her own mother cried like that? Amelia recalled the woman’s screaming face and, as if possessed, reached out her hand to the child.

“Priestess.”

However, a gentle voice halted her action. Amelia unknowingly stopped her hand and turned her head. Aaron approached, smiling kindly.

“You must not make an exception for a single individual.”

Though he said that, in truth, he had noticed the child was sick. There was no one who could replace Amelia at this moment. If Amelia were to suddenly catch a disease and die, everything would fall apart.

“…”

Reading Aaron’s thoughts, Amelia’s expression turned cold. She didn’t know the reason for her existence in this land, but she believed it wasn’t merely to live as someone else’s puppet.

“Even making that exception is the will of the gods.”

So, she couldn’t help but retort to him, even if it was out of a childish impulse. Perhaps because there were witnesses, Aaron could not argue with Amelia.

“Show me the child.”

At Amelia’s words, the woman trembled and pulled back the cloth covering the baby’s face. The heat rash blooming all over the delicate skin, barely breathing, was heartbreaking.

“…”

Aaron’s jaw tightened as he watched Amelia place her hand on the child’s forehead and whisper words of gentle comfort and blessing. What did it matter if one insignificant life flickered out?

“Please examine the child’s condition and provide treatment. Since the Priestess herself has blessed them, they will surely recover. They must.”

Aaron’s expression softened as if nothing had happened, and he whispered to a nearby priest. Since Amelia had offered her blessing to the child, the child had to survive. That was likely what Amelia had been aiming for.

“…”

Their insolent gazes, as if asking what she would do now, clashed in the air. You’re forgetting your place and acting willfully again. Aaron smiled quietly.

She clearly needed some discipline.