An Unexpected Proposal

August 3, 2020
"Where are you hurrying off to, priestess?"

"…Your Majesty."
"If the temple finds out that you've slipped away unnoticed, I doubt they’ll have anything pleasant to say."
"That’s rich, coming from the Emperor of the Blanche Empire, who sneaked into the temple himself."

Natalie stared coldly at Jerpeneus. Rather than being deterred by her glare, he smiled brightly, seemingly entertained, and stepped closer to her.
"It’s been a while, Natalie."
Natalie carefully scanned the surroundings before taking a short breath.

"…Yes, it has."
"Where are you headed?"
"I have no obligation to report my movements to you."

"How cold. You wound me."
"Enough pointless chatter. Move aside."
Natalie took a step sideways to avoid Jerpeneus, but he simply stood with his hands in his pockets, watching her retreating figure.

"You’re going to Schwarhan, aren’t you?"
"…"
"I heard the slave’s condition isn’t good."

"Watch your mouth. She is no slave."
Natalie stopped in her tracks and turned back to glare at him.
"What does it matter? That woman is a slave. It’s a fact."

"Maybe to others. But you, of all people, shouldn’t say that."
"And why not?"
"Because you made her one."
Natalie let out a sharp breath and pressed her fingers against her forehead in frustration.

"That’s right. I made her a slave. But what could I do? They were weak. That’s why it happened."
"Don’t lie to me. Do you think I don’t know how you operate?"
Like termites gnawing at wood, Jerpeneus had a talent for corroding from within—subtle, invisible at first, until everything collapsed.

"That land was already in ruins before I touched it. I didn’t rot the roots—I simply uprooted what was already decaying."
"You always find a way to justify your greed."
"That’s my charm, isn’t it?"

"Don’t flatter yourself. There’s nothing remotely charming about you."
"That’s harsh. We were once almost engaged, you know."
"Why don’t you ask yourself why that engagement was broken?"

Natalie’s gaze turned ice-cold. Even after all these years, the past still clung to her like a ghost.
"If I did that, I’d have to apologize to you."
Jerpeneus smirked slyly.

"As if you’d ever consider apologizing."
Natalie couldn’t hide her irritation, her voice rising slightly.
"Maybe I would—if you told me you’d forgive me."

"If I could forgive you, I would have done it long ago."
Natalie scoffed, her lips curling in disdain. Even after dedicating so many years to the temple, some things never changed. The reflection of herself in Jerpeneus’s eyes—the same wretched past she had buried—still haunted her.
"I’ve told you before: the only thing I can do for you is listen to your sins. If you expect more, don’t bother coming to me again."

"My priestess is particularly cold today."
Jerpeneus chuckled bitterly.
"That’s because every time you come to me, it’s after you’ve done something vile."

"You always see through me. I might fool others, but never you."
"Then tell me—what have you done this time?"
Natalie tilted her head slightly, uninterested. He didn’t even believe in God, yet every time he sinned, Jerpeneus came to the temple—not for repentance, but as some twisted ritual of his own.

"For Cabelenus."
Jerpeneus grinned. Natalie’s face hardened. The uneasy feeling she had—she prayed it was just paranoia. But she knew Jerpeneus too well.
"…What have you done to her?"

"I told you. It was for Cabelenus."
"Not your brother."
Jerpeneus would never harm Cabelenus. If he had targeted someone, it wasn’t Cabelenus himself—it was someone close to him. Someone vulnerable. Someone with a body marred with scars. As soon as the thought struck her, Natalie grabbed Jerpeneus by the collar.

"Cancel it. Whatever you did—undo it now."
"Sacrifices must be made for the greater good."
"Or is it just to satisfy your own greed?"

Natalie’s eyes sharpened. She had always turned a blind eye to Jerpeneus’s sins. The more he sinned, the more it fed her own sense of retribution. Every time she listened to his confessions, she abandoned her priestly duties and became the Natalie of the past. But not this time. This time, she wouldn’t let him do as he pleased.
"As I said, this is all for Cabelenus."
"Has he ever once asked for this?"

"He’s still young. He doesn’t understand yet."
"Young?"
Natalie clicked her tongue in disgust.

"He’s a full-grown man. The ruler of Schwarhan, overseeing one of the largest territories in the empire. Calling him ‘young’ is laughable."
"Natalie. Cabelenus is special."
"Yes. Special, indeed. A tool for your ambitions."

"Don’t put it like that."
"Tell me where I’m wrong, then."
Her words were sharp, and after throwing them at him, Natalie turned away. Even after the briefest encounter, she could see it—Alicia was special to Cabelenus. No matter what it took, she had to protect her.

"Where are you going?"
"To clean up your mess."
"You’re not going anywhere. Do you think I came here just because I had time to kill?"

Jerpeneus blocked her path, smiling as if he had already won.
"What are you—?"
Before she could finish, soldiers burst into the room. Natalie instinctively tried to shove Jerpeneus away, but it was useless. His expression had shifted—his eyes no longer smiling.

"The High Priest told me that a new star had appeared in the sky."
"What?"
"And, as luck would have it, one of my hounds brought me an interesting piece of information. It seems the slave woman… might be pregnant."

Was this truly a coincidence? Jerpeneus smirked, feigning ignorance.
"In the end, that wench is carrying noble blood."
"…What are you planning?"

"At first, I thought of simply getting rid of it. But then I reconsidered. Flawed as it may be, half of its blood belongs to Cabelenus. That makes it valuable, don’t you think?"
"The child hasn’t even been born yet."
"That’s why I’m so eager to see. The unknown is what makes things exciting. And with blood that pure, well—there’s a lot to look forward to."

"Of course, it's a defective thing, so we’ll use it while it lasts and discard it when the time comes."
Jerpeneus spoke with an easy smile, his expression unchanging even as he uttered such words. Natalie's face twisted further. He was serious.
"Don't do this."

"That’s unlike you. Normally, you turn a blind eye to whatever I do."
"Because this involves Cabelenus. You can do whatever you want with others, but you must not touch him."
Natalie clenched her eyes shut, unable to suppress the emotions rising within her. By now, she should have let go—but the chains of the past refused to loosen.

"There is nothing that cannot be done, Natalie."
"…"
"And besides, we've come too far to stop now."

"That’s just an excuse. You could stop if you wanted to—you just won’t."
"Don't pretend you're above this. You're no different—you can't let go of the past either."
"Remembering or forgetting the past doesn’t matter. The past is nothing but a finished story. There's no going back."

Just like us. Natalie swallowed the words, her glare sharp. He wasn't the only one haunted by ghosts. Jerpeneus, too, was desperately trying to piece together shattered fragments of a past long lost—cutting himself on their jagged edges without even realizing he was bleeding.
"Maybe it can't be restored perfectly, but it can be reshaped into something similar."
"Jerpeneus."

"Looking at me like that won’t change anything. The seed has already been planted."
And now, it was time to harvest.
At Jerpeneus’s subtle signal, armed soldiers surrounded Natalie.

"Don’t worry, I wouldn’t dream of hurting you."
He reached out and gently placed a hand on her shoulder, his tone warm, almost affectionate. Natalie immediately slapped his hand away, her eyes blazing.
"You think you’ll get away with this? Laying a hand on a priestess within the temple grounds? The High Priest will not overlook this."

"I’ve already spoken with him."
"What?"
Jerpeneus smiled lightly as he brushed a stray lock of Natalie’s hair behind her ear.

"Rejoice, Natalie. That greedy old man has finally named your price."
"What are you talking about?"
Natalie’s voice trembled.

Healing power was valuable—immensely so. That was why the temple tightly controlled its priest-healers, making sure they were never freely available. For years, Jerpeneus had sought her, but the High Priest had repeatedly refused. That man never acted unless it was to serve his own interests.
"Even a half-blood is enough to satisfy him."
"You… don’t tell me…"

"Funny, isn’t it? Even things that seem useless can turn out to have value if you know where to look."
Jerpeneus idly stroked his chin, his smirk deepening.
***

"Where is she? By now, she should have arrived."
"We tried to contact her, but there’s been no response."
"No response?"

"We’ll send men to search for her in case she was stranded in the snowstorm, but we must also consider the possibility that the temple has interfered."
Gajev looked troubled. No matter how extraordinary Natalie was, she was still bound to the temple. If the High Priest had gotten hold of her, escaping wouldn’t be easy.
"This is the worst possible scenario."

"For now, waiting might be the best course of action."
"We can’t afford to wait too long. She has been unconscious for far too long already."
"…"

Gajev remained silent, unable to meet Cabelenus’s gaze. He knew better than to argue, yet the truth was clear to everyone—paradoxically, Alicia looked better now than before she collapsed.
The pallor of her skin had faded, and with each passing day, a faint color returned to her face. Her once gaunt frame was slowly regaining a healthier form. She looked less like someone unconscious and more like someone merely in a deep, restful sleep.
"Don’t worry too much. The young lady will be fine."

"That’s something I can only say once she wakes up."
Cabelenus exhaled slowly, his eyes half-lidded. He had made his decision, taken his actions—yet everything kept slipping further out of his grasp. From the past to the present, Alicia had always been a variable. She unsettled him. Made him restless.
"…If things come to it, contact the High Priest."

"The High Priest?"
"I don’t like feeding that old man’s greed, but if she can be saved, then she must be saved."
"If we involve the High Priest, he might learn about the child."

The Prime Temple was as powerful as the imperial family itself, and their relationship had always been strained. The same was true for Cabelenus.
"He may already know."
"What?"

"I had my suspicions, but that monster… it takes after me too well."
Cabelenus chuckled bitterly, looking down at his hand. A hand that had gripped a sword for too long, hardened and calloused from years of battle. No matter how many times Natalie healed his wounds, she could never erase the memories of how he got them.
But those memories were fleeting. Endless battles, the constant dance between life and death—he had become numb to it all. The boy who had once lost sleep over the wounds he inflicted had long since stopped dreaming at all.

"Gajev."
"Yes, Your Grace?"
"Which is stronger—a monster that is made, or a monster that is born?"

"I… don’t understand what you mean."
"I mean the thing inside Alicia."
Cabelenus spoke of it as if it were an object, not a child. Gajev lowered his gaze, unsure how to respond.

"It was using its strength even before birth."
"…"
"That alone proves it’s no weakling. So why did it remain hidden? What was it waiting for?"

"It’s just a child. There’s no deeper meaning."
"Perhaps I underestimated it for being just a child."
Cabelenus’s lips twisted into a smirk.

"What if it was simply lying in wait? Hiding within its host until the time was right?"
That monster’s blood—it couldn’t be denied.
His voice was steady, his posture relaxed, but the murderous glint in his eyes betrayed him.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Does it not make sense to you?"
"It’s not that, Your Grace. It just seems… you already know exactly who it is."
"Know?"

Cabelenus let out a dry chuckle.
"Of course, I know. How could I ever forget that cursed bloodline?"
Gajev’s eyes widened. It was rare—almost unheard of—for Cabelenus to speak so crassly. Even rarer for him to display such undisguised hatred.

"I’ll say this once more—that thing is no ordinary child. It’s a monster. And it will be treated as such."
"…Understood, Your Grace."
Cabelenus’s certainty left no room for doubt.

There was no convincing him otherwise.
Gajev could do nothing but press his gloved hand against the ring hidden beneath the fabric. He bit his lip, staring at the back of the man he had sworn loyalty to.
He didn’t know what was right anymore.

But he could feel the weight of the ring against his skin.
And in that moment, it was the only thing that felt real.