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“Yes. Though the templars that belong to the Lord of the Gods’ faction say that the God of Death simply returned to the underworld after their argument with the Lord of the Gods, the Templars of Death claim that their god had been imprisoned by the Lord of the Gods.”

“So, no one actually knew what happened?”

“Yes. That’s correct. But the fact remains that the Templars of Death have been rebelling for a long time now. So, their name has become taboo. Until now, they still pose a threat to the Empire.”

“As the Templars of Chaos?”

“Yes.”

I recalled Dane and Fleon mentioning this sometimes in theology class but they always glossed over the subject. Come to think about it, they must have been avoiding it.

“Soricks, does that mean the Templars of Chaos have been continuously posing a threat to the Empire? I mean, you did say they have been rebelling.”

“No. That’s not true. There had only been this one occasion, long ago. The 3rd Great war which occurred during the reign of the Emperor of the Holy Sun. So, this was about 300 years ago.”

“Then why are they being brought up again? They’re not posing any threat now. It’s been a long time since then.”

“That’s not the case either. They’ve been pretty active recently.”

His words reminded me of the Templar of Chaos I met during the Founding Festival. It had been a female templar. I wouldn’t really say she felt threatening. She had been angry that women were being kidnapped and sacrificed for divinity. Her anger had been justified.

“Then, why was I assigned this task just before my Coming-of-Age Ceremony?”

“It’s to alert the rest of the Imperial Family. To create a common enemy.”

“Ah.”

There was this movie I liked for a long time revolving around a magic school with a villain whose name could not be said out loud. Fear of the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named grew along with his notoriety, and this fear engulfed and spread throughout the populace.

Wasn’t his premise a lot like the Templars of Chaos? The emperor had dusted off the old fears in the corner of people’s hearts and reminded them of why they feared the Templars of Chaos in the first place before destroying the rebels one by one. It was clear from this that the emperor was no fool. Rather, he was a crafty and calculating man. And that made things even worse.

The emperor wanted to prevent the Empire from collapsing. And that was his end goal. But the way the emperor went about it was horrible. He chose the worst means to achieve his ends by trampling on and sacrificing countless tortured victims. And he was still doing it now.

What would it take to right his sins? To be honest, it was hard to see what he could do to fix things. If peace and happiness were furniture that needed to be assembled, the Empire was now at a state where peace and happiness could not possibly be assembled because of the absolute lack of screws. At this rate, what would be left of his actions might just be a trail of destruction.

“Soricks, about the First Emperor. Any book I read about them has never revealed their gender, why’s that?”

“Ah. We consider the First Emperor’s existence to be something more like a god. Well, I did hear that they were a man. If you examine older records of the Empire’s history, they were described to be a woman. But it’s pretty hard to imagine them as a woman.”

“Why’s that?”

“The code of law that was first written by the First Emperor is currently guarded by the Templars of Law and Justice. It was made known that the code stated that a woman was not allowed to be the emperor.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes?”

“I’m just making sure. You said it was ‘made known’ but that means that was just a rumour, right?”

Soricks looked conflicted for a moment before mulling over it.

“Ah, right… Come to think of it, you’re right. The code of law is only accessible to the templar guarding it, or the presiding Chief of Justice, and the emperor. However, for a Templar of the Law, one of the conditions to be officiated as one was the ability to ‘maintain fairness’. That’s why everyone trusts their word and follows them.”

“Hm, I see.”

Rebecca soon entered the study and our discussion was forced to a halt. Actually, it didn’t matter if Rebecca overheard our conversation but Soricks wordlessly held himself back from saying another word. Watching his reaction, I realised that their name could not have been taboo for no reason and I was also reminded not to antagonise the Templars of Chaos at the same time.

Come to think of it, Auresia mentioned that she had been the Templar of Death. Did that mean I have her abilities within me too?

“It must be thanks to the powers you’ve inherited from me that protected you from going insane.”

I seriously wasn’t crazy. What I had been telling myself this whole time turned out to be true. For some strange reason, I felt so relieved I felt like crying.

***

“The 2nd Prince will come visit this afternoon.”

I glanced up from the book I was reading. It had been a sunny afternoon. It looked to be about 2 pm. Perhaps Rebecca meant that he would be arriving at about 5. The Empire continued to have good weather and because of that, the days here were long.

A long day also meant that there was a lot to do during the day. That wouldn’t be too pleasant for salarymen. I mean, just look at Meta and Soricks. Day or night, they would be working in my study like fixtures. If the me from my past life had to work like them, I would have hated it.

“Why this afternoon?”

“I think he’s coming to visit after finishing up his work. He’s probably busy.”

“But I have to finish this.”

When I picked up the book and shook it, Rebecca frowned slightly. And her frown only deepened when I read the title of the book, [Various Templars and Curses Along with Cases], out loud. She seemed to be wondering why I was reading such a book.

“I have so many templars around me now.”

“I understand that but it almost seems like you’ve recently only been reading books that have negative influences on you. You’ve only been reading books about people who have died of curses, curses themselves or stories about unfortunate lives.”

“It has a synergistic effect. Synergy. I feel like doing this might help me overcome my misfortunes?”

“You seem to like using nonsense to change the subject sometimes, mistress.”

Ah, I guess I got caught. Smiling as I looked at her, Rebecca shook her head. Then, I glanced at the books that were strewn next to me before lifting one of them up.

“Are you thinking about your awakening?”

“Ah, right. Because everyone’s saying there’s not much time left until it happens, right?”

It was then Rebecca, who had remained silent for a while as if pondering, flipped open a book titled [A Templar’s Awakening and the Conditions Required]. She looked even more serious than she usually was so I wondered if she had grown interested in templars and divinity.

Knock knock.

Just then, the door opened quietly before Hannah slipped in to say.

“The 7th Prince has arrived.”

“Really?”

“Yes. He said he would wait in the drawing room.”

Dane? It was strange how the man who would usually visit without notifying a maid was now announcing his presence through Hannah. Furthermore, he didn’t come to the study directly but was waiting in the drawing room. In any case, I nodded my head and headed for the drawing room.

“Dane.”

Dane who was sitting on the sunny veranda turned his head to face me. For some reason, Dane was dressed in a shirt with a loose cravat. Oh? He had always been dressed in tunics, or traditional Imperial attire, so, what changed?

“Ashley.”

Under the gradually warming sky, Dane’s eyes sparkled like jewels. He greeted me with a languid tilt of his head. The doors to the veranda had been wide open and the silk curtain fluttered gently in the wind. The curtains repeatedly hid and revealed his silhouette.

“You didn’t even come straight to the study.”

I paused before heading to the couch and sitting down on it slowly almost matter-of-factly. It was from this spot I could see Dane clearly. He was still sitting on the veranda looking at me. I thought his slow blinks suited the sky behind him well.

“It’s good to take a break sometimes.”

But rather than a clear sky, Dane always looked better with the setting sun or a dusk sky as his backdrop.

“If I visited your study like I usually did, you would have been busy with something to do.”

“Right”

Because I had been busy with all sorts of things. But considering everything that had been taken from me, it made sense that I had lots to do. With a knowing gaze, Dane curled his eyes slowly.

“That’s why I called you here.”

His voice was low.

“Here, you’d only look at me.”

“Dane.”

I widened my eyes before unconsciously averting my gaze as if I was taken aback. I fiddled with my fingers atop my lap. Was he trying to flirt with me again?

“I’ve noticed this for a while, but you’re saying all this with an ulterior motive, aren’t you?”

“What motives?”

He tilted his head. He looked as if he didn’t know what I was talking about. But we didn’t spend so much time together for nothing. I spotted a glint in his curled eyes. It was clear that he wouldn’t respond to my question if I continued to beat around the bush. I threw fastballs at him as many times as I could.

“You’re trying to flirt with me.”

I knew this was what Dane wanted me to say.

“Am I wrong?”

I had no choice but to throw one now. Escaping and avoiding each other only made it harder for both of us. I recalled Dane’s words. He had abandoned the ‘Emperor’s shadows’ just because I had been avoiding him and acting differently around him.

“You caught me.”

Even though he understood the risk involved. Cleverer than anyone else, this was what he wished for. And by telling me this, I was sure he had also taken into account what I would feel in response.

“What should I do, Ashley? You’ve stolen my whole heart.”

Lies. Ever since he revealed that he had been part of the shadows, he never bothered to hide his feelings. The minute he decided he was going to reveal the truth, he laid himself bare unabashedly. Just as he was doing now. His eyes that were as beautiful as jewels also looked as passionate as a blazing fire. Since when did he harbour feelings for me and why me? Numerous questions were lingering on the tip of my tongue. And it was clear that he would not hesitate to reveal anything I wanted to the winds. It was terrifying. I did not think I would be able to handle it.

I had already rejected the man who confessed his love for me. And the moment I had rejected the knight who had protected me so readily and sincerely, I felt apologetic for being unable to give anything in return.

Seeing people love me regardless of the number of times I died was like trying to revive a devastated wasteland while I continued to trip over my feet. Because I was relearning what I used to know but had forgotten. But those who loved me continued to let me know their love for me no matter how long they had been waiting. It was a love that brought tears to my eyes.

After refusing Lord Ray, I still managed to greet Dane even though I was struggling to deal with the pain I had left within me.

“Dane, you know what. I met the person who gave birth to me.”

It wasn’t anyone’s fault but I felt like blaming it on someone.