Chapter 125
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Chapter 125 My plan was simple. I would go to the Grand Temple of Parens, which seemed to be the headquarters of the Gaejo Faction. I would alternate between attack scrolls, defense scrolls, illumination scrolls, and firework scrolls, smashing everything indiscriminately. I would meet the Tower Master and Huan Loapi Sr., who should already be infiltrating that place. After that, I would extract both of them using a teleportation scroll, and then I would live or die as fate dictated. 'It's all or nothing, really.' I had arrived at such a grand epiphany. 'That's it!' All this time, the reason I had been so diligent in making plans, crafting schemes, and living carefully was because I lacked power. 'When your body is strong, your mind doesn't have to suffer!' The place I arrived at was not Parens where the Grand Temple stood, but the small village where I had spent my childhood. This was because teleportation scrolls could only transport the caster to coordinates they knew with precision. A small school in the village where Huan Loapi Sr. once worked, and a rural town with the library where I had saved Crown Prince Kiaros. Thanks to this, I was able to see the sea for the first time in a very long while.
"The weather is lovely."
Across the wide, blue sea, lovers walked hand in hand along the sandy beach. Among them were many men giggling as they carried their lovers on their backs, dipping their feet into the waves. Seeing that sight, someone naturally came to mind.
"Kibon...."
I found a spot on the sand and sat down, gazing at the waves for a while. Before leaving, I had wanted to see Kibon one more time, but I simply couldn't muster the courage. I was afraid that if I revealed I was an experimental subject, he might show a look of disgust. [Still, I'm sorry. It might be an unpleasant situation....] [I am not displeased. Minister, are you perhaps displeased?] The excitement and warmth mixed into the tone of that question remained so vivid that I still remembered it. [...No.] The shyness with which I had answered back then. [...It's nice.] [It is nice.] I wasn't sure when it started, but I had come to like being with him. I liked having someone who would unconditionally follow my lead. In a world where nothing went my way, only Kibon bent entirely to my will. 'It probably started long, long ago.' Now that I thought about it, I had wanted to dance the first dance at the banquet with Kibon too. So it seemed I had told Crown Prince Kiaros without hesitation, 'I should be going now.' As my thoughts extended even to Kiaros, a sigh escaped me naturally. When I had said that our scandal was nothing serious, Crown Prince Kiaros had answered like this. [Is that so? It seems Namia Loapi was thinking that way.] And after a brief pause, he had added. [Or perhaps you just want to believe it that way.] I had no answer to that. Because it was the truth. I wished Crown Prince Kiaros didn't view me in such a particular light. I wanted to believe it was only because of the Dark Period that he showed little reaction to scandals involving me. 'I already have someone I care about....' Crown Prince Kiaros was a good person, and I didn't want to hurt him. Yet his gaze and the words he casually let slip clearly conveyed affection. I didn't know why he'd come to care for me, but looking at it another way, we weren't entirely without common ground either. If I hadn't set my heart on Kibon first, there were quite a few moments when I might have fallen for him outright. 'I can't burden such a person with something so heavy.' Crown Prince Kiaros was in a position where he would have to kill me for the sake of the Empire. I didn't want to force him to kill a woman he harbored affection for. The same held true for Kibon. So I left only a letter behind. Since it would be the end anyway, I poured everything I wanted to say as a woman, not as a subordinate. After agonizing over how to write it, I composed it in the form I could express best. 'My first and last confession, delivered in writing.' I sighed once, brushed the sand from my clothes, and stood up. I'd organized my thoughts sufficiently. Now I had to rescue Father and the Tower Master as quickly as possible. 'The Grand Temple of Parens.' A vast and intricately complex temple that had endured since ancient times. It was also called a labyrinth because even entering it was said to be difficult. The structure was designed so that test subjects could never escape, and perhaps the Tower Master was also wandering lost in that labyrinth. 'Let's go.' I grasped the strap of the crossbody bag containing the scrolls the Tower Master had prepared and moved forward. * * * "Crown Prince Kiaros?"
The Emperor furrowed his brow with suspicion as he watched Crown Prince Kiaros suddenly become vacant.
"What's wrong? We were having a perfectly fine conversation and then...."
The Emperor couldn't finish his sentence. Crown Prince Kiaros bolted from the room without even listening.
"Crown Prince Kiaros!"
Just as the Emperor tried to grab him in surprise, his aide rushed in urgently.
"Your Majesty! The High Priest has just been caught attempting to assassinate the Crown Prince!"
The Emperor blinked in surprise.
"Crown Prince Kiaros? Is Crown Prince Kiaros alright? Ah, he must be fine. I confirmed it myself."
Judging by the fact that he'd arrived faster than his aide, he seemed to be unharmed. Since the Emperor had left most of the pursuit of the Gaejo Faction to Crown Prince Kiaros, he wasn't fully informed of the situation after capturing the Minister of Education.
"But the High Priest? The High Priest tried to kill Crown Prince Kiaros? How dare he?"
"Yes. According to the Ravens, the Crown Prince had already suspected the High Priest was behind the Gaejo Faction and was investigating the Temple. Due to Namia Loapi's efforts, we've now confirmed that Victor Awin is also a member of the Gaejo Faction...."
The Emperor pressed his forehead briefly as information flooded in. However, true to his nature as an exceptional Imperial Servant, his situational judgment was swift.
"I see. Understood."
The Emperor's crimson eyes gleamed ominously.
"Now that the High Priest is captured, I cannot leave the Temple alone. Forget past religious courtesies—I must destroy the Grand Temple."
To destroy that vast labyrinth-like place. The meaning was simple. After the current Emperor, Fedwin Polariud, manifested as a dragon, he would obliterate it without leaving a trace. * * * Crown Prince Kiaros crossed the Imperial Palace in a frenzy. Thanks to this, all the Imperial Palace's officials got to witness Crown Prince Kiaros's all-out sprint once more. The sight of him—usually so graceful and dignified—running in military dress was like....
"Oh my, he doesn't seem to be in his right mind."
"Namia Loapi escaped, didn't she?"
"Wow, was it really confinement? I had no idea. I thought the Empress just chose her words poorly."
He seemed like a madman. Combined with the Attendant's testimony that Namia Loapi had disappeared, rumors within the Imperial Palace were spreading beyond control. Regardless, Crown Prince Kiaros rushed, gasping for breath, to a shabby bench. An old, neglected bench near the Temple within the Imperial Palace, one that no one paid attention to. [Of all the Imperial Palace benches I've seen so far, this is the ugliest one, but I'll definitely come back here later.] That worn and pitiful bench—clearly something she'd said carelessly while glancing around. Yet that seemingly offhand remark had made him feel so good that at the time, Crown Prince Kiaros felt as though he were walking on clouds. How dreamlike that night had been became even clearer in hindsight. [From that day on, I think that bench will become my favorite among all the Imperial Palace benches.] It was a lie. In truth, from that very moment, that bench had been his favorite among all the Imperial Palace benches. It was the place where Namia Loapi had made a personal proposal to him for the first time. [She went out briefly at night. She took a secluded path toward the Temple and returned shortly.] Surely the bench was where Namia Loapi had stopped by that night. Indeed, in one corner of the bench covered with ivy, a letter lay waiting. With trembling hands, he unfolded the letter. Namia Loapi's familiar, neat handwriting came into view. But the beginning of that letter.... 【Title】 Namia Loapi's Emotional Status Report and Recommendations 【Table of Contents】 1. Background and Purpose 2. Content and Theoretical Framework 3. Results and Discussion 4. Conclusion It was in report format.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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