Chapter 86
A quiet place where, if everything went wrong one day, she could spend the rest of her life in solitude.
“Ahhhhhh!”
At dawn.
Though the air was still heavy with the scent of alcohol, food, and song, and most had collapsed into drunken slumber, one woman remained wide awake.
High Priest Hies screamed, clutching at her own hair. Yet even that wasn’t enough to quell her fury—she lashed out, kicking the kneeling priests before her.
“How dare you! What were you thinking, pulling such a stunt? How dare you…!”
“I-I’m sorry! I just… I just hated her so much… I’m sorry! Please, forgive me…!”
In truth, the moment Hies saw the blood staining the white sand, she knew.
She knew exactly what had been mixed in. And who had done it.
Though she was the one to bestow the blessing, she did not personally prepare the offering.
That kind of menial work was left to others.
Specifically, the priests who served the Sun God.
One of them had mixed glass shards into it.
A priest who admired Yasamin. A priest who had been enraged that the king had taken a Diet.
“If you were truly doing this for me, you should have been smarter. Did it never occur to you that this would ruin the entire ceremony? Instead, all you did was make it blatantly clear that the king cherishes the princess!”
She had tried to endure it.
Even when she heard that Yasamin had consummated his union with the princess, she had struggled to feign ignorance.
After all, the act of flesh was vulgar in itself. What truly mattered was the exchange of hearts.
Wasn’t platonic love the purest and most beautiful of all?
She was willing to do anything for the king.
It doesn’t matter if she isn’t loved. She isn’t attached to such things. What matters is that she loves him—that fact alone is enough.
She doesn’t wish for him to know. She doesn’t demand anything. She simply waits.
And yet… and yet…!
‘The way he looked at me earlier… That wasn’t how one looks at another person.’
Not even an object. It was the gaze one gives something that has already served its purpose. Something useless.
Realizing the truth she had been desperately avoiding, Hies let out a hollow laugh.
‘I alone can understand him. That he is an immortal being, that he will live forever… I alone know that truth.’
Hies prayed every day to fulfill the king’s wishes.
She kept herself pure, leading a life devoted to the divine.
Because the king wished to find the whereabouts of Aquafuran. She dreamed of being the one to receive the oracle.
To become someone useful to him.
‘That’s why I told him. He is great enough to rule over this entire country. He rightfully should. That’s why I told him to go to Wilkeron.’
But she never expected him to bring the princess back alive instead of killing her.
Siren Wilkeron was supposed to be nothing more than a means to enter Wilkeron!
‘He called her lovely. Said she was dear to him. How could he?’
She hated it. Hated it so much she could barely breathe.
Clutching her chest, Hies turned a piercing glare on the priest.
“Tomorrow, you will go to him yourself and apologize. Tell him it was your own reckless action and beg for forgiveness. Do not return until you are pardoned.”
“Aah, High Priestess… High Priestess!”
“If you are not forgiven, you will be excommunicated.”
After casting out the wailing priest, Hies collapsed weakly into her seat.
For a moment, she sat in a daze. Then, she slowly rose and stepped toward the inner chamber, concealed by heavy curtains.
A place where no one was allowed to enter.
This secret space had a single door.
And only Hies held the key.
Click—
Unlocking the door, Hies stepped inside and let out a soft laugh as she looked over the objects she had gathered.
“Ah, Yasamin… I believe that one day, you will come to see me.”
Inside the wooden chamber were things related to ‘Yasamin.’
Things she had secretly collected over time.
Strands of hair he had shed, the clothes he had worn, even a pair of shoes whose laces had frayed from use. One wall bore a portrait of Yasamin, drawn by her own hand, while on the other side sat a stuffed doll made to resemble him.
Hies clutched the doll tightly and pressed a kiss to its face—one that bore no resemblance to the real him, ugly and misshapen.
“I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.”
If only he had chosen her as his Diet instead.
Discussion
3 CommentsReactions
pickle3
Now she is insane..
Ijustwanttoread
jujunamaria