Chapter 251
To cover God’s eyes
It goes back to a time before the monster attack on the duchy even occurred…
When Freesia was still the ‘Duchess’, Riegel had agonized for a long time over the last letter she sent him.
[ Your Highness the Imperial Prince, I wish to leave the Duke’s side. ]
How that calm statement had left Riegel so taken aback. But even at the time, he had sensed it—albeit faintly.
That he should not have allowed his cousin to go down to the duchy with that husband.
He had clearly seen how strained their relationship was, but simply because she was pregnant, he hadn’t stopped her—and he regretted it deeply…
On top of that, his cousin didn’t just want to leave her husband, she also wanted to give birth apart from him.
[ I only hope to deliver the child safely, and then settle matters concerning myself. I earnestly beg you, just once, to help me out of familial affection. ]
The letter concluded with a plea to keep it hidden from the Emperor.
With the Emperor’s fierce affection for his granddaughter, anything would have been possible. But her resentment toward her grandfather ran so deep that she refused even that.
Even though she could have enjoyed wealth and glory if she so desired, what she truly wished for was so small and humble.
[ To be apart from those who tormented me, and to live quietly and peacefully as I gather my heart back together. ]
〈…Very well. If this is the first request you’ve ever made.〉
So even if it meant incurring the resentment of both their grandfather and the Duke, he had no choice but to grant her wish.
After that, Riegel acted in secret to avoid their grandfather’s eyes. He dispatched trusted servants according to the date written in her letter, and succeeded in secretly bringing her into the palace.
Only one thing had been outside his expectations.
Nova’s birth.
Freesia, already under extreme tension, went into labor the moment she escaped the duchy, and it eventually resulted in a difficult childbirth.
“…That was around the time Freesia had approximately 30 days of life remaining.”
Riegel murmured quietly, recalling the events of that time. Naturally, the person listening to this recollection was Izar.
After the chaos at the underground lake, he had barely managed to bring Izar up to the surface.
Though Izar had shouted that he would not leave Freesia’s side, they couldn’t possibly leave Nova, who had been terrified and panicked, down there.
Riegel had offered another suggestion…
〈We could send Nova up first and talk here.〉
〈And what, so you can hide my daughter somewhere else again?〉
At that time, Izar had lost all rationality, his eyes blazing like a beast, and it was absolutely necessary to calm him.
Thus, Riegel was explaining the events of the past to Izar in Nova’s room. Nova had fallen asleep in Mathilde’s arms, but the maid had curled up like a criminal, too scared of the Duke to even breathe.
“She nearly died back then. To be honest, we thought Nova wouldn’t survive either.”
“What…”
Izar’s fists remained stark white the entire time he listened.
“…But you said Freesia isn’t dead.”
Didn’t Riegel say so himself? That even though she was placed in a glass coffin, Freesia hadn’t died.
For someone thought to have died three years ago, her body hadn’t shown even the slightest sign of decay.
“Duke Izar. The place we are in is called the ‘Sanctuary’, and it is also the reason why the Betelgeuse family became the ruling family of an empire, despite lacking any particularly exceptional magical talent.”
Riegel continued as he tapped the floor lightly with his foot.
“It’s a place so filled with vast magical energy that it’s been likened to the ‘veins of the gods’. Such land is called a Sanctuary, and it’s a secret passed down only within the imperial family.”
“If the mana there is truly that powerful, then… could it be…”
“Your guess is correct. At the time, I brought my cousin to the Sanctuary closest to the palace.”
To say he ‘brought her’ was an understatement, a more urgent word would barely suffice.
“I had been researching how to replace divine power with Sanctuary magic for a very long time.”
Before the monsters appeared during the hunting festival, this was the very topic of research he had entrusted to Albireo Deneb and a select few.
〈It’s a little embarrassing to admit, Your Highness, but even if the spell succeeds… it may take a few years before results appear.〉
〈Understood. This is not the type of research we can afford to rush and make mistakes.〉
Even with all the corruption in the temple, its influence remained unshaken, solely because of the ‘divine power’ that only clergy could wield.
Riegel had long pondered how to break that system, one where a person’s life and death could be determined by wealth and status.
But in the end, he had prioritized his own blood, and made a selfish decision.
“I used up all the magical energy in the first Sanctuary… to heal Freesia.”
“Then… did you resolve the issue of Freesia’s shortened lifespan as well?”
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