Chapter 26
“Will you do that for me? Thank you.”
One of the knights bowed and left. The other gestured for me to wait inside, but I shook my head.
“It’s not quite proper for a man to enter the Princess’s chambers while she’s in her nightclothes.”
“Of course. My apologies, I wasn’t thinking.”
I’d never seen this knight before. Newly appointed this year, perhaps? A strange pang of guilt pricked me as I looked at his youthful face.
‘I’m sorry. Still, a knight of the Imperial Guard must come from a well-off family. You won’t be severely punished for failing to carry out a single order, will you?’
I apologized to him silently.
Just then, a sharp cracking sound echoed from the far end of the hallway. Something shattered. The knight startled, drawing his sword. Such a commotion shouldn’t be heard where the honored guests were staying.
He gestured to me. “Stay in your room.” Then he rushed—no, flew–towards the source of the noise. I offered a silent, apologetic bow towards his retreating back and ran in the opposite direction.
As I sprinted, I recalled the High Priest’s words, I need to figure out how to create a distraction while escaping.
“I entered the temple at five, my dear. I’ve never deceived anyone, so I wouldn’t know how. Therefore, you must think of a way. Who else would?” he’d said with a chuckle. It had been rather irritating. Judging by his smooth talking and maneuvering, the man could fool the entire population if he so wished.
In any case, this was my plan: send one knight on an errand, and trick the other, who would undoubtedly stay put, with a fabricated danger. The knight would hurry to the scene only to find a broken statue and perhaps a stray cat. The poor knight would be bewildered, but what could one do? He’d learn that life doesn’t always go as planned.
The secret passage leading out of the guest wing was hidden behind a large painting in the first-floor drawing-room. The grand artwork, depicting the God of Light illuminating the world in an ancient myth, concealed the entrance to the passage leading down. As instructed by the High Priest, I rotated the painting and slipped into the passage.
Built for distinguished guests, the arched marble passage, though long unused, was spotless and illuminated by embedded luminescent stones. It took a brisk ten-minute walk to reach the end, which opened into the forest surrounding the Grand Temple. I frequented this forest to gather herbs and food for the temple, so I easily found my way. At the designated meeting point, a man in shabby clothes was waiting, stifling a yawn.
“You? I was starting to think my eyes would fall out waiting.”
He gestured nonchalantly towards a carriage. I had been touched by the High Priest’s offer of a temple carriage, but the reality…
“Well, I’ll be a pickled onion.”
“What was that?”
“Nothing. Thank you.”
It was a temple carriage, but one of the rickety wooden ones used to transport food supplies. It was better for avoiding suspicion, but I couldn’t shake a feeling of being slightly cheated.
‘That old High Priest… he really enjoys teasing me, doesn’t he?’
“So? You said your destination was the village of Pinnerman?” the man asked as I climbed into the onion-scented cargo hold. I shook my head immediately. “No. I’m going near Trombel Village. You can drop me off there.”
The High Priest must have told him the furthest this ramshackle carriage could travel in a day. But I named a place only three hours away. Trombel Village housed a branch of Goldberry Bank, where my precious money was safely tucked away. I planned to part ways with this man there, withdraw some funds, and arrange for another carriage.
“That’s not what I heard… well, alright.” He scratched his head and set the carriage in motion.
Leaning my head against the rough wall of the carriage, I closed my eyes. I desperately hoped this was the end of it. The High Priest, blessed by the divine, had said I would eventually return. His words couldn’t be ignored. But it would be alright if I returned after everything was over, after the story had returned to its original course.
Thump. Thump. Thump. The carriage rattled along the uneven forest path, carrying me towards my dear, hidden funds.
***
Trombel Village, though small, bustled with activity. Its location on the outskirts of the capital was a disadvantage, but its position as a midpoint between larger cities more than compensated.
As soon as I dismissed the perpetually bored carriage driver, I shed my acolyte robes. Dressed in the simple dress I’d worn underneath, I entered the bank and presented my certificate of deposit. The clerk’s eyes widened. The sum, hardly believable for a young woman, made him glance repeatedly between me and the document with suspicion.
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