Story 61. The World I Didn’t Choose (6)

Chapter 104

I ended up yelling at the boy prince. He used to be my student. He once told me that he didn’t love anyone, so there was no way he loved me. And if he didn’t me, he should not be doing something so dangerous for me, who was just his old teacher.

But… It seemed that the danger was already here for us.

“Are they here? Oh, I think it’s over there!”

I heard the voices of men from outside. Did they find the entrance already? If they did, then the only other way out of here was towards the harem, but even if we hid there, I knew we wouldn’t be perfectly safe. Hakim Karid could come for us at any time. I wondered what will happen if we get caught. I didn’t care about me, but what about the prince, who didn’t even bring his sword here?

And… What kind of truth would those men see when they come in here? I supposed that if they didn’t look for the truth, they would not see anything. I said to the prince hurriedly, “S-shouldn’t we run away?” Prince Camille was beginning to panic as the sounds of men got closer. I calmed him down and grabbed the lantern. I heard the men screaming, “Whattt? Oh no! Is… is that blood? It is! It’s blood!”

“I saw an odalisque running into this place! It must be cursed blood!”

“Noooo! Does that mean we will all become cursed?”

Based on what I heard, it seemed like we still had a little bit of time, but suddenly, I heard the voice of a brave man.

“Stop talking nonsense, and let’s move! We need to go inside right now! Keep going!”

It was Eriez. So I guess he decided to remain loyal to the warrior till the very end. If he saw us, was there a chance that he might let us go? Would he be curious or confused to see me all healed up? Could we break his trust and loyalty to the warrior somehow?

I was about to go up the stairs that would lead us to the harem, but it seemed like the prince had changed his mind. He pointed at the opposite direction and said to me, “Juya, we need to go this way!”

“Pardon?”

Prince Camille ran ahead of me into the dark, so I had no choice but to follow him. I didn’t even have the time to protest or ask him why he was going this way. I was one of the fastest men in Minurd, but I have been starved for a while, so I could not catch up to the prince easily.

The prince led me to a black wall. I thought it was just a stone wall, but when we walked around it, I saw an open doorway there.

“This way, Juya!”

“Your highness, are you saying if we go this way, we can leave?”

“No, that’s not what I meant, but…”

Then what was he talking about? Where did this lead to?

Well, it didn’t matter because I heard the soldiers getting closer. It was too late for us to go anywhere else. I grabbed the prince’s hand and ran through the doorway, which led to an upward hallway.

“Argh…”

How long were we running? We were panting after a while, and when we didn’t hear anyone following us, we slowed down a little. I knew it was only a matter of time before the men caught us. These soldiers were loyal and organized. If all we did was run, we would get detected sooner or later.

At least, I hoped the strange smell around us, which was getting worse, would hide us a little better. Maybe the stench would thicken enough that they can’t even see us?

Now it was a ridiculous thing for me to think about.

What was the prince thinking?

“Huh?”

We continued to walk when suddenly, I stepped on something bulky and cold. I shrieked and stopped.

“T-this is… huh? Gyaa!”

When I got my lantern closer, I saw a dead man’s face. It was never pleasant to face a corpse, and this time, it was even worse. It would have been better if it was someone I didn’t know.

His face, even paler and bluer than when he was alive, looked like he was in shock when he died. Both his eyes and mouth were wide open like he was screaming.

“Atsalbate, Deaiparam…”

I didn’t even know what to call him since I didn’t know his name, so I murmured the only words I could remember that reminded me of him.

And… When I raised the lantern, I saw that there were many others like him all around us.

***

“…!”

As we moved forward, we saw even more and more corpses. Prince Camille walked carefully, trying not to touch any of the bodies, as he said to me, “Hawaki… She said that she tried to kill herself at that time.”

“… pardon?”

“Before we went to war with the west, she said she wanted to end the line of divine blood. If she died… There would be no more Goddesses, so she apparently tried to commit suicide.”

“But why? Also… she is still alive and well now, right? So…? Oh!”

As I asked the question, a thought suddenly popped into my head. I could guess what must have happened. The Virtuous Priestess… She probably almost died, but she must have been brought back to life just as I was.

I remembered the time when there was that first massive earthquake in Minurd. Now… The same thing happened as I was revived.

“So is that what the Hwen intruder asked of you at that time? To save the Virtuous Priestess? Is that what that man said to you, your highness?”

I felt overwhelmed, like I suddenly gained an incredible knowledge, but to my surprise, the prince shook his head as if to avoid the truth.

“No, Juya.”

“But? Oh, you mean he wasn’t an intruder? Yes, I remember you saying that to me.”

“Well, yes, that too. He wasn’t an intruder, and he also wasn’t a Hwenian. As to what he was saying to me… Was he telling me to save the Virtuous Priestess? I… I am not sure… Not anymore.”

Just what was the truth? If that man wasn’t even Hwenian, then what was he? I thought it made perfect sense for him to be a Hwenian who was the odalisques’ friend and wanted to save everyone in the harem who spoke Hwenian. I thought the “mad prophet” was their leader, but the prince was telling me that this wasn’t the case.

I thought I had it all figured out, but I guess I was wrong.

The prince said to me, “It’s… Things aren’t what they seem, Juya. So many things…”

He seemed determined and hesitant at the same time. I remained patient, hoping that the prince was willing to tell me more. All I could do was wait and obey him.

“Please… Go on, your highness.”

“Everything you know… It’s all fake. Minurd isn’t Alincha’s holy land. We aren’t the children of Ara, either. Hwen isn’t our enemy, and although they call us the pagans, we aren’t. And… The priests and priestesses we believed were our own people aren’t really ours…”

“What?”

What was Prince Camille telling me?