Yulken gasped in shock, completely unprepared for Leticia’s bombshell revelation.
“Your… Your Highness.”
“No more lies. If the truth is bound to come out eventually, it’s better for everyone to know now.”
Leticia spoke gently, smiling softly.
“I’ll be back soon.”
Leaving Yulken in a state of panic, Leticia gracefully followed Ahwin.
Stunned by her declaration, Yulken couldn’t bring himself to stop her.
A chill ran down his spine in the sweltering desert.
‘He must have heard it, right?’
Though he needed to confirm, he couldn’t muster the courage to turn around.
‘Maybe he didn’t hear. She wasn’t speaking directly to him.’
It was a futile hope.
‘Impossible. Banessa’s ears are too sharp!’
Still clinging to a sliver of hope, Yulken hesitantly turned his head, only to find…
“…Brother.”
Banessa, who had been glaring menacingly at Ahwin just moments before, was now staring intensely at Yulken.
“What did she just say?”
Flames seemed to dance in his crimson eyes. Yulken’s mind raced with only three words.
‘We’re doomed.’
Hoping to delay the inevitable even for a moment, he stiffly turned his head, and this time his gaze met with other colleagues. They all looked as if they had seen a ghost.
Enoch, dazed, dropped the pot he was holding. The clanging sound of the pot rolling away seemed like a proclamation of the end of the world.
‘They all heard it…’
How could he possibly manage this situation? With both of his trusted leaders gone, in the midst of the Principality’s delegation, Yulken could only resentfully look up at the sky.
* * *
Ahwin led Leticia towards the camp of the guard’s tents. She followed briskly behind him.
“Please, come this way.”
Her golden hair, tinted with a reddish hue in the evening light, fluttered softly in the breeze. She pushed her hair back behind her ears, pausing momentarily to look at the scarf in her hand.
The scarf Dietrian had given her. It felt like a protective charm. A lingering anxiety in her heart slowly melted away.
Ahwin guided Leticia into his own tent. Once inside, he locked the entrance from the inside and said,
“I will create a sound barrier for privacy.”
A bluish light emanated from his hands, enveloping the tent. As the light faded, he turned to Leticia and spoke respectfully.
“I wondered if there might be something I could do to assist you, Lady Leticia.”
“I see.”
Leticia pondered.
Ahwin appeared to offer help just when she needed it. Was this mere coincidence? If not…
“If you permit, I would like to assist you personally.”
Leticia recalled their conversation from a few days ago, staring at the tent now sealed with a silencing spell.
‘Why the silencing spell?’
It meant he didn’t want their conversation to be overheard by the imperial knights. Wanting a private meeting with her to the extent of deceiving his own subordinates suggested…
‘Maybe…’
A hypothesis began to form in her mind, too sweet and tentative to fully embrace yet.
So, Leticia set that thought aside for the moment, addressing the most pressing issue.
“There’s an injured person in the delegation. The injury is quite severe and requires divine power. Can you help?”
“You need treatment?”
Ahwin nodded readily.
“I will do so.”
Helping the delegation would mean defying Josephina’s orders once more, but Ahwin did not hesitate.
“There are many eyes watching, so I’ll find an appropriate time to assist. Fortunately, Tenua is currently away, so it shouldn’t take long. Is there anything else you require?”
Leticia gazed thoughtfully at Ahwin. He seemed far more eager to help her than she had anticipated.
Initially prepared to coerce him if necessary, Leticia felt more puzzled than relieved.
Why? Why is he willing to help me?
Could it be because of Noel?
“How is Noel doing?”
“She’s well. She’s currently overseeing the temple guards.”
At the mention of his lover, a contented smile touched Ahwin’s lips. He hesitated slightly before adding,
“Thanks to you, Lady Leticia, Noel has been very cheerful these days. I am grateful.”
“I haven’t really done much. Actually, it’s Noel who has been a great help to me.”
“Noel will be very happy to hear that.”
“It’s regrettable how things have turned out. Until yesterday, I was quite excited about the journey together…”
“The assignment of the guard’s wing has changed. The Holy Lady decided that Tenua was more suitable for this mission than Noel.”
“The Holy Lady’s order?”
“She instructed us to safely escort the delegation to the Principality.”
“I see.”
Leticia’s eyes dimmed.
‘Ahwin is lying.’
Returning to the past doesn’t just mean knowing the future. Even if the future changes, having lived through the past allows one to infer more from the smallest clues.
Tenua had been executing Josephina’s enemies for years. The sudden assignment of this mission to Tenua hinted at something more.
‘The real order wasn’t to escort, but probably to annihilate the delegation from the Principality.’
Yet, Ahwin was trying to help her.
Why would a Wing, directly defy the Holy Lady’s command to assist her?
‘Is it just because of Noel’s request?’
Is he defying Josephina’s will simply because of his love for Noel?
‘Or could it be…’
The bracelet on her wrist suddenly felt heavier.
‘Because this bracelet is an Elixir?’
That would mean…
‘I am the Holy Lady?’
Leticia’s heart raced.
Until now, she had deliberately ignored the possibility of being the Holy Lady.
She knew that a false hope could lead to greater despair later on.
Thus, she had chosen to believe only in what she could be certain of. But now, the situation had changed.
‘I will use everything at my disposal.’
Even if it turned out to be just an illusion of hope.
“Ahwin, I have something to ask you.”
“Please, ask.”
Leticia took a deep breath and asked quickly.
“Am I your master?”
Ahwin flinched, looking at Leticia intently. She carefully observed his reaction and continued.
“Noel told me. She said I am her only master. That I might be another Holy Lady. I heard you briefly discussed this with her.”
“…”
“Ahwin, you said it before. There can’t be two Holy Ladies.”
As long as Josephina was alive, the emergence of another Holy Lady would be impossible.
“So, why are you helping me? Is it out of sympathy? Consideration for your lover? Or is it because you feel me as your master?”
Ahwin clenched his fists tightly, hit by a direct question he couldn’t easily answer. He did feel something special towards Leticia, but Josephina also still had a strong influence on him.
He couldn’t be certain who his true master was.
Leticia, seeing Ahwin’s hesitation, spoke,
“Ahwin, you’ve always placed great importance on upholding your beliefs, always prioritizing the duty of a wing.”
In the past, Ahwin had made the agonizing decision to kill his lover to fulfill his mission, knowing full well it would destroy him, but believing it to be the right thing to do.
“Why are you, a wing, defying the Holy Lady’s orders to follow me? It must go against your principles. Why are you helping me? Please, tell me.”
Ahwin struggled to find the words. Despite long contemplation, he hadn’t found an answer.
“…I don’t know myself.”
That was all he could honestly say.
“I am still a wing of Josephina. I feel her presence and harness her power to control the wind. But two days ago, I started feeling an unfamiliar presence.”
“That was the day we met outside my room.”
Leticia’s grip on her bracelet tightened.
“Yes. I don’t know which of the two is my true master. I’ve tried to find the answer but failed. So now…”
Ahwin gave a defeated smile.
“I’ve decided to follow my heart.”
Some might criticize his choice.
They would remind him of Leticia’s past, questioning how he could forsake his master to follow a sinner.
He knew they were right. Yet, he found it impossible to ignore her.
He even wanted to challenge those who criticized him, asking what reason there was not to help Leticia, not to defy Josephina.
He felt almost mad for thinking this way.
Ahwin stopped pondering further. He would just follow his heart. That was the conclusion he had reached.
“So you mean there are two divine powers clashing within you? The power of my mother and some unknown, mysterious force.”
“That would be my guess.”
“Has there ever been such an occurrence before? Historically speaking?”
“No, never.”
Ahwin shook his head emphatically.
“The existence of two Holy Ladies at the same time is unprecedented.”
“And what about a wing choosing between multiple masters?”
“That’s also impossible. For a wing, the instinct to follow their master is ingrained in their soul.”
Ahwin’s voice lowered.
“A wing that defies this instinct faces the punishment of the covenant.”
“But from my perspective, you seem to be defying my mother’s orders.”
At Leticia’s cautious question, Ahwin just gave a bitter smile without a word. Leticia’s eyes widened slightly.
“Could it be, Ahwin, you’re currently…”
Now she noticed. His fists were clenched so tightly they were turning white, and his temples were damp with cold sweat.
“This can’t be.”
Leticia swallowed a sigh, her eyes welling up with distress.
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