Riersha told them everything — every detail of what had transpired, leaving nothing out.
There were parts she had deliberately glossed over, places where a listener might naturally grow curious and interrupt with questions. But the five ancestors listened without a word, their expressions focused and sincere, never once breaking her account.
“…And thas how it all ended up like dis.”
Frankly, being failed was entirely warranted. Whoever this Abel Senuart is, some deranged lunatic is running loose, and she was about to throw herself at him without a shred of fear. I would have eliminated her from the trial myself.
“…Hyung.”
And if I give you a token of calling, what does that make me? …This is a headache.
Arkas shook his head with a long-suffering expression.
I have a question.
“Yes, whas dat?”
Valotra raised his hand.
He appeared to have written down several points of curiosity in a small notebook — the kind of student who had probably been called a model pupil all throughout his school days.
First of all… does the Emperor not know that the current Crown Prince isn’t his biological child?
“I dink he doesn’t know. Da Mage Tower Master said dat if his divine power is weak, he might not even notice da Crown Prince disguising his appearance wif dark magic.”
But that seems far too strange. Doesn’t it, Your Majesty?
Valotra tilted his head.
At that, Dillis, who had been stroking his chin, gave a slow nod.
That is a fair point, actually. …He should at least be able to sense whether divine power is present or not.
“…What do you mean by dat? Are you saying da Emperor already knows Adrian isn’t his real son?”
I wouldn’t know that far. But… the moment he held the child, he would have felt it.
“…”
That was a profoundly shocking thing to say.
Which meant…
Did the Emperor knowingly take in Adrian, fully aware the boy wasn’t his own blood?
Or, perhaps, something else entirely—
If the child called Isiodra was born with a divine beast, he wouldn’t have been without divine power. If the Emperor truly doesn’t know the boy isn’t his… then the only explanation is that the child lost his divine power somewhere along the way.
“…!”
What in the world is wrong with these people? Their lives are an absolute mess.
It was the first time Dillis had used rough language, and it came out plainly.
Riersha stared at him with a blank, bewildered expression.
She was fairly certain she had just heard something enormously shocking and serious—
But she was the only one who had frozen with a stunned face.
Surprising, isn’t it? Everyone here has lived such winding lives that they don’t rattle easily over ordinary things. …Though for you, Riersha, I can see why it would be shocking.
Gatran answered her with a gentle smile.
Riersha opened and closed her mouth a few times, then decided to ask carefully — holding a small ember of hope that she might find some answer here.
“Has… has someding like dis happened before?”
No.
“…”
But it seems like you already know the solution. What is it you’re so worried about?
“…Huh? What do you mean I already know da solution?”
Riersha tilted her head.
She was here precisely because she didn’t know — she had come seeking guidance.
Besides, hadn’t Arkas just said that nothing like this had happened before?
Didn’t you say there was an oracle, Riersha?
Gatran said it with that same warm, gentle tone.
“So you mean… Isiodra, da one da oracle is about… will save everyone?”
Perhaps. Perhaps not. Didn’t you say two people were mentioned in the oracle?
“…”
We believe one of them is the child, Isiodra… and the other, we suspect, might be you.
Riersha, who had never once entertained the thought that she might be one of the oracle’s subjects, opened her eyes wide.
At Gatran’s words, Pavlan murmured, “Oh, that could be it, actually.”
Use your head, Pavlan.
Thinking isn’t really my area.
Right, because that’s purely decorative, isn’t it?
Gatran shook his head in resignation.
By now, the hourglass at Riersha’s neck was nearly half empty.
An entire day had already passed.
Valotra raised his hand once more.
I have one more question.
“Yes, go ahead.”
There’s something that’s been nagging at me the more I listen to you.
“What is it?”
As I listened to your account… I noticed you use a particular way of speaking. Something like: ‘I thought the situation was this way, but it turned out to be that way.’
“…”
As though you had lived through both versions of events.
Riersha’s heart seized at that.
The very thing he had just put his finger on—
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with how you explained things. It could simply be my misreading. But… I got the distinct impression that you already knew the outcome, that you were working backwards from it, reasoning your way through each situation.
“…”
Riersha. Is it possible that you didn’t merely brush the threshold of death… but that you have already died once before?
At Valotra’s question, the air around Riersha went very still.
She could feel everyone waiting for her answer.
“Dat’s…”
She hesitated for a long time.
This was something she had never told anyone the truth about — and even if she did, there wasn’t a person in the world who would believe her.
As Riersha sat there, only her eyes moving with quiet anxiety, Arkas let out a quiet, amused breath.
It’s all right. You can say it. After all, once you’re gone, it seems unlikely anyone else will ever be able to see us.
“Oh.”
Those words settled something in her.
And slowly, from the very beginning, she began to tell her story.
What kind of life she had lived before she died. What had happened when she opened her eyes again in a new one. And how happy she was now — how much she had come to treasure what she’d found.
From the first thing to the last, she held nothing back.
The five ancestors, who had been listening with grave expressions at the start, found their faces softening bit by bit as Riersha’s smiles grew more frequent.
“And das why I…! Right now I’m so, so happy wif my family, and I have to protect it. Dey don’t understand my heart at all… harabeoji and appa are such big dummies. …But if I told dem da real truth, dey wouldn’t believe me anyway…”
Well, that settles it. Without me in the family, it seems nothing but fools and blockheads have gathered together.
“…No, dey’re not exactly dummies. Dey’re all really smart.”
Then what am I supposed to agree with here?
“…I dunno.”
Riersha huffed and turned her head away with a pout.
At that, everyone burst out laughing — a warm, rolling wahaha that filled the space.
It had been a long time since any of them had seen a small child’s indignant little performance, and it seemed to bring back memories, because the soft smiles that broke across their faces refused to fade.
Dillis noticed, at some point, that the hourglass hanging at Riersha’s neck had run completely through, and his expression turned quietly regretful.
The time is up, Riersha. Congratulations on passing the successor trial.
“…Huh? But — but I haven’t received a token of calling yet!”
No. You already have. …Isn’t that right, Arkas?
Dillis gave a meaningful look, and Arkas rose and began walking toward the cave entrance, carrying Riersha in his arms.
That’s right. Congratulations on passing. Riersha Arachrene.
“…!”
When you return, you’ll understand what it means.
Arkas reached the mouth of the cave and set her gently down.
Not wanting to part just yet, Riersha called out to him softly.
“Again.”
Hmm?
“Can I… can I see you again?”
Arkas’s eyes went wide.
Then, slowly, a faint smile crossed his face, and he nodded.
If you ever wish to see us, come whenever you like. Come to seek counsel, come for any reason. A descendant like you is always welcome.
Goodbye, Riersha.
Take care on your way back.
From behind Arkas, Dillis, Pavlan, Valotra, and Gatran were all waving her off.
Riersha beamed a bright smile and dipped her head in a little bow.
“Yes! Den I’ll come again next time!”
The moment the hourglass ran its last grain of sand, it let out a soft crack and began to shatter.
A burst of white light bloomed—
And then—
“Miss Riersha, you’re back. …Did you obtain the token of calling?”
She came face to face with Aska, who had been waiting right outside the entrance.
Riersha strode out of the cave with her chin lifted and a smug grin spreading across her face.
“Obviously.”
⁂
An ornate palace of unknown location, adorned with lavish decoration.
A man with black hair and violet eyes sat with one leg crossed over the other, sunk deep in thought.
On the table before the sofa where he sat lay an imperial palace map — the kind that must never, under any circumstances, be allowed to fall into outside hands — left out in plain sight.
“No matter how I think about it, something isn’t right.”
A pleasant, musical voice murmured low through the room.
His pale, slender fingers were laden with elaborate rings, and his ears, neck, and wrists were adorned with just as many. Every time he moved, the accessories caught the light and glittered.
“Someone deliberately made off with my staff. That much is certain.”
He had infiltrated Adrian’s mind and searched every corner of the imperial palace — and found nothing.
Which meant…
The Dragon Mage’s staff was no longer inside the palace.
Which meant it had passed into someone else’s hands.
“Who is it, I wonder. Who has my staff.”
The man’s lips curved into a crooked line, sharp with displeasure.
“Could it be.”
Was the oracle from that day… already in motion?
His violet eyes glittered with something cold enough to raise the hair on one’s skin.
