ITFFS 08

Chapter 8

Of course, when Duke Reinach had taught her how to fabricate an oracle, he had specifically mentioned the weather.

‘From around this time until the wheat and rice harvests, everyone becomes sensitive to the weather. You know that too, don’t you?’

‘Yes, I know. In the countryside, elderly people get up early every dawn to predict what the weather will be like.’

‘Exactly. The capital is the same. So if you can’t think of anything else to make up, give an oracle concerning the weather. The God Elkiel is also a god who guarantees abundant harvests.’

‘I must never let this slip.’

Carnike mentally drew a line across her lips.

It was a gesture children made when promising to keep a secret, but being cornered like this, it gave her a small measure of comfort.

Theopista, who had been listening to Carnike with one eyebrow furrowed, let out a short laugh.

“Fine. So you were skilled at reading the weather because you were a country bumpkin.”

It was true, but it was hardly pleasant to hear.

“Then what about the ceremonial robes? Surely that is something you could not have known unless the duke had tipped you off.”

“The duke didn’t tell me that either. I just pieced it together from something the child who takes care of my… no, my personal needs told me.”

“What did she tell you?”

Carnike swallowed a groan inwardly.

‘He really is persistent.’

Never in her life had she wanted overwhelming power as much as she did at this moment.

If only I had been born into the Imperial Family and could have become this man’s older sister. I would have knocked him on the head and told him to stop being so annoying…

“You seem to be having some disrespectful thoughts.”

Carnike’s eyes widened. She quickly leaned backward and stared at him.

‘What? Is he a wizard? How creepy!’

Theopista let out another quiet laugh. This time, however, it felt somewhat different. The sharp edge that had filled his demeanor seemed to have disappeared.

“I can tell just by looking at someone’s eyes when they are insulting me.”

‘I’ve heard people who get insulted all the time tend to become good at that.’

Thinking that, Carnike deliberately looked elsewhere. It wasn’t exactly an insult, but it wasn’t something nice to say either, so she preferred not to get caught.

“Now, back to the matter at hand. Tell me what your maid said.”

“…It was nothing more than idle gossip. She said she had seen people who appeared to be high-ranking among the attendants carrying bundles of green thread mixed with silver thread, and they were chattering about how it was a gift.”

Theopista’s eyebrows drew together like dark storm clouds.

“You expect me to believe that you came up with an oracle like this based on something so trivial?”

“Yes, I do.”

Carnike answered bluntly, then added an explanation for Theopista, whose disbelief was written all over his face.

“In the place where I live, we had to pay taxes to the state in the form of wool yarn. The wool yarn produced in Lillet is of such good quality that it is sometimes presented as tribute to the Imperial Palace.”

Theopista’s golden eyes reflected the light brightly. His sun-like eyes, which seemed capable of seeing straight through a person, now held unmistakable interest.

“I knew that the yarn dyed green and sent as tribute was primarily used for the clothing of the Imperial Family that was made in the southern region.”

As she spoke about her familiar homeland, Carnike’s pounding heart gradually settled.

She lowered her gaze slightly and continued in a remarkably calm tone.

“If the attendants were talking about something like that, it meant that craftsmen from the south were making clothes and presenting them as tribute. Since Her Imperial Majesty the Empress was not here, and His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince was also absent at the time, I assumed the gift was intended for His Majesty the Emperor.”

“What if the clothes were for me?”

Carnike slowly rolled her eyes toward him before answering.

“Even then, it would be the same as a gift presented to His Majesty the Emperor. His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince is His Majesty’s legitimate son and is also a member of the Imperial Family. The Imperial Family, and indeed the entire Empire, stands beneath His Majesty the Emperor, does it not?”

“You really are a shameless liar.”

Carnike nearly replied, ‘Thank you for the compliment,’ but bit down gently on her tongue.

Theopista spoke again.

“Did you fabricate the other oracles in the same manner?”

“…Yes, I did.”

I can just make something up appropriately here.

When the other person relaxes, one should match their rhythm. Otherwise, unnecessary mistakes are bound to occur.

She knew that the Crown Prince had nearly lost his motivation to interrogate her, so she relaxed slightly.

After hearing Carnike’s answer, Theopista said nothing.

He merely rested one hand against his mouth and seemed to sink into thought.

‘I wish he would go to his own room to think…’

The sound of the wick burning filled the uncomfortable silence.

She considered speaking first, but at times like this, keeping her mouth shut was probably the wiser choice.

‘I just barely managed to keep my head attached to my neck. There’s no way I can let him cut it off again now.’

Just as Carnike tilted her ticklish neck slightly from side to side and cleared her throat softly—

“Then are you saying that there is nothing you want?”

“That’s not the case.”

Theopista narrowed his eyes and placed his interlocked hands on the table. He had the air of a seasoned merchant trying to negotiate from a position advantageous to himself.

“What do you want?”

“Would I dare ask for wealth and glory? I simply want to survive while I am here. My life is precious, after all. And if possible, I would like to save the salary His Majesty the Emperor gives me and return home. I want to be of at least some help to the villagers.”

“Is the village where you lived really that poor? Poor enough that saving up a little of a priest’s salary would actually make a difference?”

Carnike pressed her lips together like a stubborn child. Then, biting down on her teeth, she spoke quietly.

“…Yes, it is. But please don’t misunderstand and think it is because the villagers are lazy. There is someone who makes them poor, someone who forces them to live that way.”

“A government official?”

Carnike nodded.

“That man burdened the villagers with enormous debts, so everyone had to work themselves to death for years. Even then, they could barely scrape together enough to feed themselves.”

Day after day, without missing a single day, they worked diligently, only to receive a thin bowl of gruel for a single meal.

“That difficult situation continued for years, but not a single villager ever abandoned me, even though I was an orphan. They were all so kind that it was almost their biggest fault.”

Carnike’s emotions surged as the faces of those she missed suddenly came to mind. But remembering that she was standing before the Crown Prince, she steadfastly continued.

“When the previous Saintess happened to designate a woman living in Lillet as the next Saintess… they tried to help me escape.”

“Escape?”

“I believe Your Imperial Highness knows why they did so.”

For a moment, a complicated expression crossed Theopista’s face.

There was no way he could be unaware that his father—the Emperor, already known throughout society as a tyrant—could so easily kill a Saintess as if crushing a bug.

Carnike continued.

“But I decided to come here of my own will. In exchange, I demanded that the official forgive the village’s debts.”

“That bastard would never have accepted your demand willingly.”

“Of course not. But I made him accept it.”

“How?”

“I threatened him.”

This time, Theopista genuinely laughed.

A young woman raised in the countryside, an orphan at that, had threatened a government official.

‘But I can believe she would. With that tongue of hers, it probably floats even if you throw her into water.’

Completely unaware of the rather ruthless assessment the Crown Prince was making of her, Carnike let out a deep sigh.

“Your Imperial Highness may find it difficult to believe, but I have no desire for power or honor. As I said, I simply want to save as much money as I can and return home with my head still attached to my neck.”

Theopista’s gaze once again grew deep with thought.

His original purpose of interrogating Carnike had long since disappeared.

This woman would undoubtedly be useful to him.

Theopista needed a mind and tongue that worked this quickly.

And a brave sort of ignorance, too.

‘Duke Reinach is far too serious. If I had to adjust myself to all that caution, I’d die of frustration.’

Theopista thought so.

Yet not a trace of impatience appeared on his face. He gazed at Carnike with a leisurely and arrogant look.

“If that is truly all you wish for, I may be able to grant it. But you cannot expect something for nothing.”

What is he talking about now?

Carnike stared at Theopista suspiciously.

“…Are you saying you need my help? You, Your Imperial Highness?”

“That is correct. Are you willing to help me?”

“I’d like to hear what it is first before deciding…”

Theopista’s shoulders rose and fell slightly.

“I must seize the Imperial Throne in the near future.”