IDIBC Chapter 47

Hadeima, Sacred and Inviolable

Only after the Crown Princess pointed it out did the Crown Prince seem to realize he had been continuously watching me intently. However, he showed no intention of removing his gaze from me.

“Lady Fennel.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Were you at the banquet held recently at Count Enehaz’s estate?”

I reflexively shot a glance at Julian, thinking he must have used his ability carelessly. Julian, meeting my eyes, shrugged his shoulders as if he knew nothing about it.

“I…”

Just as I was about to answer, Ricardo cut in to block my response.

“Crown Prince.”

At his call, the Crown Prince’s gaze finally shifted away from me. Whew, a sigh of relief escaped involuntarily.

“The woman you saw with me on the second floor that day was not my fiancée.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, if she had been my fiancée, there’s no way I wouldn’t have recognized her, is there?”

His manner of finishing with a soft “Isn’t that right?” and lifting his teacup conveyed an unspoken demand not to mention this matter further.

“But I seem to remember seeing you running toward that woman like a madman…”

True to his curious nature, the Crown Prince didn’t stop even at Ricardo’s clear answer.

Hmm, his nasal tone carried a hint of playfulness. Despite the light conversation, an inexplicable tension hung in the air around the two men.

“It was for a different reason. And that night, my fiancée entered the banquet with me late in the evening. You can verify it if you wish.”

After showing a meaningful expression for a moment, he smiled slightly with a look that said it was nothing. With that single gesture, the atmosphere in the room, which had been frozen, completely changed.

“There’s no need to verify. Lady Fennel, if I upset you, please understand. I only asked because I thought I saw a woman who looked very much like you that day.”

“I’m fine.”

After managing to give an awkward smile and barely producing an answer, I was able to catch my breath for a moment.

Ricardo led most of the conversation, and their topic soon turned to the upcoming luncheon meeting with the Emperor and his close advisors. Walter maintained silence throughout, and Julian occasionally glanced around and exchanged light jokes with the Crown Princess.

That alone made the difference in their positions clear.

I didn’t know exactly what caused the division, but Walter was silent and Julian was evasive. Their unsettling atmosphere continued until someone arrived from the Grand Temple located within the imperial palace.

“The Grand Priest has just departed for Hadeima.”

The news that arrived wasn’t particularly welcome. Meeting the Grand Priest was certainly among the purposes of our visit.

Upon hearing this news, puzzlement appeared on the faces of the other two dukes, and anger showed on the Crown Prince’s face. What I couldn’t understand was the Crown Princess’s reaction.

What filled her eyes was a fear of not knowing what to do. As if all the composure she had shown until now had been mere bravado performed on thin ice.

Crack—as if the ground beneath her feet had collapsed, she floundered.

Hadeima was the name of a region located on the border between Dermeier and Resotia.

That vast land was a sacred sanctuary beyond the reach of Dermeier’s laws and regulations, inhabited only by priests.

That’s why people referred to the Grand Temple as Hadeima itself.

It was still a world where gods existed, and a world where humans specially loved by the gods existed.

Though they didn’t personally reveal themselves to ordinary people, to a very select few chosen ones, the gods were living beings close at hand.

Hadeima was the only conduit connecting the gods and such chosen humans.

The oracle received from the temple was a solemn command and prophecy that even the Emperor, or indeed the entire Empire, could not dare defy.

Literally sacred and inviolable.

Holy and noble, a land that no human authority could presume to violate—Hadeima was also the place where one could first hear the voice of god and seek their will.

Since the founding of the Empire, Schneider and Hadeima had maintained peace without a single moment of conflict. This was because for over a thousand years, the Grand Temple had never mentioned any name other than Schneider as the sun of the Empire.

The Grand Temple strictly follows the will of the gods.

That was precisely why Ricardo of Rochester could hold his head so high before the Emperor. Hadeima already regarded Ricardo as the next master of Dermeier.

It was natural that Hadeima’s Grand Priest would never recognize me, rather than the saintess, as Ricardo’s companion. However, this was a promised meeting. The Grand Priest was not unaware that Ricardo had entered into a temporary engagement to protect the one who had awakened his abilities.

“Even if he is the Grand Priest, he can’t act so arbitrarily.”

At the Crown Prince’s words, Ricardo smiled slightly. He soon brushed off his clothes with a tug and stood up. There was no sign of confusion anywhere.

While I had been meeting with Walter, Ricardo had gone to meet the Grand Priest. I vaguely recalled hearing that they had an important conversation…

“Since things seem to be settling down, I’ll take my leave now with my fiancée.”

As he stood and looked down at me, I awkwardly rose to follow him. That’s when I noticed Walter was staring intently at the shawl draped over my shoulders.

The moment I thought our eyes met, a large arm appeared before me, blocking my view. Ricardo grasped my shoulders as I stood and naturally pulled me toward his side.

“We’ll see you at the engagement ceremony.”

Ricardo showed a leisurely smile and left the place just like that, maintaining the attitude of an impeccably affectionate prospective fiancé from beginning to end.

Thus, that day’s breathtaking meeting with all the humans specially loved by the gods seemed to come to an end—until I learned that dinner with the Duke and Duchess remained that same evening.

****

Only the clinking sounds of dishes and utensils colliding could be heard in the dining room.

The sight of the Duke and Duchess sitting across from Ricardo during a meal was a scene I was seeing for the first time since entering the ducal residence.

The place where the Duke and Duchess had invited us for dinner offered a view of the central garden’s grand fountain outside. The day I first saw this fountain—the kind you’d expect to see in a plaza—in this mansion, I had circled around it for a while like a child, filled with curiosity.

Now that the fountain had become somewhat familiar to my eyes, the duke’s garden where everything harmonized came into full view.

There was no place in this ducal residence untouched by the Duchess’s hand, but the place she devoted herself to most in this mansion was undoubtedly the garden.

Despite it being a meal setting where I could never be comfortable, my gaze naturally turned toward the window. The flowers beginning to bloom in preparation for summer created a warm atmosphere under the appropriate lighting. As the sun set and the sky began to turn from blue to crimson, the greenhouse-like interior looked even warmer.

It was still a suffocatingly difficult setting, but the fact that I could look out at the open view seemed to offer some consolation to my stifled heart.

The Duke didn’t say a single word even as the dishes came out one after another. The Duchess fussed over her husband’s plate at every turn. Each time, he would occasionally smile only at his wife.

“From now on…”

Surprisingly, the one who broke the silence that had settled over this dining table was Ricardo. As he opened his mouth, even the sounds of clinking utensils that had been audible all stopped.

“All of my fiancée’s dresses must go through my approval.”

At the command that was not quite a command directed at the Duchess, I gulped—food I hadn’t finished chewing barely made it down my constricted throat. Without realizing it, I kicked his polished shoe with my foot. Then I spoke through gritted teeth.

“Young Master, what… do you mean by that?”

“Yes, your fiancée’s engagement dress must certainly receive your approval.”

An embarrassed voice immediately came from the Duchess. Though there was some anger mixed in, she had indeed backed down a step.

However, Ricardo was not satisfied with that.

“No, all dresses she will wear from now on must prioritize my fiancée’s wishes above all.”

“Young Master, I’m fine. I’ve liked all the clothes the Duchess has chosen for me so far.”

“I’m learning for the first time that our son has such an interest in women’s affairs.”

What is this? This sense of déjà vu? Excuse me, can you not hear me? My voice isn’t even that quiet—can you not hear me!

“It’s not women’s affairs, but my fiancée’s affairs.”

“What exactly displeased you so much?”

Ricardo, this isn’t right. My future mother-in-law, or well, she won’t actually be my mother-in-law, but still, there’s a problem with your behavior right now.

“It doesn’t suit my fiancée. Her own wishes weren’t reflected either.”

“Well!”

The Duchess was at a loss for words, and ultimately it was Ricardo’s victory. I could only keep bowing my head toward my plate with the heart of someone who had committed a crime.

“I only wanted to help, since your fiancée isn’t yet accustomed to Dermeier’s social circles.”

I nodded my head vigorously in agreement, but at Ricardo’s following response, I froze in mid-nod.

“If you want to play with dolls, I recommend you have another daughter even now.”