IWIAHC Chapter 23

On the way back, the Emperor nearly tripped several times over absolutely nothing. The ghost muttered incessantly beside him, demanding the return of its body.

That aside, they reached the East Building without undue incident.

The Chief Chamberlain stood waiting outside the East Building with knights in attendance. The moment he spotted the Emperor, he approached rapidly from a distance.

Lily stepped aside and bowed her head.

"Your Majesty, we were worried. From now on, you really must bring an escort."

Rather than answer the Chief Chamberlain, the Emperor drew something from his breast and held it out to Lily.

She accepted the object thrust under her nose. A bundle of handkerchiefs.

"Th-thank you, Your Majesty."

She stammered, still not raising her head.

The Emperor whispered in her ear.

"You should send it to the Duke. Your gratitude..."

Her body flinched. The instincts honed from a lifetime as a subordinate signaled that this was definitely mockery. Derision rode on the tail end of it.

The unpleasant mood that had been brewing on the way to the East Building had only grown more bloated rather than dissipating.

Lily looked down at her palm.

'He didn't blow his nose in this handkerchief, did he?'

The Emperor's tone resembled those aristocratic young ladies in society novels who delighted in tormenting their rivals, which lent the speculation considerable credibility.

The Emperor led the Chief Chamberlain and escorts into the building. Under the watchful eyes of the guard on duty, Lily set down her lantern and unwrapped the handkerchief.

Inside lay a diamond ring spectacular enough to make one's eyes pop out.

Lily's hands trembled violently, and the ring atop the handkerchief vibrated along with them.

It was a man's ring. Platinum band, a fat diamond set in the center, smaller diamonds arranged decoratively around it.

Lily stared, transfixed, at the light scattering dazzlingly inside the diamond from the lamp at the entrance. It was an extraordinarily mystical radiance...

Following some premonition, she examined the inside of the band. There, in clear block letters, was engraved the imperial surname 'Scheiwartz.'

Lily jumped as if to leap out of her skin and rushed to the door. The knight who had been watching her the entire time blocked her path.

"Those without permission cannot enter."

"I-I need to see His Majesty."

The knight looked at her as if questioning her sanity. Even knowing how absurd it sounded, she was desperate.

"His Majesty seems to have given me something by mistake. I-I want to return this."

As she showed it very carefully so the ring wouldn't roll away, the knight said:

"I saw His Majesty bestow it upon you. Please leave."

"It's a gift far beyond my station. I cannot accept it. If I keep something like this, I won't die a natural death. If-if I cannot see His Majesty, I'd like to see the Chief Chamberlain at least. Please, please at least convey a message."

Lily wanted no part of imperial treasures.

If she had been a noble lady, she would have accepted it gladly. But for a mere maid, it was nothing but a burden.

She couldn't sell it since it was a gift directly bestowed by the Emperor, nor could she wear it about. It would only become the textbook example of pearls on pig's feet.

Not only would it attract tiresome attention, but it might also invite needless jealousy or thieves.

No, those were all secondary concerns.

Fundamentally, Lily did not want to receive expensive items from the fake Emperor. Far from pleasing, it was repugnant.

"The Chief Chamberlain is not someone you can summon at will either. Don't cause an unnecessary scene. Be grateful for His Majesty's kindness and leave now."

"...Understood."

Lily had no choice but to turn back.

Her footsteps toward the lodgings were heavy. Why on earth had he given her the ring? As payment for guiding the way?

She'd gotten the impression he habitually scattered gold about, but even so, wasn't this excessive? Recalling his mockery when handing over the ring made his intentions suspect.

In any case, it was a truly repugnant ring.

'No, wait. This really is repugnant. It's not my imagination—something genuinely strange is emanating from it!'

Lily unclenched the fist she'd kept tightly closed lest the ring fall.

The ring still boasted its mystical radiance. Even though she'd moved away from the torchlight and distanced herself from the lantern's glow, blue and crimson light rippled as if fairy wing dust had been sprinkled on it, and it seemed almost tangible...

[My ring.]

"Ahhh!"

At the sudden whisper, Lily reflexively hurled the ring away. Terror crushed her heart.

The ring bounced across the paving stones and fell into the grass. The Emperor's soul, having somehow followed her, pursued the ring and stared down at it fixedly.

Lily's eyes grew even wider.

'I-I need to run.'

Lily tried desperately to move her legs. But her feet, frozen in place, refused to obey.

The ghost turned its head. Lily, who had been watching it, failed to look away in time and met its gaze head-on.

The ghost, maintaining relentless eye contact, drew closer to Lily bit by bit.

'This feels oddly familiar!'

The ghost was in poor condition, obvious at a glance. Pupils unfocused, its mask-like expressionless face was chillingly ominous.

The ghost's lips began to move.

'I-I can't handle this. This is wrong!'

Tears brimming in her eyes, Lily summoned every ounce of strength she possessed and bolted for the lodgings.

By the time the Emperor woke from sleep and finished his first meal, it was nearly noon.

Wolfram, who had been waiting in the East Building, was finally permitted to have an audience. Even after completing his greeting, the Emperor kept Wolfram kneeling as he spoke.

"There's something I'm looking for."

Beneath his lowered gaze, Wolfram's eyes were sharp. He recalled the information Lily Dienta had conveyed the previous day.

An unknown soul had expelled the Emperor's soul and seized his body. And the culprit was likely the Solmonite Pontiff...

Remembering that news, the Emperor's conduct in the castle made perfect sense.

Yesterday, the Emperor had concluded his sickbed visit by gazing down at the Duke's face for a few seconds. Wolfram still remembered the faint mockery hanging on those lips.

Then he'd started a party disguised as a consolation gathering before sunset even fell.

He'd been single-mindedly intent on humiliating the castle, caring nothing for the eyes around him. He'd brought in a band to play dance tunes and arbitrarily opened rooms in the East Building for people to tour.

The traces remained even now. Half-eaten food, broken glasses, boot prints on the carpets and such.

The Chief Chamberlain had refused Wolfram's request that if they didn't want to use imperial personnel, at least let the local servants clean up. It meant this wretched state was the Emperor's will.

At any rate, if the Emperor wanted something, no one could stop him.

Now he was revealing his second objective.

"The thing blessed by the Sovereign God. Where is it?"

Wolfram feigned incomprehension.

"I do not understand what you mean."

The Emperor glanced at the Chief Chamberlain. The old fox conveyed his master's intent with clarity.

"His Majesty is asking where the Duke's guardian object is located."

The Chief Chamberlain had felt firsthand, right beside the Emperor, how different he'd become, yet continued performing his role without change.

His reputation for licking the Emperor's very feet had been widespread for some time. In fairness, he was consistent. As long as he could cling to power, the contents mattered not at all.

Wolfram lifted his gaze slightly. The Emperor was looking down at him with a leisurely expression. As if it were only natural that the thing should come into his hands.

But how dare anyone covet another's guardian object? To a Lumion believer, this was an unspeakably offensive act.

Every imperial citizen possessed their own guardian object. It was the Sovereign God's mercy toward mortals.

It served as a tool to protect the soul until the human arrived at the seat of judgment, guide them on the righteous path, and communicate with God.

On the day of birth, parents prepared an item that a priest blessed on behalf of the Sovereign God—the type varied: rings, rosaries, and such.

Guardian objects were extremely private possessions. Considered precious things connected to an individual's soul, one would never entrust them to another's hands, and even curiosity about another's was rude.

The Emperor was making an utterly unreasonable demand that contradicted imperial common sense.

If the Duke had been in good health, even in his absence, his retainers would have been horrified and stopped the Emperor.

But the Duke seemed unlikely to ever open his eyes again, and no one would risk the Emperor's displeasure for a vassal whose strings had been cut.

Therefore, Wolfram had to devise his own stratagem.

"Though my heart is full of desire to assist Your Majesty, I'm sorry to say that since His Grace managed it personally, no one knows its whereabouts."