IWIAHC Chapter 24

The Emperor tilted his head and looked at the Chief Chamberlain. Feeling the gaze, the Chief Chamberlain said to Wolfram:

"So. You don't know."

This breach of etiquette in conversation was natural if one knew the Emperor's circumstances. When words difficult for a Solmonite to understand were exchanged, the Chief Chamberlain intervened to assist the Emperor.

In any case, this protected the guardian object. If no one knew where it was, what could they do about it?

Wolfram tried to console himself for the humiliation with newly acquired information.

The Pontiff wanted the guardian object. Once they left, he planned to investigate this more thoroughly.

Then the Emperor rose from his seat.

"In that case... let's go there now."

The Emperor remained leisurely. He personally pointed his finger at Wolfram and said,

"Guide me. To where my dear friend used to be."

Only then did Wolfram recall that the Emperor had said the day before he would stop by the Main Building.

Yesterday he'd thought it merely strange behavior with no discernible reason. But after the series of conversations about the guardian object, when the Emperor suggested going there, a profoundly disturbing feeling arose.

Even if they went to the Main Building, they wouldn't be able to find it...

The Emperor designated two attendants besides Wolfram and left the room.

The Main Building had every entrance under surveillance by imperial knights. Considering the windows were breached, the security was even tighter.

Midday sunlight poured down completely. The corridor was quiet except for people's footsteps. It was oddly peaceful.

Probing at the sense of wrongness, Wolfram realized that no accidents had befallen the Emperor yet.

During the day Wolfram had observed yesterday, the Emperor had been entangled in petty dangers that could only be explained as bad luck.

For instance, suddenly tripping over nothing, doors locking without reason and refusing to open, intact vases breaking without warning and the glass shards cutting his fingers, and such...

Yet now he was walking about perfectly fine without any incidents.

"It seems the misfortune attached to His Majesty has finally lifted."

The two attendants behind whispered quietly to each other. Whether he felt it himself, the Emperor appeared unusually light.

Even that small difference made Wolfram uneasy.

They arrived at the Duke's bedchamber. The Emperor turned his head from the threshold to survey the room's panorama, then stepped inside. He stopped the attendants who tried to follow with a hand gesture.

Wolfram didn't take his eyes off him for even a moment. He couldn't fathom what the man was thinking.

It was clear he was trying to find the guardian object. If he designated Wolfram to search, he would need to avoid where the guardian object was while acting without arousing suspicion—he was thinking this when:

The Emperor approached the desk against the wall. He swept his palm across the desktop, then opened a drawer with a perfectly natural motion.

Wolfram's eyes widened.

The Emperor rummaged through the drawer casually. Then closed it, opened the drawer below, and rifled through it likewise.

"Your Majesty!"

Wolfram couldn't suppress his fury and cried out. The Emperor glanced at him.

"How dare you address His Majesty without permission!"

The Chief Chamberlain erupted in fury.

"But Count Otz, this is...!"

"His Majesty is inspecting his vassal's household. What's the problem? Could it be the Duke has something that cannot be shown to His Majesty?"

"Do you truly mean that? However one looks at it, this is a sea..."

"Be silent."

The Chief Chamberlain cut off Wolfram's words.

"Otherwise I'll make the Duke take responsibility for this rudeness."

Wolfram bit his lip. He looked around, but there wasn't a single person on his side.

Meanwhile, the Emperor paid no attention to this side and continued ransacking the room. He grew increasingly bold, even upending drawers entirely.

Wolfram felt his hair standing on end. Why hadn't he prepared for this regarding the guardian object? The moment he'd heard from Lily Dienta about the Emperor's condition, he should have moved the guardian object elsewhere.

But it was unavoidable that he hadn't immediately thought of the guardian object. Though guardian objects held very important meaning to imperial citizens, in ordinary times they were regarded merely as light talismans.

Having a guardian object didn't prevent misfortune from visiting their lives. Crime and famine persisted, and at such times, the protection of the soul felt like grasping at clouds.

Therefore, while respecting its importance, they didn't desperately rely on it.

Wolfram clenched his fists tight. Naturally, he knew where the Duke normally kept it.

He'd simply thought if he said he didn't know, the Emperor would give up. He'd never imagined he would move so shamelessly.

He wanted to drag the Emperor out of here immediately. But if he moved even a finger, he would be subdued by the knight watching him from behind.

In the end, he could only watch this entire situation unfold.

The Emperor continued humiliating the ducal house as he approached the bed. Beside the bed stood a nightstand. The Emperor carelessly pushed aside the cloth ball atop it and brought his fingertips to the drawer.

The Emperor's gloomy eyes touched Wolfram. Even feeling that gaze, Wolfram could hardly steady his breathing.

The Emperor opened the nightstand drawer and extracted a small porcelain box from within.

Wolfram gasped for breath.

The Emperor placed the porcelain box on his palm and playfully flicked off the lid. The sound rang out boisterously.

Wolfram was nearly on the verge of fainting. Inside...

The Emperor tilted his head to the side. Inside was nothing at all.

Wolfram was just as mystified as the Emperor. Inside should have been the Duke's guardian object, without question.

The Emperor searched the rest of the bedchamber. After that, the study, the dressing room, even the storage room—he combed through everything thoroughly yet never found the guardian object.

The Emperor eventually left the Main Building with his face savagely contorted. Wolfram wasn't granted permission to accompany him and was left behind, bereft. After hesitating briefly, he headed for the servants' lodgings.

He'd intended to avoid seeking out Lily Dienta until the Emperor left the castle if at all possible.

But he felt the necessity to share today's commotion with her immediately. Whether for preparation or speculation.

Lily Dienta was loitering in the translator's room. Upon seeing him, her face lit up as if she had something to say.

Wolfram raised his hand to stop her words, then stated his urgent business first.

"The Emperor is searching for His Grace's guardian object."

"That's exactly what I wanted to tell you!"

Lily Dienta spoke brightly as she rummaged in her pocket.

No sooner had the thought 'surely not' crossed Wolfram's mind than she withdrew her hand from her pocket.

"I have it! I took it out this morning!"

A rosary threaded with pearls. It was unmistakably Aiden Casimir's guardian object.

Very early dawn, long before Wolfram would enter the Main Building with the Emperor.

"Hsss..."

Lily was bent over, searching through the grass. She was trying to find the ring she'd dropped in the night.

Last night, when Lily had arrived much later than expected, Angela hadn't scolded her greatly.

Rather, she'd worried: "Did something happen? Was someone chasing you?" Lily had been that ashen.

During what little sleep time remained, Lily couldn't fall asleep and lay awake with open eyes. The ring the Emperor had handed her weighed on her mind.

That strange radiance. She hadn't examined it properly, but no matter how she thought about it, it wasn't ordinary. It definitely resembled the rippling of a soul.

It was also meaningful that the soul which had been following the fake Emperor around had attached itself to the ring.

Might the ring become a clue to solving Aiden's problem?

Once that suspicion arose, Lily absolutely couldn't ignore it. In the end, after agonizing all night, she'd come out at dawn to search the grass. With the Emperor's soul standing beside her, no less.

Lily found the ring quickly. Thanks to the ghost, she could pinpoint the location, and the stone was so large it caught the eye easily.

Perhaps because the surroundings were at least dimly bright, the ring's sparkle was less than at midnight. But the uncanny phenomenon of small flames seeming to flicker remained.

[My ring...]

The ghost repeated words she'd heard over ten times already. Lily had thoroughly ignored him since returning here, and perhaps because of that, he too had lost interest in Lily and was only gazing at the ring.

'It's definitely an object important to the ghost.'

Without much thought, Lily touched her finger to the sparkle scattered over the ring, the shimmer or heat haze-like substance.

The instant her fingertip grew cool and goosebumps rose. The haze was tangible. That subtle texture resembled stroking transparent silk.

[Ah, ahhh...]

The ghost made a strange sound while clutching his head. She hastily withdrew her hand.

Lily slowly looked back and forth between the ghost and the ring. The ghost was staring vacantly at the ring. She squeezed out all her courage and experimented once more while looking at the ghost, and the result was the same!

Lily's heart began pounding faster and faster.

'The Emperor's soul is connected to the ring. Seeing how he's been here all night, he's bound to the ring. Yes. Not to the body, but to this ring! Then there must be an object connected to His Grace's soul too!'

Lily clutched the ring tight and ran blindly toward the Main Building. In her urgency, she nearly misstepped several times but didn't reduce her speed.

The questions were endless: whether the fake Emperor also knew the ring's role, if he knew then why he'd given it to another, whether giving it to her was coincidence or deliberate, whether he'd noticed her ability, and so forth.

One thing was certain: she absolutely had to prevent the Emperor from accessing Aiden's soul object.

Nothing good could come of the fake Emperor discovering it. He might take it back to the capital or commit unimaginably wicked acts.

She reached the Main Building entrance. Though it was still dawn, imperial knights were already standing guard.