IWIAHC Chapter 25

4. May God's Grace Be Upon Humanity

Lily approached calmly and bowed her head.

"I am Lily Dienta, exclusive maid to the office. I've come to retrieve items requested by the scholar residing in the castle."

A knight with a scar on his chin—giving him rather a villainous appearance—spoke firmly.

"Due to His Majesty's visit, access by external personnel is restricted."

That a castle maid should be considered "external personnel"—Angela had been quite right about them acting as though they owned the place. The absurdity of it barely registered as amusing.

Lily responded naturally.

"I have His Majesty's authorization."

She displayed the ring in her hand. Upon seeing the name engraved inside the band, they opened the door.

"Please exit as quickly as possible."

She'd been half-doubting it would work—what tremendous luck! Generally speaking, the Emperor's name carried rather extraordinary influence.

Lily entered, her mind working rapidly. Given that Aiden couldn't leave the main building, the object binding his soul must still be here.

During the previous demolition, she'd thoroughly explored the main building's every corner, but had seen no object emitting that strange light.

Which meant she needed to reach the fourth floor—the area she'd never properly investigated. The problem was that most fourth-floor rooms were currently locked.

Lily headed for the storage closet. Aiden was exactly where she'd instructed him to be. Standing still as a portrait with that cool expression, he opened his eyes wide when Lily entered.

[Lily, you said you couldn't come for a while?]

"I need Your Grace's help."

[Wait.]

Aiden's gaze slid slightly away from her.

[Julius?]

Lily turned her head. The Emperor's soul had apparently been following her—or more precisely, likely following the ring—the entire time. She'd been so focused on heading straight to the main building that she hadn't noticed.

[Aiden...]

The Emperor's ghost recognized Aiden as well.

[So what you said was true. It seems Julius was caught by the same method as me.]

Unlike Aiden, who calmly assessed the situation, Julius's reaction proved rather dramatically excessive.

[Ah, ah, ah...!]

His face twisted as though confronting something horrific. He screamed, turned, and fled.

'I cannot possibly comprehend what's happening here,' Lily muttered internally, then urged Aiden forward.

"Follow me for now. We need to find something before the fake Emperor arrives."

Lily headed to the fourth floor with Aiden. One person's urgent footsteps echoed through the stairwell.

[I have more than a few questions.]

Beside the gasping, breathless Lily, Aiden spoke in an unwavering voice.

[Every time you visit, it's utterly bewildering.]

"I'm innocent. My life was the very picture of peace before I was assigned to Your Grace."

[Really? Was it truly?]

Of course it was. Lily had genuinely been living a perfectly uneventful maid's life. Her existence had begun unraveling only after her assignment to the main building.

If Aiden wished, she could ask her friends to testify to how docile and proper a maid she'd been.

For now, however, she had to endure Aiden's unjust treatment.

[I asked you just yesterday not to do anything dangerous. I practically begged you not to act impulsively.]

"Begged! What sort of word choice is that?"

[And yet here you are, arriving with another ghost in tow. I simply have no idea what to do with you anymore.]

His tone suggested a horse trainer confronted with an unmanageable colt. Truly, when not a single thing had occurred by her own volition, the injustice was overwhelming!

[What happened with Julius? You said he was following his own body around, didn't he?]

"Well, last night I encountered the fake Emperor and gave him directions..."

[Lily!]

Aiden called her name in horror.

"Ugh, various circumstances converged and I had no choice. Anyway, he gave me a ring in gratitude. But His Majesty's soul was bound to that ring."

[A ring binding a soul. To accept such an ill-omened thing...]

"I threw it away immediately! But it might be a clue to solving Your Grace's problem, so— Ah!"

On the final step to the fourth floor, Lily's foot caught and she tumbled forward. Her shin struck the stair edge mercilessly.

Sharp pain rang through her, tears pricking her eyes.

[Are you all right?!]

"It hurts..."

Both her voice and body trembled. She couldn't claim to be fine, not even as empty courtesy.

Yet more than the pain, the sheer absurdity overwhelmed her. This was the first time since childhood she'd tripped on stairs.

She rubbed her shin through her skirt. A bruise would likely appear later.

But that was a future concern—there was no time to dawdle here. Lily stepped boldly into the corridor.

"Anyway, I think Your Grace's soul must also be bound somewhere. We need to secure it before the fake Emperor arrives. What if he does something terrible with it? If he takes it elsewhere, Your Grace would be dragged along. Just like His Majesty is now."

Lily headed first to Aiden's bedchamber. When she tried the door handle, it was locked as expected.

[I see... You had no choice but to move urgently. This debt I truly must...]

Aiden said something with an expression of complex emotions, but Lily let it pass through one ear.

Currently, she was concentrating entirely on solving the problem.

"Your Grace, please open it."

[Open it?]

"Yes, the door's locked."

[To fetch a key... we'd lack sufficient time.]

Lily nodded.

Wolfram possessed his own estate befitting a proper nobleman. Even with his habit of overtime and early arrivals, it wasn't yet time for him to appear.

Nor could she ask the head maid. For what reason would she need fourth-floor private chambers opened? That area had nothing whatsoever to do with Lily. Angela wasn't someone who could be fooled with clumsy excuses.

So Aiden's supernatural abilities had to resolve this problem.

"I heard that before I started working, you could open and close doors freely. Please, I'm asking."

[It's not something that works at will.]

"It's accomplished purely through mental strength. I believe Your Grace can do it. Without a shred of doubt. So please, do your best. Fighting!"

Lily clenched both fists encouragingly, then hid behind a distant pillar. Unable to suppress her curiosity, however, she peeked her head out slightly to steal glances at Aiden.

He continued watching Lily. When their eyes met, he sighed lightly and looked at the door.

After approximately the time it takes to draw one deep breath, he struck the door forcefully with his fist. With a tremendous sound, the door opened helplessly as paper.

The sight wasn't novel, and though Lily herself had requested the door be opened, she found it rather frightening. Souls as entities truly were...

Then he met Lily's eyes and gestured gently. It was Aiden as always. Lily relaxed and scurried forward.

"What were you thinking about?"

[I recalled when you ran away.]

"I—I see. Shall we enter?"

Lily averted her gaze and passed by Aiden.

The neatly organized room already carried the scent of a closed space despite only days of disuse.

Lily scanned the room searching for the same light the Emperor's ring had emitted. That phenomenon of strange small flames flickering, that sparkling radiance like fallen fairy wing dust.

She absolutely had to find it quickly. The tremendous noise might bring someone.

'Please let it be in the bedchamber...'

She looked around anxiously, but nothing particularly caught her eye. Would she have to search through every drawer, chest, and bookshelf one by one?

Lily bit her lip.

'Can I finish in time? If someone comes, I'll be caught red-handed for theft.'

Feeling utterly overwhelmed, a sigh escaped naturally. The room's owner asked:

[What exactly are we looking for?]

"That's the question."

Lily spoke with difficulty.

"In His Majesty's case it was a ring, so perhaps some similar accessory, but this is challenging."

[Do you have it with you now? Show me.]

Lily retrieved the ring from her pocket. Aiden examined it and nodded.

[I think I understand.]

"What?"

Though it wasn't his own, he explained immediately upon seeing the ring.

[That ring is a protective amulet Julius received blessings upon at the temple on his coming-of-age birthday. The High Priest prayed over it personally. Mine is in that drawer.]

Inside the side table drawer Aiden indicated was a porcelain case. White with vine plants painted around the lid's circumference, it was a modest size fitting within one's palm.

She carefully opened the lid. A rosary made of threaded small pearls and gems was revealed.

"Ah..."

Lily released an exclamation. A mysteriously flickering radiance clung to the rosary.