Chapter Fifty-Seven: Two Sides of the Same Coin
1696 Words
***A FEW MONTHS AGO, ***
CENTRAL CHURCH
“Cardinal! Cardinal!”
Priest Levi called through the empty gardens to the priest, walking hastily to his office from the Eastern buildings.
“Oh! Levi…”
The Cardinal finally turned to acknowledge Priest Levi’s call.
“What can I help you with?”
“You are from the pope’s room, are you not? If so, does that mean he has finally come out of meditation? Does he have a prophecy?”
“Why are you not in mass?”
“Oh…”
Priest Levi scratched the back of his head for an excuse that would come readily.
“I wanted some air. A break from the mundaneness of the temple routines.”
“A break, huh?”
The cardinal flashed back to his childhood and, indeed, he too, had one too many times skipped mass in favour of his own space.
It was easy to understand the young priest’s thoughts.
Of course, understanding does not mean encouraging.
“If you find the temple mundane, then perhaps you have lost focus on what called you here.”
“N-no, I can never lose sight of that. It is just for today. I promise.”
‘Well, he looks sincere enough.’
The cardinal thought to himself.
“I am joking; come on, walk with me.”
Levi did as the Cardinal asked, and before long, they crossed the vast gardens and were currently in the outskirts of the west wing.
“How old are you, Levi?”
“Nineteen. Why do you ask? Do you want to send me off somewhere?”
The cardinal smiled.
“No, I do not feel like discussing a serious issue like the prophecy with a youngster. Children should be permitted to grow and play in their bubbles. Don’t you think so?”
“While I understand the cardinal’s train of thought. How long will you have me play the role of a child?”
The Cardinal had not anticipated his response; his sharp intake of breath evidenced such.
“Again, you have bested me.”
The cardinal slowed his pace when they neared the west wing’s open corridor.
Again, the space looked empty because even the Templer Knights attend mass.
“I am from conversing with the pope.”
“He was awake?”
“Yes, he is back into his meditation now, but unlike before, this will not last long.”
“What do you mean, it is common knowledge that the Pope passes his prophecy then returns into meditation? Why is it different this time?”
“Because his mistake will cost thousands to lose their lives. Hence, he wishes to make the announcement personally.”
“Personally?”
“Yes.”
“Gods…this is big news.”
“I know; that is why I wish to go to my office to finish the work that's currently piled up before it gets more intensive.”
“So, the first prophecy was false?”
“Not false per se, just…”
The cardinal scratched his chin, searching for more words to fit his explanation.
“I am afraid the fourth prince, whose words we disregarded, was right. The kingmaker is the hero of oakwood, not the ill daughter of the Marquis.”
The cardinal proceeded with the conversation one-sidedly, completely disregarding the silence coming from Levi on his words.
“For now, the secret is kept by the pope and me, at least until next week's winter ball. Then, the pope plans on making-,”
A pain too deep to describe sunk in the cardinal's belly.
“Ah…”
His gaze turned downwards to witness a stainless-steel knife pulled out of him.
Again, the knife went inside him, slicing his hope for survival, his hope that Levi, the boy he raised from childhood, had made a mistake…that the knife had slipped from his hands or that he was clumsy!
Great goddess, anything to excuse the boy before him!!
“What…what…”
Were the only words his lips could form despite his desperate need to ask ‘why’.
‘Why is a kitchen knife in my stomach…? Why are you the one to plunge it there…? Why can you look me in the eye while doing this to me? Me, who read you bedtime stories long before you could even speak fluently?’
The Cardinal slid to his knees then caressed his stomach, but the crimson would not go away, no matter how harshly he pressed on the three open wounds.
“You should know this by now, Cardinal.”
Levi spoke with tears in his eyes.
“The throne does not require anyone of lesser blood.”
Levi grew unrecognisable to the cardinal in a span of mere milliseconds; his voice was more eloquent than before, his tone more sophisticated and less laden by the Nordic accent he was confident he had.
‘By God's! Is Levi a spy for the powerhouses?’
‘But when...how...where?’
The Cardinal raised him since he was four, so where? Who? How?
The Cardinal’s mind flashed to last spring, when a new temple-based saintess was appointed.
He knew, everyone did, that Levi was in love with Riette. However, whenever he was asked about that, his replies bordered on idealistic phrases such as;
‘Such purity belongs to the royal family alone.’
‘It is the will of the gods that the earth's finest are passed to the royal palace.’
‘Angels like that are not meant for us. We can give them a temporary home, but they should always go where they belong.’
‘Gods, but this is my fault.’
The cardinal lamented.
‘My fault that this sweet little boy is lost in his worship of the royals.’
“Oh…Levi.”
The cardinal cried weakly as his eyes fluttered shut, ready for death’s sweet embrace.
“Oh, how…I have fai...led you.”
The cardinal fell with a loud thud to the warm cobblestone, but not before his breathing had turned into violent gurgles as blood flooded his punctured lungs.
It took a few seconds for the cardinal to stop moving entirely and for the tear in Levi's eye to taint the ground.
“Such positions cannot be tainted. Your only sin is not comprehending that”
The knife in Levi's hand melted in a white flame that erupted from his hand, and as soon as the wind carried the scent of burning metal away, he marched slowly to the pope’s room in the Eastern wing, missing entirely the maid pressed against the western wall, holding her breath.
*
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Present
Arusei Evergreen
“Marry your son? The second prince, not the third prince, right?”
The Empress frowned at my question.
“The third? Are you mocking me, Countess?”
“Mocking you? I would not dare. Have I asked something insensitive? Please forgive me; I have been away from society for far too long.”
“Knowing that, should you not have spared some expense on an etiquette teacher
“My apologies, your imperial majesty, I have sinned.”
I was, mocking her.
Who in the world did not know that Killian, the third prince, is currently in a rehab facility.
He wasn’t there because he was an alcoholic, but because, in a drunken haze, he managed to sleep with Sabrina Foyle, the wife of Viscount Foyle, and Miguel, Sabrina’s knight.
Homosexuality or anything l***q+ related is legal but deemed a commoner’s luxury. High society does not accept it, and as such, Killian had to claim it was the alcohol that made him lose control and end up with Sabrina and her knight in his bed.
To ensure his claim remained legitimate, he was sent to Rehab after announcing his withdrawal from the race.
In the case of the ambitious but timid fourth princess, Seria Norvig, a s*x video was leaked, disgracing her from the race.
So far, no deaths, just high school- college antics to force each other into withdrawal.
“I should splash this drink on you, but it would be a waste of precious alcohol.”
“I have truly wronged you, your majesty. I am sorry.”
“The second prince, Harell, I believe I was clear at the beginning. Do I enounce my words so carelessly that you would confuse them?”
‘Damn, woman! I’ve already said sorry. Sheesh!’
“Again, my apologies, your majesty.”
The Empress clicked her tongue harshly, then sighed.
“I want you to spare some time tomorrow afternoon for a lunch outing with Harell in the gardens. There, you will notice how well behaved, disciplined and intelligent he is.”
‘Not intelligent enough to get the crown on his own.’
“He will make a good emperor.”
“I am not the one to decide if he will make a good emperor or not.”
“I am telling you that he will make a good Emperor, just like you will make a good Empress.”
“I do not need the crown.”
“And I do not need Clay to remain in existence, but here we are.”
“….”
“What? No retort?”
The Empress poked when I did not reply.
“I do not know what the Empress wants me to say. I have yet to establish a deep enough connection with Clay to feel the worth of my sacrifice so…”
The Empress smiled.
“That is why I am granting you three months of courtship. He, I guarantee, will be better than Étienne.”
“Your highness, I have no problem with his qualities as a human being. I am mainly concerned about my freedom.”
“Ah. That, that shouldn’t concern you. You can break up after Harell is appointed Emperor. God knows we do not need a p********e's child; I mean your lineage…don’t you feel it should just…you know…end with you?”
The Empress continued as though the words were intended as passive advice.
“Anyway, I have an appointment in an hour, so let us talk more about that later. Before I forget, I have a present for you.”
- Writer
