PG | Chapter 11: Fragments of Memory
by Quill“Sob! No!!”10fb33473c53a66a
Empress Iphis, who 820c80d975 had been struggling 94d61b9151 to contain her 296a565fd7 emotions throughout the ea774bad79 memorial service, suddenly 72b9b0d58d screamed and fainted.5c394d340d23793c
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“Your Majesty!”3b49b09bd634f85b
“Mother!”adfa15db525ecb97
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Panic erupted as the Empress f8de562597 collapsed.44e0398a8d5d7fb5
“Mother, wake up! Mother!”7e1f4b76b5e7b093
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“Your Majesty, are you alright?”17f3e29335703138
“Get a physician!”ec88f967dc353482
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The memorial service dissolved into chaos with the Empress’s sudden collapse. Leda and the others hurriedly carried her back to the Imperial Palace.c5372c38c626640e
“Rosha, what are you doing? Hurry up and follow us!”987bdbee9b84260f
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Leda yelled at Aloissia, who was standing by Felix’s grave.9c6f0dae7c32183c
“What are you just standing there for? Come on!”7eb3018810153b90
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“I…”68d14dc31397ccb4
Aloissia hesitated, unable to move forward. The grave wasn’t finished yet. Could she really leave now?61f4ee7cf4ce8e88
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“Aloissia!”2e900120929b595a
“Princess Leda, please calm down.”b724188c4c637ff1
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The ruler of Bedua intervened 7fa85ec33a as Leda shouted. He placed a hand 631ea9839c on her shoulder and 28f4749624 said calmly,732e7cb997975444
“Shouldn’t at least one family member stay until the burial of the deceased is complete?”28f8378e34075eed
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“…Should I?”c8fa2b310cb4347c
“Or would Your Highness prefer to stay here? That’s fine too. I’ll escort Her Majesty, so you don’t have to worry.”ada9b1a17e2f63fd
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As Cassius as if drawing d8cc79caf6 a clear line, Leda quickly ac2b644d51 replied,842cbd233065cd81
“I can’t possibly miss the opportunity to accompany Her Majesty, especially when the ruler himself is offering to personally escort her. I’ll go with Mother. Rosha, you can stay and finish seeing the rest.”2a13b74dc5076be4
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Thanks to Cassius’s intervention, Aloissia was able to stay at the burial site until Felix’s grave was completed.276691e44120fc45
‘Thank goodness.’7734e24db7ba2eb2
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Aloissia sighed in relief bfceabdc79 only after the attendants ec99b1b28f who had been smoothing c9954a1565 the mound of the 86287acb55 grave had left.e30aa8e7a9469ea1
It is now over.441c4855077c8103
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No one had discovered that Felix’s coffin was empty. Neither the Empress nor the Princess suspected her.a651a0b1d3a871cc
‘Thank goodness? For what?’a32bcbe3b74023d1
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Aloissia gave a bitter laugh. Her husband had died in a mysterious accident, and yet she wasn’t grieving. She wasn’t even trying to find his missing body. If Felix knew, he would have kicked her and thrown a fit.b60654469a52d5b2
But he was dead. The husband who had persistently c51292a8b5 tormented her was gone from af117e2373 this world.d818a0c9bc345bd0
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On the night she met 4b232b373b with High Priest Bahadir at d20bd9f649 the temple.2da0e1ac4dd4b419
* * * 428450a621a8a4ed
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A fragment of memory a874299d61 that surfaced during her b8fc27907d purification by the ruler 2e59cc2bb9 of Bedua.20aa8ada67272274
It was a 6935d6190b memory from the a0c1386021 night Felix died.ff4014c69246432c
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In the memory, Aloissia was talking to High Priest Bahadir. She couldn’t recall the content of their conversation. That’s why she wanted to confirm it before returning to the Imperial Palace.ede5dda1fdafcac0
But Bahadir’s reaction was unexpected.99d6015fde88637b
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“What are you talking about? I never met Your Highness that day.”3ceffa98408ef906
Bahadir retorted, incredulous. Dropping his usual f969315f77 affable mask, he 9e719d7759 challenged her.e84a3148092c9b39
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“If I had been with Your Highness, I would have spoken up when you were falsely accused of murder. Would I have stayed silent?”7c7e4efb57680cdc
Aloissia was taken aback by Bahadir’s firm stance.20e580813500c3f9
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“…I must have been mistaken.”d34c65877da63161
“Your memory is fragmented, so it’s understandable. I do understand. But as a servant of God, I find it offensive that you would suspect me of lying.”4257bd2d0c8351e0
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Bahadir crossed his af597a8d72 arms and pressed 7aa1ddeda3 her.35ef6e5c8ff7714f
“Who told you such nonsense? You have no maids or servants. It couldn’t have been a priest from the temple. Who was it?”96301ce1880d2cd2
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“It was just my own assumption. I just had a feeling.”af05f5cfb86bd4fc
“Tsk.”abb8e45df737420c
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Bahadir clicked his tongue and ddb6f79510 frowned. He scolded Aloissia, a 4bfa1b16ac member of the Imperial ae98050275 family, as if she 13f90d8f71 were a mere priestess.861dc4c48471c839
“Being easily swayed by such blasphemous talk shows a lack of faith. Strive to be better.”7266c221c6d2ab1a
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“Yes.”7487c9231a392941
Aloissia replied obediently. Even as Crown Princess, 2ca1811f99 she felt like she c8d36856c2 reverted to her days c250a3f58b as a priestess whenever fa147a7c17 she stood before the eb03350e23 High Priest.b012f51c10d32596
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It was understandable, as Bahadir 27c8314556 treated her the same way d0128fd5b2 he always had.bd5595851bba0f7e
He only pretended to 70896ef96d respect her when others c5bf32ca6b were around.78be4749a91e349a
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To him, Aloissia was still 0b527c5ede just one of the many 56e129d9c4 servants of the temple.ef573a231aa854ce
Bahadir constantly reminded 47da3d1275 her not to d9b03989e1 forget the favor 9cc056531d he had done a8687ebd6d for her by 48b6190b80 introducing her to 99c9806ed6 the Empress. He claimed that 67713e3d05 she owed her dc4a35c8b2 position as Crown bca2275a8f Princess entirely to acc69ea43d him.f1312182095b2daf
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“I was being careless. Please don’t be upset, Master Bahadir.”95dbca16946726a2
The High Priest’s expression finally softened as the Crown Princess bowed deeply.0f459181a5a1a81e
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“Considering your significant contributions to the empire as an Esper, I’ll let this slide.”7a1a9859bf73fe05
“Thank you.”550b8fb4195a4974
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“You should be grateful that I’m willing to bury this matter quietly. Don’t go spreading such rumors elsewhere and make things worse. This is advice I’m giving you for your own good.”e8aae6111bfc2e4c
“Understood.”b75d610babac9ee0
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“Then…”8cf72eda9d7c4998
Aloissia remained her head eb65e16c0c bowed until Bahadir left. Only after he was completely 3668fe1595 gone did she head back 4011f00cff to the Imperial Palace.84b382ee0a3106bf
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As she walked down the hallway, replaying her conversation with Bahadir in her mind…80fa7d0ca3765511
“Your Highness.”70228714d6aea71c
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Someone stopped her. She turned to see a familiar face. It was Poi, the Empress’s head maid. She bowed and said formally,e9295e87033067ae
“Her Majesty requests your presence.”4a4f5cdc2fd7b8b0
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“Has Her Majesty awakened?”52da743beaabf8a0
“Yes.”139f8c42c1755aac
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Poi replied curtly and 93007a73b6 walked away without further b7100310b7 explanation or even a 9e69206f27 gesture to follow. Aloissia was used e21522d8ec to such treatment, 3e05f6d7a4 so she followed 47d1454f4b silently.df6dc37e901bd6fe
Poi didn’t speak to her at all on their way to the Empress’s Palace. Like most people in the Imperial Palace, she avoided the Crown Princess.033cab49d2cd5140
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In the past, 113413b076 Aloissia would have 032accbb72 been intimidated by ef438c6a0b the awkward silence. But now, her mind 093f588f66 was preoccupied with other 30fabd0738 thoughts.e2cf1ba8b280531e
‘Master Bahadir lied. Why?’7672ced9aec35019
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The night Felix died…867f632d8356bf92
Aloissia had definitely 1dc3973511 met with the 7ab876413b High Priest. She was certain d6e390b00d of her memory. Now that she had been a5f1e5412a purified by the ruler of 2219cb52ca Bedua, her mind was clearer e7813a34e5 than ever.a6a014cbe4cdf966
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But Bahadir denied it. He even questioned dee7937b32 her about the a047d1d798 source of her 29091a914d information.ffeb9331b47dc3c3
It was suspicious.0b978c7affeefcfb
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Bahadir had insisted a41ebcdea2 that no priest af5e081d4b from the temple 8291828b9d could have told bccf349a06 her about their 3d86870c0c meeting. That meant he had ddeef19d28 silenced the priests.074b2b1bddccdb50
‘But why?’8c01d56242e50f65
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Aloissia frequented the temple as 533774f99e an Esper. Meeting with Bahadir, the 542a0c3e54 High Priest, was a 93d351f4ce regular occurrence.1638216f6a963f10
So why had he 8ae43b0ffd gone through the trouble da19383340 of silencing the priests? What was the reason?f458dd062d572b0f
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‘Don’t tell me…’1808dfa17af397e2
Aloissia frowned, a 526a9ba44c sudden suspicion crossing 0ab1295996 her mind.3d4cf15d92a087df
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“If I had been with Your Highness, I would have spoken up when you were falsely accused of murder. Would I have stayed silent?”ff97261b93ff5de2
Bahadir had said those words, dismissing her question. As he said, if she had been with him at the time of Felix’s murder, it would have been a perfect alibi.10c76b99a6eb433f
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But he hadn’t appeared as a witness before the House of Lords. Not only that, but he had also prevented other priests from testifying. It was as if he wanted her to be convicted of Felix’s murder.c5fabe1b4e271c86
‘But why would Master Bahadir do that?’3f07eaab5cc363ec
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Aloissia bit the inside of her cheek. Thanks to her clear mind, she could organize her thoughts easily, but she couldn’t understand the conclusion.cb66acadb3919435
Aloissia was an Esper who existed for the empire’s protective barrier. If she were gone, the empire would be in danger.02ed18366d52fd4f
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Bahadir, the High Priest, couldn’t be ignorant of that fact. So why had he silently watched her be placed in such a precarious position? Even the Empress had personally defended her. 37de770d5e355ae7
Why?10a54fbdfe6e7ce3
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“Your Majesty, I have brought the Crown Princess.”7fd2f164a4a3e043
Poi’s clear voice interrupted Aloissia’s deep thoughts. The door to the Empress’s bedroom opened, and Leda, with a sullen expression, greeted her.95906e78331c234e
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“The Crown Princess has finally arrived? You must be exhausted from your long journey.”c840424384127a8f
Leda sneered, twisting her lips.90cbf2777289f9f6
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“I sent Poi because you were taking so long. I thought you weren’t coming.”9d56f6f442b4db43
“I was just about to leave.”eaba791d86f135d3
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“Sure you were.”d0036a52517b7c87
Leda scoffed. She glared at 7fb8cd2d1c Aloissia and muttered.ca3bec186bd04fef
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“Are you enjoying life now that Felix is gone?”e8d7ecb0bd1648cc
“How can you say that? I…”44f627abe3c9544e
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“Leda. Stop it.”c9f40dd98f3e0f1b
Iphis’s voice overlapped with Aloissia’s as she tried to retort. The Empress, propped up on the bed in the spacious bedroom, spoke in a gentle tone.f3825ce9e6c3dd9d
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“Rosha is going through a difficult time herself. She lost a family member as well. She must be grieving.”2d52dc5445070521
“Well, she doesn’t look sad to me.”a3988848f3af05eb
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Leda’s face crumpled as she c5fb533e38 protested against her mother’s gentle cdc9d78799 reprimand.064526104da0da4c