PG | Chapter 11: Fragments of Memory

“Sob! No!!”

Empress Iphis, who had been struggling to contain her emotions throughout the memorial service, suddenly screamed and fainted.

“Your Majesty!”

“Mother!”

Panic erupted as the Empress collapsed.

“Mother, wake up! Mother!”

“Your Majesty, are you alright?”

“Get a physician!”

The memorial service dissolved into chaos with the Empress’s sudden collapse. Leda and the others hurriedly carried her back to the Imperial Palace.

“Rosha, what are you doing? Hurry up and follow us!”

Leda yelled at Aloissia, who was standing by Felix’s grave.

“What are you just standing there for? Come on!”

“I…”

Aloissia hesitated, unable to move forward. The grave wasn’t finished yet. Could she really leave now?

“Aloissia!”

“Princess Leda, please calm down.”

The ruler of Bedua intervened as Leda shouted. He placed a hand on her shoulder and said calmly,

“Shouldn’t at least one family member stay until the burial of the deceased is complete?”

“…Should I?”

“Or would Your Highness prefer to stay here? That’s fine too. I’ll escort Her Majesty, so you don’t have to worry.”

As Cassius as if drawing a clear line, Leda quickly replied,

“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.”

Thanks to Cassius’s intervention, Aloissia was able to stay at the burial site until Felix’s grave was completed.

‘Thank goodness.’

Aloissia sighed in relief only after the attendants who had been smoothing the mound of the grave had left.

It is now over.

No one had discovered that Felix’s coffin was empty. Neither the Empress nor the Princess suspected her.

‘Thank goodness? For what?’

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.

But he was dead. The husband who had persistently tormented her was gone from this world.

On the night she met with High Priest Bahadir at the temple.

* * * 

A fragment of memory that surfaced during her purification by the ruler of Bedua.

It was a memory from the night Felix died.

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.

But Bahadir’s reaction was unexpected.

“What are you talking about? I never met Your Highness that day.”

Bahadir retorted, incredulous. Dropping his usual affable mask, he challenged her.

“If I had been with Your Highness, I would have spoken up when you were falsely accused of murder. Would I have stayed silent?”

Aloissia was taken aback by Bahadir’s firm stance.

“…I must have been mistaken.”

“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.”

Bahadir crossed his arms and pressed her.

“Who told you such nonsense? You have no maids or servants. It couldn’t have been a priest from the temple. Who was it?”

“It was just my own assumption. I just had a feeling.”

“Tsk.”

Bahadir clicked his tongue and frowned. He scolded Aloissia, a member of the Imperial family, as if she were a mere priestess.

“Being easily swayed by such blasphemous talk shows a lack of faith. Strive to be better.”

“Yes.”

Aloissia replied obediently. Even as Crown Princess, she felt like she reverted to her days as a priestess whenever she stood before the High Priest.

It was understandable, as Bahadir treated her the same way he always had.

He only pretended to respect her when others were around.

To him, Aloissia was still just one of the many servants of the temple.

Bahadir constantly reminded her not to forget the favor he had done for her by introducing her to the Empress. He claimed that she owed her position as Crown Princess entirely to him.

“I was being careless. Please don’t be upset, Master Bahadir.”

The High Priest’s expression finally softened as the Crown Princess bowed deeply.

“Considering your significant contributions to the empire as an Esper, I’ll let this slide.”

“Thank you.”

“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.”

“Understood.”

“Then…”

Aloissia remained her head bowed until Bahadir left. Only after he was completely gone did she head back to the Imperial Palace.

As she walked down the hallway, replaying her conversation with Bahadir in her mind…

“Your Highness.”

Someone stopped her. She turned to see a familiar face. It was Poi, the Empress’s head maid. She bowed and said formally,

“Her Majesty requests your presence.”

“Has Her Majesty awakened?”

“Yes.”

Poi replied curtly and walked away without further explanation or even a gesture to follow. Aloissia was used to such treatment, so she followed silently.

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.

In the past, Aloissia would have been intimidated by the awkward silence. But now, her mind was preoccupied with other thoughts.

‘Master Bahadir lied. Why?’

The night Felix died…

Aloissia had definitely met with the High Priest. She was certain of her memory. Now that she had been purified by the ruler of Bedua, her mind was clearer than ever.

But Bahadir denied it. He even questioned her about the source of her information.

It was suspicious.

Bahadir had insisted that no priest from the temple could have told her about their meeting. That meant he had silenced the priests.

‘But why?’

Aloissia frequented the temple as an Esper. Meeting with Bahadir, the High Priest, was a regular occurrence.

So why had he gone through the trouble of silencing the priests? What was the reason?

‘Don’t tell me…’

Aloissia frowned, a sudden suspicion crossing her mind.

“If I had been with Your Highness, I would have spoken up when you were falsely accused of murder. Would I have stayed silent?”

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.

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.

‘But why would Master Bahadir do that?’

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.

Aloissia was an Esper who existed for the empire’s protective barrier. If she were gone, the empire would be in danger.

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. 

Why?

“Your Majesty, I have brought the Crown Princess.”

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.

“The Crown Princess has finally arrived? You must be exhausted from your long journey.”

Leda sneered, twisting her lips.

“I sent Poi because you were taking so long. I thought you weren’t coming.”

“I was just about to leave.”

“Sure you were.”

Leda scoffed. She glared at Aloissia and muttered.

“Are you enjoying life now that Felix is gone?”

“How can you say that? I…”

“Leda. Stop it.”

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.

“Rosha is going through a difficult time herself. She lost a family member as well. She must be grieving.”

“Well, she doesn’t look sad to me.”

Leda’s face crumpled as she protested against her mother’s gentle reprimand.