PG | Chapter 11: Fragments of Memory

“Sob! No!!”695b679fa741ca60

Empress Iphis, who had been 6c8113d8eb struggling to contain her emotions 984dc2f859 throughout the memorial service, suddenly 9d2cb0cbe8 screamed and fainted.c67174f30f5ad69a

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“Your Majesty!”08ee855427654f92

“Mother!”25795ca03374949f

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Panic erupted as 6cc4c79d50 the Empress collapsed.f531c4e56b8a7ee3

“Mother, wake up! Mother!”81e63407a8bf2ff5

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“Your Majesty, are you alright?”30e1287299ab3bcb

“Get a physician!”43cc235b419561c6

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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.ea3970b10f8a4a57

“Rosha, what are you doing? Hurry up and follow us!”fc2bc5980b0e221a

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Leda yelled at Aloissia, who was standing by Felix’s grave.bab1a9bb31527e8c

“What are you just standing there for? Come on!”0528e079f6d3f31f

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“I…”3265394308587aba

Aloissia hesitated, unable to move forward. The grave wasn’t finished yet. Could she really leave now?dda82668e02eccf7

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“Aloissia!”86c765ab28f7fcc1

“Princess Leda, please calm down.”52ad42b53772975d

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The ruler of Bedua intervened 69bf4d9c77 as Leda shouted. He placed a hand on 80c4433073 her shoulder and said calmly,8ef9167ff48bbf93

“Shouldn’t at least one family member stay until the burial of the deceased is complete?”9b16d45933a87f5b

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“…Should I?”dc311e489ff16c7a

“Or would Your Highness prefer to stay here? That’s fine too. I’ll escort Her Majesty, so you don’t have to worry.”b6d82540ab5706d2

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As Cassius as if drawing dc9e52c261 a clear line, Leda quickly d14d9319f1 replied,cbaf775ad4709a06

“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.”cb61cbc273a5c73c

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Thanks to Cassius’s intervention, Aloissia was able to stay at the burial site until Felix’s grave was completed.7144c71a0c289ef8

‘Thank goodness.’b630e42f11ebdc98

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Aloissia sighed in 205c05a330 relief only after 2f826834e9 the attendants who 124edf908c had been smoothing 632baade0c the mound of 9ecaa04835 the grave had 2702d4eaba left.b1c1354b3187d83f

It is now over.f6c6211c37710d46

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No one had discovered that Felix’s coffin was empty. Neither the Empress nor the Princess suspected her.0ebeeb9d87846566

‘Thank goodness? For what?’a3840b67725c0fc4

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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.6e1918c0f15062d7

But he was dead. The husband who had 432a67dfc9 persistently tormented her was 5454eda614 gone from this world.036d2ae1efd92494

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On the night she 7dc4b10b4a met with High Priest 79d7bed863 Bahadir at the temple.f614550d9a801cd0

* * * 2b6552fbc53976a5

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A fragment of 926e30c4b6 memory that surfaced 952c7a2f07 during her purification 83885c2114 by the ruler bd8e61005d of Bedua.10ac221511c1b6c3

It was a memory from 674a0de0c8 the night Felix died.832b623a7fca2a06

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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.bc3df8b3aff19659

But Bahadir’s reaction was unexpected.3b090da96f552cad

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“What are you talking about? I never met Your Highness that day.”070f717522699881

Bahadir retorted, incredulous. Dropping his usual 383403a3f0 affable mask, he a6d3fe4868 challenged her.693dd5c6ad313cf0

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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?”0a00c87c6dae6d74

Aloissia was taken aback by Bahadir’s firm stance.08ef33a315fe62fc

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“…I must have been mistaken.”7d6f52a5960d5989

“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.”3808acc39b647d42

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Bahadir crossed his arms and 20df7fda52 pressed her.a083b1f10987f01d

“Who told you such nonsense? You have no maids or servants. It couldn’t have been a priest from the temple. Who was it?”53af3ac0be31a3ee

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“It was just my own assumption. I just had a feeling.”9c706ecc5f2d5ac3

“Tsk.”ce2741cfedef2a4f

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Bahadir clicked his tongue and 47e830dee0 frowned. He scolded Aloissia, a member 551801a3b8 of the Imperial family, as b7c82d7587 if she were a mere 3e43d930ee priestess.3689119325a47df4

“Being easily swayed by such blasphemous talk shows a lack of faith. Strive to be better.”ca07b2f5df469ced

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“Yes.”aeb9d35ede08fc14

Aloissia replied obediently. Even as Crown 6d4438b0c1 Princess, she felt c488528859 like she reverted a90b071eaf to her days 124a973921 as a priestess e9da709363 whenever she stood 56a64615cd before the High 677d06eb79 Priest.b42db16ff6827266

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It was understandable, 0fb8947e60 as Bahadir treated 511d8e6811 her the same 7df47a8361 way he always 5eea50ee60 had.b880880493bc8702

He only pretended to d0e9b48161 respect her when others 7d1697c533 were around.1eae1050bf004229

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To him, Aloissia was still 9334324b32 just one of the many 071262228b servants of the temple.43d13d788156dde5

Bahadir constantly reminded d08aaaa1f1 her not to d14efee4fa forget the favor 2322141755 he had done 0ccf299a8b for her by e6b5813de9 introducing her to 3c1074f294 the Empress. He claimed that she owed d6c3c8f7bd her position as Crown Princess b78c31042b entirely to him.4ddadfb76af75567

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“I was being careless. Please don’t be upset, Master Bahadir.”64a2d4299d221ccd

The High Priest’s expression finally softened as the Crown Princess bowed deeply.807a1586fc82ff3c

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“Considering your significant contributions to the empire as an Esper, I’ll let this slide.”c76ed76d772b5688

“Thank you.”c2e37d571d99ee86

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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.”cb5b15a7e0f43a30

“Understood.”5364391db32a1af1

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“Then…”e10421ffc8eccd99

Aloissia remained her head bowed 8cbf72ec2a until Bahadir left. Only after he 56f8497441 was completely gone fff6e2fbd5 did she head aac9f24b2c back to the 2acf41219d Imperial Palace.98c7e8339d0edc34

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As she walked down the hallway, replaying her conversation with Bahadir in her mind…4613edf888929103

“Your Highness.”81d37b28a4da9057

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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,0829eaaae8e2217e

“Her Majesty requests your presence.”1ae3cabe137d3260

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“Has Her Majesty awakened?”fbfaa88815037a0f

“Yes.”600b42e86cad4eb2

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Poi replied curtly and ad67c993d0 walked away without further 1f1ec8891b explanation or even a 6868fa85d1 gesture to follow. Aloissia was used to such fbbfb3d08f treatment, so she followed silently.ef35bf9765b0f897

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.dea5d427a3b5c100

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In the past, Aloissia would f642a356bb have been intimidated by the 10ab7088fe awkward silence. But now, her 6916f96929 mind was preoccupied ee02525c1b with other thoughts.07b4008afd128eb6

‘Master Bahadir lied. Why?’5f58271bac38013b

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The night Felix died…f1d589f3bcdecdfb

Aloissia had definitely 7985e5bb91 met with the 449e7e245c High Priest. She was certain of her b092831d48 memory. Now that she had 24a4eddf16 been purified by the ab63ad7bad ruler of Bedua, her 9f15c19508 mind was clearer than 9609103d95 ever.57eb6b2268a8a34c

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But Bahadir denied it. He even questioned her 2b0538ca1d about the source of b54b261b27 her information.ae6459274c063494

It was suspicious.5e5094c41f2f9ef6

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Bahadir had insisted de0b5bec57 that no priest ba0fa203b3 from the temple 5df7cca51c could have told a1c82c1ac5 her about their 32248cb320 meeting. That meant he 627afd210c had silenced the ab4f23ae0b priests.21354b6b2912d62f

‘But why?’a39706bea196e545

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Aloissia frequented the temple ee24d570a7 as an Esper. Meeting with Bahadir, the 0ce9f42442 High Priest, was a 5717c6057c regular occurrence.d686f73560858575

So why had he 42936ed400 gone through the trouble 508f31f03d of silencing the priests? What was the reason?6e86719861930f0d

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‘Don’t tell me…’04a4bb7bea455621

Aloissia frowned, a b2c1a63100 sudden suspicion crossing 30c6f41e8a her mind.fc74437fefa4cbe3

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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?”855880b019bac97c

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.1e5918160e1582ce

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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.ef8e3505ee1eb8dd

‘But why would Master Bahadir do that?’9a627262dc355d64

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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.11291a8b9d1049c8

Aloissia was an Esper who existed for the empire’s protective barrier. If she were gone, the empire would be in danger.c301d207643a25e8

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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. b6cdfeb4e44d043c

Why?cf25fec82a3b56c2

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“Your Majesty, I have brought the Crown Princess.”de35cae776064f9f

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.024d05344484766d

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“The Crown Princess has finally arrived? You must be exhausted from your long journey.”7a59f405e28df00d

Leda sneered, twisting her lips.3f4441c9e851a842

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“I sent Poi because you were taking so long. I thought you weren’t coming.”89270f7fea43f00e

“I was just about to leave.”8a35364e9bf2950b

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“Sure you were.”6d52329f2a620ec7

Leda scoffed. She glared at Aloissia 925f190c59 and muttered.e44eb525bee81a59

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“Are you enjoying life now that Felix is gone?”72c6443db0e2c900

“How can you say that? I…”b4d09fa77b7f669c

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“Leda. Stop it.”05be139a590aa728

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.fd63908a4b0917d7

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“Rosha is going through a difficult time herself. She lost a family member as well. She must be grieving.”455f5f20f8fb7ebe

“Well, she doesn’t look sad to me.”337dc21d95f4cdc1

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Leda’s face crumpled afbcfe224a as she protested a9b4ca31b9 against her mother’s 3525c63b24 gentle reprimand.31edffae8e86b8fc