PG | Chapter 11: Fragments of Memory

“Sob! No!!”ef0406e4223f2431

Empress Iphis, who had bae5301c68 been struggling to contain 2e8cc9f2e1 her emotions throughout the ac5408a962 memorial service, suddenly screamed 6add643b4f and fainted.47e4f4bdc02318ca

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“Your Majesty!”01d59399b490d079

“Mother!”974e4e52f176b9db

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Panic erupted as a3a7a4dcad the Empress collapsed.0030903a583b7c24

“Mother, wake up! Mother!”20d2ee5ea7d3265d

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“Your Majesty, are you alright?”4b0130b709119e9e

“Get a physician!”8f619849cd550078

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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.f84adbf9065fb4f3

“Rosha, what are you doing? Hurry up and follow us!”5f5a52fb58d8c591

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Leda yelled at Aloissia, who was standing by Felix’s grave.6214b236593a6556

“What are you just standing there for? Come on!”6ad749931bfa906c

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“I…”2b53c2da0921ebbb

Aloissia hesitated, unable to move forward. The grave wasn’t finished yet. Could she really leave now?b46b226f5a535a53

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“Aloissia!”092813f3690f60ce

“Princess Leda, please calm down.”4438c3073fdc34fe

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The ruler of Bedua intervened 10eff3fa3f as Leda shouted. He placed a a5d7649913 hand on her d6bd4fe22c shoulder and said 39ed47cfdc calmly,9b7a3ae7838c1349

“Shouldn’t at least one family member stay until the burial of the deceased is complete?”6ab5624c1f8c1cf5

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“…Should I?”84109601c69d840d

“Or would Your Highness prefer to stay here? That’s fine too. I’ll escort Her Majesty, so you don’t have to worry.”b26e2ff9b67c13ca

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As Cassius as if drawing f51c126020 a clear line, Leda quickly 4077c8b074 replied,26ee9c646675c36b

“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.”da7436df484711cd

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Thanks to Cassius’s intervention, Aloissia was able to stay at the burial site until Felix’s grave was completed.9ab138f754122b7c

‘Thank goodness.’6f6afb51cf3de17f

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Aloissia sighed in relief only e98ec7903e after the attendants who had f5c9370613 been smoothing the mound of 2b6b916b4f the grave had left.c255e786c6aca8f3

It is now over.3449cf3d771cdd09

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No one had discovered that Felix’s coffin was empty. Neither the Empress nor the Princess suspected her.6df3eb5da4e05bfe

‘Thank goodness? For what?’4251b893e6b5398d

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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.190aebc6bd3864d4

But he was dead. The husband who had persistently 5ff1a2f301 tormented her was gone from 2d5a7f7094 this world.20cd19809ee96b63

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On the night 3086c6a788 she met with 2275c62b5f High Priest Bahadir bf8cde9eff at the temple.0e499e25f6f4f75d

* * * b42af07ec9f04ad4

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A fragment of memory that 4a272e77b4 surfaced during her purification by 1da97a5341 the ruler of Bedua.b3f1154c1000c9fc

It was a 0d2eaafc51 memory from the 5c88e415f1 night Felix died.d89e3dd99fcedd11

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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.7dcfb4eab2f59ba8

But Bahadir’s reaction was unexpected.7b020dad3fac2759

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“What are you talking about? I never met Your Highness that day.”93f3b38a897e9bff

Bahadir retorted, incredulous. Dropping his usual affable mask, 000261a130 he challenged her.d4d9cbb0df67e7ce

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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?”cf89a5d321bf3fd3

Aloissia was taken aback by Bahadir’s firm stance.d0331d46c1b202c6

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“…I must have been mistaken.”442816b4321d0fc6

“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.”c7264003877261dd

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Bahadir crossed his arms and 7a5ec022e6 pressed her.c0c2d3a68c18d536

“Who told you such nonsense? You have no maids or servants. It couldn’t have been a priest from the temple. Who was it?”ef2ea51bf2e6edde

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“It was just my own assumption. I just had a feeling.”fb2d00c273a20b61

“Tsk.”95d74118162725cf

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Bahadir clicked his tongue e4721443b8 and frowned. He scolded Aloissia, 1f30408990 a member of 5f47cac96f the Imperial family, 09b21c754b as if she ea3bff397f were a mere c69f9269ea priestess.abd4ebdb0232b634

“Being easily swayed by such blasphemous talk shows a lack of faith. Strive to be better.”510f01d614f9fc00

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“Yes.”38ceb741cce6c7ce

Aloissia replied obediently. Even as Crown Princess, she 221af5f872 felt like she reverted to deb89c7d55 her days as a priestess 5b4824ce7b whenever she stood before the b822408162 High Priest.3590c3e7ec2bb123

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It was understandable, 7fa5f5ebf5 as Bahadir treated e85dc100b6 her the same d36d517f1b way he always e6aada2e00 had.86073e09da0dc04d

He only pretended 8063b61b69 to respect her b58c14589d when others were 34758c5e75 around.7fcc81ed3d56e740

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To him, Aloissia was 18573ce413 still just one of 834a42220b the many servants of 63bbfe7294 the temple.e4ff0fc967354b95

Bahadir constantly reminded her 1cdf5aeaec not to forget the 86b1605b85 favor he had done 47194f1059 for her by introducing 8cbda8c5d1 her to the Empress. He claimed that she owed b16ee41655 her position as Crown Princess 63ca8dd8dd entirely to him.20e967b13e2a01a8

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“I was being careless. Please don’t be upset, Master Bahadir.”1002ffb4cde5a864

The High Priest’s expression finally softened as the Crown Princess bowed deeply.e750d046e95d2ff6

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“Considering your significant contributions to the empire as an Esper, I’ll let this slide.”e1d3fc5967bcb0ac

“Thank you.”c3dd27c0c242be7f

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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.”c6777730dbb0f7e8

“Understood.”bd11c81f5434cfb8

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“Then…”0a1554acdf8f97ab

Aloissia remained her head f0be4c5c88 bowed until Bahadir left. Only after he e835df2d82 was completely gone 4c557adb45 did she head e554325492 back to the 427471c4d5 Imperial Palace.8bbbe0bd25ebeb13

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As she walked down the hallway, replaying her conversation with Bahadir in her mind…b361633d01799e38

“Your Highness.”a1c579a0a11c16a1

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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,22a587e91196d2ba

“Her Majesty requests your presence.”14a2844da7f29352

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“Has Her Majesty awakened?”32d4812059b3abfb

“Yes.”c810c505742f6584

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Poi replied curtly and walked 1ff9f758dd away without further explanation or 98d6f6abe3 even a gesture to follow. Aloissia was used to cb6ed0d989 such treatment, so she 8427e23bd8 followed silently.af9ab53fe76f2374

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.c410e6ca737c8be5

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In the past, 92d30977bc Aloissia would have 282ba81f72 been intimidated by e897e17375 the awkward silence. But now, her c29153ce15 mind was preoccupied 4de3bbee9b with other thoughts.2a5783b573fcb5de

‘Master Bahadir lied. Why?’78f213a063a0cc31

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The night Felix died…ab84c400793bc42d

Aloissia had definitely met 4dd4ef482b with the High Priest. She was certain of her 2b73eccbfd memory. Now that she had a9536e5a2c been purified by the e7b38a243f ruler of Bedua, her 14e9eafd97 mind was clearer than 4599eb501d ever.61c7d22058255007

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But Bahadir denied it. He even questioned her f7fab63558 about the source of 516067ec76 her information.1e2b41e399eb8309

It was suspicious.8a39338cf365aa14

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Bahadir had insisted that no c1d4335bec priest from the temple could 71c5421fa4 have told her about their 6c923a8a79 meeting. That meant he had cb14340e30 silenced the priests.30317deedd017735

‘But why?’66dad2eb501dab8a

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Aloissia frequented the cd0869352e temple as an aacbddea58 Esper. Meeting with Bahadir, the High 568edde435 Priest, was a regular occurrence.45c150fade61badd

So why had 9fbc9aa095 he gone through 173368b0be the trouble of c333f75679 silencing the priests? What was the reason?71b1e8f21038d42f

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‘Don’t tell me…’7e8fbbe97cdb6612

Aloissia frowned, a sudden suspicion 7542ff0888 crossing her mind.a20ca598fdcf5e68

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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?”f41fb3bcdabb5119

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.1047e147458dfcb0

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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.540a0c41478d26fb

‘But why would Master Bahadir do that?’e01a00f48e5da6a6

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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.db1fd1b9942574bf

Aloissia was an Esper who existed for the empire’s protective barrier. If she were gone, the empire would be in danger.884f307c0dd85bbc

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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. f1cca908c3eb4110

Why?418f4e81004e34e2

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“Your Majesty, I have brought the Crown Princess.”44ff64e0da6d0c5a

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.b9da51dc19f12a7b

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“The Crown Princess has finally arrived? You must be exhausted from your long journey.”0c18dc55179818a9

Leda sneered, twisting her lips.13fe9efc084bbd7d

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“I sent Poi because you were taking so long. I thought you weren’t coming.”d1ec16c99ec08a77

“I was just about to leave.”3060e217f4fae1e1

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“Sure you were.”322a5379f2a8e7bb

Leda scoffed. She glared at Aloissia 266f8946fb and muttered.1bc3db034b8e4604

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“Are you enjoying life now that Felix is gone?”894c933e37457925

“How can you say that? I…”8010a1fa15b1a805

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“Leda. Stop it.”09360e8843e119fc

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.673d78ee3804ae5c

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“Rosha is going through a difficult time herself. She lost a family member as well. She must be grieving.”062cffd6e6eb9b23

“Well, she doesn’t look sad to me.”0b27b313798faec0

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Leda’s face crumpled as afa4df515d she protested against her 904feb7fd0 mother’s gentle reprimand.d67825043529a7bd