Ash and Violet walked in silence.
Ash passed through the hallway and up the stairs.
He carefully opened the door to one of the rooms near the staircase.
—Ash…
When Violet tried to say something, Ash put his finger to his mouth and gestured for her to be quiet.
Then, he called her with his hand.
When he approached the wall, he found a small hole.
Violet set her sights on him.
The excited voice was Marigold's.
—Ah, Edgar, Your Highness.
I missed him a lot.
"Me too, Marigold." Haha, strangely, every time I come to the temple, my body and heart light up even more.
Come closer.
—I don't want to wait any longer!
I want to shout to the world that I have fallen in love with you.
I'm waiting for the day when I become the Winter Queen and can dance proudly by your side.
Marigold was in the arms of the man she called Edgar.
Violet tore her eye away from the wall with her mouth open.
You really are crazy, Marigold.
Leaving aside the great dream of becoming the crown princess…
Until now, Violet had been brainwashed by her parents saying, 'You are a dirty bastard, so always reflect and strive to live correctly.'
But Marigold, who had grown up with the love of her parents, was in an inappropriate relationship with a married man.
They really are crazy.
Even if my father doesn't know it, my stepmother at least knows it.
It was disgusting.
Seeing the disgusted expression on Violet's face, Ash smiled and wrote on the back of his hand.
As if she had smeared her magic on her fingertips, faintly glowing black letters appeared on the back of Violet's hand.
The tickling sensation on her hand calmed her a little.
⌜Isn't the truth disgusting and provocative?⌟
It was so provocative that I wanted to hit them both.
Violet nodded.
At that moment, Ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling!
The tinkling sound echoed in his ears again.
It's another vision of the future...
They still appeared at random times.
In the vision of the future, Violet was talking to a girl who had her face covered.
—When I was in my last year at the academy, there was a terrible incident at the crown prince's Winter Queen's Ball, where a seal was broken and people died.
"People say it was Miss Violet's first evil act."
—Yes, they whispered that I had been punished for having a disgusting affair, which I am ashamed to mention, with that bastard Colbert about the 'Carita Seal Formation'.
-…Yeah.
—But actually, the people who did disgusting things about the main Lord's seal that day were Marigold, who had become the Winter Queen, and Crown Prince Edgar.
Violet continued.
—And they blamed me.
The vision of the future ended.
Violet realized that her back was drenched in sweat.
People die and they blame me, what is going to happen in the future?
I didn't know what a seal was.
But it seemed like something terribly bad was going to happen.
At that moment, Violet felt like everything turned white before her eyes.
When he regained consciousness, he found himself in an embrace with a familiar smell.
It smelled of fresh sandalwood and leather.
Violet was in Ash's arms.
"Ash?"
Violet opened her eyes.
Just as she was about to scream in surprise, Ash covered her mouth.
-Not now.
Ash whispered very softly in Violet's ear.
Violet nodded.
They were still in the same place, in the same room.
Ash stayed like that, waiting for Violet to calm down.
Violet tugged on Ash's sleeve to signal that she was okay.
The two carefully left the strange room.
Ash helped Violet naturally.
And now what is this?
And Violet witnessed a strange scene.
Two or three foreign-looking women quickly entered the room they had just left.
Surprisingly, they didn't make any noise when walking.
Those people...
Violet was going to say something.
Ash shook his head, signaling her to shut up.
Violet turned and followed Ash, perplexed.
As the service continued, there was no one outside the worship hall.
It was only when they reached a secluded garden that Ash spoke.
—Was it a scene so disgusting that you fainted?
—I felt a little dizzy… but I'm fine now.
-Excellent.
Ash said.
They hurriedly walked to get out of there.
—Ash, I have so many questions.
First, how did you know there was such a place in the temple?
—The Great Temple is a public institution.
It's easy to get the plans for places like this.
—It's not possible.
If there were rumors about secret structures like this, the Temple would have already made repairs.
Violet replied.
Ash slowed his pace a little.
This means you don't want to answer in detail, right?
Violet felt that at this time, it was useless to question Ash.
"Ash, the Great Temple is one thing, but what about those women?" Is it okay for you to go into that room?
-Yes that's fine.
These are people I called.
Violet suddenly thought of the crown prince's wife.
The crown princess.
The crown princess was not someone with much presence.
In fact, his presence was insignificant.
Therefore, its popularity was extremely low.
This was because she was a foreigner from a faraway country that did not have good relations with the Empire.
Furthermore, his appearance was a little different and he had not yet mastered the language of the Empire, so he almost never spoke in public.
—Were the crown princess's people the ones I saw before?
—You're getting smarter.
I like that.
—Thanks for the compliment… but, Ash, I want to know who you are.
Ash's reaction was a little different this time.
He looked into Violet's eyes and said calmly:
—You will soon know.
—Just tell me one thing.
Are you a dangerous person, someone who is harmful to mess with, Ash?
—I'm sacredly safe, don't worry.
—So you're not a criminal or a scammer?
-…Of course.
"Then I'll believe you."
Violet nodded.
—Is that easy?
This time, Ash frowned.
—You said that in the end I would walk the path of light.
Furthermore, if I have already decided to believe, I must do so.
Violet looked at Ash with a firm gaze.
If Ash tried to trick her, it wouldn't be too late to act now.
Anyway, Ash said that he had walked a path opposite to his future self, so he must not be an evil person.
Ash looked surprised.
He soon smiled weakly.
—You are like a protected species, like an ancient creature on the brink of extinction.
Did you know?
—…I don't know what that means.
—It makes me want to protect you and help you, just because you're interesting.
Anyway, let's go?
I don't think it's good to continue talking here.
Ash said to Violet.
Violet nodded.
Ash took Violet to a small cafe near the Great Temple.
In fact, it was the first time he found out that this place was a cafeteria.
The door was closed and had no sign.
As Ash approached the back door, a guard quietly opened it.
Violet followed Ash and they entered a private room on the second floor of the cafeteria.
"Ash, do you know where the crown prince's ball is being held?"
—In the records room of Santa Carita.
Santa Carita.
Violet knew him well.
He was a legendary priest who was said to have sealed and killed numerous shadow demons that had occupied the Empire's capital.
Therefore, the place where Saint Carita died was decorated in a very grand and beautiful way.
It was quite spacious and had a lot of great artwork on display.
But I heard that the story of Santa Carita was a kind of… legend.
What the hell will happen that night?
…To be continued