Was this the Lark I knew?
Of course, I intentionally shared Lisbeth’s mistakes, and Lark was right to help me if he still had a conscience… Even so, it was an uncharacteristic remark coming from someone who thoroughly distinguished public and private affairs.
I laughed awkwardly. “That’s a lame joke.”
“I’m sorry if this sounds like a joke.” Lark’s expression as he shrugged seemed serious.
“Y-You really shouldn’t pull out a knife or anything. I only acted after thinking about the worst.”
“That’s the same with me. After pulling out the knife, I will think and act on everything I can to fix the situation.”
“Ah, Your Highness! You can’t just pull out a knife! You’re famous for being a principled person, right? Why are you like this? It doesn’t suit you.”
“It depends on the person. Do you see me as such a rigid person?” Lark, who shrugged his shoulders deftly, added.
“If I were someone without blood or tears, would I have tried to get Lisbeth out by making a choice that burdens you in the first place?”
“Mm, that’s true.”
“Because I am a human being, I have more value. So you will be an exception to everything I do in the future.”
Lark’s smiling face was sincere. I felt a little embarrassed and said, wiggling my hand.
“I’m grateful, but I can do well on my own. I will feel uncomfortable if you act unrelenting because of me.”
“Mm… Princess.” Lark called me with a suddenly serious look. “You only saw the future; you’re not the person who went through it.”
“…”
“But you don’t act like a 15-year-old child. You don’t have to act like an adult who has to stand alone at a young age when people will accept you even if you make a fuss, whine, and make trouble.” Lark laughed bitterly and added, “Perhaps the future you saw made you this way. Because you can’t rely on your father and brother freely.”
“…”
“Isn’t that a bit sad? So, if it’s okay with you, I’ll try, so give me a chance.”
“… What?”
“You can comfortably complain to me. You can make unreasonable requests without hesitation. And I can be someone who fixes your mistakes and come to you when you’re in trouble.”
I stared blankly at Lark, then turned my eyes away because I felt ashamed.
Wishit, standing a few steps away and watching us, made a playful weep and feigned nausea. Dude, you’re throwing cold water on a decent atmosphere…
“… Thank you for your words.”
“I’m serious.”
“Yes, I believe you. Come to think of it. You once turned a blind eye to me with Vista, a dangerous spirit. Well, sure, it helps you, too, but…”
“Even if it didn’t help me, I wouldn’t have ignored it if you asked for help.” Lark, who tilted his head, sighed. “It is quite unethical to seal up a dangerous summoner. It’s a long-standing imperial custom to prevent riots in advance, but…”
“Oh, do you think so? So, if I had signed a contract with a dangerous spirit other than Vista, you would have turned your eyes away…?”
When I asked, excited with anticipation, Lark nodded indifferently. “You’re not the kind who’d abuse the power of spirits.”
“Right? You think so, too, don’t you?”
It’s uncomfortable to keep lying, so should I just tell him that I’m actually the contractor of the Spirit of Wish?
At the crossroads of the moment, Lark smiled and added, “As long as it’s not the Spirit of Wish.”
“Cough!”
… What a good thing.
I could see Wishit giggling. What did you find so funny in this situation when you were the main culprit?
I said sarcastically, “Is that so? I won’t do anything in vain if I have a contract with Vista, but I may have a bad heart if I have one with the Spirit of Wish?”
“Oh, that’s a misunderstanding.” Lark raised his hands and shook his head. “It’s not that I don’t believe in you. I just don’t believe in humans.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Spirit of Wish, Wishit… is difficult to classify as a simple spirit. Making all wishes come true is already the realm of God rather than humans.”
I can only use that great ability three times… was something I’d almost said.
“Even if you are not greedy, you don’t know how things will change if you acquire such power, and it’s not just a matter of being wary of the contractor themselves.”
“… I suppose so.”
“If you were the contractor of Wishit, and the 2nd Prince, not me, liked you, he would’ve easily become the emperor. The poor can become rich overnight, and the sick can get better the next day.”
In other words, if the contractor put their mind to it, they could grant the wishes of dozens or hundreds of people in addition to the contractor’s profits.
As Lark had said, it was the level of invading the realm of God.
In theory, it was a “wish-granting” spirit, so it was natural to worry about such a huge problem…
‘Actually, it’s s cheap spirit that restricts its usage to only three times! How could anyone abuse that precious opportunity?!’
An internal scream that I couldn’t bear to spit echoed. Instead of telling the truth, I said, “But isn’t there a limit to the true power of such a great spirit? It might be a cheap spirit with a fixed number of wishes, right?”
“Mm, no. There is no such thing.”
“What?”
I was puzzled at Lark’s words of certainty for some reason.
“Wishit once showed up. Its first contractor was Duke Diollus I, who founded the empire with my forefather, Emperor Descarde I.”
“I know that.”
“It is said that the Duke Diollus was revered almost as a god as the contractor of Wishit.”
“But did he use his wish without restrictions?”
“You didn’t know? It’s the history of your family, right?”
“Ah, of course I know.”
As a contractor for Wishit, my ancestor, Diollus I, said that there was nothing he could not do. He healed the sick and made the poor rich. He’d certainly been revered as a god=like being.
‘Isn’t it just an exaggerated story of the country’s founding? Like a bear turned into a human after eating mugwort and garlic, or like Park Hyukgu, who was born from an egg?’
[T/N: I visited Korea once, and the tour guide told us that some Koreans still believed the first Koreans were bears turned into humans.]
Wishit had said he could only grant wishes three times, so I’d naturally taken the story of Diollus I as an exaggerated story.
‘Did they listen to everything?’
For a moment, I looked at the seat where Wishit was, and suddenly they had disappeared.
‘Ah, they disappeared like the wind when we discussed something that disadvantages them.’
Lark added, “The life of Duke Diollus I was a tragedy. He was very sacrificial and altruistic, so that became a poison to him.”
“Mm, yes. Did he grant all the wishes of others?”
“That’s right. Many people cried and complained for their benefit.”
“…”
“What Duke Diollus did in good faith resulted in numerous tragedies. He was a good man. How bad the guilt must have been.”
That was another behind the story. I could vaguely guess why Wishit placed the restriction of ‘three times’.
“Anyway, don’t get me wrong, it’s not because I don’t trust you. For the sake of the empire’s future, the Spirit of Wish must never appear again.”
“Ah, of course…”
Lark, who smiled at me, nodding his head eagerly with his mouth shut, soon exclaimed, “Ah!”
“I came here because I had something to say but kept saying other things.”
He hurriedly reached into his sleeve, took a piece of paper, and showed me. “Today is the last meeting to decide your future. These items have been selected at the meeting so far.”
Rubetria Diollus
– Isolation at home for 1 month (2)
– Isolation at Lubon for 12 months (0)
– Isolation at Wydrow for 12 months (9)
– Isolation at Wydrow from 24 months (1)
– Isolation at Hebanon for 12 months (14)
– Isolation at Hebanon for 24 months (6)
I asked because I was curious about the names of Lubon, Wydrow, and Hebanon.
“The number next to…”
“The number of aristocrats lawmakers who think the agenda is reasonable.”
I nodded and scanned the paper again.
Wydrow and Hebanon were our family’s estates in the central part of the continent.
‘If the capital is Seoul, The location of Wydrow and Hebanon is around Daegu…’
Guessing the distance, I sighed. I didn’t know if there was a KTX. It felt far away because I had to go back and forth in a carriage.
‘I’ll have to be locked up and rot. I expected it, but it’s still difficult.’
“So since most chosen is one year at Hebanon? Am I going to go to Hebanon?”
“No. The parliament will decide that. The final decision is made by 13 Supreme Court Justices and declared in the courtroom. They only take into account these issues and votes.”
“Aha. Then…”
I swallowed dryly and ran my hand across the paper.
– Isolation at Lubon for 12 months (0)
My heart was pounding with tension.
“T-There wasn’t even a single vote here, but there’s room for possibility…?”
“Ah.” Lark, who paused, smiled bitterly and shook his head. “There’s a little chance the end decision will be on Lubon.”
“Whew… I see.”
“Wydrow and Hebanon have a high probability of adoption and are the most realistic agendas. At today’s meeting, I will do my best to move the vote to Wydrow, which is closer than Hebanon.”
“I’d appreciate it if you could.”
Lark smiled and put his hand on my head. “Don’t worry too much.”
***
“Don’t worry too much.”
Obviously Lark…
‘Had told me not to worry.’
Standing in the middle of the courtroom, I looked up at the high Supreme Court and trembled.
“Next, I will announce the ruling on the witness Princess Rubetria Diollus.”
The judge began to read the verdict with bored eyes.
“The witness testified that she has been in contact with a ‘shaman’ who is believed to be the suspect and testified that she had introduced them to the 5th Princess.”
“…”
“There is no basis for her connection with the suspect, but we cannot help but hold her responsible for providing the cause to the 5th Princess and trading in illegal stores.”
A verdict that sounded strangely threatening.
My heart was beating fast.
“Until the imperial investigation team reveals the truth and catches the real culprit, the witness must cooperate faithfully with the investigation, and within the investigation period…” The Supreme Court’s judge who was reading the verdict declared, looking down at me with a cool gaze. “… is sentenced to 12 months in quarantine in ‘Lubon’ in the Diollus’ territory.”
Tu-thump, tu-thump.
‘… W-What? Lubon?’
At that moment, my heart thumped.
Bang!
At the same time, there was a loud noise from the assembly hall. When I turned around, my dad got up from his seat. With indignation on his face, he took a heavy breath and stared at the judge as if wanting to kill him.