Translator: wuttisyun

Ha. Haha. Hahahaha!!

I clutched my stomach as I burst into laughter.

The 17th day of the month of Venus. The date written in the diary was two months from now.

The tyrants engagement ceremony appeared briefly in the <Light of Rusbella>. Castor even mentioned it during his conversation with Rusbella.

<My fiancee died in a mysterious accident a year ago.>

When Rusbella arrived in the Empire, his fiancee had already died.

When the diary first foretold my death, it gave me 7 days to prepare.

Everything was spinning now.

Two months from now, Castors prospective Crown Princess was going to kill me.

Could I say that those two events were any different?

No. Till now, there had only been two occasions during which the diary took a long time to foretell my future.

The first time I opened it and now.

I was getting goosebumps from such a creepy fact. The diary focused more on things Castor did. Its predictions were more accurate and detailed when the events were related to Castor.

Ha. Now Ill be dying at the hands of Castors fiancee?

No, it did not matter. A question I had vaguely been harbouring so far was not resolved. It felt like a heavy lids had been removed above me as a beam of light streamed in.

I had clarified my hypothesis.

The diary was leading me towards events that involved Castor.

***

The Foundation Festival was happening two months from now.

Since it was a festival held in the capital, the four administrative officials in charge of the overall running of the capital have become very busy.

Even Penne, who was in charge of teaching me, was so busy that lately all I had been doing lately was self-studying and homework.

They disappeared?

I placed my quill down and stared at them. As Penne showed him a scroll, he and Granius were talking with a very serious expression on their faces. Something out of the ordinary seemed to have happened.

Since when?

Thats:

I looked through all the scrolls that Penne had handed me earlier before spotting something strange. He must have placed these in the wrong place.

After scanning it, I realised it was statistics on the capitals population. I scanned it half-heartedly before my gaze stopped at a particular place.

[Recent death toll: people (700 missing, whereabouts unknown)]

The numbers had been staying relatively consistent until they skyrocketed last year. It seemed like quite a number of people had died or disappeared. It was indeed a questionable figure.

I placed the scroll down. The numbers were so huge. The magnitude of the situation was not really hitting me but I knew it was a big deal. In the meantime, while I was reading the scroll, Penne got closer before speaking.

This was all happening just before the Founding Festival.

Im sorry for making you hear something so horrible.

No, Im not some kid. Its not like I would be trembling over someone elses death.

Penne smiled bitterly.

You dont have to pretend youre okay. Im getting chills too.

Im only telling you this out of concern but always be careful and be wary. Be careful of strangers.

Penne, you sound like my mother.

Hahaha. Thats what the patrols say too.

Penne glanced at something behind me before nodding towards Hernan.

Im sure you wont have a problem, princess.

Penne was told that Hernan kept visiting to guard me. Now, whenever I came, the silhouette of the duke would follow me closely with that expression on his face.

I wonder if Im just making a big deal out of this. Because thats how things have been these days.

You mean what you said before, Penne.

Yes. Ive heard talks of a dispute between His Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince. During such a time, the 2nd Prince has been steadily growing in power. Honestly, Im kind of worried.

If my brother, the 2nd Prince continues to gain power, it wont be good for the Soletorium Ah.

I realised it while speaking.

Its because of me.

What happened during the 2nd Empress symposium spread. Castors attitude towards was displayed. The rumours had spread without stopping and reached the ears of a deputy official like Penne.

Im sorry.

Whats wrong with pipio?

Then, a gust of wind blew and all I could see in front of my eyes was a soft brown.

Hello!

Curtains fluttered behind Soricks.

Oh my gosh. Come in, Soricks. Did you come in through the window again?

Yes. Its been a while, pipio. And, well, I greet the duke.

For some reason, Soricks was standing a distance from me.

To be more exact, the moment he saw Hernans face, he was stunned and looked like he had just seen a ghost.

Staring back at him, Hernan curled his eyes.

Its been a while, Lord Soricks.

He flashed a gentle smile but it looked more like a kind one.

Ha, hahaha. What were you all talking about?

It was nothing much. Just that theres a lot of bad people out there. Penne was just telling me to be careful.

Ah. Thats a given. Pipio should be especially careful since shes cute.

Soricks swept his pale face down as if he had not just said that before grabbing my hand and laughing very seriously.

Being such a cute and lovely person as yourself, pipio, you should be especially careful of men. There are too many slug-like men in this world.

Alright, Soricks. Do you mean someone like you?

Meta, who then appeared out of nowhere, pushed Soricks head down before pushing him away from me.

Do you want to get beaten up by the duke again?

Soricks partner, Meta, stared at Hernan with a smile.

I told you were going to report to the aediles so why are you here?

Mind your own business. Can you let go of me?

W-well, let us see, Vice-Commander. Dont worry about ammon pipio and just worry about yourself. Youre going to get punished by the duke again.

Soriucks grumbled before heading towards Granius. Meta snickered before waving and smiling in my direction.

Penne glanced towards the two patrols that just entered before shaking his head.

By the way, Penne. What were you talking about?

Ah. About the disappearances.

Ah, well, that is something serious. We havent found a single clue about it this past year.

He narrowed his almond-shaped eyes like a cat as he talked about how serious it was. He then glanced towards me with a face filled with worry.

Always be careful, pipio. After leaving the gates, always walk on the main road.

Come to think of it, Meta and Soricks think that I commute to and fro between my mansion in the capital and here everyday, dont they?

Oh, of course, I am relieved to hear that the duke, a competent templar and knight, is here.

Why did he say that?

Granius and Penne were the only ones who knew that Hernan was here to protect me, though? I did not understand why they were talking about how outstanding Hernan was as a templar when we were talking about my safety here. I stared at them with a vague expression as I asked the two men what I was curious about.

What templar are you, your grace?

Oh, did you not know? The duke is the Templar of Beasts.

At Pennes answer, I had an unknown expression on my face. A Templar of Beasts? A beast like something that growled? My expressions crumpled without me knowing.

It really did not suit that innocent mellow expression he had.

Well, pardon me but it doesnt sound like something that really suits him based on the name alone.

Feeling awkward, I stared at the duke.

Its alright. Ive heard that before.

He replied kindly to my harsh words. He looked happy at the mere fact I talked to him.

Are you curious about me?

Ah Yes, a little

I felt a little uncomfortable at the way his perfunctory expression as he stared at Meta earlier had suddenly loosened.

Actually, I dont really like to call myself that.

No, actually, Im not curious.

Its alright if its you.

Whenever he flashed me that gaze that was as sweet as sugar, I wanted to believe him subconsciously sometimes.

There was a saying about how I should not get my clothes wet in a drizzle. (1) When he stared at me with such pretty eyes, there were times where I would feel the urge even for just a moment.

***

The next day, I visited the Imperial library.

Excuse me, are all the books on the gods and templars only in the N-III section?

Yes, thats right but,

Was this all made of wood? The librarian then stared reluctantly at the books in the bookshelf below my feet. Ah, it seemed like he was trying to tell me to be careful with where I placed my feet before he coughed once more and turned around.

Higher level reading materials would require a separate permit for access.

No, what Im looking for is not that important. Im just looking for anything on the Templar of Beasts. I couldnt find any information.

Frowning without saying a word, the librarian scratched his temple before looking through some scrolls and raising his head.

The information youre requesting for is not available for public access.

What? Even simple information?

We only have a pool of information on the 12 gods. However, that information is only accessible if youre a senior administrative official of a 3rd grade or higher security pass.

With that said, the librarian returned to work.

However, afterwards, I continued to hold the librarian back and asked a few more times. The first time, I was led to the theology section. The second time, I was led to the corner on high templars. I asked for the Templar of Beasts one more time but I could not find anything.

Pipio.

Penne approached me before asking.

Could you find anything you were trying to find?

No.

I shook my head before crumpling my nose. Then, Penne tilted his head.

A lot of information can be found in the Central library though?

When I said I had something I was curious about, Penne was the one who recommended me to search in this place. He also had something he wanted to find out so he brought me here.

Theres nothing on what I wanted to know.

May I ask what youre searching for?

Well, the Templar of Beasts?

Ah. That wouldnt be at a place like this.

Why?

Any information on the template of the 12 gods are stored somewhere else and could only be viewed by senior officials.

So he was saying it would be hard for me to get access without identifying myself? I wanted to know more about the abilities of a Templar of Beasts. If only I could find out, I could have his weakness. I went through information that was more detailed but there was nothing but tales or legends about historical events.

I heard there was a record of reads.

However, I could not identify myself. Well, the powers of the 12 gods were the core of the Empire. I would have to do it with confidence.

Penne disappeared for a while to visit the librarian. I looked through the bookshelves while waiting for him.

The section on theology seemed to be pretty popular considering how every scroll was torn around the edges. I shot a glance at one of the neatly placed books before opening it. It stood out because it looked unusually new.

[The Imprint of a Templar and the Agent of Fate K Tradithor.]

T/N:

Sorry I had these chapters for a while already but my laptop would hang whenever I tried to enter google drive? HAHA but my chrome updated and now its back to normal woopdeedoo

(1): It basically means, you shouldnt ignore a trivial matter for too long until it becomes impossible to solve.