A Snake’s Life Ch 47

Chapter 47

 

The temple was so white it looked as if the whole world had fallen silent. The pure white marble was spotless, without a single blemish. In that space, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed, loud enough to make the garments flutter. The source of the sound was the Pope. The Pope flung open the door. Kneeling quietly before the altar were a holy knight and a priest. Without a hint of movement, they waited for the Pope to speak.

“How did it go?”

“…We are truly sorry.”

Their heads, already bowed in shame, lowered even further as if unworthy to face the Pope. The Pope rubbed his aching forehead.

“To think the envoy would be unaffected by the barrier…”

The barrier wasn’t a natural one but maintained by the priests. Without knowing the key, it was impossible to break. As it was the sanctuary of the divine, only high-ranking priests knew the key. And yet, the envoy passed through without issue and reportedly confronted the hunter inside. The Pope had immediately sent a letter to the Empress upon receiving the news, but there had been no reply.

“Did Her Majesty not send any word?”

“The Empress sent word through a handmaiden—only to inform us once the medicine was ready.”

“Hah…”

The Pope let out a hollow laugh. The sanctuary had once belonged solely to the temple. But now, it wasn’t just the holy knights guarding it. Zerpell had stationed both a holy knight and a member of the imperial guard. The problem was that the imperial guard belonged directly to Zerpell. And that particular guard possessed a device that could detect magic.

At first, they thought it wouldn’t matter even if they were discovered—there would be no way to prove anything. But that was a grave miscalculation. They carried a device that could detect magic. One careless move could bring disaster upon them.

“There’s no evidence tying it to us, is there?”

“No. They cannot condemn us based on traces of magic alone. We were outside the barrier, and we can claim we knew nothing. We can simply say it was an intrusion by magic. However, it seems we must refrain from hunting the snakes for a while.”

The Pope let out a sigh of relief. A misfortune, but not a catastrophic one. However, the fact that they could no longer capture snakes for the Empress posed a serious problem.

“How is His Highness’s condition?”

“He is reportedly well enough to wield a sword.”

“And yet she sends no letter…”

The Pope had heard from the holy knight about Shuiren’s intrusion into the sanctuary and immediately sent a letter to the Empress. Since then, her attitude had changed drastically—suddenly cold. Not a single letter, only the message delivered through a handmaiden about the medicine. This could jeopardize the success of their deal.

Only now did doubt arise—would she really honor the agreement? The Pope had been quite shocked by the terms the Empress first proposed. She had offered to separate the temple from the Empire, essentially allowing it to function as an independent state.

‘No. Her Majesty harbors hatred toward the divine.’

That must not be allowed to happen. Why had she turned her back on the gods in the first place? The Pope knew the Empress well. Her hatred for the divine was profound. She wanted to erase the temple from existence or, at the very least, drive it out of her sight. That was why he had believed her proposal without question.

He had always thought the reason behind her hatred was petty, but he never voiced his true thoughts. As someone in his position, he had seen many people. When something cannot be fulfilled, they pray to the gods, and when even that brings no result, their devotion turns to hatred.

“We won’t hunt snakes for a while. We already have some in reserve.”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

The Empress might not know, but not all the snakes were offered to her. The snakes imbued with the divine energy of the Water Deity within the sanctuary had intrigued the Pope as well. He had taken a few to the temple separately. And he had discovered—they were indeed very useful.

“You’ve done well in the imperial palace. Continue your efforts.”

The Pope patted their shoulders.

“It is an honor, Your Holiness!”

They replied with fervent voices, as if the honor were entirely theirs. The Pope turned back the way he had come. He walked the long corridor and entered a room. The door to that room was massive, with a large dragon depicted on it. He entered the room alone. As he stepped inside, the door closed behind him with a chilling sound.

This was the Pope’s private place of prayer. But he did not show reverence toward the divine—instead, he merely gazed at the large statue before him. He had not come here to pray. He stepped toward the statue and began pressing the dragon’s claws in a specific order. With each press, a creaking sound echoed until the statue shifted with a loud rumble. The statue moved backward, revealing a staircase leading underground.

Descending the stairs, he reached a glowing blue sphere. This was a secret chamber, accessible only to the Pope for generations.

“With this orb, nothing will be a problem.”

It was a glowing orb, radiant with a deep blue light like the depths of the ocean.

[Is something wrong?]

“I just hope the master is safe… and that Aiden is living happily with that bright smile of his… But the most obvious things are always the hardest to achieve…”

Seeing the grave look on my face, Kir spoke up, but I ignored him and flopped onto the bed. My resentment toward the Emperor and Empress, whom I’d never even met, only grew. He may not be the Empress’s son, but Zerpell is still the Emperor’s child, right? Then why is Aiden allowed, and the master isn’t? Aiden doesn’t even want to be Emperor…

As I lay on the bed in silence, a sudden surge of anger made me thrash about. Kir, wrapped around my neck, was shaken along with the bed. Kir tapped me with his tail, urging me to calm down.

[Calm yourself. Where did you hear such things?]

“So I’m supposed to just do as I please, huh…? Fine! Might as well go see him now!”

Zerpell had told me to refrain from going out, but I couldn’t just stay still.

[Where are you off to this time?]

“To see Aiden.”

[And who might that—]

Before Kir could finish, I snatched him up and wrapped him around my neck, then stormed out the door.

“Shuiren-nim?!”

Wol looked startled at my sudden action. I’d just returned from the office, so now should’ve been my time to lounge around. Yet here I was, suddenly storming out with a grim face. Unsure of what was happening, they followed after me in confusion.

“Shuiren-nim, where are you going?”

“Hmm… Well, I just wanted to get some fresh air… by the lake.”

Since I hadn’t mentioned a destination and had just started walking, their confusion was understandable. I said it was for air, but really, I was hoping Aiden might be by the lake. I’d seen him there last time, so I clung to that small hope. There was no guarantee he’d be there, but somehow, I had a feeling he would be.

If not, then I’d just enjoy the breeze…

As I neared the lake, Kir, who had been resting quietly around my neck, suddenly started writhing in agitation.

[It’s the children’s energy!]

Kir stretched out from around my neck, as if being pulled in a certain direction. He hung from my neck, barely supported by his tail, and reached desperately toward the lake. Afraid he might fall, I caught his body with my hands.

“What’s gotten into you?”

[The children are calling! That way! Hurry!]

“Calm down. You’re going to fall!”

Though I didn’t understand what he meant, Kir urged me frantically and looked ready to bolt off on his own. He didn’t seem to hear my plea to calm down. I followed the direction he pointed. It happened to be the lake I was heading toward anyway.

There, by the lake, was a glimmer of golden hair. A small figure was curled up like a ball. His hunched back gave off a sense of sorrow. Aiden turned his head at the sound of approaching footsteps, and our eyes met. His eyes were red, as if he’d been crying, and he hurriedly stood up, rubbing his eyes with his sleeve.

He… really had been crying, hadn’t he? Flustered by Aiden’s appearance, I waved my hand in greeting.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

“S-Shuiren hyung?”

There wasn’t even an attendant behind him. Judging by the atmosphere, he must’ve sneaked out again. My eyes kept drifting to his cheek. Realizing it, Aiden awkwardly raised his hand to cover his reddened cheek. But his gesture was so clumsy it only drew more attention.

“W-What brings you here…?”

“Just taking a walk. You out here for a stroll too?”

“Ah… yes.”

Aiden mumbled. He tried to cover it, but I could see it through his fingers—a long scratch ran across his cheek. It was obviously a bruise from being struck. But who would dare strike a prince on the face? I narrowed my eyes and stared at him.

[It’s this boy…]

Kir growled ominously next to my ear. What? Before I could react, Kir lunged at Aiden. I heard a gasp from Paul behind me. Thankfully, I managed to grab Kir in time. He hissed threateningly as I restrained him with my whole body. His size made it difficult.

I struggled to calm Kir down. Threatening a prince—my head would roll if anyone saw. I whispered into his ear.

“Are you crazy, old man? What the hell is this?!”

Kir’s barely parted mouth let out words.

[There’s no doubt. That boy holds our children’s energy!]

“What?!!”

Startled, I turned to Aiden. What was he talking about? I hadn’t sensed anything strange before. But now that I was more attuned to my power, I could see faint blue energy lingering around Aiden. Suddenly, I remembered the lake incident—the sorrow and grief. The moment I saw Aiden, those emotions welled up again. Was that why I looked so grim? Aiden grew concerned.

“D-Did something happen? That snake…”

He gestured to Kir, who had lunged at him. Kir had said that he felt the children’s energy from Aiden. But Aiden couldn’t have done anything directly. The snake corpses, the Pope, and… the location of the Water Deity’s lake—it all pointed to the Emperor and Empress. There was no way they weren’t involved. A deep sigh caught in my throat and wouldn’t come out.

What the hell is going on…?

Like Kir, I wanted to scream. But seeing Aiden’s anxious face, I forced a clumsy smile. The scream stayed trapped in my chest, only piling higher.