Ch.362Episode 14 – One Religion, One Faith, Two Saints

The meeting between the Grand Duchess and Camilla took place much later than I had anticipated, and in a somewhat different manner.

I had expected a quiet encounter between the two around the time of the canonization ceremony, but the Grand Duchess summoned us only after a considerable amount of time had passed following the ceremony.

Perhaps she had more matters to attend to than expected? That could be the case.

She attended the canonization and coronation ceremonies as a representative of the Kiyen Empire. If anyone wished to discuss national affairs with an imperial power figure, the Grand Duchess would be the most appropriate person—being the aunt of the revered sage-emperor Nicholas VI and one of only two living Grand Mages.

She might have called for us only after barely managing to find some free time in her busy schedule.

If her schedule is clear after this, she might have quite a lot to discuss with us.

Though what would a 100-year-old grandmother have to say to kids young enough to be her grandchildren or great-grandchildren?

“Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

I set off to meet the Grand Duchess, taking Camilla and Francesca with me.

Episode 14 – One Religion, One Faith, Two Saints

The path to meet the Grand Duchess wasn’t very far.

Although considerable time had passed since the canonization ceremony, many government delegations were still staying at the cathedral. The imperial delegation was among them.

Since we were already at the cathedral, finding the Grand Duchess wasn’t particularly difficult.

Nevertheless, the process of arranging the meeting with the Grand Duchess was not simple.

“I am Oxana, secretary to Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna.”

A middle-aged woman with an expressionless face greeted us formally. With a stern impression that seemed as though she wouldn’t bleed even if pricked with a needle, the middle-aged woman introduced herself as “the Grand Duchess’s personal secretary.”

Considering that the Grand Duchess was a member of the imperial family, I could easily guess that the secretary named Oxana was also an imperial person.

The imperial household is among the most coveted workplaces for most imperial civil servants.

Although the Grand Duchess is not in line for the imperial throne, she is the living aunt of Emperor Nicholas VI. The Grand Duchess is undeniably a member of the imperial family, and considering the high status of the imperial family in the empire, explaining how prestigious the position of an imperial family member’s personal secretary is would be a waste of breath.

“It is an honor to meet you all.”

Oxana, the Grand Duchess’s secretary, naturally extended greetings according to protocol. Her flowing actions were remarkably smooth.

The secretary began guiding us to where the Grand Duchess was located.

Along the way, she took the opportunity to convey several precautions.

“When you face Her Highness, I advise you to avoid making direct eye contact as much as possible. In the Empire, staring directly into someone’s eyes for an extended period is considered disrespectful.”

“I’m not sure about the customs in your homeland, but in the Empire, conversations begin with the person of higher status. Therefore, it is advisable to wait for Her Highness to ask questions first. There’s no need to overthink this. Simply wait until Her Highness speaks first, and then respond when she finishes.”

“Her Imperial Highness Alexandra Petrovna is not a strict person, and given the nature of this meeting, I believe you need not adhere to the complex imperial etiquette. However, please refrain from any behavior that might be considered disrespectful.”

It wasn’t particularly difficult to understand. It was a fundamental piece of advice to be careful with disrespectful words and actions. Neither hard to comprehend nor difficult to accept.

In truth, regardless of such advice, no one in this world could disrespect the Grand Duchess without heeding such warnings.

After all, the Grand Duchess is a Grand Mage who ended the age of barbarism and founded the Magic Tower. Who in their right mind would speak rudely in front of a living war veteran and power figure?

Besides, isn’t she over 100 years old?

In terms of South Korean history, she would be like an elderly person born during the Joseon Dynasty who survived through Japanese colonial rule, World War II, independence, the division of North and South Korea, the Korean War, the Cold War, and into the modern era. Even the Queen of England, who held onto her throne for 90 years rather than passing it to her son who had an affair with a married woman, would have to defer to the Grand Duchess.

The Grand Duchess is someone who could play Go-Stop in a senior center with my grandmother, or even my great-grandmother, and it wouldn’t seem strange. Who could possibly be disrespectful to her face?

Unless one had nine lives, it’s something that even the most audacious person wouldn’t dare to do.

“…”

I quietly rolled my eyes to look at Camilla standing beside me.

And I thought to myself:

She probably would.

*

The place where the Grand Duchess was staying was one of the rooms in the Tranquille Cathedral. It was a resting area prepared by the church for heads of state.

Several men in suits were standing guard in front of the door.

Their tall stature, sturdy build, and the earpieces extending from one ear into their shirts suggested they were imperial guard security officers.

Looks like we’ve come to the right place.

“Please wait here for a moment.”

After exchanging words with the security guards, the Grand Duchess’s personal secretary politely requested us to wait.

“Is something wrong?”

“I apologize, but there was a previous visitor, and it will take some time to prepare the room.”

“Ah, if that’s the issue, it’s fine. We’ll wait.”

“Thank you for your understanding.”

Although our entry was delayed, it wasn’t a major problem. There was still a procedure we had to go through before meeting the Grand Duchess.

Security screening.

“There will be a security check. Please cooperate.”

The imperial guard security officers conducted a screening of me, Camilla, and Francesca. The reason was to verify the identity and belongings of visitors who would be in contact with the Grand Duchess, who led the delegation, for her safety.

It was a valid and reasonable reason, so I didn’t feel the need to refuse.

I turned my gaze to check the expressions of my companions.

“Hmm…”

Francesca maintained an expressionless face. To be more precise, she wore a calm expression.

Despite being about to meet a great mage whom all mages admire and respect, one who stands at the edge of truth, Francesca didn’t show any reaction.

She seemed rather indifferent.

Francesca was simply observing the cathedral’s architecture with a composed demeanor. She appeared unconcerned about whether they conducted the inspection or not.

Perhaps because she herself is a descendant of a Grand Mage, she’s taking the current situation in stride.

“Hmm?”

Francesca, who had been looking up at the massive painting of angels on the corridor ceiling, suddenly met my gaze.

After blinking a few times as our eyes met by chance while she was appreciating the artwork,

She gently lifted the corners of her lips and gave me a smile. It was a captivating smile.

Thus, Francesca was accepting the situation with a calm and peaceful demeanor. There was no sign of excitement or nervousness. She simply seemed to have the attitude of “Well, since we’ve been called, might as well see her face.”

In contrast, Camilla…

“May I ask why the Grand Duchess has summoned us?”

Was surprisingly normal.

Camilla was displaying a more normal demeanor than I had ever seen from her before.

Asking questions in a calm and peaceful tone, Camilla reminded me of a serene lake. I almost wondered if this Camilla was really the same Camilla I knew.

It felt like watching a reformed problem child. Had she received some kind of intervention without my knowledge?

Our little troublemaker has changed.

“I don’t know that either.”

“She didn’t leave any specific message?”

The Grand Duchess’s personal secretary nodded.

“No, Her Highness didn’t leave any particular message.”

Camilla accepted this without much thought.

Right after the simple security check by the guards, she approached me with quick steps and began to whisper. She covered her mouth carefully and lowered her voice, concerned that others might hear.

“Why do you think she called for us?”

“I wonder…”

Though I received the question, I didn’t have a specific answer.

I’m not a mage, after all. No, even if I were a mage, there would be very few people who could answer Camilla’s question. The Grand Duchess was no ordinary mage.

A shrimp doesn’t know the life of a whale, and a wolf cannot learn the hunting methods of a tiger.

No matter how skilled a mage might be, in front of the Grand Duchess, they are merely ordinary people who luckily avoided the turbulent times.

“Do you think she wants to establish a master-disciple relationship, as I mentioned before?”

“How could I learn about magic when I know nothing? You need to know something to learn. How can I learn without even basic knowledge?”

“Camilla, you’re smart. And you like magic.”

An exceptional intellect capable of entering Cambridge, a world-renowned university, and a deep curiosity about magic. While curiosity doesn’t necessarily translate to academic enthusiasm, Camilla had talent.

Despite not having received any formal education, she handled flames as naturally as breathing.

She easily burned through iron-like trees that had hardened after absorbing high-concentration magical power flowing from rifts over hundreds of years.

She had the talent to single-handedly burn nearly half of the Naroda Mountains, a feat that even elite combat mages find difficult.

Though she might not realize it yet, with abilities like that, she wouldn’t starve no matter where she went. The same goes for Francesca, who is versed in alchemy and several other fields of magic.

Although I’m not a mage, like my sister who holed up in her room for years (unemployed, though she recently got a job), Camilla should have no problem learning magic.

I have no way of knowing if the Grand Duchess truly wants to take Camilla as her disciple, but this was the only answer that came to mind.

“This is the most likely reason. Francesca speculated the same.”

“Alright. But why did the Grand Duchess call for you and Francesca too?”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it. If her goal is to take me as a disciple, she could have just called for me separately. Isn’t that right?”

“…”

Now that I heard it, it made sense.

If the Grand Duchess’s goal was to take Camilla as her disciple, she wouldn’t need to call for me and Francesca. She could simply call Camilla alone and talk quietly. Why would she involve outsiders, especially civil servants working for a foreign government?

Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that Francesca, as an employee of the Magic Tower Secretariat, could be included.

Francesca is a mage and a descendant of the Grand Mage ‘Ranieri.’ Perhaps she wanted to see the great-granddaughter of an old comrade while she had the chance.

The problem is me.

Imperial intelligence agencies, including the Imperial Guard Office, suspect that I might be an employee of the Military Intelligence Agency. The mark placed on me by the Guard Office on my first day in the Empire was evidence of that.

They don’t seem to have obtained clear evidence, but if they marked me, it means they at least have reasonable suspicion. That’s why I tried to keep a low profile while staying in the northern part of the Empire. It would be difficult to return safely if caught in the surveillance net of the counterintelligence unit in a martial law area.

Fortunately, there were no major issues, but information about me would certainly remain somewhere, whether in the Guard Office or the counterintelligence department. Once your name is on the watchlist of an intelligence agency, it’s never removed. That information will probably follow me like a tag for the rest of my life.

The question is, why did the Grand Duchess summon me?

“…”

Typically, intelligence agencies share information with several related agencies.

In most cases, it’s more of a one-sided “distribution” rather than “sharing,” but the fact that information produced by intelligence agencies is shared is true.

Police, prosecutors, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of National Defense, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Presidential Secretariat, the Presidential Security Service, and so on.

Even the National Intelligence Service sends official documents to each department daily. The Imperial Guard Office probably shares information in a similar way. And the Imperial Guard, the emperor’s personal guard, would likely receive materials from the Imperial Guard Office.

But why didn’t the Guard prevent a meeting between a person suspected of being a foreign spy and a high-ranking official?

And what was the Grand Duchess thinking when she summoned me?

Could it be that the Guard Office didn’t distribute the information because there was no evidence that I was a spy? Or did the Guard receive the information and ignore it?

Either hypothesis is difficult for me to accept.

“Hmm… There are certainly some suspicious aspects.”

“Right?”

I pondered deeply, but no clear answer came to mind.

But there was no need to worry.

Perhaps we would soon hear the answer.

The security guards who had been standing at attention began to move busily. The men in suits, touching their earpieces, scattered to their respective positions as if by agreement.

The Grand Duchess’s secretary, who had been watching the scene with familiarity, spoke.

“Let’s go in.”

It was then.

The secretary carefully opened the door and respectfully said:

“Her Highness is waiting.”

We entered the room guided by the secretary.

The room didn’t look like a space where a mage would stay. But it didn’t look like it was prepared for a cleric either.

Wood that had absorbed the years and a gray-white stone building exuding a reverent aura.

In that place where time seemed to have stopped, as if cut by a knife, sat a woman.

Mysterious silver hair.

Blue eyes that shone like jewels.

“You’ve come.”

A low voice shook the space.

The Grand Mage, who had been sitting silently in her chair like a statue, rose. Ancient books were floating around the woman who moved slowly, like the traces of time.

Like orbiting satellites. A flying ancient book settled in the Grand Duchess’s hand. The mage who had dominated an era maintained her youth as if she had forgotten the passage of time.

Suddenly, the Grand Duchess’s expression changed.

And simultaneously, a flower bloomed in the calm field.

“I’ve been waiting.”

The name of that flower was a smile.

*

The first meeting with the Grand Duchess took place in a rather gentle atmosphere.

“I’ve been waiting for you. Welcome.”

Amidst the ambiance created by the soft lighting and stone building, the Grand Duchess personally extended her hand to indicate the prepared seats.

Whether by magic or some other mechanism, as she moved her hand, three chairs began to move on their own.

“Sit down.”

It was a quite dignified invitation, but difficult to accept easily.

Not because the Grand Duchess had made an unreasonable proposal.

“Umm…”

Facing the Grand Duchess, Camilla, unlike her usual self, let out a murmur and rolled her eyes. Her blue pupils, tinged with bewilderment, moved around for a while like a bumper car before settling on me.

Though she didn’t speak, I could understand.

‘What do I do now?’

That’s what Camilla was asking.

To this, I quietly smiled and answered with a smile.

‘How would I know?’

Although I’ve lived twice as long as my peers, it’s nothing compared to the Grand Duchess who has lived for over 100 years.

Even my grandmother, who lived with my grandfather, a former KCIA investigator, and has seen all sorts of hardships, would find the Grand Duchess difficult to approach. The Grand Duchess is of the same age as my great-grandmother.

In Eastern terms, she would be like a woman who witnessed the Qing Dynasty being dismembered by Western powers during her maiden years; in Western terms, she would be like a fossil who directly witnessed the Fashoda Incident and World War I while growing up.

Diplomat or not, with such an age gap, even engaging in conversation becomes burdensome. With an age difference of over 100 years, how could one have a conversation? That’s something even ambassadors in their 50s would find difficult to handle.

So how much more difficult would it be for Camilla, who has just barely passed her twenties?

“Haha…”

Camilla, who had been imagining a ‘wise mage with abundant white hair’ like Dumbledore or Gandalf from movies, began to show her bewilderment.

She muttered in a very low voice:

“Is she really the Grand Duchess…? I heard she was quite… elderly…”

“Yes, she is.”

“But she looks so young?”

“Yes.”

She had an expression of utter disbelief.

Camilla, who was trying hard to contain herself, was shocked by the time-defying appearance of the Grand Duchess.

“Is this like Benjamin Button? Time flowing backwards?”

“Ah, that movie is a masterpiece. I cried watching it.”

We quickly whispered to each other, but nothing changed.

Camilla stared at the young and radiant mage, who was in perfect contrast to the image of an ‘elderly mage’ she had imagined.

The Grand Duchess looked at Camilla with a puzzled expression and asked:

“Is there a problem?”

“Ah, no. There’s no problem…”

“It seems quite different from what you imagined.”

“No… Wait, yes?”

Mysterious silver hair flowed down, and a pair of blue sapphires sparkled through long eyelashes.

“People who meet me for the first time are often surprised. It’s because the image of me they have in their minds is quite different from the me they actually face.”

“Uh…”

“Red-haired child, what was the image of me you had in your mind?”

The Grand Duchess posed a question as if to accommodate. Considering the weight of the question, it seemed like an effort to break the heavy atmosphere.

Camilla seemed to understand that as well. She was a person with a sharper sense than anyone else, after all. She answered honestly.

An elderly mage with abundant white hair. Due to her nervousness, her explanation wasn’t smooth as she hurriedly spilled out her words, but the image Camilla described was unmistakably that of an elderly mage from a fairy tale.

To be precise, it would be Gandalf or Dumbledore. Or perhaps Sirius. If it’s Camilla, who loves Harry Potter more than anyone, she might have compared the Grand Duchess, who can transform into a cat, with Sirius.

No, wait. Is the cat McGonagall?

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but my memory was a bit hazy.

It was then.

Someone’s voice was heard:

“Grandmother.”

The concise address, which seemed out of place, instantly snapped me to attention.

Grandmother?

There was only one person in this place who could be addressed in such a way.

The Grand Duchess of the Kiyen Empire, Alexandra Petrovna.

Having lived for over 100 years, it’s not particularly strange for her to be called grandmother. In fact, whenever the Empire made blunders related to the Magic Tower, foreign media often sarcastically asked, “Where is the grandmother of the imperial family?”

But no politician, diplomat, or journalist would dare to directly use the term “grandmother” to the Grand Duchess. To be precise, no person with common sense would dare to do such a thing.

By that logic, what’s stopping someone from calling the Emperor “grandfather”?

Even elementary school students, the ultimate apex of South Korean social hierarchy and untouchable by law, wouldn’t call the President “grandfather” to his face. Maybe “Mr. President Grandfather,” but not just “grandfather.”

So what kind of deranged person would dare to call the Grand Duchess “grandmother”?

For a moment, my mind went blank, and I quickly searched for the person who had uttered such nonsense. With a slight turn of my head, I could easily find the culprit.

I met the gaze of Camilla, who, like me, had turned her head. I had turned my head to the left, and Camilla had turned hers to the right. Between us stood only one person.

Francesca.

“…”

I looked at Francesca, who was staring at the Grand Duchess with a calm expression.

At that moment, Francesca moved her pink lips and murmured in a gentle voice:

“Why did you call for us?”

A question that was almost informal.

As soon as I heard those words, I felt the urge to slap Francesca.