“Lord Faraz, are you suggesting that King Ashbal’s claim—that the Golden Falcon was stolen—was false?”
Noah’s question was a serious one. He regarded Faraz with cautious skepticism. He was a frivolous, careless man, yet his loyalty to the royal family seemed sincere.
However, Noah could now surmise that his devotion was for the late king, not the man who currently sat on the throne.
Faraz swirled the wine in his goblet. “When His Majesty was just a lad, he once snuck into the palace to steal something.”
Claudia had mentioned something similar before—about how Naila had recounted an incident from Ashbal’s childhood when he’d wandered into the harem, wounded.
“I believe he came here for the Golden Falcon.”
This was more than mere conjecture from Faraz. There was certainty in his eyes.
“What makes you believe that?”
“His Majesty was impressive, sneaking into the royal treasury. Yet, he ignored all the flashy jewels that had been left out as bait. Instead, he went straight for the heavily protected, plain-looking chamber where the Golden Falcon was kept.”
Faraz had previously claimed ignorance regarding the artifact. Yet, if so much effort had been put into hiding it, then it was surely one of the most precious treasures of the palace.
“As the lad tried to pick the lock, I put an arrow through his foot. I didn’t know that the scrawny thief I’d wounded was none other than the late king’s own son.”
So that was how Ashbal had sustained his injury before stumbling into the harem.
“Did you ever speak of this with His Majesty?”
“Of course I did. I offered my apologies and His Majesty merely laughed it off, saying he’d just been desperate to survive. He even went and apologized in turn. He said that back in his youth, he’d had no choice but to steal, and reckoned he’d find riches in the palace.”
Noah pondered this. If Faraz’s account was accurate, something didn’t add up.
“And you’re certain he took nothing else from the treasury?” Noah asked.
“Not a single gem was out of place. Now, it’s one thing to think that valuables lie behind a locked door, but why pass up the gold and jewels sitting right there for the taking? Why would a starving lad, driven to thieving just to survive, not take whatever he could?”
It was difficult to explain through mere speculation. However, there was one possibility that made sense.
“He was never after riches to begin with. His only target from the start was the Golden Falcon,” Noah concluded.
“And now the Golden Falcon, which His Majesty finally got his hands on, has gone missing. Without it, this kingdom’ll collapse. The gold’ll run dry, and with it, our supply of water and food.” Faraz’s eyes drifted toward the shelves of wine bottles, but his expression was distant, as though he were staring at something far beyond them. “This kingdom was the late king’s dream. A paradise carved out of the desert, where men like us could make our fortune from treasure created from nothing but the sands.”
Noah listened to Faraz in silence, letting him continue.
“I cannot stand by and watch it all crumble.”
Noah exhaled lightly before reaching for the wine bottle in Faraz’s hand.
“So, finally decided to have a drink, eh?”
“I’m stopping you from drinking any further. There’s more we need to discuss.”
Noah firmly replaced the cork in the bottle, set it back on the shelf, and then turned back to Faraz.
“You suggested that I become your partner in crime, which means you require the authority of the king. In other words, you need me, as his stand-in, to grant you access to something.”
“You know, your princess really is fortunate to have an attendant as clever as you.” Faraz chuckled, idly turning the empty goblet in his hands. “We would make a fine pair of allies, don’t you think? If you grant me your permission as king, I’ll be able to approach the goddess statue, something His Majesty has strictly forbidden. And in turn, you won’t have to keep using your princess as an excuse to visit the statue yourself.”
“Are you implying that when I proposed visiting the statue with Her Highness, and you claimed that ‘His Majesty might return to the palace tonight,’ that was merely a ploy to stop me?”
Faraz had used the same excuse the previous night and the night before. Noah had been suspicious of the convenience of that excuse, yet he had still refrained from visiting the statue. Just as he had thought, those warnings had been lies.
“Well, if you went on a date with your princess, I wouldn’t be able to tag along now, would I?”
Noah scowled at him. Faraz had framed this as a partnership, but in truth, he had been obstructing Noah from the start.
Still, the fact that Faraz was so eager to examine the goddess statue suggested that he, too, was unaware of why Ashbal had forbidden anyone from approaching it. Faraz was seeking answers of his own.
“His Majesty won’t be returning to the palace anytime soon, will he?” Noah asked.
“Don’t worry yourself. I can’t get through to him either. If he’s not planning on coming back for a while, then this is our best chance.”
Noah sighed and turned toward the door.
“Hey, lad...” Faraz began to call after him.
Noah cut him off. “We may as well go now. Before we reach the magicians guarding the statue, you’d best think of an excuse for our presence.”
“Ha! Understood, my liege.”
Noah didn’t bother responding to the flippant remark. Without looking back, he exited through the door, and the two of them made their way to where the goddess statue was housed at the top of the highest tower of the palace.
As expected, the guards opened the doors without issue. After all, to them, Noah looked no different from Ashbal. Faraz did his part and provided a convincing explanation for their visit, ensuring that no strange rumors would reach the true Ashbal’s ears.
The tower looked out on the city and the sky beyond. Nothing obstructed the view.
“Careful now. One wrong step here, and it’s a long way down,” Faraz remarked as he walked toward the point of their visit.
Noah looked at the statue framed by the brilliant blue sky. For a moment, his breath caught.
“Now then, lad. This goddess statue was first brought to the palace by Lady Samira, King Ashbal’s mother. She took it from the ruins of her fallen homeland and placed it in her palace within the harem, treating it as a source of comfort,” Faraz explained. “After taking the throne, His Majesty had it moved here. He would visit it alone, time and time again. Most think he treats it as a memento of his mother, but me? I’ve always thought there was something suspicious about it...”
Faraz’s words barely registered in Noah’s mind. For the moment, his eyes fell upon the statue, and a powerful sense of déjà vu gripped him. The goddess, sculpted by skilled hands, bore a beautiful face that rivaled Claudia’s own.
Who is this woman?
His heartbeat pounded uncomfortably in his chest.
I don’t know this face. And yet, it feels strangely familiar. She resembles someone, but who?
Only one person in the world had ever struck Noah as this beautiful—Claudia. Looking at the statue now, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it bore some resemblance to her.
Could it be Her Highness’s mother?
A troubling possibility took root in his mind. Claudia’s mother, once known as a famed songstress, had died shortly after giving birth.
Why would she be here? And why as a goddess?
Then, something else caught Noah’s eye.
A golden topaz necklace rested upon the statue’s chest, glimmering in the sunlight. Stepping forward, he reached for it—
“Hey, lad! Watch yourself! Who knows what kind of traps that thing’s got in it.”
There’s something odd about this necklace. But I don’t sense a curse.
Just as his fingers brushed against the gemstone, a violent jolt of energy surged through him—like a bolt of lightning.
“Hey!” Faraz lunged forward, grabbing Noah by the shoulder and yanking him back.
Noah managed to erect a barrier in time, but even so, his fingers throbbed from the lingering shock.
“What is this?”
The topaz necklace was protected by an exceptionally powerful barrier. A barrier crafted by a master conjurer.
Noah recalled the words Claudia had once told him in his youth.
“Listen well, Noah. There are two primary functions of a barrier. One is to repel outside threats to protect what lies within. The other is to conceal something from the outside world, or to trap something inside, preventing it from escaping.”
Just as the academy beneath the sea had been shielded from the crushing ocean depths. Just as the harem’s barrier allowed no one to enter and no one to leave.
Barriers did not simply protect. They sealed things away. They hid things.
Which was why he had failed to notice a key detail before.
“Damn it.” Suppressing the urge to curse more, Noah clenched his fist tightly. “Lord Faraz, step back. Do not touch the statue under any circumstances.”
“What’re you getting at, boy?”
Without delay, Noah seized Faraz’s arm and turned back whence they came.
“Hey, what’s gotten into you?”
“The order barring entry to this place must remain in effect. This is not merely a matter of the intruder’s safety. It concerns the lives of everyone in this kingdom.”
“What the hell are you talking about? Explain yourself, lad!”
“Getting you out of here takes priority. We have no time to waste.”
Had teleportation been an option, he would have used it immediately, but that would only draw suspicion from the palace guards. Frustration gnawed at him as he dragged Faraz along, but before leaving, he cast one final glance back at the statue.
That thing is a cursed artifact.
Bound by a barrier, it sat there in plain sight. The golden topaz necklace gleamed ominously, swaying on the chest of the beautiful goddess.