The chandelier was carefully disconnected, and a group of guards carried it out of the chamber. Once it was gone, Bernard’s worried expression eased just a bit.
“Phew. I think we were right, and something had been done to that chandelier. The feeling of wrongness is gone now.”
“I suppose that’s because once the chandelier was disconnected from the ceiling, it’s no longer a part of the room?” Samael speculated, and Bernard nodded.
Officials were running around, rushing to arrange for a replacement chandelier to be installed as quickly as possible. The dangerous articles had been removed, but that didn’t change how busy the staff from the Ceremony Coordination Division were. Faceless employees in purple uniforms bustled in and out of the ceremonial chamber, busy as bees.
“Ophie, we’re just in the way here, so let’s head back.” Bernard offered his hand to Ophelia, but she couldn’t grab onto it. “Ophelia? Your hand…”
At her side, Claudio immediately noticed the problem.
Ophelia’s hand was trembling when Bernard grabbed it. A moment later, her legs felt like they were about to give out, so Ophelia hurried to sit down right there on the floor. When she stretched her legs out in front of her, it was easy to see that they were shaking faintly.
“Ohhh! Wh-Why?! I still haven’t stopped shaking…”
“O-Ophie, it’s not the building anymore,” Bernard said. “I don’t feel anything.”
Claudio, who’d been listening to the siblings’ conversation, clicked his tongue and then grabbed Ophelia’s arm, forcefully yanking her to her feet.
“Eep! D-Director?!”
“There’s only one place in this entire room that we haven’t searched yet.” Claudio tugged on Ophelia’s arm, snatching her away from Bernard, and without hesitation, he walked with sure and steady strides. Bernard and Bruno followed closely behind them.
At the front of the chamber, up a short staircase consisting of just two steps, sat the altar. Four guards were positioned on the raised dais, and at the very back, there was a podium with a long, thin box sitting unassumingly on top.
When they saw Claudio charging up the stairs, the soldiers unconsciously braced themselves for an attack. Once they recognized him as the king’s brother, relief flashed across their faces, but then their eyebrows drew together in confusion.
“Have you guys been here the whole time?” As Claudio said this, he removed his hand from Ophelia’s arm. Her shaking, which had lessened considerably, slowly returned.
Claudio took his time looking at each guard’s face in turn. After a moment, what appeared to be the oldest of the guards spoke.
“Yes, sir. We’ve been in this spot ever since the holy remains were carried in.”
“Without changing shifts?”
“That’s correct, sir. Shift change is scheduled for two hours from now.”
“And no one came up here? Did anyone touch the holy remains?”
“No, sir. Officials and soldiers have been coming in and out of the room, but no one has approached the altar besides yourselves.”
Claudio glanced covertly over at Ophelia and saw that, although she was still shaking, she faintly shook her head. These guards weren’t lying.
“D-Director, um… I don’t want to believe it, but…”
“Yeah, I have a feeling we’re both thinking the same thing.”
Ophelia folded her shaking hands together as if praying and squeezed her eyes shut. Perhaps because her arms were locked in place and couldn’t move, her knees began shaking instead. Suspicious expressions came over the guards’ faces, and they braced themselves again.
“Damn it! The holy remains were already replaced with a fake before they arrived here?!” Claudio pushed past one of the guards and reached out toward the box containing the holy remains. “What are you doing?! It doesn’t matter if you are the king’s brother, you can’t…!”
“D-D-Director! Stop!”
“You stay quiet and watch from over there!”
Claudio shook off the guard who reached out to stop him and threw open the box’s lid, revealing a mass of thin, discolored fabric within, just like the one at the art museum. Without hesitating, Claudio reached for the cloth and pulled it back.
“Ahh!”
Ophelia reflexively covered her eyes with her hands. It didn’t matter how old they might be or whose bones they allegedly were—scary things were scary! She would’ve loved nothing more than to race from the room that instant, but her shaking legs couldn’t carry her a single step.
“…What’s this…?”
The guard was the first to speak.
Still holding onto one end of the cloth, Claudio narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. “A bunch of sticks. Relatively fresh ones, by my estimation.”
Claudio swept his hand forward, shaking the cloth, and thin sticks fell out, clattering as they rolled across the floor. Claudio’s face twisted at the sight of the familiar-looking sticks.
“Huh?” Ophelia peered out from between her fingers to look at the fallen sticks, and her shaking suddenly stopped, all at once.
As one, all of the guards’ heads snapped up, and they began to panic.
“Remain on guard here until you receive orders from me. You’re not to tell anyone about this,” Claudio ordered the guards, while simultaneously scooping up the sticks and chucking them haphazardly back into the box.
After confirming that the guards, despite their uncertain expressions, had all nodded, Claudio turned and took Ophelia by the arm. “Come on, we’re going.”
“Huh? G-Going where?”
Without bothering to respond, Claudio ran from the ceremonial chamber, dragging Ophelia by the arm. He shoved Ophelia into a waiting carriage, climbed in behind her, and shut the door.
“To the Royal Residence. The Golden Lotus gate is fine.”
After barking out instructions to the driver, Claudio leaned back into the seat and closed his eyes. Noting his crossed arms and irritable mood, Ophelia did her best to fade into the background, becoming as unobtrusive as possible and simply waiting for the carriage to reach its destination.
Once the scenery stopped rolling by outside the window, Claudio grabbed Ophelia again and climbed out of the carriage.
In front of them loomed a relatively small but ornately engraved arching gateway set over a large, sturdy door. Three gatekeepers slouched against the door, looking bored, but as soon as they realized that the person approaching was Claudio, they snapped to attention, making way and opening the door. Claudio half-dragged Ophelia as she hurried to keep up, her gaze wandering around curiously. A group of maids lowered their gazes and curtsied when they spotted Claudio.
“U-Um, Director, is this…?”
“Oh, right, you’ve probably never been here before, huh? The Golden Lotus Gate is essentially reserved exclusively for the royal family’s private use.”
“What?! Th-Th-Then I really shouldn’t be here…!”
“You’re with me, so it’s fine. More importantly, can’t you walk any faster?”
“This is my maximum speed!”
Claudio clicked his tongue irritably, then suddenly stopped, snaked his left arm around Ophelia’s waist, and picked her up, carrying her under his arm like a child.
“Eek! Please stop! Everyone is looking!”
“Too bad! It’s your own fault for being so slow!”
Claudio set off running, carrying Ophelia. All the maids whom they passed bowed their heads and curtsied, but they raised their curious eyes to watch them go. More than one minister tried to speak to Claudio, only to be completely ignored. Palace guards were startled by the commotion as they blew past.
“Ahhh! P-Please, slow down!”
“Deal with it!”
“Where are we goooing?!”
“To His Majesty’s study. I have a feeling the pope is there.”
“Ahhh! You’ve got to be kidding! Wh-Why do I have to come too?!”
“Shut up, will you?! You’re going to bite your tongue!”
“Mmf!”
Claudio raced up the stairs, clutching Ophelia, who had both hands clasped over her mouth and was kicking her legs uselessly. Before the guards had time to stop him, he kicked open the door at the far end of the hall.