Chapter Eighty: Two Descendants of the Wagtail Priestess
THERE was still no sign of a rescue team.
It had gotten so dark that we couldn’t even discern each other’s faces, so I decided to light a magical fire on my palm.
The rules of magic dictated that nothing could come out of nothing, so I couldn’t just manifest one out of thin air. I struck rocks against each other and amplified the sparks, which I used to burn my handkerchief, transforming it into a small bird of fire. The flame wagtail flickered in the air before flapping its wings and soaring upward to light the whole space.
As I gazed at the wagtail, in a voice that was almost a whisper, I murmured, “It does not add up.”
“Hm?” Lord Hiaki raised his head. The bright crimson of the flames danced in his large red eyes like fireworks.
“I am talking about what you said earlier. You are a man of noble upbringing. If I marry you, my child will belong to the Gou clan.”
“Yeah.”
“Currently, I am merely the Wagtail Priestess without any additional titles, which is why even the residents of this island received me with hospitality. But if I marry into the Gou clan, I will—no, the Wagtail Priestess will be affiliated with your family, an influential household in Orient.”
He stared at me, listening attentively.
“If I marry you, you claim that I can offer my prayers and blessings to assuage those forsaken by the emperor, but that isn’t entirely correct, is it? No matter whom I eventually marry, I will likely lose that right due to my new status.”
Lord Hiaki was silent—and his silence said “Yes.”
I clasped my hands together. “The emperor is aware of that fact, which is exactly why he chose to send me to this island now. As the deity of this empire, he cannot absolve the sins of their blood. Instead, he would grant them the forgiveness of the Wagtail Priestess.”
He inclined his head slightly and waited for me to go on.
“That is why your claim earlier does not add up,” I concluded. “Hypothetically speaking, no matter whom I marry between the two of you, I will no longer be able to pacify the spirits—both living and dead—on this island.”
I fixed my eyes on him. “Furthermore, Lord Hiaki. This is just a guess, but you have other marriage candidates, do you not?”
“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow, eyes gleaming as if he had found a new toy. “Who might it be, then? Tell me.”
“Someone from Meridiona.”
He stilled. Although he continued to smile, he looked as if he’d been caught totally off guard. “What…led you to that conclusion?”
“During the period when the emperor escorted the Wagtail Priestess from Centoria, you were sent on an expedition to Meridiona—you, who also has the blood of the Wagtail Priestess in your veins. It was almost like a declaration that Orient cannot leave the priestess in Centoria’s hands but trusts Meridiona to take good care of our kind.” In other words, the Orient Empire had used the lineage of the Wagtail Priestess as a tool to accomplish two aims: one was to form an amicable relationship with Meridiona and the other was to rein in Centoria.
Lord Hiaki was silent once again.
I persisted with that train of thought, assuming that my theory was mostly correct. “At first glance, the union of two descendants of the Wagtail Priestess appears to be the most fitting choice for the sake of our bloodline. To Orient, however, the existence of the Wagtail Priestess is a political trump card. Using both of us in the same place seems far from ideal, at least in my opinion.”
“The Gou clan’s influence would increase, though,” he reminded me.
“That is meaningless.” I shook my head. “Within Orient’s borders, the authority of the Gou clan is so absolute that there is no need to increase it further—there are better things to invest your efforts in. Moreover, if you truly wished to select a spouse from Orient, you would not choose someone without political backing like me. It would be wiser to marry a member of another powerful noble family. After all, you already possess my most valuable asset—the blood of the priestess.”
“Good point.”
“My knowledge about Meridiona is limited, I admit, yet as far as I know, its current sovereign, King Kuze Ikinoka, is a young monarch who ascended to the throne only a few years ago. In addition, I hear that he does not hail from any of the ancient and prestigious clans in Meridiona but was actually once a commoner who accumulated riches through maritime trade,” I said, recalling what I remembered about the nation. “In that case, he would wish for a union with an established bloodline to legitimize his authority as king to both domestic and international parties.”
And if he’s seeking ancient blood, the best candidate is… I nodded to myself. “For example, the marriage of a woman from the Ikinoka family and a member of the Gou clan who has inherited the blood of the Wagtail Priestess—an entity whom Orient holds in high regard—would be well worth celebrating.”
“Sai.” Lord Hiaki finally cut into my long-winded speculation. The friendly smile that he reserved for women and children had been wiped from his face. “There’s a vital piece missing from your theory. What’s in it for us? What will I, the Gou clan, or Orient gain from closer ties with Meridiona?”
“Plenty.” I folded my fingers down as I listed the benefits I could think of. “To begin with, Meridionan merchants export precious raw ingredients used in medicine. The medicine industry is Orient’s main source of income, and those ships are your lifelines. To the Gou clan, gaining such connections is vital.”
“What’s the second?”
“If Orient establishes a good relationship with Meridiona…Centoria, which is situated between the two countries, will be deterred from mobilizing their military against Orient.” I paused. “During the reign of the emperor from two generations ago, there was tension between Centoria and Orient, correct? To relieve that tension, Orient provided generous humanitarian aid and lost Sekirei Prefecture in the process. If we want to avoid a repeat of history, a political marriage with Meridiona is the best solution.”
I had spoken too much; my throat felt parched. Lord Hiaki remained quiet as I stopped to catch my breath
I inhaled. “You do not agree with such a marriage or perhaps even want to go against it. But…” I trailed off. My imagination and deduction had reached their limits. “What I do not know is why. That is all—”
He interrupted me. “How much do you know?”
“I do not know anything,” I confessed. “This is all conjecture.”
His eyes widened and he gaped at me in surprise. Then he shook his head with an ironic smile as if to say, “Oh well.”
“It’s my loss,” he conceded.
“That means…”
“You’re completely right. Some people are trying to set me up with a princess of Meridiona. The king over there’s obsessed with the blood of the Wagtail Priestess. And…do you know why?”
“…I have to admit, that is what I do not understand.” I voiced my doubts honestly: “It makes sense for them to set their sights on a bloodline important to Orient. But if they specifically asked for the Wagtail Priestess… I am having a hard time trying to deduce the reason.”
I knew why Orient placed so much importance on the Wagtail Priestess. Meridiona, however, was a faraway land with a different culture and language. Why would their king be so obsessed, then?
He chuckled at the puzzlement on my face. “Sai, you probably don’t know this, but the Wagtail Priestess is respected and loved in Meridiona. That’s why their attitude is much milder toward me—just because I’m descended from the Wagtail Priestess.”
“Why…?”
“I’m sure you’ll arrive at the answer once you give it a bit more thought.” He paused. “What were your parents like? Where and how did they pass away?”