The Flower of Destiny
“Isn’t this flower pretty?”
Since it was a flower, Amalfi, the princess of Floria, couldn’t simply pass it by and approached Nefetia. Sitting side by side, Amalfi flipped the petals this way and that while offering various explanations.
“Strangely enough, this flower’s petals change into various colors on nights when the full moon rises. No one knows what color it will become.”
“Wow.”
“And in Floria, we call this flower the ‘Flower of Fate.’ It’s a rare flower that’s hard to see, and there’s a legend that if lovers kiss when this flower blooms, they’ll stay together forever.”
“Flower of Fate?”
Nefetia lifted her head sharply. In the moment their gazes suddenly met, Arkin flinched and stiffened. Her golden eyes lingered on Arkin for a brief instant before naturally dropping back to the flower.
Arkin watched Nefetia’s slender fingers gently stroking the delicate stem of the yellow flower, then turned his head away. His heart beat a little faster.
A gentle breeze blew, but as noon approached, the sunlight grew hotter. Having climbed up and down the sloped island since early morning, everyone was exhausted.
“I’m tired.”
When Amalfi whined that her legs hurt, Zafiri quickly extended his hand to her.
“Legs hurting? Want me to hold your hand?”
Amalfi’s eyes widened as her face flushed red. Despite Seneca’s warnings, the prince of the Vine Kingdom, who dressed as he pleased, was smiling now with his bronzed upper body fully exposed.
“Stop it. I’ll take Amalfi.”
Petra quickly intervened between them, politely but firmly pushing away Zafiri’s hand and instead supporting Amalfi.
“Aigoo, this is exhausting.”
“Seneca, how much farther do we have to climb?”
The trainees were growing tired one by one. Panting breaths could be heard here and there. The only ones maintaining their pace without much effort seemed to be Arkin, Draconis, Petra, and Zafiri. Arkin glanced over his shoulder to find Nefetia.
Though she was a bit behind, Nefetia seemed to be holding up fine. Her long hair was tied up in a single ponytail.
“Now, this is truly the last stop.”
The place they arrived at was surrounded by tall shrub hedges tangled in all directions. The inside was hard to see because of the intricately intertwined branches. The priest didn’t let them in, saying the maze couldn’t be opened yet as it was still under maintenance.
“This is the ‘Death Maze,’ said to have no end. In the past, the remains of beasts that couldn’t escape and died were scattered everywhere. Of course, there were people too.”
“You’re saying you’ll let us into a place like that?”
Kaichen frowned, unable to believe Seneca’s words.
“Of course, such things don’t happen now. I guarantee your safety. The details later…”
“You guarantee our safety? Only if you’re trustworthy. I can’t trust the words coming out of your mouth.”
A sharply pointed voice cut through the air. The one who stepped forward, glaring at the priest with cool eyes, was Serena, the princess of Lakelium. Since she rarely spoke, most looked at Serena with puzzled eyes.
“Seneca, there’s something I want to ask you.”
Serena approached the priest with straight steps, raised her head upright, and questioned the large priest.
“Don’t beat around the bush and answer clearly. Even if it’s for the education of monarchs, it’s hard to understand going through such a dangerous process. Did our homelands agree to this training content? Really?”
“Hmm.”
The priest looked down at the small princess and smirked as if it was ridiculous. Perhaps because of the long scar across his cheek, his expression looked particularly sinister.
“Let me put it this way. Everything that happens on our island during the training period is kept strictly confidential. Also, each kingdom has fully entrusted us with the care of you, their precious children.”
“What if you have other schemes and plan to cut off the bloodlines of the allied kingdoms? Won’t we die helplessly on this island without any defense?”
“Good heavens, you have quite the imagination. Is this the quality of a bard?”
In the end, the priest burst into loud laughter, “Puhaha!” But the only one laughing out loud in this place was him alone. No one around Seneca and Serena could laugh.
“I understand. My attitude and everything must seem displeasing to you. Isn’t that right?”
The priest didn’t bother hiding his displeasure. With a cold expression, he took out a large parchment scroll from his bosom. Holding it in one hand, he tore off the seal in one go, and the rolled document unraveled and rolled out.
Strangely, from the scroll that didn’t look very thick or heavy, documents kept lengthening endlessly and flowed out. Even the rolled parchment couldn’t withstand the speed of unrolling and its end began rolling down the hill. Seneca’s voice flowed over the scroll rolling down.
“Leaving such precious children, the heirs to each kingdom’s throne, on this unfamiliar island for six months is something that couldn’t be done without considerable trust. However…”
The priest turned his head toward Princess Serena and spoke warningly.
“The World Alliance is a very ancient community. The ten ancestors hoped only that the promise of peace would be firmly maintained, and in the process of that agreement, our Credo Island, a neutral region, was designated as a symbol of harmony. When the ten countries gathered in the Silence Forest to perform the sacred oath ceremony, they used this very scroll.”
The document filled with tiny writing was spread messily on the ground like a snake’s shed skin. It was a volume that seemed to span at least a hundred years.
“If you look closely, the contract details of past training competitions, the training contents, and the tests the trainees took are all detailed. If you wish to read the full contract, I’ll show it to you anytime, so just say the word. It would take a week to read it all.”
Seneca, as if that was enough, placed his other hand on the scroll and flicked his finger. In an instant, the pouring documents stopped abruptly, and the scroll rod trembled and twisted sharply. It soon began rewinding the document with astonishing force.
“Each country has always trusted the priests of Credo Island and sent their precious children. We priests are only fulfilling that sacred duty.”
The parchment wriggled like waves. The end of the parchment document that had fallen down the hill rolled up and flew like an arrow toward the priest’s palm, then with a “chap” sound, regained its original shape.
Seneca, who leisurely put away the scroll, grinned and looked around.
“You will never be in danger or have your safety threatened during this training process. Any more questions?”
The princess of Lakelium chewed her tightly closed lips and blushed. As Serena returned to her place, the priest looked around at the trainees.
“Now that the island tour is over, let’s have lunch in the shade before it gets hotter.”
The midday sun’s light was piercing the ground like arrows. The sunlight was so hot that the group naturally split into several groups to find shade.
Workers who had climbed the hill just in time left simple meal baskets. It was a modest meal not much different from the first one they had. Wine diluted with water, coarse flat bread, a few slices of goat cheese, and figs.
“How come the food keeps getting worse?”
Kaichen grumbled. The prince of Voltrion lifted a piece of cheese and examined it against the sunlight with a frown.
“In our kingdom, this wouldn’t even be used as horse feed.”
“Then starve. At least there are figs.”
Petra, sitting next to Arkin, snapped bluntly. The princess of Stonegard tore off a piece of bread and chewed it without complaining. It was a different attitude from the first day when she grumbled about the lack of meat.
Arkin moistened his throat with wine and looked around. It wasn’t much different from the dining hall scene on the first day. Draconis and Kaichen sat side by side, Zafiri and Nefetia were on the other side sharing their own conversation. Amalfi, Stella, and Serena were in one group. Arkin, Elio, and Petra formed another.
“I hate those two the most.”
Petra poked Arkin’s side. Who? As he raised his head, she subtly pointed at Draconis and Kaichen.
Ah. Arkin nodded instead of answering, taking her side. Petra, who had popped a piece of bread into her mouth and was chewing, continued.
“And those two over there… even though they’re laughing, they’re the type you don’t want to easily befriend? They’re a bit strange, aren’t they?”
Arkin’s eyebrows slightly furrowed. She was referring to the prince of the Vine Kingdom with his chest boldly exposed and Nefetia casually chatting beside him.