147.

The sky began to turn red. The sun was setting, and slowly a pale moon was emerging through the clouds. Even from afar, one could see the wicked flower joyfully unfurling its bud. Tonight, under the light of the full moon, it would finally bloom.

“Twenty years. A full twenty years.”

Audrey Young-ae gazed out the window with a pleased expression. The dark violet flowers in the garden and the endless line of carriages stretching from the city’s second gate to the entrance of the imperial palace were clearly visible. The carriages resembled fireflies rushing heedlessly toward their deaths. Ro rubbed her damp palms against her skirt and pressed insistently.

“I want an explanation. How exactly can you become a goddess?”

“Why should I tell you?”

“You’re going to die anyway. Might as well satisfy my curiosity before I go.”

Audrey sneered, but true to her nature as a vain and prideful spirit, she obediently answered.

“Clear water mixed with the sap of a flower that feeds on human flesh is required for the ritual. Into it, I must place a part of what I value most, along with a pure physical body.”

The words alone sounded horrifying. Ro feigned composure.

“Originally, your body would have needed a hundred days of purification. But because Léa disturbed things, we had to rush. A hundred days of ‘emptiness’ would have made the body even more purified. Unfortunately, we have no choice now. We can’t wait hundreds of years again—especially not another twenty-year window when the timing aligns.”

“Hundreds of years… and only twenty years?”

“A span of suffering no mere human could imagine. Most importantly, I found the seed of that flower ten years ago and quietly planted it in the palace. In my son’s greenhouse.”

“…….”

“At first, I thought the seed was dead. Who would have known the shell was so hard it would take six years to sprout, and another year feeding on human flesh as fertilizer? Still, my son was obedient and blindly followed my words.”

A greenhouse? And in the palace? Ro briefly tried to recall Audrey’s past as the wife of the palace gardener, but no matter how hard she thought, the image wouldn’t form clearly. In any case, it seemed Audrey had been clinging to the palace for over twenty years—like a leech, sucking every drop of nourishment.

“I promised him the highest throne among humans. A god’s promise must be kept. Well, what does it matter if an old man dies?”

“Then wouldn’t it be better to just pose as a divine punishment?”

“Child, are you joking?”

“…….”

“If I interfere in the human world after becoming a goddess, I’d be judged by the laws of causality again. It’s better that human affairs be resolved by human hands.”

Audrey rarely considered her listener, and her conversational topics jumped abruptly with her mood, making her a poor companion. Yet from the fragments she dropped… Ro could faintly piece together the full picture.

“Oh, people are already starting to gather. The ritual isn’t far off. The moment they look up at me in awe—I can hardly wait.”

Audrey even smacked her lips, as if the mere thought made her mouth water.

“Follow me. But….”

Ro’s heart sank when she saw Audrey’s eyes narrow upon spotting the scabbard in her hand. Had she realized this was Calypso’s box?

“What exactly is that filthy thing in your hand?”

“It’s just… a scabbard. It’s empty.”

Audrey narrowed her eyes and snatched the scabbard from Ro’s hand. She then opened the box herself and peered inside. Would she recognize it? Was she about to discover this was Calypso’s box she had hidden? Ro’s heart pounded rapidly, perhaps from the guilt of lying. But soon, Audrey tossed the box aside indifferently, as if she had lost interest.

“Leave it with the maid. Before you throw it away.”

“I will.”

Ro hastily picked up Calypso’s box and handed it to Anna. Judging from Audrey’s expression, she had no idea what the box truly was. When Ro complied, Audrey softened and spoke gently.

“Let’s go.”

Ro followed behind Audrey. The people they met in the corridor seemed like wandering spirits without bodies.

“Will they live like this for the rest of their lives?”

“Maybe, maybe not. It depends on how long they were exposed.”

“…….”

“They might recover if given the proper antidote.”

Audrey answered casually, as if she were utterly confident that no matter what she revealed now, nothing could be changed. When they reached the banquet hall’s entrance, Audrey commanded loudly.

“Enough pointless questions. Now, go inside.”

Ro was pushed by Audrey’s hand into the banquet hall. The scene that greeted her… was utterly bizarre. In the center of the lavishly decorated hall lay a red carpet, with nobles and attendants lined up on either side. No one spoke. Even the orchestra, which should have been essential at a ball, stood frozen, silent. As if they were puppets in a puppet show, waiting for someone to announce the curtain had risen. Had Audrey or the crown prince carefully selected which nobles could enter the hall?

At the front center of the hall stood a massive altar. Ro realized how foolish she had been to think the ritual would take place merely on a terrace. Clearly, Audrey had never intended to hide this ritual. On the altar rested something like a giant basin.

A vessel made of bluish mineral, large enough to hold twenty people easily. Ro realized this basin was made from the same mineral Nick had traded with Tilsen.

Beneath the basin stood the emperor’s throne, and at the foot of the throne crouched an old, withered man. Ro was shocked to recognize the man’s face—it was identical to the one engraved on the gold coins circulating in the market. Could this wretched man really be the emperor? But then again, what did it matter? If she didn’t stop Audrey here, everyone would end up just like him.

Would Cardier arrive in time? Ro gripped her trembling arm tightly with her other hand. The crown prince had just descended from the dais and was approaching them.

“Mother.”

Ro stared back and forth between Audrey Young-ae and the crown prince in shock. Mother? Could it be that the son’s palace…? Then was Audrey Young-ae the empress who, twenty years ago, had bewitched the emperor? One shock followed another. But Audrey paid no attention to Ro’s astonishment, gracefully accepting the crown prince’s escort as she ascended the altar.

“Are we ready?”

“Everything is perfect. We’ve brought water drawn at the exact time and place you specified.”

The crown prince pointed at the basin. True to his words, the basin was filled with clear water.

“The knights will bring the flower shortly… Ah, here they come now.”

At that moment, an overwhelmingly thick fragrance wafted through the air, so intense it felt impossible to breathe. Ro’s eyes stung painfully, and her breath choked as if she had inhaled acrid smoke. Without realizing it, she had dropped to her knees, tears, snot, and even drool streaming down her face. The crown prince recoiled in terror, while Audrey merely laughed aloud.

“This flower’s poison is so potent, even this child’s aura struggles to suppress it.”

“That’s… impossible.”

“Look at them. In just one week, their souls have completely vanished. They respond when spoken to, but it’s no different from livestock reacting reflexively to a whip. This flower has grown strong and healthy indeed.”

Knights ascended the altar, carrying the cut flower on a large tray. Up close, the scent was sickly sweet, like the rotting stench of decayed flesh.

“Now, let’s see.”

As Audrey sliced the petals with a knife, thick sap oozed from the cut surface. Audrey squeezed every last drop without wasting a single drop into the water of the basin. Where the blood-colored sap touched, the water began to turn an eerie milky white. After exhausting all the flower’s sap, Audrey submerged her hands into the basin and chanted an incantation for a long while.

“Diego. Come here.”

Finally rising from her seat, she beckoned the crown prince. In Audrey’s hand was a finely sharpened dagger. The crown prince now looked truly afraid.

“You must not forget your promise to grant me the throne.”

“Of course not. How could I? What mother would ever harm her own child?”

Audrey’s voice was sweet as honey. Ro knew many people who spoke like this—when deceiving others with lies, when seizing unfair gains, or when coveting something beyond their station. Ro thought Audrey resembled the most wicked flower: seemingly beautiful, even alluring on the outside, but utterly poisonous within.

Yet this time, at least, Audrey’s words proved true. She merely cut a small lock of the crown prince’s hair short. A wound formed during the process, causing blood to flow, but… in any case, he remained alive. When she dropped the hair into the basin, the water rippled violently and began changing color once more—into a deep, dark navy, like the night sea.

“Finally.”

Audrey trembled, her voice quivering with extreme ecstasy.

“The age of Scylla shall dawn!”