86. The Path of Loyalty

2023.12.25.

Those who weren’t like that crouched in the corners.

People barely covered at vital spots with enormous leaves, like primitives, clutched the iron bars and shook them, crying out or muttering in different languages.

Clearly, being locked up and collared had driven them mad.

Yuan felt a sudden chill and rubbed her arms.

In contrast, Bollonico seemed accustomed to the sight, naturally leading Yuan to a cylindrical cage in the center of the greenhouse.

There, Yuan saw a bright yellow elephant.

Neatly arranged number boards and picture panels lay around the elephant, which resided in the largest cage in the greenhouse.

“His name is Divo. He’s the smartest creature in this entire greenhouse. He understands human speech to some extent and can distinguish numbers. Even if you shuffle pictures like in a shell game, he can identify the original one. Would you like to see?”

“He looks injured, though.”

“Because he’s intelligent, he’s particularly rebellious. Bollonico personally disciplines him regularly.”

“Is disciplining him beating this child?”

“Beating?”

He frowned, yet his lips stretched widely into a smile as he replied.

“That term is far too barbaric. Bollonico detests such words. This place is wonderful—he lives here loved and cared for. It’s his duty to diligently use his abilities. Bollonico merely guides him in fulfilling that duty.”

‘How much money goes into you and your sister? You have an obligation to use your abilities for our family!’

For a moment, Yuan saw the face of her uncle, Gerret Pelliese, in Bollonico, and her expression darkened.

Suppressing a rising wave of disgust, she extended her hand into the cage toward the yellow elephant.

“Hmph. That beast is very shy. Doing that could be dangerous.”

Bollonico, reaching to pull Yuan’s arm back, suddenly widened his eyes.

The yellow elephant, Divo, whose hind leg bore deep wounds, hesitated briefly, then began limping forward. Soon, the elephant placed its long trunk gently onto Yuan’s hand.

Yuan grasped the soft, warm trunk and shook it up and down like a handshake, absorbing the pain it carried.

She felt a sharp agony, as if her Achilles tendon had been deeply sliced by something razor-edged.

For a moment, the pain nearly made her collapse, but Yuan quickly suppressed it, tightly binding and hiding it so it wouldn’t resurface.

Because there was another human who deserved to feel that pain.

A short while later, Divo raised his trunk high and let out a loud trumpet, then began slowly nudging his body against the metal bars near where Yuan stood.

As if, with the pain gone, the will to escape the cage had suddenly surged within him.

Startled by the sudden commotion, Bollonico stumbled back and quickly rang a bell.

Four or five large keepers rushed over, rubbing bundles of calming herbs against the elephant’s trunk until he settled down.

“You idiot! Did you take away his pain? Why on earth would you do such a thing?”

Bollonico lowered his voice sharply, scolding Yuan.

“You couldn’t even properly take my pain last time!”

“If you keep making me feel uncomfortable like this, my ability won’t work well. It only manifests properly when I’m at ease. What could I do when my power suddenly activated the moment I touched the animal?”

“Anyway! There’s no need to treat these monsters kindly. These creatures are ones Bollonico personally taught who their master is. Doing foolish things like this will only get you hurt, sister-in-law. Understand?”

Bollonico, having seemingly taken Yuan’s words about calmness enabling her power to heart, stopped his ranting but glared at her sharply instead.

After glaring at Yuan for a long while, clearly dissatisfied, Bollonico finally led her toward the back of the greenhouse.

***

Along both sides of the corridor leading from the greenhouse’s rear door to the back of Bollonico’s palace stood large glass display cases instead of birdcages.

Seals of various sizes—from palm-sized to as large as a human head—were elegantly exhibited.

“Do you collect unusual seals as a hobby?”

Bollonico chuckled softly at Yuan’s question and stepped toward the center of the corridor.

His graceful stride, like a dancing performer, was effortlessly light.

“This place is called ‘The Path of Loyalty.’ Along with Bollonico’s Paradise you just saw, this is a path one must pass through to become truly Bollonico’s person. Yes, sister-in-law, you’ve just walked the shortest route to becoming Bollonico’s close confidant.”

Bollonico, who had been sullen until now, gazed lovingly at the seals with the refreshed expression of someone who had just woken up cheerful and content.

“The greenhouse you saw earlier is a space you can enter if you offer something Bollonico finds amusing. This place, however, is a path only those who have offered everything of themselves may pass. It also leads directly to the back entrance of the main palace.”

Yuan silently pondered Bollonico’s words before asking.

“What do you mean by ‘offering everything’?”

“The family’s primary seal. It means offering your entire house.”

Yuan held her breath for a moment and looked around again.

The unusually large and ornate seals weren’t chosen by Bollonico merely for their designs.

What was a family’s primary seal?

It was the very symbol of a noble house.

Important documents such as wills or those determining a family’s fate were not stamped with the small portable seals nobles carried in their jacket pockets, but with the primary seal.

These were usually kept hidden in the lord’s study or within a safe in a secret vault.

To entrust that seal to another—what did it mean?

It was nothing less than a fanatical oath of loyalty, surrendering the fate of one’s entire house to that person.

“These are seals personally offered on bended knee by the heads of houses within the Euphris family who support Bollonico.”

At Bollonico’s proud tone, Yuan felt a sudden, electric thrill.

The fact that houses so loyal they entrusted their primary seals to Bollonico filled these display cases meant they were very likely the ones obstructing Clade Euphris from reemerging into the outside world.

If she could open the cases, record each seal’s owner, and compile a list, she could eliminate every single threat standing in Clade’s way—permanently.

Looking closer, she spotted several houses she’d seen in the procession of gifts at the Empress’s palace.

Some seals were displayed upside down to show their base clearly, while others with particularly beautiful handles remained upright. It was regrettable, but still, what did it matter?

To have found such a swift method.

Yuan pressed her hand firmly over her pounding heart. Hiding her trembling voice, she asked Bollonico as calmly as possible.

“I’ve already offered an ability that might amuse His Highness. So must I steal the Pelliese family’s primary seal and bring it to you in order to walk this ‘Path of Loyalty’?”

“The Pelliese seal is already here.”

Bollonico proudly pulled her forward and stopped at a certain spot.

Indeed, the Pelliese family’s primary seal, unseen for who knows how long, was displayed alongside a crystal-made decorative flower.

‘Damn you, Gerret Pelliese.’

Yuan gritted her teeth in silent despair.

So that was it.

No wonder her uncle had seemed to fear and guard against Bollonico far more than necessary.

Bollonico meticulously maintained an outward image that only his inner circle could see through.

In the past, before experiencing Bollonico herself, Yuan had never understood her uncle’s behavior.

‘He must have already secretly offered the family long ago.’

Though she had severed all emotional ties to the Pelliese family long ago, bitterness still rose in her mouth.

Her parents had devoted every moment of their lives, as far as Yuan remembered, to the Pelliese name.

If they were to see the Pelliese family displayed here like a trophy, they would surely collapse from grief.

Gerret Pelliese had handed over the Pelliese legacy—built by generations of ancestors through sweat and blood—into the hands of this deranged prince.

Perhaps every noble who had brought their primary seal to Bollonico now lived each day like Gerret Pelliese, walking on thin ice with their oath of loyalty.

“You seem moved by these, sister-in-law.”

Seeing Yuan’s flushed face, Bollonico bragged smugly.

“Of course. It’s truly magnificent. The determination of these loyal houses is extraordinary.”

Yuan replied quickly. She desperately wanted to identify every single seal owner.

Yuan Pelliese’s purpose in willingly stepping into this grotesque paradise now lay fully revealed before her in the glass cases called ‘The Path of Loyalty.’

Yuan’s darkened eyes swept slowly over the row of seals, as if they welcomed her, then settled on Bollonico, who stood with his chest proudly puffed out.

Unaware of Yuan’s true intentions, Bollonico smiled, his lips curling wider.

Yuan gladly met his slick smile with one of her own.

“Since I’ve come this far, Bollonico, I won’t let you be the only one destroyed.”

Yuan Pelliese had come this far with one unwavering resolve: to eliminate every enemy of Clade Euphris while she still lived.

At that thought, retreat was no longer an option.

***

Yuan reluctantly gazed at the tightly locked display cases, listening carefully to Bollonico.

Bollonico made a painstaking effort to describe in detail how deeply each house head had bowed their head when presenting their seal.

He probably assumed Yuan would recognize the famous family crests and whispered these names with pride, but most of the names were unfamiliar to her.

This was due to her past twenty years, during which she had taken no part in any social activities.

Among the names Bollonico casually mentioned, the only ones that caught Yuan’s attention were those who had attended the wedding celebration as Emperor’s closest allies.

They had bowed deeply before the masked Clade, yet their downward-turned faces had overflowed with the ease of victors.

Perhaps they were the very ones who had once swung their swords alongside Emperor Igor to seize the throne.