The One and Only Guide - Chapter 24
“Please… I’m begging you. Don’t go.”
“Was it not enough to have kept me locked up in your castle all this time?” she retorted.
“I’ll do anything. Whatever you want, I’ll place it in your hands. Do you want jewels? Or perhaps a dress? If you wish, I’ll build a villa just for you. So please…”
“What I want is a way to go back.”
Axion’s plea broke through as tears finally burst forth, unable to contain themselves at Jian’s firm response. He knew it was pathetic to cling like this, but he couldn’t help it.
“…If you leave, I will die.”
Jian’s eyebrows furrowed at his trembling voice and tears, a resurgence of the sympathy she once felt for the Duke. The growing hesitation was unwelcome, and Axion, seizing the moment, insisted.
“I don’t want to die.”
His near-plea anchored Jian’s feet to the ground. The Guiding she had been consciously blocking began to slip away.
Why did the words she had heard so often in her Guide training echo in her mind right now?
“Espers die without their Guides. Most Guides use this fact as leverage to wield power over Espers. It’s fine to wield that power, as no Esper goes against their Guide’s wishes. But do not wield their lives. At least honor this.”
“Hah…”
A sigh was all that came out. Jian looked down at Axion silently. It was hard to stand properly because of the duke who was hugging his legs tightly
“Let go of this first.”
At Jian’s words, Axion obediently released his arms but could not stop his trembling body. He closed his eyes tightly and bowed his head as if waiting for his fate, thick trails of tears marking his shadowed face.
He appeared either terrified or in a state of panic, perhaps both. It was striking how a man once so imposing could seem so pitiable. It seemed too harsh to press him for a way back right now.
Seeing the state of the Duke, Jian knew she could pry the information out of him anytime she wanted, but it didn’t sit right with her. Pushing someone already psychologically cornered to the brink wasn’t something she was willing to do.
It couldn’t be helped.There would be another opportunity to inquire later. Given the turn of events, it seemed better to ask something the Duke might not divulge at any other moment than this one.
A question had indeed arisen in her mind. What was this hideous truth buried in Odergen? What secret was so dire that he strived so ardently to conceal it? Odergen referred to the name of this castle and also encompassed a larger area in the North. Remembering this, Jian said,
“Tell me the truth buried in Odergen.”
“That is…”
“Tell me.”
Axion hesitated, unable to open his mouth, while Jian waited patiently. It was a brief moment for her but an excruciatingly long time for Axion, akin to a pilgrimage through hell.
After repeatedly opening and closing his lips, Axion gathered the last of his courage and audacity to set a condition.
“…If you promise not to leave, I’ll tell you.”
It was the one condition that could not be conceded. Jian considered for a moment before nodding. Her noncommittal response was because she had no intention of keeping such a promise.
“For now, yes.”
It was an outright lie, but Axion clung to Jian’s half-hearted nod. He had no choice but to believe.
“The first time a Guide appeared in the North… was when the founding patriarch of the Odergen family was ruling over the North. At that time, the North was a small duchy not yet annexed by the Empire. The patriarch was both a king and an Esper. He was made king after annihilating the monsters in the North with his remarkable abilities, but he was dying from a rampage.”
Jian listened intently to the continuing story.
“The patriarch built a temple to escape the agony of his rampage. It was an era when faith was just beginning to emerge. It seems he believed that by dedicating the temple to the goddess of the North, he could be freed from his pain.”
Jian nodded. It was a time rife with superstition. In a harsh environment with monsters, it made sense to believe in a deity, real or not.
“It might be hard to believe, but his choice was correct. A Guide appeared as soon as the temple was completed. According to oral tradition, she appeared suddenly in the middle of the temple.”
“Through a gate, you mean. And then?”
“At first, they thought the goddess of the North had been incarnated. She calmed the patriarch’s rampage and stayed in the North for three years before disappearing. Probably… she returned to her original world.”
“Hmm. So this is the truth Odergen has been hiding. What, is that it?”
Axion silently shook his head. The crucial part of the story was yet to come.
