Chương 468: Chapter 463 - The line

"If you will excuse me, Deacon, I need to take a brief recess," Scarlett said, placing her glass of wine into Raimond's hand.

"A recess?" The man's mask dipped slightly as he accepted the glass.

"Ah, I see. Well, don't let me keep you, Baroness. Nature humbles us all."

"…Yes. Precisely." Scarlett stepped past him, but paused long enough to glance back over her shoulder.

"If possible, inform our mutual acquaintance that I would be glad to speak with her after the declarations have been made before His Majesty."

"I'll see what I can do. Though, if I might ask, what do you intend to say if certain individuals start wondering why the much-discussed Baroness Hartford has been missing for too long?"

"I can assure you that will not prove an issue. As I said, I am only taking a brief recess." With that, she left him and the terrace behind, stopping one of the available attendants for directions before taking one of the side exits out of the garden hall and making her way towards the ladies' restroom. There were several palace attendants and guards posted along the corridors she passed through, but very few guests.

When Scarlett reached the restroom—which was a marvel of opulence, all gold filigree, crystal chandeliers, polished mirrors, and small private 'retiring chambers', as Scarlett knew some of the noble ladies called them—she found it empty save for a woman in the palace's bronze-gold servant attire. The woman stood before one of the mirrors, studying her own appearance with a cold expression.

She had a narrow face, pale grey eyes, and dark hair pinned tightly behind her head, with the kind of severe look that would have made most people think twice before asking her for help. Scarlett walked up beside her, stopping in front of another mirror fixed above a shallow basin of white stone. Water poured in a constant stream from a pair of dragon-necked bronze spouts, filling the room with a faint, cool murmur. A clean floral scent drifted through the space as Scarlett's eyes settled on the woman's reflection.

"I do not take kindly to being subjected to this sort of indignity," the woman said, not looking away from the mirror. She plucked at the sleeve of her servant uniform with one hand, a slight curl of disgust pulling at her lips.

"This hardly amounts to indignity," Scarlett replied in the same flat tone.

"If anything, I thought you would appreciate the chance to relive the habits of your old memories and fraternise with high society once more. This time under the pretext of a name that has earned considerably more respect than it had back then." The woman's eyes lifted to Scarlett's in the mirror. Then she clicked her tongue.

"I presume you have already confirmed that no one else is nearby," Scarlett said.

"I have." The woman flicked one hand dismissively.

"Any other insipid questions you wish for me to answer?"

"Certainly, but I will save those for later, when we have the time."

"Naturally." Scarlett turned, and the woman mirrored her, holding out one hand with her palm up. A dagger materialised in her grasp, its leather-bound hilt flanked by two silver prongs. The blade was etched with thin, curling markings, and a violet gem pulsed faintly from the crossguard.

"I expect to have this returned within the hour," the woman said.

"One hour will be more than enough." Scarlett reached out and took the dagger. [Memory of the Covenant (Unique)] {A remnant of a covenant once formed, remembering the connections that bind} Just as the item description appeared, the woman's appearance changed as if a veil had been pulled away from her skin. Suddenly, Scarlett was looking at a one-to-one likeness of herself dressed in palace servant attire, frowning back at her with visible irritation.

"That woman was Ilona Hartford, our great-great-great-grandmother's cousin," the other Scarlett said.

"An impression of her remains in the dagger, so it shouldn't be difficult for you to find her."

"I see." Scarlett channelled mana into the dagger. A moment later, she felt her own appearance shift. When she looked into the mirror, the face staring back at her was the same one the other Scarlett had worn when she walked into the room. A narrow-faced palace servant with pale grey eyes, tightly pinned dark hair, and nothing at all that connected her to Baroness Hartford.

"Take these," the other Scarlett said. She retrieved a thin pouch from somewhere in her servant jacket and pulled out a tightly folded bundle that appeared to be another set of the same bronze-gold palace attire. Scarlett accepted the clothes, then used the [Charm of Apperception] to swap out of her gown and into the servant uniform before studying herself in the mirror. She somewhat understood her counterpart's distaste.

While she was sure it wasn't as bad for her, there was an instinctive discomfort in wearing clothes like this. Especially after growing so used to attire that made her status obvious at a glance. The feeling was ridiculous, of course. Yet another leftover of the original that she probably wouldn't ever manage to get rid of completely. She smothered the instinct and turned back to her counterpart, bringing out the gown, jewellery, and other pieces for the woman to take.

"I assume you are capable of dressing yourself." The other Scarlett eyed the bundle before accepting it with one hand. With the other, she produced a round metal sphere, small enough to fit in Scarlett's palm, its surface covered in fine seams and shallow engravings that wrapped around it in layered rings.

"This is yours as well," she said. Scarlett received it with a raised brow.

"And this is?"

"Something that woman insisted would save you time. I did not bother asking."

"Very well." She turned the sphere over in her hand, studying its markings while relying on Thainnith's legacy to begin deciphering the structure.

'That woman', in this case, referred to Mistress. Though Scarlett had still neither confirmed nor denied her intention to work with the woman for the gala—as long as Mistress didn't directly ask, Scarlett intended to delay giving an official answer for as long as possible—she had been in brief contact with her. She had used that opportunity to ask for a favour.

Scarlett had known today would present her best chance to speak with the Augur, but moving freely around Dawnlight Palace without anyone noticing either her absence or her disguise would be difficult. So she had arranged this. Her counterpart—the 'other Scarlett' that had technically been formed from a fragment of the Anomalous One and the original Scarlett's Memory—had been allowed to roam the empire on her own for a while without direct supervision.

Scarlett had, however, set up a few ways of contacting her, and after learning she would be in Elystead for the establishment of the Empyreal Barrier and Mistress' gala, Scarlett had ordered the woman to make her way here as well. That had turned out to be a good idea. Now the other Scarlett could act as her body double while Scarlett went to meet with the Augur.

On Mistress' end, all the woman had needed to do was bring the already-disguised doppelganger into the palace and place her where Scarlett wanted her, which was easy enough. Scarlett already knew from before that Mistress didn't have any scruples about flouting palace security, so as long as they avoided alarming any guards or drawing too much attention from the servants, no one should notice what was going on. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"You remember the instructions I provided?" Scarlett asked. The other Scarlett met her gaze without expression.

"I do."

"Good." The riskiest part of this plan was obvious. She was letting a fragment of the Anomalous One act in her place at a gathering of the empire's high nobility. That in itself probably wasn't too ideal. But she had given clear instructions on what the woman was allowed to say and do, and Scarlett wasn't worried anything too disastrous would happen.

Her counterpart didn't have to obey every passing whim, but the pact Scarlett had carved into the core of the woman's current body bound her to Scarlett's word to a certain degree. They also had their own agreement. Scarlett granted her a measure of freedom, and in exchange, the other Scarlett assisted her with certain tasks when called upon.

The larger issue was that the woman would almost certainly give off a sharper impression than Scarlett herself, possibly offend a few people, and maybe create some awkward situations Scarlett would have to untangle later. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too bad. She had handled as much of the socialising as possible already for exactly this reason. The woman only had to stand around and look intimidating for a while. Still, whatever mess came of it, Scarlett would just have to manage.

"You have changed much since we last met," the other Scarlett said, scrutinising her. Scarlett paused. A faint frown touched her brow, and as she studied the other woman, an idea occurred to her. She was silent for a few more seconds, then tried a small smile.

"I guess I have." She knew herself well enough to catch the slight surprise that passed across her counterpart's face, but she didn't acknowledge it as she turned.

"Like I said, we can talk more later. If I were you, I'd start changing into that gown unless you want to be caught with only your pride on." The casual manner of speech scraped against her sensibilities. There was no doubt about it. Especially here, out in the open, without Rosa around to help her feel grounded. But she had been trying to better understand the line between the different parts of herself, and this presented a rare chance to do that with a face that wasn't tied to the current her.

It was time for Amy Bernal to see this world that had only been Scarlett Hartford's playground up till now. She heard the other woman give a faint huff behind her, followed by the soft rustle of fabric as the woman moved towards one of the private chambers. Scarlett turned her attention to the metal sphere in her hand. At first glance, it looked complicated, and she suspected most of its important workings were hidden inside the shell.

But after she pushed a thread of mana into it, its function became clear almost immediately. Silently, she thanked Mistress for being surprisingly considerate. She activated the sphere, and light instantly swallowed her. Her consciousness slipped outward as her awareness expanded and the halls of Dawnlight Palace unfolded beneath her mental gaze.

Servants moved through corridors, Palace Guards stood at attention, and in Rosalind's Garden, the guests were still mingling as if nothing strange were happening several walls away. Mistress had clearly connected this to the teleportation she used within the palace, which was exactly what Scarlett needed access to. It was still slightly disturbing that the woman had this much freedom to move around here, but it really wasn't Scarlett's place to complain about it.

After all, this was her second time making use of it. She spent a few moments searching through the palace's branching corridors, private wings, and sealed chambers before finally locating her target. With a directed thought, she felt the magic catch hold of her. The world folded. A curious thing about the relationship between the Graenal Empire and the Followers of Ittar was that one practically necessitated the other.

Belief in Ittar well predated the empire, but the faith had essentially been dying before the empire's founding. If history was to be believed, belief in most of the gods had degraded in these lands during that era, with several sects claiming the gods had abandoned mankind entirely.

Part of what had allowed Galrath the Great, the first emperor, to succeed as thoroughly as he had—and part of what had allowed the Followers of Ittar to spread so quickly during the early 'Renascence'—was supposedly the fact that Ittar had worked several miracles through him. Miracles large enough that people still argued about the exact shape of them centuries later. Because of this, the Followers had long accepted the emperor as Ittar's chosen sovereign in these lands.

That was why the emperor was called the sun of the empire, his heir the burgeoning sun, and his other children its stars. It wasn't too dissimilar from the divine right some medieval kings had claimed back in Scarlett's old world, and it meant the emperor was at least partly dependent on the Followers for the legitimacy of his rule. Which was what made the existence of the Augur interesting.

Though Galrath had never officially been called one, it was generally believed that he had filled something close to that role in his day. Scarlett wasn't sure she believed that herself, given that he was supposed to have been a very astute and active ruler, which didn't quite match what she knew of Augurs, but there was probably at least some truth buried in the tradition.

Regardless, the idea that the first emperor had been something akin to an Augur had made things difficult when he eventually died and, rather than the mantle passing to his heir, the first 'real' Augur appeared about a decade later. And was apparently some random peasant. There had been plenty of debate at the time over whether this meant that person was supposed to be emperor instead, but that had probably never been a realistic option.

Most of the empire's power was already firmly in the hands of Galrath's heir, and a split between the crown and the faith that early would likely have shattered both. So they had done what Scarlett assumed most people in power usually did when faced with a theological crisis. They had made a compromise and dressed it up as doctrine. The Augur was officially declared an extension of the imperial family.

Whoever was confirmed as the Augur automatically became something close to royalty, which further cemented the bond between crown and faith while making sure the actual throne stayed where it was. That also meant that, despite being a member of the Followers of Ittar first and foremost, the Augur had quarters of their own in Dawnlight Palace. For reasons of tradition, they were expected to stay there during their visits to Elystead. And that was Scarlett's current target. Grace's Solarium.

The chamber she appeared in was full of sunlight. It sat near the top of one of the palace's highest towers, shaped almost like a half-circle, with tall glass panes curving along the outer wall. Beyond them, Rellaria Lake shimmered far below, bright enough that the reflected light seemed to spill upward and pool across the white stone ceiling. There was a hearth along one wall, though the fire wasn't lit. Shelves lined another, holding books, sewing boxes, half-finished embroidery, and several odd little objects.

A round table stood near the centre of the room, surrounded by cushioned chairs and a low couch. Outside, Scarlett knew that Knights of the Eternal Oath guarded the doors and hallways. In here, it was completely silent. The Augur sat alone on a chair by one of the windows. She was turned slightly away from Scarlett, a piece of pale fabric held in her lap as she worked a needle through it with slow, careful motions.

Her hair fell in bright golden locks over the back of the chair, trailing down almost to her waist and catching the light in a way that made it difficult to tell where some of the strands ended and the sun began. She wore a flowing white gown with loose sleeves and soft folds of fabric that gathered around her like something placed there by another's hands rather than anything she had chosen for herself. Scarlett stopped to truly take the woman in. She could see the similarities with the Countess. With Melody.

Even though Melody kept much of her face covered, the hair was the same, and there were hints of her in the shape of the Augur's face. The line of the nose. The softness around the mouth. The almost fragile impression that made it feel as if one should lower their voice around her. But this woman had a very different air. Scarlett was actually surprised that the first word that came to mind to describe it was holy.

She'd faced literal primeval deities, aberrant beasts that could kill gods, and devils that had lived for millennia. Yet this was somehow a new sensation she was feeling. That was curious. She couldn't help but wonder what it was about this woman that made her feel different. It wasn't a feeling that had ever come across in the game. The seconds passed, but the Augur showed no sign of reacting to her presence.

Scarlett started walking, keeping her steps soft against the floor as she reached the woman's side and looked down at her. She waited for several more seconds, watching the Augur guide the needle through the fabric in her lap. There was no thread attached to it, nor any visible pattern being formed. The needle simply slipped in and out of the cloth while the woman's eyes stayed fixed somewhere beyond what she was holding. Scarlett kept waiting until, finally, she cleared her throat.

"Hello." The needle stopped. The Augur remained still long enough that Scarlett almost wondered if she had heard her at all, or if the pause had simply happened by coincidence. Then the woman slowly turned her head, a pair of piercingly blue eyes drifting across the room before settling somewhere near Scarlett's face, but not quite on it.

"Do you know who I am?" Scarlett asked. The Augur was quiet.

"I've come to talk with you," she continued, "because I think there are important matters we need to discuss. But before we do, I have something I believe should belong to you." Her [Pouch of Holding] appeared at her side, and from it, she withdrew a rolled-up canvas wrapped in protective cloth. She stepped around the woman's chair to position herself in front of her, then lowered herself slightly so that they were closer to eye level as she untied the cloth and unrolled the canvas. It was a painting.

A night sky stretched across the canvas, deep blue and silver, scattered with stars. The moon hung bright above a grassy hill, but beside it was the sun, warm and golden without washing away the dark. Beneath that strange sky lay two young girls, side by side in the grass among small white flowers, looking up at it all together. The Augur's eyes widened as they settled on the painting.

Slowly, one hand lifted towards it, her fingers brushing the image of one of the girls as if she were afraid the paint might break beneath her touch.

"Big sister…" she whispered.

"I am sorry."

"Your sister commissioned this," Scarlett said.

"It depicts a dream she kept having. One from your childhood." Melody hadn't asked Scarlett to give this to the Augur. The woman had simply given her the commission, and Scarlett had promised to ensure the painting was completed. But Scarlett had also suspected that she might one day meet the Augur, so she had commissioned two pieces. Because… Well. She just thought this was what Melody would want. The Augur's fingers stayed on the image of the painted girl for several seconds longer.

Then something about her seemed to settle. Her eyes shifted, gradually, until they finally came to rest on Scarlett directly. A faint light shone within them.

"You are…?" Scarlett looked back at her.

"Let me introduce myself," she said.

"I'm Amy."