Minsoo stiffened, but he followed Duke Corvaliso all the same, hoping that they weren’t heading outside. He couldn’t leave the palace until Lady Loder’s kidnapping scenario took place, but he couldn’t tell him the reason why. One of the few rules the System gave him was to never tell characters that he came from a different world.

If he did, he would die.

"Lady Loder will come next week," the duke said, breaking the tense silence between them.

Minsoo pursed his lips. "I know, Your Grace."

"Is there something you need to tell me?"

"No."

The duke looked back at him with a cold expression. "How interesting. I thought that you were trying to collect information about me just a few moments ago."

"I was just curious."

"About my relationships?"

"About your relationship with Lady Loder," Minsoo corrected him. "I asked you, but since I lost our bet, I thought about asking someone else."

Duke Corvaliso narrowed his eyes, and for a moment he seemed to be quite annoyed.

"Keep your nose out of my affairs, messenger. And I won’t sever your head from your neck."

"It’s blasphemy."

"It would be, if you were truly a divine messenger. And I have my doubts about it."

The duke’s eyes pierced through him as if he was really capable of discerning the truth from all the lies Minsoo had told him. As if he knew what he was hiding. A chill ran down Minsoo’s spine and turned his blood to ice.

He swallowed hard and forced himself not to avert his gaze; the duke was like a dangerous predator, and documentaries and action films always said you should lock eyes with wild animals.

"I told the truth, Your Grace."

Duke Corvaliso leaned closer and grabbed Minsoo’s chin. "Then, leave my knights alone. If you want to enjoy yourself there are other ways."

"Such as brothels?"

"Such as your hand, messenger. I’m pretty sure you’re capable of touching yourself."

He let go of his chin, and a wave of cold prickled at Minsoo’s skin where the duke had just touched him. What was it? For a moment he felt something strange stirring in his stomach.

The duke turned his back and resumed walking. "Come with me, messenger. I have to go to the market town."

Minsoo hesitated, then stepped back. "I’m sorry, Your Grace, but I can’t accompany you."

Duke Corvaliso glared at him in annoyance. "Why?"

"The Sun Goddess just called for me. I need to talk with her."

"Fine. If you need to, there’s a chapel in the gardens. It’s the building with the round shape."

Minsoo bowed and watched him as he walked away. He was definitely a prick, and a bastard, and a dangerous and violent man, but he didn’t mock him for liking men.

At least, he’s a more decent man than my father and my elder brothers.

He sighed, turned his back and exited the palace. He wandered for a while among flowerbeds and roses until he saw the building the duke had told him about. The chapel.

He didn’t need to talk with the goddess, but maybe he wouldn’t be disturbed there.

He entered. The chapel was magnificent, with white columns that reached the frescoed ceiling, marble statues of the goddess, and fresh, white flowers. It was like entering the Basilica in Florence, or one of the many churches that he saw in Italy. How could something so beautiful have been built by a cruel man like the duke?

Minsoo pressed his lips together. Looking at the chapel brought back his childhood dream to become a designer. When he was a kid, he always liked drawing things like cars or clothes or buildings, but being a designer or an architect wouldn’t be useful for his family business, so he had no choice but to become a lawyer.

Or at least try to become a lawyer. Not that it matters now, since I’m dead.

He stepped forward, heading for the central statue, which was the biggest one. The goddess was portrayed as a wise young woman, with a sword in her hand and a globe in the other, and a crown around her head. Placed on the pedestal, inside a glass box with a wooden frame, there was a real sword with the hilt and the scabbard encrusted with jewels.

"Why do they keep a sword here? Is it some kind of relic?"

Minsoo made to touch it, but a surge of power erupted from the sword and crashed over him. The external world faded into deep darkness, and he found himself alone in a space so dark that he couldn’t see anything except himself. Somewhere around him, water was dripping with an unnerving, steady sound.

He took a few steps forward and chilly water brushed his ankles; it was like he was walking on a seashore.

"Where am I? The sea?"

Something wrapped itself around his leg and dragged him underwater, as if he was in a lake and invisible tentacles just tried to drown him. Thick energy, similar to muddy water, slid into his throat and stomach, making his heart race.

What’s happening? What’s this energy?

Minsoo fell on his knees, his hand pressed against his own throat, gasping for air that didn’t fill his lungs. The energy entered his body and left, and suddenly air started to circulate again inside him. He took deep breaths to steady his heartbeat, then looked down at his hands.

He was back in the chapel, kneeling before the Sun Goddess statue, as if what he experienced was just an illusion.

"Oh my!" An unknown voice echoed among the columns and the statues.

Minsoo turned abruptly and saw a young man standing near the entrance. He was wearing long robes in light tones and a stole wrapping around his shoulders, and he was holding a book in his hand.

The stranger smiled and stepped forward. "It’s rare to see you, sir Glennhort. I’ve heard you fell from your horse a week or so ago, and that your condition was dire, but I’m happy to see you again."

"Who are you?"

"Oh my, so it’s true that you lost your memories. Maybe it could explain what just happened."

"Do you know what happened?"

The man—most probably a priest or something like that—knelt before him and tilted his head. "Of course I know; I’m a priest. Well, to be honest, I’m the Archbishop of the North. And you… you’re not sir Glennhort, are you?"