(2) Living as the Villainess Queen

Chapter 202

“Are you saying that you stayed here during the entire active period?”

“Yes.”

“Only for this period?”

“It has been a few years.”

Even though Kasser remained silent, his glare towards Adrit grew heated. To him, it was infuriating that such an evil omen smeared the kingdom’s sacred grounds with its presence. Meanwhile, Eugene continued to ask more questions.

“The Holy Land is vast — if you’d only returned across the lake, you would have not been caught.”

“I did not think anyone would be there.”

Eugene then understood the situation.

‘He hid before even seeing the visitors.’

If Adrit had lived in the Holy Land for the last few years, he would have known that the King visits during the start of the dry season. At this time, the King would have already gone back after the ritual. However, they had arrived late due to increased group size and the sandstorm. Adrit would have then been caught by surprise, mistakingly catching a warrior’s sharp eye.

“I heard that your people do not stay in one place.”

“Yes.”

“Then, have you broken your people’s rules?”

“No, as our people are allowed to stay in a shelter we discover during the active period.”

“A shelter?”

“A place where larks do not come to — we call them shelters.”

“They do not come, even in the active period?”

“Indeed.”

Eugene glanced at Kasser, wondering if he knew this. His expression showed that it was the first time he had heard such a thing. Even if Adrit were telling the truth, there was no way to confirm this as the King visited the Holy Land right before the dry period started in the past. Kasser broke his silence, asking Adrit his first question.

“Why the name shelters?”

“A shelter is known as the domain of a strong lark. There are larks that only stay within their territory, and weaker ones do not come near the boundaries.”

Kasser murmured in surprise, “A hwansu…”

A lark that did not come out of their territory was similar to a hwansu. As a rite of passage, the heir to the throne would hunt a hwansu for this very behavior. The kingdom created a search party for a hwansu right after the heir was born, selecting a few possible places where a hwansu might be after over a decade of research. Then, the hunt for a hwansu began once the prince turned thirteen.

A prince couldn’t return within a year, an unthinkable feat without prior investigation over a long period. Kasser, deeming this endless, ended the interrogation and called Sven.

“Take him away and observe him. Keep him secured unless I order otherwise.”

“Yes, sir.”