Chapter 65. The high priestess return

Chapter 65: 65. The high priestess return

AT THE SAME TIME

XAVIER

The memory shattered and I suddenly opened my eyes. I was back in the palace corridor, for several seconds, I couldn’t breathe properly. My hands were trembling. The silver veiled woman, the dark blue robes, the way she had stepped between young Wei and the cloaked man without hesitation. She had known me, she had called me "the child." But why?

"Who was that woman?" I asked.

Nobody answered.

"You said you would tell me everything you remembered."I looked toward Rosalie.

"I don’t know."Rosalie looked shaken.

"You don’t know?"My heart sank.

"I had never seen her before that night." Rosalie shook her head. "I swear, Xavier. I don’t know who she was."

"But she knew me."I said.

"Yes."She nodded.

"She knew I was being hunted."I said again.

"Yes."She nodded.

"Then why did she save me?"I asked.

"I don’t know."Rosalie lowered her eyes.

"Do you know her?"I looked at my parents.

Lin Rui had gone completely still, her face had lost all color.

"Mother?"I asked.

She didn’t answer.

"Mother?"I asked again.

Lin Rui slowly looked at me, then at Zhao Rui.

Her lips parted.

"No..."She began.

Zhao Rui immediately noticed her expression.

"Lin Rui?"He asked.

"I know that robe."She took one trembling step backward.

The entire corridor went silent.

"What robe?"Song Hue frowned.

"The dark blue robes."Lin Rui looked at me.

"The silver veil."She swallowed as her voice became barely audible. "That wasn’t an ordinary noblewoman."

"Then who was she?"My stomach tightened.

Lin Rui stared at me for several seconds.

"The High priestess."She whispered.

Silence. Even Rosalie looked shocked.

"The High Priestess?"Zhao Rui’s expression changed instantly.

"Of the Moonflower temple."Lin Rui nodded slowly.

"The Moonflower temple?"I blinked.

"She is not simply a religious figure, Xavier."My mother nodded. Her hands began trembling.

"She is the highest spiritual authority of the ancient Moonflower bloodline."

"What does that have to do with me?"I stared at her.

"Everything."Lin Rui’s eyes filled with tears. She stepped toward me. "Our family has been connected to the Moonflower guardians for generations."

"Why would the High priestess protect me?"I asked.

Lin Rui looked at Zhao Rui. He looked just as confused.

"I don’t know." He admitted.

"Father..."I tried asking again.

"I have never personally met her."He said.

"But Mother recognized her."I frowned.

"I recognized the robes."Lin Rui nodded as she looked frightened now. "Not the woman."

"What do you mean?"My heart sank.

"The High Priestess never revealed her face publicly." She stared at me. "She was believed to be chosen by the Moonflower itself."

"Then how did she know me?"I looked toward Rosalie.

"I don’t know."Rosalie shook her head.

"How did she know where I was?"I asked.

"I don’t know."She said.

"Why did she call me ’the child’?"I asked again.

"I don’t know."She said.

"Everyone keeps saying they don’t know!"I ran both hands through my hair. My voice echoed through the corridor. "I have spent all this time trying to understand what happened to Wei, and every answer gives me three more questions!"

Lang Li moved closer, but before he could speak, Lin Rui suddenly grabbed my hand.

"Xavier." She said.

"There is something else."I looked at her.

"Of course there is."My stomach dropped.

"That’s becoming the most terrifying sentence in this family."Ana winced.

"Agreed."Hin quietly nodded.

Despite everything, I almost laughed. Almost.

"When you were born..."Lin Rui squeezed my hand. She hesitated. "The High priestess came to the palace."

"What?"My eyes widened.

"Lin Rui, we agreed never to speak about that."Zhao Rui turned toward her.

"I know."She said.

"Then why-"He began.

"Because he deserves to know!"She said.

My father fell silent.

"The night you were born, the High Priestess came to see you."Lin Rui looked back at me.

"What did she say?"My heart started pounding.

"She looked at you."Lin Rui’s eyes filled with tears. Her voice trembled. "And she said..."

She said what?"I asked.

"She said, ’The Moonflower has chosen its heir.’"My mother said as her voice kept cracking.

"DING! ANCIENT MEMORY CONNECTION DETECTED. MOONFLOWER HIGH PRIESTESS: IDENTIFICATION MATCH - 97%. HOST’S BIRTH MEMORY: RESTRICTED. REASON: PARENTAL SEAL DETECTED."The system suddenly appeared.

"Parental seal?"I stared at the screen.

Zhao Rui’s face went pale.

"Oh no..."Lin Rui closed her eyes.

"What did you two seal?"I looked between them.

Neither answered.

"King Zhao Rui."Lang Li’s golden eyes narrowed. My father looked at him. "What did you hide from Xavier?"

Zhao Rui’s jaw tightened. A faint silver glow appeared beneath my skin, right over my heart. Everyone froze.

"The Moonflower mark..."Lin Rui whispered.

"Run, little prince." A voice said in my head again.

The silver glow beneath my skin hadn’t even faded when the palace doors suddenly opened. A palace guard hurried into the corridor, he was pale. Far too pale.

"Your Majesties."He said.

"What happened?"Zhao Rui immediately straightened.

"There is a messenger at the main gate."The guard swallowed.

"From where?"Dad asked.

"From the Moonflower temple."The guard hesitated.

Everyone went silent as my heart immediately began pounding. The guard slowly raised a small object in both hands. A silver pendant, at its center was a white flower surrounded by a crescent moon. The moment I saw it, the mark over my heart burned.

"Ah..."I grabbed my chest.

"Xavier!"Lang Li immediately reached for me.

"I am fine."I whispered.

I wasn’t as the pendant was glowing.

"The messenger refuses to speak with anyone except the imperial family."The guard’s voice trembled.

"Bring them here."Zhao Rui frowned.

"Yes, Your Majesty." The guard turned. "There is one more thing."

"What?"He asked.

"The message is addressed to Prince Wei."The guard looked directly at me.

My blood froze. Not Xavier, not His Highness, not Crown Prince. Wei. The doors opened again. A woman entered. She wore simple white robes with silver embroidery, she carried no weapon, no visible royal insignia. Only a silver veil covering the lower half of her face. She stopped several steps away from us.

"King Zhao Rui. Queen Lin Rui." Her eyes moved toward me. "Prince Wei."

My breathing stopped. Nobody had called me that with such certainty before.

"I carry a message from Her Holiness."She reached into her robes.

She presented a sealed letter. The seal was silver wax. The Moonflower, and beneath it A single name. ISOLDA.

"Isolda..."My mother’s face went completely white.

"High Priestess Isolda."Zhao Rui stared at the seal.

"Her Holiness commands that Prince Wei be brought to the Moonflower temple immediately."The messenger nodded.

"Commands?"Lang Li’s expression hardened.

"Yes, Your Majesty."The messenger looked at him.

"He is not leaving this palace without protection."Lang Li stepped forward.

"Her Holiness anticipated that."The messenger didn’t flinch.

She reached into her robes again. This time, she produced another silver token. The moment Lang Li saw it, his expression changed, even Song Hue looked stunned.

"What is that?" I asked.

"The High Priestess’s authority seal."Zhao Rui answered quietly.

"Her Holiness Isolda has invoked the Ancient Moonflower right of summons."The messenger nodded.

"That sounds... extremely important."Ana blinked.

"It sounds like the kind of thing nobody can refuse."Hin whispered.

"They can’t."My father slowly nodded.

"What?"I stared at him.

"The High Priestess has authority older than our throne."Lin Rui looked at me with worry.

"So she can just summon me?"I stared at the messenger.

"Yes."She said.

"And everyone has to comply?"I asked.

"Everyone."The messenger bowed.

"What if I refuse?"Lang Li’s jaw tightened.

"Then you would be violating an ancient sacred law."The messenger calmly looked at him.

"And me?"Song Hue stepped forward.

"You as well, Prince Song Hue."She said.

"Why?"His eyes narrowed.

"Because Her Holiness specifically ordered that everyone who was present when Prince Wei’s Moonflower mark awakened must accompany him."The messenger’s gaze returned to me.

I froze. Everyone? Lang Li, Song Hue, Rosalie, my parents, Ana, Hin. All of us.

"Her Holiness does not wish to meet Prince Wei alone."The messenger continued.

"Then why does she want to see me?"I frowned.

The messenger was silent for a moment.

"Because she has been waiting for him to return for many years."She said.

"Return?"My heart skipped.

"Her Holiness Isolda knew Prince Wei before he disappeared."She nodded.

The corridor went silent. I looked at Lin Rui, then Zhao Rui, then Rosalie. Nobody spoke. My mother’s hands were trembling.

"You knew her?" I asked.

"Not personally."Lin Rui shook her head.

"Then how-"I began.

"She came to see you when you were born."Rosalie said.

My chest tightened. The messenger slowly lowered her head.

"That is correct."She said.

"Why?"I stared at her.

"Because High Priestess Isolda was the one who identified you as the Moonflower’s chosen heir."The messenger looked at the glowing mark over my heart.

"DING! MAJOR STORYLINE EVENT. HIGH PRIESTESS ISOLDA HAS REQUESTED AN AUDIENCE WITH HOST. STATUS: MANDATORY. ANCIENT MOONFLOWER RIGHT OF SUMMONS: ACTIVE. ALL INVOLVED PARTIES MUST COMPLY. DESTINATION: MOONFLOWER TEMPLE. DEPARTURE: IMMEDIATE. WARNING: HIGH PRIESTESS ISOLDA POSSESSES INFORMATION REGARDING HOST’S BIRTH AND DISAPPEARANCE.. WARNING: HER MEMORIES MAY CONTRADICT PREVIOUSLY RESTORED MEMORIES."The system suddenly appeared.

"Contradict?"I stared at the final message.

"SYSTEM: Correct. HOST MAY EXPERIENCE EXTREME CONFUSION. SYSTEM RECOMMENDS BRINGING SNACKS."The system flickered.

At that exact moment, I understood I had no other choice but to go to Moonflower Temple.