Contents
Chapter Twenty-Three
Overview
Aeri and Sora reunite with Royo, Mikail, and Euyn at Lake Cerome after a harrowing ride in ball gowns. In a warming hut, Royo tends Aeri’s frostbitten feet and Mikail reveals a jade key likely for the Temple of Knowledge. The group shadows a gray-robed priest onto the frozen lake. The priest disappears on the ice, exposing the hidden entrance and advancing their quest for the temple.
Summary
At Lake Cerome, Royo tackles Euyn as a crossbow misfires, narrowly missing Sora; the scare ends with Aeri and Sora revealed as the approaching figures. Exhausted from riding through the night in gowns after discovering dead zaybears, they explain they came straight from the Sky King’s banquet, with Count Seok’s involvement noted.
The group retreats to a warming hut. Euyn lights a fire while Mikail tends to Sora’s dangerously cold feet. Royo removes Aeri’s soaked boots and warms her feet with his hands, offering rare tenderness amid lingering distrust. Aeri reflects on past betrayals and her complicated feelings for Royo.
Mikail produces a polished jade key stolen from Ambassador Zeolin, believed to open the Temple of Knowledge beneath the lake. Sora recalls the ambassador’s talk of ice-fishing huts, possibly a clue to the entrance. As they watch the lake from the hut’s small window, Euyn spots a figure in gray priestly robes walking onto the ice.
They gear up, don dry socks, and follow at a distance through snow and wind, with Aeri coaching Royo to step quietly. The group shuffles onto the frozen surface, tense about thin ice, until Euyn signals them to get down as the priest pauses.
From the ice, they witness the gray-robed priest simply vanish. The disappearance strongly suggests a concealed access point on the lake, confirming the lead to the underwater Temple of Knowledge and setting their next move.
Who Appears
- AeriPOV; exhausted but focused, reunites with the group, guides stealth, observes priest’s disappearance, conflicted feelings for Royo.
- RoyoPrevents a misfire, warms Aeri’s feet, stays vigilant and skeptical, follows the priest onto the ice.
- MikailTends Sora’s frostbite risk, reveals the stolen jade key, leads pursuit of the temple entrance.
- EuynScouts and starts the fire, tracks the priest with keen vision, leads the group onto the ice.
- SoraArrives drained and numb-footed, arms herself despite fatigue, recalls the ice-hut clue.
- Gray-robed priestWalks onto Lake Cerome and vanishes, revealing the hidden access to the Temple of Knowledge.