Maya held her breath when Aisha—or whoever occupied her body- suddenly released a creepy smirk. Aisha's beautiful face contorted and turned into one evil expression, utterly different than her usual compassionate one.
"I remember now. I thought it was weird how I could feel myself again, so it was because I was summoned into this youth's body? Interesting. Extremely so."
Kazak bowed his head respectfully. "Greetings to you. Can you tell us your name?"
Confused, she tilted her head, "You summoned me without knowing who I am?"
"We want to ensure we have called upon the correct spirit to answer several questions."
Aisha snickered. "Alright, fair enough. Since you have brought me back to the world, I should do something to show my gratitude. My name is Yuno Chang, and I'm the Second Prince of the Sun Kingdom."
Maya covered her mouth to stifle a gasp that almost came out of her mouth.
Although isolated, the people from the Land of Oblivion were technically still a part of the Sun Kingdom, so they naturally knew the name of their monarch. Yuno Chang was the name of the Second Prince, who was supposed to be dead from the power struggle a few years back.
The current King, Yan Chang, was the Third Prince of the Sun Kingdom before he was crowned the king. From what she knew, the Second Prince was the strongest candidate for the throne after the First Prince died from illness, but the Second Prince got into an accident and died as well.
Such an important person had his soul summoned from the underworld. Maya shuddered, thinking about what would happen next.
The Chief Advisor immediately knelt before Aisha or, instead, Yuno Chang. "We have looked forward to your return, Your Highness."
"Enough of that." Yuno Chang waved his hand impatiently as if he couldn't be bothered by pleasantries. He clenched and unclenched his hand repeatedly before asking Kazak a question. "How much time do I have in this body?"
"Your Highness is the wisest. We are ashamed to inform you that the current Priestess is still too weak to sustain you properly. The most you can last is fifteen minutes, so we don't have much time."
Yuno Chang clicked his tongue in annoyance. "What? Only 15 minutes. That's not even enough to warm up."
"We deeply apologize. However, the Priestess is still young, and her body couldn't stand your noble soul much longer than that. She is our only vessel, so we asked for your understanding. Once she is strong enough, you will have a new body to live in and takes back what once belonged to you."
Yuno Chang laughed maniacally upon hearing that. "Good. That spineless coward Yan couldn't do anything. If he didn't resort to a dirty trick, did he really think he deserved to sit on the throne? He can't win against me even after my death. I'll surely pay him tenfold for the humiliation he gave me."
Maya could feel a chill run down her spine. A vessel?
Aisha would be made a vessel for a vengeful spirit like this? And he would use her body to take over the Sun Kingdom?
The information was too much for the young Maya to bear. She didn't understand much about politics and occult stuff that she had just heard, but one thing was for sure: none of these people cared for Aisha. They talked as if her life was not worth anything than becoming a vessel.
Her whole body trembled as realization finally hit her.
Did the Priestess already know about this? That was why she made such a sad face?
Maya felt inexplicably pained, thinking about how much she must have suffered all this time. These people only tried to take advantage of her. None of them genuinely cared for her. They even already planned her demise just to satisfy their own greed.
Hatred and disgust bubbled up inside her. Who was actually the monster here? These people did horrible things, but the Priestess had to endure people's harsh words and treatment towards her.
It was unfair. Maya's heart, which couldn't stand injustice, felt like it would burst.
She was too engrossed in her feeling that she accidentally nudged some small rocks beside her, creating a splashing sound. It reverberated inside the silent room and instantly alerted everyone.
"Who's there?!"
Maya jumped in surprise. She cursed herself inwardly for making such a rookie mistake. She quickly hid and submerged herself in the water to camouflage herself, but Yuno Chang suddenly spoke coldly.
"I was wondering why there is a kid in this room. I thought they were one of your kids, but it seems we have a naughty child here. Sneaking out of the house at night, they need to be punished."
Maya's hair stands on the end, sensing the deep malice in his voice. Those words completely made her panic. Since when did he notice her? Nobody noticed before he was summoned, so just how?
"You guys, check behind the rock and drag the sneaky rat before me!" Kazak ordered his disciples, making Maya even more flustered.
She had no time to think about how Yuno Chang could know she was there.
Maya was concerned about Aisha, but she couldn't stay here anymore. A part of her kept telling herself that these people needed her power, so Aisha should be alright. As for Maya, the situation didn't turn out well, so she'd better make herself scarce.
Taking a deep breath, she dived into the pond again. Maya quickly swam to the tunnel where she came from. The commotion sounded distant since she was underwater, but she could tell those people were searching all over for her.
Swimming her way out was more challenging than swimming in, as she had to fight against the river current. If she wasn't trained properly, she didn't know whether she could hold on before she reached the exit.
After successfully escaping from the tunnel, she gasped as she emerged from the water. She was already so close to suffocation down there.
There was no time to waste. Dragging her body to the river bank, she ignored the night chill, which could freeze her entire body, and ran back to her house.
In this desperate situation, she felt grateful that she knew how to swim, run, and climb properly. She probably would have gotten caught long ago if she was a delicate and girlish young lady.
Maya entered her room through the unlocked window and felt like she could finally breathe again. Now she only needed to change her clothes and burn the clothes she wore today to get rid of the evidence.
Looking at the full moon outside, she truly hoped the Priestess would be alright.