Sweetheart 006

The baby handmaiden that his older brother saved seven years ago.

Although he tried to find her by sending someone, he didn’t expect to find her.

He gave the order with a feeling of grasping at straws.

[The baby handmaiden is twelve-years-old this year. She looks young on the outside, but she’s an adult on the inside, just like you.]

In the letters sent by his brother in the past, it was packed with information about how difficult the life she was living.

[Thanks to that handmaiden, I realized it. Josephina is a demon.]

Reading the letter from his older brother, who was indignant, Dietrian couldn’t contain his anger either.

She’s a Saintess who has everything, why is she bullying a little girl who is only 12 years old?

He couldn’t understand and he didn’t want to understand.

Meanwhile, Julios said he wanted to invite the handmaiden to the Principality. They seemed to have become very close in a short amount of time.

[Do you know how lovely the handmaiden is? It’s completely different from someone who’s blunt. You must meet her and imitate her, hehe.]

Dietrian laughed along as he read the playful phrase. Because the girl whose face he didn’t even know was a great comfort to him.

Whenever a letter came from the Empire, he was very nervous that it might contain bad news.

His heart sank at the sight of even the slightest negative word.

After being so nervous, when he read news about her, it was like meeting an oasis in the desert.

As his tension eased, a lump filled his chest.

He even laughed at the story of her holding out her little finger to Julios, saying that she would definitely repay the favor.

He wrote a sincere reply.

[Hyung, you seem to like that handmaiden more than me now, right? Be sure to bring her to the Principality later. I wonder how lovely she is.]

And what came back instead of a reply.

[The deposed Prince Julios is executed for blasphemy.]

It was the news of his brother’s death.

After that, for a while, he completely forgot about the baby maid. He couldn’t couldn’t afford to recall.

Julios’ last month was a very big wound for him.

Every time he remembered that his older brother had tricked him and walked out on his own, he felt the ground collapsing.

It was even more unbearable that he exchanged letters with joy, not knowing that his older brother had prepared for death.

So he eventually buried that last month deep in his heart.

The letters from Julios were also put out of sight.

The baby maid who always made him laugh in the letters was also erased from his mind.

It should be.

‘If she is still in the temple.’

If he hadn’t forgotten her promise to return the favor to his older brother after she had become a priest.

‘Maybe she heard the news about the delegation and decided to save Enoch.’

Dietrian’s heart beat loudly.

He knew that it was still too early to be certain. He knew very well that having high expectations could lead to disappointment.

However, he couldn’t quite shake the assumption. Because it was so sweet.

After coming to the Empire, every day was like walking on thin ice.

Still, he had to persevere. Because the King can never collapse.

Even as he made that promise, it was too much for him to handle it all alone.

But, someone is helping him. It could even be someone who had a connection to his older brother.

Dietrian looked down at the wet green leaves left in the cup with trembling eyes.

The unique scent coming from the antidote felt like an oasis. Just like when he read about her in his brother’s letters seven years ago.

Enoch cautiously opened his mouth.

“Your Majesty, is the person you are looking for wearing a bracelet?”

“Bracelet?”

“I saw her bracelet. It was made of silver, with a black gem set in the middle. Like this.”

Enoch drew a winding bracelet on the paper. He was just unconscious, but he desperately put it in his head for later.

Thanks to that effort, he was able to draw the shape of the bracelet quite accurately.

Dietrian, who was looking closely at the round black jewel, shook his head.

“I’ve never heard of a bracelet.”

Unfortunately, there was no mention of the handmaiden’s accessories in his brother’s letter. He still kept the shape of the bracelet in his head just in case.

The jewelry would be a pretty useful clue to finding his benefactor.

“We will do our best to find her.”

Yulken resolutely said. He felt a firm will to find their benefactor even if he had to search the entire temple.

As the story about the benefactor ended, Yulken smiled and said.

“By the way, we are very fortunate. Even if the benefactor was a little late, it should have been difficult to disobey orders. Now that Enoch is awake, the priest will no longer be able to force himself, hehe.”

“Force? Who is?”

Enoch, not knowing the exact situation because he had been asleep, tilted his head. Yulken playfully messed with Enoch’s wheat-colored hair.

“You almost died. You died completely and then came back to life.”

“Pardon?”

“The Saintess gave Abraxa to treat you.”

Enoch was startled and cried out.

“Abraxa? If I eat that, I’ll die! I won’t just die, I’ll die in great pain!”

“That’s right. You’ll spill blood all over your body.”

“Ugh, did you intend to feed me such a terrible thing? I really died and came back to life.”

Enoch was fed up. He even rubbed his arm as if his goosebumps were rising. Soon, he frowned and murmured in displeasure.

“Why is the Saintess torturing us so much? What great wrong did we do?”

“That…”

Dietrian, who was about to answer, hesitated.

The reason the Saintess tried to kill Enoch was to inflict pain on Dietrian. She wanted to plunge the dragon’s only descendant into despair.

But that plan suddenly went awry.

‘Because Enoch is alive.’

How will the Saintess react when she heard the news?

‘She won’t leave me alone.’

The joy that had been pulsating in his heart drained away like the ebbing tide.

‘If the Saintess finds out that someone saved Enoch.’

It was obvious what would happen after that.

‘I need to find that benefactor by any means.’

Sooner or later, she would seek revenge in the most terrible way. Dietrian looked down at the green antidote and bit his lip nervously.

‘If it’s an antidote this powerful, the priests must be managing it.’

If Josephina even noticed the existence of this antidote. In the worst case, the priest might be suspected of being the culprit.

As soon as that thought came to mind, his heart sank.

If Josephina found her. If she helped him and hurt herself in the process, like his older brother who died trying to protect him seven years ago.

‘That’s absolutely not possible.’

It was enough for just one person to get hurt while protecting him. When his brother died, he also died and he didn’t want to go through that again.

“I need to meet the Saintess right away.”

Dietrian hurriedly stood up.

“Why are you suddenly looking for the Saintess?”

“I have something to say to the Saintess right away.”

Leaving the puzzled Yulken and Enoch behind, he strode out of the villa. Under the blue sky, the pure white temple where the Saintess was staying gradually drew closer.

‘Before Josephina doubt the benefactor, I must turn that gaze away.’

If the Saintess noticed the leak of the antidote, there was no turning back. Before that, he had to find something to explain Enoch’s resurrection.

A few things popped into mind.

Dietrian hurriedly put them together to create a plausible reason.

He came running in such a hurry but he was a step late.

“The Saintess just left the temple.”

“I have something urget to tell her. I must see the Saintess. Where do I have to go?”

“She went to the central temple!”

The priest said annoyedly and quickly turned around. The surrounding paladins looked at Dietrian with contempt.

He didn’t even notice their cold eyes. Dietrian thought again and again.

He wondered why the Saintess, who had been guarding the temple until just now, had gone to the central temple. He wondered if something had happened that would cause her to change her mind.

‘I wonder if it’s because of Enoch.’

Then, did she notice the benefactor?

‘That can’t be.’

Even as he thought so, his heart was pounding with tension.

‘If, if the movements of the Saintess were related to the benefactor…’

Dietrian’s black eyes widened. There was only one way to check. He had to go to the central temple. There, he must meet the Saintess.

***

Leticia, who went out through a secret passage, moved quickly.

As she made her way out of the narrow stone-walled path, she heard a raucous voice. The sun-drenched plaza was full of people.

Listening to the laughter and chatter of the merchants, Leticia guessed the direction.

In the distance, she could see the white dome roof towering above the other buildings.

Where her gaze was directed. It was the central temple of the Empire, where Julios’ remains were located.

She traced her steps and checked her plan.

‘The time I can move freely is the next two days.’

In the past, she was left in the bridal waiting room for three days. If the past hadn’t changed, no one would come to visit for the next two days.

‘The problem is that the present has changed.’

Just now, she saved Enoch, who was supposed to die. It meant that the series of events that should have happened after Enoch’s death had disappeared.

‘If the future changes because of that.’

Contrary to her expectations, someone might come to the bridal waiting room.

It was obvious what would happen after that. Her mother would never let Leticia go.

That’s not all. She couldn’t even dream of helping Dietrian until she left the Empire.

‘I can endure any pain. But I can’t be that person’s burden again.’

In this life, she definitely wanted to help him. Being a burden to someone you love once was enough.

‘I have to get the remains back as soon as possible.’

She had to help Dietrian as much as she could when she could move freely.

Time was running out, so her steps sped up.

When she finally reached the central temple, Leticia took a long breath.

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