After returning from the central temple, Dietrian secretly summoned his knights.
He was looking for Leticia.
Although the priest healed her wounds, he didn’t see her open her eyes.
He felt like he would be relieved only if he checked if she’s fine and found out her name. Dietrian told the knights.
“I met the benefactor who just saved Enoch.”
“Is that true?”
The knights looked at Dietrian with admiration. Among them was Banessa, who still had a limp.
“You’re saying you met the benefactor who saved Enoch? But why did Your Majesty come alone? You should have brought her right away!”
Banessa, who made a fuss by saying that he would kill the Saintess even this morning, returned to his usual personality after Enoch was revived.
No, he’s more excited than usual, and he didn’t even give Dietrian a chance to open his mouth.
“Not just come, you should have brought her! Please wait. I’ll even lay a flower path at the entrance right away!”
Yulken grabbed Banessa by the arm and quickly glanced around.
“I’ll clean him up right now.”
“No, what did I do wrong?”
Banessa was dragged out of the room again in the blink of an eye. After a while and after the commotion subsided, Dietrian explained how Leticia looked in the central temple.
“As we guessed, she became a priest. She was seriously injured in the temple. They treated her but she may not have fully recovered yet. I couldn’t catch up because of the paladins, but she’s still inside the temple. We have to find her at all costs.”
“We understand, Your Majesty.”
Dietrian and his knights scattered throughout the temple. The search wasn’t easy. Because they had to move while avoiding the eyes of the Saintess.
There were times when they had to waste time to deceive the watchers, knowing full well that the benefactor wouldn’t be there.
The more he did so, the more Dietrian became impatient.
Leticia’s collapsed figure never left his mind. Regardless of whether his eyes were closed or not. He kept thinking of her being abused by the Saintess.
By any chance, if she is suffering again out of his reach.
Just like the loss of his brother, if he failed to protect the person who tried to protect him.
It seemed that he would never be able to forgive himself until he died.
After sunset and until darkness fell, Dietrian searched for her. If someone was wearing a vine-printed clothing, he would walk up the them, talk and even check the color of their hair.
[Who is this, isn’t it His Majesty the Prince? Why is your precious body wandering around other people’s temples like a rat?]
[The national marriage is right around the corner, so you must have realized it now. That our Goddess is far greater than that lizard.]
The priests who recognized him openly poured out ridicule and contempt, but it didn’t matter. It seemed that only finding her would make this suffocating thirst subside a little.
“Your Majesty, I think we should stop the search at this point.”
In the thick darkness, the knights spoke in embarrassed voices.
“It’s too late. If we move farther than this, the Saintess might notice. After the sun rises, how about starting over?”
Every word was correct. It was late at night, and there was no longer an excuse to break into the temple. If the search continued like this, even the knights of the Principality could be in danger.
But they didn’t say that they should quit.
Dietrian glared resentfully into the thick darkness. His clenched fists were so tight that blue veins stood out.
It seemed to him that she was waiting somewhere for his help.
“…let’s stop here for today.”
“We accept your order.”
After the knights left, Dietrian was left alone in his room. He stared at the unfamiliar furniture and the small window, then sat down on the bed.
“Haa.”
He buried his face in one hand and laughed helplessly.
“Seven years ago and now, nothing has changed.”
A feeling of powerlessness rose up inside.
Although at this moment the feeling of touching her in the temple remained vivid.
She is nowhere. Where the hell did she go? Perhaps the Saintess had stolen her away.
When she noticed that she saved Enoch, she might be trying to harm her out of his sight.
His imagination kept extending to the worst.
[Did you bring the whip?]
When even that voice came to mind, he couldn’t stand it. Dietrian put on his cloak, strapped his dagger to his waist, and left the room again. The detached villa, immersed in darkness, was silent.
Leaving behind the dozing knights in the lobby, Dietrian left the building. Even if he was alone, he was going to find her. His white breath dissipated into the darkness.
He gazed at the night sky full of stars for a moment.
There’s a saying that the dead became the stars in the sky. Somewhere over there, is there the dead Julios?
He wouldn’t believe it normally, but today, he was that desperate. Dietrian’s eyes twisted slightly.
‘Hyung, please help me.’
He needed to find her.
The person you saved might be in danger.
It became like that to protect me.
So please help me.
Help me meet her.
With a desperate wish, Dietrian strode into the darkness.
And when he’d been walking for a while.
“…what is that?”
A faint light was shining through the deep darkness. With a strange premonition, Dietrian strode toward the light.
***
After Noel left, Julios’ remains were still in the bracelet.
Leticia looked down at the black jewel in her bracelet, lost in her thoughts.
‘Did the bracelet try to help me again?’
Although out of the blue, she managed to escape the eyes of the paladins thanks to the bracelet hiding the remains.
‘What is the identity of this bracelet?’
Elixir, the crack across the black jewel even bothered to reply.
A cracked elixir was unimaginable.
‘Let’s take the remains first.’
Leticia put the doubts in her mind aside for a while and quickly prepared herself. Right now, there were more important things than revealing the identity of the bracelet.
It was to bring Julios’ remains to Dietrain.
‘Things that are different from the past kept happening. Let’s secure the safety of the remains before another variable arises.’
Leticia decided to get Julios’ remains out of the bracelet. She thought about carrying it inside the bracelet, but it bothered her that she still didn’t know the bracelet’s identity.
‘It’s said that some of the old holy relics are beyond human common sense.’
Some of them were capricious, just like humans. At first, it helped humans, but then suddenly changed its attitude and embarrassed the humans who wore it.
Although her bracelet had saved her twice, she didn’t want to risk anything for the remains.
She thought about leaving it to Noel for a while, but gave up. It’s true that Noel followed her, but she wasn’t sure how long her heart would last.
Right now, she felt it would be safest for her to carry it herself.
“Can you return Julios’ remains?”
After a while, as if responding to Leticia’s request, the bracelet shimmered.
Light leaked out and a familiar wooden box appeared on the table.
Nervously waiting for the remains to appear, Leticia let out a sigh of relief, and took the remains in her arms before leaving the villa.
There was no sign of presence around the west villa except for the wind and the sound of leaves. The knights who usually watched her villa also completely disappeared.
‘Noel did my favor.’
Before Noel left, Leticia told her to take off the people around the west villa.
Leticia moved on with a more comfortable feeling. All she had to do was bring the remains of Julios to the detached villa.
The weather was pretty cold. The rainy season had just ended, and at night, the temperature dropped to the point where you could see your breath.
Leticia paused and looked up at the night sky.
As she looked up at the pitch-black night sky, as if the stars were pouring down, memories of the past filled her up.
That night when the Imperial army rushed into the Principality.
It was cold that night, just like today.
***
In the past, the last day of the Principality of Genos.
The knights of the Principality fought bravely, but it was not enough to stop the countless Imperial Army.
Furthermore.
[The ground, the ground collapsed!]
[The castle walls are on fire!]
[Uwahhh! I can’t see ahead!]
The Saintess’ Wings commanded the battlefield and wielded their power countless times.
Humans couldn’t match that enormous power.
At the time of the fierce battle, Leticia was quietly waiting for her death in her own room.
Because that day was the last.
Because it was the end of the half year that her mother said.
Could it be because of her nearing death? Everything was unreal. Her thin body and the sound of weapons outside her window. Slumbering in that dark room, a touch violently raised her up.
[Why haven’t you left the palace yet!]
Leticia stared blankly at Dietrian. He had blood all over his always clean face.
One eye was closed because of a blood clot, probably from a forehead injury.
Even so, the other eye that’s left was unstoppable.
[Didn’t I tell you the emergency passage before the battle started! But why! Why are you still here!]
It was the first time. What made him, who was always calm, so excited?
[Why do I have to leave?]
[I beg your pardon?]
[I am tired now. I don’t want to do anything.]
[Leticia!]
[It’ll all be over anyway.]
Leticia helplessly shook her head.
[Even if I leave here, I won’t get past midnight anyway.]
Her Dietrian, who was dragging her by force, stopped. His eyes widened as he looked at her disbelievingly.
[What do you mean? Can’t make it past midnight. What does that mean? Are you saying you’re going to die? Tell me right now. What the hell did you mean by that! Could it be what hurt you the other day? You said everything was fine! You told me it was temporary!]
Leticia weakly laughed and shook her head.
[Temporary…it would have been great if that was the case.]
Despair was on Dietrian’s face. Dietrian whispered, looking down at her in disbelief.
[Or is it a curse? Did the Saintess make you like this? Do you know how to break the curse? What is it? Tell me now! Leticia!]
Leticia closed her eyes. She didn’t want to do anything.
She just wanted it to end quietly like this. She’d been sick for too long. The hellish time that lasted for nearly a month was finally over.
She didn’t want to understand his desperation. She didn’t want to say that he had to die for her to live.
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