The princess screamed as she rose from her seat. Leticia barely managed to grasp the hem of the princess’s skirt. Then, she desperately shook her head.
“Don’t, ugh, do it. It must not be told to His Highness…”
Leticia couldn’t finish her words. She staggered toward the bathroom.
“Gag!”
“Oh, my God. Goddess!”
The princess screamed again at the sight of the blood-stained sink. Leticia collapsed to the ground. She wrapped her arms around herself and tightly closed her eyes.
‘It hurts…!’
The pain was much more intense than before, as unbearable as the day they had to bury Julios’s remains in the ground.
“Are you alright? No, am I insane? Someone who’s vomiting blood can’t be alright!”
The princess yelled in panic. Leticia felt like she was going insane.
“Just wait. I will call a doctor right now. No, Cal is coming soon!”
“Please, lock the, door.”
“What?”
“Please… do not tell, His Highness… nor the other wings…”
With those last words, Leticia lost consciousness. Clear tears streamed down her pale cheeks. The princess gaped at Leticia, slumped against the wall with a pallid face as white as a sheet of paper, her priestly robes stained with blood.
Someone joyfully rang a bell in her head. Ding-dong, ding-dong. You’re doomed, you’re doomed. Feeling the darkness closing in, the princess shivered.
‘If Calisto sees this…’
Calisto had caused an earthquake in the capital just because the priests had insulted Leticia. If he learned that Leticia had collapsed vomiting blood.
‘Can I handle what’s going to happen?’
Suddenly, there was a strong desire to lock the door as Leticia requested and keep this a secret.
‘As the Queen Consort said, should I cover it up?’
Cleaning the blood stains from the bathroom and Leticia’s clothes, acting as if nothing had happened, diverting Calisto’s attention…
‘Even if it succeeds, it’s the end.’
It would definitely come out eventually.
‘It might even be too light to call it the end.’
All the disasters she knew seemed insufficient for what Calisto might do. The princess shivered and immediately cut off the dangerous temptation. Then she gritted her teeth.
“Cal! Come quickly! It’s serious! The Queen Consort has collapsed!”
* * *
The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. The doctor, examining Leticia’s condition carefully, shook his head.
“Princess, my conclusion is the same as before. The Queen Consort is not suffering from any particular health issue. She hasn’t been poisoned, nor does she have a chronic illness.”
“There’s nothing wrong with her health?”
The princess felt as though the sky had fallen. She couldn’t even dare to look towards Calisto, and said with a trembling voice.
“Check again! Could something have been missed? She vomited blood. She was in terrible pain. She was shivering! It’s impossible that she doesn’t have some illness!”
“But Your Highness, I’ve checked several times. In my view, she really appears healthy…”
“How can someone healthy vomit blood? Stop saying such terrifying things!”
The princess couldn’t be happy that the patient was healthy. There weren’t many reasons why a healthy person would suddenly start vomiting blood.
“In my opinion, it seems that a transcendental power has intervened. Like magic or a curse…”
“Ah! Please, stop bringing up such unlucky things!”
Eventually, the princess lost her composure and began shaking the doctor by the collar. The doctor looked at her with a bewildered expression. It was shocking to see the princess, a stickler for principles, behave this way.
“Princess! Please, let go of this!”
“Is it alright for a royal physician to be a quack like you? I’ll replace you immediately!”
“Guh, please, calm down first…”
“How can I calm down when you’re like this? Quickly find the disease. Find the cause of the coughing up blood!”
“Stop it, sister.”
At that moment, Calisto spoke softly, placing his hand on the princess’s shoulder. The princess, who had been violently shaking the doctor, froze as if struck by lightning.
“That’s enough. Stop now.”
Calisto gently unwound the princess’s hand from the doctor’s collar with a very soft touch. The princess started to tremble like an aspen tree.
“Sister, you remember what I said earlier, right? Prepare to leave as soon as possible. It’s dangerous for you to be near the temple.”
His tone was as gentle as if he were comforting a child. Yet, the princess couldn’t calm down. She had seen Calisto make this face only once before—right before he set fire to the capital’s temple.
“Cal, what are you, what are you trying to do? Tell me at least that.”
Calisto ignored the princess’s desperate gaze and commanded the doctor.
“You may leave now.”
“Say something, please!”
“It’s better if you don’t know.”
“Are you really going to kill everyone in the temple?”
The princess asked with a face suddenly filled with fear. Calisto looked down at her impassively, his eyes as cold as ice.
“Just saying it, right? You won’t really do it, right?”
“Well, I’m not sure. Right now, I feel like killing everyone in the capital, not just the temple people.”
“Please, it might not be the temple’s fault!”
“Sister.”
Calisto’s grey eyes stared directly at the princess.
“Do you truly believe that?”
His whisper was dark and oppressive. The princess was immobilized, feeling as if she were being crushed by his words. Calisto continued quietly.
“A healthy person has vomited blood twice. And you say it’s not the temple’s fault? Do you really believe that?”
“It might not be twice.”
“The sleeve was wet, wasn’t it? Trying to wipe off the bloodstains. Isn’t that obvious?”
His soft whisper left no room for rebuttal. The princess sincerely wished she could turn back time.
‘I was insane! Why did I blurt out what the Queen Consort said!’
When Calisto appeared, the princess had relayed everything Leticia had said. At that time, she thought it pointless to hide it, not realizing the impact it would have.
“…she tried to hide the vomiting of blood from me?”
“Yes. And from the other wings.”
“That means it wasn’t the first time.”
At that moment, the princess regretted her decision. Unfortunately, there was no way to turn back time, and Calisto was completely turned.
‘How am I supposed to handle this? How am I supposed to clean up this mess?’
The princess pressed her throbbing forehead with her hand. She was able to understand Calisto’s anger. In fact, she fully understood it. Leticia was Calisto’s savior.
The sole light that he had awaited in darkness his entire life.
And that light had bled and fallen. It was rather extraordinary that Calisto was still in his right mind. Yet, the princess couldn’t simply tell him to do as he pleased.
She was the heir to the empire. She had been taught all her life to maintain the stability of the empire. But what if Calisto crossed the line? It would mean a direct confrontation between the royal family and the temple. A chaos unlike any before would ensue.
Of course, if Leticia was fully recognized as a saint, the problem could be resolved. The issue was that the process would be anything but smooth.
Josephina’s followers were embedded everywhere within the empire, deep-rooted like old tree roots, and the royal family was no exception. Unless Josephina completely lost her power, as long as she wielded transcendental forces, the chaos would continue.
Therefore, the princess wanted gradual change. If possible, she was more than willing to support Leticia. Leticia was also a benefactor to the princess.
The princess was the heir to the empire, but before that, she was Calisto’s sister. Although she hadn’t done much for him, she felt a deep affection for her brother. She also felt guilty for having usurped the throne that Calisto should have inherited. Thus, she was determined to support Leticia and Calisto as much as possible.
The problem was that what Calisto was about to do was likely to far exceed what the princess could handle. Still, with a glimmer of hope, she tried one last time to dissuade Calisto.
“Cal, just in case, if this matter has nothing to do with the temple.”
“Sure. It’s highly unlikely, but it’s possible. But does that matter?”
As expected, it was no use.
“If she suffers, Josephina will be pleased. I can’t forgive that. So sister, you’d better get ready.”
With those words, Calisto left the room. It was truly over. The princess clenched her eyes shut. It was unbearable, yet she had to bear it. The distressed princess stood up. She immediately summoned the Royal Knights.
“Prepare for battle right now! We are leaving the temple!”
* * *
“Argh! What are you doing!”
“How dare you swing a sword at the knights of the saint!”
The paladins protested vehemently. Regardless, the princess raised her voice.
“If you block my way, I have no choice but to strike! Move aside if you don’t want to die!”
“We cannot! It’s the saint’s command to never let the criminal out… Argh!”
One of the paladins was struck down by the sword of the Royal Knights. This became the signal, and the two orders of knights began clashing.
“We don’t have time! We need to escape the capital as fast as possible!”
The princess looked anxiously behind her. Not far away, the white temple was visible. Standing under the sunlight, it seemed ominously foreboding.
“Your Highness! We have subdued them all!”
The fight ended rather anticlimactically. Before departing for the temple, Calisto had enchanted the Royal Knights’ swords. Although it was a temporary measure, he had managed to create dozens of magical devices in just half an hour—a feat that bordered on madness.
‘Madman.’
He was her brother, but no matter how many times she considered it, he was insane. The princess shuddered and then gave her orders to the Royal Knights.
“Listen to me, everyone! From now on, we sprint full speed towards the city gates!”
Just then, one of the knights urgently asked.
“Your Highness, what’s going to happen now? This incident won’t just end like this. It’s unlikely that the saint will just let this go…”
Rumble. At that moment, an eerie boom sounded. The knight who had been speaking to the princess flinched and turned around. His eyes filled with horror. The princess quickly gripped her reins tighter.
“There’s no time! Hurry and run!”
“But, Your Highness, the temple!”
“Run faster! Hyah!”
The princess drove her horse forward, her teeth clenched. That madman had lost his patience and finally acted. That was the only thought in her mind.
They swiftly passed through the city gates. And just as the carriage carrying the sleeping Leticia passed through the gates.
Roar, boom!
An enormous noise shook the heavens and the earth. Everyone turned around, speechless, blinking their eyes. What they saw was hard to believe, a scene like something out of hell.
A giant snake made of earth burst from the ground and encircled the temple. It looked as if the temple was being devoured by the snake. Cracks began to form on the white walls. The snake was bringing down the temple.
“Madman, vicious bastard. Truly a despicable…”
“Where is Lady Leticia?”
The princess, who had been cursing, jumped in surprise and turned around. A petite woman with brown hair and black eyes looked up at her menacingly.
“I have heard from the earth spirits, but I must check on Lady Leticia’s condition right now.”
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