Even there, a child was causing concern for the adults.
It was Princess Latil of the Holy Empire.
“Princess Latil, Your Highness!”
“Your Highness! Where are you!”
“The High Priest is waiting for you!”
The young Latil, who was hiding behind the door, flinched and hunched her shoulders.
Through the slightly open crack of the door, the palace attendants of the Holy Empire hurriedly ran around.
It wasn’t just the palace attendants.
The priests who had come with the High Priest were also searching everywhere for the princess.
‘Can I keep hiding?’
Her crimson eyes, which resembled her father’s, trembled with unease.
Her fiery red hair, tied into two braids, swayed in the breeze. Sweat began to form in her small hands that clutched at the hem of her skirt.
‘What should I do now? Should I just come out? Should I say I forgot about the lesson for a moment? Then, wouldn’t Mother forgive me?’
The person the little girl feared so much was none other than the Emperor of the Holy Empire, Dana.
* * *
Dana and Banessa.
After their marriage, they were living proof of the saying that married couples come to resemble one another.
Dana, the Emperor of the Holy Empire, was increasingly known as the Iron-Blooded Emperor as her reign extended, perfectly controlling the empire with her unmatched authority.
With her innate brilliance, quick decision-making skills, experience, and decisiveness, no one in the empire could stand against her.
Interestingly, a significant factor in her growing dignity, aside from her life as an emperor, was her marriage to Banessa.
Years ago, Banessa had become a duke of the Holy Empire.
After marrying Dana and taking her surname, Banessa had been sweeping across the battlefield as her sword.
Wherever the tip of his sword pointed, the blood of his enemies flowed, and his infamy grew with every strike.
So much so that parents would warn their children that the Red Duke would come for them if they didn’t behave.
And the only one capable of controlling Banessa, the unruly man, was none other than Dana.
She was the only person in the world who could make the untamable scoundrel kneel with just a word.
The Iron-Blooded Emperor, who had captured her younger husband with her wits, still firmly stood above him.
It was through Banessa that Dana’s authority rose even higher.
Like calls to like, Banessa also reveled in the situation. No, he was enthralled.
The more his wife reigned over him, the more his eyes sparkled, proclaiming that his “Sister” was the best.
After slaughtering the monsters who resisted Dana’s control, Banessa, drenched in blood, would stride back in and immediately change, wagging his tail and asking, “Sister, praise me, please.”
At first, people had been shocked by this duality, but now they had reached the point where they turned a blind eye to the reality of Banessa.
It was a well-known secret that the palace attendants, who had to observe the couple closely, struggled to maintain their composure in the face of such scenes.
“It’s even worse than before. I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
Of course, there was one person who continued to voice sharp remarks without hesitation.
It was Callisto, who, after endless pleading from the former Tower Master, had finally become the owner of the Magic Tower.
Once a prince, after becoming the Tower Master, he was given the title of Grand Duke as a mark of respect.
Even after becoming a Grand Duke, his foul temper, second only to Banessa’s, often led to clashes between the two, and the nature of their conflicts was truly peculiar.
When the two growled at each other, it was as ferocious as a thunderstorm, but after some time, Banessa would start laughing slyly and wagging his tail while Callisto would shudder in disgust.
Sometimes, Callisto would gag and beg him to stop.
“Ah, why, brother? I said I love you, didn’t I? Why don’t you understand my love?”
“Shut up, please… Ugh.”
Every time, Callisto’s gaze towards Banessa was one of pure contempt.
Even though Banessa would be bombarded with insults, he would cheekily continue provoking him. It was as if he was asking to be hit with words, and those nearby lived in constant fear of being caught in the crossfire. They desperately wished Banessa would tone it down.
“Hah, as expected. Teasing my brother is the most fun thing in the world.”
After that phrase became widely known, everyone gave up.
The funny thing was that, despite his loathing for Banessa’s constant teasing, Callisto could never stand to see anyone else attack Banessa.
Although Banessa was the sole husband of the Holy Empire’s Emperor and the wing of the Saintess as well as a duke, he still had limitations due to his status.
Among the rebellious nobles, some looked down on Banessa, noting that he was once a knight of the Principality, and, worse, a commoner.
Some of them, having lost their sense of fear, would occasionally do something outrageous, thinking that Callisto, who openly despised Banessa, would side with them, subtly bad-mouthing Banessa.
For example, they would suggest things like, “How about Her Majesty takes a second husband?”
“Her Majesty is not only chosen by the goddess but is also the sole ruler of the empire. She has the right to have more men.”
Feigning praise for Dana while subtly belittling Banessa, Callisto would listen quietly before suddenly exploding and flipping everything upside down.
Those who believed he was firmly on their side would be in shock, and as Callisto gazed down at them, he would declare icily:
“No matter how much of an idiot he is, he’s still Latil’s father. He’s not someone you fools can touch.”
Indeed, Callisto was unmistakably…
A doting uncle.
The creature born from the terrifying couple Dana and Banessa had, in turn, connected to the equally fearsome Callisto.
On the other hand, everyone expected that Latil, the sole princess of the Holy Empire, the daughter of that terrifying couple, and the niece of the dread-inducing Tower Master, would grow up to be a formidable figure herself…
But that was far from the case.
Which is why she was hiding right now.
Anxious and nervous.
* * *
Latil’s personality was timid, to say the least. It was as if a rabbit had been born among predators.
She was like a rabbit who would prick up its ears at the smallest sound, startled. She was incredibly sensitive, easily hurt, and would feel guilty over even the smallest mistakes.
Especially when it came to her own minor errors, she would fret endlessly. Over trivial matters, she would quickly fall into self-blame, her eyes welling up with tears.
She was completely different from her mother, who elegantly smiled while throwing those who criticized her into the lake, her father, who chuckled while dancing with his sword, or her uncle, who would emotionlessly recite a destruction spell, deeming others unworthy of his attention.
Naturally, Latil’s popularity in the imperial palace soared to the highest levels.
To the palace attendants, whose blood was practically drying up from dealing with the predators, Latil was nothing short of an angel.
Moreover, Latil’s appearance was astonishingly lovely.
She did resemble her parents’ features, but there was a gentleness about her.
No one knew how such an impossible thing came to be, but it was true.
“S-sorry. I-I dropped the strawberry by accident…”
When she stared at the empty fork in confusion, with her large crimson eyes welling up with tears, it made one want to wash every strawberry in the world and offer them to her.
Those who knew Latil cherished her dearly, but they also worried greatly about her.
Latil’s heart didn’t seem to harden at all. They say that sometimes a child’s personality can be drastically different from their parents, and Latil seemed to be that case.
The palace attendants, whenever they gathered, would often worry about Latil.
“Our princess, will she be able to navigate this harsh world?”
Latil was the treasure of the Holy Empire’s royal family. To the palace attendants, she was precious as life itself.
Without Latil, they would have long been unable to endure the pressure of the predators and would have resigned.
In short, Latil was their job security insurance.
“There are so many bad people in this world. What if someone tries to harm the princess? Or take advantage of her?”
“If that happens, the empire might be doomed.”
Naturally, the ones to bring down the empire would be the mad couple and the Tower Master.
In any case, the timid princess, who had captured the love of the three predators, recently had one particular worry.
‘Do I really have to take these divine lessons?’
It was a set of divine lessons she had started receiving not long ago.
Years ago, a prophecy came to the empire. It foretold that a new ruler would come to the Holy Empire.
At first, Dana and Banessa had suspected Leticia and their children, Lehira and Abel.
Given that Lehira was born with Gilead’s power, they believed the possibility leaned more toward Prince Abel.
They eagerly awaited the appearance of the new representative of the goddess, but no divine power appeared in Abel.
That wasn’t the only strange thing. They searched the entire Holy Empire, yet no child was born with any extraordinary divine power.
“What in the world is going on? Why hasn’t the new ruler of the Holy Empire appeared?”
Frustrated, the mad couple decided to try something new.
They decided to put their daughter through divine lessons.
Though neither of them considered themselves particularly pious, Latil was, after all, the daughter of the wing.
Of course, they didn’t force her.
To outsiders, the two might have seemed unhinged, but their love for their daughter was boundless.
They did worry, though, knowing their daughter was a bit different from them.
After all, predators can’t raise a rabbit.
Nonetheless, they asked her as gently as possible.
Did she want to take divine lessons? They assured her that if she didn’t want to, she absolutely didn’t have to.
Latil said she would take the lessons.
The couple, overjoyed, arranged the best teacher for her.
But they overlooked one thing: Latil was far more timid than they realized.
In truth, Latil didn’t want to take the lessons.
But unable to express her true feelings, she forced herself to attend the classes.
Despite that, her sense of responsibility was so great that she always gave her best effort in every lesson. The teachers assigned to Latil were astonished at how quickly the princess’s abilities improved each day.
They constantly praised her, saying the princess was naturally gifted, surely a genius. Even the predator couple, always watching for signs in their rabbit daughter, rejoiced at the compliments.
Then one day…
Latil finally ran away from her lessons.
It happened on the very day that Julios and Lehira arrived at the empire.
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