I looked at the treasure in front of me in bliss. It was a beautiful treasure made from gold and jewels in the shape of a human heart. It was also the ‘heart’ Callian found for me.
“Is this enough?”
“Ah! Yup!”
The treasure made my heart race. ‘How much is it?’ I was afraid they would literally give me a human heart, but Callian and Miltiades were sharp.
“You’re the best!”
The two of them looked proud as they saw me smile.
I brought it back with me to the room and was admiring it when Luciana sighed, “You’re quite excited for someone who shouldn’t be moved by secular greed.”
“But it’s pretty,” I had a weakness for beautiful things. “Beauty will save the world!”
“I see,” Luciana sighed again. It wasn’t the first time she saw me like this, so I was confused.
“Why are you sighing?”
“I’m worried about you.”
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“Why?”
“I’m scared that you’ll fall for some guy who looks more normal than he actually is.”
“Haha. What does that mean?” I brushed off her comment, but Luciana was serious.
“I’m serious, Saintess.”
“How serious?”
Luciana glared at me. She was not amused.
“It’ll be too late once you fall for their face and have your organs removed. Do you understand?”
I laughed at her nagging. She placed her hand on her hip. I put down the treasure to hug her.
“It’s fine, Luci! There’s nothing for you to worry about,” It was the one thing I could swear on. “That’s because the only person I’ve fallen for is Daddy.”
“…” I didn’t know if I left her speechless, but Luciana made a face.
“Saintess, that’s even worse.”
“Hehe,” I hugged her again.
But it was the truth! I was living my best fangirl life. I rubbed my cheek against her neck, “And Luci, you’re wrong about one thing.”
“What?”
“True fans aren’t ashamed of ruining their lives. They’re actually proud of it,” my present life was ruined! I was a mess because of my favorite character! It was like a badge of honor for a fangirl.
“I’m so proud of this body.”
“Oh, Lord Almighty…” Luciana held her head in her hands at the sight of my smug satisfaction. She was at such a loss that she could only turn to God.
* * *
The palace was in a flurry at the emperor’s return, especially the nobles who went out to greet him.
“His Majesty hated little children so much…” most of the nobility were in shock. They felt like they had been hit by a hammer.
“Didn’t he ignore any child in his vicinity?”
“That’s why the 13th prince is still in that state…” no-one said anything out loud, but Miltiades seemed like a whole new person.
“From what I’ve seen, he’s totally enamored with the saintess.”
Even those who saw what happened with their own two eyes couldn’t believe it, much less those who merely heard what happened.
Everyone came to the same conclusion, “Is His Majesty going crazy?”
There were other opinions as well, “Isn’t it because she’s the saintess?”
“Don’t you know how His Majesty feels about the Holy Empire? He’d even kill the Pope if he could.”
“But she’s the saintess.”
They knew well that she wasn’t a fake made by humans. It had been three thousand years since the last saintess appeared. These beings were able to perform miracles around the world.
“Then is this a miracle…?” asked everyone expectantly.
At that moment, someone smiled and whispered, “Or His Majesty has finally realized his responsibility.” There was a sparkle in his eyes, “Don’t you think he’s finally thinking of the future of the empire?”
“The future of the empire…”
“Since he has a child now, he might not want to be a bachelor anymore,” the eyes of the nobles lit up at the word ‘bachelor.’ They were probably all thinking the same thing.
* * *
“Are they all hallucinating?”
“Woah, woah. Calm down, Your Majesty,” coaxed the man who had just finished reporting.
The reason everyone was making him sick and tired boiled down to nothing but stupidity. He couldn’t keep calm. It had only been a week since his return and during that time…
He had been assailed by a sudden wave of marriage proposals. Every night, a different woman was hiding in his bedroom. The nobles had kept sending women to him.
“Do they have a death wish?” Miltiades genuinely wanted to know.
“What’s there to be embarrassed about if the empress comes from their family?” someone said, his blue eyes sparkling.
“Achillios.”
He was a good-looking man, with snow-white hair and an innocent face. And although he acted like everything was the other nobles’ idea, he also took part.
“Is that why you sent a woman to me? And your cousin, no less?”
“Well, I learned to use every tool at my disposal. Don’t you think we both would have gained something if Katarina became the empress?”
While Achillios stood smiling, Miltiades couldn’t hide his disgust.
“I understand where they’re coming from. As the one who knows you best, even I was surprised by how you behaved when you were with the saintess.”
In fact, Achillios thought he would’ve been less surprised if he had seen the world’s most ferocious beast on a leash.
“Who would have thought that you would play the role of a father so calmly?”
Although Achillios knew the situation, he was still shocked. But he was also happy about it. He enjoyed unexpected situations.
“Everyone kept saying you finally learned to love.”
“Bullshit.”
Achillios smiled at Miltiades’s fierce dismissal, “Well, I think it’s true.”
Others, however, thought differently. A predator who showed his weak spot looked like easy prey. Now that a weakness had appeared, who knew how many more there were?
“You already had countless women around you. I guess there’ll be more.”
“…”
“Now that it’s come to this, why don’t you just follow along? Kill two birds with one stone.”
“Get rid of them all,” said Achillios, laughing at Miltiades’s low voice. “You didn’t hate playing around with women. You seemed to be having fun.”
Miltiades’s expression crumbled, and a sharp glint appeared in his golden eyes. He had been that kind of person in the past: unable to sleep at night, so he needed an activity to kill time. And the women who tempted him had been enough. But with time, strong alcohol and beautiful women couldn’t get him drunk anymore.
“Anyways, get rid of them all before I kill them myself.”
“What a shame. And here I thought Rahel would finally have an empress.”
Miltiades couldn’t tell if Achillios was happy or sad. Truth be told, Achillios wasn’t interested in Rahel’s empress.
“Your Majesty, when will you introduce me to the saintess?” Achillios asked, looking at Miltiades with the excitement of a little boy who was entering the palace for the first time.
Miltiades looked at Achillios calmly. Despite his innocent appearance, the latter was actually quite dangerous. He had no scruples. Miltiades’s expression immediately hardened when he thought of Achillios being near the child.
“Drop dead.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’ll introduce you when you drop dead.”
“…”
Achillios’s face fell, “Your Majesty? You’re telling me to…”
“Drop dead,” repeated Miltiades a third time.
Achillios’s dreams were crushed.
* * *
I blinked in silent confusion at the huge pile of boxes before me, “What are…all these?”
The servants brought in even more items. I only had a few dresses, robes, and formalwear items, but the closet was full of luxurious dresses. And as if that wasn’t enough, there were also shoes on display. There were even hats and glasses, even though I didn’t usually wear those.
And to top it all off, an extravagant, jeweled tiara sat on a velvet red cushion.
“A tiara?” my gaze was drawn to it despite the many other items in the room. My eyes widened in awe at the unusually intense shine of the diamonds. ‘I think I’ve only seen this online. How much would I get if I sold it?’
Entranced, I kept gazing at it while Miltiades’s servants proudly explained, “This is from the vault of the previous Princess Royal. It hasn’t been officially sealed yet, but you are the only princess in the Rahel Empire, so you have the right to wear it.”
I tilted my head at the servant’s proud voice. ‘Did he send this because he saw how happy I was with the heart?’
The servant’s expression faltered at my lukewarm reaction, but he cleared his throat and continued, “His Majesty has already ordered us to make room for your things.”
The servant glanced at me. He seemed to be asking if I was happy with it.
“Hm,” I was happy to hear that he wanted to make a vault for me. I was happy with the pretty things and jewelry. But…
“Is he the type to give money as a substitute for attention?”
“…” The servant’s face fell. I seemed to have hit the nail on the head.
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