CH 117

“Down!” Cecile commanded. Richard involuntarily bent down with an audible thump. “Wow, any command works?”

“Didn’t I tell you?” Estian laughed.

“Then this time…” Cecile’s eyes glistened with enjoyment, as she cried out again, “crawl on all fours!”

“Hey!” Richard exclaimed in protest, but his body contorted to faithfully carry out the empress’s order. Cecile’s fun continued in this manner for a while, until eventually Richard lay on the floor begging, “Estian! Will you please stop your wife!”

“Why should I?” In Estian’s opinion, the mage lord barely scraped the surface of paying off for the sin of causing chaos in the imperial palace. This degree of suffering was nothing.

“At this rate, I have a feeling that she’ll make me bark like a dog and crawl over to lick her heels!” Richard wailed.

Cecile frowned at the rather specific depiction, but it gradually gave way to a look of interest. Was this the moment when she’d open her eyes to a new world? “Shall we try that too?”

Estian watched with satisfaction as his empress had her fun. She commanded Richard to crawl ten laps around the room with one leg held up in the air; it was apparent her grudge regarding the Girgantia incident was quite deep. Comforted that there wouldn’t be any problems while he was away destroying the dukedom, he asked, “Do you feel a bit reassured now?”

“Somewhat yes, but…” Cecile trailed off.

“But?”

“Can’t you not go to war, Your Majesty?” Her tone was a mixture of grumbling, pleading, longing, and worry.

The emotion in Cecile’s voice almost made Estian reply that he wouldn’t go, but he resisted the impulse. From her point of view, it seemed nothing more than a war of conquest, but for him, it was both his right and duty. As the emperor, he had promised to serve his enemies their just deserts, and he would not go back on his word. “That I can’t do,” Estian said.

“I understand.” Instead of insisting, Cecile clasped his hand and raised and pressed it against her lips. “Still, I hope you’ll come back quickly, safe and sound.”

Estian wordlessly bent over to quietly kiss her on the forehead. Meanwhile, from somewhere behind them, Richard shouted, “Hey guys! I finished ten laps!”

Act 6: Stake Everything

“This totally sucks,” the saintess griped as she observed herself in the mirror. A good chunk of her shoulder-length hair had been lopped off, and its former dark color had been altered to a light brown. On top of it all, she was sporting a thick pair of glasses with a dizzying prescription. “Love is a sin. A sin, I say! The lengths I go to snag myself a man,” she muttered and sighed.

“Are you ready yet? I’ll really leave you behind!” Irene shouted from behind.

The saintess immediately turned around with a bright smile as she replied, “Oh what are you talking about, milady? I’ve been waiting since last night. Let us head for the imperial palace already!”

She wasn’t lying—the saintess had been waiting with bated breath for this day ever since she found out there was an opportunity to return to the imperial. About a week had passed since Irene had suddenly returned to the mansion and declared, “I have decided to become Her Majesty’s handmaiden!” The maids immediately flew into action and began packing Irene’s belongings.

“Handmaiden? But how?” The saintess asked. There had been no announcement of a handmaiden election. How did this come about so suddenly?

“Hmph. Her Majesty extended a special invitation to me, to come to the palace as her handmaiden. She must’ve been impressed by my academic excellence,” Irene replied smugly. It was true that Irene impressed Cecile, though to be precise, she was impressed by how the young noble lady had gracefully dished out criticism and rendered Yuliana speechless.

“Whatever the case, that’s wonderful! I’ll get prepared right away!” The saintess exclaimed. Although she still didn’t fully understand the situation, she jumped at the chance to enter the imperial palace. She was about to hurry off to prepare for the trip when suddenly Irene grabbed her by the scruff.

“You can’t. You can’t go,” Irene said firmly.

“What bull are you…” The saintess stopped, quickly correcting herself. “U-uh, what do you mean can’t?”

” I promise to come back to play often, so be a good girl and house-sit the mansion for me while I’m gone. Sir Kane won’t let you off if you appear at the imperial palace again! I had to lie that you weren’t here to send him away! So be mature!”

“Lie? Send him away?”

“I explained that you’d been blinded by love for a man you’d met in a bar, and ran off with my jewels overnight. He went back looking dismayed. Didn’t ask anything further.”

“Of all the lies to tell, why did it have to be that?!”

The saintess admitted she was a little man-crazy, but she never stooped to thievery! What an unforeseen turn of events! Still, the saintess refused to give up and clung to the hem of Irene’s dress. She rolled around on the floor like a child, demanding to be taken along. Despite her efforts, the latter stood firm, and the two remained in a stalemate for the rest of the day, until eventually Irene caved—on one condition.

“Disguise yourself! Change the length of your hair, and the color too!” Irene demanded.

All of which led to the saintess’s current appearance. She wasn’t pleased, but it couldn’t be helped. She’d heard that Estian was departing to attack Etia soon. That meant there wasn’t much time left until the calamitous event where he’ll go berserk. To calm him, the saintess needed to enter Cecile’s body. She’d abandon her current body when that happens, so she went ahead and cut and dyed her hair. Still, for some reason, she couldn’t help but feel some sadness.

‘No. It’s a disposable body. There’s nothing to regret.’ The saintess firmed her resolve, as she boarded the coach heading to the palace. The first thing she had to do upon entering the imperial palace today was to approach Cecile as soon as possible. ‘That’s the only way to save Estian.’

Except, a mere three hours later, the saintess found herself in dire straits.

“How curious,” Kane mused, smiling at the saintess. “How could somebody, who gave their body and heart away to some random man at first sight and thieved her lady’s jewels, be here in the imperial palace?”