CH 119

“I understand that Lady Irene conspired to conceal your whereabouts. Both of you should be charged with the crime of false testimony,” Kane purred, pausing to watch the maid gulp nervously. “However, if you stay put and don’t run off before I return, then I will forget this matter.”

The maid wordlessly nodded her agreement. Having secured her cooperation, Kane straightened himself and released her from his arms. This would be it… for now. He’d used the emperor’s authority to essentially coerce a pledge from her not to escape. Since she accompanied Irene to the imperial palace, she would remain on the palace grounds for the near future.

“Then let us meet again later,” Kane said with a satisfied smile, before turning and strolling away.

Long after Kane had retreated from view, the saintess sank to her knees. “What’s up with him?” She felt that something was twisted; she sensed a familiar hunger in the way Kane had regarded her. ‘He’s acting in the same manner as Irene! Something is terribly off, I say.’

Irene’s obsessive-love was triggered when she thought her beloved maid was leaving her, and now Kane was acting similarly. Putting aside Irene, Kane’s obsessive feelings should be directed at ‘Cecile’. Why was she now the target of his obsession? It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing per se; it was far better than being met with hostility.

‘Come to think of it, what happened to the original saintess’s soul? Will she return to this body if I disappear?’ Her goal was to replace Cecile and enter her body, but what would come of the saintess’s body afterwards? It was a question that deeply troubled her. Surely if the original soul had lingered, it would’ve made its presence known. However, not once had the saintess heard the original owner speak.

Still, the saintess was convinced that if her soul left the saintess’s body, then the real saintess’s soul would be able to return. Only as Cecile would she be able to calm Estian’s heart. ‘I’m doing this for everyone. I must enter Cecile’s body after all.’ The only sacrifice in this plan would be the villainess, Cecile.

This plan lessened her guilt too. The saintess had heard the rumors on the street surrounding the empress. The recent rumors were particularly scandalous—it was said that since the emperor had stopped visiting her, the empress had forced her way into his presence and threw herself at him. Irene had been irate, ranting about all the details of the scandalous affair.

“Goodness gracious! They say she then barreled straight into the main palace and attempted to smash His Majesty’s door apart! And then she stayed inside his quarters with him for days on end!” Irene shrieked. She had loudly lamented that the empress’ dignity was trampled on the ground, and worried how other nations would view this incident.

On the other hand, the saintess had to discreetly wipe away the drool from the corner of her mouth. ‘Days on end? Holy moly.’ She had truly done well putting in the keyword ‘vigorous‘.

“What are you doing here? I told you not to go around for no reason.” Irene’s voice broke the saintess out of her reverie. She hadn’t heard Irene exit the room while she was caught up in reminiscing about her days as the author.

“I just went to the bathroom for a bit.” The saintess decided it best to keep the meeting with Kane a secret.

“Get ready quickly. We’re heading to the empress’s palace now.”

The saintess clenched her fists in excitement. Finally! It was time to meet ‘Cecile’. Trailing behind Irene, the saintess took one final glance in the direction Kane had disappeared. ‘Thinking about it, I missed out on an opportunity again!’

After Kane had left, the saintess had felt overwhelming regret, but had only just realized the reason. ‘I didn’t kiss him!’ Once the saintess entered Cecile’s body, there would be no more opportunities to have some fun with Kane. This was her final chance. ‘Gosh. He’s tall and has such wide shoulders too. The perfect image of a knight commander…’

Recalling how it felt to be trapped between his arms and the wall, the saintess felt the impulse to smack the ground in excitement. Why hadn’t she thought to rub her lips against his in that moment? She was unlikely to get another chance, and that thought plagued the saintess with lingering regret.

* * *

Irene and her party were swiftly escorted by the attendants of the empress’s palace upon arrival. The saintess couldn’t help but gape at the splendor as they were guided in. ‘I supposed I did describe the palace as the most beautiful place in the world.’ She hadn’t given much afterthought to the simple one-liner she had written to describe the palace, so it still came as a surprise to behold how gorgeous the palace was. All her regret over missing her chance with Kane was quickly swept away by thoughts of becoming the owner of the palace. ‘All of this will be mine from now on… including Estian, of course.’

Soon they were led before a huge door. It was obvious without explanation that the room of the empress lay beyond it. “Your Majesty, Lady Irene has arrived,” the attendant standing outside loudly announced.

However, they were met with silence.

“Your Majesty. Lady Irene has arrived!” The attendant cried out once more in a slightly louder voice. Still, there was no response. The attendants exchanged glances in bewilderment.

“What’s the matter?” Irene asked.

“This shouldn’t be… She was waiting for Lady Irene until just a while ago…” an attendant mumbled.

“Could something have happened inside?” Another attendant hazarded a guess.

It would be terrible if an incident had befallen the empress. The emperor and the knight commander had only departed from the imperial palace today. If the empress had already been struck by a mishap, the attendants would be doomed to meet their ends.

When their subsequent cries still went unanswered, the attendants decided they couldn’t wait any longer. “Forgive us, Your Majesty! We will be entering!” The attendants moved to force the doors open, but soon they all froze in shock. “Your Majesty, are you… Goodness!”

‘Huh? What is it? What’s happened now?’ The saintess peered around the attendants and peeked through the open doors. Even she couldn’t help but let out a low whistle at the sight in front of her—inside the room, the empress was straddling a handsome silver-haired young boy.