CH 64

Now seated on a red sofa with gold trimmings, she set her eyes upon Jace, who was gazing upon her with awe. Lowering the ends of her eyebrows, she looked up at him with a tearful expression.

“I apologize for imposing a visit all of a sudden, Your Highness. But I was so worried that I couldn’t stand it.”

“Who has made you so worried, Saintess?”

Not knowing that she was just making this all up, Jace lowered his voice and asked back. It seemed like he would be relieved only after he’d know who it was who dared to make the saintess feel so anxious.

He could not forget the feeling of ecstasy that came upon him like waves the moment he met the saintess.

Guides were thought only to be a legend in this land. When she had infused him with her energy for the first time, he had been filled with such an overwhelming and dizzying sensation. It was not even enough to exemplify that experience with the word ‘ecstasy’.

“The person who’s making me worried is none other than you.”

“Pardon?”

“Two weeks have already passed since I guided you, yet you haven’t called me until now. I came here because I got worried.”

“Goodness… Haha, I was the one who worried you, Saintess. When you say guiding, do you mean the act of removing impure energy?”

“Oh, yes. It’s what we call it back where I came from, but I’m not sure what it’s called here.”

“Now that you mention it, I’m curious as well. I’ll have to look into the records.”

“Yes. Please let me know if you find it.”

“Of course.”

During the conversation, the chief attendant came back and brought with him a wide array of colorful refreshments and a set of teacups that was meant for the exclusive use of the imperial family. With fluid movements, he poured tea into the cups of the crown prince and saintess.

Seo-yoon was enraptured—it was like a scene straight out of a movie. Receiving the saintess’s attention, the chief attendant left the crown prince’s office with his shoulders laid back with confidence.

“Have some, Saintess.”

“Thank you.”

Savoring the scent of the aromatic tea, she burst into an exclamation after taking a sip.

“It tastes completely different from the tea that I drank at the temple.”

“These tea leaves are distributed only to the Imperial Family, so you won’t be able to taste them anywhere else.”

“I see.”

Hearing his words, Seo-yoon let out a sigh of satisfaction. It felt as if she was on cloud nine each and everyday here at the empire. She would never have received the same sincere hospitality back in Korea.

She had been looked down upon as a mere C-Class Guide, and she was forced to work practically like a servant. She didn’t want to look back on those days, but she couldn’t help it.

At that thought, she patted the phone hidden in her wide sleeves.

When she thought about how she ended up at this place, she was overcome with the urge to bare her teeth and explode in anger, but she tried to calm herself down. Instead of dwelling on that, she asked the crown prince.

“Would you like me to guide you?”

As Seo-yoon asked this question with a clear, ringing voice, the look in Jace’s eyes changed. The gaze behind his sky-colored eyes, carrying only light courtesy, soon darkened.

It was impossible for Seo-yoon not to know the meaning of that gaze. No, rather, it was wishful thinking. She yearned so much for the possessive desire of an Esper that only superior Guides received.

Thinking back on those abominable high-level Guides, Seo-yoon laughed inwardly, but none of her bitter feelings could be seen on the gentle smile on her lips.

With the same saintly smile that the priests had praised so much in the temple, she reached out her hand to him.

“Give me your hand, Your Highness.”

As though possessed, Jace did as he was told. As his hand made contact with the saintess’s palm, it’s as if divine energy was flowing into his body.

At the sensation that he didn’t have the leisure to feel before, he burst into an exclamation as the impure energy within him was washed away.

He closed his eyes and savored this feeling of ecstasy, and he gulped dryly. It certainly seemed like he had been satiated, but strangely enough, he rather felt thirstier.

Seo-yoon smiled innocently at the crown prince, who slowly raised his eyes while giving him a more blatant look.

“You must not be as satisfied as you were before.”

“…How did you know?”

“It’s a natural reaction. After all, proper guiding can’t be achieved just by hand-holding alone.”

“Then… How can proper guiding be done, Saintess?”

“Well…”

Seo-yoon got up from her seat and drew nearer to the crown prince. Jace’s eyes were persistently fixed upon the saintess as she approached him.

His instincts screamed at him to reach out to her slender waist and pull her straight onto his lap. Then, at that moment, Seo-yoon did sit down on his lap.

If the chief attendant had been here, no matter how much he revered the saintess, he would have shouted indignantly at the sight of this.

However, the only people in this office were the two of them, and there was no one there to stop them from doing so. Besides that, Jace had no intention of pushing her away.

This was what they both wanted. Lightly, Seo-yoon pressed her lips upon his. The dizzying energy that flowed into him now couldn’t be compared to the gentle trickle that he experienced through merely holding her hand. Everything seemed to swirl.

“Haa…”

At the dizzying and overwhelming sensation, a deep sigh spilled through his lips.

“But Your Highness…”

“…What is it?”

As he was experiencing this type of guiding for the first time in his life, Jace’s eyes were out of focus, and he asked back dazedly. Seo-yoon caressed his cheek.

“Where is the other Esper besides Your Highness?”

She was told that there were two Espers in the empire, but just where was the other one? Why hadn’t he come to her to receive her guiding yet?

The question made Jace quite displeased.