Chapter 108

“That help you speak of—what exactly is it?”

The Third Prince’s eyes, which had worn a perpetually anxious light, carried an altogether different feel. Though his gaze remained gentle, a sharp, penetrating scrutiny of me could be felt somewhere deep within them.

‘Something feels different from before, somehow.’

Tilting my head, I subconsciously peered into the Third Prince’s eyes. As I did, he naturally avoided my gaze and added, “S-Still, shouldn’t I know…? At least what the contents are.”

By every measure, he looked thoroughly terrified yet was desperately trying to summon his courage. His slender, delicate frame was pulled taut and huddled inward.

Watching him, I figured I must have simply imagined things. After all, that brief flash had been far too fleeting to over-interpret.

Pushing my useless thoughts aside, I answered his question.

“I will provide you with a position where Your Highness can safely take shelter.”

“Provide me with a position…?”

The Third Prince shuddered faintly and looked up at me.

Licking my lips, I got straight to the point.

“Please take the seat of the High Priest.”

“What did you just say…?”

The Third Prince’s face turned deathly pale. His navy-blue eyes drifted aimlessly, trembling with agitation.

To persuade him, I spoke in a firm, steady voice.

“If Your Highness ascends to the position of High Priest, you will naturally be able to step away from the power struggles. Furthermore, since the power of the church will be managed by imperial blood…”

“W-Wait. Even if you say it so abruptly, isn’t it all too sudden?”

Bringing a hand to his lips, the Third Prince looked utterly at a loss. He seemed thrown into chaos as a flurry of complex thoughts raced through his mind.

“I know. I know how sudden and out-of-context this proposal sounds. But the church needs Your Highness. I earnestly ask that you try to understand my heart, even as I risk committing a grave discourtesy.”

“……”

To calm my rapidly beating heart, which was hammering from sheer tension, I secretly and slowly regulated my breathing.

I had assumed that after reading the letter, the Third Prince would have grasped my intentions to some extent, but it seemed he had interpreted my message in an entirely different direction.

To see him this utterly shaken—leaving aside whether he was even a suitable figure for the position of High Priest, I began to doubt whether this deal could even be successfully struck at all.

Keeping his mouth tightly shut for a long moment, the Third Prince finally forced out a reply.

“I… never imagined you would say something like that.”

A sense of profound futility flickered across the Third Prince’s expression as he murmured those words.

“Then why on earth did you…”

“Because, quite literally, I did need your help.”

“……”

Having no idea what the Third Prince was talking about, I had no choice but to simply stand there and stare at him.

With a bitter smile, the Third Prince explained.

“Fortunately, it seems the rumors haven’t spread too widely. I had an accident recently where I fell down a cliff.”

“……!”

A cliff. Could that possibly…

Noticing the shock in my wide eyes, the Third Prince wore a gloomy expression. Then, perhaps recalling that moment, he grabbed his own arm with one hand.

“I hid myself away to avoid my older brother hearing any needless talk. But the injury turned out to be much worse than I thought. The minor scrapes have already healed completely, but…”

The Third Prince’s eyes sparkled with moisture. Only then did I realize the cause behind his somewhat awkward posture, his huddled, cowering frame, and his weakly sunken complexion.

Looking closely again, I could see cold sweat beading on his blanched face.

If the pain was severe enough that he couldn’t endure it even after all this time, how badly must the wound have festered? Without a second thought, I stood up and stepped closer to him.

“Are you alright? Let me see the wound right away…”

However, the Third Prince checked me, retreating backward to put distance between us.

“No, i-it’s fine. Stop.”

Though I didn’t know the reason, the Third Prince had initially tried to ignore my letter. Yet, in the end, he had called for me, and he had looked as though he were waiting for me. If that meant the pain from his injury had become utterly unbearable…

Then why on earth was he telling me to stop?

I possessed the healing power to help him, and using it wasn’t a particularly difficult task.

Moreover, if he had gone so far as to summon me despite taking on risks, it wouldn’t have been strange even if he had commanded me to heal his wound immediately.

“Why are you refusing? Weren’t you the one who decided to meet with me because you wanted to escape this pain even for a single moment?”

Even as he looked at my anxious, flustered state, the Third Prince pulled his clothes tighter around himself and shook his head.

“I… cannot grant what you want.”

“What are you even saying right now…”

“I am not suited for a position like that.”

I blinked in utter stupefaction. He was saying he had no intention of becoming the High Priest, and therefore he couldn’t accept my help either.

“That is not what is important right now. If your wound has become infected, you could lose your life.”

Frustration made my voice rise in pitch before I could stop it. I could understand his timid and frail personality, but I simply couldn’t stand by and watch him leave a dangerous situation neglected.

This was a completely different matter from merely trying to understand him.

Yet, the Third Prince’s attitude was unyielding. Hesitant and stammering though he was, his refusal was so resolute that there was not an inch of opening to press further.

In the end, with a feeling close to resignation, I tried a different angle of persuasion.

“I will not ask anything of Your Highness. I give you my word. So please, just let me look at the wound.”

At my words, the Third Prince’s gaze flickered minutely. In that tiny sign of agitation, I caught a glimmer of hope.

However, his lips still spat out a refusal.

“No. No matter what you say to me, I cannot trust you.”

“……”

His voice sounded different from before. Much like the moment when I had felt he was scrutinizing me.

The more he moved his lips, the more the air in the room grew cold and stiff. Every single word the Third Prince uttered felt heavy with an overwhelming sense of command and control.

“There is no such thing as kindness without a price. At least, not among the imperial family. So please withdraw when I tell you I have nothing to give in return.”

I could sense a sturdy, unbending core hidden within his delicate voice. His words weren’t just a blind, knee-jerk rejection of me.

His cold, calculating refusal was rooted in the absolute stance that he would never accept anything beyond a strictly calculated transaction.

If I hadn’t asked him to take the seat of the High Priest, he probably would have sought treatment even if it meant paying a heavy price, including sealing my lips with a gag order.

But contrary to his expectations, since I clearly wanted something specific from him, he had boldly thrown away the chance to make a deal with me.

As expected, no matter how weak they looked on the outside, royalty were still royalty after all.

‘Or is everything he’s showing me just an act?’

I met his eyes, exposed briefly between the strands of purple hair that threatened to obscure his gaze. They were as coolly sunken as if he would draw a blade the moment I took a single step closer.

“Lady Lilia.”

Ciel, who had been silently watching the situation unfold the entire time, called out my name. It seemed he had sensed that if things went any further, the guards stationed around the Third Prince might draw their swords.

With no other choice, I stepped back from the Third Prince’s side. Yet, my gaze lingered on him, heavily troubled by the sight of him letting out ragged breaths of pain.

Sinking back into my seat, I spoke to him one last time.

“It cannot be helped if you do not trust me. But… what I said to you earlier was the absolute truth.”

“……”

“Even if what I possess is deemed the power of the Goddess, I cannot heal the wounds of someone whose death has already been sealed by those very injuries. Please, change your mind before it is too late.”

The Third Prince’s expression shifted complexly.

“Are you threatening me right now?”

“A sort of… threat, I suppose. Though it does feel a bit unfair, considering my only real desire was to treat you.”

As I answered with a faint smile, I could see the Third Prince’s tense momentum ease just a fraction.

He returned to his previous gentle, docile appearance as he stared at me. But even seeing that face now, I no longer felt he was simply frail and weak the way I had before.

If anything, he looked more like a fierce beast draped in the skin of a small, harmless animal.

“If it were you… you could easily threaten me in other ways, couldn’t you? You could have simply told me that if I don’t let you treat me, I’ll die right this instant, so I have no choice but to obey your words.”

“I don’t think you’re the kind of person to fall for such cheap tricks.”

If I had actually blurted out something like that, my head might have been cleanly sliced off by the attendant guarding his side.

Especially in a secluded place where absolutely no one else knew we were here. It was the perfect spot to vanish without a trace. Harboring that chilling thought, I continued.

“And I didn’t want to persuade Your Highness using methods like that. Though I suppose you probably won’t believe that either.”

At my words, a faint, unreadable smile brushed across the Third Prince’s lips. Though it quickly vanished as a fresh wave of pain seemed to wash over him.

I stared blankly at the teacup he was holding. Was the reason his choice of tea differed from mine also because of its medicinal properties?

“It pains my heart to have to refuse your proposal. But… I must refuse all the same. Both the seat of the High Priest, and your treatment.”

“……I understand. Please let me know if your mind ever changes.”

Swallowing down a heavy, complicated heart, I gave a nod. I wanted nothing more than to keep persuading him to the end, but the person before me was imperial royalty. When ordered to withdraw, one had no choice but to retreat.

Did this mean I had no other option left but to search for a different method to secure the High Priest’s seat?

I felt a lingering sense of unfairness at being chased away before I could even have a proper, detailed conversation with him, but that only emphasized just how firm and unyielding his answer had been.

Dragging my reluctant feet, I headed toward the carriage alongside Ciel. We had to hurry back and figure out a new plan.

“Pardon the interruption.”

Just then, a voice called out, stopping us in our tracks.

“You are…”

It was the man who had guarded the Third Prince’s side with a dark, grim expression the entire time.

“My name is Elaine, and I serve as the aide to His Highness the Third Prince. Greetings to the Goddess of the Empire.”