Chapter 4.2

My hands worked quietly like a machine, and now there was only one window left. My forearm was tingling from the muscle strain after using my arms with such force after a long time.

It would have been better if I had taken it easy, but I couldn’t because Jeras, who had taken it upon himself to be a supervisor no one asked for, was watching me from behind.

I rubbed my forearm a couple of times and stepped onto a chair. It was a good thing there was a chair of the right height.

“Go a little more to the left. Your hand doesn’t reach all the way.”

It hadn’t been long since I started wiping, but the nagging had already begun. He nitpicked about everything, from a missed spot to dust clumping from the moisture and a stain. Jeras was constantly finding fault while I wiped the window. He was already the type of person who seemed to live to torment me, but today was a bit much.

‘Is he mad about me splashing water on him earlier? He’s so petty.’

It wasn’t my intention, but it was my mistake. Since this was the last one, I’d just endure it. There was no point in fighting with a lunatic who even brought a black glove to check for dust. I leaned my body a little more to the left and stretched my arm.

“More.”

“More? Don’t you think it reaches far enough?”

I stood on my tiptoes and reached a little deeper. My fingertips finally touched the window frame. As I busily moved my hand in an uncomfortable position, my right foot slipped.

The balance I had barely maintained on my tiptoes collapsed in an instant. I let go of the rag, and my body tilted sharply to the right.

‘I’m falling…!’

I squeezed my eyes shut, anticipating the fall. ‘What if I break a bone? Does divine magic fix things like that too?’

But something firm and warm gently wrapped around me. The pain I was bracing for didn’t come.

“Why are you so careless? Are you desperate to get hurt?”

Instead, as soon as I opened my eyes, Jeras’s sharp rebuke came pouring out. I blinked in Jeras’s arms. It seemed he had caught me as I fell.

My gratitude was momentary, and a sense of injustice and irritation surged like a tidal wave. ‘Who is this because of?!’

“Who told me to wipe that high window frame! All you ever do is say I’m short and my legs are short. What’s wrong with you wiping it when you’re tall? Or at least holding the chair! You just stood there nagging!”

“I told you to wipe the dust, not to fall. And shouldn’t you speak up if you need help? How am I supposed to know if you don’t say anything?”

“As if Your Highness would’ve listened if I had said something. Just let me down.”

“I don’t like your attitude, so I won’t.”

“Did you eat something wrong today? Let me go!”

“Stay still. Stop struggling.”

‘What are you going to do if I don’t stay still? What are you going to do?!’

I struggled with all my might to get out of Jeras’s arms. Jeras, who had been frowning and looking down at me, suddenly thrust his face close to mine. I was embarrassed to see my reflection filling his eyes.

’No, no, wait a minute. Why are you getting closer?!’

“If you don’t listen to me, I’ll…”

Jeras’s lips were right in front of my nose. The scene of him taking off his glove overlapped with this, and the atmosphere was heading in a very bad direction.

‘What are you doing in a holy temple!’

Feeling an unspeakable sense of crisis, I recalled Grandpa Mason’s advice and drew upon my sense of justice and anger.

“In the name of God! Demon, begone! Begone!”

“…Aaaargh!”

A brilliant golden light burst from my body. Jeras’s loud shriek shook the temple.

“My eyes… my eyes!”

The strength in Jeras’s arms that were holding me gave way. I quickly escaped from his embrace.

Jeras covered his eyes with his hands and writhed in agony. To an outsider, it would have looked like he had been struck by divine power.

The unimaginable plot twist of Jeras, not Kieryk, being a demon wasn’t actually what was happening. It was just that I had momentarily gathered my divine power and shot out a bright light like a laser. In crude terms, he had been flash-banged.

He deserved it. It was his own doing. Why, you ask? Why did he have to create a weird atmosphere like that? And scare people.

The punishment seemed a bit light for the crime. Still, nothing bad happened, and he did save me from falling, so I decided to just watch for now.

“Now you’re even trying to stab my eyes out?”

“I’m sorry. My survival instincts just kicked in without me thinking… It’s divine power, so it won’t harm you. …Probably?”

“Do I look okay to you? I can’t open my eyes. What are you going to do? You did this, so you have to take responsibility.”

A suspicious scent wafted from him. The divine power I released was for a very short moment, not even two seconds. And since I can’t even handle divine power properly, how strong could the light be?

It was an unexpected attack, and the close proximity might have had an impact, but it wasn’t that serious. Moreover, Jeras had a very sturdy constitution that even a demon’s curse couldn’t properly affect.

However, watching him in pain didn’t make me feel completely at ease. I was worried about what would happen if something went wrong.

Sigh. ‘What a fate I have.’ If it weren’t for Sion, I’d be living a happy life with my new parents in the Duchy.

“Let me see. Are you in a lot of pain? If you still can’t see, I’ll go get Grandpa Mason…”

“Got you. You squirrel-like lady.”

“Wha—ow ow ow! My cheeks!”

Jeras grabbed my cheeks and stretched them out. The whole “I can’t see” thing was all a lie.

‘Oh, you’ve done it now. It’s a fight to the death.’

I glared at him and reached out my hand toward Jeras’s cheek. But just before my hand touched him, Jeras tilted his head back, and I missed by a hair.

“Ah! How dare you grab my hair? Let go right now! Do you want to be arrested for insulting a member of the imperial family?”

There’s no such thing as giving up in my dictionary. If you draw a sword, you must at least slice a radish, and if you reach out, you must grab something. I pulled on Jeras’s hair with all my might. Jeras’s face was distorted grotesquely. At the same time, a strong force was applied to my cheek.

‘It hurts!’

“We’re going to play like this, you see? One.”

“Two.”

“Three! We’re going to play like this! Hey! Let go!”

“You didn’t let go either! For a girl who’s in pain, you sure are strong!”

Jeras and I screamed as we pulled on each other’s cheeks and hair as if they were our own. Neither of us had any intention of letting go first.

It was a battle of the century, with Jeras’s scalp and my cheek at stake.

***

I thought my flesh was going to be torn off…

I rubbed my flushed cheek with a cold, smooth stone. Jeras, sitting a good distance away, had his head in his hands.

I have no greater nemesis. An irreconcilable foe. If I ever get married and have a family, I will make sure Jeras is remembered as an enemy for generations to come.

I glared at Jeras with a bone-deep grudge. Feeling my gaze, Jeras looked up and mouthed the words, “What are you looking at? Want to go another round?”

I shuddered and turned my back on Jeras. My cheek throbbed. The arm holding the stone was shaking. I had used my arm so hard that Jeras’s scalp couldn’t have come out unscathed. I found solace in that fact and soothed my hot cheek and my raging anger.

By the way, when is Grandpa Mason coming? I should be heading back to the mansion before it gets dark. I can’t just leave the children.

“How long are you going to stay here?”

“Why do you care?”

“I’m not asking because I like you, Your Highness. If you’re going to stay long, I’ll go. I was waiting for Grandpa, but he’s taking too long.”

“Where did the old man go?”

“I don’t know. He said he had some business to take care of and left. Can I go now?”

“Can you?”

His voice, thick with malice, asked back. I’m a fool for believing you. Giving up on everything, I rubbed the other cheek with the stone.

The warm afternoon sunlight shone through the windows into the temple. The goddess statue, where the sunlight fell, looked down on the temple with a benevolent face.

‘Goddess, can you hear my prayer? Please watch over that person with the twisted personality. That scoundrel cannot be reformed by human power. He’s a lost cause without the help of a god.’

“When did you dig the well behind the temple?”

While I was offering my meaningless prayer, Jeras spoke to me first.

“It was finished yesterday. I came to check if it was done well.”

“Ah, I see. I thought you came to play in the water.”

“If you’re only going to say things like that, don’t talk to me.”

“Did the old man ask you to dig it?”

“No. I did it because I thought it was necessary. Your Highness, you’re close to Grandpa, aren’t you?”

“I hate that old geezer.”

“Is there anyone you like?”

“Yes, my brother.”

Sigh. I let out a short sigh. It’s sad that I have to be grateful that there’s at least one person.

“I think Grandpa must be having a really hard time. He’s old, but he’s taking care of all those children by himself. The facilities are also poor. Why don’t you help him a little, Your Highness?”

“The old man is having a hard time? And what? The facilities are poor?”

Jeras, who had been sprawled out on the chair like a lazy cat, sat up straight.

‘What’s wrong with him? If you have eyes, just look. Look at the state of this temple.’ Even considering the size difference from the Grand Temple, it’s objectively not a good temple.

“There’s nothing here. The path isn’t properly paved, and the fence is so old it’s creaking. You have to walk a long way to get to the well.”

“Keep going.”

Jeras gestured with his chin, suppressing a laugh. I narrowed my eyes and continued.

“The clothes Grandpa is wearing look very old, too. It’s like he’s so busy taking care of the children that he doesn’t take care of himself at all…”

“Hahahaha!”

Jeras finally burst out laughing. Unlike Jeras, who was roaring with laughter, my expression grew colder.

There’s definitely something. Are you happy just because you’re the only one laughing? Can’t you let me laugh with you?

“Doesn’t the old man complain about the lack of help? That no one wants to come to a remote place like this?”

“Huh? Yes, he does. How did you know?”

“Hahahaha!”

Jeras clutched his stomach and laughed. ‘Let me laugh with you!’

“What is it? What’s going on? Tell me too. What is it?!”

“The old man’s repertoire hasn’t changed in years. I can’t believe he’s still using it… Squirrel, come here.”

Jeras stood up and pointed to a door on the inner side of the temple. The space beyond the door was where the old man and the children lived, he had said.

“Have you been inside?”

“No. He said I didn’t have to clean in there.”

“I bet he did. That’s also part of his repertoire. Watch.”

Jeras opened the door and went inside. Following him, I stepped into the room, and I was immediately filled with a sense of betrayal.

Beyond the door, a paradise unfolded. A long hallway had a fluffy, light-pink carpet on the floor, like cotton candy, and the walls were decorated with bright and cute wallpaper.

There were ten doors lined up on both sides at regular intervals.

“The kids each have their own room, the old man has one room, and the other one is a storage room. Understand?”

“…Is this magic?”

“Yeah. There’s also an illusion spell that makes it look like a shabby room if a person who isn’t designated by the old man opens the door.”

“Why…?”

“‘So we can get more financial support,’ he said. But he does use all the support he gets on the kids.”

Should I call him a con artist, but a good con artist? So that’s why the children looked so healthy compared to the size of the temple. It all makes sense now.

“The labor shortage isn’t because there aren’t enough priests. It’s because of the old man’s personality. Most people can’t last a month and leave. He’s so stubborn that even the Grand Temple has a hard time sending priests here.”

Did you send me to a person like that?

“He was… fine with me.”

“The old man must have liked you. He even taught you divine magic.”

“Is that because he felt bad about scamming me?”

“If he felt bad, he wouldn’t have scammed you in the first place.”

That’s a fair point. I nodded unconsciously. For once, he’s saying something right.

Jeras smiled meaningfully, looking at me in shock.

“Maybe he’s even pegged you as his successor. Do your best. His personality is bad, but he’s definitely skilled.”

Jeras patted me on the shoulder. It was neither comforting nor encouraging; it was nothing at all.

I don’t want to. I don’t want to. I’m not going to be a priestess! I just barely escaped from the High Priestress, and now this.

“If you get good, I might even make you my healing priestess.”

Jeras raised his chin arrogantly. I never asked to be, so why is he making such a fuss all by himself?

I left Jeras behind and ran out of the temple as if I were fleeing. I should have known from the moment he taught me divine magic even though I wasn’t an apprentice priestess.

He had a hidden agenda, and I was so naive!

***

Florese let out an internal snort at the sight of the young lady across from her, who was unable to lift her teacup.

It was their third meeting, yet the red-haired young lady still couldn’t look Florese in the eye. It seemed she was overly intimidated by the presence of the woman who now held the highest female position in the Empire, after the death of the Empress.

Florese took a sip of her tea and set the cup down.

“You’re too nervous, Siliya. Even though we are distant relatives by blood, am I really that frightening to you?”

“N-no, not at all. My apologies. I’m so sorry, Lady Florese. Please forgive me…!”

“Drink your tea. It will help you calm down.”

“Yes, yes…!”

Siliya gulped down the tea as soon as Florese finished her sentence. It was so hot and she drank it so quickly that her mouth stung.

Florese watched Siliya wipe her mouth with a handkerchief, and then she placed a small glass vial on the table. A transparent, water-like liquid sloshed inside the vial.

“You understand, don’t you? That you only get one chance.”

“I… I understand.”

“Good. My expectations for you are very high. I’m sure your parents feel the same way.”

Siliya clutched the vial with her trembling hands. Then she wrapped it in her handkerchief and stuffed it into the space between her dress and her chest.

The existence of this potion must never, ever be discovered by anyone.

“You may leave now. I’ll see you at the ball. I will prepare the necessary items and send them to you.”

“I… I will keep that in mind.”

Florese watched Siliya’s stumbling figure as she left the garden for a long time.

Soon, a ball that many people would never forget was about to take place.