Chapter 132

“How do you know that?”

“Those symptoms are caused by clumped mana. I can resolve it by using the recovery magic I possess.”

“Recovery magic?”

The Emperor’s startled eyes twitched slightly. Even Caldeon looked toward Enria, seemingly taken aback by her sudden offer.

“Are you saying you can use recovery magic?”

“I can, Your Majesty.”

“Does that mean my current state is similar to the Grand Duke’s mana rampage?”

When the Emperor mentioned Caldeon’s rampage, Enria glanced at Caldeon in surprise, but he merely signaled with his eyes that the Emperor obviously knew about his condition. Enria turned back to the Emperor.

“It is not as dangerous as a full rampage. However, stagnant magical energies have become entangled in various forms, preventing your fatigue from dissipating.”

“Do you know this because you are the owner of the Oracle?”

This time, it was Enria’s turn to be flustered. In the Emperor’s eyes, she was merely the daughter of Viscount Libenus. Since his memory did not contain the information that she was a Saintess, it was only natural for him to be suspicious of her sudden claim.

‘But he said he knows I’m suppressing Caldeon’s mana rampage…?’

Enria felt confused, not knowing exactly how she was represented in the Emperor’s modified memories. Sensing her dilemma immediately, Caldeon spoke up.

“Your Majesty, surely you are aware that she is a Saintess who does not belong to the Great Sanctuary.”

“A Saintess not belonging to the Great Sanctuary?”

By nature, Saintesses were meant to belong to the Great Sanctuary from birth. Being adopted or raised in a common household was practically unheard of. Thus, the Emperor’s expression grew skeptical.

Caldeon skillfully wove a mix of the truth from before the illusion and the lies created after it.

“The fact that she possesses the ability to suppress my mana rampage is likely related to that.”

He explained that because her birth was different from ordinary Saintesses, she had developed a different kind of power. He claimed that her grandmother, not her mother, had been the Saintess, which was why she hadn’t been inducted into the Sanctuary.

He added that even though she had holy power, the Great Sanctuary had declared her unfit because her power was unstable and her mother—who had abandoned her—was not a Saintess. The Sanctuary was just as sensitive about bloodlines as the Imperial family.

In this way, Caldeon ensured the Viscount wouldn’t be punished and that Enria would never be claimed by the Sanctuary in the future. He concluded by saying he had explained all of this to the Emperor when he first brought her to the castle.

The Emperor looked slightly troubled by the fact that he couldn’t recall such an important detail. Watching from the side, Enria marveled at Caldeon’s quick-witted handling of the situation.

“I see.”

The Emperor nodded, glossing over the gap in his memory. He asked Enria if this chronic fatigue would truly disappear if she used her magic.

“Yes. I can assure you that the fatigue that haunts you every morning will be lifted.”

“She is the one who easily suppresses my rampages. You may trust her.”

After adding his support, Caldeon turned to Enria.

“However, the recovery must be performed with minimal contact.”

As Enria looked at him, she saw his eyes were chillingly cold.

‘Ah, he’s angry…’

She had made the decision to heal the Emperor without consulting him, so it was no surprise he was upset. Given his pathological jealousy and possessiveness, the thought of her touching the Emperor was clearly unbearable. Enria chided her own rashness; she had been so focused on winning over the Emperor using her knowledge of the original plot that she hadn’t considered Caldeon’s reaction.

The Emperor nodded and held out his hand to Enria.

“Shall I give you my hand?”

“Ah…”

“Just the fingertip will suffice.”

Before Enria could even answer, Caldeon cut in.

‘Fingertips?’

Enria looked at Caldeon, puzzled. He took her right hand and gently guided her to hold up only her index finger. Then, he requested the Emperor do the same.

When the Emperor extended his finger, Caldeon brought Enria’s fingertip into contact with the Emperor’s. The pose was reminiscent of The Creation of Adam, making Enria’s brow furrow slightly.

However, as soon as their tips touched, her eyes flew open. While it wasn’t as intense as Caldeon’s rampage, she felt a similar sensation of countless energies being tangled and knotted.

Among those born with magic, the Imperial family possessed a vast difference in power, and the Emperor was exceptionally strong. Because he hadn’t used that power since ascending the throne, the internal energies had nowhere to go, resulting in this chaotic entanglement. If he had used his strength to slay monsters, this wouldn’t have happened, but it was a bitter irony that his noble status—which forbade him from being in harm’s way—had caused this illness.

Enria began to channel her holy power through their fingertips to unravel the mess. Recovery would have been faster with more contact, but seeing Caldeon glaring at their touching fingers as if he wanted to devour them, she couldn’t bring herself to suggest holding hands.

***

“What…?”

Rahar’s face turned stone-cold upon hearing Tearen’s words. He looked as though he couldn’t comprehend what he had just heard.

“I said I’m going to date Roseanne with the intention of marriage.”

Tearen kindly repeated himself.

“You’re going to do what?”

“You heard him, why do you keep asking?”

When Roseanne frowned at Rahar, Tearen patted Rahar’s shoulder and nodded.

Rahar blinked rapidly. The sudden news that his best friend and his only sister were dating with marriage in mind was not something he could just brush off. To Rahar and Caldeon—who had never dated—Tearen was a man whose past was excessively promiscuous. He didn’t think such a man suited his pure sister at all.

“T-that’s impossible…!”

“Miss Belona, what do you think of Lord Tearen and me? Do we look good together?”

Roseanne interrupted her brother’s stern protest to ask Belona. She was faithfully following Hayden’s advice to seek Belona’s help.

“Yes, I think you look perfect together.”

“Belona.”

When Belona answered without a hint of hesitation, Rahar called out her name in a disapproving tone. Belona simply shrugged.

“What? I just answered her question. Did I do something wrong?”

“Tearen is a man who has met countless women. My sister has never dated anyone.”

“And?”

“What do you mean ‘and’?”

“Are you saying you would never date someone who has been in a relationship before?”

Belona’s blunt question made Rahar’s face turn pale.

“Regardless of how a previous relationship ended, are you saying that simply having the experience of dating and breaking up is a disqualification for being with someone who hasn’t dated? Is that what you think?”

“I-I don’t go that far, but…”

“Then what’s the problem? Sir Tearen is a better candidate for a boyfriend and a husband than anyone.”

At Belona’s words, Rahar couldn’t say another word and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. Seeing this, Roseanne realized that her brother really did like Belona and was heavily influenced by her. She had been a bit confused seeing Rahar so focused on Belona, considering he used to have feelings for Enria.

‘I really can’t understand when he started falling for Belona.’

Furthermore, Belona was a woman who had recently lost her lover. Roseanne worried whether her brother’s feelings were truly love or just pity.

‘Well, I suppose love can bloom in the midst of chaos.’

Deciding that their business was their own, Roseanne stopped worrying about them.

“Actually, when someone with experience becomes serious, they can make their partner much happier than someone who is clumsy,” Belona added.

Rahar’s brow furrowed slightly. It was obvious he wanted to argue that it was sophistry, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. He was clearly walking on eggshells around her.

Roseanne looked at Rahar and wondered how Hayden knew to tell them to get Belona’s help. She felt a twinge of pity for her brother, who had started yet another difficult unrequited love.

“But Tearen is…”

“I am serious, so you can trust me,” Tearen said firmly to Rahar.

As Rahar glared at him, Tearen spoke again with a grave voice.

“This is completely different from my past casual flings. Roseanne is the first woman I have ever truly loved.”

At that, Rahar’s eyes nearly popped out of his head, and Roseanne’s face turned bright red.

“Wait, so you didn’t even love your previous girlfriends?! That makes you even more of a piece of trash, you bastard!”

Rahar shouted, so agitated he looked like he might spit fire.