Chapter 49

It was a rare evening when the whole family had gathered, and dessert was just being served as the meal came to a close.  

For the past few days, Esadien hadn’t shown up, and nothing major had happened. Everything had flowed along peacefully.  

I felt uneasy breaking that peace—but I couldn’t put it off any longer.  

“Um, I have something to say. Privately.”  

At my sudden words, all eyes turned to me. The servants quickly cleared the dishes and, along with the butler, left the dining room.  

But to my surprise, even Ramande stood up from his seat.  

“Where are you going?”  

“You’re only telling the family, right?”  

As if he wasn’t already basically family. I reached out and tugged him back down.  

“You need to hear this too.”  

“Okay, okay. Stop pulling on my clothes.”  

Though he grumbled, Ramande dragged his chair back and sat down again, the corners of his lips faintly curved in a smile.  

‘Playing hard to get even though he already knows everything.’

Mother seemed to think so too, because she smiled a little and asked,  

“Alright. What is it?”  

“I… I want to go to the Karnian estate in the north.”  

My sister Juela’s wedding was over. My coming-of-age ceremony had passed.  

The tasks my parents and Elga had to handle in the capital were likely complete, meaning it was time to begin preparations to return to our domain.  

“And I’d like to visit the seal on the spirit stone.”  

“…Hmm.”  

Mother still held unpleasant memories about the spirit stone, and her groan as she rubbed her forehead said as much.  

So Father asked instead.  

“I heard you met the Apostle of Plendena and the Archmage Brassidas. Was this your conclusion after that?”  

“Yes. I don’t think I can keep living with this power inside me.”  

Maybe it was because of the experiments with Brassidas, but my condition had grown unstable again.  

Lately, I would suddenly cough up blood—even without getting angry.  

Once before dinner today.  

Twice before bed yesterday.  

The heat inside my body felt more and more like a ticking time bomb.  

“I think I need to return at least my own power to the spirits, since their strength was stolen.”  

I explained everything I’d learned lately:  

Plendena’s hint when I met the Apostle—that it depended on the will of the spirit.  

That the Southern Fire Cult had been stealing and abusing the spirit’s power.  

That they seemed to be connected to the Second Prince.  

“But I don’t understand why someone like a prince would harm innocent people in the empire.”  

“A complicated tale,” Father sighed, rubbing between his eyes—almost exactly like how Mother had just looked.  

“The Second Prince has long held resentment toward His Majesty.”  

The Crown Princess and the Second Prince had different mothers.  

After the Crown Princess’ mother passed away, the current Empress had been chosen purely for political reasons. The Emperor had never loved her.  

“And she passed away after ten years as Empress.”  

Not long after that, Princess Maya died, and Esadien entered the palace.  

The problem was the Emperor’s overwhelming grief.  

Despite showing no tears at the Empress’s funeral, the Emperor was said to have shut himself away, refusing to eat or drink after his sister’s death.  

“No one dared to speak openly, but there were many rumors.”  

So that’s where the animosity began.  

Why were imperial family dramas always so tangled?

‘Still, what kind of person takes out personal grudges on unrelated civilians?’  

I’d never met the Second Prince, but I already had a terrible impression of him.  

“Anyway, I want to check the spirit stone. That’s as far as I’ve thought.”  

“Aren’t you scared, Minuelle?” Elga asked with concern.  

I answered honestly. It wasn’t something I could hide.  

“I’m scared.”  

The Fire Spirit… it was practically the embodiment of my fears.  

‘Honestly, if I could run away, I would—right now.’  

Yes, people in the South were suffering.  

But it still felt distant—like a war happening in a country across the ocean, eight or nine hours away by plane.  

Yet, the reason I was choosing to move was…

It was partly for Theodore, who was still grieving the loss of his men.  

Partly for Palos, who had just stepped onto the path of a mage.  

…But more than anyone else, it was for myself.  

‘I just have this feeling that I can’t keep running forever.’  

What if Cult of Fire’s influence reached all the way to Roquate? To the north?  

Of course, my parents and sisters would try to protect me. And if I were to lose any of them because I hesitated—  

I’d never be able to forgive myself.

‘If I’m going to be pushed into a corner and bled dry, I’d rather face what I’m afraid of.’

Dead or alive. 

“Either I live or die.  So I might as well crash into it first.”  

“Ha… haha.”  

My sisters and mother began to laugh, and Father quietly shook his head.  

“You really are a true Karnian.”  

Lately, I felt like I was hearing that phrase a lot.  

“I just wanted to keep showing you the soft, beautiful things and hide everything else. When did our baby grow up so much?”  

With a sigh mixed with laughter, Sister Juela asked me a question.  

“Let’s say everything goes well. What do you want to do next?”  

“Hmm… There’s a mansion in Sermender. I’m thinking of living there. As for the rest—I’ll decide when the time comes.”  

“Oh my. Not here?”  

“Roquate’s too complicated. I keep running into the Third Prince.”  

“Hm~.”  

A brief, awkward silence passed before it was broken by Ramande, who had stayed quiet the whole time.  

“Why aren’t you talking about the handsome men?”  

“…The what?”  

“Minuelle said she’s going to start collecting good-looking men now.”  

“Ramande! You jerk!”  

I shot up in outrage.  

“N-no, that was just a joke! Don’t you know how to take a joke?”  

I scrambled to cover it up, but it was already too late. No one was listening to me anymore.  

My sisters—oh, they were truth-bombers through and through.  

“Well, our youngest does seem to really appreciate a pretty face.”  

“To be honest, you liked the Third Prince because of his looks, didn’t you?”  

They weren’t even teasing—just calmly stating facts—and I was instantly shredded to bits.  

‘T-this is mortifying…’

Unable to take it, I buried my face in my hands.  

Sure, people understood that I grew up in Plendena’s temple and developed a love for beautiful things.  

But actually saying “I’m going to collect handsome men!” out loud in front of my entire family? Including my in-laws?

I was so embarrassed I felt like I was glowing with heat.  

Not just metaphorically—literally, even my nose started to feel hot.

‘Wait… my nose?’

Sure enough, the moment I sensed something was wrong, a nosebleed began to drip like it had been waiting for its cue.  

“Whoa. Minuelle, tilt your head forward.”  

Ramande reacted quickly and tended to me, and thanks to that, the topic was finally dropped.  

But the mood had turned heavy in an instant.  

“Go on upstairs and get some rest, Minuelle.”  

“I’m fine. Really. I’m not even sick—”  

“Now.”  

…No winning against my parents when they spoke like that. I pouted and got up without complaint.  

“I’ll support our baby’s dreams to the fullest, okay?”  

Sister Juela’s light joke made me laugh again.  

Then, unexpectedly, Sister Elga turned to Ramande and asked, “But Priest Ramande, are you really okay with this?”  

I tilted my head, not understanding what she meant—but Ramande clearly did.  

He answered firmly, without hesitation:  

“Of course I am.”

* * *

“Minuelle.”  

Ramande called out, but I kept walking, pretending not to hear him.  

It had been this way the entire time on our way up to the second floor.  

I wanted to know what Sister Elga meant by what she said earlier, but… somehow I felt that if I just asked, Ramande wouldn’t tell me.  

“Are you mad?”  

That was part of it. I really had been embarrassed.  

“Sorry. I figured everyone would find out eventually, but… maybe it was too soon.”  

“It was a joke, you know?”  

“But you’re always serious when it comes to beauty.”  

“….”  

I wanted to argue—but he wasn’t wrong.  

“Thanks to you, I’ve decided I won’t let it be just a joke. I’m going to make it happen. So, thanks a lot.”  

Just then, we arrived at my door. I reached for the handle, but before I could open it, Ramande placed his hand over mine, stopping me.  

“You’re really mad, huh. If an apology’s not enough… what should I do?”  

‘That should be enough grovelling.’  

I turned to look at Ramande with a completely straight face.  

“That thing Sister Elga said earlier. What did she mean?”  

“Hm?”  

“When she asked if you were ‘still okay with it.’ What did she mean by that?”  

“…Ah.”  

Ramande let out a short laugh and dropped his gaze.  

“That’s what this was about?”  

“Yeah. It was something I didn’t know about. I thought something might be going on.”  

Just as Ramande knew everything about me, I also thought I knew everything about him.  

The fact that something might’ve happened while we were spending less time together in the capital… that made me uneasy.  

But Ramande lightly flicked the tip of my nose and scolded me in a casual tone.  

“Don’t be dramatic. I thought she meant whether I was okay with going back to the north.”  

“Really?”  

“You know how much I hate the cold. Your family estate is even further north than Sermender.”  

“….”  

“You don’t believe me?”  

“…I believe you.”  

It didn’t feel entirely convincing, but—if I couldn’t trust Ramande, who could I trust?  

As I slowly nodded, he released his hand and leaned forward.  

“Just let me stay like this for a bit.”  

Tap. Ramande’s forehead gently touched my shoulder.  

‘So he is going through something, after all.’  

Just as I had leaned on Ramande for ten years, it was natural that he’d lean on me when he was feeling unsteady.  

I lifted my hand and began gently stroking his back in a familiar, comforting motion.  

“You’ve had a lot on your plate lately, huh?”  

“Can’t help it if I’m just that capable.”  

“Right. I really should make you a proper tonic or something.”  

“You want to see me lose sleep for a week?”  

His soft chuckle vibrated through my shoulder, through my chest, and into my heart.  

After laughing for a moment, Ramande’s voice grew low and serious.  

“Minuelle… once everything’s over and you’re healthy again… I won’t be needed anymore, right?”  

‘So that’s what this was about.’ 

Even if we were close, almost like siblings, maybe Ramande still saw his main role as my personal healer.  

“You’re the one who kept begging to graduate from being my nanny.”  

Honestly, it was a little shocking to hear him say that.  

But I tried my best not to show it.  

“I told you, didn’t I? You’ll always be someone who can stay by my side.”  

If I’m no longer sick, maybe he can finally be with someone he truly likes.  

Without any worries.  

“Ramande.”  

“Yeah.”  

“I’ll push through… for you, too.”  

After all, I owe him nearly ten years of my life.  

But sweet, soft-hearted Ramande only said this—  

“Silly… Do it for yourself.”  

His breathy laugh and sigh tickled softly against my chest.  

“That’s enough for me.”