Late at night.

The one-story building situated in the innermost part of the Grand Temple was being used as the Pope’s residence.

It wasn’t as splendid as foreign palaces, but it was neat and had a certain charm.

A small outdoor space extended behind the bedroom.

Yupheon was soaking in a wooden bathtub under the pouring moonlight.

Despite the cold weather, the hot steam emitted from the water in the tub was warming the small space.

Yupheon, with his chin resting crookedly on his hand, raised a glass of red wine.

Damian had brought it secretly from the other priests.

Drinking alcohol inside the Grand Temple was strictly prohibited, but what did it matter?

From the beginning, Yupheon wasn’t the type to care about stuffy regulations, and from the priests’ perspective, they had long been grateful if he just quietly enjoyed his drinking.

Yupheon sipped his wine and recalled what had happened earlier today.

“I like you, Lady Jella. Please marry me.”

“Please allow me to offer the Empire to you.”

When he had gone to find Jella and discovered Niel proposing, he had caused a commotion and interfered to his heart’s content.

Recalling Niel’s frowning face filled with disgust made him feel good.

As a result, Niel had issued a restraining order against him and expelled him from Yetrisha.

Not only that, he had even blocked the portal connecting the Imperial Palace and the Grand Temple to prevent him from returning to Yetrisha.

It was all the price for interfering with his proposal, but Yupheon was satisfied.

“Hmph. Did he think I would quietly watch that scene with my eyes open?”

He had a general idea of what Niel Alpenhayer’s intentions were in proposing to her.

‘He said he would offer the Empire to her.’

Yupheon narrowed his eyes slightly, then spat out a biting curse.

“Cowardly bastard. Using the Empire to tempt her.”

Jella quite liked her country.

In the end, she had effectively erased the name of Shunaibel from history with her own hands, but nevertheless, she deeply cherished and loved that land and its people.

“Should I also offer the Holy Nation? Should I say I’ll give her the entire Order?”

After pretending to seriously consider it, Yupheon pouted.

“But what would Jella do with that?”

His expression turned sulky.

Now that he thought about it, he seemed like a man with no charm. He had no empire to give her…

Even Cail Aleret had a splendid castle in the north, while he was just a Pope who couldn’t even marry.

It seemed she wouldn’t like this boring Holy Nation full of priests who only nagged about everything, even if he offered it.

Yupheon felt depressed, thinking he was losing to both Niel and Cail.

If she were asked which of the three men she would choose, it was obvious she would exclude him first.

What use was a man who had nothing but a pretty face and a strong body?

‘Well, it’s always been that way.’

It wasn’t particularly a new realization.

Since childhood, he had nothing to give her except his pretty face, yet he would throw tantrums about marrying her.

The priests found him cute for that, and his father Johannes would be a bit embarrassed.

Remembering those somewhat blurred old days made him smile inadvertently.

‘But back then, Jella was already a princess who had everything, so I thought I could just bring my pretty face to the marriage…’

Yupheon let out a deep sigh.

His melancholy eyes suddenly noticed a bare branch preparing to sprout new buds.

Winter seemed to be ending soon.

“Should I make a wish?”

There was an old legend that had been passed down in the Holy Nation for a long time.

Before new buds sprouted, at the end of winter, a messenger sent by God Arne would give gifts to good children.

So the children of the Holy Nation would pray to God Arne for what they wanted as winter came to an end.

Young Jella and Yuphe, the troublemakers of the Grand Temple, were no exception.

“God Arne. Please give good Jella a large kingdom as a gift. If you give me a kingdom, I will rule it wisely and prudently.”

Jella had been generous like a princess since she was young.

Even then, Yupheon was upset that he couldn’t give her what she wanted.

Still, he would secretly place small cookies by her bedside, pretending they were gifts brought by God Arne.

The honest girl would grumble that the stingy god wouldn’t give her the kingdom she asked for and only gave cookies.

But every time she crunched into the cookies he had brought and smiled brightly, saying they were delicious, his heart would swell and flutter…

“But Yuphe, what did you pray to God Arne for?”

“Huh? I, I…”

At her sudden question, Yupheon couldn’t answer and only blushed.

She grew suspicious and persistently questioned him, but he evaded answering until the end, saying it was a secret.

Eventually, she became upset with him, calling him mean, but still, he couldn’t reveal his prayer to her.

Then and now, what he wished for was the same.

He had already killed God Arne with his own hands, and he wasn’t particularly a good child, but…

“Please make pretty Jella fall from the sky.”

Yupheon looked up at the dark night sky and said it out loud for no reason.

Naturally, nothing happened.

“Of course not.”

A laugh escaped him.

Young Yuphe’s wish was an unattainable dream then and now.

‘”God Arne, please give good Yuphe pretty Jella as a gift. I will be a devout husband who serves and dedicates his life to pretty Jella.”

Yet there was a time when he would neatly fold his hands every night before sleep and pray to God.

“Fraudulent god bastard. You just took my prayers and never gave me a gift?”

It seemed he had killed the god who couldn’t even fulfill prayers too mercifully.

He knew for certain because he had been to the divine realm. There was no such thing as a divine messenger bringing gifts to children.

Because of that false legend, he had held vain hope for many years.

Despite his long-standing wish, Jella had never seen him as a romantic interest.

Not only that, now she even hated him.

“When did you both follow me in? And Yuphe, I told you not to appear before me. I said we should be strangers, have you already forgotten?”

When he had interfered with Niel’s proposal and followed her into her pharmacy, she had spoken in a cold voice.

“I’m grateful for your help with Yuria, but that doesn’t erase what happened between you and me. I don’t want you to try to gloss over things by taking advantage of my confusion, so either explain yourself properly or remain strangers with me forever—your choice.”

A certain firmness was felt in her indifferent tone.

He had deliberately put on a brazen face and tried to use his pretty face to charm her, but it was useless.

She probably wouldn’t let him near her until he gave a proper answer.

But how could he tell Jella? That he had done those things to save her.

The option of revealing the truth to her was impossible from the beginning, so all he could do was wait for her heart to soften.

“It seems this will take quite a long time…”

In fact, Yupheon also knew.

If he didn’t explain now, even if her heart softened after a long time, their relationship could never return to what it was before.

“I guess I’ll never be loved again.”

That face that used to smile at him warmly, that lovely voice that would chatter only by his side, all that familiar kindness—all of those things would never be his again.

“Poor Yuphe will just be hated until the end.”

It’s quite cruel for the price of saving her.

Newly feeling bad, Yupheon muttered with a gloomy face as he twirled his empty wine glass.

“This cursed world. I wish it would all collapse.”

Just at that moment.

Crash!

The sound of something breaking loudly was heard.

“……”

Yupheon slowly put down the wine glass he was holding.

Then he blinked and looked toward the sound. Because it was enclosed on all sides, all he could see was the black sky.

“…What was that?”

He had said he wished the cursed world would collapse, was his wish really coming true?

As Yupheon was blinking.

Click, the door leading to the bedroom opened and Damian rushed in.

“Holiness! There’s an intruder in the Grand Temple right now!”

“Why are you reporting that to me? Can’t you handle it yourselves?”

“I came to warn you to be careful!”

“Careful?”

“Don’t kill innocent people just because you’re in a bad mood again.”

Suddenly Yupheon’s eyes sharpened.

“Are you worried about the intruder bastard instead of me?”

“It’s a time when you should be restraining yourself after the recent incident.”

“Stop talking nonsense and bring more alcohol.”

Yupheon angrily chased Damian away.

From a distance, he could hear something else breaking and priests bustling about.

Yupheon frowned and got up.

He couldn’t stay here any longer like this.

With the splashing sound of water, droplets ran down his body and dripped below.

He roughly wiped the moisture with a thick towel placed beside the tub and was casually draping a robe over his n*ked body when:

A rustling sound was heard above his head.

He absently raised his head to glance up at the empty space…

Thud.

Jella, dressed in a white dress, landed in front of him.

“…?”

His golden eyes grew round.

To good Yuphe, a gift had fallen from the sky.