“Saintess, another visitor has come to see you today.”

After returning to the Alpha Empire, I didn’t stay at the imperial palace. I wasn’t staying at the Detached Palace either. I was living quietly in a peaceful village near the capital.

Originally I planned to live alone, but that didn’t work out. Marianne had followed me.

“I’m busy, so tell them I can’t meet today. Refuse everyone who comes, no matter who it is.”

“Understood.”

Marianne gave a matter-of-fact bow and left the room. Left alone, I turned my gaze to the window.

I could see one of the imperial officials pleading with Marianne.

“The Saintess is very busy, so she cannot meet today.”

“If today doesn’t work, please let me meet her next time. It’s urgent.”

“I’m just the messenger, so there’s nothing I can do. But I’ll pass along your words.”

When Marianne maintained courtesy but showed a firm attitude, the other party had no choice but to leave without further pleading.

Since returning to the Alpha Empire, I hadn’t had a single quiet day. Priests, administrators, even ministers. When did they ever treat me coldly in the past? Lately they’ve been frequently visiting and bothering me.

Their changed evaluation of me was because of Diane. After she no longer had any Holy power left and her crimes were revealed, their attitudes completely changed.

Come to think of it, what happened to her after that? I hadn’t heard any news since she was captured in the Beta Empire.

“How is Lady Radner’s punishment proceeding?”

When Marianne entered the room with refreshments, I asked her.

“She’ll be locked in a cell for life. She committed impersonating a Saintess, embezzlement, and even attempted murder.”

Considering her actions all this time, it was a natural result, but part of me felt bitter about it.

Though we had bad blood between us, she was still the protagonist of the novel, wasn’t she? Since she became the protagonist, she should have lived faithfully according to the original story. I couldn’t understand why she tried to avoid hardships and brought disaster upon herself.

Well, if she had that kind of personality, she wouldn’t have killed me in a drunk driving accident in her previous life in the first place. If we hadn’t been bound by bad karma, I might have forgiven her.

But considering what she had done to me all this time, I had no such thoughts. So from today onward, I would no longer pity Diane.

Having settled my feelings, I headed to the prayer room.

The place where I currently stayed was a temple. Even though I didn’t go to the Alpha Empire’s imperial palace, I was still praying for the empire’s people.

Just praying here should be enough, but the reason elder nobles and ministers kept coming to find me was because of the imperial succession issue.

Theodore still hid the fact that his curse had been lifted, and even falsely reported the divine oracle.

They said that if Theodore couldn’t produce an heir and someone else became emperor, the Alpha Empire would have no future.

‘Is it okay for the Crown Prince to lie? Won’t God be angry?’

‘Since it’s a lie I’m telling to win you, won’t God forgive this small transgression?’

When I asked why he told such lies because it was absurd, his response was quite something. He was so shameless that even God would probably be flustered, but like he said, it didn’t seem like something to get angry about.

As I expected, even though Theodore went around lying, God showed no reaction. Seeing that, it seemed like God wanted him and me to work out.

Lost in thought, I snapped back to attention when I heard Marianne’s voice.

“Saintess, His Highness the Crown Prince isn’t coming today.”

“He must be busy.”

“Isn’t it strange that someone who made time during his break every day to visit isn’t coming for one day?”

“No. I don’t mind at all.”

He had been visiting me every day since I came to the Alpha Empire, trying to win my heart.

Even though I said I didn’t need gifts, Theodore brought presents every time he came to see me. They weren’t flashy things like dresses, jewelry, or accessories.

He brought gifts not for me, but for the people around me. Refreshments for everyone to share, souvenirs from other empires, or useful items for daily life, and so on.

Theodore knew that even if I refused gifts for myself, I wouldn’t refuse gifts for others, so he was giving presents to the people around me.

As a result, Marianne would inform me whenever Theodore visited.

‘That’s bribery.’

‘Even if it’s bribery, it’s good. Especially since it’s a gift from His Highness the Crown Prince, it’s an honor. When would I ever receive such gifts? But it’s starting to feel burdensome, so how about accepting His Highness’s feelings?’

I had complained to Marianne once, but I didn’t even break even.

To be honest, Theodore visiting me every day was annoying, but more than that, I felt grateful.

Just seeing him give practical gifts for daily life showed that he was being considerate of me.

Even though six months had passed since he expressed his feelings to me, I still couldn’t accept Theodore’s heart.

Every time we met, he gave me a single flower and a letter expressing his feelings, so I could tell he was sincere.

Yet I still couldn’t open my heart because my feelings for him had already left long ago. There was no need to hold onto a relationship that had already ended.

So I tried to erase Theodore from my mind and focus on prayer. That’s when it happened.

“Saintess, it seems you need to go to the imperial palace urgently.”

A priest with a pale face burst open the prayer room door. Since this rarely happened, something must have occurred at the imperial palace.

“What’s wrong?”

“His Highness the Crown Prince has burns…”

The moment I heard that something had happened to Theodore, I hurriedly got into the carriage. What could have suddenly happened to him?

I was only called to the imperial palace when there were critical patients to treat, so I was worried.

Hadn’t he been nearly dying when we met in the Beta Empire last time? During the carriage ride, I was anxious that something might happen to him.

“We’ve arrived.”

Since it was only a 10-minute carriage ride, we arrived quickly. Getting out of the carriage, I tried to hurry to Theodore’s office.

“Saintess, not that way, this way.”

The priest led me not to the office but to the training grounds. I ran after him. I could only hope nothing serious had happened.

The moment I arrived at the training grounds, I saw a man wrapped in bandages all over his body, including his face. I could tell at a glance that he had burns. My heart sank.

No way…

What kind of training had he been doing at the training grounds to get hurt like that? Hoping it wasn’t a serious injury, I ran to him.

“I’ll treat you right now.”

I immediately used Holy power to heal him. I was worried that burn scars might remain even after using Holy power, but the wounds completely disappeared.

“Are you okay?”

After finishing the treatment, I was about to remove the bandages when someone placed a hand on my shoulder. Thinking it might be medical staff, I turned my head and was startled. Theodore was there with a quite displeased expression.

“Those guys will take care of removing the bandages, so stop paying attention to that fellow now.”

To prevent me from touching the bandaged man’s body any further, Theodore grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward where he was.

“I heard you were injured. Wasn’t that the case?”

“No. The guy who was sparring with me suddenly got sparks on his head and got burned. That’s why I called you. Did you come running thinking I was hurt?”

Theodore wiped the sweat beading on my forehead and smiled.

“Can I think you’ve accepted my feelings now?”

No. I should say that I just came to treat an injured person, but those words wouldn’t come out of my mouth.

Hadn’t my heart been pounding just moments ago thinking Theodore was in an emergency situation? Hadn’t I come running just hearing his name because I was worried? So I could no longer treat him coldly.

Did he read my feelings? Theodore pressed his lips close to my ear and whispered in a sweet voice.

“I love you.”

The moment I heard his confession, tears welled up. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard this confession today. Yet what was it about those words that made the walls I’d built up in my heart crumble instantly?

How anxious I had been thinking he was hurt. In that moment, I could fully realize my feelings. That I still loved him.

My vision gradually blurred and I couldn’t see Theodore’s face clearly. He held me and whispered again.

“I love you. I won’t leave you alone and lonely anymore.”

At his voice that created a gentle resonance piercing my heart, I found myself nodding without realizing it.

“Yes.”

At that moment, I heard cheers and congratulations from the knights who had been standing like folding screens.

“Thank you. I’ll do well from now on.”

Theodore held me tightly and lightly kissed my forehead. Our love that had been crossing paths was beginning at this very moment.

fin.