Chapter 3 – Part 1

Eliana was certainly more defiant than before, which Cedric couldn’t comprehend.

‘I need to break her spirit, make sure she can’t even make a sound.’

Nothing had changed, and if she incurred his wrath, it would only harm her. Cedric thought he still held the upper hand.

‘What does it matter if a hundred people recognize you? I don’t. You’re in a position where you should beg for my acknowledgment, so what’s with this stiff attitude?’

Cedric always thought of Eliana with disdain.

Noah, unable to find a way to ease the escalating tension between the two, just fidgeted. If he intervened rashly, he would face the Crown Prince’s wrath.

“Did I need to learn how to look at you as well, Your Highness?”

“What?“

“I simply respond with the appropriate expression to your demands that I cannot accept.”

Eliana continued without any hint of fear.

“Ha.“

“Instead of shifting the topic to trivial complaints about my gaze, why don’t you ask His Majesty? Request him to withdraw his order that I accompany you as your fiancée. Because I cannot forsake my duty on my own.”

“…!”

Cedric’s eyes widened at Eliana’s audacious words.

“If you request it and His Majesty permits, I will comply without hesitation. Then, whether by coincidence or not, we won’t encounter each other in such places.”

“This… really…!”

Eliana had struck Cedric’s weak spot head-on.

“You! Do you think I can’t do it?”

Cedric raised his voice, putting his hands on his hips.

“No, I believe you can.“

Cedric’s frown deepened.

Eliana wasn’t trying to attract his attention as she did at the Marquis Lequizet party. Despite a hundred annoyances, the woman who used to laugh and link arms with him was gone.

When she cheekily responded to him at the party back then, he thought she was trying to attract him in a new way and scoffed. But now, her eyes and words had crossed a line, showing no intention of backing down.

“Ask His Majesty?”

Already furious over the forced engagement, Cedric’s patience with Eliana’s behavior wore thin.

“Do you think my position as your fiancé makes me a joke? How dare you tell me what to do!“

“Your Highness Cedric, please calm down.”

Unable to watch the situation worsen, Noah finally intervened, knowing he risked a severe reprimand. He firmly grabbed Cedric’s arm and pulled.

“Lady Leiberte, please stop too. This is the Grand Temple. You mustn’t raise your voices here. This is a place of peace. The gods will be displeased. Please.”

Noah looked pleadingly at Eliana.

‘Please, My Lady.’

His eyes begged her to de-escalate the situation. But Eliana had no intention of stopping. She wouldn’t have brought it up if she were going to back down. Provoking Cedric was her goal. Cedric shook his head slightly.

“Right, this isn’t the place for this. Let’s talk outside. Follow me, Eliana.”

Cedric commanded. This wasn’t the best place to punish her. Taking her outside would be better to reprimand her unprecedented insolence. Besides, Eliana’s appearance had already ruined his date with Rachel.

“Please, Your Highness, don’t take this further.”

Noah desperately tried to dissuade Cedric.

“Move aside. I need to correct her disrespectful behavior. You, be prepared.”

Cedric pointed a finger at Eliana.

“What do I need to prepare for? There’s nothing to prepare for.”

He wanted to drag her to the palace immediately and punish her for her disrespect. As he was about to storm out, footsteps were heard behind him. Cedric turned sharply.

From a distance, Priest Lydell was approaching. Cedric hesitated. The reason Lydell was coming was apparent—to take him to greet the High Priest.

The timing wasn’t ideal.

‘I wasn’t planning on meeting the High Priest…’

Cedric glanced at Rachel. They exchanged a brief look. Unspoken feelings were conveyed between them.

“Your Highness, Crown Prince Cedric and Lady Eliana Leiberte. Thank you for visiting the temple.”

Priest Lydell approached with his usual gentle smile. His presence was starkly different from the cold atmosphere, not unaware of the recent argument. He intended to mediate, like Noah, but in his own way.

Eliana always felt at ease when she saw Lydell. His smile was always the same, like an angel’s, in the past and now.

“Were you two having an important conversation?“

“No.”

Cedric responded with a feigned discomfort.

“That’s fortunate. The High Priest is waiting for both of you.“

Cedric’s thick eyebrows furrowed in displeasure. His plans were thwarted.

“It’s sudden, but since you’re here, please accompany me. Your Highness Cedric and Lady Leiberte.”

Lydell politely requested only Cedric and Eliana, then added that the other two couldn’t join them.

“Let’s go.”

Eliana followed Lydell first. It was clear Cedric would accept. As expected, he followed with a discontented expression.

Sunlight poured in through the long windows on either side, casting a warm glow as the two sat with the High Priest. Since the engagement ceremony, they had met the High Priest once at a royal event. This was their first meeting since then. Listening to the exchanges, it seemed Cedric had met with the High Priest separately since that event.

The High Priest, Somen, possessed strong divine power. From his days as a cleric, he had been recognized as the most outstanding among those with exceptional divine power, ascending to High Priest. His influence was as significant as the royal authority’s, making him a figure the royalty could not easily dismiss.

If the Grand Temple did not acknowledge one, public opinion in Moira would turn against them. In the past, an emperor thought the High Priest’s power was too great and tried to diminish it by force, but he did not live long.

‘The gods were angry.’

All the citizens of Moira believed that the emperor incurred the wrath of the gods. Regardless of the truth, the power balance between the royal authority and the Grand Temple has remained relatively equal since then.

“I intended to pray quietly and return, so I did not inform you separately,“ Cedric said, still unable to completely hide the unpleasant remnants of their earlier argument in front of the High Priest.

“I see, Your Highness. However, you look somewhat unwell.”

It was unclear if the High Priest had sensed their earlier fight with his divine power or simply noted Cedric’s appearance, but he remarked on Cedric’s complexion.

“It’s nothing. I am fine.”

Cedric replied, smoothing his expression. Discussions about his appearance were a topic he detested. He didn’t want anyone to know if he was unwell, even if they could immediately sense it. The High Priest’s gaze then fell on Eliana.

‘His eyes aren’t sharp, but there’s an overwhelming presence.’

No one knew the full extent of High Priest Somen’s power. Hence, the citizens of the empire both feared and respected him. Eliana felt as if he was seeing through her. It wasn’t an ordinary gaze.

‘Could he somehow know that I’ve returned?’

His look felt different from the previous time they met. Eliana lowered her eyes. Whatever the High Priest had sensed, it was beyond her control.

‘Anyway, I am alive again and will live a new life.‘

Eliana thought to herself.

“Lady Eliana of House Leiberte,“ High Priest Somen called her name. Eliana lifted her long eyelashes and looked at him.

“You always have a unique presence.”

“…”

“Among all the people I’ve met in the empire, you’re the first to give such a distinct feeling.”

She had heard this before during their previous meeting. The High Priest’s impression of her had contributed to her becoming the Crown Prince’s fiancée. He had said she possessed a noble aura that would benefit the empire.

When she first heard those words from the High Priest, she was overjoyed but unable to believe it. She thought it was a dream.

“Really?”

She remembered being ecstatic, like a child. She had hoped that her misfortune was finally ending and happiness was beginning, but such things did not come to pass.

Now, she knew the High Priest’s words were not a dream. She no longer felt overwhelmed with joy at his words. She accepted them calmly, without the naïve optimism that she could find happiness just from such comments. Regardless of what anyone said, she remained herself.

“Thank you. You always speak kindly of me.“

“There is no need to thank me. I only speak as I see it. Besides, the aura around you seems even stronger now.“

“Is that so?“

“Yes. It is definitely stronger. Quite a powerful presence.”

Cedric glanced at Eliana out of the corner of his eye. Eliana looked straight ahead, not meeting his gaze. Yet, the disapproval on his face was palpable.

“…”

Cedric and Eliana found the High Priest’s words unsettling for different reasons.

‘A powerful aura, indeed…’