Chapter 8 (Part 7)

After her tears stopped, Yuliana was bothered by the man’s last words. The idea of a loved one, whom she could never meet again, coming back to life and being by her side was certainly a sweet offer.

But if Rosaline, who came back to life, knew she was brought back in such a way… Would she be happy? Absolutely not.

Yuliana remembered when she nearly got hurt badly as a child while playing the same prank to get revenge on Louis for bullying Selenia. She recalled what Rosaline had told her.

<Revenge comes with regret. Regret means you know the sin you committed. So, instead of seeking revenge, you should live happily. Then you won’t commit sins, and regret won’t come either.>

<If you decide on revenge, you become a monster yourself. And do you know what happens?>

<You end up living with the burdened monster until you die. Isn’t it terrifying?>

Rosaline had taught her that risking one’s life to protect someone is completely different from risking it for revenge.

As a child, she didn’t understand those words at all. No, she didn’t even try to understand.

<If you help me with revenge, I’ll bring your mother back to life.>

Yuliana was tempted by the man’s offer in the dream but didn’t want to become a monster.

“I don’t know. It’s just a dream, but I’m thinking too much about it.”

Yuliana shook her head from side to side to shake off the deep thoughts.

She got out of bed, carefully opened the terrace door, and went outside. Stars and the moon twinkled in the dark sky.

“Even if I get what I want through revenge… I don’t think that would be happiness. But if revenge is the only way to be happy… then I support your revenge. But I don’t want revenge.”

Yuliana looked up at the sky and spoke the answer she couldn’t give to the man in the dream. Even though it was just a dream, she hoped the man who appeared in the dream would no longer suffer.

* * *

Due to the new monsters in the capital, Anthus was having an extremely busy day.

Rybid had expressed a desire to return to the Holy Kingdom, but Cloud practically confined him to his residence, citing the danger posed by the new monsters. The Holy Kingdom was also informed that Rybid would be protected in the Sirius Empire until the situation with the new monsters was resolved.

“Duke, to restore the collapsed buildings and burned houses…”

“Lia, I miss her.”

“You need to focus.”

“I know, Houston… but I miss Lia so much that I can’t concentrate on work.”

Anthus was confined to the Imperial Palace, constantly in meetings with Cloud and the ministers. With so much to consider, including the compensation for the people and future plans, a day wasn’t enough. And not being able to meet Yuliana, Anthus’s stress reached its limit.

“There’s still a lot of work left. Please hang in there a little longer.”

“I miss Lia so much that I can’t get any work done.”

Anthus buried his nose in the documents and began to sob. While Houston sighed as if accustomed to it, the other aides looked at Anthus’s whining with unfamiliarity.

Just as Houston was about to calm Anthus with a composed voice, the door burst open, and a servant rushed in, shouting urgently.

“Duke! She’s here!”

“Who’s here?”

“Lady Loengrin has arrived.”

“Are you saying she’s here now?”

“Yes. Right at the door…”

Before the servant could finish, Anthus stood up and ran out the door.

Anthus spotted Yuliana walking toward him at the end of the hallway.

With his worries flying away, he ran to Yuliana with a bright smile. If there were a path to heaven, it would be the corridor he was running through now.

“Duke, don’t run.”

Anthus hugged Yuliana tightly. Feeling her warm body, which he missed, he hugged her even tighter. The accumulated stress melted away like snow with just a warm embrace.

“Everyone’s watching… Hugging me like this…”

“I felt like I was going to die, but hugging you, Lia, makes me feel alive.”

“Duke, please put me down.”

“No, I won’t let go. I’ll carry you like this.”

Yuliana saw people in the hallway quickly turning their heads. Embarrassment slowly rose, but seeing Anthus smiling like a blooming sunflower made it bearable.

“I missed you, Lia.”

“I missed you so much too.”

“But how did you come here?”

“Houston sent a letter. He said you weren’t eating properly and was just working, Yan, so he asked me to come and take care of you for a while. So I asked our chef to make delicious sandwiches. Do you have time to eat?”

Anthus suddenly felt that Houston, who worked him like a devil, seemed like an angel.

“Of course. There’s a room in the Imperial Palace that only I can use, so we can eat sandwiches and rest there.”

Anthus thought of the room he was staying in at the Imperial Palace.

“Okay, let’s do that.”

The room where Anthus was staying wasn’t far.

Entering the room, Yuliana sat on the sofa and took out sandwiches and lemonade from the basket.

“It’s delicious.”

Anthus took a bite of the sandwich, keeping his eyes fixed on Yuliana.

“Please focus on eating.”

“I can’t focus on anything else with you in front of me, Lia.”

Yuliana blushed and turned her gaze away from Anthus’s blatant stare. Having finished the sandwich, Anthus unbuttoned his shirt one by one and approached Yuliana.

“Do you know?”

“What?”

“Your face looks like you really want a kiss right now…”

“It looks like you want it more than I do, Yan.”

At Anthus’s words, Yuliana blushed slightly and said,

“You’re right. Your words are correct, Lia. I really want to. You’ve seen right through me.”

Anthus, with a face full of relaxed laughter, slowly approached Yuliana’s face.

“If I say I’ll only kiss you… you won’t believe me now, will you?”

“I can’t trust the words ‘just one kiss’ from you anymore, Yan.”

“To gain trust in the words ‘just once’… if I say the opposite and keep it, trust will build, but it seems I’ve already lost trust in the words ‘just once.'”

Yuliana laughed at Anthus’s words.

“Yan? Shouldn’t you go back?”

“It’s okay. There’s plenty of time to kiss multiple times.”

“What?”

“I may have lost trust in the words ‘just once,’ but I don’t intend to lose trust in the words ‘multiple kisses.'”

Anthus whispered softly, tucking Yuliana’s soft blonde hair behind her ear.

“I’ll keep my word and build a lot of trust.”

Yuliana tried to escape from Anthus’s arms, but Anthus toppled her onto the soft sofa.

He climbed on top of her and unbuttoned the remaining buttons of his shirt.

Yuliana stroked Anthus’s face and hair as he looked down at her. Her body reacted sensitively, and her heart beat even faster.

“I love you, Yan.”

“I was going to say it first… but I’m very happy that you said it first, Lia. Is it okay to be this happy?”

“I like hearing your confession, but I also like confessing first. I’ll keep saying it.”

“Why are you so lovely, Lia, no matter how much I look, so lovely, so lovely… I can’t stay still.”

“What if you don’t stay still?”

“Are you guessing what I might do? If you’re not sure, I’ll show you with my actions.”

Anthus’s face gradually approached Yuliana. A dizzyingly deep kiss was exchanged.

The sound of his rapidly beating heart conveyed his sincerity to her as his body pressed harder against her.

* * *

Yuliana often brought sandwiches to where Anthus worked.

For a while, time passed without any incidents. People worried that the monsters might reappear during that time, but fortunately, they didn’t.

The matter of the new monsters was completely resolved.

Cloud told Rybid to return to the Holy Kingdom. Of course, he would secretly send a wizard capable of using invisibility magic with him until he returned to the Holy Kingdom.

“I will return to the Holy Kingdom after attending the Empress’s birthday celebration.”

“Very well, Pope Rybid.”

“I will also look for a way to purify the contaminated land once I return to the Holy Kingdom.”

Rybid stated that he would bestow God’s blessing on Monica as a congratulatory gift.

Cloud found his smiling demeanor suspicious. It was different from the usual impulsive and irritable Rybid. He seemed sinister, and it gave an ominous feeling. Anthus felt the same way.

“Why doesn’t he just leave quickly! It’s bothersome.”

“Your Majesty, I will assign shadows from the Ducal residence to Pope Rybid.”

“Do so. And place more shadows around Lady Loengrin as well. I have an inexplicably uneasy feeling.”

“Understood.”

Anthus sensed the calm before the storm. Cloud felt the same.

“But is that report true?”

“Yes, it is true that the Holy Knights and priests from the Holy Kingdom visited the village of Luteons.”

According to Lian, the sole survivor of the village of Luteons, the Holy Knights and priests from the Holy Kingdom came to the village. They said the reason for their visit was to identify people with divine power.

People willingly underwent divine power testing, as those with divine power could live as Holy Knights or priests in the Holy Kingdom. About ten people were found to possess divine power, and the village was in a celebratory mood. The Holy Knights and priests thanked the villagers for allowing them to stay for a few days, distributed food, and quietly left the village with those who had divine power.

“It is true that the Holy Kingdom recruits those with divine power to become priests, priestesses, or Holy Knights. So, they must be searching for them.”

“But, Your Majesty, doesn’t it seem strange when you think about it now?”

“What is?”

“Why are they going to such lengths to bring those with divine power to the Holy Kingdom?”

“Perhaps to protect them?”

“That seems… strange. The village of Luteons is a small village with about 100 residents. For ten people to manifest divine power seems too unbelievable.”

Divine power is a rare ability that allows one to revive dying flowers and trees and heal illnesses. Finding someone with divine power is difficult due to its preciousness.

“Ah, really… It feels like we’re approaching a problem we shouldn’t delve into. It’s unsettling.”

Cloud’s face showed clear signs of fatigue and irritation.

“No matter how I think about it, it seems the Holy Kingdom has secrets they want to hide.”

“Yeah, if we keep digging deeper, we’ll eventually see the bottom. If that happens, how should we prepare? It was said that those who invade the Holy Kingdom receive divine punishment.”

“I wonder if that’s true.”

“Empires that attempted to invade the Holy Kingdom always faced ruin or suffered from floods and earthquakes.”

“It could be a coincidence.”

“Yeah. I hope so, but…”

“I will find out if it’s truly divine punishment or just a coincidence.”

Anthus didn’t want to drag out matters related to the monsters and the Holy Kingdom any longer. There must be a reason why the new monsters followed Rybid, and regardless of that reason, he intended to bring down the Holy Kingdom and kill Rybid.