Emilone's Temptation Labyrinth

ETL – Chapter 20

Tessie and Floren continued to shed never ending tears. To think that this all started from the herbal candy made my heart hurt.

After seeing the prince’s expression, I decided to stop as a wave of tiredness hit me. As far as I knew, he was not a stupid person. He should have understood enough.

My body felt heavy and tired but he held onto my shoulder tightly.

I thought about it before but he was quite forceful. It might be suitable for the position of the prince but the way he treated me was not right.

I don’t know if he shows me the same politeness as he shows the nobles. At times, it seems like he does not see me as a saintess.

The pressure was getting stronger, I frowned at the increasing pain.

“Your Highness, it hurts.”

“Damn it…”

Was that the end for today?

“I’m sorry, Emilone. I will send you a letter!”

The prince passed me without saying another word. The princess followed suit. The knights that were watching everything followed afterwards.

The two servants stopped in front of me and gave their farewells without saying anything else. After I received their farewells, I regained my senses.

I got a nosebleed in the evening a few days later.

“Miss Emilone!”

Jessie and Reneben were more startled by the nosebleed than I was. I knew the reason for my nosebleed but I kept my mouth shut.

No matter how great my physical strength was, it was impossible for me to work more than 7 days in a row without sleep.

Covering my nose with a handkerchief, I calmed down the two people who were making a fuss. I left the office after I handed a book I got from the library to Reneben.

It was a lot of work to set up the orphanage and lower taxes. With the help of the priests helping nobles, we were able to increase our funds by receiving compensation.

There was something else I wanted to do and that was to gain strength and train myself. I started learning how to handle a sword from the knights.

So, staying up for a week or so, it’s bound to be an overload…

My nose stopped bleeding and I turned on the water. I soaked the handkerchief in the cold water.

I guess this is what happens when I exceed the limits of this body given by God. Now that I was thinking about it, why did God make me unable to heal myself? I can only treat others but not myself.

As I was washing up, a group of priests arrived at the temple. I caught sight of blood and tired faces on them. Their return today was later than usual.

I leaned against the window, watching them come in. These new priests were great, they were willing to do their work without compensation. This was why they were chosen as priests by God.

They were good people who naturally liked to help others. They were also frustrating fools who would continue to protect even if the world turned against them. This was why I deeply appreciate these priests.

They would sacrifice themselves for the greater good. They were fools who would hold out until the end. How could someone not like them?

They might look tired, but like me, they would never give up and would rejoice at the slightest thanks. So I wanted these new priests to enjoy their rights a bit.

This was also the same reason why I wanted to prevent the nobles from taking advantage of them. I want them to not only appreciate the hard work but also the priests themselves.

Without these powers, we were regular human beings. I hope that they did not only consider us as tools to remove demons.

When I returned to the office, Reneben, who was reading the book I gave him, rushed over.

“Are you alright now?”

“I’m fine. The book was interesting, right?”

Reneben nodded in response.

Jessie approached me and asked, “I did not know that this book was recommended by the saintess. Can I read it when he is done?”

“Of course, you can read it.”

When I was about to start work again, Reneben stopped me and shook his head.

“It’s ok for you to take a break. I will finish up the work so you should take a rest.”

He was younger than me but also bigger than me so he seemed like a big puppy. Next to him, Jessie was like a chick squeaking ‘right, right’. I grabbed them both and pushed them out the door.

“I’m going to sleep now. Reneben and Jessie should too.”

“I want to help you.”

“Reneben, let’s call it a night and go to sleep.”

Since I said it twice, he could no longer protest and was upset about it.

I was hoping to finish the work quickly. Jessie also wanted to help too but gave up with my order and left.

Alone in the office, I turned on the lights and opened the window. The temple was quiet.

“…”

I hated avoiding people I did not like. They tried to justify themselves that this was normal. I knew how hard it was to deal with demons, but the nobles would never know. They would never understand the pain and suffering. They did not know how hard it was to put your hand into a demon and pour divine energy into it.

Whoosh-

The wind blew. As I leaned back on my chair and titled my head back, my pink hair fluttered in the wind.

It was getting colder and the wind was cool but I liked this temperature.

With my head tilted all the way back I closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes, I saw someone at the window.

I stared at that person while still in the same position. Because of the darkness I could not make out the person well.

Soon, his face was revealed under the moonlight. I looked at the figure of a man who I saw a couple times already.

“Veron Nestro.”

With the thought of the princess and this man… is this the legacy of Duke Nestro?

Even though he was a wizard, him appearing through the window was…

Quite dangerous.

And that… I did not like Veron, who randomly comes to the saintess’s office. I stared at him coldly.

“I did not mean to get caught…”

His silver hair fluttered in the wind like mine did. It wasn’t quite white but a strange color similar to that. The blue eyes stared at me.

The breeze stopped at some point. The curtains stood still, highlighting the man standing at the window frame.

I did not know how long it had been but he tilted his head nonchalantly. He asked in a mysterious voice, “I’m using invisibility magic, can you see it?”

At his words, I stood up straight from my previous position. If he did not keep his manners, I would have to laugh him out.

I looked at him slowly. He hesitated for a moment and then floated slightly in the air.

I took off my shoes and went inside.

“I don’t want you to misunderstand so I’ll tell you in advance. I did not come here with bad intentions in front of God.”

The moment he stepped into my office, the window closed. Although the window seemed to have been closed roughly, it only made a soft closing noise. The windows gently locked to block the wind from coming in.

He tried to give an explanation but it was a meaningless one. It was as if he realized it and stopped talking.

“It does not matter the reason but it does not change the fact that you broke into the temple.”

A solemn look. I traced the outline of my face with my hand and tilted my head following him. Then I set my head straight.

The silvery hair moved gently.

I stared at Veron without saying anything else. He is the real brother of the princess. It would be difficult to treat him badly but I had to do what I had to do.

He did not say anything else but continued watching.

Unlike me who hesitated about what to say in this situation, he seemed indifferent. He looked at me with an emotionless expression that I forgot what I wanted to say.

“So why did you come?”

He slowly moved from leaning against the window and moved his finger in circles in the air.

“The smell is getting worse…”

For the first time, there was a change in his face.

I rebuke myself for admiring him. He was as thin as Reneben. When I scanned him, he had muscles in the right places and calluses from holding a sword. His status and appearance were perfect. It’s a wonder that he’s not married yet.

Unlike modern Korea where people marry in their 30s, the people here got engaged in their teens and would get married in their late teens/early twenties.

Veron was already 25 years old. In another year, it would be an age where people wonder if there was something wrong with him.

There was no news about an engagement…

The siblings were so attractive that their popularity would be beyond imagination. It might not have been properly measured but it was a fact that could be seen by my own eyes.

He approached and stopped in front of me.

I will say, I felt like I was in two pieces but I could survive if I held myself together.

Even if you were stabbed in the heart or stopped breathing, you could survive if you were given the right treatment and enough rest.