Emilone's Temptation Labyrinth

ETL – Chapter 21

I had the power to save people but at the same time I had the power to punish people.

Even if Veron approached me like this, it was not a big threat. A gesture could wipe him out of this world. That is what divine punishment is. Thanks to this power, I was confident.

Who would dare to hurt me?

Who can hurt me? It was power given by God. No one in the world can beat me.

Of course I haven’t tried this power yet, not even on a demon. Even so I was sure that when I really needed this power, it would save me one day.

Without avoiding his gaze, I stared at him. There was a glare in his eyes.

Veron squeezed my neck with one hand while opening and clenching his other hand. At the end, he was daunting and I was shaken.

“The smell is getting worse…”

What was going on with the children of the Duke, they did not seem to be afraid of God.

He grabbed me by the collar and made eye contact with me. I looked back up at him.

There was no way that he did not know that this was rude. I tried to figure out the situation by lowering my eyes. I should tell him to stop right now. If I told him to let go of his hand, he should loosen his grip.

“I think it’s because of you.”

I grabbed his wrist and removed his hand from my neck. At that moment, the warmth disappeared and cool air hit my neck.

“Saintess, do you want to sign a contract with me?”

I gripped his wrist with strength in revenge but he spoke as if nothing was happening. I used more strength than I realized as I made a scratch on him. The smell of blood hit my sensitive nose.

“Please do not contact my sister.”

He shifted his gaze towards his wrist.

“Why?”

He slowly lifted his wrist where a small papercut-like cut was.

I felt like I was taking a cold bath in the middle of winter. Those icy eyes gave me goosebumps.

“It is my role as a brother to take responsibility for my beloved younger sister.”

It was hard to understand what he was saying. What did not contacting his sister have to do with him taking responsibility for his sister.

For a moment, I was caught in a fantasy and almost saw Veron with glistening eyes.

It could not be true. I had not forgotten the tense atmosphere when the siblings met. I did not know what he was up to but I could not ignore it.

I gently pulled his wrist towards me and kissed the wound I caused. He pulled his arm away after that sudden gesture. Holding his arm up, the wound was now healed.

“You said it was a contract,” I said looking at him. “What would you do if I did not contact the princess?”

Clearly there was something between those two, what it was I could not tell.

He lifted the arm where the wound was and his lips touched the spot I kissed. He muttered something that I could not hear and closed his eyes.

“I’ll protect you.”

Huh…?

“When you’re in danger, I can protect you.”

Unfortunately, I can protect myself.

Veron was a person that needed to be watched closely like Ronella. It might not be a bad idea to have a connection with him. With that thought in mind, I nodded.

At my acceptance, Veron broke the silence by mentioning the name of the princess.

“Ronella is…”

“What about the princess?”

“I just want you to refrain from contacting her. I’m not restricting you from meeting her.”

His eyes dimmed again and he returned to his expressionless state. He turned towards the window where he came in. He opened the window himself and flew into the air.

Surprised by the act, I ran without realizing it. When I reached the window and looked out, he was looking at me.

“When you need it, contact me anytime.”

Even though the statement seemed forced, there was trust in his eyes.

I was wondering how to respond but I decided to copy his expressionless face.

“If you say that, you might call on me anytime. Goodbye to you, Mr Uninvited Night-time Guest.”

The unpleasant feeling from him invading the temple did not disappear so I had to say some well intended words to him.

When he was out of sight, I closed the windows and drew the curtains close. The room seemed to be quiet after he left.

“In trouble… what is this about?” I said to myself.

I swept my hands through my hair and tied it into a bun.

“It’s just like the calm before the storm, just before an incident.”

Is this the stillness before something happens? Of course, I don’t want to be swept away by it. But that might be an impossible wish. I put my head down, my cheeks touching the cold table, and picked up a pen.

I felt an annoyance about the possible conflict coming up and groaned. If I went to bed like this, I would be working twice as hard later. That was an absolute fact.

Stretching out my body, I only felt relieved after finishing my work late. But tomorrow… no today since it’s dawn now. The nobles will gather together this afternoon. Like a meeting at the imperial court, I was going to do something similar at the temple.

Since I was the organizer, there was a lot of work to do.

Placing the pen down, I pressed my lips together and shook my head. The princess would not be there. I went through the documents to confirm the participants.

There was still a mountain full of work to do after taking a rest. The attendees were the same as those at the imperial meeting as Reneben said. The papers fluttered as the wind blew the edges up.

“Hmmm… I’m the main character.”

Ronella would not be there. Instead of her, I would be the center of attention. I laughed at that thought, covering my mouth with my hand.

What could I do, Princess? You should put more effort to avoid losing your position as the main character.

However, I had no intention of taking the position of the main character. I would borrow it for a day and return it.

I almost burst into laughter after humming and thinking about it like a villain.

I might look like the saintess but I was acting like a villain. Does the God who sent me here know of my thoughts?

He might be lamenting that he chose the wrong person as a saintess. I smiled sneakily as I thought about it.

*********

I wanted to rest for a few hours and then get up. Would I be able to get up easily though?

As a saintess, I was comfortable and bored so I wondered when I should plan to escape. Now looking at the pile of documents, I had a different reason to escape.

As I was making a joke to myself and hugging a body sized pillow, Reneben and Jessie walked in. Reneben could not hold his head properly since he was so embarrassed to come in while I was still in bed.

“Saintess, you have to get up now.”

“Alright… both of you wait here for a bit…” I replied in a drowsy voice.

I had to get up after seeing these 2 poor kids. As I got up, Jessie quickly approached and poured cold water into a cup.

Glancing at the pile of documents on the small table in my room and thinking that it was the same at my office, I drank the water quickly. Cool water was the best way to wake up.

There was one thing I did not realize, Jessie also put ice into the cup. A headache came on as I drank the cold water too quickly.  Thanks to her, I definitely woke up.

I stood up while holding my throbbing head. I felt soft carpet underneath my feet. I was so tired last night that I did not notice it. It looked like new carpet. It was so soft that I could sleep on it instead of the bed.

Jessie went back to the office first, swirling the carpet underneath her feet as she left.

I was worried that I might fall asleep again but Reneben approached me with a brighter face and placed a shawl on my shoulder.

The luxuries of nobles varied. One of them was having scented clothing. It was fashionable these days to spray perfume onto clothing.

As I looked at Reneben, a fragrant scent came from the shawl.

He mumbled, “I thought you liked the scent of Titus so I prepared it. Are you alright?”

Even if it was an unpleasant smell, I would have liked it since Reneben prepared it.