Emilone's Temptation Labyrinth

T/N: Ladies and Gentlemen, a chapter! I know you have been side-eyeing my translation speed for this novel. I have been side-eyeing myself too lol.

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“I am here to see Your Holiness. I apologize that our first meeting happened while I was in beast form, but I am glad to have seen an unexpected side to the Saintess.”

His words strangely grated at my nerves, and I slowly blinked.

He seemed to be trying to defuse the situation, but I pointed out a fact he didn’t bother to mention.

“Young lord Tereven, in all the etiquette I have learned, I have never heard of visiting the other party without prior notice. Have I been mistaken?”

“I am at fault, and if you wish to punish me, I understand.”

I was slightly surprised by that statement.

I gently put down the teacup and ruminated over what he just said.

He was claiming that if he was punished, he would obediently accept.

‘It must be easy to say.’

His gaze was confident and seemed to say that he was sure I wouldn’t do anything rash over something like this.

Of course, his words could be because he considered me a benevolent saintess. But it felt like he was seeing through me.

Tension flooded my entire body.

As I was trying to choose my response, Young Lord Tereven smiled, as if telling me not to overthink any further.

“It wasn’t intentional. Right after I arrived at the temple, a young child dragged me and I followed, only to find Your Holiness there. You seemed fond of me, so we had a great time together.”

He seemed to be saying, ‘Didn’t you like me?’.

He wasn’t exactly wrong. I loved animals and children, so I liked the innocent puppy that Chen brought.

“Please forgive my rudeness.”

At the same time, he pursed his lips like someone trying to figure out what to say in a formal apology.

I picked the teacup back up.

After warming my stomach with hot tea, I made it clear that I would not let it slide another time.

“This will be the last time. Please make sure that this does not happen again.”

It wasn’t just his entrance into the temple; when I thought of the embarrassment in front of the crown prince too… I hoped this would never happen again.

Neither of them seemed to have anything more to say.

A strange silence passed, then the Crown Prince slowly rose from his seat.

“Alright, let us go.”

At that, Young lord Tereven also stood up.

“I shall excuse myself then. I hope we cross paths another day.”

And so, the two of them got up from their seats, leaving me wondering why they even came in the first place.

The crown prince turned around and began to walk away, followed by Young lord Tereven, who narrowed his eyes and smiled.

Unlike the Crown Prince who had already turned his back to me, he leaned over, looked into my eyes and whispered into my ear.

“And I wanted to tell you this.”

“…Hm?”

“I liked the Saintess that was under me too.”

Instantly, the atmosphere changed. I erased any emotion from my already hardened face and looked at him with dead eyes.

If not for the fact that I could see him looking at my face like he was waiting for my reaction, I would have given him an equivalent response immediately.

Young lord Tereven looked at my face which had sunk coldly, and blinked like he was satisfied.

“See you next time.”

Next time…those words didn’t sound pleasant at all.

Even though I just heard something insulting, I knew it wasn’t meant in ‘that’ sense, so I stayed quiet. If he had even slightly crossed the line here, I wouldn’t have held it in. Of course, I wasn’t just going to let it pass.

“Next time I see you, I hope you are prepared because I might distort that beautiful face of yours.”

I took a step forward towards Young lord Tereven, who was looking into my eyes. Then I spoke provocatively, standing so close that our breaths were almost touching.

His eyes widened in surprise at my words.

But it only lasted a moment before his expression changed like he was contemplating something, then he said his final farewell.

“I shall take my leave now.”

* * *

A loud, boisterous noise drilled into my ears. Voices seemingly full of joy and excitement.

Unexpectedly, time flew quickly, and the day of the goddess festival drew near. Today was that very day.

While sitting in the chair with my slightly throbbing body, I pondered whether to step through that door or not. This was because…

“Saintess! Please come out!”

“The Goddess Festival doesn’t come by every day, please! Saintess!”

Rest assured, this was the first time I have ever been so scared of the priests. At the same time, I had never seen them beg like this before.

I thought of the priests who didn’t plan on leaving my door even though their throats were getting hoarse, and eventually, I waved the white flag of surrender. I couldn’t help it; it felt like they would lose their voice if I delayed any longer.

Besides, they were always losing to me with other things, so today…I had no choice but to lose.

I walked to the door with the steadiest stride possible and when I opened it, I was met with an immaculate white dress so fluttery that it hurt my eyes.

My eyelashes inadvertently quivered.

* * *

God was fair to all.

I knew that better than anyone else. Because I knew that, it was me who suffered.

I was God’s agent and God’s blessing, and since God was fair to all, I had to be too.

The Goddess Festival was held for one week every five years, and during such time, even warring nations had to have a ceasefire and maintain peace.

On such a day, I was treated as the incarnation of God, rather than a ‘human’ saint.

And I had heard that not only the emperor, but also high-ranking people from all over the world were to kneel at my feet and pay their respects.

The dress dragged on the floor with every step I took, and I brushed down the skirt bottom with annoyance.

Today, the world’s most showy Imperial palace opened its doors wide and welcomed people, and the streets were filled with a series of festivals.

Even the poor had an abundance. It was also the only day where every country in the world helped the poor.

Even though it was early in the morning, I could see people gathered in front of the temple, gravitating towards the carriage. The thought of going to the imperial castle in a roofless carriage gave me a headache.

The carriage was so wide that there would be plenty of space left even after I sat down.

I didn’t want to get on, but I had no choice because of this dress which was weighing down my body.

“Reneben, come here…”

It was obvious that a short walk on this dirt road would quickly dirty my white dress.

After living for so long, I got to wear such a flashy dress and it was incredibly cumbersome.

“You called?”

“Mhm, come this way for a second.”

Thankfully, after my adamant refusal, the accessories that were going to be on my head and neck were reduced to a minimum.

Strands of my hair were woven with white jewels akin to glass beads and they shimmered in the light. My neck was adorned with a green necklace, and a small earring hung from my ear. It was not flashy, but it was beautiful enough.

“Walk next to me.”

“I receive your order.”

I didn’t want to spoil the Goddess Festival, which happened only once every five years, so I smiled as much as I could as I got on the carriage.

I got Reneben to help me get into the carriage, which was decorated with lovely, scented flowers.

With Reneben’s hand for support, I climbed onto the carriage, Only after I sat down on the soft cushion was I able to heave a sigh of relief.

I could see the common people through the curtains that acted as shade for the sunlight.

It might be odd coming from me, it wasn’t strange to see people coming out in droves to see the Saintess, the target of attention, the highest power in the temple and a symbol of peace.

“Everyone looks happy.”

Honestly, I rarely went out of the temple, to the point that even nobles had a hard time seeing my face.

Since that was the case, such an event would obviously be a great draw to the people.

The streets looked gorgeous.

The festival for God was brimming with life and beauty, and everyone looked happy.

Paladins stood in front of the carriage I was sitting on, while servants, escorts from the imperial castle, and knights sent by various nobles followed behind me.

One way or the other, we ended up looking like a procession, but it wasn’t too bad.

“It’s nice to see people having fun.”

Seeing the excitement on their faces, I didn’t feel that bothered about the event. Although my dress was white, it was decorated with an even spread of fine fabric and golden rims, classic hallmarks of the temple.

“Reneben, come a little closer.”

I steered Reneben, who was moving a little further ahead of my carriage on horseback.

Reneben readily came over and rode next to me.

Right as I was making such little moves, the voices of several people traveled into my ears.

I didn’t have the energy to do anything because of the heavy clothes covering my body, but when I saw a child make eye contact with me through the curtains and scream excitedly, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Lately, annoying things kept happening one after the other, but at least with this festival, I had an opportunity to laugh so it wasn’t too bad.

With that thought in mind, I lifted the curtains with the back of my hand.

The temple was filled with only white horses, and Reneben, who was riding the most well-maintained horse, went wide-eyed when I pulled aside the veil.

It wasn’t just Reneben. The people were also surprised to see me exposed.

“Lady Emilone.”

“It’s okay, Reneben.”

Reneben’s voice was worried, and I spoke softly to reassure him.

Aristocrats covered their faces during such processions and didn’t see the people. It meant that they wouldn’t show such their noble visage to the commoners.

Who knew how great they thought they were but personally, they didn’t look that great to me.

“Today is a day for me, isn’t it?”

“…”

“Then I shall do as I please.”

Reneben had every reason to be surprised by my actions.

“So, Reneben, will you go alone with all I want to do today?” I lifted my head and smiled.

Normally, when there was a procession like this, the common people knelt and didn’t raise their heads until the procession passed.

However, on the day before the Goddess Festival, I sent word ahead that they should not kneel down even when they saw my procession.

Thanks to that, I was able to see everyone’s faces.

Translator’s Corner:

**Alright, on a more serious note, if you guys want me to drop this so that another (hopefully) faster translator takes over, please let me know and I will start wrapping up my work. I still love this novel and want to translate it but right now, I can’t promise any regular updates.