ITETP Chapter 142

“B-But, Your Highness.”

“Good girl.”

The moment she tried to retort, Allice was unable to continue, feeling as if her tongue had been cut off.

Raios whispered soothingly. “Listen to me.” He drove the wedge in. “You’re a good girl, aren’t you, Allice?”

After that, she really couldn’t say anything more. She had no idea how the conversation ended. Following Raios’s suggestion to return, Allice walked back to her room with swollen eyes.

“Allice!”

Her mother was waiting there.

“Allice! My goodness, what happened? Why are you crying like that?”

“Mom…”

Seeing Sandra made her tears pour out again. Alice clung to her mother and tearfully recounted everything that had just happened.

“My goodness! How could the crown prince do such a thing!” Sandra exclaimed indignantly. “You must never, Allice! You must never comply with the crown prince’s request!”

“But… But Mom…”

Good girl? Good girl? Good girl? Good girl? Raios’s whisper echoed in her ears, binding Allice like chains.

“His Highness said… that since I’m a good girl, I should listen to him. If I don’t, he’ll hate me…”

“Snap out of it!” Sandra grasped her daughter’s shoulders firmly. “Do you think the crown prince will cherish you forever? That even as he ages, even until death, he’ll love only you?”

Hiccup. Allice hiccupped.

Sandra shouted passionately. “He once loved Danae like she was his life! And now look at him!”

“B-But still…”

“Desperately clinging to a man’s affection is pointless! That much is certain! That alone…” Tears finally mixed into Sandra’s voice.

Allice blankly stared at her mother. Has something happened between her and Dad? Why that expression…

“Love isn’t everything. Allice, what will you do if you’re carrying His Highness’s child?”

Child? A child? At that, Allice involuntarily looked down at her stomach.

“The one to inherit the throne is always the child of the empress.”

“…”

“If you can’t become the empress, your child will forever lose the chance to become the emperor.”

“…”

“Allice, don’t you want to give your child the best?”

While wiping Allice’s tears, Sandra kissed her forehead.

“Allice, my most precious daughter. I wish for you to lead a strong life on your own, not swayed by a man’s love.” Unlike me. Sandra swallowed the rest of the sentence and continued. “So think carefully.” With those gentle words of comfort, she then left.

For a long time afterward, Allice sat still, deeply lost in thought. Every word her mother had spoken raced through her head.

“What will you do if you’re carrying His Highness’s child?”

Suddenly, as if responding to her desperate thoughts, a wave of nausea surged through her. Allice slumped to the ground, seized by violent retching.

“Uurgh, uurgh!”

How long did she vomit? When it finally stopped, she gasped for breath, supporting herself on the floor. Sour saliva dripped from her lips.

No way.

No way. No way. No way.

Could I really be pregnant?

Could pregnancy happen so quickly? Do symptoms of pregnancy appear this soon? Logical doubts sprung up but crumbled like sandcastles before the immense force of maternal instinct. It was possible she was pregnant. Not a joke, really, truly!

Right. We didn’t use any contraception…

Although not well-versed in matters of sex, Allice knew enough. That night’s events could have certainly led to a child. Unconsciously, she gently placed her hand on her stomach.

Yes. Maybe… maybe a child is being conceived right here, right now. Thinking so, her grip tightened.

“My baby.”

She has to protect her own baby. She couldn’t block their future. But—

“Good girl.”

“You’re a good girl, aren’t you, Allice?”

What to do? What should I do? Allice agonized at the crossroads, torn between her innate goodness and her poignant maternal affection, until—She finally leaned towards one side.

* * *

It was six days before the holy trial.

“Has there been any news from Brother Rumie?” Dana asked Lethe.

Her secretary shook his head. “No, not yet.”

“Then maybe he hasn’t received my letter?”

“I’m not sure about that.”

Of course, how would Lethe possibly know? Feeling anxious made Dana keep asking. She had sent a letter to Rumie as soon as she arrived in the capital, but there had been no reply yet.

The holy trial was really about to start. Only by proving Raios had lost his chastity would the annulment be declared. If it fails—I’ll have no choice but to give up my own chastity.

Dana had Rumie in mind for that situation. It was a decision made in the caves of Saint Grave Island. If the moment came, she wanted to lean on him. Because at that time, the feeling was… What had she felt again?

Dana let out a hollow laugh. The feeling had since vanished without a trace, but still—

“Call my name, Dana.”

She remembered how sweet Rumie’s name had sounded on her lips that day.

So, I wish he’d come here quickly.

If she had to give up her own chastity, Dana wanted to carefully choose her partner. Someone she knew well, who was kind, skilled, and, most importantly, someone she could enjoy without fear. Someone like Rumie.

When will he return?

Unfortunately, there was still no word from Rumie.

* * *

It was five days before the holy trial.

“Your Highness!” Count Cedric rushed in with urgent news. “The results of the investigation into your blood from that day are in.”

Raios snatched the report aggressively. After drinking the tea Allice had given him, he had lost consciousness. Thereafter, he had no memory. What had happened to him that day? He needed to know what Allice had put in the tea. So, he had sent his blood to the barbarian sorcerers to identify the potion he had drunk the day before.

“Fortunately, they were successful in identifying it.” Count Cedric announced happily.

As Raios read the report revealing the potion’s true nature, he became certain. That nothing happened between him and Allice that night. It couldn’t have.

“Hahahaha!”

Finally, he felt a refreshing relief. With this, even a shred of uncertainty disappeared.

There would be no annulment with Dana. Absolutely, such a thing would not happen.

* * *

It was four days before the holy trial. Dana tried to use her third eye to read the future in advance. Hadn’t she managed to use her third eye as she wished on Saint Grave Island?

Maybe I can read the outcome of the trial too.

So, she attempted to peek at the trial results but—Strange. Her third eye wasn’t active.

It worked fine on the island…

Despite several attempts, Dana couldn’t see anything.

3 days before the holy trial, Allice informed Raios that she wouldn’t attend the holy trial as his witness.

2 days before the holy trial, Dana received a lengthy reply from Rumie.

1 day before the holy trial, Dana sent a short reply to Rumie.

And finally, the day of the holy trial arrived.

* * *

The holy trial wasn’t held in an ordinary courtroom but in the cathedral’s Grand Sanctuary. Dana headed to the cathedral early, thinking she would be the first there.

What the.

Raios was already there. Hands in his pockets, he stood gazing up at the mural near the entrance.

Ugh. What bad luck.

She tried to pass him by without a word when—

“I like this painting.” Raios suddenly started talking. “Didn’t you say you disliked it?”

When did I say that? Dana glanced briefly at the mural. It was a famous fresco. The painting depicted a demon—a serpent with seven heads—being weakened and shriveled under the intense sunlight, sealed by the sun god Ramun.

“Each head of the snake is said to represent the seven deadly sins of the demon,” Raios muttered as he looked at each head of the snake. “Pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, sloth…”

Was he drunk or something? It was hard to understand why he was saying such things.

She was about to walk away again when—

“Which of these sins do you think you’re guilty of?”

“What?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You’re tainted by lust.”

There was no way she could just walk away from that.

“Lust? Me? Not you?”

“Yes.” He chuckled dryly, turning to look at her. “What part of Rumie Windsor do you like so much?”

For a moment, Dana was speechless.

“His handsome face?”

“…”

“Or maybe it’s that contrast between his handsome face and masculine body? Do you like that kind of gap?” Raios laughed as if it was ludicrous. “If I had a face like his, would your love for me have stayed the same?”

“You must have lost your mind. Stop spouting nonsense.”

Though Dana replied coolly, she felt a chill. How did he know? Did he see her letters with Rumie? Intercepted and inspected them? Fiery suspicion rose, but she feigned ignorance.

“You sure have no filter, even about my cousin brother.”

With that, she walked past him. Her heels echoed in the vast cathedral. But she couldn’t go far before stopping abruptly.

Why…

Her anger bubbled up.

Why do I have to take that kind of insult?

Dana turned sharply and marched back to Raios. “You think you have the right to say that to me?”

He was the one who cheated first. And now he dared to insult her?

“You were the one sneaking around behind my back with my cousin sister. And now you think you have the right to judge who I might like?”

“Then tell me.” Incredibly, Raios pressed her as if demanding an answer. “What do you like so much about Rumie?”

His eyes blazed like black flames, his face stained with feelings of betrayal, completely intimidating Dana. This was beyond audacity. He was acting like a lover who had been betrayed by her!

“He’s mature. That’s what I like.”

But so what? Let him drown in his tragic feelings. If her words hurt—good.

“Ah, if I had known, I would’ve dated someone older from the start. Brother Rumie is always composed—unlike you.”

Raios’s face contorted. Delighting in his discomfort, Dana viciously shot again.

“I absolutely detest younger men now, Your Highness. That’s the prejudice you gave me, so feel free to be proud of it.”

Raios’s jaw twitched slightly, a sign he was genuinely hurt. How loathsome that was.

Dana turned away coldly. She wanted to shoot her own head for ever truly loving such a b*stard.

That’s enough. It’s all over now. So, stop blaming yourself.

Today, at the holy trial, her relationship with Raios would be completely over. 

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