Episode 59

“Dear…!”

Marquess, sobbing, held Yvonne tightly, while behind him, Yurian grew increasingly certain that she was indeed the princess. The abilities released from her were meant to undo mental restrictions, but it seemed the High Priest might have inadvertently tampered with other aspects as well.

“Ugh…”

“Dear…”

Marquess wept, his large, clear tears falling heavily on Yvonne’s cheeks and nose. Despite the dizziness, she quickly felt better due to the healing power the priests had poured into her.

Seeing Marquess’s tear-streaked, anguished face made her almost want to laugh.

“When you cry like that, it makes me want to tease you.”

“Sniff… You can tease me all you want… Just don’t be in pain.”

Marquess’s heartfelt sobs amused Yvonne. He seemed so genuine, like a crying child, that she found it endearing despite the situation.

“I’m sorry. There seems to have been an issue with the ceremony.”

“Issue? My wife was bleeding and collapsed, and all you have to say is a mere apology?”

“Kes.”

“How much did I donate to this temple? Among the conditions was my wife’s… Ugh…”

“That’s enough.”

Yvonne, seeing Marquess’s eyes turn red as he angrily confronted the High Priest, covered his mouth.

“Dear, you’re getting too worked up.”

Feeling Yvonne’s warmth on his lips, Marquess closed his eyes and nodded, reassured.

“I’m fine now.”

“My apologies, Duke Lohaten.”

The High Priest, flustered, apologized again. Marquess wasn’t appeased by the apology itself, but rather by seeing Yvonne looking at him.

“I want to go back to our room.”

“…Okay.”

Marquess, lifting her gently, glanced at the High Priest once more before leaving.

“Lord Leonhardt, you should…”

“I will proceed today.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Yurian knew they wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon.

He also realized that the missing princess was here, and that he had a three-month memory gap.

Moreover, the fortunate encounter with them at this temple solidified his resolve to dispel any mental abilities affecting him, regardless of the specifics of Marquess’s and the High Priest’s arrangements.

* * *

Yvonne had fallen asleep briefly but woke up feeling Marquess holding her hand and watching over her.

“You’ll exhaust yourself.”

“Really? I’ll call the priests immediately…”

“Not me. You, Kes, you’ll exhaust yourself.”

“Oh…”

Marquess, initially alarmed, calmed down and understood.

As Marquess continued to shed tears while walking, Yvonne began to worry about him.

“Are you usually this tearful?”

“No.”

“Then it must be because of me.”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m the one who should apologize. I tried to do something unnecessary.”

Yvonne found Marquess’s repentant tone amusing and pulled his cheek. Unlike Yurian’s, his cheek lacked elasticity, feeling more like hardened rubber.

“Nothing you did was unnecessary. We came here because it was needed. Everyone makes mistakes.”

“Yes…”

Though Marquess had many rational and skeptical thoughts in response, he didn’t want to argue.

He was deeply saddened by seeing Yvonne coughing up blood and collapsing. The emotions he felt were so overwhelming that he couldn’t handle them.

He was embarrassed yet felt Yvonne was being unfair for not understanding his feelings, even as she laughed.

Still, he knew showing his frustration when he loved more would only be harmful, so he refrained. His emotions would settle with time, especially since Yvonne was by his side and depended on him.

Therefore, he decided not to say anything that wouldn’t benefit him in the long run.

“By the way, what should we do about your hair?”

“We can change it back.”

“But why did it turn silver when the abilities were released?”

Yvonne asked curiously, noticing the dried blood on her lips, which made Marquess’s heart ache.

He let go of her hand momentarily to wet a cloth.

“The ability to change hair color must be from a higher-level ability user, so releasing the platinum blonde spell reverted it.”

“I see.”

He used the damp cloth to clean the blood from Yvonne’s lips, neck, and hair. She found his anxious, almost fainting expression amusing.

“You’re quite emotional, Kes.”

“Yes, I am. So please take care not to die. You almost did earlier.”

Hearing his trembling voice, Yvonne thought that choosing Marquess, despite the heavy responsibility, wasn’t a mistake.

“What should we do about Yurian?”

“I’ll call him and erase his memory again later.”

“Okay.”

Marquess was growing more comfortable using his abilities because of Yvonne.

With her as his guide, he didn’t need any side effect suppressants. All he needed was physical contact with her bare skin.

“Kes.”

“Yes.”

“Are you taking your sedatives properly?”

“Of course.”

She didn’t know she was a guide.

Guides were incredibly rare across the continent, and aside from their ability to calm espers’ powers, little was known about them.

“What if side effects appear…”

“I’ll handle it alone.”

“Can you really handle it alone?”

“Yes, though it takes longer, it is possible.”

Marquess’s serious response gave Yvonne a small sense of relief. It would be troublesome if his side effects suddenly made him lose control.

Yet, noticing he seemed to be more careful about touching her, she decided not to worry unnecessarily.

She noticed her white priest’s robe was in tatters. Marquess, perceptive as always, quickly offered,

“I’ll fetch a change of clothes. Please wash up in the meantime.”

“Okay.”

Watching him hesitantly leave, Yvonne got up and headed to the bathroom.

* * *

After washing away her fatigue, Yvonne returned to the bed. She wondered if she should search for Marquess, who had disappeared after leaving her priest’s robe on the bed.

She noticed a small note and set aside her thoughts to read it.

“I’ll be back after talking with the High Priest.

Go ahead and sleep, my dear wife.

-Kes”

‘My dear wife.’

Yvonne thought he seemed to prefer calling her his wife. Every time she called him “dear,” his cheeks turned red as if on fire.

He clearly preferred titles over pet names.

She didn’t quite understand it, but Marquess loved being acknowledged as her husband whenever she called him “dear.”

“I’m sleepy.”

She muttered, drying herself off.

“Why is this so big?”

Yvonne figured Marquess must have brought a size too large.

But it was intentional. Marquess had felt uneasy seeing her in the perfectly fitting priest’s robe, fearing she might commit to being a priest.

Unaware of this, Yvonne wore the oversized robe. It was indeed very large, with the sleeves extending a handbreadth past her hands and the hem touching her feet.

She tightened the waist belt and dried her hair.

Sitting on the bed, she felt dizzy, likely from the blood loss.

Her changed hair reminded her of Hildebrandt, its vibrant silver color resembling polished metal.

She thought the color suited him well, matching his capricious and cold personality. His piercing blue eyes also came to mind.

“Enough.”

She was annoyed at herself for thinking about Hildebrandt after coming this far.

Then she thought of Yurian.

‘I’d like to bite you, Yvonne.’

She recalled Yurian’s bold personality. Meeting him again, he was still the same. His suspicions about her identity made no sense, yet he was still attempting to seduce her.

Though he wasn’t a staunch supporter of the emperor, his doubts about her identity puzzled her. Despite knowing Marquess would likely erase Yurian’s memory again, she felt a slight disappointment.

‘Did I want to see him?’

But she realized that wasn’t true. She had been scared when she saw him again.

Tap, tap.

“…?”

Tap!

She looked towards her bedroom window, noticing someone throwing small objects at it.

There was Yurian, sitting on a tree and looking her way.

This was the 10th floor.

The tree he sat on was the blessed tree of the temple, said to be nurtured by the goddess’s blessing, reaching the height of a 15-story building.

“Yvonne.”

He was calling her, smiling, while perched on the tree.