75. The Person Erased from the World
“Yes. I would dislike it.”
Despite her bare white back flushing red at his teasing comment, Bianca’s response was firm.
He wondered if she might be trembling at the thought of going to the imperial palace, but she looked braver than expected.
Beautifully brave.
“I can’t afford to be hated.”
Jillian responded lazily and began fastening the buttons on her dress.
Click, click.
With each pearl fastened, her pale skin gradually became covered.
He wasn’t undressing her, but dressing her, yet for some reason, his throat felt dry. He licked his lips to moisten them.
Click.
“There are a lot of buttons, aren’t there?”
Bianca’s tone was awkward, as if she too was tense.
Realizing that she was nervous made Jillian’s own neck feel even stiffer.
“More than mine.”
He answered shortly and sped up his movements.
Dangerous.
In more ways than one. Her neck was slender and pale like a deer’s, exposed right before his eyes. The dress design that gracefully revealed her curves only added to the temptation.
Click.
When the last button was fastened, he let out a sharp breath.
“I’ll go down first.”
“Yes, see you soon.”
Bianca didn’t even turn her head. The tips of her ears, glimpsed just barely, were bright red.
***
“What do you mean by that?”
The High Priest struggled not to scoff at the Saintess’s words.
“The Imperial Family of Termina has contacted us.”
The Saintess held her ground, even though she clearly knew what he meant by the question.
“They said something seems to have happened to the House of Baloch, and they’d like you to attend the hearing.”
“Is this a request or an order?”
“For now, it’s a request.”
‘For now, it was a request.’
Though it was urgent enough that he’d have to leave immediately, and though he was currently in the middle of prayer, isolated from the world—it was still technically a request.
The High Priest narrowed his eyes.
It wasn’t the first time the Imperial Family of Termina acted like this, and it wasn’t just a one-time incident.
But why was the Saintess, knowing his true feelings, suddenly pushing him forward like this?
Now, of all times?
“So, are you telling me to comply with that request?”
He hadn’t meant to, but his voice turned harsh at the end, almost as if biting back the words.
The Saintess, watching him, smiled with deeply carved wrinkles.
“If I ask, will you listen?”
“Saintess!”
“I’ve been asking for a long time. I’ve always asked. But tell me, have you ever granted my request, even once?”
“So then, you think I won’t listen this time either?”
‘Don’t go stirring old wounds.’
He bit his tongue, barely keeping himself from saying more. But the Saintess, oblivious to his restraint, added other words,
“Wouldn’t it be okay to listen just once?”
“Saint!”
“Just once. There’s no time left to ask again. Just once.”
Only then did the High Priest realize how aged and frail the Saintess had become. To him, the Saintess had always been impossibly distant.
A mother to all, a divine representative—sometimes kinder than anyone, sometimes wiser than anyone. But to the High Priest, she had been harsher than anyone.
All he ever wanted was one thing in his entire life.
And the Saintess refused to grant him even that.
Though he lived an ascetic life, faithfully serving God with more devotion than anyone,
the Saintess had crushed his only desire.
‘I said no. I do not permit it.’
‘You ask for excommunication? Who has the authority to excommunicate a divine representative? Spend time in the temple prison and cool your head. Then perhaps you’ll realize how blasphemous your words were.’
‘To have seduced the High Priest like this—what a vile creature. I shall offer prayers of purification on his behalf. Who is it?’
Utterly despicable.
They didn’t just deny him, they stole all hope, even resorting to threats. They drove him to the brink of death, and now they dare say this?
That time was short and he should listen now?
“How consistently cruel you are.”
The High Priest whispered, eyes closed.
“How could someone said to be so merciful be so heartless to me?”
“Must I stand by and watch someone walk the wrong path?”
“And who decides what the wrong path is?”
“Then go. See it with your own eyes. The reason I was only ever cold to you.”
The Saintess no longer smiled. Her gaze was as firm as it had been when she’d once ordered holy knights to drag him into the temple dungeon.
“Go.”
She no longer used the word request. She gave a command, cold as in the old days.
“Very well. Since it’s a granted opportunity, I’ll gladly see it for myself.”
The High Priest immediately stood and summoned a cleric.
“Is there no one outside? Prepare for my departure to the Imperial Palace at once.”
“Yes, High Priest.”
Once the cleric’s footsteps faded, the High Priest turned slightly toward the Saintess.
“Are you satisfied now?”
“Of course.”
Two hours later, the High Priest arrived near the Imperial Palace via a transportation circle managed by the temple.
***
“What’s that?”
Jillian asked, pointing to a long box being loaded into the carriage.
“Just a few things I packed.”
Bianca answered shortly.
She didn’t want to use the sly tone often heard in social circles with him, but she also didn’t want him to know.
Jillian didn’t press her, only smiled faintly, as if knowingly letting it pass.
Her heart thumped at the thought, but she maintained her composure.
How long had they ridden?
As her nerves began to ease, Bianca started thinking about who would be at the palace.
‘Deborah.’
Since she had entered as a maid and lost her master, she was likely working in another palace now.
It would be impossible to seek her out, but if she heard about today’s hearing, perhaps she’d come to watch from afar.
The thought made her heart race again. Was she doing well?
She should’ve packed a small trinket to give Deborah while she was at it.
Now, thinking of such good ideas too late, she bit her lip in regret.
Just as her body swayed, the carriage that had been running fast came to a halt.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Yes.”
Bianca, who had been preparing to get off the carriage, suddenly realized that he hadn’t moved an inch.
Watching the knights prepare the transportation circle, Jillian slowly parted his lips.
“Wife.”
“Yes?”
“May I call you that?”
“Of course.”
She replied because he asked, but Bianca was inwardly puzzled.
Ever since Jillian had told her that her marriage contract was nullified due to being removed from the imperial registry, he hadn’t once called her ‘Wife.’
She had understood his reasoning and wasn’t hurt by it. On the contrary, she had longed for the day when they would be truly married and she would be called that again.
‘So why now…?’
As if he had peeked into her thoughts, Jillian calmly explained.
“I wanted to call you that after we had a proper wedding, but in the imperial capital…”
“Ah, of course. The other nobles won’t know about us.”
“No, it’s not that. If I don’t call you that, I have no grounds to protect you.”
‘What does he mean by that?’
Bianca didn’t fully understand.
“Right now, you’ve been removed from the imperial records and even from the noble registry. Can someone like that stand in the position of co-owner of the Baloch domain?”
Jillian quickly continued.
“There’s currently no proof of your identity. The Emperor never submitted the previous marriage contract to the temple. With your name erased from the imperial registry, you officially don’t exist. So, I urgently found you in the Imperial Citizens Registry, moved your residence to the Baloch domain, and just before our departure, I completed a marriage registration.”
‘My God.’
Bianca felt a chill run down her spine at Jillian’s explanation.
It wasn’t just that her existence was denied by the imperial family—the Emperor had truly erased her from the world.
She opened her mouth slightly in shock, but no words came out.
“T-That…”
“Of course, it’s only temporary. Just to be used in the imperial capital.”
Jillian pulled out their marriage contract from his chest. At the bottom of the document, clearly bearing the names Jillian Baloch and Bianca, was the official seal of the temple.
‘Sorry, but I’ll see you separately after everything’s ready. I have some urgent documents.’
“No way…”
Bianca recalled how Jillian had moved so hastily a few hours earlier.
“That’s right. Since it was temporary, I signed for you.”
His thorough preparation gave her both a sense of relief and a slight tinge of regret.
“If you had told me, I would’ve happily signed it myself.”
Bianca had seen a marriage contract with her name on it twice now, but not once had she signed one herself.
She so desperately wanted this marriage, yet hadn’t been able to personally sign it. It felt almost laughable.
“Are you upset?”
“I’m just a little sad, truly.”
“Save your signature for the real one. That’ll be the one that matters.”
His words, spoken softly as if to soothe her, were incredibly sweet.
Bianca nodded. The idea that her existence had been completely erased was shocking, but in a way, it was fortunate to learn it in advance.
Her heart, which had unknowingly begun to soften beside him, now steeled itself firmly.
She would not let herself falter in front of the Emperor.
“Preparations are complete.”
“Let’s go.”
As the knight’s voice called out from outside, Jillian reached out his hand.
“Shall we?”
“Of course.”
Bianca grasped his outstretched hand firmly.
It hadn’t been more than a few months since she left the capital, but her memories already felt faint. If she could be erased like this forever, maybe that would be better.
With that sorrowful hope in her heart, Bianca stepped out of the carriage, greeted by the blazing sunshine pouring down over the Baloch domain.
It was warm and intense enough to make her eyes close instinctively.
***
“How’s it going?”
The Emperor rested his chin on his hand. At his words, the attendant quickly stepped forward and responded.
“They are about to arrive on imperial grounds.”
“Hm… Even though they used a transportation circle, they’re still this slow. Tsk.”
The Emperor’s complaint was unreasonable.
With the snow falling so heavily now, it normally took half a day to travel from the warp zone on the capital’s outskirts to the palace. But the duke had done it in just two hours. Still, the Emperor wasn’t satisfied.
The expressions of the nobles standing nearby grew visibly darker. Not a single thing about this made sense.
Wasn’t the empire currently in the middle of a Wave? A Wave powerful enough to collapse a fortress that had withstood every crisis since the nation’s founding.
And yet in the middle of all that, they summoned the Duke of Baloch to investigate who was responsible for the collapse?
Was he insane?
