The Saintess Returned to the Emperor's Arms

Please hug me 

 

The lobby of the West Palace, which should have been pitch-black by now, was brightly lit today, creating an unseasonably long line of people.

 

“Is this a dream or reality? I can’t believe I’m seeing His Majesty in person at this hour?”

 

“His Majesty is personally rewarding all the maids and servants of the West Palace for their care of Miss Riella.”

 

“I called him in my sleep and when I came out, oh my God, how did I do it? I have goosebumps.”

 

The West Palace workers were stamping their feet and muttering as they hurriedly combed their hair and washed their faces.

 

Each person’s actions were different, but the direction in which they craned their necks and cast expectant gazes was the same. A sofa was placed on one side of the lobby. 

 

There, the young emperor, Herhan, was praising each and every one of his servants in turn.

 

“I meet your majesty. I am Orten, the gardener of the West Palace. Miss Riella also really liked the flower garden I planted.”

 

“Right. I hope you will continue to bring joy to Riella.”

 

“Yes!”

 

As the dark-skinned gardener shouted faithfully, Herhan handed him a small box. It was a gift given directly by the emperor.

 

From the emperor’s hand to the gardener’s hand.

 

The two people’s fingertips brushed as the box passed, but the gardener, who had been so absorbed in the box since the beginning, didn’t even notice. Nor did he realize that his blatant thoughts would be heard unfiltered by the Emperor.

 

‘Hahah! I’m lying about her liking the flower garden. I’ve never even seen her before. What kind of bonus is this? Gotcha!’ 

 

Towards the gardener, Herhan nodded once without showing any special expression.

 

It meant that this was not him. Asion understood the nod and skillfully sent the gardener out and brought in the next person. There were already dozens of people, and Herhan and Asion were experienced like tight-knit workers.

 

“I see you, Your Majesty. My name is Lina, and I am serving Miss Riella’s bedroom in the West Palace. Your majesty. I have greeted you this morning as well…”

 

“Ah. Yes. Count Riordan’s niece. I remember. Thank you for your hard work.”

 

Herhan again handed out a small box to Lina, who was kneeling in front of him.

 

Lina thought as she accepted the box with trembling hands.

 

‘The Emperor remembers my name! I just touched his hand! What the hell! Is he doing this on purpose? What should I do? Is he tempting me? I’m going to be an empress? Oh no! What should I name our kids?  Herit.…No, henna?’ 

 

Pretend not to know even after hearing everything. Herhan nodded again, let go of the maid named Lina, and rubbed his temple for a moment.

 

‘Is it because I used too much of my power? It was dark and dizzy before my eyes. I think I’ve reached my limit now.’

 

However, at first glance, there seemed to be more than a dozen people still waiting in line for their turn.

 

“Your Majesty. It would be best if you call it a day.”

 

Asion, who immediately noticed Herhan’s condition, lowered his head and whispered worriedly.

 

Still, Herhan shook his head.

 

“Next,” he quietly muttered, and Asion sighed even more deeply than his lord, and placed the next person in front of his lord. 

 

Like the previous maid, she was a maid who served Riella.

 

‘He is so handsome. Riella That woman wields his majesty to this extent? Ahh. If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have done that!’ 

 

‘Wouldn’t have done that?’

 

Herhan’s eyes lit up as he read the brown-haired maid’s inner thoughts in an instant.

 

‘Now, the headache was so bad that it would turn black if I relaxed for a moment, but I still managed to pull myself together.’

 

Before completely handing over the box, Herhan looked deeply into her heart while pretending to continue to praise her.

 

‘If he finds out that we kicked Miss Riella out to the laundry room and went out, it will be over! I need to tell others to watch their mouths too.’

 

‘Ah. Was that what you were talking about?’

 

Herhan lost steam and let go of the maid’s hand.

 

‘I have already heard enough about the story of how Riella ended up going to the laundry room today through the thoughts of other maids.’

 

Herhan tried it just in case, but it was the same. Although all of the maids who approached Riella to apply for her position in the West Palace had sinister intentions, they were not spies.

 

There was nothing to say about the other maids. Few were even acquainted with Riella, who had been confined to his bedroom for most of the two days, and even rarer were those who were able to enter Riella’s bedroom.

 

‘All I’ve found out so far is that the West Palace was empty at the time Riella went to the laundry room…’ 

 

‘The spy probably approached Riella’s closet at that time. But there were no witnesses to give us a clue as to who it was.’

 

He had brought her to the West Palace and hadn’t even deployed a proper guard.

 

As the situation descended into a labyrinth, Herhan felt distressed because he felt like everything was his fault.

 

“Your Majesty. Your majesty…!”

 

It was then that Herhan came out of his daze at Asion’s anxious call.

 

‘Asion’s face was dark. Of course, my complexion reflected in Asion’s eyes was much darker.’

 

“I guess it won’t work. Please stop here.”

 

Not yet, maybe there’s at least one witness somewhere, and Herhan tried to shake off Asion again this time.

 

,’But my body didn’t listen. I couldn’t even speak. I didn’t realize it because I was constantly lost in my mind. How serious my condition has been.’

 

In the end, Asion ordered the knights to send away the remaining maids.

 

It was only when all the maids in line had retreated that it was Carnel who rushed over.

 

“Why are you coming? What about Jess?”

 

Asion frowned. Since his lord’s condition was not good, he clearly called Jess to come immediately.

 

“That is…Sir Jess is not in good condition either.”

 

“In bad condition? What is he doing?”

 

“He was unpacking the formalin solution from the entire jar.”

 

“what? formalin?”

 

“yes. He said he is going to be making a large stuffed one soon, so he needs to get ready now.…It seemed like he was drunk, and he also seemed like he was crying a little.….”

 

‘He seems like a funny guy.’

 

Herhan swallowed hard, feeling a lump of emotion rise to the back of his throat. It was a mixture of ridiculousness and frustration, but the biggest part was regret.

 

Jess got down on his knees and begged, but the lord ignored him. 

 

He sulked and hid in the lab. He’d told Herhan that he would stop being his doctor now and said ‘So do it yourself whether you die or not.’

 

In fact, it wasn’t the first time Jess had rebelled like this.

 

It was like that when Herhan secretly left the palace and drank alcohol in Le Der last fall, and it was like that when he forgot to take his medicine a few times because he was busy right before his tour of the Kingdom of Liotta.

 

Every time that happened, it was Carnel who took Jess’s place. A younger student whom Jess personally taught and raised, and the current head of the royal family’s medical department.

 

Carnel has been working for the emperor for nearly five years, and of course, he was a reliable man with numerous verifications of Herhan.

 

but.

 

‘It would be very easy for Carnel to leak confidential documents or change drugs. He was around me instead of Jess during my tour of the kingdom.’

 

‘Why do I keep having these doubts?

Is it because I met too many people today who are different on the outside and the inside? Or, it could have been because my illness reached its peak.’

 

Still, Herhan asked Carnel while Carnel was examining his body.

 

“Carnel. What did you do during the day today?”

 

“yes? Oh, you mean today?”

 

However, once asked a question, Canel flustered unusually.

 

“Actually….”

 

Herhan narrowed his eyes. His heart was pounding. Could it be Carnel?

 

“I took a nap. sorry. your majesty. Even though I know it’s work time… Maybe it was because I was so relaxed after finishing my final report to Sir Jess about all the records from our tour of the kingdom, so I just couldn’t help myself.…I apologize.”

 

“You’ve never been to the West Palace?”

 

“This is my first time coming to the West Palace. What’s the matter?”

 

Carnel’s eyes were honest as Herhan asked the question. Herhan read Carnel’s mind as he opened his clothes and touched his chest.

 

What Carnel said was true. He had been busy with his work all morning, and after he had finished reporting, he collapsed on his desk and fell asleep, unconscious for several minutes after falling asleep.

 

Of course, He had never been to the West Palace.

 

Regardless of the quality of his alibi, Carnel’s loyalty to the emperor was clear without a single thread of falsehood.

 

‘I can’t believe I even doubt the loyalty of someone like Carnel. What has really happened to my mind?’ 

 

Herhan closed his eyes tightly, feeling ashamed.

 

“I promised Riella. I will prove it.”

 

But all he can do is suspect and spy on the subordinates who gave their lives to him, and betray their trust.

 

“If it were me, I would have gone crazy a long time ago. What Your Majesty is doing now is something that no one can do. So please, don’t be too distressed. Don’t think about anything else today and you should keep your eyes open a little bit.”

 

Asion grabbed Herhan’s shoulder and lifted him up.

 

Asion was right. Herhan couldn’t think about anything else today.

 

* * * 

 

It was late at night when Herhan finally returned to the bedroom, supported by Asion and Carnel on both sides.

 

Even though he drank the entire bottle of medicine that Carnel had brought, Herhan’s strength didn’t seem to come back.

 

Asion tried to stay next to his master’s bed, saying he would stay by his side all night, but Herhan managed to muster up the strength to send him away.

 

It was a night of questioning everything. At moments like this, he wanted no one else near him.

 

“Your Majesty….”

 

Even if it’s Riella Blinite. The woman he’d wanted to run to and hug again and again, worried that she’d be left alone in his bedroom while he investigated outside.

 

The moment he returned to his bedroom and lay down on the bed like a corpse, Herhan wanted to ignore Riella.

 

‘To be exact, I didn’t want to show my weakness like this.’

 

“Your Majesty…I heard from Captain Asion that you pushed yourself too hard.”

 

The Emperor’s Bedroom with Loose Moonlight.

 

Riella, who was unable to come closer and was loitering around the doorway, spoke softly, appearing only as a black silhouette in Herhan’s eyes.

 

Herhan lifted his eyelids and looked at the silhouette for a long time.

 

After looking at it for a while, he wanted to go to her side again.

 

But it was impossible. Until he could proudly say that he had revealed all of her innocence, he had shame standing in front of Riella.

 

“Don’t come.”

 

“Your Majesty.”

 

“Don’t come here. There are beds elsewhere. We’ll talk when I wake up tomorrow.”

 

Even though Herhan warned her not to come closer, Riella came closer and closer. It burned in Herhan’s heart.

 

‘I wanted to hug Riella so much earlier, but now why is Riella approaching so scary?’

 

Herhan did not want to see Riella. There was a bigger reason than not wanting to show his weakness.

 

It was because he was afraid of being suspicious of her.

 

“Why don’t you read my mind?”

 

At that time, Riella came closer to his bed and said that.

 

Herhan opened his eyes wide. Not because of the headache, but because of Riella’s words, his mind was becoming confused.

 

“How did you know that?”

 

He stood up quickly and only then did Riella’s appearance, not a black silhouette, come into Herhan’s field of vision.

 

Riella’s face was soaked with tears. 

 

Herhan doesn’t even know how long she has been crying.

 

“Looking into the hearts of so many people so exhaustingly. Why don’t you read my mind?”

 

“How did you know that?”

 

Herhan tried to argue further, but It was obvious. There was no one else but Jess. He hated his lord who ignored his advice and told the truth to Riella.

 

“I don’t know how Your Majesty can do such a thing. No matter how much I hear the explanation, I don’t know. I’m scared because I don’t know. I am… no, your majesty…How can you do that?”

 

‘Are you asking How did I end up with such monstrous power?’

 

Herhan leaned his head against the wall, looked towards the ceiling, and took a deep breath.

 

However, Riella’s next question was a little different from what he expected.

 

“How can you trust me when you can’t read my mind? Why don’t you abandon me?”

 

Riella didn’t even stutter because she kept asking herself while Herhan was away.

 

Riella’s face, fully illuminated by the bright moonlight, sparkled.

 

Herhan thought she was shining because she was a sparkling person, but when he looked closely, he saw that all those countless sparkles were Riella’s tears.

 

Riella was looking at Herhan with her eyes straight open even while she was crying heavily.

 

Herhan got up completely from the bed and stood in front of Riella.

 

‘It was such a strange thing. I was so dizzy and in pain that I couldn’t stand properly without support, but somehow my head seemed to clear. I was able to breathe easier now.’

 

Is it because of the sweet scent of Riella’s body odor?

 

“I really want to ask you. Riella Blinite.”

 

“…..”

 

“Why are you different? Why can’t you do what I want? Why are you so confusing to me?”

 

Herhan had no intention of raising his voice. Because this wasn’t Riella’s fault. 

 

If he had to argue, the fault lay with Herhan himself, who had taken on a strange curse.

 

Strangely enough, Herhan couldn’t control his mysterious excitement. Every inch of his body, which had become numb with pain, now began to heat up with the urge to get closer to Riella.

 

Is he just boiling with lust just because he is a man or Just because he is dying?

 

Herhan found himself so funny that he got angry.

 

In the meantime, the scent of Riella standing close to him, her tear-stained face, and sight of her red lips, kept to shake Herhan’s mind.

 

“Please read my mind.”

 

Riella said that and stood closer to Herhan.

 

Herhan tightened his jaw and clenched his teeth.

 

“I want to show it to Your Majesty. I don’t want to arouse your Majesty’s suspicions. I really don’t mind being abandoned by other people anymore, but I never want to be abandoned by you.”

 

‘What can I do when the one who is barely holding on doesn’t even care and cries and begs so mercilessly?’

 

Herhan felt like he was going crazy.

 

“I heard that Your Majesty’s power becomes stronger the more your skin touches other skin.”

 

A tendon popped up in the forearm of Herhan, who held one of the bedposts. Riella’s subsequent sobbing was like a rock flying to him, holding out dangerously as if he were walking on a single rope.

 

“Please hug me.”

 

* * *