The Saintess Returned to the Emperor's Arms

Shall we try again?

 

Riella rolled over and lay on her side. As her blanket fell off, a cold feeling entered her body. The air that touched her sweaty bare skin was quite cool.

 

When Riella started to curl up feeling a little creepy, someone lifted the falling blanket up to Eiella’s shoulders.

 

It was warm again and Riella smiled in satisfaction. Then, with a very peaceful face, she dug into the sweet-smelling body. It was a natural movement, like a baby bird seeking its mother’s embrace.

 

“hahaha”

 

Although it seems like someone burst out laughing at that.

 

‘Maybe it’s just my feeling. Or maybe it’s a half-awakened dream.’ 

 

Either way, Riella didn’t care.

 

“You’re doing too much. really.”

 

‘I’m Sorry. But what can I do when it’s so cozy?’

 

Riella just smiled in her sleep, not knowing who she was apologizing to.

 

Then, another exasperated gasp was heard, and something hot and hard wrapped around Riella’s waist.

 

Riella reflexively placed her hand on it. She felt someone’s strong arms hugging her tightly. Likewise, it smells like a sweet body.

 

‘What is it, this feeling, it’s so familiar.’

 

A scent that puts your mind at ease. A body that supports you firmly on your back. And the heat you can feel there.

 

Riella suddenly shook off her sleep and began to become aware of each curve of the body touching her back.

 

‘….!’ 

 

At that moment, the heat that had been gently flowing everywhere suddenly burst into Riella’s head like a fierce flame. 

 

Riella came to her senses, and as she came to her senses, she couldn’t move. Her back is stiff.

 

A slow laugh could be heard right behind Riella’s ears.

 

“Something just flinched.”

 

‘No, it’s just my feeling…’

 

“Suddenly it feels like you can’t breathe.”

 

Wouldn’t anyone normally be able to breathe properly in a situation like this?

 

“Are you dead?”

 

‘It might be better that way…’

 

“Breathe.”

 

“….!”

 

Riella closed her eyes tightly as if she had been sentenced to death at the sly words that seemed to be deliberately trying to awaken memories of yesterday.

 

Coziness and peace are now a thing of the past.

 

Riella’s face felt hot as if it was going to explode. Her mind was already dizzy, but she felt even more dizzy as the events of last night came to mind one by one.

 

Meanwhile, the arm wrapped around Riella’s waist continued to pull her closer.

 

The bodies getting closer little by little seemed to be teasing Liella. 

 

Is she not going to wake up even if he does this, is she going to keep closing her eyes and pretending to sleep like that?

 

“Good…morning. your majesty…”

 

Riella finally managed to open her mouth, still as stiff as a log. Of course, she couldn’t even look back, and she couldn’t do anything about her body, which was thrown into Herhan’s arms like it was prey in the mouth of a crocodile.

 

“You look pretty troubled for a good morning.”

 

“That’s…!”

 

Herhan laughed languidly at Riella’s inability to complete the sentence.

 

His chest heaved against his back as he laughed. It was a firm yet soft chest.

 

The problem was, each movement, each rise and fall with his breath, was so vivid and stimulating that it was hard for Riella to think straight.

 

Thinking that if she stayed like this just a little longer, she would lose her mind, Riella made a big decision and got up.

 

She got up without thinking, and was embarrassed because his bare skin was clearly exposed where the blanket had fallen. She grabbed the blanket and pulled it up to cover it up, but thanks to this, Herhan’s naked body was clearly exposed, so she just gave up and buried her face on the pillow.

 

Herhan said nothing and just stared at Riella.

 

She couldn’t bear to raise her face, so she buried her face and lay down.

 

Riella could feel Herhan’s gaze on her through the back of her head.

 

“How long are you going to stay like that?”

 

“Until Your Majesty leaves.….”

 

“This is my room, where should I go?”

 

‘Then I guess I’ll just keep my face down like this and die…’

 

Because she was too embarrassed to even raise her voice, she couldn’t even respond and just sighed, but Herhan spoke to Riella again.

 

“You can’t die because of that, so give up and raise your head.”

 

At those words, Riella raised her head.

 

Not because Herhan ordered her to, but because she was surprised.

 

“Since I can hear your thoughts, I guess our attempt yesterday was successful?”

 

‘What? What the hell? “Our attempt”? “Successful”? What the hell?’

 

Herhan was stunned and speechless at the sight of Riella staring back at him with wide-eyed wonder.

 

Riella suddenly noticed the absurdity in Herhan’s gaze and cleared her throat.

 

“Ah, Actually, I remember it well…”

 

“Of course you don’t remember.”

 

“Then I can’t believe I….”

 

“Yes. Are you naturally the type of person who faints when you get excited?”

 

It was a reprimanding question, but it was enough of an answer.

 

Riella opened her mouth and was shocked.

 

‘I fainted again? I was sure I held up well until the kiss and my clothes came off.’

 

‘Before I met Herhan, I couldn’t believe it because it was  unprecedented, but seeing as how vague my memories of the time after I lay in bed last night were, I didn’t think he was wrong.’

 

Only then did Riella shake off her feeling of shame, stand up, and made eye contact with Herhan.

 

Herhan was glaring at her as if he was going to hate her so much.

 

“Then why did you make me sleep here? Just wake me up and kick me out.…”

 

There was no way to do anything about embarrassment and apology, so Herhan’s glare grew stronger at the words she blurted out. As if asking, ‘Do you think I didn’t wake you up?’ Riella lowered her head and bitterly admitted her guilt.

 

“sorry…I really don’t know why I do that. Jess clearly said there was no problem with me. Then shall we try again now?”

 

“What?”

 

“I guess I will be okay now that I woke up after a good night’s sleep. This time, I will think straight. Now, wait a minute. I will drink some water.”

 

Riella eagerly stretched out her arms and fumbled somewhere under the bed, desperately hoping to grab at least one piece of clothing.

 

What she did manage to grab was an emperor’s robe. It was a large robe for her size, but Riella thought it was a good thing because she could wear it easily.

 

It was from then on that Riella, who was squirming under the blanket and wearing a robe while observing the emperor’s gaze, got out of bed and started moving her body. Even though she was very shy and didn’t know what to do, she did her best in her own way.

 

Herhan, who had been silent wondering what on earth she was doing, soon realized that Riella was seriously ‘warming up’ for the big event.

 

Turn her shoulders and turn her waist once. She gulped down the water on the table over there and took deep breaths.

 

“Now I….”

 

“…..”

 

“I’m ready. Your Majesty.”

 

Riella’s expression, as she climbed back onto the bed on her own and sat down in front of Herhan, even looked somewhat determined.

 

Even when Riella fainted last night. Also, when Riella snuggles into her arms all morning and sleeps, wheezing.

 

Herhan was confused, but not as much as he was now.

 

‘What on earth should I do with this woman?’

 

“This time, I will definitely show you my innocent heart. therefore…a little more slowly…Please. your majesty…”

 

‘no. There is no need for that anymore. Because I found the spy.’ 

 

‘But why don’t I just pretend like I don’t know anything and just hug her?’

 

In front of Riella, who was so pure and had no idea what was going on, Herhan’s heart sank.

 

Suddenly, he heard a ‘voice’ again.

 

Herhan gritted his teeth and sighed, not because of Riella this time, but for another reason.

 

* * * 

 

When the fortress-like bedroom door opened, Jess and Asion, who had been sitting anxiously in the outside living room all night, jumped up.

 

Herhan leisurely walked out wearing a robe.

 

Inside the bedroom, visible through a crack in the door, Riella, with a red face, was sitting wrapped in a blanket like a baby wrapped in a blanket.

 

‘I don’t know what the story is about.’

 

Jess was curious about what was going on inside, but then looked away, thinking that ignorance was the cure. 

 

Meanwhile, Herhan took off his robe and put on new clothes.

 

“How is your condition?”

 

Jess pouted and asked his lord.

 

It was a voice that was very tired, very resentful, but more than that, he was worried.

 

“I think she’s ashamed. I think she’s disappointed that she couldn’t prove her innocence in the end.”

 

“No. Other than how that woman feels. How is Your Majesty?”

 

“Everything is as it seems.”

 

Jess had nothing to say because he was really ‘as fine as he looked’.

 

‘How on earth? I thought you’d be out of your mind for a few days. Is this also a side effect of ‘fake medicine’?’

 

How could the lord, who had taken the emergency medicine in such a hurry, have his eyes sparkling with a refreshed face as if he had slept well for 100 days? At this point, the fake medicine wasn’t a fake medicine, it was a supplement.

 

They say that when a person suddenly changes, it is a sign of death.

 

‘His Majesty, perhaps, the day of death has come and he has become strange.’

 

In fact, there was another reason why Jess felt more anxious than usual in front of his lord, who seemed unusually full of vitality today.

 

“What about ‘voice’? Can you still hear it?”

 

“Yes. Fainter than at dawn, but still there.”

 

In the early morning, Herhan experienced ‘abnormal symptoms’ again.

 

The lord, holding a sleeping Riella, revealed this fact to Jess and Asion just before they left the bedroom.

 

“I hear a sound. I can hear your thoughts from here too.”

 

“No way. Also, are the symptoms any worse than what you experienced during the day?”

 

“It’s worse than that. I can hear the thoughts of the servants of the West Palace. I can hear the thoughts of the guard on duty and I can also hear the thoughts of the gatekeeper at the main gate. At this moment, I can hear the thoughts of all those who are awake and moving in the imperial palace. and…No. It’s done.”

 

Herhan was silent there.

 

He was worried about Riella, who was still sleeping in her arms without knowing anything. Also, he was worried about Jess, who was staggering around in front of him, looking like he was dying.

 

“Please wait outside for a while. When Riella wakes up, I will go out and explain. There is no pain at all, so don’t worry about that.”

 

Herhan now brought up again what he had been putting off.

 

“At dawn, I heard the voice of someone I presumed to be a spy.”

 

“yes? Are you sure? Then why didn’t you tell me right away?”

 

Ashion replied, his face brightening at once.

 

Worries about his lord’s health, worries about the future between his lord and Riella, and even the problem of spies. This was extremely welcome news for Asion, who had dark spots under his eyes due to all kinds of worries.

 

“I was just checking.”

 

“What is there to check? Who is that person? Where? I will catch that spy right away.”

 

Asion was happy that his heavy shoulders seemed to have become lighter.

 

That’s why Asion didn’t immediately notice that his lord’s complexion was darker than when he was talking about Riella.

 

“Let’s go right now.”

 

“Yes. I will prepare it right away.”

 

Asion put the sword sheath he’d left on the armrest of his chair back around his waist.

 

Herhan also put on some clothes and buttoned it up.

 

Jess looked back and forth between the bedroom, where the door was closed, and at Herhan, then spoke.

 

“I will check on Miss Riella’s condition and then follow you or did I go to the lab?”

 

“No, Jess. You too, follow me.”

 

However, his lord’s answer was unexpected. 

 

‘I thought he was going to tell me to check the body of Riella, who fainted again last night.’

 

“Jess, I think you really need to be by my side.”

 

Herhan repeated, more forcefully.

 

Jess and Asion exchanged glances and swallowed hard, noticing the hardness in Herhan’s expression.

 

* * * 

 

Even though the task was to arrest a spy, Herhan made sure no one knew about it except Asion and Jess.

 

Asion asked several times who the spy was, but Herhan remained silent until they arrived at their ‘destination’.

 

The longer the lord’s silence lasted and the slower his steps, the more anxious Asion and Jess became.

 

“I’m betting my five-year thesis on If Riella is not a spy, the spy could be the minister. There’s no way His Majesty would be that serious otherwise.”

 

Perhaps to relieve the tension, Jess deliberately whispered in Asion’s ear in a lighter tone.

 

However, when they arrived at the ‘destination’, Jess was so pale that he couldn’t even be compared to Herhan or Asion and he couldn’t even speak properly.

 

“Your Majesty, your Majesty…Why are we here? I thought you were going to the place where the spy is.”

 

Jess’ voice trembled.

 

“It is in your lab…”

 

* * *