The Saintess Returned to the Emperor's Arms

One change in a million 

“Raise your head.”

There were less than ten steps between the emperor and the sinner. 

Even at a distance where there was no way the frosty voice could be buried, the criminal did not raise her head.

“I told you to raise your head.”

Herhan ordered again.

Still, the woman did not budge like a rock. Seeing that, the crowd murmured. “How dare you ignore the emperor’s words.”

The murmur naturally subsided as Herhan moved.

Herhan took a few steps forward, getting close enough to trample the woman if he wanted to. He pointed the sword in his right hand at the woman’s neck. At that moment, people thought they would see blood.

Herhan, who suddenly hid his identity and then reappeared after 10 years and shook the world, was such a man.

It is said that he peacefully crowned the position of emperor of the Elshweig Empire, but in fact, no one did not know that there was a lot of blood on the other side of that ‘peace’.

Even the previous emperor, who was of the same blood, was a man who kicked him out to the barren periphery without mercy.

So one little sinner, a woman who dared to kill him, will be pardoned in front of Herhan.

however.

“Are you alone?”

The emperor, who is known for his brutality, seemed to have chosen to show interest instead of taking the life of the sinner at once for some reason today.

“Raise your head properly and look at me.”

Herhan even ordered eye contact with a criminal who fearlessly ignored the Emperor’s words. 

The sword, which should have spurted blood in all directions, was quiet. The tip of the emperor’s sword carefully lifted her chin instead of cutting the sinner’s neck.

Her head lifted at the tip of the sword, but her pupils were unfocused. The Emperor’s eyebrows twitched as he checked her face. 

People thought that the emperor was offended by the impudence and arrogance of the criminal. But Greta bit her lip differently. 

She looked at Herrhan’s expression and began to notice that something was going wrong. It was the kind of foreboding that only those who were afraid that their tricks would be discovered could foresee.

“Your Majesty the Emperor. I will post a report on my investigation.”

At that time, a Royal knight officer came forward.

“As a result of our investigation, we have determined that the attempted assassination of Your Majesty that occurred in the Eastern Lands last fall was orchestrated by this ‘Riella Blinite’ here—!”

He couldn’t finish his explanation. It was because the emperor’s knife point, which had been supporting the criminal’s head a while ago, flew straight toward his neck.

“What are you doing? I asked this sinner.”

 “….!”

“Or would your name be ‘Riella Blinite’?” 

The frightened officer forgot even his manners and shook his white face.

Herhan’s sword was about to stab the officer in the neck.

The king, who was supposed to mediate the situation, was even paler than the officer and couldn’t open his mouth. 

The reason why the emperor’s sword was withdrawn was pure because the ‘real Riella Blinite’ had fallen unconscious at that time.

“Oh, my goodness.”

“No, that…!”

A few people flinched in surprise, but not a single person tried to help her up

It was natural. Because Riella was a high-stakes criminal who no one should care about.

Riella was simply abandoned in the eyes of onlookers.

For some reason, Herhan’s face turned nervously toward Riella. The crowd trembled and held their breath. 

Since the emperor was very uncomfortable, they thought it was obvious what was going to happen.

As expected, the emperor turned to Riella again. The crowd closed their eyes tightly.

Thinking that things were finally going right, Greta held her chest and narrowed her eyes. 

But Greta’s wish did not come true. 

Everyone’s expectations were wrong.

Emperor Herhan was carrying Riella.

In the end, one unexpected move had begun.

* * * 

“I am deeply sorry for the royal family of Liotta for ignoring international law procedures and causing disruptions in the imperial side’s fact-finding and trial schedule, as the prisoner’s health deteriorated due to the lax management system of the prisoner who was scheduled to be extradited to Liotta empire.…”

“….”

“You did it, you pretended to be angry. Really, Why did you do such an unexpected thing, Your Majesty?!”

What happened at the Imperial Emperor’s reception ceremony spread and  started to make noise beyond the walls of the palace.

The circumstances were not different from the detached palace where the emperor and his entourage gather. Ashion in particular was in an uproar.

He had been with Herhan since childhood before becoming the head of the imperial guard, and he was one of the few aides who could nag the emperor.

“No matter how much it is, she was a criminal who was dragged out for the crime of slandering His Majesty, but you are holding her by yourself. It’s like a steamroller!”

“Asion.”

“Could you please say something in advance! Do you know how hard it was for me to come up with a reasonable defense? I thought I was losing all my hair.”

“Asion.”

“Obviously, after everyone agreed to go with the ‘carrot rather than stick’ strategy—!” 

“Asion. One more word. I will really make your hair fall out.” 

“….”

Asion closed his mouth like a clam.

Of course, it was possible to nag, not to discourage Herhan with that nagging.

Even if they were old friends, the lord was the lord and the vassal was the vassal. Even after Herhan ascended the throne, his authority became like heaven, so Asión couldn’t.

“And it’s the royal family who has to deal with the mess, not us.” 

“Yes. If you intended to harm the royal family, you hit the mark. It’s really messed up over there right now.”

“What about her?”

“She? Who? Do you mean the princess?”

Asion asked back with a voice that still had grunts, and then,

 “Ah,” he muttered slowly. 

Riella Blinite.

The woman who became the culprit behind the master’s sudden action. It was That woman Herhan was asking about.

“She was moved to the kingdom hospital room for treatment, but she is still unconscious. From what I heard, it seems that she was starving after being locked up in a solitary cell in the basement for nearly 10 days—”

Asion stopped talking. A huge stack of papers placed on Herhan’s desk caught his eye.

‘Did you look at all of that?’ 

It was an investigation report by the royal family to drive ‘Liella Blinite’ as the ‘only’ criminal of last year’s case.

The report was perfect. All the circumstances were elaborate as if they were put together, and there were dozens of eyewitness accounts. 

However, the ‘facts’ contained in the vast amount of reports were all different from the ‘truth’.

His aides, including Herhan, knew from the beginning.

Last fall, it was the royal family of this country who tried to track down and kill Herhan while hiding at the border with a group of local mercenaries.

At the time, even though they knew it, they stayed still because they were powerless to do anything about it.

His feelings were clear, but there was no physical evidence, and in such a state, Herhan, who was living as a recluse, could not deal with the royal family of a country.

To make things worse, Herhan’s illness was severe, and as he returned to his home country immediately afterward, his bad relationship with the Kingdom of Liotta was buried for a while.

And now the story is different. Herhan was now emperor of the empire.

It was difficult to stabilize an empire under a new master, but Herhan did it well and quickly. Now that he had established a domestic base, it was time to deal with foreign affairs, and the Kingdom of Liotta was the first target.

In other words, this visit was under the guise of a tour commemorating the new emperor’s enthronement, but in fact, it was to solve the problem with the Liotta kingdom, which Herhan had to solve.

The problem was, how to get a confession from a kingdom that doesn’t admit guilt?

‘And to think you blamed it all on one woman, I can’t believe it.’

Asion clicked his tongue.

Come to think of it, Asion wondered if that was why his lord acted so absurdly.

The royal family’s behavior of putting out a small woman who seemed like a sinner and rolling her eyes at her, hiding behind her, was really disgusting and absurd even to himself.

but.

“It was true that the directing was too much. Why don’t you pretend to be deceived and move on? since it’s true that she was actually a member of the mercenary group, if not the ringleader.” 

Asion cautiously posted his opinion. His words were thoughtful, both for the sake of his master’s prestige and for the sake of future strategy.

But Herhan’s response was very harsh.

“If you don’t know, don’t interfere.”

Don’t interfere if you don’t know. Don’t interfere if you don’t know? 

‘Is that what you’re saying to me, who’s been working around the palace without even drinking a glass of water so far?’

“No, Your Majesty! Do you know that it’s a very hurtful word? I’m the head of the investigation team, and if I don’t step up, who’s going to step up?”

Asion burst into anger and attacked Herhan. 

‘No, I jumped at it.’

Herhan’s face was twisted like a hateful seven-year-old for what was so upsetting.

Asion thinks the royal side has already had enough trouble, but maybe that wasn’t enough, or maybe there was something else he didn’t like.

In any case, it was not good to touch it now.

‘okay. I step away Back off!’ 

Asion clearly knew when to hit and run. 

‘That was the reason I was able to support that selfish lord for the rest of my life.’

“Wait.”

Asion was about to admit defeat and turn around like that, but Herhan caught him. Asion turned around half-heartedly, he was wondering if Herhan wanted to apologize.

“Come to think of it, you are right. If it wasn’t you, Asion, there would be no one else who would step forward properly.” 

To be sure, Herhan’s first words were in the vein of an apology. Asion’s slumped shoulders straightened in an instant, and he grinned triumphantly.

“You finally realize how important I am to you, don’t you?”

“So I give you a new mission. Go to the hospital room where Liella Blinite is now.” 

“What? No, Your Majesty! You’re so mean…I haven’t even unpacked my luggage in the bedroom yet. I couldn’t even eat.”

At the unexpected order, Asion pressed down on his emotional feelings and complained of injustice.

“Eat there.”

“….”

“You can sleep there too.” 

“….”

“Go ahead, then.”

Herhan sternly finished what he had to say and then moved his gaze back to the thick report. 

With happy eyes, considering that he took revenge on the aides who were annoyingly nagging him.

* * * 

Clink!

Outside the gates of the East Palace. Despite the sound of glass breaking and objects falling one after another, maids outside tried hard to pretend they didn’t hear. It was because of Princess Greta’s instructions to never come close to the door. 

“What do you mean? who is doing what…?” 

Inside the room, Greta’s voice trembled.

Greta, who had been confined to her own palace since ruining the emperor’s reception ceremony, secretly met a guest two days later, a knight who covered his face.

“One of the investigators sent by the emperor was lying on a bed in the hospital room. He never leaves his seat and watches over the sinner,…”

“He laid down in the hospital room?” 

“Yes.”

Greta was dumbfounded and speechless.

‘what? Laying down on a bed in the hospital room? watch over the sinner?’

‘He had made fun of the royal family at the reception ceremony, but did he still have more pranks left to do?’

“So even if I move carefully, it’s probably impossible to kill a criminal without getting noticed.…”

“what? Hey! you cannot speak straight. If anyone hears it, won’t they think I instigated the assassination?” 

Greta snapped, her eyes narrowing. It was an unexpected shout, so the knight was dumbfounded. 

He wanted to ask again, “Isn’t it right that he instigated the assassination, and didn’t he tell me to dispose of the criminal without a mouse or bird noticing?”

However, he couldn’t do that because the princess waved her hand as if she didn’t want to talk anymore.

The knight was driven out empty-handed after not receiving the reward that she would give if he did as he was told.

In the empty room where the knights had left, Princess Greta sighed alone for a while.

She was breathing heavily and her face was quite tired. She hadn’t eaten or slept properly since the reception ceremony, so she was on the verge of going insane.

‘what? Why is the emperor’s aide sitting there protecting her? It makes no sense! Did he know that I ordered the knight to kill her?’

‘No…It can’t be. We’ve taken care of all the witnesses and the report is perfect.’ 

Greta tried to think about it here and there, biting his nails, but the more she tried, the more her nervousness grew. ‘Then what the hell!’ 

Unknowingly, the tips of her nails, which she had bitten off, got ugly. 

At times like this, Fabian kindly held her hand, saying, ‘How could you bite off all your pretty hands?’ 

There was no such Fabian by her side now. It made Greta even more crazy.

Before Riella woke up and opened her mouth, she had to do something.

* * *