The Saintess Returned to the Emperor's Arms

Are you going to run away again? 

Greta’s tea splashed everywhere.

Apart from being impolite in front of the emperor, it was really ugly and unsightly, so the king was embarrassed as if he was naked.

“Greta! Why are you acting so recklessly!” 

“Uhuk! That is… ugh! Uhuk!” 

Greta’s ears turned red.

Herhan waited patiently for Greta to calm down before continuing. 

“It looks like I frightened the princess with the word poison.”

“….”

“Don’t worry. It is used as an excellent herb for mental and physical stability if the intake is well followed. Being poisonous is when the amount is excessive.”

“Is that so? haha. That’s an interesting way of putting it. What happens when it becomes poison?” 

To change the subject, Taran II asked the emperor. 

But in this situation, Isn’t the question more insensitive?

Greta couldn’t bear to blame her stupid father and lowered her head. Her heart felt like it was going to explode, and she couldn’t think straight.

“It paralyzes the tongue and throat, making it impossible to speak, and it also makes the mind confused.” 

“Oh. okay. You are very well-informed. your majesty.”

“Well. Looks like I’m not the only one who’s well-informed about poisonous plants.”

Greta sighed and closed her eyes. 

Herhan’s eyes were scanning her. She could tell without looking. 

Greta’s mind was blank.

‘I didn’t even have time to find an answer to the question of ‘How the hell did you know?’ I just hope this is all a dream. I could only hope this terrible moment would pass quickly.’

“By the way, I heard that the sinner in the hospital room woke up.” 

It was only then that Herhan came to the point. It was an incredibly clever trick.

‘I already know all the tricks she has done, so don’t think about fooling around again.’

“Ah, yes. but…I am acutely aware of the heavy responsibility for the mistakes I made the other day. If there is any way to make up for anything…”

“In that case, the conversation will go well. king. I want this to be finished quickly.” 

“Yes?”

“Since the enemies of both countries are here, there is no need to go through complicated procedures, right?” 

“Does that mean, do you want to execute that woman right away…?”

Hearing Herhan’s words, the king asked with a face full of expectations.

He seemed to be able to dance here if he could get rid of the trouble right away and cover his sins forever.

But Greta knew very well that it was a ridiculously vain expectation. The emperor’s answer was obvious.

“I want to be authorized to handle all matters about Riella Blinite’s life at once. As for that woman, the Empire will take care of everything from now on, so the King doesn’t have to worry about her anymore.”

“What? Oh no! Your Majesty the Emperor! that, it—” 

“Does the princess have any disagreement?”

Herhan ignored the King’s disagreement lightly and asked Greta.

But there were no words that could be said to be Greta. Even if it wasn’t because his tongue had become dull thanks to being ‘watered’ by the emperor.

in this game, I have lost.’ 

The moment he found out that she had poisoned Liella, it was like indirectly admitting that the royal family was behind what happened in the past.

Now that they’d been found out, the strategy to put the blame on Riella could not work anymore. 

“I don’t have.”

Greta gritted her teeth and replied.

‘My throat was sore. Was it because I drank the Clady tea, or was it because a terrible sense of defeat clogged my throat?’

* * * 

Riella came out of the ward in the east of the palace that evening.

It was announced that the place for Riella to move to was the annex, but no one believed it until evening.

In fact, when the imperial attendants came to pick up Riella, not only the doctors in the hospital room but also the royal servants and ministers all came out and watched as the carriage carrying Riella entered the palace wall. All of them couldn’t take their dumbfounded eyes off until the end.

Why did a sinner who was expected to be taken to the execution site, enter the annex where the emperor of the empire is staying?

No one knew what was going on.

* * * “

It seems like she has been drinking poison steadily since she was in prison. Her life was in danger. Fortunately, with the medicine we have, we can detoxify it.…” 

In a separate palace, in a room with a simple bed.

At the words of the doctor who finished the examination, the members on the Herhan side nodded with serious expressions. Asion opened his mouth with a bitter face.

“It is my fault. All outsiders were blocked from entering, but I didn’t think they poisoned it even through the royal palace.….” 

“It’s okay.”

It was Herhan who covered up Asion’s guilt with a short answer. 

“I didn’t even notice the symptoms, even when I looked at her.”

“Because It was a poison that invaded people’s bodies unnoticed. They probably didn’t know we would notice this. The use of clady instead of deadly poison must have been to prevent this woman from testifying in the first place.”

“Even if it wasn’t Clady, she would still die.”

“….”

“Yeah. They were going to kill her eventually, so all their sins will be buried.” 

Hearing Asion’s words, Herhan shut his mouth and stared at Riella, who was sleeping on the bed. A woman who would have died if he had been a little late.

‘It was so funny. Even when we met by chance at Le Der last fall, this woman was ‘a woman who would have died if I had been a little late.’

A lot of things around her have changed over the past half a year or so, but this woman was very consistent then and now.

Consistently cornered, consistently pathetic. and consistently… She looks distressed.

“Carnel. Take a good look at her. It doesn’t matter how long it takes, so try to solve the poison slowly… If you use the antidote in a hurry, it will not be good.”

“Yes. Alright. your majesty.”

After that request, Herhan turned around.

For some reason, looking at Riella Blinite made his eyes glaze and his teeth were clenched. 

he didn’t like that unknown impatience and impatience was not pleasant.

“Well… Your Majesty.”

“What?”

At that time, it was Asion who followed Herhan who left the room.

Herhan thought he was still trying to confess his fault, but his next question was a little unexpected.

“Is there any history between you and Riella Blinite that I don’t know about?” 

No. It should be said that he hit the spot rather than the unexpected question.

When Herhan looked up, maintaining his poker face, Asion scratched his neck and muttered.

“In fact, there is no reason for us to take care of that woman anymore, right? The royal family did something stupid, and now we have a good reason to bring them to justice, and even aside from that, it’s a little…” 

“….”

“It’s a little strange, isn’t it? No one else, but Your Majesty, said, ‘I don’t care how long it takes, just make sure she’s saved!’”

“I never said that.”

“Well. That’s roughly what it means. I am not stupid either.” 

‘That’s right. He isn’t stupid.’

Herhan held back a laugh.

He had no intention of keeping the matter of Riella Blinite a secret from Asion forever, but he also had no intention of standing in the hallway of the royal palace where a funny statue of a butterfly was placed and listening to nagging. 

He decided to change the subject instead.

“Asion. More than that—”

“No. Don’t change the subject. I’ll never fall for it…” 

“I have a worse headache these days. I also heard hallucinations earlier.”

“No, really? Why! Didn’t the medicine you changed from the fall work well? You didn’t take medicine, did you? Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you take medicine?”

That’s right. It’s better to have this reaction.

Only then did Herhan smile and start walking again.

* * *

Riella was wandering in a hazy dream.

The dream was a mess. It was a dream in which Fabian came out and hugged her. and Greta came out and slapped her on the cheek.

Scenes with no meaning were listed, and she wanted to cry endlessly without knowing what was so sad.

She didn’t know if it was a memory or just a dream.

She was thrown into the middle of the rain. There, all the frightening gazes of countless people were directed at her. 

Being held in someone’s arms. Being locked in a cold space, sleeping, and waking up repeatedly.

Just before waking up completely, the last thing Riella thought of was the feeling of burning her throat.

There were so many things she wanted to say, but her throat was hot and painful as if she had swallowed fire, so she couldn’t make a sound.

The feeling of being confined in a body as cramped as a prison, screaming and crying inside that no one could hear.

“Heo-eok-!”

“Ah, finally. You shouldn’t wake up yet. Unresolved poison still remains in your body.” 

“I…uh….”

“Your voice won’t come out yet. Calm down and don’t panic.”

Someone said it softly, but it couldn’t calm Riella, who had just woken up.

Riella lifted herself from her bed.

Her whole body was in pain as if it were being torn apart, and it was an unfamiliar place, but none of that mattered.

“me…, uh… uhuk! Ahh….” 

Riella squeezed out a voice mixed with crying. She couldn’t make a sound, so she hit her chest and twisted her body. Seeing that those around her rushed and grabbed Riella’s limbs. 

“What are you trying to say?”

“ah. she’s quite annoying.”

“Didn’t I say she will make a fuss when she wakes up? Let’s tie her up.” 

Small complaints popped up all around.

But even that didn’t bother Liella. This was nothing compared to the contempt she had suffered ever since she came to the palace.

“Ugh…ah…”

“Hey. Please calm down.”

Now, a somewhat nervous reply came out. Riella pushed them away anyway and got out of her bed.

“No! hey!”

As if she were trying to run away, some of them hurriedly started looking for weapons and a string to restrain Riella.

However, the side Riella ran to was not the doorway, but the right side of the wall, where the small table was placed. 

“Hey! What the hell are you doing…”

“This is why a sinner is a sinner”, but the imperial knight’s eyes widened as he raised his voice. Riella, who was staggering while holding onto something on the table, suddenly jumped at him and held out a piece of paper.

“….”

The room fell silent for a moment.

Everyone who had been frowning at her looked up in disbelief. After handing him the paper, Riella, who lost her strength, collapsed onto the floor.

In that state, she sobbed bitterly. Her throat hurt, so she couldn’t even cry easily. Riella clutched her chest again.

Her sobs echoed through the silence. It was then that the door opened and someone entered.

“ah… your Majesty.”

‘your majesty?’

Her heart sank at the words, and it was only then that she realized she had woken up in the Emperor’s domain.

Herhan deliberately went straight to the knight without looking at Riella. On the piece of paper handed over from him, a single desperate word was written.

Help me-

Blurry, scrawled words. It’s only a few words and two teardrops have already fallen and the ink is smeared.

Herhan gripped the note tightly.

For some reason, Riella’s chest felt tight. wondering what he was going to say, so pathetically.

“You want me to help?”

Riella bent down and nodded at Herhan’s slow question. 

As she nodded, her tears fell off again and soaked the carpet on the floor.

“Why should I help you?” Herhan asked.

The coldness in his voice made Riella tremble.

“I know you were framed. But that doesn’t mean you’re innocent. Whether you cooperated knowingly or unknowingly getting caught up in it, the fact that you are also an accomplice remains unchanged. So why should I help you?”

Not a single word was wrong.

Standing in front of her was the emperor of the empire. For him, who once had his life threatened by mercenaries, it was only natural that Riella would become an enemy he would immediately kill no matter what the situation was.

‘But I have no choice but to do this.’

To this man who came to execute her.

‘If I didn’t cling to this man, that I don’t even dare to look him in the eye, there would be no other options left.’

Riella didn’t want to be forced into a situation where she had no more options.

For the past few days, she has already suffered enough in the pain of not being able to escape, and here she was again. Stupidly like she’d been before. She couldn’t die in a hell created by others.

“No. Shall I change the question?”

At the time when Riella was suffering because there was no way to spit out the desperate feeling that filled her throat, the emperor asked another question.

“If I help you…”

‘I’ll do anything if you help me.’

She would have said so if she could speak. But before Riella could interrupt him, the emperor’s question led in a different direction.

“Are you going to run away again?” 

Riella raised her head.

The eyes of the two people who finally recognized each other shimmered as they contained each other’s faces.

* * *