The Saintess Returned to the Emperor's Arms

El’s Choice 

 

“Will El Weiss really come on his own two feet?”

 

Riella had no answer to Captain Phil’s questions.

 

Riella had no answer to Phil’s question. It had been two hours since the knights had stood at the gates. 

 

Standing next to them without moving an inch, Riella couldn’t be sure. 

 

‘Would El come?’

 

“We would rather have him arrested. We’ll come get him ourselves.”

 

The knights seemed to think that El would not come.

 

In a way, they were right. To demand a confession now, after all this time in hiding, he would come forward on his own was low.

 

“Let’s wait a little longer, just ten minutes.”

 

Riella waited, clutching at a slender thread of hope. 

 

Her hopes were dashed.

 

“I have confirmed that El Weiss has fled the city gates on the horse of an unknown person.”

 

‘Ah…There was no choice now.’

 

Riella closed her eyes gently and took a deep breath.

 

When she opened her eyes again, she was about to give the order to the knights waiting next to her to immediately search for and arrest El.

 

Just then, Eric hurriedly rode his horse into the palace gate.

 

“Ambassador, there is currently a problem at El Weiss’ house!”

 

Instead of chasing after E, Eric was instructed to wait near his house and monitor his movements.

 

“What’s going on?”

 

“It appears that the assailants broke into the house while El Weiss was away.”

 

“What about E’s family? Are they still in the house?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Riella’s mind went blank in the gloomy situation. Deputy Commander Phil asked Riella for instructions.

 

“What should we do? Should we chase after El Weiss? Or should we go to his house?”

 

What should she do? 

 

Riella struggled for a while in dizzying confusion.

 

When she was confused and unsure of any answer, the person whom Riella desperately sought in her heart was Herhan.

 

‘Your Majesty, what should I do? What will Your Majesty do?’ 

 

* * * 

 

“What are you talking about now?”

 

“Don’t be silly, you don’t want to talk about how long I’ve known about your unrequited love, do you? We’re both pressed for time.”

 

The corners of Greta’s mouth rose into an arrogant smile.

 

El frowned and held back his words. 

 

Judging from the fact that she only talked about unrequited love, it seemed clear that the princess still did not know about Riella’s true identity or the existence of the Federation.

 

‘Then why?’

 

Greta opened her mouth as if answering El’s question.

 

“Come to think of it, I must have committed a lot of sins. My conscience is heavy if I leave without resolving this karma, so I just want to do something good before I go.”

 

“If it’s a good thing,…”

 

“I will be your love cupid.”

 

Greta’s face continued to smile, a smile all the more eerie because its meaning was unknown.

 

“The Emperor will return soon. Let’s wait for that moment and take Riella with us.”

 

At the following words, EL frowned.

 

It was hard enough to get things done while the Emperor was gone, and now he wanted him to wait for the Emperor to return.

 

“I don’t think you know how thoroughly His Majesty the Emperor protects the ambassador.”

 

“No. I know better than anyone. In other words, I also know very well that without the Emperor’s protection, Riella is nothing. That’s why I’m saying this. The Emperor will fall as soon as he returns to the palace.”

 

At the princess’s last words, El forgot all the words he was about to refute and opened his eyes wide.

 

‘The emperor will fall? Are you saying there is an assassin hidden in the imperial palace?’

 

“How did that happen…?”

 

“That’s none of your business. I’m just telling you the facts, so you decide. Even if you can’t do anything about Riella until the end, I don’t really care. Because once the Emperor is gone, Riella will end up in a miserable state.”

 

Greta took a step closer to El.

 

Greta, who had been smiling the whole time, had her eyebrows drooping. 

 

She was pretending to be pitiful, but in El’s eyes, her face just looked disgusting.

 

“What are you going to do? Are you going to just leave our poor Riella alone? Embrace the Emperor’s corpse and die with him? Wouldn’t it be better for Riella if you took her in and loved her?”

 

As if she was truly cheering him on, Greta patted El on the shoulder a few times and then suddenly got on her horse and drove off.

 

Only when he was completely alone did he throw his head back and breathe out in agony.

 

‘Hah. What is the princess trying to do? What choice should I make?’

 

El gritted his teeth as he looked beyond the low buildings in the alley, toward where the palace would be.

 

The complicated choices before him were all consuming his soul.

 

Either do as the princess suggests or reveal everything and destroy himself.

 

‘Anyway, it’ll take more time. I have to evacuate my family first and then move again.’

 

Elle walked back home through the shady alleyways.

 

What greeted him was a front door that was terribly broken and tattered and furniture that was torn and damaged like a piece of paper.

 

It was just a house in shambles.

 

“Hey, El! Where the hell have you been? There was chaos!”

 

It was then that the neighbor who had been shivering outside the alley approached.

 

“Some guys suddenly came in, yelled, and started destroying the whole alley! They fought among themselves and caused a commotion for a while before going somewhere.…!”

 

El’s eyes darkened.

 

“What about my family? Haven’t you seen my family?”

 

“I don’t know. We are also suffering.….When I came back, there was no one there. Thinking back, I think I heard someone being dragged away—”

 

“Shit!”

 

Realizing that he was a step too late, El slammed his bare fist into the floor, crushing his skin.

 

The floor of the house was a mess and the belongings the family hadn’t even finished packing.

 

‘The Federation. They’re taking my family!’

 

The taste of blood seeped out of his mouth.

 

It was arrogant to think that he could choose which path to take.

 

El realized too late that, beneath the crumbling pile of useless ashes, all that remained was the leash that clearly bound him.

 

* * * 

 

The cool breeze of the early evening made her heart flutter.

 

Loriell desperately tried to hide her excitement and answered calmly.

 

“So, His Majesty will arrive around dawn tomorrow?”

 

“Yes. It seems like he wants to hurry up and propose before the banquet in the afternoon.”

 

“I see! Finally tomorrow!”

 

Loriell felt like she was jumping for joy without realizing it, but then tried to regain her composure.

 

Fortunately, Jess just had an indifferent look in his eyes. 

 

He had too many things to worry about, like unexpected events and a banquet, to react to the maid’s ramblings.

 

“You are entering the palace in secret, so you must not tell anyone. Don’t tell Miss Riella either. His Majesty would like to surprise her personally tomorrow.”

 

“Alright.”

 

“I have prepared the dress and accessories here, so please take them and prepare Miss Riella. You can meet me at the back door of the main banquet hall early tomorrow morning.”

 

“The back door of the banquet hall?”

 

“Yes. There is a small indoor garden at the back of the banquet hall. You must come alone.”

 

‘That will be the place of my final battle. Hehe.’

 

Loriell nodded to Jess with sparkling eyes and stepped back.

 

Upon returning to the Lake Palace, the Lake Palace maids gathered around the box that Loriell was carrying.

 

At the mention of a ‘secret mission’ given directly by His Majesty, most of the maids backed away, but the problem was still Lou.

 

“Is this what it is, ‘preparing to propose’?”

 

As Lou whispered and pretended to know, Loriell smiled leisurely at her.

 

Among the Lake Palace maids, aside from Loriell, Lou was the only one who knew of the Emperor’s plans.

 

“Yes, that’s right.”

 

“Wow! Is it finally tomorrow? What should I do? I’m so excited! What should I do with Riella’s hair?”

 

“Phew. Lou. Drink this tea and calm down.”

 

“Hehehe. Yes. Thank you every time.”

 

Loriell looked meaningfully at Lou, who was sipping the tea she had handed her.

 

“I always like the tea that Lady Loriell gives me because it’s sweet.”

 

After taking a few sips of tea, Lou spoke with a tired expression.

 

“I’m glad it suits your taste. You know I give that tea to Lou only, right?”

 

“Hehe. Yeah. I know.”

 

“But where is Miss Riella? I haven’t seen her since she went outside earlier.”

 

“Well, she told me not to follow her. I think she has some business with the knights.…”

 

“Knights?”

 

“Yes. They’re training. Hoam…why am I so sleepy again?”

 

Loriell smiled and patted Lou’s head as she yawned with her mouth wide open.

 

“Isn’t Lou the cutest when she yawns like this? We have an important schedule tomorrow, so go to bed early. I’ll take care of Miss Riella tonight.”

 

* * * 

 

It was late that night when Riella returned to the lake palace.

 

Riella, who returned to the bedroom escorted by Knight Eric, was exhausted both physically and mentally.

 

“Miss Riella, you came back late. What were you doing all evening to be covered in dust like this?”

 

It was Loriell who followed her from the doorway, waiting only for Riella to arrive.

 

Riella was careful not to speak in front of Loriell. 

 

She could not carelessly tell anyone about the operation she had carried out by moving the Emperor’s Knights today.

 

“Shall I prepare some bath water for you?”

 

“Yes, please do so.”

 

Fortunately, Loriell didn’t ask for any more details.

 

Riella sat on the living room sofa, rubbing her stiff shoulders, then looked at the silver box on the table.

 

“What is this box?”

 

“Oh, it’s nothing! It’s something I personally ordered, but I forgot to put it away.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“Miss Riella. Now it’s ready, why don’t you take a bath? I thought you might be tired, so I prepared a bath salt that’s especially good for fatigue.”

 

Riella nodded and stood up.

 

Perhaps because she was tense all day, her whole body felt heavy and her eyes were blurry. 

 

She didn’t even recognize her name, written clearly on the silver box.

 

After soaking in the bathtub filled with hot water, her mind became even more hazy.

 

‘There are still mountains of problems that have not been solved.…I have to catch El too before His Majesty arrives.….I also need to quickly reveal the identities of those men.….’ 

 

Whether it was because she was so worried or because she was so relaxed, her already tired eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

 

‘I can’t fall asleep….I need to take a short break and then go out again and lead the search party.…’ 

 

Nodding, and nodding, Riella’s head danced up and down.

 

The strong floral scent of the bath salts wrapped tightly around Riella’s mind, sucking her into a deep sleep.

 

Riella fell into a helpless sleep.

 

“Miss Riella?”

 

After a while, Loriell peeked her head into the bathroom.

 

Loriel smiled brightly at the sight of Riella sleeping soundly in the bathtub.

 

‘It’s going smoothly. Is heaven helping me?’

 

Loriel dragged Riella out of the tub, grumbling, and cleaned her and dressed her.

 

“Miss Liella. Today is the last day that I will wash and dress you like this. You have been treated to an unmerited amount of luxury. Haven’t you?”

 

Water dripped from Riella’s hair as she couldn’t hold her head up.

 

The way Loriel’s hands caressed Riella’s wet hair was somehow endearing.

 

“Still, everyone has their place, and now I’ll take what I deserve, and you can go back to where you belong, Miss Riella.”

 

Loriell finished speaking softly and smiled the brightest smile in the world.

 

Sometime later, at dawn, when the guards had long since retired.

 

At a time when there should be no visitors, someone knocked three times on Riella’s bedroom door. 

 

Loriell jumped out of the way and opened the door right away.

 

“Why are you coming now?”

 

Despite Loriell’s question, the silhouette standing outside the door was reluctant to go inside.

 

Seeing him standing on the borderline and still hesitating until the very end, Loriell burst out laughing.

 

“Do you need more time to hesitate? The guard shift will be over soon.”

 

The man who had been hesitating in the darkness under the guise of persuasion and threats finally took a step forward.

 

In the bedroom, within the dim light of a single lamp, El’s pale face appeared.

 

“Take that out quickly. I have a lot of work to do from now on.”

 

Loriell snapped at him, jerking her head roughly toward ‘that thing’ behind him.

 

* * *