The hero who saved the sun
“I can’t do it. I just can’t!”
Riella shouted.
Ten minutes had already passed.
By now, the banquet hall was filled with guests eagerly awaiting the Emperor’s arrival. Even the thick curtain in front of Riela couldn’t entirely shield her from the tension radiating throughout the hall.
“Your Majesty, please just enter alone. I’ll sneak in through the back door later.”
“The back door, you say?”
“Then I’ll take a long detour and come in through the main entrance or something… Ah, I just don’t think entering alongside Your Majesty is a good idea.”
“Riella.”
In Herhan’s low, coaxing voice, there was half out of concern for Riella, and half out of laughter because Riella was cute.
‘If someone saw me, would they say I was evil? What if I say that seeing my normally calm lover trembling with nerves is so adorable that it drives me crazy?’
“There are so many people.”
“Yes.”
“They’re all going to stare at me.”
“Yes, they will.”
“Your Majesty!”
Riella glared at him, frustration and resentment flashing in her eyes.
“Your Majesty, You might be used to situations like this, but I—!”
As Riella seemed on the verge of breaking down, Herhan gently took her trembling hand in his, knowing that this small act would calm her more than a hundred words ever could.
Herhan’s thoughts were correct.
Just holding her hand tightly and looking at her intently. With that, Riella relaxed her frown, which had been so tense, and let out a deep sigh.
“I still can’t believe I managed to walk across the center of the banquet hall last time.”
Riella was referring to the time she had returned after being kidnapped and had embraced Herhan in front of everyone.
“How did it feel back then?”
“I don’t remember very well. At that time, all I could see was Your Majesty.”
A rough answer, but that makes it all the more heartfelt.
“This time will be no different.”
Herhan responded with the same sincerity.
“Look only at me this time too. You just have to do that every time.”
Riella lifted her gaze. Her clear eyes looked at him tenderly before slowly closing.
“Alright.”
“Shall we go then?”
“Yes.”
Riella raised her head with a determined expression and took one last deep breath.
Herhan, who had been waiting for Riella to make up her mind, finally nodded and gave a signal to the attendants waiting in front.
As they pulled the string, the curtains swung open on both sides, revealing a wide-open view of the banquet hall.
At the sight of the emperor and his woman finally appearing, the noisy room became quiet for a moment.
The lights of the gorgeous chandeliers were dazzlingly bright as the musicians’ music continued to flow.
Riela stepped forward, feeling the intense gazes of countless people on her.
Every single guest was silent, not uttering a word.
It was so quiet that the clicking sound of her shoes echoed throughout the hall.
Following Herhan’s footsteps, imitating his stride and pace, Riella walked to the center of the table.
Finally, she raised her trembling eyes to meet the faces before her—rigid and tense expressions staring back at her.
From among them, a man and a lady, standing closest to the head of the table, approached and bowed deeply.
“Your Majesty, the Sun of the Empire!”
Herhan received their bow with a nod.
After paying their respects to the Emperor, their gaze slowly shifted to Riella.
“And this must be….”
Riella waited for them to speak, clutching her chest as if it was going to burst.
The only title she has is the ambassador of the lake palace.
She didn’t even expect anyone to know that. She just hoped they wouldn’t question, ‘Who are you to stand beside the Emperor?’
“You must be the hero who saved the Sun of the Empire.”
Riella opened her eyes wide at the words that were delivered with a warm smile.
“Yes?”
‘What did they just call me?’
Before she could even voice her disbelief, Herhan, standing next to her, smiled brightly as if he already knew something.
‘Your Majesty, what is this?’
When Riella asked with a puzzled look, Herhan nodded his head slightly to give a signal.
That was the signal they had agreed upon for moments when she forgot the proper etiquette.
‘Oh, right. A bow first…!’
Recalling the practice session with Herhan, Riella nodded politely and extended her hand. The man took it and kissed the back of her hand in response.
“I am so honored that such a beautiful hero has extended her hand to me.”
“Ah, I…”
Riella still had difficulty speaking as she was still not fully aware of the situation, but it didn’t seem to matter.
“Not only did you show such a great performance the other day, but today you’ve astonished us all with your stunning presence, Lady Blinite.”
As the noble lady standing next to the man began to speak, the guests began to flock around Riella.
Suddenly, the silence subsided and the banquet hall began to bustle again.
When Riella came to her senses, the surroundings were filled with people smiling and approaching her to get the stamp of approval from ‘Hero Riella’.
* * *
If the grand banquet was a strong current, then Riella was a leaf floating down the rapids.
“Lady Blinite! Really, how I wish I could see you up close.”
“Oh. Yes.…Excuse me, but….”
Although it was a great disrespect to not recognize the other person, the other person, instead of pointing it out, kindly introduced herself.
“I’m Baroness Tillette. You may call me Lady Tillette. At the last banquet, I was standing just behind the Captain of the Guard. Perhaps you recall?”
Riella was taken aback by the sight of her asking with sparkling eyes.
‘Was I supposed to remember where people stood?’
She barely knew anyone’s name, let alone where they’d been positioned during a past event.
“Lady, I am truly sorry. I was so flustered at the time….”
“Oh! no need to apologize! That wasn’t my point.”
The woman waved her hand at Riella’s apology and continued speaking.
“I meant the time you approached the Captain of the Guard, saying, ‘Captain, may I borrow your sword?’ Do you recall? You extended your hand so boldly, I felt as if I had been hit by that hand.”
“……”
Another round of praise from the other young ladies flew towards Riella, who was speechless, not knowing how to react.
“And what about the way you were swinging your sword at Lady Loriell! Oh my god. I really thought I was going to see blood there. If you had moved too far, you could have stabbed her in the neck. Lady Blinite, did you do that on purpose? Did you calculate the distance exquisitely?”
“She was being so unruly, shouting nonsense and causing a scene, but you subdued her in an instant! Absolutely unforgettable!”
‘Oh, right. Yes. That’s what I did…’
Riela forced a smile, offering polite but vague responses to the flood of praise.
“Do you know swordsmanship? I heard you’re also good at horseback riding. You’re truly amazing.”
“You worked as a mercenary in the Kingdom of Riota, right? You’ve been to every corner of the world! I heard that you came here because you saved His Majesty’s life back then!”
‘Wait… I did what?’
Riella tilted her head, but couldn’t find a proper way to refute it.
There was a lot of praise coming from all sides, most of it was like that.
It was definitely true, but somehow it was exaggerated in a positive way.
“This time, you personally commanded the knights and carried out the operation on His Majesty’s behalf.”
“A true knight in shining armor… or should I say, a princess on a white horse.”
“If it’s okay with you, can I visit you at the palace often in the future? I would like to hear the heroic tales of Lady Blinite directly.”
“Oh my god. Me too!”
‘A heroic tale? A princess on a white horse? How on earth did it come to this?’
At that moment, when Riella was feeling uneasy and at a loss, a very welcome person appeared.
“Excuse me, ma’am.”
It was Asion.
The sight of the Captain of the Guard instantly caused the young women to blush and step back slightly. One or two even exchanged shy smiles with him.
Asion nodded gently to them and then approached Riella and spoke quietly.
“His Majesty has called. He cannot bear to be away from you for a moment.”
Riella chuckled softly. Looking toward the emperor, she found him engaged in serious conversation with a group of elder nobles, his hands clasped behind his back.
Riella turned her head back to the young ladies, greeted them with a polite smile, and then left.
“Wasn’t it difficult to deal with the young ladies?”
“Not at all. On the contrary, it was fun.”
“That’s fortunate.”
As Asion glanced at her, his sharp gaze softened, but Riella narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.
“Who did it?”
“Yes?”
“Who spread all these false rumors about me? Thanks to that, now they would believe me if I said I could fly.”
Asion chuckled softly, his head tilting slightly toward a figure in the distance: Emperor Herhan.
“Did you really think His Majesty would send you out here without a plan?”
For a moment, Riella felt a mix of exasperation and amusement. She had been so swept up in Herhan’s sudden proposal and the whirlwind of preparation that followed, she’d hardly stopped to consider his larger strategy.
“Back in the dressing room, I thought he was just saying empty boasts…”
Her thoughts trailed off as she recalled Herhan’s confident reassurances.
“Don’t worry. You’ll be the most beautiful empress in the world.”
‘It seemed his audacious words were not without merit.’
“The people here today are all loyalists who supported His Majesty even during his exile. Many of them were allies of the late empress, his mother.”
‘So to speak, these are all ‘Herhan’s people’.’
“And now these people will become Miss Riella’s power base.”
“…..”
“You see? Since Your Majesty has made up his mind, all you have to do is believe and follow it.”
‘Ah, Sir Jess said the same thing, without a single mistake.’
While thinking with a smile, Riella stopped walking and suddenly looked around.
Numerous guests who are the people of Herhan and who will now become her people.
Besides that, there were many familiar faces everywhere.
The maids and attendants, including Lou. The knights. Jess and Asion. And to Herhan in front of her.
They were the people who brought her, who could have been left as just an abandoned woman, to that dazzling place today.
“Thank you, Captain Asion….”
Riella said.
Even though it was an unexpected remark, Asion seemed to understand her feelings and smiled, winking.
“You can’t relax yet.”
As he spoke, Asion’s gaze was directed towards the red ring on Riella’s hand.
“There are still fights left to be fought for. Of course, I will protect you with my life, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
Asion and Riella raised their heads again, made eye contact, and nodded.
The two of them went to Herhan like that.
The elders standing before the emperor all greeted Riella familiarly, as if they were all familiar with her reputation.
“Then let’s discuss what we talked about today in more detail next time.”
Herhan concluded his conversation with the elders and he didn’t hesitate to take Riella’s hand on his own.
Riella opened her eyes slightly in confusion.
Being praised as a ‘hero’ who saved the emperor and being recognized as the emperor’s lover are two separate things.
“Yes. I wish you and Lady Blinite the best of luck for the future, and I look forward to seeing you again.”
The elders stepped back, their faces brightening as they looked at the two people’s clasped hands.
“The old men were worried that I would grow old and die unmarried without any heirs. I’m sure all of them secretly wanted to carry you, Riella, on their backs and dance.”
At Herhan’s explanation, Riella relaxed and burst into laughter.
“Your Majesty. Miss Riella.”
Just then, Asion’s voice broke through the moment. His tone was calm but carried an undeniable tension.
The playfulness between the two was instantly replaced by seriousness.
“EL Weiss has arrived.”
* * *
