TVWRL Chapter 39

TVWRL Chapter 39

‘The Pope can marry the saint.’

Adeline was someone the first prince could never hope to have feelings for.

‘Arrogant Ilias, who doesn’t know his place.’

Christian had disliked Ilias from the moment he first laid eyes on him.

He hated the living light in the eyes of someone so insignificant, someone he could crush at any moment.

‘How dare a prince, who could die at any moment, covet Adeline?’

Just thinking of Ilias made Christian feel unpleasant. He tried to calm his irritation.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter. I can get rid of a prince who’s no different from a ward of the state at any time. If he doesn’t fall away, I can just eliminate him.’

The fact that someone so insignificant was by Adeline’s side wounded his pride.

After all, that worthless first prince could easily be stomped out.

Every time he thought of Ilias, the anger that flared within him had to be quelled again.

Today was a very important day in his life, and there wasn’t enough time to think only about the future he would have with Adeline.

When he held Adeline’s hand last time, he hadn’t felt it clearly, but he sensed her divine power faintly.

In truth, the divine power he had felt before during fortune-telling and blessings was minimal.

As Adeline had said, merely causing sparks in the crystal ball was not enough to become a saint. But this time was different. Perhaps it was due to the aftereffects of the explosion; he sensed a different divine power than usual.

Even feeling it faintly was a good sign. It confirmed that the force that had exploded last time was indeed divine power.

If there was any power at all, he planned to use that possibility as an excuse to bring Adeline to his side.

Christian felt quite good knowing that today was the day he could properly start a relationship with Adeline.

At that moment, the door opened, and Leona entered.

The two exchanged light greetings while locking eyes.

“Hello, Cardinal.”

“Saint, how have you been?”

“Yes. You arrived early.”

“It’s an important matter.”

“You usually don’t come to my affairs.”

Christian didn’t respond to Leona’s remark.

Leona noticed that Christian’s demeanor was different from usual. He was always a sharp-edged person, like a finely honed blade, making it hard to approach him.

But today, he seemed to respond readily, suggesting he was in a good mood. Maybe that’s why she found the courage to speak.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at the altar, Cardinal?”

“Even without me, there are many excellent individuals here.”

“What does the cardinal think?”

“Well…”

“I don’t believe it. I’ve been close to Adeline all this time. She’s always struggled because her divine power was lacking. Divine power doesn’t just appear overnight, does it?”

“We’ll know for sure once we conduct the test today.”

“Cardinal, even if Adeline’s divine power is lacking, I plan to keep her by my side if the church wants her.”

Leona smiled at Christian.

“Adeline is someone who has much to learn, so I will take good care of her.”

Leona intended to make Adeline disappear from people’s memories. Or perhaps make her truly vanish.

Thinking this lightened her heart.

At that moment, the door swung open, and Adeline entered with Ilias. The two, holding hands and gazing warmly at each other, caused Christian’s mood to turn cold. Leona’s expression also noticeably hardened as she sat next to him.

Both were oblivious to how their emotional shifts had affected one another.

Christian clenched his fists tightly, to the point where his veins bulge.

He thought everything would fall into place after today, but seeing them enter together filled him with rage. He couldn’t bear it anymore, seeing it with his own eyes.

Holding hands, smiling at each other— the fresh atmosphere of new lovers made Christian and Leona feel as if they were going insane with jealousy.

Though they usually didn’t get along well, for the first time, they shared the same thought.

‘I will take the one who should be mine.’

Christian vowed repeatedly to make Adeline his, while Leona swore to claim Ilias as hers to never feel this miserable again.

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

I changed into the plain white dress that the church had prepared, devoid of any embellishments.

“Please remove all the accessories.”

“I haven’t added anything.”

The pendant attached to my hairpin was a divine touch.

Having learned how to wield power from Paulian, I was able to retain only a very faint amount of divine power—just enough to spark in the crystal orb.

Polian had made it so that the pendant didn’t just suppress divine power but allowed for easy manipulation. It was an upgraded version of the necklace I used to have.

The only drawback was that I couldn’t maintain the power for long and had to change it frequently. But thinking of it as an accessory made it feel much more natural.

‘I have the pendant and the ability to control my power, so there’s no need to be afraid.’

I repeated this to myself several times as I lay down on the altar.

I had come to check my divine power, but lying here felt strange. It was as if I was about to be sacrificed.

I felt like an offering, which was rather unpleasant.

‘I hope this time passes quickly.’

Two cardinals approached, each taking one of my hands to begin the divine power test.

The cardinals channeled their divine power into me. I don’t know the exact principle, but according to Paulian, it’s a method of identifying through the wavelength of power.

As the unfamiliar power flowed into me, sweeping over my body, I felt rather uneasy.

The two cardinals withdrew their hands and shook their heads.

“There’s nothing but a very faint power.”

“I feel the same way.”

Several other cardinals conducted further tests, but the results remained unchanged.

The expressions of the pope and the cardinals darkened considerably.

‘If I had a strong power, they would have definitely tried to bind me, and even a moderate amount would have gotten me positioned as Leona’s maid.’

“Get up, Lin.”

Before I knew it, Ilias had approached and extended his hand. I took his hand and rose from the altar.

Even though the Myaria church blatantly disregarded Ilias, they couldn’t recklessly act against the lover of the empire’s most talked-about prince.

This unprecedented relationship between a prince and a commoner was the first in the empire. It was difficult to act as I normally would in a situation that attracted so much public interest.

“Was it hard?”

“It was so hard that I never want to do it again. But I managed to endure because As came with me.”

The cardinals watched us with distorted expressions.

‘Even so, they should at least manage their expressions. This is such a lack of respect for the royal family.’

I turned my gaze to the cardinals and spoke confidently.

“I’ve done the divine power test as the church instructed, so I can resume my business now, right? Please lift the suspension immediately. Also, don’t interfere with my livelihood anymore. I would like to seek compensation for the damages caused by the business suspension, but considering my past relationship with the church, I won’t ask for it.”

The cardinals looked at me with expressions of disbelief, as if to say, “What is this nonsense?”

The pope approached Ilias and me, cutting through the tense atmosphere with a smile.

“For today, you should return. However, Adeline Senner remains a special subject of the church.”

The Pope’s words seemed like one step forward and two steps back, which made me feel uneasy. However, I was determined to overcome all obstacles to survive.

After all, I had a reliable ally by my side.

“Why is my lover a special subject of the church? It annoys me.”

“That’s unavoidable. It’s not every day that such a large amount of divine power appears, and on top of that, it’s temporary. We need to investigate further. I ask for your understanding, Your Highness.”

“It’s hard to understand. I feel jealous. Lin should be special only to me, and it bothers me that you all think that way.”

I nearly dropped my jaw in surprise at Ilias’s words about feeling jealous but managed to keep it in check. I couldn’t help but stare at him in disbelief.

I knew he was talented in many ways as the male lead candidate, but I was surprised to learn that he was also talented at playing the role of a national sweetheart.

I felt almost like I was being coated in sugar, turning into a sweet Adeline.

I couldn’t even begin to imagine how the Pope and Cardinals felt, having married a god and all.

Ilias lightly touched my cheek with his hand and said, “Let’s stop this now. They’ve already stolen too much our time alone.”

We boarded the carriage with the priests seeing us off. Fortunately, the high priest had to stay at the temple, allowing just the two of us to go together.

Maybe it was because we had acted more brazenly than usual, but an awkward silence settled in the carriage as we sat together.

Both I and Ilias turned our gazes away, looking out the window as we headed back to the temple.

I tried not to focus on it, but in the confined space, I could still catch his scent with every breath I took. The fresh yet firm fragrance seemed to reflect his inner self.

Drawn in by the scent, my gaze unintentionally shifted toward him.

When he wasn’t acting, he kept a neutral expression that hid his feelings, yet he looked lonely. Unlike when he was performing, he didn’t once look my way.

It was strange, but I felt a sense of disappointment toward him.

Having gone through tough times, I wished he would take a little more care of me.

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

When we arrived home, many people, including Hyacinth and Cordelia, were waiting for me.

I quickly gathered my complex feelings that had arisen around Ilias.

“Adeline!”

Their worried expressions faded momentarily, and the first question they asked me after I returned from the divine power test was:

“I heard the prince visited you in person and accompanied you back?”

At that moment, Ilias got out of the carriage with a bright smile. The lonely expression he had just a moment ago had disappeared, replaced by the face of a man blissfully in love.

“Of course, we came together. I was worried that my special person might become special to others too.”

His words made the faces of the ladies present flush with excitement.

“Lin, would you like to spend time with your friends?”

“Yes. I’d like to serve tea to the friends who waited for me.”

“Then let’s go to Mirage with your friends. You’ve had a tough day, so let’s not do anything else. I’ll contact Mirage for you.”

“Thank you, As.”