Chapter 69
There was a look of puzzlement in Ilias’s eyes.
“I found out about my powers purely by chance.”
I began explaining the story, starting with the necklace that suppressed my divine power.
With a furrowed brow, Ilias asked,
“Are you saying someone deliberately suppressed your divine power?”
“Yes. That seems to be the case.”
“I’ve never heard of divine power being controlled. As you know, divine power is something everyone desires. No one would ever think to suppress it.”
I nodded in agreement.
Still deep in thought over something that made no sense, Ilias spoke again,
“Do you know who it was?”
“No. I remember receiving the necklace, but I don’t remember the person’s face at all. I just vaguely recall that they were wearing nice clothes, so I assume they were a noble.”
“If they were a noble, it makes sense that they’d have access to such an item. But what could their motive possibly be for hiding your power?”
We pondered together, but no clear answer came to mind.
“I don’t know for sure, but it doesn’t seem like a good thing for someone to suppress divine power. First, we should look into the people who were sponsoring the orphanage where you lived.”
“Thank you. That would be a huge help.”
“There’s no need to thank me. I’m the one who’s glad I can be of any help to you, no matter how small.”
“And I’m grateful that you speak so kindly without making me feel uncomfortable.”
A soft smile spread across Ilias’s lips.
Watching his gentle smile flutter like sunlight, I felt a flutter in my chest. Trying hard to calm my nerves, I asked him for one more favor.
“Your Highness, there’s actually something else I’d like to look into.”
“What is it?”
“I want to find the other saintess candidates.”
“What do you mean by saintess candidates?”
I looked away, recalling Adeline’s shameful past.
“Saying this is… kind of embarrassing, like I’m spitting on my own face.”
“Just say it. There’s nothing you need to feel embarrassed about with me.”
Plenty! There’s so much! Everything Adeline ever did is embarrassing!
“Well… uh, actually, I drove out all the other candidates for saintess.”
The deep resentment I used to feel toward Adeline came rushing back.
“You want to find the people you drove out?”
“No, not them. I want to find the candidates who came before them.”
“Aren’t they serving the saintess at the temple?”
“That’s what was publicly announced, and I believed that too. But… something about it feels off.”
“How so?”
“When I looked for them, I couldn’t find anyone who knew them.”
Ilias’s expression turned serious.
“What do you mean?”
His voice dropped lower and heavier.
“Exactly what I said. There’s no trace of them. Honestly, people only remember the saintess—not the candidates. After the saintess descends, I don’t think anyone bothered to wonder about the others. Except for me.”
“You’re right. I also just assumed the saintess candidates were doing fine in the temple.”
That’s how the world always is. People care about the protagonist, but never about the ones around them.
“This is still just speculation, but I can’t help but wonder if the reason the church is so obsessed with me is somehow related to all this. Of course, I could be wrong.”
Once a new saintess was chosen, the biggest part of her official duties was touring the empire and meeting its people.
But Leona didn’t do any of the things other saintesses had done. She remained within the temple. There could be other explanations, but something about it didn’t sit right.
“I’ll look into that as well.”
“Thank you.”
“You’ve already thanked me enough. I should be the one thanking you for so much. Don’t make me feel like a shameless man.”
“Haha.”
I chuckled and gave a small nod.
“Ah, right. Adeline, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“I heard the Empress tried to block your social debut today. I’m sorry. I’ll speak to His Majesty about it again.”
“Oh! You don’t need to worry about that, Your Highness. I already have a plan.”
I winked at him playfully.
“I expected this kind of interference. Things had been going so smoothly, it was starting to feel eerie. So don’t worry, and just focus on your own duties. You have a lot on your plate.”
From romance to marriage, Ilias was just as busy. He, too, was preparing for a great battle.
He looked at me with clear guilt in his eyes.
“How can I just stand by? Everything you’re going through right now is happening because of me.”
“You know I need your help, too. I can handle this much, so please don’t worry. Oh! Sir Zion said he’d teach me self-defense, but I haven’t heard from him. Can you take care of that?”
“I’ve already spoken to Zion about it.”
“Really?”
“He’ll start training you from tomorrow.”
I smiled brightly, overjoyed.
“I’ll train hard and protect you, Your Highness!”
At my half-joking boast, the heaviness vanished from Ilias’s face, replaced by a bright smile.
“I’ll count on you, Adeline.”
—
The maids had styled my hair into an elegant updo, curling it high up toward the heavens.
My soft hair cascaded like a waterfall and fluttered gently. I shook my head left and right, and the flying strands annoyed me quite a bit.
The image I had of a swordswoman was someone who moved like the wind.
What if my hair couldn’t keep up with my speed? That worried me. Honestly, this hairstyle was going to get in the way. Since it was my first lesson, I wanted to learn with as few distractions as possible.
“Wrap this hair up in a bun.”
“But the curls will disappear.”
“I’m not going to a party—I’m going to sword training. I need to look neat.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Soon, a large topknot sat firmly on my crown.
Out of the clothes that had been prepared, I chose a shirt, pants, and a vest. I left out the jacket, thinking it might restrict my arm movements.
My mindset was already that of a professional swordswoman.
I imagined my cool self slicing through the air like the wind. It had been a while since I’d used my body like this, and I was kind of excited.
Wearing boots that matched my outfit, I strode confidently toward the palace guards’ training grounds. The knights’ eyes widened with surprise at my arrival.
“You’ve arrived, Your Highness.”
“I look forward to working with you, Sir Zion.”
“The pleasure is mine. This way, please.”
I quietly followed where Zion led me. It seemed to be the training area mainly used by newly recruited knights—young, fresh-faced men were sweating hard as they trained.
“I was quite surprised to receive the Crown Prince’s orders. What made you come to such a noble decision?”
“I made the decision not because I could be of help to His Highness, but because I don’t want to be a burden. If I hadn’t been there that day, His Highness wouldn’t have been injured. I have a feeling things like that may happen more often, so I wanted to be prepared. I want to be of help to him.”
Zion looked at me with a face full of emotion. His expression, so openly moved, was a bit overwhelming. I could clearly see the depth of his loyalty to Ilias.
“Thank you. I’ll do my best, Your Highness.”
His sincerity came through loud and clear.
It felt like a relief. In a palace vast and cold, surrounded by enemies, it meant a lot that Ilias had at least one person he could trust to watch his back.
“I’ll work hard. I mean, I’ll do my best. Master!”
Zion was startled by my choice of title and frantically waved his hands.
“Master? That’s much too much! I couldn’t possibly accept that!”
I found his reaction amusing, so I kept teasing him.
“Why not? I’m the one learning, so I’m the student. And you’re the one teaching, so that makes you my master.”
Zion’s face turned red as he jumped back in flustered protest.
“Please, don’t! Not that! Anything but that! Please just call me comfortably, Your Highness!”
Worried he might refuse to teach me altogether if I pushed it any further, I decided to stop there.
“Alright, let’s just start the lesson for now. We can sort out titles later.”
Zion walked over and brought back a wooden sword.
“Since this is your first lesson, we’ll use a wooden sword to ensure safety.”
“I’ll do my best.”
I diligently followed everything Zion instructed me to do for quite a while.
But something felt off. What I had imagined was a swift and agile swordswoman cutting through the wind, like in the movies… yet here I was, holding a wooden sword still while doing my three-hundredth footwork exercise.
‘This… isn’t the image I had in mind. Is this really how a swordswoman trains?’
What had initially felt like a light wooden sword now felt like it weighed a ton, and my vision started to blur. My legs felt as if someone underground was pulling them down.
“Huff, huff.”
My breathing grew labored. Suddenly, the ground surged up to meet me as my vision spun. Just as I was about to collapse and become one with the floor, someone caught me around the waist.
Leaning into the arm that held me, I looked up—and saw dazzling golden eyes.
“Your Highness!”
Zion rushed over in a panic. Ilias’s expression was fierce, like he was angry.
“Zion, what is the meaning of this?”
His voice had turned cold—like a northern duke who commanded ice and storms. Just moments ago, the heat had made him sweat, but now, a chill ran down my spine.
He wasn’t even speaking to me, but I was so scared I tried to lift myself up—only for Ilias to tighten his grip around me.
Afraid he might unleash that winter storm on me too, I froze and stayed exactly where I was.
‘Why is he angry?’
I held my breath, trying to make myself as invisible as possible.
“Your Highness, we were in the middle of sword training.”
“And you couldn’t see the Crown Princess’s condition?”
Zion’s face shifted into a purely confused and hurt expression.
“No, I was only following Your Highness’s teachings. Haven’t you always said that with swordsmanship, only through hard training does one see results? That sweat never betrays you? And truthfully, this training is still far easier compared to what we give the knights.”
“Are you comparing the Crown Princess to knights right now?”
