CH 54

Just looking at it makes my mind dizzy.

[The God of Benevolence, Oman, looks curious about what has happened.]

[The God of Knowledge, Hessed, praises himself as his plan to move you worked.]

My head was pounding, but I kept the chat window in front of me out of sight as much as possible and told Kyle.

“Ha, haha. I was surprised.”

Perhaps he doesn’t want to know that the god of his birth month is very interested in his pants dance and blushes his cheeks whenever he has time.

“I don’t think it’s a big deal. Let’s go back.”

He took my hand again and put me on top of his horse.

We ran straight away.

How far we ran, I wonder, towards the end of the afternoon, we reached the place where the Hunting Festival started.

It was full of food and alcohol, just like an outdoor court banquet.

People who had already hunted animals or monsters were standing in front of the officials after hunting and writing down their records.

We approached the Emperor and Empress. However, the complexion of the Empress didn’t look very good.

Kyle said to the Emperor.

“I have brought the Saintess back after she purified the rock.”

At those words, a deep smile crept across the Emperor’s lips.

His gaze turned to me as if he was proud.

“You’ve done well. Saintess.”

“No. Your Imperial Majesty.”

I answered humbly.

Of course, deep down, I was thinking that I should charge more for the risk allowance to the temple.

But then. Suddenly the Empress looked at me and asked.

“Did the Crown Prince stay with the Saintess all the time?”

‘Look at this?’

I answered calmly.

“Yes. He has been by my side all the way to the rock.”

Then a sound was heard, as if the Emperor was urging her.

“Empress. Are you suspicious of the Crown Prince?”

I listened to the conversation, wondering what that meant.

“…It’s not like that, but two of my closest entourage died suspiciously during the Hunting Festival, shouldn’t we investigate all the circumstances?”

I couldn’t help but be surprised at that.

If the Empress’s entourage died… Is it Alberto?

The Emperor’s worried voice followed.

“Both the Empress’ cousin, Young Baron Ludwig, and his cousin, the consul of the Ministry of Court, are desk-breeders who have only studied. They lost their lives in an unfortunate accident and I know how you feel it wasn’t real, but you need to stop.”

It seemed that Alberto wasn’t the one who died. However, seeing the Empress’s expression of anger and dying, it was probably one of her bases.

By the way, people died at the Hunting Festival.

‘As expected, it was also dangerous.’

It was when I glanced at Kyle as I was contemplating how much more I would charge for the risk allowance.

“…”

I could feel a hint of joy in his red eyes, which glowed dangerously dark.

Funny, at that moment, the mystery of why Kyle didn’t participate in the Hunting Festival was solved.

***

At the closing of the Hunting Festival.

The ruined Alberto ran screaming and rolling over.

His face couldn’t be described in words. His body was covered in mud as if he had been rolling in a muddy puddle, and his hair was rising upward as if he had been struck by lightning.

I was able to infer that Hessed, who couldn’t find me because I closed the oracle, threw lightning everywhere.

The priests rushed to him, and he fainted violently. The Empress’s expression was perfectly distorted.

She didn’t want me to come back alive yet I was fine, her entourages were dead, and Alberto was in that situation, so how could she not be angry?

But I said to the Empress with a calm face.

“I’m afraid Sir Alberto will be worried because he ruined my clothes.”

The Empress’ eyes glared at me as if they were going to kill me.

I said to her with a faint smile on my face.

“Tell him when he wakes up. There’s no need for that.”

The Empress bit her trembling lips. It was probably just before the curses came out.

But how am I supposed to follow her scheming?

“Your Imperial Majesty. I shall now return to the temple. When the Hunting Festival is closed, please send the priests back.”

The Emperor answered my words.

“Go back safely. Although there are many casualties today, the Saintess has purified the rocks, and more than a hundred people who depend on the mountains for their livelihoods will be saved.”

I bowed my head and greeted the Emperor.

I could feel the venomous gaze of the Empress, yet I even passed it funny.

Kyle escorted me and took me to the temple carriage. The Paladins had been healed by the priests and their condition had improved.

I said, handed Kyle the cloak before getting into the carriage.

“I will return the cloak.”

Due to the extremely warm weather, the wet shirt was somewhat dry.

Suddenly, Kyle put the cloak on my shoulder and grabbed my right hand.

“…!”

I looked at him with a slightly startled look, and he raised my hand up. Then he lowered his head slightly and placed his lips on the border between the back of my hand and my fingers.

His red eyes were staring at me wide open without looking down. The touch of his lips gave a subtle touch to my skin.

After a while he lifted his lips from my hand and said.

“I’ll give it back too.”

When he let go, I slowly lowered my hand.

Several moments of the day passed by.

The figure of Kyle who disassembled a huge troll into countless pieces in an instant.

The story I had with him in the rainy cave.

And… his cruel face, evidently killing three people in some way.

I turned away from my thoughts and sat in the carriage.

With the sound of Dwayne closing the carriage door, I felt Kyle’s red stare at me through the window.

***

“AAAAAGH! AAAA!!”

Alberto woke up screaming and the maids rushed into his room.

His eyes were dark and he had a lightning bolt scar on his chest.

It was a scar from lightning struck suddenly during the Hunting Festival.

“Young Master!”

“Calm down! Young Master!”

“AAAGH Daaaamn you! Daaamn!”

The maids clinged to him, but he beckoned her maids out with a strong hand.

Then he kicked and trampled on one of the maids who ran.

“You must die! Such a trashy bum!”

His eyes were filled with madness.

He started kicking her until the maid who was beaten fainted. Another maid was hit with a vase in the forehead and bleeding, yet he didn’t stop.

After a long run like a complete madman, he stopped when it was time for him to gasp.

“Get out! Everyone get out!”

When he finally came to his senses and looked around the messed up room, he yelled at the maids.

Then the maids limped and left.

His eyes were still full of fierce anger. He dreamed of being on a hunting ground.

He later ordered his men to collect the lives of those useless assassins, but the trauma of being on the verge of death still didn’t let Alberto go.

He barely escaped, but the moment the lightning struck his, I couldn’t forget the burning pain.

And all this is because of that damn saintess.

“No matter what…”

His red eyes trembled with anger.

“I will make her regret that she was born.”

He was strongly determined.

Ariel, before she became a saintess, was ‘thousands’ by Alberto’s standards. Half of it was mixed with the blood of a servant, and it was inferior to that of a low-ranking noble.

He couldn’t tolerate that such a woman had insulted and humiliated himself, the younger brother of the Empress, so much.

“I won’t leave her alone.”

Something dark fluttered in the depths of his eyes.