ETL – Chapter 7
The prince looked at me without replying. Like Duke Cassan, he seemed to be angry for some reason.
The princess stepped in front of the prince’s line of vision and tilted her head as if she was asking a question.
“Miss Emilone… is there a way to heal His Majesty with your powers without it being painful?”
She was looking at me as if I was not covered all over with demon blood. I almost felt offended by her strange urging tone. Still I wanted to help so I pretended not to notice anything.
“If you do not mind the time it takes, I can heal it slowly without the pain. However if the Princess is willing, it can be a great help if you are there too.”
“Really?”
“If the Princess was by His Majesty’s side, he would feel better faster. If possible, I would like you to help while I am healing him.”
The princess clenched her hands, nodded enthusiastically, and turned towards the prince and smiled brightly.
“You can get better soon!”
“Thank you…”
“You should thank the Saintess and not me. I can only stand by your side and help you calm your mind and body during the process.”
It was not difficult to convince the prince at all.
I was proud of myself when I realized my influence. This interesting story can continue to the end, possibly marriage or something. In fact, I thought that the princess might not let go of the other fishes after marriage. I wanted this story to last long as I enjoyed watching it unfold.
The prince smiled at the princess, a dazzling smile that paralleled his appearance.
The princess breathed in a sigh of relief at the prince’s smile.
Helio was next to the princess, with his eyes on the floor. When I looked beside me, I saw that Reneben was frowning.
‘So much fun.’
I was glad I did not miss this scene with the princess, it was like a page from a romance novel. I decided that I will help lead the situations so I can continue enjoying this.
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The prince boarded the carriage and was escorted by the guards from the Imperial Palace. The princess shook her head, declining the prince’s request to leave together.
She looked back at me with her eyes slightly down.
“If it’s not a nuisance, I’d like to go back with the saintess, who saved my life. I also want to go to the temple and pray to God.”
Eventually, the prince gently stroked Ronella’s head and closed the carriage door.
The coachman settled down in his seat to start soon. I watched the prince through the fluttering curtains and noticed that his eyes were on me. Maybe I was mistaken as the princess was next to me.
“You worked hard today, Saintess. I wouldn’t have done the same. I don’t feel like it’s a blessing from God.”
My eyebrows raised slightly at that remark. It seemed that he was trying to say that he couldn’t do such dangerous things.
It was a strangely sarcastic remark, but I remained calm.
“It’s not that hard to save people.”
After smiling as if nothing happened, I got into the carriage from the temple. I asked if the princess wanted to go with me, and gave her permission to sit in the carriage with me.
Helio saw us off, his hands were still slightly trembling. Today’s events seemed to be too much for him and he was still feeling the effects from it.
Reneben already left on horseback for the temple first.
The princess smiled brightly as she looked around the interior of the carriage.
“Would you believe me if I said that you were like an angel that appeared to me in a situation where I thought I’d die? His Highness probably thinks so too.”
“It’s my job.”
“I was so shocked earlier that I couldn’t thank you properly before. I am in deep gratitude. If you ever need anything from me or the Duke, please let me know,” the princess said in a rambling manner.
(Duke = Ronella’s father)
It was not interesting when I was alone with her. Once I realized it, I was happier observing her when she interacted with others.
I listened to her calmly as she continued talking.
“So the reception must have been canceled. It’s ridiculous to have a party in this situation, but it’s still a pity.”
“I heard that the Princess was preparing for the party, there’s nothing wrong with being disappointed.”
“It’s hard to have a party if His Majesty is injured. My older brother was also looking forward to it.”
“Brother?”
The successor of the duke who went abroad to study? I wondered about him since I never heard about him during the 6 months that I have been here.
Since it was a person related to the princess, I was curious and asked her about him.
Unlike the princess who was perfectly fine, I was covered in wounds and demon blood from the earlier incident. I joked to myself that she is a national treasure that should be protected.
“He has been studying abroad. He said that he would visit after the four day hunting competition was finished. I was looking forward to the reception but now that it’s probably canceled… I guess I can’t help it.”
The princess revealed her feelings for her family, which seemed to be bitter.
“Oh! Would you mind if I invite you to the Ducal manor when my brother returns?”
“Yes?”
“There will be a family dinner on the day of my brother’s arrival. If the Saintess attends, the day will shine even brighter.”
I hesitated for a moment when I saw a talented princess speaking as if what she said was the truth.
Ever since I learned about the princess’s secret, I wondered if I should let others know or continue being a spectator.
It doesn’t take that much time to have dinner…
“Originally I was going to welcome my brother back with Enesis, but now we’re fighting…”
“Is Duke Cassan going to the dinner?”
“He was going to come.”
So Duke Cassan and Princess Ronella… the combination of seeing the two together was exciting. I smiled as naturally as I could.
“Thank you for inviting me. I’m sorry but if it’s not too much to ask can my assistant, Reneben, also attend?”
I thought of Reneben who could not talk with the princess often since he’s always by my side. He always worked hard. If I really think about it, I rather take him out of the princess’s fishery.
I thought I would be like a passing extra or a NPC in terms of games. I would not mess with the original story, but rather help the main character move forward. I intended to watch the story without major intervention if possible. Of course, this was a slight exception in helping Reneben.
Come to think of it, I suddenly wondered how big the princess’ fishing grounds were. I knew of 12 men. Of course, there were probably many more that were captivated by the princess but she did not really aim for them.
“Actually, my brother is a wizard…”
I wondered how much time we have until we reach the temple.
At that moment when I blinked my eyes and was about to respond to the princess…
CLANG!!
The carriage rattled and tilted sideways. My breathing stopped in surprise. The princess screamed loudly.
Fortunately the carriage hit a tree, which stopped it from completely falling over.
What happened?
I looked out the window and saw a person with a slightly larger frame than that of a woman. It seemed that he was the cause of the wagon being like this.
The man moved in front of the window and spoke in a gentle voice that did not match the violent act that just happened.
“Ah, the Saintess was with you too.”
“…?”
The familiar looking man had beautiful blue eyes and silver hair. He looked at me and then at Ronella who was sitting on the floor of the tilted carriage with her hand on her forehead. She had fallen and bumped her head.
The man blinked and asked, “Why is the saintess here?”
He looked familiar but I could not recall from where.
The princess could not lift her head and cried out in pain.
The carriage was tilted and it was not enough to protect the princess. I made a move to block the princess as I stretched out my arms to cover her and spoke in a low voice.