Chapter 41

“Princess Iomenes, Saint?”

Princess Almenes, with her haggard face and heavy dark circles under her eyes, asked me.

Occasionally, when she had a bit of energy, she would often call me over to inquire about Iomenes.

“They’re getting better, Your Highness.”

It was true. After the weekly torture sessions ceased, Princess Iomenes had been visibly improving.

Princess Almenes seemed to relax at my words and smiled faintly. She was absently touching the area around her left eye.

Her left eye, encased in a glowing magical seal, was permanently closed and unable to open.

“Sometimes, terrifying sensations and memories pierce through the spell and overwhelm me. The sensations alone leave me bedridden with immense pain… What must Iomenes have endured?”

“They will recover. I promise you that.”

Princess Almenes smiled faintly at my words.

The secret princess who had never once revealed her face to the public was, perhaps, someone who might have garnered immense affection.

She was exceptionally beautiful.

“I have tried to only create memories of happiness, foolishly so. Things that were pretty, beautiful, joyful, and happy. I’ve made efforts to only eat delicious food and create many happy memories.”

“That is good, My Princess.”

“Isn’t it selfish? While Iomenes suffered in the annex, I enjoyed all that was good on my own.”

I shook my head, understanding why she had done so.

“Didn’t you think that if Iomenes’ pain could pierce through the magic, then your joy and happiness might do the same?”

Princess Almenes giggled.

“That’s right. I just want Iomenes to not die. I want her to get better and do many fun things with me. When her suffering reaches me, I feel happy because, no matter how hard and painful it is, it feels like I’m sharing some of her burden.”

“What a noble heart you have.”

I thought her efforts must have played a part in preventing Princess Iomenes from completely losing her mind. If negative influences could penetrate the magic to affect Almenes, then surely the reverse was possible too.

“Iomenes will surely get better, won’t she, Saint? You’re the one directly treating her, right?”

I don’t know.

What makes me, of all people, qualified to make such confident statements?

But I nodded.

“Surely she will.”

Princess Almenes smiled at my words.

I smiled back at her.

***

Today is Tuesday.

The clock tower struck two o’clock in the afternoon. Iomenes trembled and burrowed into my arms, anxious.

I held her tightly and patted her back.

Taking her to the bed, I covered us with the blanket and held her, feeling her trembling gradually subside.

“Are you calmer now?”

Initially, I addressed her formally, but over the past three weeks, her childlike and almost pet-like behavior made informal speech feel natural now. Since the curse transferred to me, I thought we wouldn’t see each other much anyway.

Iomenes looked up at me.

“Want some snacks?”

No reaction. Did I just feed her enough that she doesn’t feel like eating again?

“How about a nap, then?”

She didn’t appear tired. She was simply looking at me silently. With no ability to speak, her thoughts remained a mystery.

“Books? Shall I read you a fairytale?”

Her eyes brightened.

Ah, so that was it.

A fairytale.

I fetched a picture book for children, placed it in front of her, and began to read aloud.

It was a common and predictable story, something very classical and ubiquitous. But for Iomenes, who seemed to experience everything as though for the first time, her eyes sparkled.

After reading about three picture books, Iomenes snuggled into my arms again.

She gazed up at me.

“Why? What’s wrong? What is it this time?”

Silently staring at me doesn’t make it clear what you want.

Her face puckered slightly, and she raised her arm to wave feebly in an attempt to communicate.

I waited calmly.

“U…a…u…”

Iomenes’ lips moved.

“Fu…call…”

My eyes widened.

Did she just speak?

She spoke now, didn’t she?

“Call…”

Iomenes placed her hands on my lips and touched them gently.

“Call…please…sir…”

I opened my mouth in shock.

She spoke!

She formed a sentence!

“A song? Are you asking for a song?”

She remained silent, but looking at her bright eyes, I understood it was correct.

Awkward.

I sing really badly.

It seems she remembers the amateurish anime songs or nursery rhymes I sang to her whenever she felt uneasy on Tuesdays.

But who cares if I’m bad.

This is the first time Iomenes clearly asked me for something!

“Alright, I’ll sing.”

Following her request, I began to sing. Though it was an embarrassing performance that would have left my cheeks burning if I heard it myself, Iomenes seemed genuinely pleased.

She broke into an innocent smile like a child when I sang an upbeat anime theme song. She started doing an awkward dance, and I approached and took Princess Iomenes’ hand, dancing awkwardly together.

Iomenes was smiling brightly.

Why?

Why does her laughter make my heart ache so much?

I wanted to leave her as happy as possible before I go.

So we danced and played.

Iomenes’ most feared moment, the 2 PM Tuesday alarm, was filled with laughter and playful noises.

Before dinner, we danced and played, and after a sweet-laden dinner, we played simple games like hide-and-seek around the annex.

Iomenes seemed extremely happy with everything.

In the end, due to her insistence, we played until midnight.

It’s time to sleep now.

“I’m glad you can laugh now.”

I took Iomenes to the bedroom and laid her down.

“Now we need to wash up and sleep. It’s late. Do you understand?”

As I stroked her hair, Iomenes suddenly began rubbing her face against my hand.

“J…Ja. Yes. Yes, I like it.”

“What do you like so much?”

“J…Ja…like…like…”

With a stammering voice, she kept repeating the word “like” and grinned widely.

Whatever bastards they were, whoever cursed her, they were truly despicable. She was only a girl who endured relentless torture every single week from the age of zero.

Even the seemingly healthy Princess Almenes was bedridden, and the Emperor and Empress were driven into endless guilt.

What sin could this young princess and her family ever deserve?

“Very soon, you won’t have any more pain. There will be no more pain. Do you understand? No more treatment, no more pain, no more fear. I will make you well.”

And in exchange, I will disappear from here forever.

We probably won’t meet again.

There’s no need to explain that to her.

“You’ll eat delicious foods and have fun. You’ll be twice as happy as the suffering you endured before. Your parents are truly remarkable. They’ll give you whatever you ask for. You’ll be able to have everything you want.”

“Ev…Ev…Everything? Everything?”

“Yes, everything. You’ll get better and become the most noble, loved, and happy person in the world. Princess Iomenes, don’t give up. You need to keep living and strive to be happier than you ever were. Understand?”

“Like…Like.”

Iomenes smiled like a child.

The giant wings on her back flapped.

It’s getting late.

We should get up soon.

“Today, I’ll go back now, Iomenes. I’ll come again tomorrow. In the meantime, take care…”

Iomenes grabbed my arm.

She looked at me with wide eyes.

“Go…together.”

Together?

Iomenes pointed to the bed.

She looked like a puppy wanting to pee.

“Go…go, together…together…”

Together what?

Together sleep?

Lie down on the bed together?

“No, I need to go now. You can sleep well on your own, right? Right?”

“Together…together.”

She insisted.

But I shook my head.

I need to go.

No matter how justified it is for treatment, sharing a bed with a princess would surely cause a lot of trouble with His Majesty the Emperor.

“Sorry, I need to go. Sleeping together won’t work.”

Iomenes made a dissatisfied expression.

Still, there’s nothing I can do about it.

What father would approve of his little girl sharing a bed with a stranger?

I gave Iomenes a smile and carefully disentangled her hands.

“How? How? Together? Together? How?”

Her stammering voice asked.

Perhaps she’s asking how we can sleep together.

“We could sleep together if we get married.”

“Marriage. Then marriage!”

Iomenes grabbed my hand and shook it.

This is awkward.

Why is she suddenly doing this?

“Lonely…night…at night.”

Just as I was feeling awkward, Iomenes muttered something unhappily.

“Lonely…you’re not here.”

There was no one else in the room where she stayed.

Because of the curse, no one approached her.

The only people who came near were the priests who dumped divine magic on her every Tuesday.

Cleaning?

I heard it was handled by magic drawn around the annex.

She must have had no opportunities for human interaction.

“Song, bed, together…together…”

This was awkward.

If His Majesty the Emperor found out about this, he wouldn’t let me off easily.

…but wait, I’m going to disappear from this world pretty soon anyway, right?

Then isn’t it fine if I act however I want?

I won’t sleep anyway.

I only plan to lie down with her till she falls asleep.

“Alright. Let’s lie down together. I’ll stay with you until you sleep.”

At my words, she looked happy like a child.

We both went to bed together.

Iomenes snuggled close to me like a puppy.

I stroked her hair and sang her a song.

After playing and eating together all day, she seemed tired and began to nod off soon.

“Tomorrow…again?”

I was also tired probably from playing all day.

I nodded while stifling a yawn.

“I will come again tomorrow, Iomenes.”

“Promise?”

“Yes, I promise…”

I was too tired.

My eyelids felt heavy with sleep.

As I nodded off, I eventually succumbed to sleep.

Before falling asleep, I heard Iomenes mumble sleepily with a similar drowsy tone.

“Like…”

And with that, my consciousness briefly faded.

***

When I woke up, it was already six in the morning.

A good night’s sleep.

I carefully extricated myself from Iomenes who was holding me tightly and sound asleep.

I left the annex.

There’s really not much time left.

I don’t have much to sort out.

I’ve already left instructions with Erpa to ensure she can survive after I’m gone.

The Vice President Yodel and the Lilia Church people will surely remember and honor Saint Amael, who made the grand sacrifice to remove the Piece of the Evil God.

A saint who saved the princess and the world from the fragment of the god that could destroy the world and then disappeared.

Cool, right?

As I walked through the night streets, thinking about never seeing this place again, I oddly felt a lump in my throat.

Did I grow attached?

Even though it’s a place where I hardly have any good memories, leaving it feels strangely unsettling.

Alright.

It’s pointless to be so sentimental.

It was annoying being here anyway.

I’ll never come back.

With that thought, I entered the third district of the slums and turned to the towering Mage Tower Temple, visible even from the outskirts of the capital.

And suddenly.

I stopped in my tracks, struck by an eerie feeling.

It wasn’t just me.

“What was that? What just happened?”

“Strange feeling…”

People started pouring out of the Mage Tower Temple, filling the streets.

Everyone slowly looked towards the source of the eerie feeling.

The palace.

It’s coming from the palace.

This strange sensation, as if scratching the very soul, seemed to announce the appearance of something extraordinarily evil and disturbing in the world.

And the identity of this horrifying presence was revealed by the old man, Vice President Yodel, who hurriedly emerged in his nightclothes from the temple.

“What, the curse! Why is the curse’s energy coming from the palace…?”

The moment I heard those words, I started running.

I boosted my body with enhancements and began speeding away at incredible speed.

Why??

She was stable in her mental state, wasn’t she?

The fragment of the Evil God was about to transfer to me!

Then why suddenly?

What the hell is going on now?!