Chapter 62

“······Ha.”

“···.”

Rebecca’s cold, mocking laugh could freeze the entire world.

Instinctively, I realized that the current situation was nothing short of apocalyptic for me.

“······Why is the Princess… here….”

My mouth, which I could proudly claim as the dumbest in the world, couldn’t hold back and blurted out my inner thoughts.

“Did you just ask why I’m here…?”

“···.”

“On the contrary, I’d like to ask you. Why are you alone in a room with the Saint?”

Naturally, Rebecca was furious at my idiotic response.

This was the first time I’d heard Rebecca speak with such genuine anger.

I’ve made her cry before, but I’ve never made her this angry.

At least this time, instead of staring blankly and running away like last time, she’s directly expressing her feelings sincerely. That’s a relief, I guess.

At least we won’t have to engage in an absurd chase like what happened at the Imperial banquet.

“······Say something. Explain what’s going on.”

“···.”

Of course, even if I tried to explain, this situation wouldn’t be easy to resolve. It’s just going to make my mouth hurt.

There’s a saying that when a woman holds a grudge, frost falls in May. It’s not for nothing.

Rebecca, staring at me with icy eyes as if daring me to try something, looked like the Grim Reaper incarnate.

I was only getting deeper into worry about how to navigate this situation.

Just as the suffocating standoff seemed endless.

“Lady Valencia.”

Estelle, who had been quietly watching the conversation between me and the Princess, finally spoke.

“I can imagine how you’re viewing me right now… but may I clear up the misunderstanding?”

Estelle’s clear, sincere eyes and voice.

The woman who moments ago seemed impossible to read now exuded the presence befitting the Church’s ‘Saint.’

Seeing the slight guilt mixed into Estelle’s expression, it seemed she believed this situation was her fault.

······Honestly, if we’re being fair, the biggest mistake was mine for not informing Rebecca about my cold.

But anyway, Estelle stepping in to take the blame for me meant all I could do now was watch quietly.

After all, not many people could defy the presence of the Empire’s only Saint.

“Ha, so now you won’t even speak directly? Fine, go ahead and explain.”

“···.”

“What exactly were you doing alone with my fiancé?”

Unfortunately, it seemed my fiancée was one of those few people who could.

The milk was already spilled.

No matter how much I tried to explain, there was almost no chance Rebecca’s feelings would be resolved.

“······I’ll explain.”

Estelle seemed to be thinking similarly.

Despite the rare, murderous expression on Rebecca’s face, Estelle didn’t hesitate and immediately began her explanation.

“Prince Zernias caught a cold, right? You know that?”

“Yes, no one told me directly, but I heard.”

“···.”

This was a first for me.

Rebecca, who always spoke directly, was now indirectly blaming someone.

Even though that someone was me, which hurt, seeing a new side of my fiancée might not be such a bad thing.

······Though it seems my problem isn’t my throat but my head.

“······I was dispatched by the Church to treat the Prince.”

“The Church… dispatched you…?”

“Yes.”

“······How is that possible?”

Hearing that the Saint herself was dispatched by the Church, Rebecca reacted the same way I did.

A reaction of disbelief.

It’s rare enough for a priest to be dispatched by the Church, let alone the Saint herself.

Anyone with even a little knowledge about the Church would react the same way.

“Over the past three years, he hasn’t received it, but before that, the Prince regularly received Sacred Power treatments.”

“···.”

“Perhaps it’s because of the connection formed back then that I, as the Saint, was able to be dispatched.”

After Estelle’s explanation, Rebecca turned to look at me.

Her expression, previously filled with mockery and anger, was now replaced with slightly trembling red eyes, as if asking if this was really true.

It seemed the revelation that I had been receiving Sacred Power treatments in the past had affected the Princess’s emotions.

Thanks to Estelle’s detailed explanation, it seemed we had successfully persuaded Rebecca.

“······Well, it’s true that I insisted on being dispatched.”

“···.”

“I was curious why he needed so many Sacred Power treatments, and I also had some personal things I wanted to say to the Prince, so I threw a tantrum to be dispatched.”

Whether intentional or not, Estelle’s tactless remark reached Rebecca’s ears just as her anger was about to subside.

“···.”

The worry in her red eyes began to turn cold again.

If I stayed still, the situation would revert to what it was ten minutes ago.

“Saint, could you give us a moment?”

“···.”

“I’d like to speak with my fiancée alone.”

I requested a private conversation with Rebecca by asking Estelle to leave the room.

***

“Alright, I’ll wait outside while you two talk.”

The Saint left the room with those final words.

“···.”

“···.”

The room, now only occupied by her and her fiancé, was filled with suffocating silence.

In this room shrouded in silence.

“······What do you want to say?”

She was the first to break the silence.

Her tone was still as curt as before, but her mood had already softened considerably.

Whether it was because of Estelle’s detailed explanation, or the revelation that her fiancé had been receiving Sacred Power treatments up until three years ago.

Or perhaps it was seeing Albert, who looked so frail the moment the Saint’s Sacred Power left him.

It was hard to pinpoint the exact reason, but it was clear that her state was better than when she first entered the room and saw the Saint and her fiancé alone.

“···.”

Despite her asking what he wanted to say, her fiancé remained silent.

His black eyes, staring straight at her, were unreadable even for her, who prided herself on reading people’s emotions.

And as she met those black eyes without looking away.

“What do you want to say?”

An inexplicable irritation wrapped around her.

Everything was displeasing.

Her fiancé, who didn’t even inform her about his cold, forcing her to hear the news from his mother.

The Saint, who was oddly affectionate toward her fiancé and now waiting outside.

The fact that she had planned to vent all her frustrations and anger, yet when faced with a situation where anger was justified, she couldn’t properly express it.

Even herself, for not being able to fully vent her anger.

Everything was displeasing.

Why did she always become so strange in front of her fiancé?

She was always perfect. She always managed her emotions well.

She had been praised as a genius since childhood.

But why, why was it that in front of her fiancé, who, while not untalented, was still an ordinary person, she felt like a fool?

Thinking back on her past defeats, it wasn’t just a feeling—she really was a fool.

She truly couldn’t understand it.

“······Could you come here for a moment?”

“···.”

After a long silence, her fiancé finally spoke.

He was asking her to come closer.

Why did such a simple request sound so heavy and sad today?

The heaviness was understandable.

If the Saint’s treatment wasn’t over when she arrived, Albert, sitting on the bed, was still recovering from his cold.

But the sadness was hard to explain.

Her fiancé hadn’t changed his tone to sound sad.

Albert’s voice was the same soft, youthful tone she’d last heard during the Hunting Competition.

This sadness was purely from her own heart.

For some reason, she felt sad looking at her fiancé, sitting weakly on the bed.

Was that why?

Despite her troubled state, she slowly approached the bed to fulfill Albert’s request.

Step- step-

Even as the distance closed, she didn’t stop moving toward the bed.

Finally, when she was close enough to reach out and touch him.

Thud-

“······!”

Her seemingly frail fiancé pulled her into an embrace.

“······Were you worried?”

He whispered into her ear.