episode_0063

The afternoon sunlight slanted in through the large window.

The weather in the capital city of Lutess was more akin to early summer than late spring. The sun shining down at midday was quite intense.

Thanks to this, the sharp sunlight streaming through the large office window onto the desk was not warm but rather somewhat hot.

Despite that, the man sitting at the desk, basking in the sunlight, had remained in the same position for hours.

Perhaps it was because his long hair, not dark but silver, cascading down past his collar slightly covered his neck. Even under the blazing sun pouring down on his back, Yulrian did not flinch.

He simply twirled a silver fountain pen, resembling his own hair color, around his slender finger, extending elegantly like a woman’s hand.

“You chose a color that matches our hair, Yulrian.”

That fountain pen was a precious gift Louise had given to her son when he had just become an adult and could still converse with her. If he were to accidentally drop it, a scratch would surely mar the slender silver barrel.

Yulrian often handled his precious treasure roughly when feeling frustrated like this.

Yet the silver fountain pen remained pristine. Either he hadn’t felt stifled much, or his handling was remarkably careful.

“Sigh…”

A deep sigh filled the heated office as he exhaled. His face was filled with an indescribable frustration.

A few hours ago, during a conversation with a long-time friend, at the end of their parallel dialogue, Christian faced Yulrian with a seriousness rarely seen before.

“Don’t take your relationship with Yeong-ae lightly. It’s not just your revenge at stake in this matter.”

With those words left behind, Christian exited the office.

Yulrian glanced at the desk clock at one end of the large desk. The hands were noticeably tilted from the last memory. Despite organizing his thoughts during that time, his mind remained as complex as ever.

Christian’s words were not wrong.

Certainly, it had started with Yulrian alone.

When he harbored feelings of vengeance against his father, who had left his precious mother languishing in a cage, Christian approached him.

And when he turned his loyalty mask inside out and descended south according to the Emperor’s orders, the emotionless man stared at Yulrian with dry eyes.

Since then, those who had lost something precious to the monstrous empire began to gather around Yulrian, one by one.

Just as Christian had said.

Now, his revenge was no longer solely his.

Yulrian rose from his seat. Ignoring the sound of the chair legs dragging on the marble floor, he walked towards the large window where the sunlight poured in behind the desk.

The Deputy Minister of Interior Affairs had the Ministry building constructed on a hill overlooking the Council, away from the Military Headquarters. Of course, the underlying reason was not wanting to be in the same location as the military headquarters.

Thanks to this, from Yulrian’s office, he could overlook the capital city of Lutess at a glance.

Gazing at the densely packed buildings of the city, Yulrian let out a soft sigh.

“Eleanor Arène de Beaune.”

Yulrian whispered the name softly.

Now, the empire had grown far too vast.

The Emperor had ascended to lofty heights, and the Imperial Family had been eliminating every means that could rise above them to safeguard their power.

Under the canopy of Deokpun, no matter how much they struggled, they couldn’t reach the lofty heavens. With their current power alone, it was nearly impossible to dismantle the well-constructed system.

That’s why they needed Eleanor.

Eleanor Beaurne was undoubtedly a tool. What Yuriann and his followers needed was not her, but her background.

Until she fell ill with a fever, it had been like that, just like other women who followed him around like puppies.

Certainly, Yuriann himself was starting to think that way.

When did it start? Slowly, such thoughts began to change. Unbeknownst to him, the platinum-haired woman was gradually taking root in his heart.

Her cute expression when she blushed at the kiss on her hand as she flaunted her platinum hair sparkling above the white dress at the debutante ball.

The look she gave him when she prevented a suitor from touching her hand.

The face she made when she blushed at being called “Elli” as they walked side by side in the mansion garden at night.

Unknowingly, Yuriann was being influenced by her shyness, her smile, and those eyes.

Ultimately, his somewhat sensitive reaction to Christian earlier was because of this.

Since wiping out the Silroves in the mine and ascending to the capital, Yuriann had been feeling strangely stifled.

No. It started after seeing her nestled in the Duke’s embrace. After seeing Eleanor gently rest her head on the Duke’s broad chest, Yuriann couldn’t control the unfamiliar feeling of jealousy.

Surely, she looked at me with those eyes that night. She was so affectionate with another man.

Of course, it was probably because of Silrove’s poison.

The office remained quiet. His red eyes were fixed somewhere outside the window, perhaps towards the outskirts in the distance. His hand clenched tightly, trembling slightly.

#.

Eleanor, sitting on the edge of the bed, had a flushed white face. She had half undone her white blouse, revealing her perky white breasts.

In the room were only Eleanor, Eugenie, and a fellow priestess from the temple.

Eleanor had bared her chest in front of this unknown woman for the sole purpose of treating her wounds.

Her perky breasts didn’t look too big or small. They were just right above her ribs, beautifully shaped like her face.

Above her breasts, at the tip of a slightly raised pink mound, a prominent bud was proudly displaying its existence as red as her face.

Each time she realized her body’s response, the protruding bud twitched nervously, leading to an inexorable cycle of blushing that wouldn’t cool down.

Sigh… Am I really going to start lactating…?

Fortunately for Eleanor, both Eugenie and the fellow priestess standing behind her probably wouldn’t notice her current state, given their presence.

However, Eleanor was unaware that her ears were also flushed. Normally, she would have felt her ears burning, but now, the firmly raised pink mound alone was overwhelming enough.

So, Eugenie behind her and the priestess who came to treat her wounds could easily tell that Eleanor was embarrassed by the sight of her flushed appearance.

Normally, they would have teased her.

But right now, healing her wounds took precedence.

Now, for the debutante Yeong-ae, the scar was a deeply painful matter.

Beneath the white veil, the priestess smiled slightly, her hands neatly folded over the wound on her slender shoulder.

“It’s strange. I distinctly remember that your body was completely resistant to divine power when I last saw you.”

A white beam of light flowed from her fingertips, gradually covering the reddened wound. Eleanor shivered in the cool, somewhat chilly aura enveloping her shoulders.

“I-Is it working?”

For some reason, Oejeni seemed to be stumbling over her words.

“Yes. It seems like your sensitivity has improved even more than others. Odd… When you were suffering from fever, you definitely repelled divine power.”

Well, the person inside has changed. That must be why.

Beyond the mirror of the dressing table, Eleanor looked at the priestess and Oejeni standing behind her with a surprised expression.

I don’t believe in gods or anything like that…

In reality, Eleanor had no particular interest in religion. Both she and her family distanced themselves from things like religion or fortune-telling as unscientific in their lives.

But now, things were different.

From the start, becoming a character in a novel’s world, embodying one of its characters, was unrealistic in itself.

Moreover, the occasional healing through mana she experienced. Feeling the power of divinity directly like this unknowingly stirred a sense of reverence for the divine in her heart.

“Do cases like ours happen often?”

Oejeni, whose expression had been stiff since earlier, asked the priestess in a subdued voice. If divine power had struck her body and the scars were going to disappear, why did she look so desolate?

“They do happen, but they are rare cases. Um… The most famous case I remember is Lady Etheldreda, the saint.”

As the priestess continued speaking, a faint light flowed from her fingertips.

“Wouldn’t this also be under the watchful eye of the goddess Epona? To have scars on such a beautiful lady. Whoever did this, regardless of who it was, will truly face divine retribution!”

Without batting an eyelash while making such embarrassing remarks, it seemed Albrice had spent quite a bit of money.

Regardless of the reverence for the divine, the temples in this world were as steeped in capitalism as modern hospitals.

Soon enough, the treatment expelling divine power came to an end.

When Eleanor turned around after putting her blouse back on, the priestess looked noticeably relieved compared to when they first met.