As soon as they disappeared, the noisy surroundings became quiet.
'I wish I had stayed a little longer.'
It was to the point where she felt regretful. At that time.
"That's interesting."
David emerged from the bushes with a calm voice.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince? How long have you been there?"
Karina asked in surprise.
"Um... From the beginning?"
David shrugged his shoulders and had an expression of interest on his face as if he had been watching Pavel and Mikhail since before they left.
"It's amazing. They can have such an intimate relationship even though they aren't blood relatives of the Lord of Magic Tower."
"Yes?"
Karina tilted her head at David's words, not knowing what he meant.
"It is a well-known fact that the Lord Magic Tower took in his disciple as his adopted son."
"Is Mikhail the adopted son of the Lord Magic Tower?"
It was the first time Karina had heard it. She didn't really pay attention, but now that she thought about it, she thought he had said "son" earlier.
"How can you care so much for someone who isn't even your own child?"
David couldn't take his eyes off the spot where Mikhail and Pavel had disappeared.
"People like that really exist."
There was a hint of envy in his eyes as he muttered softly.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince?"
When the curious Karina called him, he turned to her and smiled gracefully.
"Haha. I'm just a little jealous. Just because you're a parent doesn't mean you always love your child."
The expression on his face as he spoke seemed somehow lonely.
"There are parents in this world who abuse their own children and even try to kill them. Have you ever thought about what it would be like for a biological father to try to kill his own child?"
"Yes?"
"You don't know how scary the palace is. It's a place filled with sinister plots and the threat of assassination. There are quite a few Emperors among the ancestors of the imperial family who considered their own children as their enemies and secretly dealt with them behind the scenes. There are more than a few who were quietly assassinated in bloody purges or who died unjustly after being falsely accused."
As David spoke, one corner of his mouth went up in a mocking smile.
"They pretend to be clean and noble, but in reality, the royal family is a hotbed of selfish, bloody conspiracies and betrayals that are so serious that they even betray their blood ties."
"Your Highness..."
Karina couldn't find the right words to respond to such a serious topic. There was a brief silence between them. But soon.
"I'm joking."
David changed the mood by smiling lightly and pretending it was nothing special.
"Actually, I enjoy competition. I can't stand seeing incompetent, incompetent people getting involved in politics."
David playfully shrugged his shoulders and grinned. Karina couldn't tell if he was joking or serious.
"I would like to sweep them all away and seize them all, but His Majesty the Emperor is too virtuous. If he continues like this, I might just barely be able to inherit the throne before I die of old age. Wouldn't it be ridiculous to inherit the throne when I am a grandfather with white hair?"
Haha, it was David who laughed jokingly.
“Ah.”
Karina laughed along, but somehow she had a feeling that what he had said was not just a joke. David immediately changed the subject.
"By the way, are you feeling better?"
He was not there when Karina woke up because he was being held by the temple bishops. When he heard the news of her awakening, he went to her room as soon as he heard the news, but the room was already empty. Mikhail had already taken Karina out. He was a step behind and was waiting for Karina while he was wandering around outside.
"Oh, yes. I'm fine now thanks to the treatment."
"I'm glad your condition has Improved. It seems that the treatment was effective because it was done by the Saintess herself."
"Huh? The Saintess herself cured me?"
Karina was a little surprised when she heard that.
"Yes. From the time the Grand Duchess and the Grand Duke were found collapsed in the village where we last stayed until two came to the temple, the Saintess continued to treat you both."
"..."
'Jeremiah, even if that's true, Lucia treated me too?'
Karina narrowed her brows and tilted her head. She couldn't understand why Lucia had to do it when she could have just left it to another priest. Lucia wanted to marry Jeremiah, so Karina's presence would only be an obstacle to Lucia. Karina didn't even hide her aversion and antipathy toward Lucia. She had no intention of becoming close to the Saintess.
'Honestly, wouldn't it be better for the Saintess if I were sick and lying in bed?'
As a Saintess, seeing her devotedly caring for and treating the sick gave Karina the Impression that she was upright, but seeing her pushing forward with her marriage to Jeremiah made it difficult to see her as being completely good.
'What on earth are you thinking?'
Karina felt like her head was getting complicated, but it was a problem she didn't need to worry about.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"Gratitude between us. It's a given."
David reached out and stroked Karina's hair, which was blowing in the breeze.
"By any chance..."
Just as David was about to say something.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince. You are here."
From the other side, several men in priestly attire were approaching her and David.
'Huh? That guy.'
Karina recognized the brown-haired man walking in front of them. High Priest Emil. He was a person who had been extremely hostile and detestable to her in the past before her regression. He loved the Saintess Lucia like family, so he was wary of Karina, who harbored ill feelings toward the Saintess, and he was sharp.
'It was bound to happen.'
At that time, Karina had been harassing Lucia and was desperate to get rid of her, so his worries and caution were not in vain. In the end, she even used poison to kill Lucia.
'I think it was that person who quickly noticed Lucia's condition after drinking poison and treated her.'
Karina remembered the bloodshot eyes that had glared at her as he took Lucia away after she had almost died once. Then, Emil spoke to them with a kind smile.
"I apologize for the inconvenience, but the bishops are looking for His Highness the Crown Prince. They say they have something to discuss regarding the purification ritual required before the prayer service."
"I see."
David whispered to Karina, grumbling softly as if he was secretly annoyed.
"The temple really doesn't leave people alone for even a moment."
In reality, he came on behalf of the Emperor, so he had a lot of decision-making power and had no time to rest.
"I'll go back to my room, so go and have a nice chat. If you have anything to say, we can continue then."
Karina sent him off, telling him that she was leaving.
"I'll finish up quickly and go."
Hearing the same thing from David that he had heard from Mikhail earlier, a small smile came out. Karina nodded in understanding. David left with the priests. However, Emil, who had been expected to leave with them, stayed next to Karina as if he had something to do.
'What?'
He looked at Karina with a puzzled expression and asked politely.
"Your Highness, do you believe in God?"
"..."
'That noise again.'
Karina was silent for a moment at the unpleasant question. She was afraid that someone might call her a high priestess.
'Is it God's will or fate that Jeremiah and Lucia are connected?... Are you trying to bring up the same story as the Saintess?'
She heard that the temple was already busy preparing for the two's wedding, so there was no way Emil, as the high priest, would not have known about it. If he knew about it and insisted on telling Karina about it, she thought that in the end, it would only be to persuade Jeremiah and her to divorce.
'Phew.'
Already, boredom and annoyance were creeping in. Emil, who had no way of knowing what was on Karina's mind, cautiously brought up the subject with a slightly serious expression.
"It is often difficult for us, who are still immature, to understand the original will of God. The words of God are often fragmentary, and each person may have a different viewpoint in interpreting the meaning..."
Karina let her next words go unnoticed. She thought it would be better to quickly return to her room and rest rather than waste time talking about fatalism. She cut him off in an extremely businesslike and indifferent tone.
"Priest. Whether I believe in God or not, if God's will is truly there, you will follow God, so don't you just believe? If you believe and wait, God will give you an answer."
Karina cut him off from continuing the conversation on this topic. He hesitated with an embarrassed expression, understanding her intention to refuse to talk.
"That's right. That's why I'm telling you..."
Emil's expression disappeared in an instant and he continued speaking calmly in a low voice.
"We are only acting according to God's will, so I hope that Your Highness will understand our position."
"...?"
He wants the person involved to understand when she is the one who is pushing for divorce. If she had not regressed and was still in the position of wanting love from Jeremiah like she did in the past, she would have fallen into terrible despair by now. Karina could almost laugh at their extremely selfish behavior. However, she did not want to waste her energy and emotions on a meaningless argument. Emil asked her, who had no answer.
"If you don't mind, could you spare me a moment?"
"What time is it?"
"Actually, the Saintess said she has something important to discuss with the Archduchess alone."
One of Karina's eyebrows rose diagonally.
'Lucia has something to talk about with me alone?'
Suddenly.
'Did you cure me because you wanted something?'
That's what shr thought.
'You might even ask me to divorce Jeremiah as soon as possible since he cured me.'
Karina had an idea, but she decided to go and hear what Lucia had to say anyway. She also had something she wanted to ask Lucia.
"Yes. Let's go."
She thought she was going to go see Lucia right away.
"It is now time for worship, and the Saintess is also praying. If she is ready, I will send someone when the prayer ends."
Emil told her to go back to her room.
"Yes, I'll be waiting."
Emil smiled gently as she answered obediently.
***
Karina returned to her room and felt hungry, perhaps because the tension had eased.
"Jen. Can you go and get me something to eat?"
"Yes. Since you just woke up, I'll prepare some comforting food for you."
Jen quickly left the room. There was a jewelry box on the table, as Jen had been organizing her jewelry and trinkets while Karina was out of the room.
'I said I didn't need to bring anything since I was coming to the temple.'
However, just in case, Jen had brought them, saying she would take good care of them. Karina absentmindedly opened the lid of the jewelry box in front of her. Inside the jewelry box, a blue emerald necklace was shining brightly as it caught the light. It was the necklace that Jeremiah had personally put on her.
'Come to think of it.'
She didn't see Jeremiah all day today. She was so shocked when she woke up that she couldn't go to him. But he didn't come to her either. She eventually rejected him. Maybe he didn't come to her after waking up because he was hurt. The last time she saw him was when he was desperately clinging to her in his consciousness and crying. The image of him collapsing, clutching his heart, flashed before her eyes.
'Is he okay now?"
“Ha.”
Why bother with him when you rejected him? Karina shook her head as if to shake off the thought and laughed at herself.
'I can't believe I'm thinking like this even after hearing that I'm going to die.'
Now was not the time for her to be worrying about others.
'I don't know if I'll ever find a way to live.'
She had that thought but at the same time.
'What if... Jeremiah finds out about this?'
She became just a little curious. Then.
Knock knock.
Someone knocked on her door.
'Hmm?'
Jen had just left, so there was no way she could come back this quickly. So there was only one person who could come.
'Is the service over already?'
Karina tilted her head and opened the door.
When she opened the door, a man in white. priest's robes were standing there. The man opened his mouth politely.
"Your Highness the Grand Duchess. His Highness the Grand Duke is looking for you now."
'Jeremiah, me?'
She thought he was sent by Lucia, but he wasn't. Karina was surprised that Jeremiah was looking for her. Why would he suddenly come looking for her?
"Yes, I'll get it ready soon, so just wait a moment."
Karina simply turned around to grab her outerwear. At that moment.
"Ugh!?"
A man standing outside suddenly covered Karina's mouth from behind and tied her hands.
"Ugh!!"
Karina, who was surprised, struggled to escape, but then... bang!
She lost consciousness with a strong blow to the back of her neck.
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Oh my God! How interesting. Thank you very much.
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