Emilone’s Temptation Labyrinth – Chapter 38

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Excerpt from Ch 37:

Either the prince was confident that I wouldn’t leak anything, or he was confident that his life would never be in danger.

It was likely one of two.

—-

And personally, I thought it was the latter, rather than the former. He wasn’t the type of person to easily disregard the only life he had.

“But saying he’ll give me the kingdom sounds a little dangerous.”

If his goal was to become a king, then he obviously desired something that he could only achieve after becoming king. But even though he could hold the most powerful position in a country, to say he’ll be handing it over to me was…

Was it that he didn’t care for a mere kingdom…

Maybe the kingdom was nothing more than a visible bait…

“Or…”

What if he was aiming for something even higher?

When I thought of the young, capable, and ambitious prince, that idea seemed more plausible than the status of a mere king.

“Incredible.”

Although we had only met three times, it was enough for me to understand him just as he understood me too.

How interesting, how fun.

“Lady Emilone, since everything is all set, shall I tell them to ready the carriage?”

“The carriage had already been prepared in front of the temple. Would you like me to accompany you?

My imaginations were running wild. If the prince was truly aiming for something beyond a king’s status, then things would get really interesting.

“Jessie, you will stay at the temple today; Reneben, come with me.”

As I rose, I almost staggered under the weight of the ornaments piled on my head. But it was decorated so beautifully that I didn’t dare ask her to remove the ornaments.

Jessie seemed unhappy with being left behind, but I only needed Reneben to escort me today.

The Ducal Estate of Nestro.

In many ways, the Nestro family and I were subtly connected. At first, it began with my interest in Princess Nestro…

But surprisingly, both Ducal Prince Nestro and his blood relative, Prince Alois, triggered my interest.

Is this why they say bloodline cannot be faked?

As I entered the carriage, I sighed and Reneben looked at me quizzically, but I didn’t even notice that glance.

“What do you think, Reneben? What do you think I’ll gain today?”

Glancing out the window, I slightly twirled the ends of my flowing hair and asked Reneben.

Even though I had been avoiding moving around during the Goddess Festival, I was now going through the trouble of visiting the Nestro Estate.

“…I am unable to understand Your Holiness’s intentions.”

“Even if you don’t know, it’s okay. I’m going to do something really fun today.”

“Pardon?”

“Threats.”

“…?”

Reneben’s eyes widened like saucers.

I flashed him a bright smile, removed my hand from my twisted hair and pressed my index finger against the center of his chest.

“Because I’ve found something I want from the culprits who targeted me and took advantage of Jessie.”

The surprise on Reneben’s face was like a feast for the eyes but the smile on my face never left.

“To have targeted Lady Emilone…do you mean the chandelier back then…?”

“So you remember.”

“How can I forg…!! Don’t tell me you know who the culprit is…?”

Reneben was speaking then he seemed to remember something and quickly straigntened up to ask.

“I have a pretty good guess.”

“How dare they…! Who is it!”

Reneben’s reaction was far greater than I expected, and he sprang up from his seat. This was my first time seeing him so agitated that I couldn’t help but stare.

If you ignore the coachman who quickly stopped the horses when a loud sound came from inside, then it could be said that the commotion didn’t last long.

Reneben turned to me, and his eyes seemed to ask why I didn’t tell him even though I knew. At that, I stroked Reneben’s fine hair, and my eyes curved in a smile.

“With the way things were at the time, I couldn’t catch them easily even if I wanted to.”

“…Huh?”

“I had no evidence, and I had to consider the temple’s image back then too.”

At my words, the frown on Reneben’s face deepened. Even though there was obvious dissatisfaction on his face, he looked like he couldn’t refute what I was saying.

“How can Your Holiness not treasure your own body?”

His gentle eyes were filled with concern. That expression was so cute that I had to cover my mouth and giggle.

“Why do you think I don’t?”

“You always leap to action when it’s other people’s business but when it concerns you, you are endlessly generous…how can I not say that?”

Seeing Reneben worrying about me like a parent concerned for their trouble-making child, I started to feel sorry. The immaculate-white priestly robes and his white hair were oddly a perfect match.

As I looked into his concerned eyes, I subconsciously lost some momentum.

“You worry for no reason. You know better than anyone that I won’t die, that’s why I act like this.”

“Of course, you are the Saintess so I know that but…”

Reneben’s face distorted.

Just as Reneben was calming down after nagging me not to say such things, the carriage abruptly came to a stop.

The door swung open, as if signaling for me to leave. I expected some commotion the moment the door opened but it was quiet outside.

The reason became clear once Reneben escorted me off the carriage.

Ducal Princess Nestro was not here.
네스트로 공녀가 없었다.

Although people usually refrained from being overly familiar, the atmosphere was strange without Princess Ronella to lighten the mood.

As I pondered this, Reneben bent at the waist, almost touching my shoulder with his chin, and whispered into my ear.

“They’re being cautious. They know it’s beneficial to have a connection with Your Holiness, but since you were recognized as equal to His Majesty on the first day of the goddess festival, they are afraid they might draw the Saintess’ hatred.”

“Hmm.”

His voice was soft as he told me what was going on but there was a sneer buried in his words.

After hearing that, I straightened up and neatly lowered my hands which were folded under my spacious robes.

“Hello.”

I didn’t forget to lazily narrow my eyes and curl my lips as I greeted them all.

A stifling silence hung in the air. No response came back.

As I stood there alone in that manner, delayed responses began to echo. It felt as if they had been holding their breaths or curling up inside.

I walked forward with Reneben, hearing multiple variations of the simple greeting of hello.

I thought of the Princess who had invited me but hadn’t shown her face. I recited her name so many times in my mind that if someone could read my thoughts, they’d be shocked.

Right at that moment…

Who knows what she was doing that she didn’t show up but as I was entering the castle, the Princess ran towards me, exclaiming ‘oh my goodness!’.

“I didn’t know you were here! I wasn’t sure when you’d arrive, so I had people waiting outside but…”

It had been so long since I heard this voice. It was a beautiful voice.

A soft voice with a slight tremor at the end, perfectly fit for Princess Ronella Nestro.

“Princess, it has been a while.”

I firmly cut her off before she could continue and offered her the most ordinary greeting.

You’d think she’d be taken aback by getting cut off, but she only blinked for a moment before breaking out in a bright smile.

“Oh, it has been so long since I last saw you, Saintess, but your beauty is as radiant as ever. I didn’t think you’d come to the small party prepared by our ducal house, but I was so happy when I got your reply.”

It didn’t look particularly small though.

After giving me such an elaborate greeting, the Princess then turned towards Reneben.

Despite her big eyes looking up at him expectantly, Reneben only said, “It has been a while, Princess.”

The same Reneben who looked like he couldn’t live without the Princess until recently was now so cold and firm that it was unbelievable.

“I wasn’t able to escort Lady Saintess here properly but…”

The Princess clung to us as if she was going to start introducing us now. Her behavior might seem rude but because it was Princess Nestro, not anyone else, it didn’t bother me much.

“Since you invited Lady Emilone even with the difficulty of escorting her, I hope such mistakes will not happen again, Princess.”

Hm? Did Reneben really just say that to Ronella Nestro?

For Reneben of all people to say that to Ronella, it was quite harsh. This was the Reneben who would forget his position as a high priest and start wagging his tail whenever Ronella was close.

Even the Princess seemed taken aback. She couldn’t keep her fingers still and her eyes kept darting back and forth.

“Yes, anything else… wouldn’t be fitting for God’s blessing…”

Her reply was a model response. Although she looked like she was struggling to get the words out.

I took over to calm Reneben down and addressed the Princess instead.

“Ronella, Reneben and I haven’t dined yet. I was hoping you have something simple to appease our hunger.”

“Oh my! I will have something prepared right away! What kind of food do you prefer?”

Once I spoke to her, she clapped her hands together and ushered us inside like hungry fish.

I initially planned to pad my stomach with some snacks at the party, but apparently, that won’t be necessary.

The Nestro Ducal estate was just as I had imagined. The grand estate, which rivaled the imperial palace in size, was even more magnificent on the inside than I expected.

Having seen the quality of items in the temple, I could gauge the worth of the framed vases, jewel boxes, and displayed sword sheaths on our path.

“You’re such a busy person that I didn’t think you’d have the time to come. This makes me so happy!”

“It’s a request from the Princess of all people, how could I refuse?”

The smile on her lips transformed intriguingly.

When I met her eyes gently as if I had no ulterior motive, she returned my gaze and replied.

“Your Holiness, you make me feel so shy when you say that.”

She sounded bashful and her cheeks grew flushed.

Reneben, who normally whined like an affectionate puppy, was quiet this time so it was up to me to figure out how to respond to this reaction.

A bright side to this was that talking with Princess Ronella Nestro was not that difficult. It was easier to communicate with someone who had a purpose, like the Princess, than someone who had an empty brain, like Jessie.

It gave birth to a meticulous conversation where not even the most trivial greeting was uttered for no reason.

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