Emilone’s Temptation Labyrinth – Chapter 46

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“They feel pain, sadness, suffering and fear. If I say I see this as a living being rather than a ‘former demon’, what would Your Highness say?”

Even now, one little guy kept flinching and trembling when he met the prince’s eyes. How could I ignore them when they clearly felt emotions and relied on me?

“This could result in many victims.”

“And I will make sacrifices to avoid that outcome.”

I didn’t believe in sacrificing one life for the greater good. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t understand where he was coming from.

“An insignificant life that contributes nothing to human society…it is easy to end such a life.”

“…”

“But I exist, in this position, for those worthless, insignificant, useless, and helpless lives. If I complain because it’s difficult that there’s too much to attend to, I would not be standing here as Saintess.”

“You never know when they might turn into demons again.”

“That is impossible,” I replied.

“What?”

As if they could tell what was going on, the babies were silent. I gently stroked their heads and erased the faint smile that had been on my face.

“They don’t have much life left.”

“…But they look like babies.”

“Despite their appearance, their life is running out.”

The prince’s face cracked at my words. Seeing his shattered expression, I scoffed faintly.

His concern for these little guys was real. And his desire to kill them was also real.

The values he held were different from mine. To him, a lesser life could be sacrificed for the greater good. That was a choice I could never make.

Even if my brain understood, my heart could never understand.

“You can…tell that sort of thing too?” Prince Alois asked.

“Well…If an animal doesn’t have much life left, I can tell.”

There were times when I felt a chilly energy from animals, different from when I touched other people. It didn’t take long for me to realize that the sensation was their remaining life force draining from their body.

“They’re warm, yet cold. My heart can never feel at ease holding them.”

“…”

These little wriggling creatures were amazing. And also, peculiar. They didn’t know how to talk, and weren’t as smart as humans, but they knew how to care and love. Animals always clung to me unceasingly, perhaps because I was the Saintess.

And I liked that feeling.

“From the start, I knew these children were going to die soon.”

It’s possible that they were turned into demons rather than they used to be demons. Unlike previous demons, these lives that remained instead of being extinguished were lovely creatures.

“In that case, I want them to spend the rest of their life happily. I do worry that they might turn into demons, but I will always watch over them. I will keep giving them divine power.”

“…”

I’m sure he thought I was stupid just now. Although it didn’t show on the prince’s face, it was clear what he was thinking.

He probably thought I was ridiculous for burdening myself with this difficult task. However, he couldn’t think lightly of me because of it.

Because he knew very well that I was not that good-natured of a person.

***

The little monkeys were trapped in the garden, but they ate, ran, and played as well as ever, as if they had never broken anything.

Prince Alois was staring at me. He had become a gently baby deer again, as if he wanted to cover up for revealing his emotions earlier.

His expression evoked naïve, bright, and innocent. And the lazily sensuous look he showed from time to time was not just his personality but also a charm to draw me in.

“Your Holiness.”

“Yes?”

“Do you really believe that?”

“Hm?” I tilted my head.

“I…I believe that if one has to die to save two, I will kill one, and if two have to die to save three, I will kill the two.”

His words might be cruel, but for a monarch, it was the right frame of thought. This idea was ‘natural’.

Because doing something as stupid as killing three to save two was not fitting of a monarch who is to rule over many.

A monarch must aim to reduce the damage and save as many people as possible.

However, I was not a monarch.

“If such a situation arises, I can make my choice without hesitation.”

The prince continued in a soft voice.

Then in a manner that maintained his image and didn’t cross the line, he pulled the trigger at me.

“What would Your Holiness do if it were you?”

And the shot he fired struck me right in the chest. Instead of taking a sip of my tea, my shoulders flinched.

“If it were me……”

If it were me…,what would I do?

What would I do indeed…

What if one of the two had to be saved?

It was a horrible question to even imagine.

“Who knows…I have never given it much thought.”

Mulling over such thoughts was useless.

“Does that seem irresponsible?”

“…No. But what would you do if you were really in that situation?”

“Your Highness the Prince, do you believe that life has value?”

At my sudden question, Alois seemed to pause for a moment then he slowly nodded his head.

“Then I believe I will sacrifice myself and save the remaining people.”

There was no reason for me to seriously answer his question when he only asked to sound me out.

“If I were to weigh the value of the tens of thousands of lives that I will save in the future and the value of the few lives standing there, I know which side would be heavier.”

“If you know, how can you make such a choice…”

Hearing that, I curled my lips and crinkled my eyes into a smile, “I will sacrifice myself.”

I was lying.

If you think about the thousands of lives that I would have to save in the future, there’s no way I’d choose that option.

However, I cleverly avoided part of his question.

He asked what I would do if one of the two groups must be saved. I wasn’t one of those options… but since he was overlooking it, I just kept my mouth shut.

But it made me really curious.

Curious to know who I would save if I was really in that situation.

Perhaps this was a difficult question that I could never resolve on my own.

Right at that moment, Prince Alois spoke in a quiet voice.

“It might be different if it was someone special to you.”

“…”

“If you weigh dozens or hundreds of people against one person special to you, who would you choose?”

The questions that I thought were over came back once again.

Alois wasn’t that easy to fool.

“What would Your Highness choose?”

In that case, I could just turn the question around. Although this would merely buy time.

“I would have to give up on the one special to me.”

“Is that so.”

“Because the person I consider special will be able to understand my decision.”

Instead of just saying ‘I see’ and dismissing his last sentence, I paused.

“That is a refreshing remark.”

***

The world was spinning.

“How many invitations now?”

“…31 arrived today alone.”

Now that I thought about it, I announced to the Crown Prince, in front of numerous nobles, that I was going to leave the empire.

I forgot about it for a while because Alois never said anything after confidently declaring that he would take me with him because he needed my strength.

And everyone was making a fuss because it would probably be hard to sponge off the Saintess or use her powers to clean up demons every day if she lived in a different country.

Seeing me rolling around on the bed, Reneben was about to talk about my lack of dignity, then he sighed.

I guess he realized it was useless to try and stop me since he’d already gotten used to seeing me like this.

I buried myself in the blanket and gestured for him to burn all the invitations.

Reneben seemed to want that too because he swiftly pulled out a burning artifact from his pocket and poured the invitations on it.

Well…actually, he was about to pour them, then he saw a golden invitation and stopped.

“…Lady Emilone.”

“Yessss…”

“There’s an invitation from the Imperial Castle as well.”

“I get dozens of those every day.”

The Imperial Palace wanted to lock me down the most, so they sent people and letters every day. What was the big deal?

I brushed away my messy hair and turned to Reneben.

He looked slightly taken aback my words and opened his mouth, “Well…”

“Well?”

“The sender is Yuina Pervena.”

“…Pervena?”

“Definitely the Imperial family name.”

“I’ve never heard of a Yuina among the imperial family.”

Reneben nodded in agreement and took out a paper knife.

Reneben started reading out the contents of the letter but as I listened, I had to stop him. For a moment, I thought my ears were deceiving me.

“How…how amusing.”

“…Lady Emilone.”

“I’m going to the imperial castle. Get ready.”

“But!”

“Reneben.”

Reneben grinded to a halt.

“Don’t make me say it twice.”

Before even realizing it, I was up from bed, and I snatched the letter from Reneben’s hand.

“I am really holding back right now, so please consider that.”

Yes, I was holding myself back. Very much so.

I crushed the letter in my hand tightly.

“The imperial family continues to disgust me until the very end.”

The content of the letter was very simple. Its content didn’t amount to much but it could be a trap designed by someone.

However, dark-red blood stains remained under the paper, as if to prove that the sender was a member of the imperial family.

In the gold-engraved letter was a spell that could only used by the imperial family, and only the blood of the imperial family could seep into this letter.

It was a paper used to prove one’s identity when doing business with other countries.

“I am amused, honestly.”

The letter was neither too long or too short but it said everything that needed to be said. With a twisted smile, I scanned the contents again.

How could it not be amusing?

Whether it was true or not, whether it was a trap or an appeal, the fact remained that this letter had infuriated me and that no matter what, the royal family would not escape my wrath.

 

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