Emilone’s Temptation Labyrinth – Chapter 71

I decided to stop pressing Alois to tell me what he was hiding about this kingdom.

Because I trusted his way of doing things.

In other words, I trusted his judgment when he said that nothing good would come out of me knowing right now.

Tsk…I clicked my tongue and turned around to hug the monkeys.

The little ones, who had been sprawled out on the bed sleeping peacefully, seemed to wake up and sniff me, rubbing their faces against mine.

“I’m not in a good mood right now, so I’m going to sleep.”

“What about the paperwork you said you were going to do with Lord Reneben…”

“We’ll do it tonight.”

It wasn’t convenient to share the bed anyway, so I figured it would be fine to nap during the day and work in the evening.

Alois let out a sigh.

“You should just get some sleep. Sleep until the evening if you want. You haven’t been able to get a good night’s sleep because of the seasickness.”

“I have work to do, so that’s going to be difficult.”

I pulled up the blanket, which had slid down to the foot of the bed and covered myself up to my neck.

“I can help Lord Reneben.”

“…I don’t push my work off to other people.”

“You’re not pushing it off. I just feel like I’ve damaged your trust and want to make up for it by helping, Lady Emilone. I have my own selfish reasons.”

But our relationship wasn’t built on trust in the first place, no?

I wasn’t offended that he kept it from me and refused to tell me the truth.

And I’m sure he knew that.

We both trusted in ourselves, not in the other person.

“I’m just saying you don’t need to overwork yourself. It’s okay to rest a little.”

I believed in my own value as someone he needed.

“…I don’t want to show the internal matters of the temple to an ‘outsider.’”

“Even if I’m an outsider, there must be something I can help with. Since I’ll be working with Lord Reneben, he can take care of those aspects and leave me the others.”

And Alois also knew that I needed him. That was all our relationship was based on.

“I’m not doing this purely out of goodwill. Accept my help without worry.”

A relationship that could change at any moment.

“…Since I became the saintess, I’ve handled everything myself except in the beginning when I knew nothing.”

A relationship where you won’t feel disappointed if you turn your back on the other after you don’t need each other anymore.

“That does sound like you.”

It was just that kind of relationship, devoid of sentimentality.

“Sometimes, it’s good to not be stubborn and accept someone else’s help.”

He gently pressed my shoulder down and straightened the blanket.

“You are allowed to receive help, you know.”

I flinched and my toes curled slightly.

“You don’t always have to be someone others can depend on.”

“…I do have to be.”

“The ‘saintess’ does, yes.”

Lying in bed, looking up at Alois, felt strangely different.

“But not Lady ‘Emilone’.”

“…”

“If you don’t have anyone to lean on, then let me be that person for you.”

I stared at him silently, then grabbed the edge of the blanket and turned my back to him.

“I don’t…need something like that.”

“You don’t have to push yourself so hard. Exterminating demons may be your responsibility, but when you turn around, it’s okay to just be a normal person.”

Even though he was speaking to my back, his languid voice sounded like it was being whispered right into my ear.

“Don’t think that you are alone.”

At those words, I finally turned back to face him. Alois, who had bent over slightly, brushed a light kiss on my cheek before pulling away.

“At the very least, I might be the only one who sees you as Emilone rather than just the Saintess.”

“…”

I frowned and glared at him, annoyed by his cheeky remark. But he chuckled as if he found it funny.

“And wouldn’t you say I’m someone who can accept you no matter how you are?”

“…Leave. I’m going to sleep now.”

I closed my eyes and turned my back to him again.

I thought I heard him mumble something like, “This is my room, actually,” but soon after, I heard the door open and close. Only then did I exhale softly.

“…Ridiculous.”

I bit my lips and muttered under my breath even though no one was there to answer me.

“Who…”

I hugged the monkeys tightly, feeling the warmth in my arms.

“Who says I think I’m alone?”

There were many who loved me. And there were many that I cared about.

At the same time, just like he said, there were people whose faces I couldn’t even recall but who were ready to sacrifice their lives for me.

“…That can’t possibly be true.”

But somehow…

“It’s no way it’s true.”

Yet, his words…

…those very words…

“…”

Made me feel comforted.

By the time I woke up, it was midnight.

***

I had asked the maid to wake me before dinner time, but since it was past midnight, this was obviously either Alois or Reneben’s doing.

I didn’t blame the maid, who must have been torn by conflicting orders to wake me or let me sleep. I simply picked up the water glass prepared at my bedside.

“Hm? Are you guys thirsty too?”

I emptied the glass and munched on some sugar-dusted snacks when, suddenly, the monkeys clung to me, whining.

“…Huh??”

They whimpered and squirmed for a while that I had to hug them and look around.

“Fel? Marien?”

Both of them were trembling, curling up as if something had deeply unsettled them.

It was enough to make me understand that something was wrong.

“…”

I stopped talking and held my breath, straining to detect any signs of movement or presence.

“…There’s nothing.”

But in the end, there was nothing.

No human presence, no ominous aura—nothing at all.

Still, just in case, I got up to turn on the lights. As I moved, the two monkeys suddenly started screaming loudly.

“Kiieek!!”

“Kiiiik!!”

“…??”

“Is something wrong, Saintess?!”

My ears were about to burst from the noise and who knows how Reneben knew because he soon burst into the room.

“Reneben, could you turn on the light first?”

Since I didn’t know why Fel and Marien were acting like this, I decided to pat them down first to comfort them while the light was finally turned on.

“…Why are they suddenly like that?”

“Good question…I’m not quite sure either,” I replied, turning to Reneben as the two continued to whimper.

“Since they’re former demons, perhaps they’re little more sensitive than others? Plus, this is their first night outside the temple…”

“No, they’ve already spent four days on the ship.”

When Reneben mentioned that they were former demons, I infused them with divine energy just in case.

They had grown heavier thanks to proper meals, making it difficult to hold both in one arm, but they gradually calmed down, and I heaved a sigh of relief.

“Indeed… Being former demons…”

Reneben swallowed his words which were about to preach of their risk to the general public.

“But then, this behavior out of nowhere?”

The air, which had felt cold earlier, seemed stifling now. I shut the window, feeling as though filthy air was seeping in, and swallowed my frustration.

“Reneben, close the door.”

“…Understood.”

Even though I had just woken up, my heart still felt heavy.

The castle was so enormous that I couldn’t even gauge the state of the commoners living nearby.

Was this filthiness in the air somehow connected to them? The thought unsettled me.

“What happened to you two? Hm?”

As I stroked their backs, the two monkeys, who had been so frantic moments ago, settled down as if nothing had happened.

“What’s got you so frightened?”

“…Lady Emilone.”

“Hm?”

“Something in the air has been making me feel uneasy for a while now.”

Reneben stared out of the closed window and muttered softly as I spoke to the two kids.

“…Ah.”

I couldn’t help but sigh when he said that.

“So, it wasn’t just me.”

“…I thought I was the only one who noticed too.”

The filthy, nauseating air seemed to grow more oppressive as the night deepened.

“It’s strange, isn’t it? There’s no actual smell, but something about it just screams revolting.”

I tilted my head and blinked slowly, keeping my expression neutral.

Don’t tell me the panic of the monkeys just now had something to do with this…

Putting aside the fleeting thought, I kissed their small heads and cast a glance outside.

“Reneben.”

“I’m here.”

“Something is worrying me right now.”

His eyes opened wide in response.

Seeing his gaze which seemed to say, ‘Really?’, I couldn’t help but laugh.

This was the normal response.

A Saintess could have her own worries but for me of all people to say that must be a surprise.

“I think to some extent, I know why Fel and Marien acted like that.”

“…Why?”

“Well…”

When I smiled instead of answering, Reneben seemed to understand and backed off.

“So Reneben, can you hear out my worry?”

“…As much as you want, Lady Emilone. I will listen to whatever Your Holiness wishes to share.”

I rubbed my thumb and forefinger together absentmindedly, nodding as I began.

“When do you think one’s heart is prepared?”

I wanted to step outside.

If I wanted to, I could go outside.

Regardless of what Alois said about being prepared or whatnot, I could have gone out if I wanted to.

“Heart is…prepared?”

But I had no intention of disregarding Alois’ advice.

Reneben frowned slightly, seemingly puzzled by the question. I glanced at the monkeys, then back at him.

“Those are Alois’ words. That if I want to understand the lives of the Vermont people, I must prepare my heart.”

“…The information I have is outdated too. It says the income level of the Vermont people is low, and the nobility is no different. That sort of country shouldn’t be able to afford indulgence in such luxury.”

“Indeed. But what if even that meager income was taken by the nobles?”

“…That would be…”

My conclusion I had come to was simple.

A small, barren island nation surrounded by water. A place with no real value to conquer.

In a parched country with nothing to show for it, there was only one way to indulge in such luxury.

“The earning class is always the same anyway. In a kingdom like this with no freedom to migrate, you can just exploit them and drive them to the ground.”

“But if you do that, people will rebel.”

“Who says they will? How will starving, scrawny people even dare to rise up?”

I silently observed Reneben, who was holding his breath.

If Alois was a gentle deer, Reneben was frail one.

It felt like I had to handle him with care and consider him carefully.

With the hand that I’d been using to lull the monkeys to sleep, I reached out and stroked Reneben’s cheek.

“Besides, most importantly, there is one simple method for controlling people… violence.”

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