Emilone’s Temptation Labyrinth – Chapter 29

Previous | Toc | Next

T/N: Hiiya! So, I have sorted out my life (I think) and updates for this novel will be regular in the upcoming weeks. For now, I will just post all the backup I have then we can go back to a regular schedule.

–

“I will follow the Saintess’ will.”

“That’s right, Reneben. You are such a dear.”

With a stretch of my hand, I could reach Reneben’s hair.

I lightly flicked the ends of Reneben’s snowy hair, as he rode on his horse next to me.

Reneben looked up at me, seemingly taken aback, and just as I was about to smile, there was a small commotion.

Because of this, I had to turn my heavy neck and when I saw the situation unfolding, I couldn’t help but furrow my brows.

I scoffed at the sight of the knights in red armor grabbing a little girl by the arm and dragging her roughly.

Such a disturbance in the presence of the Saintess. And against a child at that.

“Reneben, do me a favor.”

It wasn’t hard to tell what was going on.

“Yes?”

“Bring that little girl over there.”

With my index finger, I pointed to the scene of the knights roughly pushing away the girl.

“I’m asking you to bring her right in front of me.”

“What do you…”

Perhaps it was only natural that Reneben’s brows furrowed like mine. He stared at me for a moment, then bit his lower lip.

“…I will retrieve and return.”

“Yes. And it would appear these knights are not educated enough…do find out which family they belong to.”

“Of course.”

Reneben quickly spun his horse around like a flipped fish.

I propped my chin on my hand, watching the well-maintained, shiny horse move away at high speed.

Such a disturbance in the presence of the saintess.

No, even if I wasn’t here, the fact that they couldn’t handle it calmly when the priests were here…

Perhaps he understood how I felt because Reneben headed over immediately with displeasure on his face.

Everyone seemed surprised by Reneben’s behavior.

They all stopped what they were doing, looking confused at whether to stop or keep going when the High Priest, Reneben, was approaching.

It only took an instant for the procession to stop.

My pink hair fluttered in the cold wind as I tilted my head on my hand.

I quietly watched as Reneben stopped the knights and brought the child to me.

Traces of tears remained on the child’s fair cheeks, giving them a red hue.

Reneben gave me the slightly dirty child without saying a word and I smiled as I held the child.

“What is your name?”

5 years old, perhaps? She looked around that age.

She was too small and too light…I gently wiped the tear stains with my gloved hand and the white glove was smeared black.

…This is why the slums must be eradicated quickly.

My eyes sank slightly, and I wondered if I should build a living space to secure people’s basic amenities first before anything else.

“Y-Your Holiness…”

“Pay your respects.”

Reneben, who was next to the carriage, ordered the child to greet, and only then did the child rush to say, ‘I greet God’s blessing,’ with awkward pronunciation.

“Oh no, you don’t have to do that…Reneben, you know I didn’t bring this child here to be greeted.”

“But…manners should not be ignored.”

Reneben mumbled as his earlobes turned red and he lowered his head. I wasn’t really scolding him but seeing him like that was cute and I laughed.

I turned back to the child who was obviously staring at me, and I spoke again.

“Can you tell me what your name is?”

I repeated the question I asked earlier.

“De…! Devel, I am Devel…” ^[1]

The child, who called herself Devel, agitatedly raised her head, seemingly nervous.

Her hair shook cumbersomely in the process, and I tucked the child’s hair behind her ear. I recited the name of the child on my lap, then I softly brought up an unexpected fact.

“It means sacred bells.”

The child didn’t seem to understand and wriggled her hand. In the ancient language, Devel meant the chime of sacred bells, but the young child probably didn’t know what it meant.

“Sacred…bells?”

As before, when I stroked the grime-stained face of the child, black stains appeared on my hands.

Reneben took my glove with his handkerchief and handed me a new handkerchief. As I wiped the child’s cheeks with the snowy handkerchief, I spoke.

“Yes, it’s a pretty name, isn’t it?”

I took out a yellow candy from the candy jar that I always offered to Jessie when she was tired. I pressed it to the child’s lips, and she opened her mouth.

She reflexively ate the candy, and I continued speaking.

“They would love your name in the temple.”

“B…But, this name…I always get teased because of it…”

Like all names taken from ancient languages, the pronunciation was very strange and different from the imperial language. And considering that the child had brighter eyes than those of imperials, I could see why she was teased.

To think she had such worries when she had such a pretty name. Feeling oddly sorry, I gave her my candy bag and whispered.

“I like your pretty name though?”

The child’s face, which had been stiff and tense, softened as she took the candy and looked up at me with wide eyes.

“The name ‘Sacred Bells’. Don’t you think it’s pretty?”

“…!”

Devel’s eyes widened even more. Reneben, who was closest to me, muttered.

“And Your Holiness’ name means a bird soaring to the sky.”

“Indeed, the name Emilone has a good meaning as well.”

I lifted my head which had been turned to Devel.

Many eyes were still on me and feeling awkward under those gazes, I spoke after a brief silence.

“If you face any difficulties later, go to the temple and tell them. I will let them know. That a child bearing the name of sacred bells might knock on our door.”

In many cases, if someone had a name related to god…they could have divine powers.

It rarely happened but it wasn’t unheard of.

“Don’t join the procession like before and get caught by vain people.”

“Y-Your Holiness.”

I stopped whispering and smiled bashfully. A part of me felt like a bad person whispering mean things.

The child paused for a moment, then she looked up at me and nodded vigorously. I was briefly puzzled by the determination in the child’s eyes.

“For…for protecting me!”

“…Hm?”

“Thank you for always protecting me…”

She began her speech loudly then her volume gradually decreased. At the end, it was practically a mumble, but I could clearly hear what she said.

I covered my mouth at the adorable gesture and laughed for a while.

I let go of the child whom I was carrying and stood up from my seat.

When I suddenly got up, the common people looked shocked. I did it because I wanted to see their surprised faces.

I decided not to worry about my white clothes getting dirty.

It wasn’t my style to care about some clothes that would be worn only once a year and thrown away.

I let the cumbersome clothes droop so that it wouldn’t bother me and drew back the curtains fully, exposing myself.

Reneben reached out to me as if he was helpless.

I didn’t forget to apologize for the inconvenience, then I came down from the carriage with his help.

As my feet touched the floor, I flashed the best smile in my repertoire.

It had been so long since I smiled like this that I felt like the muscles in my mouth were stiffening.

And soon, I left a simple blessing for those who were looking forward to it.

“May you all be blessed with happiness.”

Words had power.

While hoping my sincerity reached them, I began trekking the not-so-long distance to the Imperial palace.

* * *

My choice to walk didn’t seem too bad.

Because of it, I was able to meet many people. I liked it and it was satisfying because no one stopped me. For the first time in a long while, my happiness meter was full, and I entered the Imperial Palace on two feet.

Apparently, it had been a while since I was in such a good mood.

–

Once we entered the palace, Reneben shook his head, telling me not to keep going on foot and I reluctantly climbed back onto the carriage.

One might wonder why I even got on the carriage after coming all the way to the Imperial Palace, but if you saw the size of the Imperial Palace, you could see why Reneben dissuaded me from walking any further.

The carriage stopped where the Crown Prince and the Emperor were waiting to greet me.

I needed an escort to get off the high carriage, and the person who did it was Reneben, not the crown prince who was waiting.

Perhaps he was used to it, but he put me on the ground lightly without any strain.

The moment I reached the ground, the emperor got down on one knee and lowered his head so that the top of his head could be seen.

After which, the crown prince and those standing behind him bowed their heads lower than the emperor.

Just like earlier, it felt awkward to be the only one standing.

And I felt…bad saying this but—.

Seeing the crown prince on his knees put me in a good mood.

‘My stress from you must have been secretly piling up.’

With this win, the desire to niggle at him sprung up, but I managed to come to my senses when Reneben nudged me to accept their greeting.

Since I had no desire to be subjected to the crown prince’s uncomfortable company, I didn’t let go of Reneben’s hand.

Thanks to that, I had to deal with Reneben’s baffled gaze until we reached the venue.

I secretly rotated my aching shoulders and looked down at the brightly decorated platform.

During the Goddess Festival, the Saintess ceased to be human. In ancient times, it was said to be the day when the gods descended on the Saintess.

In other words, everyone had to bow and grovel during this period.

“Not bad…it looks good.”

It was great that the Saints so far had been nice people, otherwise if someone with great ambition had sat in this seat, they would have already changed the world map several times.

As I twirled my wine glass, I slightly crossed my legs which were hidden behind my full skirt.

My leg was throbbing briefly, probably because of the long walk, but with my body’s healing power, such little pain was bound to go away soon.

Translator’s Corner:

^[1] I couldn’t decide between ‘Debel’ or ‘Devel’ since the Korean equivalent of ‘b’ is the same as ‘v’. Since the child gets teased for her name, I think ‘Devel’ works better for the novel.

Previous | Toc | Next