Emilone’s Temptation Labyrinth – Chapter 32

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[CONTENT WARNING: The following chapter contains subjects that may be disturbing or traumatizing to some viewers. Please proceed with caution.]
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‘Where did he go?’

I only used my eyes to look for the prince, but I couldn’t find where he went.

I sighed, assuming he had likely left. I didn’t even get to apologize. I was going to apologize for the unfortunate incident that happened in a nation I resided in.

For a moment, I paused, contemplating what to do but then, the sweet scent which I thought had stopped, swept past me again.

At this point, I was certain of it. It was telling me someone was hell-bent on trying their luck…or something along those lines.

I frowned and diligently followed the paladins who were being led by the Imperial knights as they took away the Marquis.

Halfway through, the crown prince caught me and asked where I was going when the party was not over yet.

“Your Highness, please let go.”

I simply cut him off and pulled my hand out of his grasp.

“Then I’ll go too.”

But when he unreasonably said he would go with me, I finally had to stop.

“Thanks to the Marquis, this party has become unpleasant for some. Your Highness, please enjoy yourself in my stead. I don’t think I can have a good time today at least.”

At my response, the crown prince grabbed my sleeve again, claiming that he had to go personally apologize to the prince who had come all the way to the empire.

‘How does he know the victim was the prince…’

My question was quickly answered. He seemed to have heard details from the knights of the imperial family.

Since the prince kept talking like he was my shadow, I simply said that I was going to the prison where the Marquis was headed and not to the prince.

“The Marquis?”

“Yes.”

Then, he wondered why I was going to meet the Marquis.

Only then did the crown prince stop. Meanwhile, in my head, I was planning to go meet the prince after seeing the Marquis first.

While he was thinking, I started walking again and headed in the direction that knights had disappeared as they dragged the Marquis away.

A strange silence settled over the hall behind me.

* * *

The chick and puppy kept following me.

I told Jessie and Reneben that I was okay, but I couldn’t shake them off when they clenched their fists to show their intentions. Eventually, I left them alone and sent the Paladins who had imprisoned the Marquis back to the hall.

I laughed as if I just saw something really funny and both of them were taken aback.

I sat down on the prepared chair in front of the iron bars. Since it was a prison for VIPs, the area looked like an ordinary aristocrat’s room, only that it had/ iron bars attached to it.

The Marquis was staring into the sky, muttering something incomprehensible as if he had lost his soul. The incident had progressed way too fast.

Then he turned and met my eyes. And he immediately began to plead for mercy.

“It was really an accident!! Have mercy this once and I will make sure it never happens again!”

Seeing the Marquis like this, Jessie covered her mouth with her sleeve and whispered to me.

“It must have been an accident, for sure. I remember that he normally only plays around kids who aren’t adults yet, but this time, it’s an adult and even a man, at that. Of course, I know His Highness the Prince looks gorgeous but—.”

I almost spat out the water I had been sipping at Jessie’s whisper.

“…Kids?”

“The Marquis is a pedo. Just a few months ago, he kidnapped some commoner children under 10 to play with.”

I never knew I could be so angry. In that moment, I thought of the noble who threw a child in front of a demon and my mind went blank.

“Hah-!”

Reneben pulled Jessie back.

An indescribable disgust arose in my chest.

Noticing how I was feeling, Reneben took the people standing around and left.

“H-Have mercy!”

The Marquis seemed to notice my reaction and began to bawl.

“I’m done joking around.”

With a bent knee, I looked into the Marquis’ eyes and spoke chilling words filled with murderous intent. I reached out and grabbed his neck while he clung to the iron bars.

“Uck!”

I stared down at his terrified visage, my eyes devoid of even the slightest pity.

“I see you begging for mercy, yet you don’t even think about the crimes you have committed…”

I stroked his neck, jabbing with my fingernails.

“Gh, ghck—!”

“As the Saintess, I cannot possibly let you go now that I’ve heard about you.”

“Your…Your Holiness, please.”

“Who are you calling Your Holiness?”

“Huu…huu.”

“The reason I am Saintess, is not for people like you.”

I tightened the grip in my hand. Unable to breath, the Marquis gasped for breath.

“It’s for the little children that our dear Marquis used for entertainment.”

“Huu…huff…there’s just commoners. Nothing a noble personage like yourself should concern…”

“Lord Marquis, you have a spectacular talent for downplaying things.”

The Marquis shut his eyes tightly. He tugged heavily at my hand holding his neck.

“I think, it would be fun to play with you for entertainment too…”

The displeasure kept growing. My uncontrollable fury was overflowing.

“Kh, uck.”

At grim words, the Marquis could only groan intermittently like someone who couldn’t speak.

Right at that moment, the door opened without a knock. Then someone came inside.

I turned my head in that direction and was about to saying something, but I couldn’t help but stop.

“…Excuse me.”

When I heard a beautiful voice that went with an appearance just as beautiful, I tightly knit my brows.

I loosened my grip on the ridiculous Marquis and turned fully in the direction of the voice.

“…”

A man with light brown hair and red eyes gave me a deep bow.

“My name is Alois.”

To think he’d give such a greeting when the marquis was busy collapsing in tears.

I studied the other party with an awkward look on my face.

The prince, who introduced himself as Alois, rubbed the back of his neck and gave a bashful smile that didn’t seem to match the room we were standing in.

It was a divine smile, enough to make the flowers bloom.

Seemed even more divine than me, a Saintess. However, perhaps it was because I couldn’t forget the alluring image of him running his tongue over his upper lips and stroking his flushing cheek in the hall a few minutes ago.

Something felt out of place.

“I am Emilone…what brings the Prince here?”

Since Jessie called him ‘Prince’, I had his status right. But since she didn’t add a family name, I didn’t dare to guess which country he was from.

That said, in the current situation, it seemed more efficient to ask what he wanted than to ask which country he was from.

Alois curled his lips as he brushed his cheek which seemed to have been healed with magic. I felt a strange sense of incongruity in that smile and wrinkled my nose.

While I stared at the Prince’s red eyes, almost scanning them, he began to speak in a low voice.

“When I heard that Your Holiness ventured somewhere dangerous because of me, I had to come even if it might be rude.”

“Your Highness.”

I didn’t even bother to observe proper etiquette with a foreign prince and merely addressed him by his title in a low tone.

“Even our kingdom will not overlook the matter with the Marquis. Your Holiness does not need to endanger yourself.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Yes…I was worried that the problem I suffered might cause trouble for the Saintess.”

The prince’s gaze lowered slightly and fell the marquis behind me. I unconsciously blocked the marquis from his sight. It was almost reflexive.

When I replied that there was nothing for him to worry about, he brought up his reason for coming in a slightly quieter tone.

“Allow me to thank you once again. And perhaps…I would like to visit you later if I am not imposing.”

“…Of course. You are always welcome.”

At my answer, Alois gave a soft smile. He seemed to have gotten the answer he wanted so he said his farewell and just as he was turning around…

The strong scent that I had been sensing since earlier reappeared.

A sweet blend of flowery scents wafted through the air like it was trying to expose itself.

Ah, it’s blank.

It was barely even a moment. The sunken eyes beneath his lowered lashes and the firmly pressed lips showed a significantly more mature look than innocence mere moments ago.

Then when our eyes happened to meet, he smiled again, seemingly harmless. As I watched him open the door and leave, I mumbled under my breath.

“…Is that so.”

As soon as he left, the terribly thick scent disappeared.

I thought it was a scent that almost seemed to be fishing for me…but it seems I wasn’t completely wrong.

Thanks to that, I was seeing this situation with new eyes.

When I glanced back at the marquis, he was pathetically gasping for breath.

I simply thought he got drunk and made a mistake on a day like this…

But that might not be the case.

Now that I thought about it, strong alcohol was rarely served at such parties to prevent characters like the Marquis from appearing.

“Alois…is what he said…”

Despite that, the marquis was apparently so drunk that he lost control and even put his hands on a man…

“Can’t be underestimated.”

It seems there was something missing that I didn’t know about. In my head, he looked like a graceful deer with a crown of flowers, but that image was quickly shattered.

To think his true nature was so different. Furthermore, it far exceeded my expectations.

That said, why are there so many people around me who hide their true colors so well?

Come to think of it, Reneben and Jessie were likelu outside the door and the fact that he got past them already made him out of the ordinary.

I thought of the siblings belonging to the Nestro Ducal family, and for a while, I simply stared at the door.

* * *

I was able to calm my uncontrollable anger because of the prince. I left the Marquis in the same state and came out.

It wasn’t a very good experience, being played like a toy in the Prince’s hands. However, it did give me an opportunity to punish the Marquis for his atrocities so far…

As I was reminded of the marquis, the anger that I had been trying to control soared again. I massaged my temples and spoke through my teeth.

“Castrate him. Then strip his title and exile him.”

“…”

“Even if the emperor opposes, do as I say. The Marquis will be punished by the temple.”

“Saintess.”

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