Emilone’s Temptation Labyrinth – Chapter 65

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We dismissed the palace servants to talk but as soon as the king arrived, we turned to look at the palace walls as if nothing was happening.

His expression was a bit ugly, but once he saw us focused on the walls, he approached with a proud smile.

“What do you think, Saintess? Is it to your liking?”

“…It is…quite shiny.”

“Hahaha! Yes, indeed. Beauty like this can be dazzling. I put in some extra work when I heard that you were coming.”

Don’t tell me this was the extra work…I had the urge to cover my mouth to stifle my pity.

“Was the carriage comfortable?”

“…Of course.”

I was going to say it was ‘okay’ but I realized that would be a lie so I could only agree that it was comfortable.

After all, if that carriage wasn’t comfortable, then no carriage in the world was comfortable.

“Then, allow me to escort you into the Castle. It’s almost dinner time, so we could head that way.”

“We have yet to fully recover from our journey so we would prefer to be led to our rooms first.”

Reneben smoothly deflected the king’s mention of dinner.

Initially, we had planned to stay in the palace for one night then visit this kingdom’s temple but it seemed that plan needed to be modified a little.

To me, he just seemed like a king that was squandering his people’s taxes, but…maybe there was something more going on.

“…Understood. However, Lord High Priest, your room isn’t fully prepared yet, so I hope you don’t mind waiting a little…”

“…”

“Haha, one of the new servants made a mistake and, unfortunately, that disrupted our room preparations for Your Excellency…”

I never thought someone could be so crude.

“It might not quite meet your standards, but for now, I can take you to our VIP guest room. Ah! But I can’t possibly put Lord High Priest in a room that isn’t ready yet…If it’s not too much trouble, perhaps you could stay at the temple until it’s ready—”

Finally, he revealed his true purpose.

I could tell even Reneben was dumfounded.

“Is my room and Alois’ room ready then?”

I had to cut in since Reneben might end up at the temple at this rate.
Even though we were inside the castle, it was somehow even colder and I had to pull Alois’s coat tighter for warmth.

“Of course! It’s a consolation in this unfortunate turn of events. I must apologize to Your Excellency, the High Priest on our behalf. However, our temple priests are more than capable of accommodating Your Excellency, and I am certain you will experience very little inconvinience.”

“Hmm..I don’t think you’ll need to worry about that aspect.”

“Sorry?”

“Reneben, you will use my room.”

“…Saintess!”

King Vermont finally realized what I meant and he called out to me, with his eyes widening in shock. His mustache quivered as he looked at me.

“Th-then, where will Your Holiness stay?”

“Let’s see…”

“There is no need for all this worry when I’m here.”

Alois glanced down at me, who was still fidgeting with the front of the coat, and continued, “She can simply share a room with me.”

…I was actually going to share a room with Reneben though.

While Alois spoke confidently, I stood next to him, wondering how to proceed and I flicked my hand to remove a stray thread on my nail.

I lifted my recently manicured hand up to my lips and blew into it, looking straight into the King’s eye.

His shoulders flinched.

“Ah…I understand. If that is what Your Holiness prefers.”

Once the King left, I could already picture Reneben fretting over why he should take my room. But since Alois had already spoke, I decided to go along with it.

“I am on board with this arrangement as well. It’d be a hassle sending Reneben to the temple for no reason.”

“Ehem,” the king cleared his throat.

“Then, Your Majesty, we shall see you again at dinner.”

After finally managing to send the King off, my shoulders felt a little lighter.

“…Lady Emilone.”

As a maid led us to our rooms, Reneben, who was walking beside me, cautiously spoke up.

“For me to stay in the Your Holiness’ room…that doesn’t seem—”

“It’s fine.”

“But…!”

“I’ll be staying there too.”

“What?”

“Huh?”

“…Hm?”

Reneben’s eyes went wide, and Alois, who had been walking slightly ahead, turned back to look at me.

“Lady Emilone…I thought I just told the King that you would be staying with me?”

“So, you actually meant I should share a room with you?”

He kept his voice low, not wanting anyone to overhear but his flustered tone was very much apparent.

“Even if he is the High Priest, he is still a man.”

“…What are you then?”

“I am one too but…that aside, we have to be mindful of the eyes around us.”

If you’re that worried, why don’t you two share a room and give me the other room?

—Is what I was thinking but the moment he said ‘the eyes around us’, I remembered that this was a place overflowing with prying eyes, and knew I had to give in.

“I think sharing a room with me would be better than sharing a room with the High Priest.”

“…This won’t work. Lady Emilone, let me go to the temple,” Reneben hastily cut in.

“No, you can’t.”

Alois reacted sensitively to those words and stopped Reneben while I found myself caught between the two.

“Wouldn’t it be best for me to go to the temple? After all,…”

“But there seems to be a motive.”

Reneben bit his lip harshly and nodded.

Seeing as the King was fabricating excuses to send Reneben to the temple, you had to wonder what his purpose was.

“We’ll be visiting the temple in the end anyways, so I’m not sure why he wants to send me there first.”

“Indeed…”

“Oh, we’re here.”

Just as the conversation was about to dive deeper, the maid stopped, bringing our tour to an end.

Alois was the first to break out of his thoughts and gave a bright smile in front of the two doors.

“What will it be, Lady Emilone?”

“…Haaa.”

There was hardly a choice to begin with.

In the end, I took a step toward Alois, and Reneben furrowed his brow.

“…I’m sorry for not being able to attend to you.”

“What are you talking about? Just unpack your bags and meet us at dinner.”

“But…”

Though there wasn’t much to unpack, staying glued to my side would be hard on him, too.

I picked up the monkeys, who seemed to enjoy teasing Reneben, and sent them into the room that Alois had already opened.

“I knew you couldn’t sleep last night because you were going around helping those that were seasick with divine power. Go on in.”

With that, I managed to get Reneben to head to his room.

“Lady Emilone, please, have a seat.”

I noticed it was warmer in Alois’ prepared room, so I removed his jacket without hesitation.

“Why?”

“I’ll massage your shoulders.”

“Ah…”

Although I was mostly recovered, I still felt a little nauseous because I got on a carriage right after getting off the ship.

I wasn’t sure a massage would really help but I half-heartedly sat on the chair in front of him.

“How do you even know how to do this stuff…?”

“I learned it when I was bored, and I had some spare time.”

“…Ack!”

I let out a cry of pain when he suddenly pressed the knot on my shoulder.

“Alois…that hurts…”

As a Saint, the tenseness in my muscles was quick to go away but it was yet to leave, so I could only complain of pain at his touch.

“You have perfect posture and a straight back.”

“But my shoulder hurts…”

“It doesn’t feel refreshing?”

“I mean, it does but…are you doing this on purpose?”

“No.”

My shoulders were firmly squeezed.

It was refreshing, my stomach felt free, and my vision felt clear but the pressure from his hands on my muscles was enough to bring tears to my eyes.

“Actually, this technique was made for aligning dislocated bones, so it might be a little painful…”

“This is more than a little…”

“Still, it’s not so bad since it’s Your Holiness.”

In the end, my entire back, including my shoulders, was massaged. Then, he grabbed my arm which I didn’t even ask for. Although it stung, the refreshing relief that followed made me stay still.

“Your posture is really impeccable.”

“That’s because I keep my gaze forward and avoid slouching when I walk. Besides, I am gifted with a good physique…”

“That is true. Just walking with good posture does wonders, but a lot of people neglect that.”

I rarely even lifted heavy objects but as he worked on my arms, the pain rushing in was worse than my back.

“Alois…?”

“…I’m sorry. I used too much strength.”

It was only after I subconsciously whispered his name that he snapped out of his reverie and relaxed his grip.

I guess it wasn’t my body this time but his fault.

After the thorough massage of my shoulders and even my joints, I definitely felt like my shoulders were less tense.

“It seems there is nothing you can’t do.”

My body felt so refreshed and energized that my previous discomfort felt like an illusion.

“When I was learning this, I thought it was useless but…now that I see how much it’s helped Your Holiness, I’m glad I learned it.”

Alois replied shamelessly and cracked his knuckles a few times, flexing his joints.

I stretched my now-relaxed back with satisfaction and stood up, feeling noticeably lighter.

Just moments ago, I hadn’t felt hungry at all, but now that my body was in good shape, my stomach began to complain of hunger.

Hmm…but I didn’t feel like eating with that king though.

“By the way, Lady Emilone.”

“…?”

“What do you plan to do?”

He herded the monkeys, who were wandering around obliviously, into the bathroom.

“About what?”

“Will you be going to dinner?”

“Why do you ask?”

I watched as he shoved Fel and Marien into the bathroom, then I realized that he was preparing to wash their paws while they resisted.
With all the tracks they were leaving on the floor, they did need a wash if they were going to stay in this room.

“Well, you don’t seem very eager to me.”

“Even if I don’t want to dine, you will make me dine anyways.”

“…Hm?”

Alois, who had filled a small basin with water and was pushing the two wary monkeys into it, lifted his head.

He had rolled up his sleeves to stop them from getting drenched, exposing the prominent veins on his forearms.

“If you are not interested in dinner, I don’t see why I would insist.”

“Who knows…in my opinion, Alois, you…”

Water suddenly splashed on me, and I had to shut my mouth and turn away.

My whole body was soaked thanks to the monkeys who were shaking their head vigorously, obviously not happy with water on their feet.

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