I had never heard Alois speak about his mother.
He rarely talked about himself to begin with. Just as I didn’t speak about myself to him.
As I kept silent in thought, the king slowly spoke.
“I am trying to seduce you right now, Lady Saintess.”
“…What?”
“If you wished, you could have a partner with far better qualifications than Alois.”
I immediately understood what he was trying to say. My insides flared hot like it was on fire.
“Alois is—”
Only then was I able to open my mouth. A sudden wave of discomfort rose within me.
The king had read me well. He must’ve concluded that I would tolerate this much.
He probably realized this straightforward approach would win me over more easily than scheming behind my back.
Once, I might’ve admired his boldness. But not anymore.
“King Eseah.”
I called him. I wanted nothing more than to bring the king to his knees right there and then.
I was furious.
“How dare you speak so—”
Harsh words nearly spilled out, but I clamped my mouth shut.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm the anger surging in my chest.
Only then did the King of Eseah flinch and withdraw his words.
“I apologize. I misspoke.”
He fell silent.
The disgust made my blood feel like it was running backward.
Thinking about how old the king was made it even worse.
In the end, I changed my mind.
I initially planned to stop at making Alois the crown prince.
I could tell Alois wanted to become king immediately, but I hoped for a gradual transfer of power.
But right at this very moment, my thinking changed.
I stood up abruptly and stared coldly at the king.
His face clearly showed that he felt cornered.
I was going to give Alois what he wished for.
If he wanted to become king, I was going to make it happen.
***
I took off my outer garment and handed it to Alois and he received it like a servant.
“King Eseah says he’ll grant you the title of Grand Duke.”
“Mn.”
“So you already knew?”
“The throne is meant for my eldest brother, the apple of Royal father’s eye.”
There was no way Alois wanted the title of Grand Duke. He would never want a position where he was ordered around.
“What do you think?”
I asked, acting like I didn’t know how he felt.
Alois closed the door firmly, then turned around. His quivering red eyes showed his true thoughts and he didn’t hesitate to voice them.
“I don’t like it.”
“Of course. To dare offer the Saintess’ companion the position of Grand Duke.”
Alois was genuinely angry.
Though the title of Grand Duke was high, it could never satisfy him.
After hearing Alois’ response, I burst into laughter.
I never planned to give him the Grand Duke title either.
When I remained silent, Alois narrowed his eyes and stepped closer.
“What else did my father say?”
“…”
There wasn’t much to tell.
I hadn’t even finished the meal because I left in a foul mood.
“Hm. Well…he did briefly mention your mother.”
It doesn’t even count as brief. Maybe barely. But since it was about Alois, I was curious.
What kind of person was Alois’s mother?
“Do you want to know about my mother?”
He got straight to the point.
He wasn’t wrong, so I smiled softly and nodded.
“I do.”
“If the Lady Saintess wishes it, I have no reason not to share.”
He agreed readily.
I hadn’t expected him to speak so easily, so I wet my lips and waited.
“My mother was a beautiful woman.”
He spoke with a pause. He lowered his eyes and touched his lips with a hint of bitterness.
“She was so beautiful that she caught my father’s eye.”
The king reminded me of Alois.
But that was only in regards to the mood around them. I never once thought their appearances were alike.
Their looks were so different that it would be hard to believe they were father and son just from appearances alone.
“Anyone can tell that just by looking at you,” I remarked.
Alois slowly approached and wrapped his arms around my neck. His shadow covered my frame.
Feeling his gaze directly, I continued.
“But that’s not what I wanted to know.”
Alois lowered his head and nuzzled his face against my neck. Like a cat, he rubbed against me, slowly exhaling.
His hot breath grazed the nape of my neck.
I straightened my back and glanced down at his brown hair.
“She was a wise woman. She’s the one who guided me.”
Alois didn’t seem to have any intention of lifting his head. It tickled slightly, but it wasn’t unbearable.
“My mother’s family wasn’t exactly distinguished. And my wise mother knew she didn’t have much longer to live.”
A beautiful son of the king with zero backing.
From the king’s perspective, it was most beneficial to either kill or marry him off quickly.
“It was my mother who told me to hide my personality and live as someone easy to control. She also taught me to feign ignorance under the king’s gaze.”
I slowly ran my hand down from his hair to the back of his neck. As my fingers touched the neck, he lifted his head.
His slightly twisted expression was devastatingly alluring.
“And she told me to become so capable that the king couldn’t throw me away, even if he wanted to.”
There was nothing in particular I could say in response.
Alois also didn’t seem to expect any words from me.
“Easily handled yet gifted with talent. Someone valuable that it would be a waste to marry off such an ability so carelessly.”
He had to be kept close because he was too valuable.
As long as he was gentle and mild enough not to pose a threat, he wasn’t dangerous.
“My mother passed when I was very young, but I still remember everything she said to me.”
“You were just a child then, weren’t you?”
Alois gave a bitter smile and tilted his head.
His lips smiled, but the corners of his eyes twisted in pain as if he was digging into the depths of his heart.
But I didn’t tell him to stop.
Because I wanted to hear it from his lips.
“That’s how precious that time was to me.”
I had no such precious time of my own.
I had been summoned to the empire in an instant, but I’d felt no lingering attachment to the world I came from.
I never longed for anything that deeply. Never once had I truly wanted to hold something in my hands.
“Lady Emilone. Please ask me.”
He lifted my hand and rubbed his cheek against it.
His grip had softened from the warmth, but I didn’t pull away.
“Ask me how my mother died.”
He said she knew she didn’t have much longer to live. Then surely, she must have passed from illness.
That’s what I assumed.
But judging by the expression on Alois’ face, that wasn’t the case.
“How did she die?”
It had to be an old story by now.
So old that it was hard to believe he still remembered it.
“My father abandoned her.”
Like Alois, I couldn’t help but grimace.
Favor was fleeting.
A woman of low status couldn’t survive in the palace without the king’s affection.
A king could hold countless people in his grasp simply because he stood at the top.
“A woman the king no longer favored had no way to survive in the palace. Even though she gave birth to me, there were already several older brothers and sisters above me.”
He wasn’t the firstborn son.
There was no reason for him to be considered precious.
Alois’s value ended with being the ‘Fourth Prince.’ That was it.
“There was no chance I could ever become king.”
I moved away from Alois.
As the warmth between us faded, he reached out…then pulled back.
The faint grimace on his face lingered in my eyes.
“That’s all in the past, isn’t it? Alois.”
He closed his eyes once and opened them again. His once wistful red eyes now glowed blood-red.
“But now, you have me.”
I declared with confidence.
It was Alois who had won me over.
And now, I was in his hands; no one else’s.
“Even your father will kneel before me. He’ll beg for divine blessing.”
I was the greatest power of all.
Just being alive and by someone’s side gave them strength.
“I’ll make you king.”
Then he would hand me the most perfect nation imaginable.
And the temple’s influence would rise even higher.
The Kingdom of Eseah would be known as the nation protected by the Saintess.
A nation under the Saint’s blessing. They would call it many things.
“If you want, I can make that king kneel before you.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“If you wish, I could have him removed from the throne right now.”
“That alone won’t be enough.”
“Alois. If you just say the word, I’ll do whatever you want.”
I flung the window wide open.
My voice swept away in the wind.
“If you want it, just say so.”
I said it seductively, so he couldn’t possibly refuse.
“I won’t turn down anything you ask.”
He came back to me, even though I had moved away.
He gripped my wrist as I sat perched on the windowsill and let out a soft sigh.
“Is that because it’s my request?”
“Because you are the Fourth Prince of the Kingdom of Eseah…and because you are Alois Eseah.”
Because of your status as a prince, but more importantly, because you are Alois.
If someone else had been the fourth prince, I would never have reached for their hand.
“That’s what I once told you, Lady Emilone.”
“I know. You said you chose me because I was Saintess Emilone.”
You said you needed the power of the Saintess.
But the Saintess is none other than me.
Alois said he stayed by my side because I was the Saintess.
A perfectly believable excuse, wasn’t it?
“I don’t regret choosing you, Alois. Because you’re charming, beautiful, and because you’re the one who can place what I want into my hands.”
So tell me—.
I whispered softly into his ear.
Tell me, what it is that you want.
How you plan to use me, holding the Saintess card in your hand.
I was very, very much curious.
*.*.*
- Honey, I’m Going on Strike – Chapters 47 – 49 - November 22, 2025
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