CHAPTER 81………………………………………………………….
“Your Highness, I’ve returned, as promised.”
“…….”
Cassius didn’t answer. He seemed sulky.
As a devoted priest, he had left no blemishes on his record from the moment he ascended.
And yet, someone so perfect had grown jealous of another Alpha, stolen a letter, and even argued with the Alpha who came looking for me.
He had been anxious, fearing I might choose Schwarz instead of him.
“No one would believe it.”
That someone seated at the highest position, who could have anything he desired, could feel jealousy.
“Please, look at me, Your Highness.”
Only then did he meet my gaze.
“You were worried I might follow him? That wouldn’t happen.”
“……I know, but seeing you follow him made me restless.”
“I was just seeing him off.”
As soon as I returned, I decided to give Cassius a proper explanation. Luckily, it was just the two of us in the office, so I told him the truth.
“Actually, on the way, I also lifted the curse from Your Highness’s abilities. The curse had spread quite far.”
“I expected as much. It makes sense, considering I drew so much power from my abilities because of you.”
Schwarz’s abilities slowed the spread of the curse.
If it had spread across his whole body, it meant he had gathered every ounce of his strength to fight. That also meant Cassius had truly fought him sincerely.
“You could have just fought moderately.”
“I don’t want to lose to that man.”
“Why not?”
Avoiding my gaze, he spoke his heart.
“……I didn’t want to send Sonia away. I hated the thought of you touching that Alpha’s body.”
A shadow darkened his face. He seemed anxious, as if facing a death sentence.
Still, he didn’t stop me from going to Schwarz, though sending me off had unsettled him.
There was something he had always wanted to say upon returning from his secret mission.
“Your Highness, my place is here.”
“Here in the kingdom?”
“No, by your side.”
I wanted to be by his side.
As I spoke my feelings aloud, I felt a sense of completeness, a warmth in my chest. Smiling brightly, I hoped my sincerity reached him.
“Don’t worry. I will stay by your side.”
He froze, moved as if he had received a revelation that would save his life.
I cautiously approached and held Cassius’s broad back tightly. Feeling his warmth, I felt fully satisfied.
I realized deeply that I also wanted this place—to remain close to him.
“I want to stay by your side, always.”
I never wanted to make Cassius uneasy again.
To do that, I’d have to deal with the Omega fever.
It felt like a fierce flame was igniting in my chest.
I felt capable of finally doing the things I had been afraid to face. Nestled in his arms, I whispered:
“Your Highness, I’ve decided. I want to reach my final awakening.”
Everyone in the original story, including the obsessive protagonist, already knew I was an Omega.
Even Schwarz, the opponent I feared most, knew. Hiding it now felt ridiculous.
Since it had come to this, I wanted to acquire every power I could to protect myself. For Cassius, too.
He, who had let me go, whispered against my forehead:
“I will help your wish, Sonia, come true.”
Listening to his whisper, I gave him a smiling glance.
With him by my side, I felt I could truly do anything.
So much happened that I didn’t even notice how the day had passed.
Back in my room, I first dealt with the gift Schwarz had sent.
I couldn’t accept his feelings, so I planned to return it with an apology.
After summoning another priest to move the entire box, I exhaled deeply, like someone who had held their breath for a long time.
“Phew.”
Collapsing onto the bed, I recalled my conversation with Cassius.
Realizing my feelings for him warmed my chest and filled me with energy. And then I noticed something else.
My pheromones, previously useless and uncontrollable, were stabilizing.
The final piece for perfect pheromone control.
I had found the fragment of “someone I like.”
Thinking of Cassius brought warmth and strength to my body. Motivation surged.
“Let’s work!”
I leapt up and opened Lucius’s diary, which Cassius had given me.
It was quite thick, but since I could read ancient divine language—and even Hangul—easily, I could review it in a day.
The beginning covered what I had read in Cassius’s office: Lucius as a novice priest.
I checked carefully in case anything was missing, but there was nothing important.
However, it changed after he became a full priest.
“I awakened the power of healing and prayed my gratitude to the deity.
For the final awakening, I must find the sanctuary.”
“Even this month, over thirty candidates failed the final awakening.
Is it really that difficult to enter the sanctuary alone and prove courage to the deity?
Everyone has grown complacent.”
“I must amend my previous diary entry.
The sanctuary’s trial was more difficult than expected.
Relying only on a torch and my own feet, I had to navigate a dark maze where all divine power was blocked.
The maze was full of traps showing my deepest fears.
I saw visions of being chased by a massive wolf pack multiple times.
Whenever I was scared, I prayed and blindly ran toward the place where I sensed the morning star.
When I came to my senses, I stood before the morning star.
I recited the prayer and safely achieved my final awakening.”
According to Lucius’s diary, to reach the final awakening, one had to navigate the maze in the healing sanctuary alone and find the morning star.
I remembered the maze in the underground of the healing sanctuary.
“Ugh… do I really have to go back to that awful basement?”
Alone, too?
I’d heard there were giant spiders… and the place looked like it would collapse!
“That’s not a sanctuary. That’s a haunted house!”
It really felt like a haunted house, with Lucius and his accompanying priestly ghosts.
I hated haunted-house experiences.
I even wanted to revoke my brave proclamation of aiming for the final awakening—it was terrifying.
“Isn’t there another way?”
Desperate, I scoured the diary, but that was all it said about the final awakening.
The maze was unavoidable.
Sighing, I checked the rest of the diary. Lucius, after completing his final awakening, had risen to the position of cardinal.
“The noble house of the Duke of the Sacred Kingdom began training a priest named Young-sik.
That house was famous for its lineage from the god Magnus.
He gained fire-elemental power.
I guided him directly, and he had great ambition…”
“Hmm?”
The diary ended there. Lucius had risen to a prominent position, but the entry after taking on a fire-elemental priest as a disciple was missing.
Looking closely, it seemed someone had cut it out entirely.
I didn’t need that part, only the final awakening details, but it left me slightly uneasy.
The next day, as soon as it was morning, I went to meet Cassius.
He was filling out paperwork, but lowered his pen and looked at me.
“Sonia.”
Cassius called my name with affection, even smiling with his eyes.
Seeing him made the back of my throat tingle.
The routine was the same as yesterday, yet simply confirming our feelings made being with him feel extraordinary.
His gaze carefully scanned me, then rested on the diary.
“Lucius’s diary. Did you read it all in one day?”
“Yes, but the latter part seems missing. It said he rose to a prominent position, but the diary ended at cardinal.”
“When I read it, it ended at cardinal too. Do you need the complete diary?”
“Hm, no. The explanation about the final awakening was clear. But going to the sanctuary is the problem. That building is old, and Lord Jurgen had destroyed much of it. Can one take the trial in a place like that?”
Talking about it, the half-collapsed sanctuary was a bigger concern than the missing diary portion.
“Do not worry. I’ve completely organized the sanctuary.”
“Excuse me?”
“You were away for a week. I actually took that time to clean up the healing sanctuary. Using the plan for exam supervisors as reference, I’ve tidied it up. It should be perfect.”
“…….”
“You will take the final awakening trial properly.”
Startled, I covered my mouth.
Cassius had read the diary first and prepared the sanctuary so I could take the trial immediately.
It felt like he had used magic.
All my worries about the ruined sanctuary disappeared overnight.
“Do you like the gift?”
It was unexpected, yet exactly what I wanted—it was perfect.
“……I don’t know what to do. I’m so grateful, but how can I repay you?”
“I don’t expect anything in return. Your happiness is enough, Sonia.”
“Thank you.”
I smiled brightly.
I felt so happy I wished time would stop.
