Chapter 9
As she walked briskly, Seydin looked down at her hand with a gloomy expression. In truth, magic and divine power had very similar beginnings. Just as the royals of the Holy Empire were born with divine power—a gift from the goddess Leatrice—the humans of the Herace royal family were bestowed with magical power by a supernatural being, a demon.
No one knew what kind of contract the first king of Herace had made with the demon, but ever since then, the royal family had been born with magical power, unlike the royals of the Holy Empire, whose veins flowed with divine energy.
“Sigh.”
Looking at the grain-sized flicker of power in her hand, whose nature remained unknown, Seydin clenched her dry palms together tightly for no reason. Then she picked up her pace again.
She had to check on the healers. She needed to know just how horribly they were taking care of Luan.
And just like the princess who had been up since dawn, the healers—Luan’s retainers—had gathered early in the clearing near the Healers’ Palace to boil strong medicine. They were yawning widely as they chatted.
“His Majesty finally blew up the Dragon Mountain Range.”
“About time. I’d been wondering when he’d do it.”
“I heard the Kingdom of Herace was annihilated.”
“Oh! As expected of His Majesty—a decisive move!”
The healers huddled around the bubbling cauldron and began with a prayer.
They were about to prepare medicine for His Majesty, who now carried divine power. It was only natural to offer prayers to the goddess first.
After all, the current emperor was considered the goddess’s true child.
There had once been a glorious era when the Holy Empire—Kilian Empire—ruled over every land their feet touched and all the seas in the world. That golden age had come when the royal bloodline infused with divine power seamlessly produced emperor after emperor.
But over the past ten years, the citizens of the Empire had grown weary. Divine power meant nothing when daily life was harsh. The previous emperor’s leadership had been terrible, and he had fathered so many children that each one tried to seize power, claiming themselves the true heir of the Holy Empire.
And thus began the ten-year civil war.
The final victor of that brutal war—who decapitated his half-siblings and even the previous emperor three years ago—was none other than the current emperor, Luan.
“He really is incredible.”
Before Luan rose to power, it had seemed like the days of glory would never return. The empire had been torn apart by internal strife and rebellion from its subject kingdoms.
But the emperor who swept away that chaos was now deeply revered by the healers, who resumed their conversation with respectful admiration.
“They say His Majesty awakened his divine power later than the other princes. So how did it become so powerful?”
“Well, of course! He’s the true child of the goddess!”
“That makes sense.”
“But I heard something strange from the maids.”
“What kind of strange thing?”
“They said the reason His Majesty could finally wield divine power was because of an unspeakable love. That there was someone he secretly loved.”
“Huh? Love?”
“Yes, apparently His Majesty is involved in a secret romance. Do you know what he did right after ascending the throne?”
“Hmm, started the conquest war to restore the Empire’s glory?”
The oldest healer nodded gravely. The white-haired man muttered another prayer to the goddess.
After a brief moment of solemn silence, the healers each began pondering the many kingdoms that had fallen during the conquest war. So many had been destroyed that it was hard to recall the exact order of their downfall.
As they reminisced about the kingdoms conquered by the emperor, a young healer stirring the bubbling medicine with a ladle spoke in a low voice.
“Um, everyone… didn’t His Majesty repair the palace mural before starting the conquest war?”
“Oh yes, he did. I thought it was a small act of devotion to the goddess.”
“Yes, the goddess was painted beautifully. And she was surrounded by eleven angels. Just looking at it filled me with reverence.”
“Actually, there were nine angels.”
“No, I saw twelve this morning while praying!”
“Huh? Really?”
The silly debate sparked laughter among the healers, and they returned to praying to the goddess. As their long prayer neared its end, a senior healer grumbled toward the apprentice who was tirelessly stirring the pot.
“Anyway, who let an apprentice join the conversation of fully fledged healers?”
Ahem. The white-haired man twirled his mustache with a finger and frowned. But the apprentice, who was genuinely worried about the medicine, spoke up in a trembling voice.
“I just wanted to speak up because I’m concerned. No matter how powerful His Majesty’s divine power is, taking medicine this strong continuously could have side effects. Why are we making it so potent?”
“Hmph! This was His Majesty’s direct order. He said to deliver the medicine promptly and brew it as strong as possible. We are giving him this for the side effects of divine power—so how dare you question it!”
“Exactly. You just don’t know enough. His Majesty is worried about divine power going berserk—not trivial side effects like you’re thinking.”
“Better study harder.”
The senior healers laughed heartily, as if the young one’s worries were ridiculous. The emperor they served was the mightiest man of this era. He had reunited the shattered empire, and his conquered lands now surpassed its former size.
Such an emperor wouldn’t worry about petty drug side effects. And over the past three years, he’d never once complained about the medicine.
As they teased the apprentice, the young healer paused, frowning.
Someone familiar was approaching through the bushes.
As someone with keen eyes who prayed daily to the goddess and her twelve angels depicted in the palace mural, the apprentice had memorized their faces.
Most people only prayed to the goddess, but he offered individual prayers to all twelve angels every morning. His main prayer topics? That the senior healers would retire soon, and that he could rise quickly.
Thanks to this dedication, he remembered the faces of all twelve angels—so when he saw someone with a striking resemblance to one of them approaching, he tilted his head.
‘Huh? One of the angels…?’
His hand stopped stirring. He recalled the palace gossip: that a woman who looked exactly like one of the angels was in the emperor’s chambers.
And now, that woman was walking toward them.
If even the maids knew of her, then clearly, the emperor hadn’t tried to hide her at all.
Which meant this approaching woman might just be…
‘His Majesty’s secret lover?!’
Realizing the shocking truth, the apprentice dropped the ladle in surprise.
Only the old healers were startled by his shriek—meanwhile, the “angel,” Seydin, strode in confidently, her eyes shining. She shouted at the gathered group of quacks:
“Hands off, all of you!”
The healers, chuckling among themselves, froze at the sudden female voice from the bushes. The apprentice, Rosen—quick-witted and agile—tossed the ladle and exclaimed:
“Angel!”
“Angel?”
The senior healers turned around in surprise. Indeed, a woman with an angelic beauty was briskly pushing through the bushes toward them. Despite her short stature, she moved with such boldness and military-like presence that she looked truly formidable. The older healers shrank back.
“Wh-who are you?”
Seydin stopped in her tracks.
‘Me? Hmm… Luan’s friend?’
That was technically true. But given that she was probably being mistaken for the mysterious woman the emperor kept in his chambers right after Herace’s destruction, calling herself the emperor’s “friend” might only add fuel to the fire.
As she hesitated, unsure how to introduce herself, the healers began exchanging glances, silently mulling over the mysterious woman’s identity.
They thought: well, we haven’t done anything wrong. The emperor may treat them like glorified potion slaves, but they took great pride in their work.
Resolved to get to the bottom of this, the elder healers pushed the apprentice to the front to confront her.
His “friend”? Your a bit more than that honey~