Chapter 29
The imperial palace was bustling with activity as it prepared to receive the Holy State’s delegation.
It was the first time the newly enthroned Holy Emperor was visiting the Empire. On top of the Emperor’s direct orders, Shane had made a satisfying profit from the patronage party, so he prepared the upcoming event on a grand scale.
Amid the noisy imperial palace, the only quiet place was the Princess’s Palace.
“Your Highness.”
Princess Sertina, who was leaning against her bed, reacted.
The visitor was a maid Sertina had sent outside to act as her eyes and ears, since her own body was frail.
Though her body was not free, Sertina wanted to become Empress.
Believing that her body would someday recover, she dispatched maids to gather news from outside.
“Yes, what is it?”
“Something unusual has happened in high society lately.”
“What is it?”
“Duke Ryundmere has begun appearing in public.”
“My second brother?”
A half-brother who shared only the same father. Still, unlike Shane, Sertina didn’t loathe him to death.
‘He’s awkward to deal with, though.’
It was their father who had acted irresponsibly. She felt it was unfair to hate Schwarz, who was born as a result, without reservation.
‘I understand why Mother hated him, though.’
Emperor Jade was a beta, but the Empress had been an omega.
The Empress—Sertina’s mother—had died a few years ago after contracting omega fever.
She had tried every possible scheme to kill Schwarz: poison, assassins, traps—anything she could think of.
Even while hovering on the brink of death from omega fever, she had ordered that assassins be sent after Schwarz.
Sertina had pretended not to know until the very end.
The maid, who had fallen into thought alongside the princess, spoke again.
“Do you think Duke Ryundmere intends to become Emperor?”
“No. Even if he were to bring immense benefit to the Empire, my second brother can’t become Emperor.”
Just as Sertina herself had a low chance due to her crippled legs, Schwarz’s ascension was outright impossible.
In a world where omegas had disappeared, an alpha with special abilities was no different from someone living on borrowed time.
More precisely, he was like a time bomb that could explode at any moment.
Making someone who could die tomorrow without it being strange into Emperor posed far too many problems.
“Perhaps I should try making my second brother an ally.”
It would be good to increase the number of allies by even one.
It took a little time for the warp to activate.
While riding in the carriage with Cassius, I accepted a generous amount of his alpha pheromones, as promised.
Next, I tried using my healing power—to check whether the alpha pheromones would remain.
Unfortunately, the moment I infused my body with healing power, Cassius’s pheromones disappeared.
So I received his pheromones once more, and then boarded the activated warp.
Using the warp made travel incredibly fast, but by the time we arrived in the Empire, the sun was already starting to set.
For the people of the Holy State, the Empire had given over an entire palace within the imperial grounds.
The priests chattered as they took out the dresses and uniforms that had been prepared in advance.
Cassius, who was still riding in the carriage with me, spoke.
“For tonight’s party, the priests’ attire has been made free as well. Though they’ve left the secular world, they must wish to attend a ball at least once.”
For priests who had nothing suitable to wear, Cassius covered the expenses.
Even accessories, as long as they didn’t break formal etiquette.
And not with Holy State tax money, but from Cassius’s personal treasury.
Moved by his generosity in readily spending such a large sum, the priests in the delegation all exclaimed, “Your Holiness is amazing!”
“You made a good decision.”
Priests were still people. They believed in and spread the word of God, but sometimes they wanted to have fun, too.
It was a relief that their superior wasn’t a rigid, narrow-minded person.
I looked out the window. Everyone was smiling.
It seemed they were all looking forward to attending a ball for the first time.
“Wouldn’t it be good for you to prepare separately as well, Sonia?”
The priests attending the ball had prepared together while getting ready to depart.
But I had only just joined the Holy See and had been too busy to prepare for a ball.
‘I should’ve prepared for the ball, too.’
Lancelot would probably attend the ball. I needed to meet my younger brother.
Our family was full of atheists, so no one wanted to attend Holy State parties.
Unfortunately, for this event, an imperial decree had gone out requiring at least one member from each high-ranking noble house to attend.
In our family, where everyone insisted they didn’t want to go, the most likely participant was Lancelot.
In the original story, this was around the time he began attending various balls and parties, forming connections—and eventually met Schwarz.
‘If I went instead, that would solve it…….’
But in the chaos, I hadn’t prepared for the ball and ended up unable to attend.
I couldn’t very well go to a ball in priestly robes.
So I planned to go home and persuade my parents to attend in Lancelot’s place.
I scratched my head.
“I wasn’t able to prepare. I think I’ll have to skip the ball.”
“Do you want to attend the ball?”
“Yes.”
If I went to the ball, Lancelot would stay quietly at the estate.
Then there’d be no chance for Schwarz or Shane—those obsessive lunatics—to get tangled up with him.
“Just in case something like this happened, I prepared a dress for you separately, Sonia.”
At those words, my eyes widened.
“If you wish, I can give you what I prepared.”
Cassius was a descendant of the main god’s bloodline, practically a being akin to a god.
Perhaps that was why he looked all the more holy.
‘Are you an angel?’
Not only was his appearance beautiful—his actions were, too. He felt like an angel who had descended to save me from temptation.
I was genuinely happy.
“What a pity. I won’t be able to smell Sonia’s pheromone scent.”
My cheeks were probably bright red right now. They felt hot enough to sting.
The corners of his eyes curved gently.
“I’ll take that as you accepting my offer.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“It would be more comfortable to prepare at home, then. I’ll have everything sent to Count Theodore’s estate.”
Accepting Cassius’s proposal, I departed immediately and arrived at Count Theodore’s estate.
‘It hasn’t changed.’
It had been seven years since I left home, declaring I would become a priest.
That was a long time, yet the Theodore estate looked exactly the same as when I’d departed for the Holy State.
“Miss Sonia! My goodness—Miss Sonia, is that really you?”
A maid who had been waiting after hearing the news and receiving Cassius’s items greeted me warmly.
She was a maid who had cared for me since childhood.
“Marie! It’s been so long. How have you been?”
“I’ve been well. But to think the young miss who barely reached my waist has grown so much and become an adult……!”
Marie’s eyes welled up.
I’d been twelve when I left for the Holy State. As the years passed, I’d grown taller and taller.
“Enough of this—please come inside. The Countess is waiting for you.”
“What about Father?”
“The master has gone to take charge of the imperial palace’s security.”
It was an important imperial event.
Not one the captain of the Imperial Knights could skip.
I reunited with my mother after a long time, exchanging news. Knowing the circumstances, she didn’t keep me long.
Unlike Marie, my mother had visited me in the Holy State several times herself. After our brief greetings, I looked around.
“Come to think of it, I don’t see Lancelot?”
The way Lancelot addressed me in his letters had gradually changed.
At first it was “My beloved sister,” then simply “Sister.” In the end, he’d even insolently written “Blood relative.”
It seemed my telling him not to meet the Crown Prince had really irritated him.
‘I’m saying it for your own good.’
I’d thought he was sulking and hiding in his room.
“Lancelot? He didn’t know you were coming and left for the ballroom first.”
“What? There’s still plenty of time.”
“He said he had someone to meet at the palace, so he went ahead.”
There was only one person Lancelot would go early to the palace to meet.
‘He went to see the Crown Prince!’
Was he really that eager to see him?
At this point, it was hard to tell which of them was the obsessive one—Lancelot or the Crown Prince.
Since things had turned out this way, it seemed best to finish preparing quickly, go to the ballroom, and drag Lancelot out.
“Why are you looking for Lancelot?” my mother asked.
“There’s something I want to say to him in person.”
“Then we must hurry—you still need to prepare.”
Clap, clap. As my mother lightly clapped her hands, maids poured into the room.
“Prepare her.”
“Yes, my lady!”
The well-trained maids scattered like arrows, each rushing off to fetch bathwater, dresses, accessories, and more.
I had to wait a little while for the bathwater to heat.
My mother spoke.
“Be honest with me. What kind of relationship do you have with His Holiness?”
“What?”
“Don’t play dumb. If he even had a custom-made dress prepared, that means he knows your body measurements, doesn’t it?”
“W-What are you talking about?!”
Anyone hearing that would misunderstand!
“Oh my, I only took a quick look, but it fit you perfectly. Haven’t you shown him more than once?”
I wasn’t the one who’d shown anything—Cassius was.
And there were other ways for him to know my measurements.
“This isn’t the kind of relationship you’re thinking of. He just knows because I recently had a new priest’s uniform made!”
When I became a full priest, I’d been issued new Holy See attire.
At that time, a professional tailor from the Holy See had taken my measurements and stored them.
“Hmm. And it’s a dress from Rosebell, a shop that’s hard to even get a reservation at. For him to prepare something like that, he must surely have feelings for you.”
Rosebell?
It was a dress boutique so famous that even I, living in the Holy State, had heard of it.
