Chapter 17

“You are only a bishop at best.
Even the Pope and the royal doctors gave up on that day,
so I am very curious what confidence made you step forward to treat me…”

Kaien slowly looked Nicole up and down with only his eyes.

It was an obvious, humiliating gaze meant to shame her,
and Nicole’s face quickly turned red in humiliation.

Right now, Kaien was treating her like a woman who came to flirt with him.

“Tch. If I had known the bishop who came to treat me
was a woman my age…”

“Your Highness. May I examine your condition?”

Seeing Nicole cut off his words in the middle,
Kaien raised one eyebrow as if to say, What is this?

Then he smirked and nodded.

“Fine. I will allow you to examine me.
I’ve become very curious about the source of that confidence.”

As if warning her that he would not stay calm
if the answer after the examination was I cannot cure it,
Kaien showed a fierce smile.

Eve grabbed Nicole’s sleeve with a frightened face.

“B-Bishop Nicole…”

“I’m fine, Eve.
Could you prepare the sacred herbs?”

“Yes! Bishop Nicole!”

Eve, who had been trembling like a wet puppy,
quickly regained energy once she had a task
and hurried to move around.

Kaien crossed his arms and watched her place herbs on the table.

“Sacred herbs…
So herbs are your medium?”

“Yes, they are.”

In emergencies, divine power could be injected directly into the body,
but this method was not very efficient.

Usually, priests used a personal medium to maximize healing and purification.
There were four main types:

Holy flame using fire
Holy water using water
Holy silver using silver
Holy fruits grown with divine power

“I heard most people grow fruits.
This is my first time seeing herbs.
Wouldn’t you need deep knowledge of herbs to use them as a medium?”

“That is correct.
My birth mother was an apothecary…
so I naturally learned a lot about herbs.
Before using the sacred herbs, I will first check Your Highness’s pulse.”

Nicole wrapped the long rosary around her hand several times,
held Kaien’s hand,
and poured divine power into him.

A soft white light formed around the rosary
and flowed into Kaien’s body through their joined hands.

He had received divine power many times before—
from bishops to even the Pope—
but the warmth rising from inside his body
never felt familiar.

It felt as if the power wandered inside
yet never truly settled.

Some people were like that—
the type whose bodies rejected divine power.
About one in ten thousand.

When divine power moved inside him, it felt unpleasant.
After it left, a heavy exhaustion spread through his whole body.

After Nicole withdrew her power,
Kaien asked weakly,

“So, what is the result?”

“From what I see…
simply put, poison residue remains
in every corner of Your Highness’s body.”

“Yes. I’ve heard similar things countless times.
Poor blood circulation, easy fatigue, frequent fainting,
even dizziness from sitting too long—
all because of that poison.”

Even speaking this much exhausted him,
and he had to breathe heavily.

“So? Enough explanation.
Just tell me whether it can be cured or not.
If—”

“It can be cured.”

“What?”

“It will take quite a long time,
but it can be treated.”

Nicole looked straight into Kaien’s eyes as she spoke.

The royal doctors and attendants were shocked.

“B-Bishop, is that true?”

“You can truly cure the First Prince…!”

Crash!

A loud shattering sound silenced everyone.

“Shut up.
Your voices are making my head ring.”

Everyone closed their mouths while staring at the broken glass.
Nicole moved the trembling Eve behind her.

“So… Bishop, what was your name?”

“Nicole.”

“Listen carefully, Nicole.
I told them not to come today,
but next time the Empress will attend.
She is extremely… very interested in my health.
You know that, right?”

“I do.”

“This is your last chance to take back your words.
If you speak wrongly in front of my mother—”

“You won’t be able to believe any words I say.
So I will begin the treatment right away.”

The atmosphere in the room stirred.

Pretending not to notice the many eyes on her,
Nicole calmly chose several sacred herbs.

“Eve, prepare the medicine burner.”

“Yes!”

Under mixed gazes of expectation, doubt, curiosity, and interest,
Nicole completed the medicine.

“You were poisoned at a very young age,
and much time has passed,
so this must be viewed long-term.
It will take at least three years.”

“…You mean after three years of treatment,
my body could return to normal?”

“I cannot guarantee it.
But I can certainly say
it will improve from now.”

“Improve… improve…”

Kaien burst into laughter.
He laughed so hard he coughed blood,
yet he kept laughing.

“I don’t ask for much.
Make it possible for me to sit
for half a day—no, even half of that.”

“If I can regain what I lost…
I will grant anything you wish.”

Then Kaien shouted to the attendants and doctors:

“If even a single word
of what you saw and heard here
leaks outside…”

“It will never happen!”

“We will never speak of it!”

“It had better not.
If even one word escapes,
every one of you will lose your heads.”

He was the First Prince.
This was not a threat—
it was a warning.

“Hic…!”

Realizing she was included in that warning,
Eve clung to Nicole with tears in her eyes.

While comforting Eve,
Nicole felt deep regret.

But…

As a child,
should she not repay the sins left by her parents?

Even though she was the bloodline
of a traitor who poisoned the Empress—
and had lived normally while hiding that truth—
this was the responsibility she had to bear.

Chapter 3

Watching Through CCTV

Cecilia Rohheim.

My name is currently famous
with titles like the Second Prince’s fiancée
and future Empress.

But this was not the first time.

Eleven years ago,
when I was five years old,
my name already caused a huge stir—

among magicians.

“The youngest lady must become a magician.
She will surely become the master of at least one tower!”

“She might even surpass a tower master
and reach the seat of a sage.
She was born with an incredible amount of mana!”

A magician invited as my brother’s tutor
discovered my talent
and reported it upward.

The tower’s magicians came to confirm it,
recognized my ability instantly,
and even the tower masters came in person
to beg my parents to let me learn magic.

Because tower masters themselves insisted,
my parents—though hesitant—
decided to try teaching me a little.

If I had no interest
or the results were poor,
they planned to stop immediately.