Chapter 22
【 You Saved Me 】
Elisana arrived at the front of the Grand Temple. A burly palace guard stepped forward, blocking her path.
“Who are you?”
“I’ve come to see His Eminence, the High Priest.”
The guards swept their eyes over Elisana from head to toe. A worn-out robe that looked little better than a sleeping sack. A small, frail build. No matter how they looked at her, she hardly seemed like someone worthy of an invitation from the High Priest.
“Do you have an appointment with His Eminence?”
“……”
“If not, you may not enter.”
“I have something to deliver to His Eminence.”
“What would His Eminence ever accept from the likes of you? Get lost.”
Elisana slightly lifted the hood of her robe and looked at the guard.
“And what if I look?”
The guards advanced on her threateningly. Elisana quietly murmured an incantation.
“…Ugh.”
“Ghk.”
The guards’ eyes rolled back, and they collapsed to the ground.
They couldn’t even withstand this much mana. Nothing but scarecrows with oversized bodies.
If it were that man, he wouldn’t have even blinked.
Elisana recalled the man she had seen in the Forest of the Magician.
He was hard to forget—no, impossible to forget.
Not only because of his overwhelming skill…
…but the way he looked at that woman.
That gaze was etched deeply into Elisana’s mind.
She opened the doors and entered the Grand Temple, passing through a refined yet dim corridor. Soon, she stopped in front of the High Priest’s office.
Priests were standing guard outside.
“Is His Eminence inside?”
“He is not. Who are you?”
They were no different from the guards earlier, so she dealt with them the same way.
She carefully opened the door. The room was empty.
It can’t be helped.
She took out gold coins from her sleeve—exactly ten of them. Since she had failed the mission, she intended to return the payment.
She neatly stacked the coins on the desk, then picked up a quill and wrote on a blank sheet of paper.
[The two individuals pulled up and took away an armful of unidentified plants.]
That should suffice as the answer for a five-gold mission. She set down the quill and turned around.
Tap.
Someone grabbed her wrist.
“What kind of rat sneaks in here?”
It was a young priest dressed in white. She was briefly startled by his silent approach—but only briefly. She could simply dispose of him.
Her lips were just beginning to move when—
“Dante. What’s going on?”
The High Priest entered the room.
“There’s been a break-in, Your Eminence.”
“A break-in? …Ah. That one is no thief. Release her.”
Dante finally let go. Elisana rubbed her wrist and stepped back.
The High Priest looked at the ten gold coins on the desk.
He already knew the assassination had failed. If it had succeeded, the empire would have been in chaos by now.
Well, I didn’t have particularly high expectations for a woman anyway. It was just a gamble.
“I’ve returned the gold. I’ll be leaving now.”
“Wait.”
The High Priest stopped her. He opened a desk drawer and took out a small wooden box. Dante’s eyebrows twitched.
“It feels a bit cold to part like this after working together. Consider this a small gift, as thanks for your efforts.”
He offered the box to Elisana. She accepted it.
“Open it. I’m not sure you’ll like it.”
Dante thought to himself:
Disgusting.
It was always the same. Use wandering mercenaries, then quietly kill them once the job was done.
Of course, Dante agreed. There was no cleaner method.
Elisana placed the box on the desk.
“I decline. I don’t accept payment without cause.”
She turned around immediately. The High Priest spoke in a low voice.
“Dante.”
It was an order.
Dante quickly tried to grab her. Elisana twisted her body and evaded his hand.
But Dante was no pushover either. He yanked off her hood.
Thick strands of crimson hair spilled out softly. Wide violet eyes—startled—were revealed to the world.
“…!”
Both the High Priest and Dante were taken aback. To think such rare beauty had been hidden.
“Hey, you—”
The High Priest tried to say something, but Elisana pulled her hood back down and fled.
Dante asked, “Shall I capture her?”
“No. Let her go for now.”
“But—”
“That woman will soon be very useful. Find out where she stays.”
The High Priest smiled.
Elisana Luci. She was an unexpected stroke of fortune.
Lately, there’s been a lot to discuss with Pharam—especially regarding medicinal refinement.
Refinement isn’t an easy process. First, you must find a solution that matches the plant. Second, you must induce a chemical reaction to extract the essence. Only after passing both stages does the result become raw material for medicine.
I could share my knowledge. But for now, I decided to wait. It’s better for people of this world to develop their own understanding.
After the meeting ended, Pharam escorted me back to my room.
“Then, Your Majesty, I’ll inform you once we have results.”
“Please do. I’ll be waiting.”
Just as Pharam left, Lady Mare emerged from my room.
“Welcome back, Your Majesty. Did the meeting go well?”
“Yes. I was just about to go inside.”
“Your Majesty—the Emperor has sent word asking you to join him for dinner.”
Lady Mare glanced at me cautiously.
“Please tell him I’ve already eaten.”
“Again today?”
“Yes. I have my reasons.”
It had already been several days. Lunches, dinners, walks—offers came at all hours. Even though I rejected them every time.
“But you may change your mind once you see the room.”
“The room?”
“Yes. Please come in.”
Lady Mare opened the door. I froze.
“W-What is all this?”
“His Majesty sent them.”
The room was overflowing with gifts. Flowers, dresses, jewelry—and even freshly printed hardcover books, as if he’d heard I liked reading.
The maids exclaimed excitedly.
“Your Majesty, look at this dress! I’ve never seen fabric this luxurious.”
“And these jewels! They’re stamped with Santona, the imperial jeweler! He must have placed a special order!”
I surveyed the mountain of gifts. Sending all this out of nowhere?
I was speechless. Every single item matched my tastes perfectly.
Gifts arrived often—almost daily—from noble houses, merchants, and the Matrion family.
But I rarely used them. Most were sent simply to show off their goods.
The Matrion family’s gifts did carry affection, but they were so extravagant I rarely reached for them.
These, however, were clean and elegant. The dresses weren’t excessive, and the jewelry was understated.
Did Leto choose these himself? If so, his sense was remarkable. If they were for sale, I would’ve bought them on the spot.
But I couldn’t accept them.
“Send everything back.”
“What?! Why?”
“No way! They’re beautiful—and they suit you so well!”
The maids protested in shock. I understood how they felt, but I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t give him false hope.
Lady Mare looked like she wanted to persuade me too, but she seemed to understand that I had my reasons.
“Then perhaps it would be best to include a message of refusal, Your Majesty.”
“Yes. Please bring me pen and paper.”
The maids, crestfallen, brought writing supplies.
The easiest excuse would be It’s too burdensome. That’s how the late Livia used to refuse gifts as well.
After some thought, I wrote:
[Thank you, Your Majesty. While I could accept these as they are, I believe it would be far more meaningful to sell them and donate the proceeds to relief for the poor—under the name of the Empress.]
That should prevent any unnecessary talk.
“Your Majesty. Please look at this one item.”
Lady Mare brought a rectangular velvet box.
“What is it?”
“A necklace. This one… I truly hope you’ll accept.”
What kind of necklace could make her say that? I opened the box—and held my breath.
Tiny diamonds set along a slender gold chain. At the center, an oval green emerald.
I carefully lifted the necklace. The chain slid softly over my fingers. Standing before the mirror, I held the emerald to my neck.
It was the same color as my eyes.
…I want it. I really love it.
“Would you like to try it on?”
“……”
“Your Majesty. Shall I put it on for you?”
“…No.”
I clenched the emerald tightly.
“Please send this one back as well.”
Leto tilted his head as he read the letter.
“Relief for the poor?”
Yuten kept his mouth shut, watching his expression.
Every gift sent to the Empress had been returned—without exception. Along with a short letter.
That wasn’t all. Five invitations to dine or walk together had already been declined. If this were the Leto Yuten knew, he should’ve exploded by now.
Should I prepare some wine? What if he vents his irritation somewhere strange? Will I even get off work on time?
But his expectations were wrong.
“Hah.”
Leto suddenly let out a quiet laugh.
“Hahaha…”
He laughed softly and carefully placed the letter into a drawer.
“She leaves me with nothing to say.”
If she’d simply said it was burdensome, the Empress’s dignity would suffer—and so would the Emperor’s.
But relief for the poor? It looked impeccable. After all, it was for the people.
Leto stared at the pile of returned gifts, unable to suppress the heaviness in his chest.
“…Fine. Send them off. For relief.”
“They aren’t items the poor can really use. Perhaps Her Majesty declined for appearances’ sake—should we try sending them again?”
“What’s the point of forcing them on her? Sell them to noble houses. Donate the money in the Empress’s name.”
Yuten was quietly surprised.
He’s calmer than I expected.
“Shall I try to find out why Her Majesty refused them…?”
“No. It’s fine. You may leave.”
“Ah… yes, Your Majesty.”
As Yuten left, he realized the truth.
That wasn’t calmness—it was heartbreak.
Once alone, Leto glanced at the gifts again.
Back in the Forest of the Magician, the two of them had clearly grown closer. Livia’s fear of him had nearly disappeared.
Then why draw such a clear line now?
The answer was obvious.
She must have noticed… that I like her.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have refused so openly.
He stood before the pile of gifts. Each one had been chosen with Livia in mind.
Especially the velvet box on top.
He opened it and looked at the emerald necklace.
He had searched every jewelry shop in the capital to find an emerald closest to Livia’s eye color. He’d then entrusted it to the imperial artisans to be cut.
She may reject the others, but surely she’d accept this. The necklace did nothing wrong.
Leto closed the box.
He couldn’t bring himself to give this to anyone else. Carefully, he placed it in a drawer.
Suddenly, noise erupted outside.
Sensing something amiss, Leto moved to open the office door—
Knock, knock.
Urgent knocking, and Yuten appeared again.
“Your Majesty.”
“What is it?”
“Master Quinas is gravely ill.”
Master Quinas—former head of the Imperial Academy and a renowned political scholar.
And… Leto’s one and only teacher.
