Chapter 4
“Thank you so much! You’ll be blessed!”
I bowed repeatedly to the High Priest, who had granted me permission to enter the Grand Temple.
He tilted his head slightly, as if he wasn’t used to this kind of reaction from me.
“It seems your demeanor has changed since I last saw you, my lady.”
“Ah, yes…”
I stiffened for a moment but forced a calm smile.
I must have gotten so excited about being allowed inside that my real personality slipped out instead of Airel’s usual behavior.
Oh, how did I get permission?
“High Priest, I’m truly sorry!”
I begged. Shamelessly.
Sniff… how humiliating.
“Well, as you may have guessed, I’ve had a change of heart. One morning, I woke up and suddenly thought I couldn’t keep living the way I was. Haha…”
“That is certainly a good change.”
I had been worried he wouldn’t believe me, but the High Priest simply smiled kindly.
Placing a hand over his chest, he bowed reverently.
“Then I shall pray that the gods bless your new path, my lady.”
“High Priest…”
Not only did he forgive Airel’s past behavior, but he even offered prayers for me.
Since coming here, the only person who has treated me kindly was Jenis. My nose stung.
“Thank you. I hope the gods bless you as well, High Priest!”
I waved at him with loyal eyes.
He stared at me for a moment, then let out a small laugh and turned away.
“I look forward to seeing you again.”
I watched him walk off slowly, my heart full, before turning in the opposite direction.
My destination was the temple lake.
And I was planning to kidnap the male lead there.
‘There was a line in the novel saying Lishid fell into the lake before boarding Seria’s carriage…’
I narrowed my eyes and checked the time.
‘Thirty minutes left.’
I was able to come up with this plan because I had learned exactly when Seria’s carriage would pass by.
When I casually praised the new saintess in front of my brother Edwin, who was assigned to escort her, he got excited and spilled everything.
True love really does make people careless.
I was incredibly grateful for that setting.
‘Alright, let’s go.’
After taking a short breath and confirming no one was watching, I started running.
The lake was a bit far, so I had to sprint.
But there was one thing I had overlooked.
‘Why can’t this body run at all?!’
Airel Blandiche, the empire’s only duke’s daughter, apparently did not possess anything that could be called muscle.
As someone who used to run every morning to catch the bus to work, I was genuinely shocked. I hadn’t even run that far, but I could already feel my stamina hitting its limit.
So by the time I arrived at the lake, gasping for breath, the thirty minutes were nearly up.
Without even wiping the sweat off my forehead, I scanned the area.
The lake. The trees. The bushes.
I searched every possible hiding spot.
Then I heard a faint rustling sound.
I quickly turned my head.
‘…There he is!’
That black hair. That round little head!
A small head was sticking out above the green bushes.
But at that moment—
I spotted Seria’s carriage approaching from the distance.
“No…!”
Panicking, I threw myself forward.
‘I’m sorry, Your Grace!’
I managed to grab the male lead and shove him into my pocket.
…Though I ended up tripping and rolling across the ground a few times.
“Your Grace, are you alright?!”
I jumped to my feet and checked my now-heavy pocket.
I had hugged the pocket tightly while rolling, so he shouldn’t be hurt.
“Airel Blandiche.”
A cold voice answered me from inside.
Shing.
I heard the faint sound of a blade being drawn.
“Are you finally eager to die for insulting a member of the imperial family?”
My legs trembled, but I forced myself to stay upright and swallowed hard.
I had thrown myself at him without thinking the moment I saw Seria’s carriage, and now it was hitting me—
I had really kidnapped the male lead.
Well. What’s done is done.
“I—I’m sorry!”
Sorry for stuffing you into my pocket instead of letting you meet the female lead.
“But I’m trying to help you, Your Grace.”
And, while I’m at it, save my own life too.
I slowly lowered my stiff neck.
And then—
‘…Wait. Why is he even cuter than I imagined?’
The moment I saw his face, I stopped breathing.
His red eyes, shining from inside my pocket, were so bright and round.
The original novel had described his shrunken form as cute, and I already knew Lishid Epenferion was incredibly handsome.
But—
‘I didn’t know he’d be this cute and this handsome!’
Earlier I had grabbed him without looking properly, but now that I saw him clearly, the black-haired, red-eyed Grand Duke had beautifully sculpted features.
He looked like a perfectly crafted porcelain doll.
I was honestly flustered.
“…You’re saying you intend to help me? You, the daughter of Blandiche?”
After a long silence, he let out a cold laugh.
His smooth black hair swayed as he tilted his head. The tip of his toothpick-sized sword pointed straight at me from outside my pocket.
But—
‘…What do I do? He’s so cute I’m not even scared.’
Some people get irritated when they see something too cute.
I’m one of them.
‘So he doesn’t just shrink—he actually becomes round and doll-like?’
I resisted the urge to squish his soft-looking cheeks and nodded firmly.
‘Focus.’
If I fail to kidnap him here, it’s death for me.
“Yes, Your Grace. If you run into people in this state, it could be dangerous.”
I calmly turned away from Seria’s carriage and lowered my voice.
“Your Grace, you may not know this, but that carriage is being escorted by Edwin and the knights of my family.”
“…Edwin? The young duke of Blandiche?”
“Yes.”
I nodded gravely.
House Blandiche served as the Emperor’s sword for generations.
And the current emperor saw his nephew, Grand Duke Lishid, as a thorn in his side, fearing he might one day take the throne.
So Blandiche and Epenferion were far from friendly.
In particular, Lishid and Edwin, who had attended the same swordsmanship academy, were known rivals.
‘In the original story, the moment Lishid saw Edwin, he tried to jump out of the carriage.’
Lowering my voice further, I said,
“Luckily, I’m the only one who saw you. I don’t know what happened to you, but I’ll find whoever did this to you.”
“…”
I glanced at his face during the silence.
His sharp eyes were slowly narrowing.
“Your plan?”
“Huh?”
“I asked how you intend to help me.”
His voice turned cold again.
I tried to hide my nerves and glanced sideways at Seria’s carriage.
It was passing right beside us.
The original story has changed …!
I deliberately stalled until the carriage fully passed.
“F-First, I plan to take you to my estate. I’ll hide you safely. You won’t be in danger anymore.”
That part, at least, was completely sincere.
Because by the time I arrived, Lishid had already fallen into the lake and was soaked.
Which meant my pocket bag was completely drenched too.
‘I should’ve brought a handkerchief.’
What if he catches a cold?
I had asked Jenis to help me make this soft, fluffy pocket bag, but clearly I hadn’t prepared enough.
If I had even brought a handkerchief, it would’ve been perfect. What a missed opportunity.
Then his sharp voice cut in.
“The Blandiche estate? You expect me to enter enemy territory like this? And trust you?”
“That’s…”
“You just mentioned Edwin Blandiche, yet your plan makes no sense. What if you hand me over to your father once we arrive? Who would help me then?”
“Huh?”
The flood of suspicion left me speechless.
Lishid let out a cold laugh.
“If you hadn’t grabbed me and thrown me to the ground, I would have boarded that carriage and asked a priest to purify my curse. Instead—”
“…”
“The gracious daughter of House Blandiche has kindly ruined my plan.”
His mockery was unmistakable.
And I flinched.
