TNSDYM 10

Chapter 10 A Walking Cultural Treasure

“Pardon? I-I don’t understand what you mean.”

Rishard coldly stared at Alec, who kept trying to deny everything until the end.

“I already knew the moment you confidently hung up that flimsy piece of cloth and called it a screen. Did you think I wouldn’t realize you were hoping for a situation like this?”

Alec flinched after being exposed.

‘Well… he’s not entirely wrong…’

It was true that, hoping the two of them might meet face-to-face, he had purposely chosen a curtain thin enough to tear with only a little force.

But that had only been a private fantasy of his. Even he had never expected it to actually happen.

At that moment, Lena looked at him with trembling eyes. It was already the second betrayed look she had given him today.

“So this was all intentional, Sir Alec?”

No wonder the screen looked so unreliable. Lena finally looked like all her questions had been answered.

Alec hurriedly shook his head.

“Of course not! Absolutely not! I only—”

But then Rishard interrupted their conversation.

“It seems my physician received quite a shock from today’s incident.”

A trace of amusement passed through his eyes as he quietly watched Lena and Alec confronting each other.

“In that case… perhaps we should discuss what kind of punishment would suit Alec, the one responsible for all this.”

His smooth voice continued slowly.

“I would like to hear the Saintess’s opinion.”

“P-punishment?”

Lena became confused for a moment, unable to tell whether he was joking or serious.

Then she cautiously opened her mouth.

“If that is truly Your Majesty’s wish…”

After taking a small breath, she continued timidly but clearly,

“How about making him extend his working hours beside Your Majesty for just one day? Maybe… about five extra minutes?”

The room instantly fell silent.

What? Did I say something wrong? Maybe saying only five minutes sounded too much like a joke?

She was a little upset that Alec had betrayed her today, but she didn’t want him to receive a serious punishment over something like this. That was the only reason she answered that way.

But not long after, Rishard suddenly burst into low laughter.

“Your Majesty?”

“That’s an excellent answer.”

On the other hand, Alec looked at Lena in complete disbelief.

‘How can she say something so terrifying so casually…!’

Of course, Alec already worked overtime constantly—five hours was normal for him, let alone five minutes. Nothing would actually change.

But hearing those words come specifically from Lena deeply wounded his heart.

“That’s truly cruel…”

Judging from the atmosphere, the Emperor had only mentioned punishment as a joke.

But Lena had offered such a detailed punishment plan that Alec ended up genuinely shocked.

Realizing this, Lena became a little embarrassed.

‘Mm. In situations like this, it’s better to run away quickly.’

Lena bowed politely toward Rishard and said goodbye.

“Then I’ll be leaving now.”

Her voice sounded calm, but in reality it was closer to: “I need to escape immediately.”

Without looking back, she hurried straight out of the audience chamber.

Rishard quietly watched her retreating figure growing smaller in the distance, his eyes carrying a strange expression.

Then he let out a quiet laugh.

“This time, you were the one who got hit hard, Alec.”

After finally finishing the private meeting with the Emperor—which hadn’t actually been very long but felt endless to her—

the exhausted Lena pushed open the temple entrance while catching her breath.

“Lena!”

The first person to run toward her was none other than Chloe. Tears filled her eyes as though she might cry at any moment.

“I’m so glad you came back safely…”

Lena comforted Chloe by telling her that the glasses she gave her had been very helpful.

‘Although the Emperor probably thinks I’m a very strange person now.’

As people gradually noticed the commotion, more and more gathered around while whispering among themselves.

“Isn’t this already the second time?”

“At this rate, she’ll break the all-time survival record soon. She’s basically becoming a temple legend.”

“She’s like a walking cultural treasure at this point.”

“Haha…”

Lena awkwardly avoided their gazes.

No matter what, she could never get used to this kind of attention.

‘Maybe it’s because I spent so long living like an invisible person at the Holy See.’

That thought naturally brought Erhan to mind.

As Pope, he regularly traveled around the Holy Kingdom treating seriously ill citizens.

But during those journeys, instead of healing patients himself, he used Lena’s power.

‘It would be a waste to let such pure divine power rot away. But to heal people properly, you need extremely delicate control over divine power. You’re still too young. And if you reveal your abilities in front of everyone, there may be people who become greedy for your power and threaten you.’

Then he had offered her a suggestion.

‘How about placing your divine power into one of my belongings?

That way, you can experience the joy of healing others without revealing yourself.’

Wanting to help the man who had taken her in, Lena obediently nodded.

‘It wasn’t like my divine power could reach patients directly otherwise.’

The object she poured her power into was the staff Erhan always carried around like a symbol of authority, despite still only being middle-aged.

Erhan used it to heal patients, and naturally all the credit went to him.

‘Even if nobody knows, you are doing something truly noble. So there’s no reason to feel disappointed.’

Looking back now, it had practically been brainwashing.

On top of that, the divine power placed into objects naturally faded over time, so Lena constantly had to refill it.

‘It’s really strange.’

If he was the Pope, he should possess stronger divine power than anyone else. So why did he never use his own?

When he first became Pope, he was publicly known as someone with extraordinary healing abilities.

And there were Saintesses everywhere in the world. Even if Lena possessed greater divine power than most, why had he become so obsessed with her specifically?

Just as she was lost in thought—

someone suddenly shouted loudly from the distance.

“Since things turned out this way, today calls for a feast!”

“That’s right! A special day like this deserves a proper celebration!”

“I’ll prepare the fruit!”

The temple people all rushed toward the kitchen at once as if competing with each other, saying they would prepare a huge meal to celebrate Lena returning alive and mentally sane after meeting the Emperor twice.

For some reason, Lena found it difficult to look away from their backs.

‘Not long ago… I never even dreamed I’d be surrounded by people who welcomed me like this.’

At that moment, someone in the distance waved toward her.

“The main character can’t be missing at a time like this! Hurry up and come over!”

Holding down the sudden emotions swelling inside her chest, Lena gradually quickened her steps.

And she thought—

…Coming to Rün really was the best decision.

On a rainy morning beneath dark gray clouds—

Lucen walked through the marble-decorated hallway of the marquis estate and stepped outside where a carriage was waiting.

As he boarded the carriage heading toward the imperial palace, the wheels soon began moving with soft vibrations.

Resting one hand against his temple, he sank into deep thought.

‘Sylvia…’

The image of his wife, Sylvia, would not leave his mind. Her health had worsened again over the past few days.

Even when served her favorite meals, she could barely manage more than three spoonfuls before feeling nauseous.

This morning had been especially severe.

‘I’m sorry… my stomach feels too sick…’

She could not even keep down the red soup that was easy to swallow and eventually vomited it all up.

Was it after losing Lena?

Her gradually thinning body, the way she lay motionless in bed, the lifeless expression on her face—

all of it quietly tightened around Lucen’s heart.

“Haah…”

Even now, he desperately wanted to stay by her side.

But unfortunately, today was the day of the imperial palace’s biannual regular report meeting. As the Chancellor, it was impossible for him to be absent.

‘Please don’t worry and go. I’ll stay beside Mother and take good care of her.’

Thankfully, his second son, Cedric, who had no major schedule today, volunteered to remain with Sylvia.

‘…Cedric is a dependable child.’

That was the only reason Lucen had been able to board the carriage at all.

As he tried to suppress his anxiety while staring at the raindrops sliding down the window—

another face suddenly came to mind.

Lena. The girl who had recently become His Majesty’s new physician.

After first meeting her, Lucen had taken several days off and had not returned to the palace since then.

During that time, the short letter Alec sent him—containing only the essential details—had been shocking.

‘That child was an illegal immigrant.’

Of course, His Majesty is already aware of this matter.

Even the Emperor knew.