Chapter 43
The saint’s eyes met the child’s.
But what poured down upon the child was not words of blessing.
Instead, what fell upon the child from the saint’s gaze was a mixture of contempt, displeasure, and disgust.
“I-I’m sorry…”
The child loosened her grip on the hem of her dress that she had been clutching tightly.
Step by step, she instinctively backed away, her pupils gradually widening with fear.
She trembled pitifully, as if she had glimpsed a forbidden secret that she was never meant to see.
“You little rat!”
The child was soon caught by the holy knights.
“I’m sorry, Saint. He suddenly ran in…”
“It’s alright. It could happen to a child,” the saint said.
In an instant, the saint changed her expression and eyes, quickly scanning the surroundings.
She wanted to check if anyone else had witnessed that raw, unrefined emotion besides this one child.
Fortunately, all eyes were on the child who caused the commotion, and it seemed no one had noticed the saint’s fleeting emotional display.
Just as she was about to withdraw her gaze…
‘…Theodore.’
Since when had he been watching?
From the beginning? Or just now?
Yet Theodore’s face revealed no emotion.
Only a calm, emotional silence flowed across his perfectly chiseled features.
‘I shouldn’t make such ambiguous expressions for you, Theodore. Not for you, nor for anyone bound to me.’
The child who had been merely an energy source for extracting holy power had, at some point, become someone whose mind she could not read. The saint suddenly realized this.
Looking into Theodore’s eyes, deep and dark like the midnight sea, Pavella the Saint felt an unfamiliar unease.
“I’ll remove her,”
The holy knights pushed the child outside.
After a brief glance at Theodore, the saint turned back toward the nobles, standing straight as if nothing had happened.
Many nobles were still waiting for blessings, and Pavella Saint, with her usual flawless beauty and mystical aura, smiled politely as if nothing had occurred.
“….”
Once the saint disappeared into the crowd, Theodore slowly turned his gaze toward the back of the child, who had been brazen enough to grasp the hem of the saint’s dress and was now being taken away.
—“Can you help this poor little bird, Ned?”
“….”
What crime had this child committed? Theodore wondered.
—“You were born this way because of your parents and your original sin.”
Had the child’s parents committed horrific sins as well?
Was that why her brother became disabled and she was abandoned as an orphan?
What vile act had they committed that the gods had to tear apart the pure heart and soul of an innocent child?
Clack.
Just as he was about to move toward the child, someone reached her first.
“Are you okay, Ari?”
A gentle voice called the small girl by a nickname, tucking stray hair behind her ear.
Seeing Ivin, Ari’s big eyes filled with tears, spilling down her cheeks.
“Ari… why? Why are you crying?”
Ivin carefully embraced her, asking softly.
What Ivin had seen earlier was only Ari squeezing through the knights’ legs and then being dragged out moments later.
“Ari… wanted to get a blessing from the saint for her brother… but… why… why did she treat Ari like that…”
Ari’s voice trembled as she tried to explain, but her emotions made her words hard to understand.
Ivin didn’t press for details. Instead, she held Ari close, gently smoothing her hair.
“It’s okay, Ari. You don’t have to talk about it now. Once you’ve calmed down, you can tell me later, okay?”
Like tending to a small bird, Ivin comforted her softly.
The gentle touch and warm voice gradually reduced Ari’s tears, and her sobbing became quieter.
“Saint must have been very busy. She didn’t do it on purpose, right? Oh my, look! Ari looks even prettier than me with the flower crown on!”
Once the child had calmed down, Ivin placed the crown she had been wearing onto Ari’s head.
“See, Vero? Ari got the first pie snack from her brother. She’s the best, isn’t she?”
Ivin’s gentle comfort extended beyond just these two children.
She summoned several phantom rabbits using shadow magic, letting them run freely among the children.
The playful, hopping rabbits quickly drew the children in, and they began playing joyfully without hesitation.
Among them was Obok, who had been forcibly brought along.
“Ah! Don’t pull my ears! Aah!”
“Wow, look at the cheeks. So soft! Like pudding!”
Rosignol had naturally joined the group as well.
“Came to volunteer and now putting on a magic show? Is that a white pig you’re wearing?”
“Daiji?! Master! Did someone just call me Daiji?!”
“What?! Who are you?! Why are you barging in like this?! Am I a small fry to you?!”
Obok didn’t hold back. With chubby, mochi-like hands, he pointed directly at the emperor’s face.
If he had been a normal person, he would have been executed immediately for such insolence.
“I? I’m the emperor of this country.”
“…?”
“Your master is my subject.”
“…!”
“So you’re basically going to be my subject too.”
“What, what?! How do you know that…!”
Obok was clearly confused.
How could someone so unrefined, a mere human, hold the highest power in the human world?
“Master! Help me!”
Obok urgently looked toward Ivin.
But Ivin had already distanced herself, focusing on summoning more phantom rabbits for the children with medical conditions.
“….”
All the while, Theodore’s jet-black eyes had been quietly watching Ivin, and now they flickered slightly.
‘Why?’ A single syllable seemed to rise endlessly inside, tormenting him.
Ivin Kinzello, why are you… here?
Why are you blending in here, in the lowest places of the world, with the warmest gaze of all?
“Oh dear, you spilled the milk here. Let me get you a napkin.”
Ivin stood, adjusting her dress as she had been crouching to meet the children’s eye level.
She flicked her skirt casually and turned slightly, when…
“….”
Her eyes met Theodore’s.
Ivin paused, staring at him.
There was something strangely different about his gaze.
It wasn’t the sharp, deadly look from that morning in the orphanage yard.
Confused, she watched him approach.
‘Is he on guard? Why is he coming this way all of a sudden…’
Theodore stopped about a step away from her.
“Do you have something to say…?”
At Ivin’s question, his eyes briefly dropped downward.
His perfectly symmetrical lips twitched as if he wanted to speak, but hesitated, unable to voice it fully.
‘Does Theodore even have this side?’
He wasn’t the cold, harsh man she had always faced.
Yet now the atmosphere was different—softer, less sharp than before.
Ivin, looking at him in bewilderment, felt him finally speak in his usual taciturn tone.
“Any direct use of magic inside the hall is currently forbidden.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“But…”
He paused, then lifted his jet-black eyes to meet hers again.
A peculiar tension filled the space between them.
“I want to express my gratitude.”
“Huh?”
Ivin’s eyes widened in shock, as if she misheard him.
Theodore repeated, in that same blunt voice:
“Thank you.”
“For comforting the child.”
“…….”
“We’ll see each other again later.”
The conversation ended there. Theodore turned and walked away.
“What…?”
Ivin stood dazed, watching Theodore leave, when she felt a hand lightly touch her shoulder.
“Why is a guard like him coming over for personal business while on duty?”
“Huh?”
“I’m more conservative than I seem.”
……?
Ivin looked at Rosignol in disbelief.
“That guy keeps bothering you, and it annoys me.”
Even if that were true, what did it have to do with you?
But Ivin, knowing social norms, chose to respond diplomatically.
“It’s not like that…”
“Not like that, huh?”
“Uh….”
