Tag: I Became a Villainess in an Anticlimactic Novel

this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!

---

Although I was momentarily embarrassed, unable to find the right reply in the end, I still ended up continuing to look around the Demon King’s Palace. The messy situation was soon forgotten due to the amount of beautiful treasures that were hidden in every corner of the palace.

It wasn’t until evening when it came up in my mind once again. Upon seeing the maids who came in to help me prepare for bed, I sent them out once again with a strange ‘uwah’ sound. I endured without changing out of my clothes since I thought I should have an in depth conversation with Lecht about this situation first.

Standing at the end of the wide balcony that was outside the window, I rearranged my thoughts while enjoying the cool night breeze. Though of course, my complex thoughts all disappeared like the melting snow upon witnessing the palace’s appearance at night. “Wow, it’s even shining.”

The sentries that were standing guard had taken along one demonic creature between the two of them. Just looking at them was fun since their appearances and sizes all varied drastically. If most of them were large and stuck to the ground during the day, then there were even more of those smaller demonic creatures that flew in the skies at night.

In order for the sentries to look around better, most of the demonic creatures that were with them were those that could illuminate themselves. Seeing flashes of blue, yellow, and pink lights flying all over the place, the whole situation even felt somewhat dreamlike.

I was watching that exact scene as if I was possessed when a large coat suddenly enveloped me.

“No matter how warm the winter of the demon realm is, it’ll still be cold.” A voice that melted my eardrums whispered to me. I could feel his solid chest against my back. Enveloped in his coat, he hugged me tightly.

“When did you get here? You surprised me.”

To be honest, I wasn’t actually that surprised because the scent of his body immediately covered me the moment his coat was wrapped around me. Nevertheless, I still complained for no reason in particular since I was flustered at the fact that I had been so absorbed in watching the view that I hadn’t noticed he had come so close.

“From when you saw the lantern sparrow.”

“Huh? It’s already been a long time since that one!”

That was the kid that looked like a plump sparrow and emitted a green light as it flew; that was the one I was watching fifteen minutes ago!

“I just continued to watch¹ since you, who was just watching the view, was just so beautiful.”

“!”

I told you to turn on the indicator when you’re changing lanes²…!

“Then I interrupted since the wind had gotten chillier. Keep watching.” He whispered, hugging me securely in his arms. It was a spirit that seemed as if he’d even stay up all night like this if I wanted to.

“No, I can finish sightseeing after a little while. I had something I wanted to ask you.”

“Go on.”

I had intended to speak with him face to face, but he didn’t move with me in his arms at all. Did you perhaps want to talk in this position, or… well, it’s not like I can’t, but…

“Are we getting married?” Clueless on how else to phrase it, I just asked him directly as it was.

He, who was holding me in his arms, flinched greatly when I said that. To the extent where I had ended up flinching as well.

I felt his arm that was wrapped around me loosening, so I turned around quickly. I sat perched on the balcony as I looked up at him. “Solte thinks we are, and so does everyone else—they all think we’re getting married.”

“…”

“And to add onto that, we’re even sharing the same room together. Did you know about that too, Lecht?”

Though according to Solte, it may not have been Lecht’s order, since she had said that ‘the butler specifically ordered’ for her to do so. But I doubt that Lecht wouldn’t have known… After all, which sort of butler would arrange such a room without informing their master beforehand?

“The room…” He seemed to be choosing his words for a moment, then took my hand instead of speaking soon after. “I’ll show you.”

He led me into a room. Walking across a room that was larger than my own room back in the Grand Duchy, he opened the door to his dress room and entered. Brushing past various tailcoats and suits, he opened the door on the other side of the dress room.

There, a room appeared with a very different atmosphere from the room we had just passed. Although the size of the room was similar, this place was a little colder and less friendly.

“There’s… another room?”

“This is my room.”

“Huh…? But Solte said…”

Lecht let out a little groan at my confused voice. It was a groan that seemed like a sigh. “Although we decided to start afresh and leave out what happened between us a hundred years ago, most of the guys here still think of me and you with our relationship from a hundred years ago.”

“Oh…”

“Even if I explain that it’s different to them, they still won’t be able to understand. Like Muso for example.”

I immediately understood upon hearing him say they were like Muso. That’s true. Since Muso still smiles when he sees me and calls me, ‘Your Majesty’, even now.

“That’s why I deliberately told them to prepare it like this.”

If we used a separate room now, there was a high possibility that unnecessary discord would suddenly arise. Lecht seemed to be worried about that.

“It was my mistake for not informing you in advance.”

“No, I completely understand.” I shook my head with a smile. “But even if it is a room that has been prepared in secret… isn’t it too dreary?”

It’s a bit too much for him not to even have a single plant in the room. He should at least put a sofa in there, even if he wasn’t going to use it anyway. I felt cold just looking around the room that lacked warmth.

“Well… I’m used to this anyway.” But Lecht scanned the room roughly and said that, as if he didn’t know what I was talking about. “For me, this is enough since it’s only for me to get a good night’s sleep, but I get how it could feel dreary to you.”

“If you sleep in a place like this by yourself…”

There would also be an unavoidable loneliness. I swallowed the words that I couldn’t bear to finish. I became distressed for no reason at the thought of putting him to sleep by himself in a place like this.

Rather than this, he could just sleep in my room instead. The bed was big enough as well. I shocked myself at the thoughts that naturally continued to flow.

‘Thoughts that will get you in big trouble!’

At times like this, you need to be strong-minded! There will be no end to it if you start letting down your guard!

Nevertheless, those thoughts only lasted for a moment. My thoughts soon flowed to how firm and cosy his arms were every time he hugged me.

‘No! Pure thoughts, pure thoughts!’

I shook my head and quickly shook off those evil thoughts.

“Then, shall we go and see the rest?”

“Pardon?! S-See what?”

No way, don’t tell me, your abs? In any case, I had already been thinking about his solid chest, so his words suddenly threw me to take it the wrong way.

“Since we resolved your question about the room, I was wondering if you wanted to see the rest of the palace. Though if you’re tired, we can just do it tomorrow as well.”

“Oh… Seeing the rest of the palace…”

I kicked the lustful devil that kept filling my thoughts with the colour of flesh out of my head before it could cause any trouble and moved my legs stiffly.

“R-Right! Seeing the rest of the palace, alright!” I thought I’d be able to calm down my heart if I got more of the night breeze.

Lecht followed in silence after me, who scurried back through the dress room toward the balcony.

The moon, which hadn’t been in the sky earlier, was floating in an aloof manner. Long after the proclamation ceremony, the day which a red moon had risen into the sky, the moon was now cut in half, yet it still looked as beautiful as ever.

“Perhaps because I’m the saintess of a moon god, but I think the moon is truly great, as expected.”

“Do you want me to show it to you at a closer view?” Approaching my side, Lecht leaned against the balcony and looked at me. Covering me with his own coat so I wouldn’t be cold was simply a bonus.

“Closer?”

Lecht extended his index finger and pointed at the sky at my question.

“Don’t tell me… in the sky?”

There was a faint smile on Lecht’s lips. It was a smile that suited the moonlight extremely well. “You said you wanted to see my true appearance. And that you looked forward to my horns and wings.”

“That’s true, but…” Although I trailed off, my heart began to race as I naturally began to imagine his appearance.

Irregardless of that, I also happened to meet several demons today. It was an amount that was incomparable to the number I had met in the Grand Duchy. Although all of them had their own unique charm, the only one who had wings was Lecht. Since wings were a privilege that was only given to the demon king.

Just what would Lecht look like in his complete demon king appearance? My heart started to race.

“Are you… really going to show me?”

My fingertips down to the toes of my feet began to itch due to the overflowing anticipation that was about to burst out. Lecht stretched out his hand to grab my hands, which were twisting together bashfully. Both of my hands flopped into his large hand.

“You’re asking something that’s obvious again.” Sitting on the balcony, he leaned over slightly and whispered to me. “Didn’t I say that I’d show you whenever you wanted?” The deep smile on his face made my heart tremble once again.

Rising from his seat, Lecht released my hand and retreated a few steps back. A tranquil breeze began to billow around us after a while. Although the wind was rather lacking, it was still charged with light.

The moonlight wind, that was quite similar to my divine power, began to surround him and spun at a gradually increasing pace, blocking my view.

The moment I thought he had been completely engulfed in the wind…

Flap—!

Those enchanting black wings that I had seen before spread to reveal its full glory and suddenly burst into light. And the appearance of Lecht, which was finally revealed, showcased the perfect demon king’s appearance.

“Woah!”

It was more than I could’ve ever imagined. His short silver hair had elongated to become as long as my hair and gave off a mysterious glow, while the tips of his ears had stretched out into sharp points. His elegantly curved horns carried an even heavier dignity than any of the ones I had seen today.

His eyes were the most conspicuous of them all. Although they were the same gold as when he was polymorphed, they carried a profound and mysterious light in them that couldn’t be explained in words.

“Huh…?!”

I was staring into his eyes, as if I was possessed as Lecht approached me. And before I could even react, he hugged me and lifted me into a princess carry.

“Hold on tight.” He whispered languidly in a low voice, spreading his black wings to their full length. He stepped onto the balcony railing on his tiptoes.

“Oh my go—!”

Shocked at the sudden sensation of the ground getting further and further away from me, I closed my eyes and clung on tightly to his neck. Although his coat fell off in the process, I couldn’t care less. Either way, I didn’t find it cold at all thanks to his body temperature.

He hugged me even tighter than how tightly I was holding onto him. With the sound of us cutting through the wind, we continued to climb even higher and higher.

At some point, he stopped and said, “Open your eyes.”

I slightly opened my tightly shut eyes.

“Woah!”

Unlike my fears that it would be frightening, my eyes widened at the world that was presented before my eyes. The demon realm was spread before my feet. It was a dazzling sight that I couldn’t have ever seen even once for as long as I lived. The scene that I had seen for the first time since arriving in the demon realm as well as the evening view of the Demon King’s Palace from the balcony of my room were both incomparable to the brilliance of what was in front of me.

Lecht turned around slowly on the spot with me in his arms. The land in front of the Demon King’s Palace, the village lights that could be seen off in the distance, as well as the towering and rugged mountain range. From the steep cliffs behind the palace to the refreshing sea below it that started at the horizon line. There wasn’t a single corner that wasn’t breathtakingly beautiful.

“Ara.”

Watching the spectacle as if I was possessed, I turned to Lecht with a dazed expression on my face. His face that was in front of my very eyes right now was even more perfect than the view I had just witnessed.

Oh. I now understood why the light in his eyes was different. The eyes of a human that I was familiar with were different to those of a demon king. They were like the pained eyes of a dragon that lived deep within the mountains.

As I stared at him with shaky eyes, he asked me quietly, “Do you like it?”

I nodded with a stunned face. He then smiled deeply, as if he liked my answer.

Badump, badump, badump, badump, badump.

My heart reacted frankly, and he, unaware of it, continued to add on with a strange voice. “It’s yours.” Seeing my eyes widen, he reaffirmed it once again. “Everything that you see right now—all of it is yours.”

They were somehow the most cheesy words I had ever heard in this world. But at the same time, they were also the most enrapturing words.

The demon king, who had given me the demon realm as a present, then quietly added, as if even that weren’t enough, “That includes me as well.”

My heart stopped beating and my breath hitched in my throat.

I couldn’t even reply. Because he had stolen my senses away and swallowed my lips.

pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:

[1] the word 구경하다 that they use is usually used in tourism and sightseeing contexts where [sb] is watching a beautiful view or landscape, so ara is lecht’s landscape (AWWWW)

[2] 깜빡이 좀 켜고 들어와라 to say something surprising/shocking without any prior context

---

FIRST KISS !!!!

this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!

---

Although it was rather embarrassing for me to say, honestly speaking, I seemed to have the wrong preconception in my head of what the demon realm would be like. I had imagined an almost stereotypical red land, a black palace, et cetera. But all such preconceptions flew away as soon as the light from the teleportation circle dissipated and the world unfolded before my very eyes.

“Welcome to the Demon King’s Palace.”

“Wow!” I held nothing but admiration now. 

I was right about it being a vast expanse of land. But on the contrary, it wasn’t the gloominess or red that I couldn’t see an end to, but the greenery. The endless sky seemed refreshing and the floating clouds seemed fluffy like wool. The scenery was so picturesque that one could even paint a picture out of it. 

However, the most awe-inspiring thing there was the towering castle. Unlike my preconceived notion that it would be crude and unsophisticated, it seemed to be even more refreshing and clean than the imperial palace. Although it was luxurious and grand, it didn’t go over the top and didn’t feel heavy either, not the slightest bit gloomy at all.

“Welcome, my lady.” Tanma, the butler, greeted me at the main gates. It wasn’t his human appearance that I usually saw, but his appearance as a demon, his horns blatantly out in the open too. He had his usual smile on his face, but it somehow felt different from usual.

“It’s been a while, Butler.”

I hadn’t been able to meet him for a while after he took Frody away, perhaps because he was getting things ready at the Demon King’s Palace so he could welcome me properly.

The butler nodded slightly and led me inside. 

“You said that the Grand Duchy is like a mini version of the Demon King’s Palace… Is the Demon King’s Palace really that much better?”

The density of the splendour was in two completely different realms, even in this garden that we had just walked past. It was a place where every single petal hadn’t been left untouched by the gardener. The level stone path and even the lighting that would illuminate it the pathway at night had been perfectly maintained. 

“Everyone seems to have paid more attention since the lady was coming.” Tanma said, letting out a laugh when I couldn’t hide my awe at the surroundings. 

No, was this really something that was possible simply because they ‘paid more attention’?

That’s how we arrived in front of the castle gate.

The eyes of the gatekeeper seemed to sparkle as they looked at me. Their affection that was openly directed toward me was to the extent where it felt slightly burdensome. 

Although the thing standing guard with the gatekeeper seemed like a demonic creature, it was also the first time I had seen that sort of species before. It seemed like a sable, but its stripes looked like a skunk’s, and its large tusks were reminiscent of wild boars. Although it seemed like a kid that was cute in various ways, it made one nervous for no reason, perhaps because it was bigger than a brown bear. 

I shifted closer toward Lecht as I saw it wave a tail that was thicker than an elephant’s trunk at me. I wanted to hug it at least once and shower it with affection, but I thought that my ribs would definitely break if it hugged me, even once. 

“We’ve prepared something small to welcome you, my lady.” Tanma said as he opened the door with the gatekeeper. 

And the moment the door swung open, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted.

“Welcome, Your Majesty!”

“Ahhh! Her Majesty has come!”

“Wow! Welcome!”

Voices that were unexpectedly filled with joy and welcome. Lecht entered with his arm wrapped around the shoulders of me, who had stiffened and froze on the spot. 

Vibrantly coloured petals were scattered over my head as I walked on a path that had been covered by a red carpet. Long ropes on either side of it were preventing the crowd from rushing onto the red carpet. There were also guards stationed to control them, who were screaming like crazy. Even those guards seemed to be unable to stop glancing at me, unable to focus on the task at hand. It was too obvious that everyone here welcomed me.

“Those bastards who are still waiting anxiously for Your Highness in the demon realm must be so jealous that I’ve become Your Highness’ exclusive errand boy!”

“Everyone will just be happy to hear that Miss Ara is coming back.”

Muso and Lydia’s words suddenly flashed in my mind. So what they had said hadn’t just been said to make me feel better, but it was actually the truth. There had actually been this many people waiting for me. 

It seemed like the tears would burst from my eyes at any second now, so I tried my hardest to put on a smile. Although they were tears of joy, the only thing I wanted to show them, who were watching me, was a happy smile. 

“The butler’s standard of ‘something small’ seems to differ greatly from mine.”

“This must have seemed too small when compared with my lady’s standards.” Tanma said playfully, despite knowing exactly what I meant. “Don’t fret. A grand-scale welcoming party has also been prepared separately.”

Just how large of an event were they planning to hold? However, I suddenly had the thought that by receiving their welcome, reducing the size of the event would also seem as if they were reducing the love they gave me. Letting them show their affection toward me to their hearts content was also a precious act in itself.

“Then I’ll look forward to it.” As I whispered while smiling, the cheers around me grew even louder. I thought that it was a good idea for me to follow Lydia’s advice and choose the most splendid dress amongst the clothes I had been given. 

“Ara.” Lecht called my name amidst the shouts that were even more formidable than the ones during the proclamation ceremony. I turned my head toward him without concealing any of my overwhelming emotions. 

It happened in a flash.

Lecht’s lips brushed against my forehead, then left just as quickly.

“L-Lecht?!”

“Kyaaaaa!”

“Wooooooo!”

The cheers which I hadn’t thought would be able to grow any louder, became even rowdier to the extent where I wondered if the Demon King’s Palace would be able to stand it without collapsing like this.

“Why all of a sudden…!” In any case, my heart that had already felt overwhelmed with emotions, raced so fast it felt like it was about to explode. I felt as if it were about to jump out of my mouth with its thumping.

“I’m making sure that no bastard here has forgotten. That you’re my woman.”

“!”

Lecht smiled smugly at my face that was now burning red. At that smile that seemed like the smile of a wolf who was pleased at catching a mouthwateringly appetising piece of prey, my heart couldn’t stand it any longer. 

I buried my face into Lecht’s arms with a strange groan. I had to hold onto something because it felt as if my legs were about to lose their strength at any moment now. 

As if he knew somehow, Lecht lifted me up into his arms and walked to the end with the endlessly growing cheers at his back.

It was a blessed moment that was mixed with happiness and embarrassment. 

* * *

pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:

“I heard that they’ve arrived.” A demon with a single horn in the middle of their forehead said as he finished contacting his old friend that worked in the Demon King’s Palace.

“Hmmm~” The person who received their report let out a long nasally sound. It was just a sound, yet the shoulders of the demon who had just delivered the report started to tremble slightly. It was due to the powerful force of enchantment that had engulfed his whole body for a moment. 

“Saintess, my saintess. You really have no sense of fear.” Frody murmured as he looked down at the forget-me-nots that were blooming before him, despite it not being the season for it. “It would’ve been safer for you to continue staying in the human realm… I wonder just how many people are after you in the demon realm, Saintess.”

Frody uprooted the forget-me-nots. He examined the sensitive flowers from a few angles before lifting the corners of his mouth. “Just like me.” 

Murmuring softly, he dropped the forget-me-nots onto the floor. The heavy scent of gold osmanthus began to spread simultaneously as he trampled the flowers underfoot. Since the scent wasn’t able to completely devour the remaining scent of the forget me nots, it simply absorbed the flowers’ vitality instead. The scent of the gold osmanthus became even stronger the longer it continued to do so, and the forget-me-nots that had bloomed eventually all withered. 

“And the thing I told you to prepare?”

“…Though they’re still trying, there hasn’t been a definite response either.” The subordinate standing by his side replied, trying his best not to breathe in the scent as much as possible. The difference in ability between him and Frody were evident, so if he so much as inhaled that scent even once by accident, his rationality would be eaten away by it.

“Oh… that’s quite troublesome. I only got it after breaking the rules and playing a joke on the Grand Duchy.” Frody smiled at his subordinate. It was a smile that was expressed with his eyes so charmingly that it would’ve been able to captivate men and women of all ages without fail. “Don’t you think?”

“…Yes.”

“If there’s any possibility of me having no choice but to make the saintess disappointed, then…” 

He walked lightly toward his subordinate. His mischievous aura that could be seen when he was facing Ara and Lecht had completely disappeared, now only replaced by a bleak energy. 

“I would be very upset, right?” Standing before his subordinate, he whispered, leaning down and looking into his eyes while doing so. A tiny light shone in his blue eyes, poking his subordinate’s soul. 

“I’ll make sure it’s ready within the time frame!” He shouted, already pale with fright, as Frody stood back up from his bent back. 

“Then. You should do so. After all, it’s none other than a present for our precious saintess.”

Humming to himself, Frody brushed past him. Only after he disappeared into the darkness and the sound of his footsteps couldn’t be heard anymore did his subordinate finally let out a breath.

And with Frody’s disappearance, the scent of gold osmanthus also disappeared along with him like it had never existed in the first place. 

* * *

Lecht disappeared soon after, seemingly having been dragged away by Tanma, who had nagged at him about having all his work pushed back. 

After leaving me with the words that he would come and see me in the evening, as expected, the one that came to see me was none other than Solte, who had come on behalf of him. Apparently she had come over to the demon realm even earlier than Tanma in order to prepare my room for my arrival. 

Both glad and relieved to see a face I knew, I allowed myself to be guided leisurely to the floor that I would stay on.

“Hold on!” But as I was listening to her explanation, I suddenly discovered an embarrassing part. “Who… the dress room?”

“This is your dress room, my lady, and that is His Majesty’s dress room. In any case, I thought it would be better for them to be separated rather than all lumped together so that it would be more convenient when you’re selecting what clothes to wear, so I made it like so.” Thinking that I didn’t understand her reasoning, Solte calmly added an explanation. Even though I was just flustered by what she had said.

“No, why is Lecht’s dress room in this room…”

Solte tilted her head at my question. “I thought it would be inconvenient for the dress room to be far away from the room, so I arranged it like this. It was like this in the Grand Duchy as well… are you perhaps uncomfortable with this?”

No, why does the conversation between Solte and I always seem like it’s one wavelength apart? I wasn’t curious about that part.

“I mean, why is ‘Lecht’s’ dress room in ‘my’ room…” I felt like I knew the reason why after I phrased the sentence like this.

“Aha.” Solte smiled, finally understanding my meaning behind the question. “Because this room is my lady and His Majesty’s room.”

“H-Huh…? Why? How, why?” I was so flustered that I even lost the ability to speak properly. 

Solte, who finally managed to understand me, tilted her head again and said, “The aide… so I arranged it like that since the butler, Tanma, specifically ordered me to do so. Did he not inform you beforehand?”

No…! This is my first time hearing about such a thing! 

At my face that was full of embarrassment, Solte let out a ‘hmm…’ as if she were contemplating over something before smiling. “I didn’t think there would be a problem for the two of you to share rooms a little quickly since the two of you will be married soon anyway.”

“Whatttt?!”

“Oh, though of course, there are many people here who call you, ‘Her Majesty’ already since they’ve already promised to pledge the rest of their life to you a hundred years ago…”

No, wait. So you’re saying that the reason why Muso calls me, ‘Her Majesty’ is because he already sees me as Lecht’s wife?! I thought he was just calling me, ‘Her Majesty’ because he couldn’t find a way to over exaggerate and call me, ‘my lady’ in a very Muso-like way!

“Back then, there weren’t many people who could celebrate it with the two of you together, so the truth is that everyone is expecting for the two of you to hold a ceremony this time.”

Huh…?!

“Naturally, I am also looking forward to your wedding, my lady. Since according to His Majesty’s character, he will definitely make it grander than any other demon king’s wedding.”

So how did it become that my own wedding ceremony had already been settled without me even knowing? I felt so aggrieved, yet I couldn’t even find the words to retort when I saw that even Solte was smiling with her eyes full of anticipation.

---

this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!

---

Though I had thought it would turn out like this, but still…

“You’ll basically be leaving your string that’s tying you to life with me; is that really alright with you? Even if I might suddenly change my mind and decide to kill you?”

“Then I’ll just accept it.”

Although my eyes were round, he smiled rather faintly. “If that happens, although the Duchy might be worried, at least I’ll be able to walk hand in hand with my younger sister on her final road.”

“…”

“I couldn’t even be by that child’s side and hold her hand as she took her first step because I drowned in grief over that selfish reason. I even made her attend her debutante by herself since I had mistakenly placed my trust in the crown prince.”

“…”

“I thought that I’d at least be able to walk by your side at your wedding, but now, even that’s impossible. So if I could walk hand in hand with that child, even if it’s her final road in this life, wouldn’t that be a death I’d be content with?”

It was pure sincerity. Just why would such a person leave their younger sister to be lonely by herself for such a long time? The more I got to know him, the more I felt that the situation was regrettable. 

I let out a sigh and handed him the poison. “Still, you should at least sign a waiver before drinking it. Since I’d hate to have the blame be shifted on the Lunar religion.”

“Gladly.” 

He unhesitatingly wrote a waiver and signed it at my light words and gulped down the poison. 

“Keurgh!” He vomited blood not even a minute after he had drank it, perhaps going to show just how lethal the poison was. 

—B-Brother…

His younger sister, Meliara, began to pace around beside him with a restless look on her face. 

I kneeled beside him, who was breathing heavily and seizing intermittently. I covered his eyes with my hands and whispered, “Go and have a good meeting.”

At that moment, his soul escaped from his body like a lie. Though I was momentarily surprised, I slowly began to infuse my divine power into his body.

t/n: alion’s dialogue as a soul will now be in bold

—This…

“I won’t be able to hold this for more than five minutes.”

Alion, who was looking down in bewilderment at his own body, quickly came back to his senses at my words. 

—So you really can see souls.

“I don’t think this is the right time for you to admire me.” I pointed with my chin at the area next to him. 

Turning around, he spotted his crying younger sister. Then he stiffened on the spot. His eyes that were looking at her shook violently. Though it was an absurd story, his gaze was different from the way he had looked at me when I had told him that I was occupying his younger sister’s body.

—Mel…iara.

He called out awkwardly, as if he had never said her name before. A faint smile spread across the lips of Meliara, who was looking at him.

* * *

pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:

Alion was filled with complicated emotions upon seeing the appearance of his younger sister, who was smiling at him. Turns out his little sister had become this skinny… He felt as if his heart was about to be torn apart.

—Meliara, I…

He opened his mouth once again, but couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

Staring at Alion, who only bit his lips for a long time, Meliara opened her mouth instead. 

—I’m sorry, Brother.

—…What?

What she had said was so shocking that Alion’s whole face stiffened up.

—Why are you…

—Just because I wanted to marry His Highness the Crown Prince… I never knew that you had been pushed to the front lines of the subjugation in order to satisfy my greed.

—That’s…

It hadn’t been for her. It had been a selfish step that he had taken in an effort to make up for the past mistakes he had committed. 

—Brother had been taking such good care of me, yet all this time, I thought that you hated me… Yet you were such a good older brother…

—Stop. Please, just stop.

Alion’s face distorted, as if he couldn’t bear to hear anymore.

—I wasn’t a good older brother.

—But…

—I hated you. Because I thought Mother had died because of you.

He spoke honestly about his feelings.

—But… you…

His face twisted up once again as he winced. It hurt so much it felt as if his heart was being split in two whenever he recalled the thought of his younger sister, who at the age of nine years old, regretted ever being born into this world.

—You didn’t take Mother away—rather, it was Mother who risked her life to bring you into this world.

—…

—I realised that too late.

The relationship between the two of them had already become estranged. And Alion, who had never learned how to love, didn’t even know how to correct it. He didn’t know how to apologise, nor did he know that he had to apologise. Since he was also young, and no one had ever taught him to. He just wanted to hide from his feelings of remorse every time he saw her increasingly uncomfortable and wary gaze. So he simply avoided her.

—But Brother, you were young back then as well…

—You were even younger though.

—…

—I…

Alion’s throat started to close up as he choked out. 

—I should’ve let you know that you were never alone.

He always only thought by himself. He did whatever the empress and crown prince wanted since she seemed eager to marry the crown prince. Always obtaining a losing hand. 

On the premise that the marriage had already been set in stone, he even departed on a subjugation expedition. Not even knowing that when he returned, his younger sister’s engagement had been annulled and she had been kicked out of their family. If he had known that she would be in such pain and loneliness, then he would never have gone on the subjugation expedition in the first place.  

—Everything became ruined because I made a cowardly choice and acted foolishly. 

It all went wrong. And it became too late for him to fix it. 

—Meliara. I know that words alone won’t be enough, but…

He let out a long sigh.

—For making you feel lonely… and for pushing you away because of my own pain, I am truly sor…

Alion, who had been sincerely trying to apologise, suddenly had his words stuck in his throat.

—…!

It was because of the sudden warmth that had dashed into his arms. His younger sister, who was in tears, had run into his embrace. And hugged him with all her might. 

—Thank you, Brother. Thank you for letting me know that I was also loved.

Alion’s eyes became as round as saucers. He froze, as if he were genuinely filled with shock. His pupils trembled violently as his face gradually scrunched up. He seemed as if he were in more pain now than when he had consumed the poison earlier. 

—I think I can finally leave happily now. Thank you so much, Brother. 

As if to prove what she had said was true, her appearance was becoming even fainter than before.

—Meliara.

Alion called out her name urgently, but Meliara only donned an even prettier smile for him.

—I’m truly happy now. So don’t worry about me too much as well, Brother.

—Meliara, please.

He spoke urgently, as if he instinctively knew what would happen next, but Meliara was more knowledgeable about this space than he was. She slipped away from him before he could say anything or react properly. 

—You’ll have to live a healthy life and live out my share as well, alright?

Smiling beautifully, she pushed him back by his chest. It was obviously only a weak push since she herself also had a small stature, yet Alion, who was a knight, stumbled backwards.

—Wait…!

—Goodbye, Brother.

His younger sister’s happiest and most radiant looking smile that he was seeing for the first time was also the last thing he saw before Alion’s world was turned upside down.

“Melia…! Keurgh!”

He hurriedly stood up and shouted as soon as he came to his senses, but it was blood that came out instead. 

“Your body has been wrecked by the poison.” It was a voice he had just heard, yet a voice filled with completely different emotions reached his ears instead. 

Clutching at his sore chest, he turned his head to see a woman sitting down with the same face as his younger sister.

“Although I’ve finished neutralising the poison, you’ll still need to recuperate and take some medicine in order to repair your ruined body.” She was quite expressionless, but she wasn’t able to conceal the worry and pity in her eyes…

“It’s definitely… different.”

It wasn’t his younger sister. He could see it clearly after meeting his younger sister. It was the same face, yet two different people. 

Saintess Ara smiled painfully at his words. “You can see it because it’s you. Because you truly love your younger sister.”

“…”

Unable to say anything, Alion turned to where Meliara had been standing. “I couldn’t say anything in the end.”

Saying he was sorry, as well as saying that he loved her. His tolerant younger sister didn’t bother to listen to him and left after receiving an understanding of it. As if she understood his true feelings, she left after embracing him. 

“I thought it’d be better if I told her my true feelings before she left, but… I still have my own regrets.” He laughed at himself in self-mocking. Because of the poison, his anguish came with it, his smile twisting.

“Every death leaves lingering regrets. From the one who is leaving, to the one who is sending them off.” Ara said quietly. 

There was a brief silence afterwards.

Getting up shakily, Alion wiped the blood from around his mouth with a handkerchief and asked, “Have you heard that Father is going to proceed with the engagement between you, the saintess, and Prince Linden?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any intention to?”

“No.”

“Alright. Then I’ll proceed with that in mind. I thought you wouldn’t, but I just wanted to make sure.” Alion bowed his head toward Meliara, who was looking up at him from where she was kneeling. “Then I’ll take my leave now. Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart.”

“No, all I did was give you the power to do what you already had in mind.”

It was Alion who decided to take the poison in order to meet his younger sister. Ara seriously didn’t think she had done much herself. 

“No, that power made that invaluable time possible.” But on the contrary, Alion thought that Ara had done everything. “Thank you.”

“Alright. Take care of yourself too.”

Alion said his farewells and left. As he opened the door and left, the sound of the knights who were waiting outside making a fuss at the bloodstains on his clothes sounded. But the door soon slammed shut as silence returned to the prayer room once more.

“Is it really fine to leave it like this?”

—Yes, this is more than enough.

Ara raised her head and turned her gaze toward Meliara, who was smiling. She had already become visibly fainter to the eyes. The light along the faint outline was getting brighter and brighter. 

Both Ara and Meliara knew what that meant.

—Don’t be sorry. You’ve done more than enough. 

Meliara said after reading Ara’s expression.

—You cleared me of all my false accusations and prejudices. You helped me feel my older brother’s love for me, and even got me the revenge that I never once could’ve imagined getting.

“But…”

I couldn’t help but think of the thought, ‘If only I hadn’t taken over your body in the first place’.

Meliara thought differently.

—I don’t blame you. The one who gave up first was me anyway.

The one who had given up her body first was her after all. This was the result of her own choice while she had only been the one that got caught up in it. 

—Rather, you are a person who has bloomed beautifully, and brought life to what I had given up on.

Meliara squatted in front of Ara. She smiled as she tapped her heart with her index finger. Though she naturally couldn’t feel it, Ara felt it somehow and thought she had been mistaken. 

—The person sitting here isn’t Ara, who became Meliara, but rather, wholly you, just Ara.

This place no longer had a ‘Meliara’ remaining.

—That’s why you should live. Beautifully, boldly, and exactly like you would.

“Meliara…” A faint smile hung from Ara’s mouth. It was a smile full of gratitude. “Thank you.”

—I should be the one saying thank you.

The two smiled at each other. And in that manner, Meliara’s body was also enveloped in light and disappeared. With the only thing she left behind her being a gust of warm air. 

“Goodbye.”

It was a final greeting that would be eternal.

* * *

“Goodbye then.” Lydia sent us off with a smile.

“I’ll trust in the words of Lydia and come back safely.”

“Yes.”

I also responded with a bright smile, turning my head to see Lecht standing on top of the teleportation circle that was departing to the demon realm. The teleportation circle was glowing softly, as if declaring that it was ready to go. 

I placed my hand in his outstretched hand as he grabbed it, enveloping it in his large hands. I was pulled helplessly into his arms. His refreshing scent made my heart race. 

“It’ll be troublesome if you fall behind in the middle, so hold on tightly.”

No, to think that I could fall behind in a teleportation circle with a fixed departure and destination. I laughed at Lecht, who was hugging me tightly under the excuse of such a ridiculous reason. I hugged his waist, pretending not to know either.

“Let’s go!”

To your world. 

I closed my eyes and buried my face in Lecht’s arms as the bright light from the teleportation circle engulfed me.

---

this whole chapter was super bittersweet. although i’m glad alion and meliara both got at least some sort of closure, i still wish her story hadn’t ended here — i wanted her to get her own happy ending too QAQ

i cried a ton translating this chapter – as i do whenever it involves these two siblings ;-;

this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!

---

A stormy few days had passed since the proclamation ceremony had ended. The entire empire had been turned upside down by what had occurred that day, but the Great Temple, where it had all started, was still peaceful.

“Wow, I can’t even file a claim to Lunar.” I clicked my tongue at the priests that were struggling to fill in the holes in the floor and the ceiling.

“Isn’t it enough that they cooperated nicely with you on that day?” Lydia comforted me, telling me not to worry about the cost.

A day after the full moon had passed, Lunar’s voice also naturally disappeared along with it. Although I was relieved that the rowdy voice that had been filling my head the whole day had disappeared, it was also a little disappointing when it actually did.

“Whether it’s to thank them or to file a complaint, I’ll have to wait until next month anyway.”

Though there was nothing to be sad about since we could still meet again, as long as I came to the temple on the day of a full moon.

“You’ll come to meet Lunar again next month?” But the man by my side suddenly interrupted me. “Don’t tell me you’re thinking of staying up all night every time the full moon rises?” Although those words were filled with concern, he still couldn’t hide his brusque expression.

“Don’t get jealous of Lunar. Isn’t she someone who always only calls me, ‘daughter, daughter’?”

“I don’t like it.” Lecht sneakily hugged me from behind. With his face resting against my hair, he murmured, “Lunar is your family and I’m not, so it feels like there’s a line dividing us.”

Wow, so you can even think of it like that. His jealousy seemed to have no limits and exceeded common sense.

I just patted his arm that was wrapped around me silently, knowing that no matter what I said now, it would all stimulate his jealousy even further regardless. I simply changed the subject instead.

“I’m sorry for causing so many incidents before we could leave.” I said to Lydia, who was looking at Lecht and I with a smug expression on her face.

Being able to feel comfortable in the Great Temple, even after the situation burst out of control, was all thanks to Lydia.

“Don’t worry too much about what’s happening on this side and spend as much time as you need over there.”

“And if you do need to, it’s easy for the Great Temple in the demon realm to contact the Great Temple here as well!” Muso added another comment on top of Lydia’s reassurance.

“Like Muso said, please come and find me whenever you need to. In any case, the place that will suit the saintess of the Lunar religion more than the human realm would be the demon realm.” They were words that relieved the sense of obligation to visit them often.

As I smiled smugly, I suddenly spotted a grinning Muso, who was looking at Lydia with an expression that said, ‘I did a good job, right?’.

“But when did the two of you get so close?” I’m pretty sure the only time they spent together was when they went to the Grand Duchy together last time.

“Aha. Seems like you don’t remember, Ara. We met a hundred years ago.”

“Heok, really? How?”

When asked again in shock, Muso replied with a smile, “We met when you took me in, Your Majesty! You gave me food and blankets back then.”

“So that’s how you guys connected… no, wait a minute. So you also met me a hundred years ago, Lydia?”

“Yes. Back then, you had black hair, didn’t you?”

“Wait, why didn’t you tell me?” I was completely unaware of it, as if I was someone who was meeting her for the first time.

“You didn’t remember anyway, so I thought that I didn’t need to insist on you being aware of it. Since it’s a memory, we can just make new ones from now on.”

So there wasn’t anyone around me that wouldn’t talk about a hundred years ago, huh? The woman that was me from a hundred years ago, you sure lived your life diligently.

“When you go to the demon realm, there will also be many people apart from me that still remember you, Ara. Seems like every one of us is living with precious memories, one by one.

“I’m starting to feel apologetic again. I can’t remember though.”

“I’m telling you in advance that you don’t have to. Since everyone will just be happy that you’re back, Ara.”

As soon as Lydia finished speaking, Lecht’s arm that was wrapped around my waist tightened. Embracing me tightly, he whispered in my ear, “Don’t you know when you look at me? Remembering isn’t important. What’s more important is that you’re by my side.”

My face turned red at the uselessly sweet words that he uttered.

“Woof! Woof!” As if agreeing with Lecht, Kelber wagged his tail and rubbed his head against me, making me even more flustered.

When I was just wiggling my toes since I didn’t know what to say, Lydia looked behind me and said, “We have a visitor.”

The place she was staring at was where Alion Darchez, who had just opened the temple door and entered,was standing.

“Oh.”

As soon as I spotted him, I immediately extricated myself from Lecht’s arms and looked around me. Meliara was nowhere to be found.

“She must be beside the teddy bear again.” She would always be there whenever I couldn’t find her. Just what are you thinking about so much while you look at that teddy bear? Nevertheless, I never asked for the particular reason, since she always seemed to be in a good mood when I went to find her.

“Saintess. Your Excellency.” Alion nodded to both me and Lecht. “Greetings, High Priestess.”

After greeting everyone lightly, Alion immediately turned toward me. “Saintess, I’d like to talk to you for a moment. Do you have time? It’s in regards to clearing up the recent rumours that have been floating around about your engagement.”

“Is that really the reason?”

The engagement he was talking about was none other than the one between Linden and I. When Ziken merely became a discarded card of his and Linden popped into his mind, the Duke of Darchez sneakily brought up how close Linden and I were to the emperor and suggested that we be engaged. And constantly brought it up here and there as if it were already a done deed.

However, being aware of the relationship between Lecht and I, the emperor’s reaction was lukewarm, and above all, Linden was also clearly expressing his refusal. With that as the root source, rumours began spreading about internal conflict within the Darchez Duchy. Though of course, the Darchez Duchy also had a horde of other problems besides that. But that isn’t likely to be the reason why Alion came to see me.

“That’s… the external reason.”

I laughed at his honest answer. “Why do you need to make up an external reason when it’s just an older brother coming to visit his younger sister?” I started to walk forward. “You can just come. I even gave you a gift at the proclamation ceremony in order for you to do so.”

Alion’s shoulders flinched at my words. This was our first conversation since the proclamation ceremony, so he seemed to have a lot to ask about.

“This way.”

I led Alion to a room that Meliara might be in. Although Lecht had a dissatisfied expression on his face, he still diligently left with Kelber in tow.

Just as I suspected, Meliara was in the room where the teddy bear was kept.

—Oh! Ara. You’ve co… with Older Brother.

Meliara, who smiled brightly upon seeing me, paused when she spotted Alion following behind me.

“Is… she here?” Alion asked upon seeing the teddy bear being beautifully displayed on the table when he entered.

“Yes.”

“How did you know that I came here because I wanted to meet her?”

“Is there any other reason for Alion Darchez to pay a visit to the Lunar religion?” Coming here under the pretext of talking about the engagement that was about to be annulled was too flimsy of an excuse.

Alion, who had been silent for a while, asked cautiously, “Where is she?”

At his question, I went and stood next to Meliara. Alion looked over when I showed him she was right next to me. Though it would only look like an empty space to him anyway.

He pressed his fingers against his furrowed brows with a complex expression on his face once again. “I’ve come to the realisation of it every time, but humans really are just animals with a weaker visual perception.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Since in this scenario, your sight, hearing, and touch, all of it should be excluded.”

Though it’s better if you can hear, even if you can’t see. Like how I can hear Lunar’s voice. But in Alion’s case, there was nothing. So even if he came with a huge resolution, it was more likely for him to overthink when facing the situation in reality.

“Is there really no way…?” He asked me in the end, unable to overcome the wall that was a human’s five senses.

Although I had shaken my head firmly last time, I couldn’t confidently do so this time. Ah… this seriously doesn’t seem right.

Alion’s eyes were particularly conspicuous as I pressed my lips tightly together. “Saintess.”

“Haa…”

He naturally noticed that I was acting differently this time.

With a long sigh, I began to speak heavily. “It’s not that there isn’t a way.”

“Is that true? As long as you tell me, I’ll do it.”

His enthusiastic appearance made my heart feel even heavier as Meliara bit her lips as well. It was because I had already told her.

“It isn’t easy either.” I hesitantly started to tell him the way. “The Little Duke… will have to die and come back to life.”

“Pardon…?”

As expected, Alion looked at me with an expression that seemed as if he must have misheard me.

“Haa…”

*

pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:

I had also been pondering laboriously over this part on the day Lunar had first appeared as well.

‘So there’s no other way?’

[There’s a way. But it’s a rather awkward method.]

At my question, Lunar spoke in a worried tone.

[Although you can see her and talk to her because you’re my daughter, you still would’ve been able to see her, even if you weren’t my daughter.]

‘How come?’

[Because you’ve experienced death before. Because of that, your soul has been suspended over both the realms of the living and the dead. Well, since that’s also something that’s closer to me, I don’t really have a problem with it.]

So being alive wasn’t something that was an obstacle. It’s just that the only ones that could be seen were those who had died ambiguously and couldn’t cross over to death like Meliara.

[So there’s only one way if her brother wants to meet her. And that’s for him to die and come back to life.]

‘Die and come back to life… Did I hear you correctly?’

[Yes, that’s right. Dying and coming back to life.]

How could you say such a thing so easily?

[It can’t be helped. Since it’s impossible for her to come back to life. Even I can’t do something like turn back time for the whole world just to save one particular dead person, regardless of how much authority I have over time.]

Even Lunar couldn’t get too involved in the lives and deaths of each individual. So even if a natural disaster like a landslide occurred, they still weren’t able to kill a specific person that way.

‘So the Little Duke has to die…’

[It’s not dying, but dying and coming back to life.]

‘Is it really as easy as how you make it sound? It’s not like he can open his eyes in another body like me!’

[My daughter, don’t you have the ability to neutralise poisons?]

Lunar said lightly, as if asking if there was a need for me to think so deeply about this.

‘What does neutralising poison have to do with any of this?’

[You can drag him to the point where he’s about to die with poison and then bring him back to life. Although it’ll only be a short while, it’ll still be enough time for the two siblings to meet, right?]

‘But if I fail to get the timing right, then he’ll die.’

[Yep.]

Is the weight of people’s life and death different to them because they’re a god? Lunar spouted crazy nonsense quite carefreely.

‘Haa… that will definitely be difficult.’

[Because miracles don’t happen easily.]

*

Recalling my memories of that time, I explained to Alion, “There’s no guarantee that it will definitely succeed. There’s probably a higher chance of failure since I’ve never done it before.”

No matter how, I had to stop him from dying. However, that didn’t guarantee that he would be able to safely meet Meliara either. Though Lunar had also said, ‘I guess he would?’, they never said that they were certain either. And what about the pain that would come from taking poison in the first place as well?

“So irregardless, it’s all up to you.”

I placed the poison that I had prepared on the table with the teddy bear. I had prepared it in case he came back and made such a request. To be honest, I didn’t actually want to use it, but…

“If you want to take that risk and give it a try, then…”

“I’ll do it.”

He answered before I could even finish speaking.

---

get ready for the next chapter bc it’s a real tear jerker

this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!

---

“…Ara.” I could sense the complex emotions in Linden’s voice that was calling out my name.

“Lecht. Could you wait here for a moment?”

Lecht had a dissatisfied expression on his face at my request, but he nevertheless still quietly retreated without any hesitation. I took Linden to a nearby room where there were no people.

Linden opened his mouth as soon as the door closed. “Why did you do that?”

“…Did it make you feel bad?”

“I told you not to do anything dangerous…!”

“Linden.” I quietly cut off his words that were said in a choked voice. I smiled slightly at him, who was looking at me with an inexplicable emotion on his face. “I’m Lunar’s child, who is called to be a saintess. In front of me, I have the Lunar religion, and by my side, I have Lecht guarding me. And although it will take some time, I will also have the Little Duke of Darchez, who will become the influential Duke of Darchez, watching my back.”

“…”

“Moreover, it wasn’t me that came forward first. It was her and Ziken who broke into the temple and ruined the proclamation ceremony first, and it was also them who aimed their sword at me first. All I did was respond to them accordingly.”

As if it wasn’t enough for them to break into the temple armed, they even tried to attack the saintess. It was a perfectly normal reaction for the Lunar religion to regard them as their enemy and designate them as their number one target to guard against.

“On top of that, the emperor has now turned his back on the crown prince.” He had tried so hard to remove the crown prince from the situation. Yet Ziken simply kicked all of the emperor’s hard efforts away.

“Now, neither the empress, nor anyone else in power, can touch you recklessly.” Even if they did try and touch him in the first place, they wouldn’t have a way to suppress the Lunar religion or Lecht.

Linden remained silent. He understood everything I was saying, so there was no reason for him to refute it; thus, he just looked at me quietly.

“Haa…” It was a sigh that was finally uttered after a long period of silence.

He covered his distorted face with one hand. Only his blue eyes were revealed through the gaps of his fingers.

“My life… it was like I was walking in a very long tunnel.” He slowly began to tell his own story. “Ever since I was very young, I had never seen my mother smiling happily, even when she was alive. Even when I lost my mother and went to live with my grandfather, that long tunnel continued onwards.”

“…”

“Although it felt like my grandfather was walking with me now as well, it was still extremely dark, it seemed hopeless. But then, the tunnel that I had thought had become desolate after my grandfather’s death… for the first time, I could feel a warm breeze gushing in.”

His eyes were fixed on me. With the light in his eyes filling with affection and pain. “The warmth that I had finally experienced for the first time was really… it could drive people crazy.” Linden stretched out his hand toward me cautiously. Nevertheless, it stopped before it could touch my face. It hung around that space, as if he couldn’t bear to touch it.

“But do you know what drove me even crazier?” Clenching his fist that was still suspended in the air, he spat out painfully, “The moment that warmth appeared, for the first time in my life, it was like I had begun to see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

“…”

“The tunnel that I thought had no end… it seemed to be letting me know that the tunnel where I couldn’t even see an inch ahead of me in the dark—it had an end to it.”

Linden let out a huff that was close to a sigh. It was a sigh that seemed to release all the stuffy feelings blocking his heart, as well as his suffocated breath, all at once. He took a deep breath and released all the air in his lungs. After breathing deeply for a while, he met my eyes.

“I’m going to check what’s at the end of it. So…”

“…”

“Walk with me.”

Oh.

I let out an inconcealable sigh.

“You were the one who gave me that light in the darkness and imbued warmth into that desolation. If you just keep walking by my side, I think I’d be able to keep going without losing hope, no matter what happens.”

“…Linden.”

“I want to see my future with you, who healed my past and made my present reality radiant.” He kept going on heartrendingly, as if he was a person who knew what I was going to say.

He cautiously stretched out his hand again to hold my hand instead of my face. Holding onto my two small hands with his large ones, he pleaded with me. “Is that not possible?”

My heart felt heavy. My chest seemed to be choked up.

I didn’t think that it would turn out like this with such a straightforward tactic. Since he was someone who would always gather information first, instigate a situation, and then gently scheme in secret. However, that’s also why I could see how serious he was right now.

So… rather, I’d also have to firmly convey my feelings as well.

“I’m sorry.”

Linden lowered his frowning face. His hand that was wrapped around mine tightened slightly.

“As expected… you can’t.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Did you know that word is really cruel?”

He was right. The words, ‘I’m sorry’, were probably the cruellest words in the world. All I could say in response to this person’s loss and pain was ‘I’m sorry’, just these two words. Even though I couldn’t help but say it, it was an extremely cruel sentence.

“To be honest… I overheard your conversation with Lydia and Grand Duke Arvis. About going back to the demon realm after the proclamation ceremony is over.”

“…”

“At first, I even thought of abandoning everything that I had lived for here and following you to the demon realm.”

This was completely outside of my expectations. I didn’t know you were having thoughts like that.

Raising his head, Linden smiled awkwardly and added, “But for you to seal it like this, saying that this is the place where I should be.”

I had ousted the crown prince as well as the power of his faction. At this rate, rather than Ziken being reinstated as crown prince again, Linden had a bigger chance at becoming the new crown prince instead.

“Giving me a gift like this is clearly telling me not to follow after you.”

“I didn’t mean it like that…”

Linden grinned at my words. “I’m meant to say that I’m thanking you.”

“…”

“Since this opportunity is the last gift you’ll give me. So I’ll handle it preciously and make it so that it will bloom beautifully.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“I really don’t like those words.”

“…”

“I’m thinking of seriously doing it properly. I want to take the position of crown prince and become an emperor that will go down in history. So that when we meet next time, only the words, ‘Great job, you’ve done well, you’ve worked hard’, will come out.”

Next time. He was promising me a next time.

“So if that bastard makes you cry, come back anytime you want. I’ll scold him harshly as the person who won the struggle for the throne in the human realm.”

Linden, the future emperor, who scolds the demon king. You care about how I’m feeling apologetic toward you, even in this situation. He prioritised soothing my pain more importantly than protecting his own wounds. Just like a fool.

Being fully aware of his efforts, all I could do for him right now was just smile at him, just so that his efforts wouldn’t amount to nothing. “Yeah, thank you.”

Only then did he let go of my hand and then reach out to my face. But instead of cupping my face with his large hand, he only lightly mussed up my hair. “If you know, then smile a bit. They say that smiling makes one happier.”

“Mm, you too.”

“Even though I’m going to be busy soon thanks to a certain gift from someone?” Linden said jokingly as he burst into laughter.

He took a step first. However, as he turned the doorknob, just before he left, he stopped and stared at me. “It feels unfair somehow.”

“Huh?”

“This is the only image of you that I know, yet Grand Duke Arvis also knows what you were like a hundred years ago.”

How did he find out about a hundred years ago? To be honest, it wasn’t too shocking that he knew. Since now that he knew Lecht’s true identity, it wouldn’t have been too hard for him to find out about our relationship.

“This appearance that I’ve seen of yours is already insanely lovable, yet when I think about how pretty you were a hundred years ago… I feel like it’s really unfair somehow.”

“It was just normal.”

“You? Normal?” As if he had heard something ridiculous, Linden added with a grin, “Like that makes sense.”

He vanished out of the door after that softly added murmur.

* * *

pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:

Coming out of the temple, Linden left without looking back. Though there were many eyes that were stuck on him, he ignored them all.

“Your Highness, Marquis Rothschild would like to speak to you…”

“Next time.”

A subordinate came and reported to him about this and that, but he cleared them all out.

“I’m tired. Next time for all of them.”

That’s how he got out of that place, as if he were running away. He almost ran back to his house.

Occupying the top floor of the Ezzarson residence was Linden’s own space. It was a space that had been occupied by him ever since his grandpa was still alive.

Closing the door with a bang, Linden roughly exhaled a breath that he had been holding in this whole time. “Haa.”

As he leaned against the door, the strength in his legs disappeared as he collapsed. When he leaned his head against the door, the appearance of Ara flickered before his eyes. Although he closed his eyes, he could picture her face even clearer in his head.

“Haa…”

She naturally popped into his head whenever he was alone. It was at the level of it being a chronic disease.

‘I knew from the beginning where her gaze was directed.’

There was no way he couldn’t be aware of it, since the way she looked at Grand Duke Arvis became the exact same way he looked at her. He had already expected a rejection from the time he had started to confess his feelings. Nevertheless, his reason for confessing to her was simple.

‘Still… at least you can leave comfortably now.’

If it was her, then she wouldn’t have been able to take a step with peace of mind since she would still be worried about leaving him behind. She must have been troubled thinking about how to vaguely end things with him, who she liked, yet was unable to whisper about love to. Since she was such a gentle and affectionate woman.

So he had no choice but to come forward himself. So that she could completely reject him and be comfortable.

‘How pathetic.’

Linden let out a chuckle. As soon as he had let her go, he felt as if his appearance of wanting her to be comfortable was extremely insignificant. Insignificant and pathetic. But he had no regrets. So he kept laughing, because that was even more pathetic.

“Linden, you don’t have to put so much effort in front of me.”

She was the most comfortable existence to him since he never had to package himself in a certain way. But at the same time, did she know that he had to put in double the effort to keep that smile on her face?

“You already know. I’m a pushover when it comes to you.”

No matter how much he thought about it, the pushover wasn’t her, but rather, himself.

“I’m not sure if you know, but I genuinely wish for your peace and happiness.”

Even though she didn’t accept him as her man, he knew that those words of hers contained unrivaled sincerity.

“In front of me, I have the Lunar religion, and by my side, I have Lecht guarding me.”

And because it was her, even her explanation at how she would be safe was simple, as she let him know that that man would be by her side. It was even crazier because she was such an innocent and candidly honest woman.

“Seriously… she takes first place for driving people crazy.”

The fact that she didn’t know what she was doing was the craziest part.

A bitter smile hung from Linden’s lips. His affection for her that he was unable to hide. The futility of having no choice but to give up.

And in the midst of all that, this ‘crown prince’ position that she had left behind for him became exceedingly precious. Yet if he could return it in exchange for her, then he would be more than happy to do so.

His opposing feelings had mixed in several places and penetrated his mind. But there was nothing he could do to make it better, so all Linden could do was let out a dejected smile.

---

glad this love triangle between ara and linden didn’t drag out for too long and that she was direct with it too—easier to rip a bandaid off fast than slowly ya feel
i’m glad it ended quickly bc i always did think linden was projecting his lack of affection and trying to seek that from ara but yeah, i have hope that the author will give linden someone that only loves him ❤

this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!

---

The fight was rather one-sided. Although Ziken’s knights were good, Alion’s knights were also second to none as well. Moreover, the knights that Ziken had brought had only been brought with the purpose of breaking Olivia out of prison, so they were far fewer in number compared to Alion’s knights, who had been gathered to guard the entire temple. Even I could still tell who had the upper hand despite not even knowing how to fight.

“Linden, could you go and evacuate the nobles?” Although the fight was going to end soon anyways, I still took the opportunity to push him toward the nobles. “Keep His Majesty safe.”

“His Majesty already has knights by his side.” As he was saying so, he pushed my back in that direction as well.

The nobles, whose lives were the most precious in this world, were running wildly in this dangerous situation. Linden calmed them down skillfully and led them away from where the fighting was taking place.

‘He’s the best at dealing with people.’

I admired his proficiency in that area once again.

‘Now that I’ve clearly imprinted Linden’s skills on everyone there, I should also get a move on now…’

It was when I was thinking of intervening in the fight.

“Die, die I said!!” Olivia, who was halfway to insanity already, desperately threw the dagger that she had toward me. Just where in the world did she get all that power from? To my surprise, the dagger flew directly toward me.

“Saintess!!”

“Ara!”

Astonished shouts broke out from all sides. Lecht, who had moved faster than anyone else, drew his sword to block it. But the dagger was unable to reach me or Lecht.

Because my shield, which I had prepared myself to use just in case, revealed its sturdy appearance. Although I had also thought so when I had taken it out to use against Frody last time, it really was a very holy looking shield.

Alion didn’t miss the opportunity that was provided, and immediately overpowered Ziken’s knights, who had paused at the huge shield that had suddenly appeared. The altercation finally came to a close.

I slowly made my way over to Olivia, who had been captured by Alion’s knights. On the way over, I picked up the dagger that had fallen to the ground weakly after being blocked by my shield. I alternated my eyes between her, who was glaring at me as if she was going to kill me with bloodshot eyes, and Ziken, who had been blocked by Alion’s sword and couldn’t come any closer.

I opened my mouth languidly amidst the silence. “You seem to think that I’ll be kind and merciful due to my label as a ‘saintess’.”

Schwing. Thud–! I flicked the dagger to the ground and it easily stuck into the floor with just the strength from my wrist alone. I could see just how well the blade had been forged.

“Kyaaaaa—!”

“Livi…!”

Olivia shrieked and screamed, as if she thought that I was throwing it at her, while Ziken, who was shocked, also flinched as expected.

“I am a person who feels that those who lay a hand on my people don’t deserve that respect from me.” I declared with an icy face. “The crime of breaking into the temple to kill me, who is Lunar’s daughter, without acknowledging your crime, which has placed the empire’s citizens in danger due to your numerous crimes. Furthermore, for the crime of daring to hurt the priests and knights who serve Lunar in Lunar’s own area.” I pointed at Olivia. “I punish you in the name of God, to live in pain for the rest of your life and to be unable to break free from it, even if you die.”

Bang!

As soon as I finished speaking, I heard the sound of heaven and earth being overturned outside. A bolt of lightning struck the ceiling of the Great Temple. It drilled through the unscathed temple roof and struck the area right in front of Olivia.

“Ahhhhhhh!!” Olivia screamed as her face turned pale at the large hole in front of her. It was a natural reaction to the true power of God that she was seeing for the first time.

[What do you think? The timing was great, right?]

If it weren’t for those additional words, even I might have collapsed in worship.

I turned my gaze away from her, whose face was filled with terror as she gasped intermittently, and looked at Ziken. He also looked back at me with eyes filled in shock.

“Moreover, toward Ziken Srengito von Bakarta, who actively promoted turning his sword against the Lunar religion, I declare in Lunar’s name that he will be regarded as an opposing existence to Lunar, and will be subject to strict surveillance and vigilance.”

It was an announcement that the Lunar religion would forever shun Ziken. At a time when everyone was in awe at the power of God that they had all encountered for the first time, the weight of those words were extremely heavy. Since I was now the only person to hold ‘the power of the living god’ in this era. I was well aware of that, so I was going to make use of that perfectly until the end.

I turned my head slowly toward where the emperor and the nobles were all gathered and standing together. Everytime my gaze passed over them, they flinched.

“Lunar doesn’t desire your excessive loyalty or your infinite worship. It doesn’t matter where your devotion lies either.”

There was no reason to especially discriminate against someone, just because they were a Solarist either.

“However, whoever touches our people, no matter who it is, we will never forgive them.”

We were willing to reveal our hostility, even if they were someone who is the crown prince, so it was practically telling them that if they wanted to make us their enemy, then feel free to support Ziken and attack us. However, how many of those who had witnessed the true power of God with their own eyes would have the courage to do so?

[Wow, my daughter is so cool! Just look at that frightening expression!]

…Fortunately people didn’t know that that very god would be this restless.

[So now it’s my turn to adorn the finale, right?]

As soon as Lunar finished speaking, the full moon in the sky began to change colours.

“The red moon…!”

Starting with someone’s breathy exclamation, everyone became fascinated by the red moon that could be seen clearly through the huge window.

The red moon was considered as more rare and mysterious, since its cycle was unknown.

‘Don’t tell me the reason why there isn’t a set cycle for the red moon is because it’s all according to whenever Lunar feels like it?’

[I can’t do it too often because it gets tiring. The only time I show it off is when people start to forget my existence.]

Receiving the moon’s red light, I swept my right hand through the air. Following my movements, a tremendous amount of divine energy poured forth from my fingertips. In an instant, the temple was filled with my divine power, and feeling their gazes on me again, I smiled.

“On the contrary, if you are someone who is considered as our person, Lunar will protect you, even after you leave this world.”

My divine power stretched out to everyone gathered here. Although it was a little petty, it was more concentrated around the priests, paladins, and Alion’s knights, who were all considered as ‘Lunar’s people’. The difference in treatment was obvious to anyone watching.

Leaving behind that sort of discrimination, I added, “The door to the Lunar religion is always open.”

So hurry up and defect. I mean, in regards to both religion and political support.

What I wanted to say was clear without having to say it out loud. Since the place where my divine power was most concentrated was none other than where Linden was.

* * *

pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:

Their response came faster than I had imagined it would.

The furious emperor made a proclamation on the spot. “The criminal will be burned at the stake tomorrow morning!”

Her sentencing was changed from a beheading to a burning, and the date was also greatly pushed forward. It was a result that everyone had come to an agreement on, so much so that it was unnecessary for them to list out all of her crimes.

However, an even more shocking proclamation was soon announced shortly after. “It is recommended that the Crown Prince, Ziken Srengito von Bakarta, who was swept away by his personal feelings and abused the authority that was given to him to aid the criminal in escaping and lent a hand in the criminal’s personal revenge is recommended to step down from his position.”

Although the word used was ‘recommended’, it was no different from ordering a deposition.

The shocked Ziken was taken into the imperial palace on the emperor’s order, and Olivia, who was completely out of her senses with terror, was naturally taken back into the imperial dungeons.

Now all that was left was Frody, who was by himself and naturally attracted a lot of attention, but the emperor asked me to be responsible for him as the saintess and resolve it. Of course, the emperor said this because he knew that Lecht, who was beside me was the demon king, but to other people, it would’ve seemed like the emperor had great faith in me.

Afterwards, the High Priestess declared that the proclamation ceremony had ended, as the emperor and the nobles all left their seats. As expected, I couldn’t see Linden either, perhaps because he had been swept away by the nobles.

“I really feel extremely wronged this time though?”

As I was searching from here to there for Linden, a charming voice caught my attention instead.

“I swear, I was just staying in my room obediently alright? But then that woman suddenly summoned me.” The expression on the face of Frody, who said he felt wronged, didn’t look wronged at all. “I was going to say that it’s impossible to renew a contract with someone whom I’ve already terminated a contract with~. So I was going to tell her that I couldn’t help her touch the saintess.” He whispered, showing his two hands to proclaim that he was innocent. His smiling appearance and tone that seemed to imply ‘I feel wronged~’ was extremely hateful.

“Don’t pretend that you weren’t aware of everything. Since there’s no way you didn’t sense Muso there.”

Frody smirked at my words. “I was just wondering why the wind that teleported us was so unsophisticated and coarse.”

From the moment he was teleported, Frody would have known that this was all something that was done by me. Since if that wasn’t the case, then there would’ve been no reason for Muso to participate in the matter either.

“By the way, Saintess, is it alright for you to make use of me like this without even obtaining my consent prior to this?”

“Let’s just say that we won’t ask you to answer to the crime of causing chaos in the Grand Duchy for this.”

It was discovered that Olivia had never asked for pestis to be sprayed on the Grand Duchy, so it was revealed as a deliberate act of Frody’s own doing. Although it was a situation where punishment was inevitable, we said that we would let it slide for this incident. No one was seriously injured, so Lecht use it to so that we could proceed with this operation instead of punishing him for it.

“Hmm~? You’re still trying to call it even between us by yourself…”

“Go.”

“Huh…?”

Frody was swallowed in an instant by a teleportation circle that suddenly appeared on the ground. It was a recall to the demon realm according to Lecht’s will.

Although there were a few priests that saw him disappear, they brushed it off by pretending not to know. Since it had also been their first time witnessing the power of God, they seemed to be cautious about asking about too much as well.

“Then, what should we do about the ceiling…? What’s with the hole, Lunar should learn to do it in moderation too. And what’s with this floor too?”

[Only by doing it this way would it be able to be this dramatic!]

“Then who’s going to fix this?”

[Everyone will be happy to witness the power of God.]

“Haa, I can’t believe it.”

The short play caused Lunar to be extremely elated.

“I used to think so before as well, but Lunar really seems to cherish you alot.” Lecht said, wrapping his arms gently around my waist. I doubt that he could hear Lunar’s voice, so I guess he just came to that conclusion by listening to what I said to Lunar. Was it just me that could sense the jealousy in his voice? Lunar was the one who confirmed my suspicions.

[Is this loverboy still even jealous of me? Gosh, how absurd… That’s my daughter!]

It was natural that I’d be loved by Lunar, so Lecht, who was even jealous of that, was so cute that I laughed. “It’s not so much that I’m cherished, but I think they’re just bored because they don’t have anyone to chat with.”

“I heard that they can also talk to the High Priestess on a day with a red moon. But why does it feel like they’re only talking to you?”

Lunar was the first to react to those curt words.

[I’m going, I’m going! Fine, I’m going to Lydia! Gosh, I don’t even want to look at you.]

“They’re going to Lydia. They said that the two of us could talk.”

“Good.” He was a demon king who used the power of Lunar and was also satisfied that he had kicked Lunar out.

“What are you going to do if Lunar gets mad?”

“I don’t think they’re that petty.”

No, I think they are. They were completely childish and cheap. But I just laughed it off. Even if they were childish and cheap, I knew that they weren’t the type to vent their anger on Lecht.

“Then, can I take you to the Palace of the Demon King with my heart at ease now?” A smile hung from Lecht’s mouth, as if he had waited for this day. I also felt his arms tighten around me. He seemed just as excited as I was about me going to the demon realm.

“We should go. But, I still have something to wrap up here.” I said, looking at Linden who was walking toward me.

---

i hope the author delves into frody more as a villain — it’s sort of obvious that olivia and ziken are the type of villains that are just cannon fodder to further the plot between ara and lecht so i think this is their last chapter that they actually appear in. tbh frody has more potential in his backstory for the author to really flesh him out as a character so i hope they delve more in depth to his and lecht’s past than the smidge they gave us in an earlier chapter

on another note tho, i made a patreon !! if you’d like to read ahead, the link for the ‘next’ button should lead directly to the advanced chapters table of contents! i’m currently trying tl enough for another tier and i’ll probably cap it at an extra 5 chapters because i’m still dying from uni ;-;

this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!

t/n
i’ve decided to change ryno’s name to the literal translation, ‘muso’. i previously translated it as ryno because i mistakenly thought it was the meaning behind his name, but it wasn’t. so henceforth, ryno will be known as muso, and when i have time, i’ll go through all my chapters (on my drafts, here, and wattpad GHSLDKFJ PAIN) and correct his name ^^

---

“Your Highness, can we take a short break…?”

“It must’ve been very tiring for you, right?”

Ziken guided the horse with Olivia in his arms.

“Haa, just how hard was it for you while you were in there?” He brushed his thumb over her chapped lips with a pained expression.

“I want to go wash up in the stream, even just a bit.”

“Alright, it’ll be safe for a while since we’ve already come this far.”

Ziken let out a sigh as he turned back to look at the way they came from. He got off the horse first and helped Olivia down.

He let out a long sigh as he watched her walk heavily toward the sound of water. To think that such a bright and energetic child would look so dejected…

“Your Highness. It’s dangerous for Your Highness to accompany us all the way.” A knight approached him to warn him.

“So you want me to send Livi off on her own? I should at least see her off safely to the villa first before I return.”

“But the jailbreak would have already been discovered, so at any rate…”

“Do I look like someone who can’t even take care of themselves?”

“…My apologies.” At Ziken’s reprimand, the knight eventually bowed his head and retreated.

It was when he turned his head in the direction Olivia went to wash up, worried that she would need a towel or additional outerwear.

“Wh-What is that?!”

A fierce flash of light burst out from where she had disappeared to, causing the knights to kick up a ruckus.

“Livi!” The shocked Ziken dashed in her direction in an instant. 

Standing there was Olivia, whose hand was bleeding from an injury that seemed to be made with a sharp rock. Although he was momentarily surprised, he could see that Olivia was standing in the centre of a large summoning circle. 

“I’m not resigned to this…! Frody!”

The summoning circle which quickly absorbed her blood, let out a strong light, circling quickly until it formed a figure.

“Hmm? What is it?”

The figure that appeared was the demon that had been seen in the imperial palace’s drawing room. Shocked, Ziken drew his sword, but Olivia reached Frody first.

“Oh, it’s my fake saintess again.” He acknowledged Olivia, who grabbed him by the collar. 

“Sign a contract with me, right this instant!”

“Woah, calm down Miss Fake.”

“Fake, don’t call me fake!” Shrieking back, Olivia pulled Frody by the collar.

“!”

What happened next made Ziken’s breath stop. His heart sank with a thud. 

Olivia was kissing Frody. The eyes of Frody, who was looking down at Olivia with an expression of, ‘What’s wrong with her?’, met Ziken’s. The look in his eyes quickly became provocative as he wrapped his arms around Olivia’s waist. He parted his lips as his long and slender fingers swept over every corner of Olivia’s nape and hair. The kiss gradually deepened as Frody continued to keep his eyes on Ziken. 

And Ziken, whose thoughts had come to a complete standstill. With a face filled with shock, he continued to watch as Olivia and Frody kissed deeply, not even daring to breathe. 

“You, you bastard!”

Ziken only came to his senses after the angered voice of his knight had been cut off. “Get away from her, you demon bastard!” Ziken swung his sword at Frody.

However, Frody dodged it lightly and pulled Olivia closer toward him by her waist. “Woah, woah. What will happen if your pretty lover over here gets hurt?”

“Get away from Livi!” The moment he shouted that, a whiff of gold osmanthus brushed past the tip of Ziken’s nose.

“Why should I? From a girl who has thrown herself into my arms and is clinging onto me like this?”

The scent became so overwhelmingly strong that it began to dizzily muddle all of Ziken’s senses. His vision began to swim and his body swayed unsteadily. Although he tried to pick up his sword from the ground and come to his senses, all he could see in his blurry vision was Olivia, who was hanging tightly onto Frody’s neck.  

“Li-Livi…”

“This is my order as your contractor. Take me to that woman!”

“That woman? Oh, you mean my saintess?”

“Urk…! ‘Your saintess’ is meant to be me!”

“Yeah, yeah. Alright. But granting that is a bit difficult.”

“What? Why?! The words of your contractor are meant to be followed unconditionally though!”

“That’s true, but…” Blocking his words, Olivia kissed him deeply again.

“Will this do? What else do you want? You said that my body would be enough!”

“Hmmm~?”

“Do you want me to give my soul as well? Okay, I’ll give it all to you, so just take me to her right now!” 

Frody could see that Olivia was holding a dagger in her arms as well. “No matter what you give me, there’s nothing I can do to help you kill the saintess, so… huh?”

No matter how deeply the saintess fell for Lecht, she was still a saintess. He could still coax her into becoming his, so it was still too early to make a decision to kill her. 

Just as he was about to refuse, a strong flash of light burst out from under his feat. It was a teleportation circle that stretched over Olivia and Frody of course, and even Ziken and his knights. 

“Huh??” The light engulfed them along with Frody’s rather stupid-sounding exclaimation. The beam of light shot up into the sky with a powerful gale and disappeared. 

The forest returned to its tranquil state once more. With only the harrumphing sound of the horses that were still tied to the trees. 

After a while, a bear-like figure appeared behind a tree.

“This much should do it, right?” 

A baby face that seemed incompatible with that hulking body.

“Phew, teleporting is just as hard as I expected. Especially with such a large number as well.” Muso let out a sigh as he slumped against the tree. Humans needed to use a space travel portal to cross long distances, but for demons, Muso’s ability was enough to allow them to travel short distances. “Her Majesty will take care of the rest, right?” 

He looked up at the moonlight that was shining through the foliage of the trees. Seeing as his heart was pounding violently, it seemed like it wouldn’t be too long until the moon turned red. A happy smile flashed across Muso’s lips.

‘As expected, Her Majesty is the best.’

It reminded him of when he first met the saintess when he was little. 

* * *

pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:

There were many people in attendance at the proclamation ceremony. Although it had been chaotic due to the various recent commotions, they had all still come running since this had been all the talk lately. The curiosity they held toward the Saintess of the Lunar religion, who had finally appeared after a hundred years, was also quite large. 

“Your Majesty, you must have been deeply concerned.”

“What could there be to be concerned about? I’m just relieved that it could be resolved.” All of them were gradually getting on the emperor’s nerves, but the emperor only brushed it off while smiling craftily like a fox.

“For him to leave the Princess of Darchez, who will become the Saintess of the Lunar religion to be by the side of a scammer like that is a bit…”

“Shush. What if someone hears?”

“You clearly think so as well. But on the other hand, Prince Linden Ezzarson was on Grand Duke Arvis’…”

Most of the whispering was about the crown prince’s choice and their growing interest in Linden. 

[Are they cursing the crown prince as well? Is that punk actually that pathetic?]

‘I can hear it as well. My mind is already quite chaotic, so you don’t need to do a play by play commentary of the situation right now either.’

I could naturally hear it all as well, yet Lunar still insisted on delivering the news to me again.

[My daughter is holding her proclamation ceremony, yet you want me to keep quiet. Isn’t that too much?]

‘Do you want to see me make a mistake in front of everyone? I don’t have any time to worry about you, so please be quiet.’

[Eiii, how cold.]

Despite grumbling, Lunar quieted down. Thanks to this, I feigned ignorance and was able to deal with the people who approached me. 

“Thank you for coming.”

“Don’t tell me you asked for this sort of favour because you thought I wouldn’t come?”

“Would that not be the case?”

Alion couldn’t find the words to reply to what I had said with a smile. Instead, he ended up changing the subject and threw out another question. “Why did you ask us for guards?”

“You just said so earlier. Because I thought you wouldn’t come.”

“Then just giving me an invite would’ve done the job; I can’t help but think that you have other intentions behind why you deliberately asked me for guards to secure this event.”

This guy really… He wasn’t good at expressing his feelings to his younger sister, yet he’s able to be straightforward at times like this. 

“It’s not like the paladins of the Lunar religion aren’t skilled enough, and even if they are lacking, Saintess also has…” Alion silently alternated his gaze between Linden and Lecht, who were standing somewhat closeby. It was a gaze that said that I could have used the Grand Duke of Arvis’ manpower or the mercenaries that belonged to the Ezzarson Guild.

“Due to the nature of this ceremony, Kelber, who’s always attached to me as a guard, can’t be by my side today… you don’t believe this excuse, right?”

“…You mean that puppy?”

I smiled and properly explained to Alion, who had a ‘does that even make any sense’ look on his face. “Just because. It’s not bad for us to look like a close pair of siblings to other people anyway.”

Alion swept his gaze around me with a complex look on his face.

“Meliara is over there.” I pointed to an empty seat on the second floor. It was a place that I had deliberately asked the priests to leave vacant for Meliara. Alion, who was staring at that place, shook his head and turned his eyes away.

“May I ask you a question?”

“Yes. As long as I can answer it.”

 “You said that you’d oust the duke, right?” I placed more emphasis on the word ‘oust’. 

Alion nodded as well, as if he had noticed my meaning behind it too. “There is only one reason why I lowered my head in submission to the crown prince. And that was because my younger sister wanted him.”

“…”

“Although I am also at fault for pushing my younger sister to that point, I still cannot condone my father’s actions. So now, I no longer have any reason to support His Highness the Crown Prince, nor the reason to go along with my father either.”

I smiled at his resolute tone. Since once a person who is simple and honest makes up their mind, it won’t be easy for them to break it.

“You’ve come to a good conclusion. I strongly support it. Then, I think today’s task will also be a good gift for you.”

“Gift?” He asked back, but a priest who was in charge of the ceremony began to guide everyone to sit down.

“Then, shall we move as well?” 

I was supposed to wait in the space behind the podium and come out when it was time for me to do so. It was when I stepped onto the stairs leading to the waiting area. 

Boom!

With a loud explosion, a huge whirlwind began to form in the middle of the temple. It was so powerful that it had enough force to make cracks appear in the floor and for the pillars to shake. People screamed and tried to flee in every direction to avoid it while Alion’s knights which were standing at attention proceeded to pull out their weapons. 

“Whew~ Muso’s wind seriously isn’t normal.” It was much more formidable than I had thought it was.

[After loosening the security of the temple’s boundaries earlier, is the play that my daughter planned finally starting now?]

‘Yes. So Lunar should also get the timing correct.’

[Of course! This is my specialty after all!]

After the wind dispersed with a flash, the appearances of Olivia and Frody were revealed, as expected. Behind them was also Ziken and his knights, who were still reeling from the teleportation.

“W-What the hell is going on with the situation here?”

“Over there, isn’t that the crown prince?”

“How could the criminal be here…?!”

“I-It’s a demon! The criminal really showed up with a demon in tow!”

All the nobles and spectators that were gathered in the temple were astonished. 

Whilst everyone was still stuck in shock, Olivia pointed at me with a dagger in her hand and shouted, “Frody, kill that woman right now!! That’s an order!”

The words that came out of her mouth made many people gasp sharply before fainting. There were some who really fainted, while others had their mouths hung wide open, unable to say anything.

“No, because our contract…” The sound of Frody’s voice, which was puzzled at the situation like everyone else, was heard slightly.

However, his words were buried under Alion’s shout. “Protect the saintess and subdue the intruders!!”

“Yessir!”

Ziken, who had finally managed to come to his senses when the Darchez’s elite corps flocked over with their swords and spears, was greatly flustered. He scanned the situation sprouting from his surroundings, and then slapped his hand to his forehead at the sight of Olivia and Frody. “Why is Livi with that bastard…” His face revealed the immense shock and betrayal he felt in that moment.

“Catch the criminal!”

But at Alion’s shout, Ziken was shocked back to reality and picked up his sword that was lying on the floor. “Protect Livi!”

“Y-Your Highness?”

“Right this instant!!”

His knights were briefly baffled by his orders. Half of them bit the bullet while half of them took up their swords with a sense of loyalty to Ziken.

“Block them!”

“Catch her!”

“Kill that woman—!!”

All kinds of screams and shouts were mixed together with the sharp sound of swords clashing against each other in the Great Temple. 

[As expected, the funniest thing in the world is watching fights!!]

Feeling refreshed as I heard Lunar say the words I had wanted to say, I struggled to keep the corners of my mouth from raising into a smile.

---

lunar is so chaotic good LMAOOOO

this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!

---

The morning dawned on the day of the proclamation ceremony. Since I was being proclaimed as the Saintess of Lunar, who was the god of night, my proclamation was scheduled to be held when the moon had risen into the sky at night. Thus, it was time to prepare for the event that would be held in the evening.

I had nothing else to do after choosing which clothes I’d wear. Even if I tried to help with the preparations, the priests would aggressively stop me from doing anything by forcefully keeping me in my room. To be honest, I was actually a bit tired since I had stayed up all night chatting with Lunar yesterday.

[So what you’re saying is, the truth is that you actually had divine power in your previous life, but that world was a place where divine power couldn’t be manifested, right?]

Even now, I seem to be sighing at that noisy voice.

[But despite that, the people around you are still fundamentally influenced by your divine power and are able to receive peace of mind just by being by your side…]

‘You really do talk a lot… Lydia wasn’t just saying it after all…’

[A lot? But I’m only talking about things of importance right now? If you don’t listen carefully, you’ll regret it when you end up hitting the ground later…]

They read my thoughts yet again. 

Haa… How is it possible for them to talk without even taking a single minute’s rest? If we’re talking about skills, then this is one too. What’s even more impressive is that it’s all stuff I haven’t heard before, with not even a conversation overlapping.

‘I thought I wouldn’t be able to hear you in the middle of the day when the moon disappeared.]

[The moon always exists somewhere. Like you said, just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not there.]

To think that they even used the line I said to Alion. Cheap, they’re too cheap!

[Aha! I suddenly remembered it since you said something about things you can’t see. Aren’t you curious about how the shield you have is made?]

I’m not curious. No, I’m curious, but I don’t want to tell them that I’m curious. Since it’s obvious that we’ll end up talking about that topic for another hour. 

‘I’m going to sleep. Don’t disturb me.’

[Daughter! You’re too mean! We’ll need to part ways after tonight is over!]

How terrible, to have to endure until tonight. 

I lay down on the bed, leaving Lunar, whose dignity as a god had disappeared over night, to kick up a fuss. Nevertheless, I still couldn’t sleep. This time, there was another distraction apart from Lunar.

“Saintess, His Highness the Prince has come.” 

There were visitors coming in and out as soon as day broke.

‘Looks like I won’t be getting a good sleep today either.’

[There’s originally something like destiny you see, so you’re born with some parts, and there are parts that you make as you live…]

“Haa…”

And Lunar, who had started talking about that straightaway. The reason why the Lunar religion’s saintesses don’t appear very often was probably because even if they did appear, they’d just run away from Lunar’s chatty self. 

With a sigh, I stepped out to meet Linden. I changed into my light inside-wear and went to the drawing room where Linden was waiting for me. 

“What did you come here so early for when the proclamation ceremony is at night?”

“I had something I wanted to show you. But Ara, why does your complexion look so pale?” Linden asked anxiously as he looked at my dark circles that seemed to hang down to my cheeks.

“I just couldn’t sleep well. It was probably because the issue I was worrying about hasn’t been fully resolved yet.”

I couldn’t bear to say, ‘I couldn’t sleep because Lunar was being too noisy’, so I smiled and made something up. 

“Really? Then you’d probably be even more glad to hear this.”

“What is it?”

Linden placed a piece of paper on the table. It was an official document that came from the imperial palace. It’s said that there wasn’t any inn or tavern that wasn’t connected to it.

“They’ve decided on the death penalty.”

Everything that Saintess Olivia had done so far was written down on it. Compared to all her other malicious acts, the story of her deceiving everyone as a saintess was written in the headlines the most.

“It’s also written that the Solar religion was also damaged because of this. Though I don’t know how much of this the people will believe.”

Wouldn’t they have already lost a lot of their trust in the Solar religion when they mistakenly took Olivia to be a saintess in the first place? But that was something for the Solar religion to worry about, not me. 

“As per your request, they seem to have excluded the story of you and the Grand Duke Arvis as much as possible.”

Although there was no way they couldn’t write about it, they thankfully only labelled him as someone who helped.

“That’s a relief. That way, it won’t seem like it was the Lunar religion who was saying all of that for no reason.” I brushed the official document slightly with my fingertips. My thoughts became complicated.

“What’s with your expression? I thought you’d be happy.”

“Hm? No, that’s…” Considering what Olivia had done, I thought that this punishment was well deserved for her. My thoughts weren’t complicated about that part. “There’s no mention of the crown prince at all.”

“Well, the thing is… that’s because His Majesty also thinks that he’s a victim who has been deceived by her.”

“He’s right to some extent, but it’s also the crown prince who set up the stage that allowed for her to run wild.”

Would she have been able to become that unruly without Ziken backing her? She received his protection just by shaking her shoulders tremblingly and shedding a few tears. Using his love for her, she transformed a lie into the truth. 

“There’s no way the emperor would have been unaware of that fact…”

“Still, he’s the crown prince. He wouldn’t want to put a stain on his reputation for nothing.”

“Even though the reason why that woman was able to commit those deeds that drove his innocent fiancee to become a villainess and annul his engagement with her was because he openly dated that woman?”

People were already aware of that fact. The nobility would already be suspicious of the crown prince’s qualifications, and that would serve as a lifelong weakness for him. Since the crown prince being described as a ‘wronged victim’ could also be interpreted as lacking the qualifications to succeed the throne.

“The only people who like pushovers that are blinded by love are those treacherous subjects who are in positions of power.”

“Nevertheless… it’s because he’s the crown prince. Even the emperor’s arms will naturally curve inwards¹.” Linden’s voice was bitter as he said those words. 

I cast a look at his face. The look in his eyes as he stared at the official document seemed to be entangled with complicated emotions, and his lips that were tightly sealed into a straight line seemed to contain an unconcealable sense of grievance and anguish. My own concerns seemed to fizzle out when I saw the expression on his face.

‘Although I’ll be going to the demon realm after the proclamation ceremony ends anyway, I can’t just stand by and watch the empire descend into a shit storm.’

As I jumped up from my seat, Linden’s eyes widened, as if he were shocked.

“Linden, the emperor…”

“…?”

“He has two arms.”

“What are you talking about…?” At the sudden irrelevant words, the voice of the dazed Linden trailed off. 

He seemed to get a grasp at what I was thinking. “Ara, no! It’s dangerous!”

He jumped up from his seat. “Do you think the empress will just sit by as you do that? Even if that’s not the case, the situation right now is already so worrying, so…!”

“Linden, answer me this one time. Do you want to be the crown prince?”

“That’s not what is important right now!”

“It’s important. Your opinion is the most important of all.”

“I won’t do, no, I can’t do anything that puts you in danger…!” He said, gripping my shoulder. 

“That’s not the answer to my question.”

“So, this idea is seriously crazy…!”

“I asked if you will be the crown prince?”

“…” Linden’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down violently. His eyes were especially eye-catching. “It’s impossible. No matter how much this incident has shaken his position, he still has the empress as well as the Duke of Darchez, so…”

“Linden.” I asked again, interrupting his blabbering. 

“Crown prince. Do you want it?”

“…” 

With his lips pressed tightly together, he bowed his head in the end with a small sigh. The hand clasping my shoulder trembled slightly. 

“I at least… am confident that I’ll do better than Ziken.” 

He confided his innermost thoughts that no one else would’ve seen to me. 

“At first, all I wanted to do was survive. But then, it became something that I refused to yield on that stemmed from my grievance with them.” He started to get angry at the empress, who wouldn’t let him go even if he lived quietly.

“But now, especially as we’ve experienced this situation… I’ve started to become greedy.”

It was understandable though. The Lunar religion, who opposed the Solar religion and stood on his side, as well as Lecht, who he began to spend more time with, even though it was rather difficult to say that they were ‘on the same side’. 

As the incident continued to unfold, there naturally must have been many voices among the nobility that said, ‘I’d rather the prince be…’. A chance could be seen in that road, which had only been dark before.

“If I had the same authority as he had, just how much quicker and easier would I have been able to handle this, and I kept thinking that I’d be able to be a better crown prince than him… because I’m confident that I will hold more love for the empire’s citizens than him.”

Well, that much is obvious.

“However, that doesn’t mean that I want it so badly to the extent that I’d push the people who are precious to me to be my arms and legs.”

Raising his head again, Linden moved his hands from my shoulders and gently cupped my jaw. Unable to reach it, he put his hand around that area and swept my cheek lightly with the tip of his thumb. It was an extremely soft touch. It seemed to tremble slightly as well.

“Ara, please don’t do anything dangerous for me. Even more so if it’s for me.”

“…”

“Promise me you won’t do anything reckless.”

I raised both hands to grab his hand. I lifted his hand off my face and smiled as I lowered it. “Alright, I won’t. I won’t do anything dangerous.”

“You really won’t, right? You won’t do anything, right?”

“To me, I’m the most precious person in the world. I won’t do anything dangerous.”

He let out a sigh and smiled at my words that were said with a smile. It was a smile that was mixed with relief and bitterness. 

Understanding the meaning of that smile, I slowly started to move. “Then, I’ll get going first. Since I have a lot of work to do today.”

“Right, there must be a lot to prepare for the proclamation ceremony.”

“See you tonight!” I said my farewell to Linden brightly and left the room.

After that, I headed to the place where Lecht was at. He was talking to Muso in the garden. 

“Huh? What brings you here, Muso? I heard that you can’t participate in the proclamation ceremony though?”

“His Majesty personally cast an illusion spell on me!” 

When I looked at Lecht in surprise, he explained to me, “Tanma sent this guy instead since he has a lot to deal with because of the incident this time.”

Oh, he’s here instead of Tanma.

“That’s actually better instead. Muso, I’m sorry, but could you give up on attending the proclamation ceremony today?”

“Heok, w-why…?”

I smiled at him, who was crying while asking if he had done something wrong. “I want to leave you with a matter that’s way more important than that.”

“What is it?” His eyes sparkled at the words, ‘important matter’.

“Listen carefully to what I say from now on. As soon as I finish telling you this, go over to the Darchez Duchy straight away, and…” I told him the plan that I had come up with. He listened intently with glistening eyes and nodded. Though the expression of Lecht, who was next to him, darkened a little. 

When my explanation was over, Lecht cut in. “But if the incident that you think of doesn’t happen, I think your relationship with Alion will worsen for nothing then.”

My plan was heavily dependent on other people’s actions, so everything could go down the drain and amount to nothing in the end. 

“No. Although the exact details may be slightly different, I’m sure that this sort of incident will happen.”

“How are you so sure?” Lecht shot me a look of doubt and concern. 

“There’s no end to human greed, so if she has nothing more to lose, she’ll also have nothing else to fear.”

“That might be the case for that woman, but what about the crown prince? He still has a lot to lose though.”

“Oh, the answer to that is even easier to predict.”

“…?”

“Lecht, just imagine that I had been imprisoned in an underground prison for being a con-artist that had deceived all the demons in the demon realm. Furthermore, I’ll soon be facing the death penalty as well.”

Lecht’s face stiffened immediately.

“But what would you do if I’m crying and clinging onto you, saying that I’ve been framed and that I don’t want to die?”

I had only asked him to imagine it, but black energy was already rising from Lecht’s feet. I didn’t even have to hear his answer for me to know what it was. Since he had already said those words before.

“If the regulations of the demon realm are the problem, then such a trivial thing like the demon realm, I’ll just replace that as well.”

I reached out and clasped his hand, which had been clenched into a fist so tightly his tendons were sticking out. 

“The crown prince would do the same thing.”

People were able to go beyond their limits to become impossibly brave in the name of love. So although it was still extremely dangerous on one hand, they would still be able to protect their loved ones. 

Especially Ziken, whose loved one was on the verge of death. A normal incident would already have him agitated to the extreme. I mean, that punk wasn’t even that smart in the first place.

“The difference is that you have the ability to do so, but he doesn’t.”

Lecht had the ability to not only save me, but also to protect the people around me. Tanma, Muso; he had the overwhelming power and ability to protect me without sacrificing a single one of them. Lecht could do that. 

I could feel Lecht loosening his clenched fist at my words. 

“No matter how moving their love is, there’s no way I can leave a person who drives their people to such extremities as the crown prince who is supposed to protect them, right?”

He was a man who could bring about the destruction of the empire by causing political and diplomatic issues just to protect his loved one. I had already tried so hard to prevent the destruction of the empire, so there was no way I could just leave it like that. 

In any case. “I want to at least give Linden that much before I go to the demon realm.”

Since I didn’t think I’d be able to keep the promise that I wouldn’t leave you, no matter what. Although it was rather high-sounding of me to call it an alternative, I still wanted to do it for him. Since I thought I’d be able to depart to the demon realm with no worries if I knew that he’d be fine, even if I wasn’t there.

In the end, Lecht nodded with a small sigh, as if he knew how I felt. 

* * *

pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:

That evening, when the sun had set and it was already dark. There was a suspicious movement in the dungeon of the imperial palace.

“Livi.”

“Y-Your Highness…?”

“Hush! Hurry up and come out.”

The exact thing Ara had thought would happen was starting.

[1] 팔은 안으로 굽는다 idiom that represents being naturally biased to those that we hold closer to us

---

i think it was touched on in a previous chapter but i agree with what ara said about having to sacrifice either love or power for the throne. if you want both, you should be strong enough to make everyone who opposes your love to submit to it. a king that protects their love without having the power to protect their own people just ain’t it, even if we do romanticise the ‘villain that gives up on the world to save their lover’ trope.

this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!

---

In the end, I confessed everything to Alion. That I was someone who lived in a completely different place, but had died in an accident a few months ago, and that I had suddenly woken up in Meliara’s body. After that, I had tried to sever my ties with the Darchez family to survive, but then I had suddenly become a saintess and subsequently had to return. And then shockingly meeting Meliara in the temple, and even the reason why she had to leave this body. Naturally, the part where this was a novel was also excluded.

It wasn’t a great story to hear. At first, Alion tried to argue that he had heard it all wrong, but it wasn’t very convincing. The biggest problem in the first place was that Alion also felt that I didn’t seem to act like how his younger sister used to before. 

“I just wanted to think that your personality had changed a little after encountering a big incident.” Alion let out a long sigh and rubbed his thin face. There seemed to be a darker shadow than before on his face. 

“You seem… to believe it easier than I thought you would.”

“Because I can’t help but believe it. Everything you do is different from my younger sister.”

You can even see those tiny differences…?

“I don’t know what you think of me, but… I’ve been watching over my younger sister for a longer time than you think.”

“…”

“Honestly, before you told me all of this… I had wondered if you were really my younger sister. I don’t know if this will sound arrogant, but…” He smiled bitterly. “Meliara, that child’s heart is quite weak, so if I had already pleaded with her this much, she probably would’ve already returned to the Duchy.”

Rather it was my determination that convinced him that I wasn’t actually Meliara.

“So my actual younger sister… is standing right here?” he asked, pointing to the seat next to me. He let out another deep sigh at the sight of me nodding my head.

“I’m sorry.” There wasn’t much I could really say about this situation. 

He turned his face that was filled with mixed emotions from the space where Meliara was to me and shook his head. “What exactly have you done wrong? You, too, only opened your eyes after your life was unfairly ended, and that place just ended up being here.”

Oh…? I hadn’t expected this. I had naturally thought that he’d blame me or get angry. But to my surprise, he simply calmly accepted the situation as it was. 

“And the fact that my younger sister… haa… my younger sister chose to give up on life was also my fault in the end.”

—Huh…? N-No. It’s not like that at all, Brother.

“She said that it isn’t though? It could never be.”

He gave me a slight smile when I told him what Meliara had said. “If it’s that kid, then that’s what she’d think. I can even imagine what sort of voice she had said that with.”

“…”

“But you know. That I’m too late.” Then, he put down the gift box he had shown me earlier. 

After examining Meliara’s face, I opened the box. There was a small hairpin in it. It was a cute and prim hairpin that suited Meliara’s timid personality perfectly. Although it was just a hairpin, it felt as if Alion was telling Meliara just how long he had been watching over her. 

“Just by seeing me only do what I should’ve done for you all along now, it’s obvious just how l…”

“It isn’t too late.” Perhaps it was because his voice was filled with so much pain. I uttered something that could’ve been too meddlesome. “At least you’re here now.”

I turned my head to look at Meliara. She looked at the hairpin with a heartbreaking expression on her face today as well, and raised her head to look at her older brother. 

“Your words, your actions, everything you do; she’s watching it all. Although she can’t come back… at least your feelings are being conveyed.”

Alion looked shocked at my words. As if he had never thought of it that way. He slowly began to breathe again after he caught his breath. But he inhaled deeply, as if he were trying to calm down his excitement. “Is there really… no way for us to meet?”

Oh, this is why I had tried to be cautious with my meddling. Hope was like a weed, so even if you only left a little, it would spread in an instant.

“Saintess. If you’re the saintess…”

“I can’t. If I knew how to do it, I would’ve done it already.”

“Whether it’s donating or anything, I’ll do it all. The official religion for the Duchy will also be changed to the Lunar religion. If I can just have five minutes… no, just one minute. Please, is there no way for us to talk face to face?”

“You know it’s not that sort of problem, Little Duke.”

“…”

This is why it’s harder to pluck out the hope that’s already spread. 

Alion bowed his distorted face. His clasped hands trembled. There was a silence where only his breathing could be heard, and then he rose from his seat.

“Pardon me.”

“Are you leaving now?”

At my question, rather than at me, he looked at the spot next to me. Gazing at the spot where nothing could be seen for a long while, he sighed with a complex look on his face. 

“I’ll take my leave.”

“Little Duke.” I called out to Alion, who was leaving after that greeting. As he was turning the doorknob, he turned his head.

“Although they’re invisible to the world, a lot of them are important.”

“…”

“Apart from the obvious love and hate, we can’t see the changes in scent, or the wind that changes the seasons either.”

“…”

“Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not there.” I said this since I knew he hesitated because he couldn’t see Meliara. 

His gaze returned to where Meliara was once more. “I’ll be back.”

I smiled and nodded at the slightly different reply.

—Thank you.

Although Alion had left and Meliara had said that, I couldn’t do anything else but shake my head with an awkward smile on my face.

* * *

pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:

I couldn’t sleep until late at night because of my turbulent feelings after meeting Alion. After tossing and turning for a while, I finally got up from the bed. 

I had wanted to go for a walk, but instead of going very far, I ended up only sitting by the window after I put on my robe. A cool autumn breeze blew in when I opened the window slightly.

‘Or should this be called the winter wind?’

Seeing that there were more leaves that had fallen than on the trees, it seemed that autumn was now coming to an end.

‘Seasons. Wind. And relationships…’

Relationships were so mysterious in the way that they would brush past like the passing wind, yet they would return like the returning seasons. A relationship that was thought to last forever could be cut off at some point and become irreversible, while there were also times where a relationship that seemed to amount to nothing would become a long lasting relationship. 

Although my relationship with Lecht was one that took a hundred years, it was a tenacious one that came full circle in the end. Olivia and I had an ill-fated relationship, but in the end, we were just brushing past and would never see each other again. In that sort of sense, the relationship between Alion and Meliara was even more complicated.

‘The relationship that I thought I was holding onto by myself was one where another person was holding onto as well…’

When he had started to pull on the string, she had already been in a state where she had let go of it already. But that didn’t mean she had left the string behind and disappeared forever either. Standing at the end of it, she was watching as the string was being pulled. But she couldn’t grab onto it. Then if that was the case, would she even be happy to see the string being pulled?

‘If it’s Meliara, then she would be satisfied with just that. But with the hope that the other party must be watching him, the one it would be hard on would be Alion, who has to pull on that string endlessly with that hope.’

Since he had given her such a hard time for so long, I wanted to tell him that he should be able to bear at least that much. But at the same time, I knew it wasn’t an easy time for him, so I couldn’t say that recklessly either. Two people who had just missed each other on their journey that I wondered how it could get so tangled. 

“How nice would it be if I could let you meet each other just once, even if it’s for a short while.”

I leaned my head against the window and closed my eyes.

‘What’s the point of being a saintess? I can’t even do a miracle like that.’

[I can do it for you though.]

I suddenly opened my eyes widely at the voice that was ringing in my head.

“What? Who is it?”

There was no sign of anyone present, so whose voice was that? 

As I looked around in surprise, Kelber, who was by my feet, also looked up. All three of his heads tilted to one side, as if they were wondering what the problem was. 

“Did you… not hear that?”

[As expected, the power of the red moon is the best! Time and space can overlap even if it’s not a full moon.]

“I really heard it! What the hell!?”

I jumped up from my seat. Then, I soon discovered something strange.

“Kelber doesn’t have any reaction to it…?” All he did was jump up with a ‘kking?’ sound, tilting his head as if asking why I was so surprised. That meant he didn’t think there was a threat. 

However, what was even more flustering was that I didn’t know where I should look to find the source of the sound. At least when I first met Meliara, I was at least able to pinpoint where the sound of her sobbing came from. But the sound I heard now was ringing in my head instead of my ears. 

[But my daughter. Your reaction is just too cliche.]

A voice that was so vague, it seemed too ambiguous to be a male or female’s.

‘They just talked about the red moon… right?’

And referred to me as ‘their daughter’. Even talking about time and space overlapping. 

I naturally remembered what Lydia had said, “The saintess is the only child of god that has been appointed by god themselves.”

Don’t tell me…

“Lunar?”

[Yep! It’s been a while, daughter!]

There was only one word that filled my heart at this moment.

“…oh my god.”

* * *

I was made to suffer for a long time because of that word that came out of my mouth without going through my filter.

[To think that your first word to me is ‘oh my god’… Daughter of mine, that’s just too much…]

“Sorry.”

[If you hadn’t come to the temple, I would’ve just been waiting here this whole time since I can’t even go to meet you…]

“I said I’m sorry already…”

The whining was extremely different to the stern and elegant image of a ‘god’ I had imagined. 

“But think about it too, Lunar. Isn’t it just too absurd for a god to suddenly pop out of nowhere?” 

I had known about it since Lydia had said that the saintess was able to hear god’s voice. Nevertheless, she had clearly only said that I’d be able to hear it on a night with a full moon though?

“Besides, what’s with the timing of your appearance? Thankfully Kelber was by my side, otherwise I would’ve definitely screamed and collapsed.”

Anyone would panic if they suddenly heard a voice when they were alone in their room.

[Still, wouldn’t it be better than hearing my voice while you’re in front of other people?]

It was their own consideration toward me so as to not make me seem like a lunatic. I couldn’t say anything more about the upsetting voice. 

“Are you really Lunar?”

[You don’t believe me? Should I do a miracle?]

“The full moon is obviously tomorrow.”

[I have more energy since it’s the red moon tonight. That’s also why my energy reached you faster. This is all possible because you’re my most precious daughter.]

Listening to the proud voice, I imagined an elementary student who looked down on the world in the form of a god.

‘When Lydia said that Lunar was talkative, I hadn’t thought it’d be to this extent…’

[What? Lydia said that?]

“Heok! You can read my thoughts?”

[Of course I can. Didn’t I say that our time and space had overlapped?]

Although I didn’t really know what they meant by overlapping time and space, I still understood that I would need to be careful with my thoughts now. I couldn’t even gossip in my head. Why did I feel wronged somehow… 

I rearranged my dishevelled gown and swept a hand through my hair. 

“Right. Well, anyhow, the important thing is that we met. It’s nice to meet you, Lunar.”

[Welcome home, daughter.]

“So, about the miracle I was talking about earlier?”

[Yes, what do you want me to do? Lightning in a clear sky? Hail? Or maybe you want a landslide?]

No, why does a human… no, god, say something so scary with such an innocent voice?

“Not that, but what I said earlier about letting Alion and Meliara meet each other.”

[Oh, that one.]

The voice of the excited Lunar slowly subsided.

[As expected of my daughter, you’ve never asked for something easy. Just how difficult is it to connect the space between the living and the dead?] They grumbled, [I’d rather you just ask for a landslide.]

‘Is it that difficult? But I can see both of them and talk to them though?’

[That’s because you’re my daughter.]

‘So there’s no other way?’

[There’s a way. But it’s a rather awkward method.]

‘Tell me.’

Lunar explained it to me step by step. My face couldn’t help but darken when I heard the whole story. 

‘Haa… that’s definitely going to be difficult.’

[Well, miracles don’t happen easily after all.]

It was a concern that started with a long sigh. 

“Then…”

That night, I didn’t end up getting a wink of sleep due as I continued to chatter with Lunar.

---

how do you guys feel abt the recent manhwa adaptation? there hasn’t been a good eng tl as of right now, but i’m not the greatest fan of the pacing and art style. somehow it feels like the expressions of the characters i imagined while reading the novel just aren’t being conveyed properly, plus the pacing is super fast it just feels too rushed. i feel like they somehow completely comediefied meliara; all the times you get to see her empathy working in the novel are just completely lost in the manhwa. the art style is pretty, but i just can’t grasp the emotions the characters are meant to have, so it just feels somewhat two dimensional.

this chapter is brought to you by mio
as translator, proofreader and editor!

---

“No, Ara, your skin is too bright so this colour won’t suit you.”

“Anything looks good on Ara.”

“That’s a given. I’m just choosing a colour that will look especially pretty from among them.”

Linden and Lecht were bickering, yet sitting side by side as they continued to pick out my clothes. They were in the middle of choosing the clothes that I would wear to the proclamation ceremony of the saintess which would be held the day after tomorrow. Although I was perfectly capable of choosing it myself, they had come and done it for me.

“Aren’t both of you busy? Your own work must have been delayed while you were dealing with this issue.”

“No, not at all.”

“One way to have more time is if you have a competent subordinate.”

They really got along well at times like this though. 

I shook my head and stood the two of them up. “Well, I’m busy so no. I’m saying that I can’t prepare properly for the proclamation ceremony.”

When I pushed them out with my hands on their backs, Lecht let himself be pushed out unwillingly while Linden turned back and complained. “So I’ll help you. What do you need?”

“I need time to myself.”

“Apart from that…”

“It’s all stuff I can do by myself, so go.”

Only me and the maids remained in the room after I had successfully kicked them out.

‘Come to think of it now, I can’t see where Meliara went.’

She had been waiting for us when we came back from the imperial palace. When I told her about everything that had transpired, she had burst into tears and had gone to slowly shed her sorrowful feelings. 

But after that, she was nowhere to be found. I had even gone to the area that had been specially set up for her, but she wasn’t there. She wasn’t next to the teddy bear either. I had briefly wondered if she had simply just left like this, but that shouldn’t be the case. 

‘Maybe she just wants to be alone right now.’

I mean, she had suffered because of Olivia for so long, and now all of that had been resolved.

“Even my thoughts are getting complicated for no reason.”

“Woof!”

“Mm, alright. Stop thinking about bad things.” I smiled at Kelber, who was acting cute to cheer me up. “You seem to be acting cuter since noona hasn’t played with you in a while, huh?”

Kelber had remained in the temple throughout the whole duration of the case since we constantly had to move here and there. He had continued to whine so we would take him as well, but there was no way I would be able to take him to infiltrate the villa or when we went to the imperial palace, so he ended up staying here for a long time. 

Maybe that’s why it felt like I hadn’t seen him for a long time.

“I’ll play with you a lot after the proclamation ceremony is over.”

“Woof!”

I was patting his three heads and giving him a heap of affection when I heard a knock at the door. 

“Yes, come in.”

Don’t tell me the maids are bringing in even more clothes? There were already so many for me to try on though. I turned my head in half worry and excitement.

What opened the door and came in was even better than what I expected.

“Why did you come in again? Go and do your work.”

“The Grand Duchy is too far away.”

Can even that be considered an excuse? Nevertheless, I still let out a small smile at his cuteness. 

“If you really do want to be left alone, then I’ll leave.”

“That isn’t what I meant.”

The truth was that I just couldn’t stand watching Linden and Lecht bickering all the time. I would’ve normally just laughed and brushed it off in the past, but now that my feelings were set in stone, I couldn’t just stand and watch that happen. 

Having said that, although I had never had a proper conversation like that with Linden, I just put an end to it by apologising and kicking both of them out instead. But how did Lecht notice that point and come back again like this?

Although it was rather unexpected, in any case, Lecht seemed to be particularly sensitive to the changes in my emotions. Since that much could be interpreted to mean that he was always watching me, my heart started to flutter at that thought.

“I’ll come back after changing into my next outfit, so do you just want to wait here?”

He grabbed my wrist that was outstretched and pointed to the sofa as I was talking. He then took something out of his inner pocket and tied it around my wrist. At the cold touch, it didn’t take very long for me to figure out what it was.

“What’s with the sudden bracelet…?”

“…”

“Oh, is it like the bouquet? Did I tell you that it was fine for you to give me a gift no matter when it was as well?”

The person I was a hundred years ago was someone who would’ve said something like that. 

As I asked with a smile, Lecht smiled as well, as if he had the same thought as me. “Those words are true too, but this is…” Holding my small hand preciously between his two large hands, he swept the tip of his thumb over the bracelet. “It was something I had to give you someday.”

“…Don’t tell me, you waited 100 years to do this?”

Instead of answering my question, Lecht smiled awkwardly. That itself was more than enough as an answer.

“It’s exactly my style.” 

Looking at the bracelet, I had the thought that the saintess from a hundred years ago really was me. We had similar taste in men, and our preferences regarding this were similar too. Even our habits and the way we talked were similar as well according to Lecht.

“It’s because I made it by copying a bracelet you liked.”

“Oh… what? You made it?”

“I wanted to give you something as well when you came back, just like how you left me with a piece of your soul back then.”

“Just Lecht’s heart is more than enough…” 

The fact that he never stopped loving me through a hundred years was more than enough. Nevertheless, saying it with my own mouth was a bit more embarrassing than I thought it would be. Although I had shut up rather quickly, Lecht, who had already heard it, stroked my cheek with the back of his finger again with a tender expression on his face. 

“Yes, if it’s you, then you would say that just giving you a rock that’s on the side of the road would be enough for you.”

“No, how could we possibly compare your heart to a rock on the side of the road?”

“But I’m not good enough.”

“…”

“No matter how much I give you, it will always be lacking; it won’t be enough.”

Wow… he’s seriously coming in with his blinkers on¹…

“The rose shines when you get closer to it.”

“Is this like that as well?” 

It’s not shining though…?

“A summon.”

“What?”

“It’s a device that can summon me, anytime, and anywhere.”

“!”

My eyes widened. I couldn’t help but be shocked. How could I not be shocked when he put a device on my wrist that was capable of summoning the demon king?

“In any case, this is a bit…”

“It’s disposable.” Lecht added quickly.

Did he make it a one use item since he knew I would feel burdened otherwise? I laughed at how cute he had been when he had quickly added that it was disposable lest I refuse it.

“What is this? Are you giving this to me so that I can call you when I need you because you’re not thinking of staying by my side anymore?”

“…!” Although I had only been joking, Lecht seemed to be extremely flustered. “It isn’t like that. It isn’t that, rather, I made it like that since there was no other way for me to show you that I’m now bound to you.”

Wow, this was the first time I had seen Lecht speak so fast.

“I have no intention of leaving you.”

I could see just how frantic Lecht was by the way he cupped my cheeks so that my eyes were fixed on his while he talked. “Just like in the case where Frody approached you as soon as I left you, if that ever happens again and something happens to you when I’m not there, I would never forgive myself for it. That’s why I did it.”

“I know.”

At his appearance of continuing to explain desperately to the point where it was pitiful, I tried to calm him down. Even the remaining mischievous feelings I had of wanting to see more of that adorable appearance had all but disappeared now.

“You’ll stick right by my side, I know.” And the words I had wanted to say last time, but couldn’t. I carefully brought out the feelings of my heart that I wanted to show him. “I believe Lecht, since you’re a man who keeps his promises no matter what. That’s why you’re reliable, and cool, and…”

I couldn’t find the words to say when he just continued to stare at me with my face in his hands. My throat felt itchy, but the words wouldn’t come out. My heart felt like it was flipping upside down, my cheeks in his hands felt burning hot, and his gaze that was on me made me feel even more embarrassed. At this rate, it seemed like I wouldn’t be able to say what I wanted to say.

So I stepped forward. He hadn’t used a lot of force to hold me, so I easily escaped his grasp. And then I plunged straight into his arms. 

It was a rather funny issue. It was embarrassing for me to just look into his eyes, but I was used to hugging him like this. I gently embraced the arms that felt safer than anywhere else in this world. 

“That’s why I like you.”

Badump, badump, badump, badump.

Was this heartbeat that was sounding in my ears my own or Lecht’s? It was probably both of ours, but frankly, it didn’t matter anyway. 

I buried my red face into the nape of his neck. His refreshing scent, which had now become my favourite fragrance, gently tickled the tip of my nose.

“Ara.”

“I won’t say it again!”

How could I possibly confess my feelings twice when I’m already feeling embarrassed? I grumbled as I tightened my arms around him for no reason. 

Soon after, I heard a small laugh in my ear as he wrapped his arms around me. He hugged me tighter in his large embrace.

“Just once is enough.”

His sweet voice stirred up my eardrums. Our conversation ended there, but the warm hug and our loud heartbeats continued.

It was when I thought I would fall into a honey pot just like this.

—A-Ara! What should we do, outside…! Heok!

Meliara shouted as she urgently appeared after floating through a wall. Then, she turned around in surprise when she discovered Lecht and I. Shocked, I quickly moved away from Lecht, while Lecht looked at me with wide eyes, shocked from my actions.

“Ara?”

“Oh, the thing is… Meliara appeared…” I whispered softly, pointing to where Meliara was standing. 

“Oh.” Lecht also nodded lightly, as if he now understood why I had pushed him away. 

“Ahem, so why did you come and find me?”

—I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt…

My face was scarlet red from the fact that I had wholeheartedly hugged Lecht as well as the obvious embarrassment that was visible on the face of Meliara, who had witnessed it all.

“E-Enough about that…! What’s outside?”

A knock sounded before Meliara could answer my question. In any case, I flinched momentarily, perhaps because I had heard Meliara’s urgent voice talking about something ‘outside…’.

“Saintess, a visitor has arrived.” A maid spoke from outside.

“A visitor?”

Judging by the reaction of Meliara, who was shocked and covered her mouth with one hand, I could guess that the reason why she had barged in so urgently was because of that visitor…

“Yes, the Little Duke, Alion Darchez is outside.”

“Oh…”

I was able to understand why Meliara had been in such a fluster at the name of that person. 

* * *

pls do not share this anywhere or u will always stub ur toe when u walk past a door frame !! this translation has been stolen from mioscorner.com, pls only read there i’m begging u :kneels:

The only ones who were left in the drawing room were Alion and I. At my feet was the napping Kelber, stuck to me like a piece of gum. Of course, Meliara was there as well, but she was invisible to Alion, so from his point of view, there were only the two of us here. 

A long bout of awkward silence passed.

“I’ve just come back from the imperial palace.” He opened his mouth first. “They said that they would compensate for the damage that the Darchez Duchy has suffered during this time.” 

“…”

“I told them that I’d rather they reward you instead, since you were the one who suffered more damage than the Duchy.”

“His Majesty already told me that he would give me a separate compensation.”

“Yes, that’s what His Majesty said to me as well.” Alion smiled bitterly. Sighing silently, he bowed his head. “Now there’s no excuse I can use for me to ask you to come back.”

“…Aren’t you going to say anything about me sneaking out the messenger and all the other witnesses?”

“What right do I have to talk about that? It’s a villa that belongs to the Darchez Duchy so you can easily go in and out of it if you want, plus giving you the witnesses if you wanted them would be the right thing to do in the first place.”

Alion raised his head heavily and stared at me. I couldn’t hold up to his gaze and turned away. Although all he saw was his younger sister, the emotion behind that gaze was too heavy for me to bear, since I wasn’t actually his younger sister. 

“Melia…”

“Little Duke.” I took the initiative to interrupt him before he could say anymore. “I’m not your younger sister.”

“Meliara, please.”

“I’m not saying this because of the bad feelings that piled up from your past deeds.”

“…”

“It’s just an irrefutable fact.”

I couldn’t bring myself to say the part where an outsider had taken over and currently occupied his younger sister’s body. Although Meliara was able to accept this fact since she was a child who already had no lingering feelings for life in the first place, him being able to accept it was something that was beyond my knowledge.

However, I still thought it would be wrong of me to pretend to be his younger sister. No matter how much he looked for her, he wouldn’t be able to meet Meliara, and I wasn’t her either. So I should just cut it off cleanly right here. 

“I can’t go back to your side.”

His face distorted immediately as he bowed his head, as if trying to hide it. A faint sigh echoed throughout the drawing room. 

He slowly raised his head again, an expression of resignation on his face. “I’m going to oust my father and become the duke.”

He had even used the term, ‘oust’. That in itself was quite symbolic. I could see just how resolute he was in that decision, just from that alone.

“So… if you decide that you want to come back at any time, the Duchy’s doors will always be open to you.” After leaving those words behind, he rose from his seat. 

I couldn’t bring myself to say anything until he had left the room.

“Haa…”

After Alion had disappeared, only Meliara and I remained in the room. 

“I’m sorry. At any rate, he’s still your older brother, but I so heartlessly… but it’s because I really can’t be like you.”

—No. This is for the best. I think this is better. I think he’d have a harder time if he found out that I couldn’t stand it and gave up on my life in the end. 

“You’ve lived your whole life being misunderstood like that, and you’re still able to forgive your older brother?”

—…I guess so.

“You’re too nice.” I let out a sigh. “Should I tell him to come to the temple when I’m not here? That way, even if he can’t see you, you’ll at least be able to see him often.”

—He’s a busy person. How could he do that?

“You’re even worrying over others now as well. You can be selfish sometimes as well. Even after living your whole life in suffering, you…”

—Because I don’t know what’s going to happen next either.

I was lost for words when Meliara looked down at her own hand. No, why are you suddenly rushing in with the facts… it really makes people speechless. 

But what really happened next actually made me speechless.

“What… were you talking about just now?” The voice of the man who was supposed to have just left sounded from the door. 

Shocked, our heads turned around at the same time to find Alion still standing there. 

“L-Little Duke? You haven’t left yet…?”

“I forgot to give this to you… but what were you just talking about?”

He had a small gift box in his hands. Was he trying to give me all the gifts he hadn’t been able to give me so far? But that was beside the point.

“Who are you talking to?”

“That’s…”

“No.”

“…”

“Who are you?”

Oh… we’re in big trouble.

[1] coming across really straightforwardly and headstrong

---

my heart truly breaks for og meliara and alion </3 simply two children from a broken family that weren’t taught how to communicate or love

also one of my fav songs to listen to for this chapter is lily of the valley by daniel! i’ve been listening to the slowed and reverbed version and it’s absolute perfection fHGSDFLK i’ll link it down below here!