Chapter – 04
Sinkester.
Our kingdom is the only “Holy Kingdom” on the Elysium Continent.
All citizens are born with holy power, and among them, the royal family is born with an especially large amount.
Since Sinkester was a theocracy, my older brother Erdan—who was born with a vast amount of holy power—was both the Pope and the King.
However, unfairly, I, Charlotte, had no holy power at all, perhaps because I was a villainess.
That is why I was destined to grow jealous of Aurora and try to kill her, only to be executed by Cedric.
“Hey, Aurora. Why do you think I don’t have any holy power?”
“Huh? That is…”
As I suddenly asked while walking toward the altar, Aurora’s expression turned troubled.
I had asked purely out of curiosity, but Aurora seemed to think I was deeply troubled by it.
Her blue eyes wavered as she avoided my gaze.
“Maybe it’s because His Majesty the King has so much holy power? It’s said that if one sibling has an exceptionally large amount of holy power, the other may have almost none.”
“So you’re saying it’s because of my brother?”
“Oh my—! Don’t say tha—!”
Aurora flailed her hands in panic.
“If His Majesty hears that, he’ll be heartbroken! He loves you so much!”
“I know that. That’s why he even gave me an important position managing the royal sacred relics.”
Originally, that was the duty of Erdan, who was both Pope and King.
But in order to solidify my position in the royal palace despite having no holy power, he assigned it to me over the objections of the nobles.
Of course, part of it was also because Aurora, the Saint, supported me by saying I was qualified.
“Aurora, I’m grateful to you too. I really am.”
“Charlotte…”
For a moment, Aurora looked moved, then grabbed my hand.
“You don’t need to thank me for that. I live in the temple outside the palace. Just managing the temple relics is already hard enough. If you handle the royal palace relics, I’m actually relieved.”
“Are you really a saint?”
“Even saints have things that are hard.”
“You really are consistent with your character.”
Just then—
As we walked through the corridor, a chilling sensation suddenly ran through my entire body.
Aurora was the first to notice.
Following her gaze, I saw a man in uniform.
Since his back was turned, what I saw was not his face, but the emblem on his cloak.
A dense forest on a pitch-black background, two ash-gray wolves on either side, and a greatsword planted in the center.
It was the emblem of the Blackwood family, the Eastern noble house of Blake.
Only one person on the continent could wear that hideous black emblem on his uniform.
I had no choice but to stop walking.
Perhaps noticing our presence, he slowly turned around.
As expected, it was the Sixth Prince of Blake—Prince Leonald.
“……”
He did not feel like an extra, to be honest.
His hair was blood-red, his nose bridge straight, and his sharp jawline gave him a somewhat stubborn impression.
Moreover, the physique visible beneath his cloak made it easy to imagine how much sword training he had endured.
A broad, firm chest, a strong, well-built frame, and long legs beneath powerful thighs that looked like they might burst.
But what truly stole my attention were his red eyes.
Those blood-colored eyes were serene, as if he had transcended the world, yet they sent a chilling sensation down to the bones of anyone who met them.
Could a gaze be both radiant and horrifying at the same time?
As I stared, unable to speak due to that contradictory feeling, he noticed us and approached with the sound of footsteps.
“Charlotte, focus.”
At Aurora’s words, I snapped back to my senses.
I straightened my stiff posture and lifted my chin regally.
Soon, he stopped one step away and bowed politely in front of us.
“The beautiful princess of Sinkester, and the sacred Saint of the Elysium Continent. It is truly an honor to meet you both like this.”
“……”
“However, I regret that this is a corridor. If I have interrupted a private conversation, please forgive me.”
To be honest, he did not look particularly apologetic.
He merely tilted his head slightly and spoke in a rigid tone. Even considering he was an imperial prince, it was an arrogant attitude.
Unfortunately, I suffered from a strange incurable condition: trembling in front of handsome men.
I could not possibly shout at them confidently, grab them by the collar, or challenge them to a duel.
However, unlike me, Aurora—whose heroine energy was max level—was firm.
“Prince, we are a bit confused. Why are you in this ‘Corridor of Dawn’?”
“……What do you mean?”
“The Corridor of Dawn is the passage leading through His Majesty the King’s office to the royal altar. It is far from the guest annex where honored guests stay. So why are you here?”
Indeed, the corridor we were walking through led to the Bloodline Altar.
And that Bloodline Altar was a very important place containing the sacred relic that protects Sinkester from invaders.
So wasn’t it strange for a foreign prince to be in the corridor leading there?
Snapping back to attention, I stepped forward beside Aurora and spoke.
“The Saint is correct, Your Highness. And if you had arrived at the palace, I would have been informed. However, I received no report.”
At my words, his head tilted slightly.
“Oh my, the information is slow. I arrived half a day ago.”
“Half a day ago? I received no news whatsoever.”
“That would be natural. I postponed meeting you because you were changing dresses.”
His perfectly drawn eyebrows drooped slightly, and I became flustered.
“I apologize for postponing the meeting. But I truly did not receive any notice of your arrival.”
“Then it must have been a miscommunication. However, I did greet His Majesty the King.”
With such polite and reasonable answers, I was gradually rendered speechless.
But unlike me, Aurora did not back down and countered again.
“Arriving half a day ago and being here in this corridor are two different matters. I asked why you are here.”
“I got lost.”
“……For half a day?”
“……Yes.”
Aurora still seemed suspicious of him. She crossed her arms and bit her lip hard.
‘This is going to turn into a fight.’
For the sake of Aurora’s reputation as a Saint and my friend, and to show my royal generosity, I quietly whispered to her.
“Aurora, let’s just let this go.”
“Charlotte, you….”
Then I smiled brightly at Leonald.
“Prince, since it’s your first time here, it’s understandable that you might get lost. Our palace is quite beautiful, so you must have been distracted while walking.”
“It is indeed beautiful.”
“But saying you were lost for half a day sounds a bit excessive, doesn’t it? Even if your sense of direction is poor, if you go outside a bit, there are knights and maids everywhere.”
I smiled shyly and fanned myself. I ignored Aurora’s piercing stare beside me.
“……Yes.”
However, for some reason, the prince’s expression darkened as he nodded, as if what he had just said was serious.
“It was indeed meant as a joke.”
“Your Highness?”
“But honestly, I did find it difficult to navigate this palace for the first time. So could you guide me out?”
“Ah… ah! Yes. I will assign a servant to you.”
I quickly ordered one of my attendants to escort the prince to the guest annex.
“Then, I look forward to meeting you formally at the banquet.”
The prince soon walked away from me.
But why did I feel so uneasy? Normally, I only felt refreshed when seeing a handsome man—I never felt uneasy.
As I stood there watching the handsome man grow smaller in the distance, Aurora poked my side.
“Stop staring.”
The door to the Rose Room, assigned to the Sixth Prince of Blake in the guest annex, swung open.
Wondering who would dare be so rude, it turned out to be Leonald.
William, who had been sitting on the sofa working through documents, turned his head toward him.
“You’ve returned, Your Highness?”
However, upon closer inspection, the prince’s expression was not good.
There was a faint trace of displeasure on his perfectly handsome face.
And to be honest at this point…
As expected of someone heaven itself had gifted with terrible sense of direction, Leonald had indeed gotten lost.
