Beguiling the Enemy’s Patriarch - Chapter 157

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 157
* * *
That ominous premonition proved to be no mere worry. For the week that followed, I found myself simultaneously indulging in luxuries I could count on one hand in my lifetime, while being buried beneath suffocating overprotection.
“I… would like to get some fresh air in the Garden…”
“I shall accompany you, Princess!”
The moment I stepped beyond my chamber door, dozens of eyes fixed upon me. Wherever I went, servants in formation—two rows, five columns deep—trailed obediently behind.
“What did you consume this morning? At midday? For refreshments?”
The Old Physician observed my every movement with a hawk’s gaze, meticulously recording each detail.
“Eek! Are you unwell, Princess? Good heavens, a filthy insect in your Bedroom!”
“It’s just a flying insect…”
Marienne and Roxanne, who would sterilize an entire room the moment a single gnat landed on me…
“…I suppose one does grow accustomed to such things.”
Indeed, humans are creatures of adaptation. Besides, I had endured such suffocating care countless times during my years in Belgot two years prior, and my time in Lebovni had been scarcely different.
I lay sprawled across my bed, clutching a pillow absently.
“At this rate, I truly shall become a lazy cockroach.”
[No, little one. You need more rest.]
The difference this time was that even Raulus had become stern. I tossed the pillow aside and instead embraced the massive silver wolf, rolling across the bed with him cradled like a stuffed toy.
“Is my condition truly so dire?”
[Your body was completely consumed by the most malevolent magic. Moreover, you ventured to places a human form could scarcely endure.]
He was clearly referring to what lay beyond Udeta. Raulus emphasized his point with renewed gravity.
[What has once shattered breaks easily again, little one.]
If even Raulus spoke with such gravity, my condition must have been truly severe. I buried my face against his fur and carefully traced through my memories. My recollection ended at the moment I witnessed Hades being sealed beneath the Altar. Beyond that, I remembered nothing. I opened my mouth cautiously.
“It’s rather late to ask, but I should still inquire—how was everything resolved?”
[You ask remarkably soon.]
Raulus tapped my cheek with his snout in mild reproach. I pouted my lips.
“Auredhian won’t tell me. He only insists I needn’t concern myself with that matter any longer.”
He clearly disapproved of my taking any interest in those events. I sighed and pressed Raulus further.
“Tell me. Quickly. A month has passed—why can Lari still remain here? And what exactly does it mean that I’ve been granted the authority of the Priesthood?”
[Granting you the authority of the Priesthood means I have delegated a portion of my own authority to you.]
“A portion?”
[You can now wield my divinity directly. And you shall be the first to receive my will.]
Ah, so that explained why I could now hear his voice clearly despite no longer being his summoner. Raulus continued.
[You would even be capable of bestowing blessings upon the Surface in my stead.]
“Blessings?”
That revelation truly startled me. I sat upright abruptly and faced Raulus directly. He spoke without the slightest hesitation.
[You could accomplish far more than other priests, provided you learn to wield such power properly.]
“I see…”
I nodded blankly. It seemed Raulus had granted me far more than I had anticipated.
[Of course, such things are beyond your current capacity. These are matters for when you have mastered them—so you must refrain from hastily bestowing blessings or such things. Understood? It is far more troublesome than one might think.]
“Yes.”
I shouldn’t do what I was told not to do. I felt the sacred power flowing within me for a moment. If becoming a priestess meant this, then it made sense that holiness was brimming from my body so abundantly.
Raulus sighed.
[I would have preferred this matter not to spread, but it seems the rumors have already circulated everywhere.]
“Rumors…?”
[Yes. That’s why they’re keeping you so tightly wrapped up. It means there are many people targeting you now.]
“I see.”
I quickly grasped what he meant. The appearance of a priestess—or a saint—capable of bestowing Raulus’s blessing in his stead was inevitably destined to become a topic of both internal and external interest. Raulus’s blessing wielded far more power than mere symbolism.
[So even if they try to hide you excessively, I hope you’ll understand. That child has walked through quite the hell for a month, after all.]
“…”
[From my perspective, it’s not just you who needs recovery. Ah, well.]
Raulus trailed off and let out a low growl before leaping down from the bed. I stared after him in bewilderment.
“What? Why?”
[I’ll be going, little one. That child despises me entering the bedroom.]
“…?”
Raulus left those words behind and swiftly hurled himself through the window. In the very next moment, the bedroom door handle turned. It was Auredhian Belgot. He entered the room with a slight frown.
“Yeni? Raulus was surely heading this way…”
I watched him as he scanned the room. Raulus’s parting words echoed repeatedly in my ears.
[It’s not just you who needs recovery.]
That must be it. I smiled brightly at Auredhian Belgot, whose eyes swept cautiously across the bedroom.
“You came early. Have you finished all your work?”
“I postponed it. I was worried.”
“Is that allowed?”
“I don’t know. Felix will handle it.”
“…”
Raulus was right after all. We both needed rest and recovery. I held the man burrowing into my embrace and patted his back, thinking that for now, I would have to accept this overprotectiveness.
* * *
The Princess had awakened. The Imperial Palace, which had fallen into a period of stagnation following its master’s mood for nearly a month, regained its vitality. Much of this was due to the Emperor’s noticeably improved disposition. Moreover, with the Princess moving about here and there since awakening, there was no moment of peace.
The entire attention of the Imperial Palace was focused on one person. It was only natural. If anything happened to the Princess who had just opened her eyes, the Imperial Palace might burn down again just like two years ago.
But the person who couldn’t take his eyes off Yerenika most of all was, of course, Auredhian Belgot. Checking her pulse at the wrist or neck had become such an unconscious habit that he no longer even noticed it. Even when he was in his office, his mind was entirely fixed on the bedroom, so work was hardly progressing. He was anxious to take his eyes off her even for a moment. Only after confirming she was asleep could he barely bring himself to look at his duties. Even knowing he was being excessive, there was nothing he could do about it. He still found himself doubting whether this was real, not a dream.
Auredhian Belgot stayed by Yerenika’s side until she fell completely asleep today as well. And what awaited him when he finally returned to his office was not merely a pile of documents. The item he had waited two years for had arrived.
“It certainly took long enough.”
Auredhian Belgot sighed and reached toward what lay carefully placed on his desk. Click. He unlocked the small lock and confirmed the contents within, a faint satisfaction crossing his face. It had been two years ago last summer when he commissioned this. The seasons had made two full cycles, and now they were at the end of summer again.
But even if it had been completed earlier, he wouldn’t have been able to present it anyway.
‘Perhaps now is the right time.’
Moreover, the result was more satisfying than his long wait. A gleam. A deep crimson hue sparkled against the velvet. Auredhian Belgot gazed at it for a moment, then closed the box again. Click. The lock fastened. His long index finger gently caressed the soft velvet before withdrawing.
“Well, the preparations are complete then…”
Auredhian Belgot left the office again and headed toward the bedroom, pondering. What remained now was the ‘how’. How…
“…Ah.”
When he returned to the bedroom lost in thought, he was met by Yerenika, who had already awakened. Auredhian Belgot blinked in surprise.
“When did you wake up?”
“….”
I had confirmed she was sleeping soundly before leaving, yet when Auredhian discovered the empty bed, the panic of that moment threatened to resurface. He barely suppressed it as he approached the bed.
“You said you were tired.”
“I just….”
“What is it? Are you unwell?”
Again. Again, this heart-stopping sensation. Auredhian sat on the bed and leaned toward Yerenika, gently grasping her slender shoulders and habitually examining her complexion and body.
“….”
The woman, oblivious to his turmoil, merely gazed at him with sleep-hazed eyes. The moment he could no longer restrain himself and wrapped his arms around her waist, her delicate, graceful form melted into his embrace.
“I just… wondered where you’d gone.”
Her drowsy voice murmured softly.
“I don’t like being alone.”
Had Yerenika said that? Yet she didn’t seem to particularly enjoy crowds either…. Auredhian paused in confusion, then stiffened slightly as her form pressed against him with increasing intimacy. Soft. Warm. Alive.
“From now on, I’ll stay beside you always. So you won’t worry.”
Whether the sensation of her body’s curves came first, or the realization that her words about disliking solitude were meant for him, remained unclear. A sweet soap fragrance wafted from her pale pink hair and white nape. Without thinking, he pulled her slender form closer and inhaled deeply of the scent at her neck.
“Ah… really.”
Through the thin slip, her skin felt impossibly soft. Keeping his hands still around her waist required considerable restraint. Finally, Auredhian exhaled and repeated to himself like an incantation.
Yeni is a patient. Someone who might shatter at the slightest touch.
Yeni is a patient. Yeni is a patient….

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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