Beguiling the Enemy’s Patriarch - Chapter 39

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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 39
It was similar to the sanctity that filled the Temple, yet subtly different in a way I couldn’t help but recognize. It was an aura I could never mistake.
And then, following that presence, I heard the voice of the man I’d been waiting for so desperately.
“Princess?”
“…!”
My head snapped up. Over Diego Schmart’s shoulder, I could see the man I’d been longing for standing there.
I cried out, pouring all my joy and yearning into that single word.
“Your Majesty!”
Auredhian Belgot stood with his arms crossed, leaning casually against a Temple pillar.
His robe was nowhere to be seen, and aside from the unbuttoned state of his dark uniform with its blue undertones, he looked exactly as he had when I first met him in the Imperial Palace.
Auredhian Belgot spoke again.
“What are you doing over there?”
“Pardon?”
“Come here.”
His expression remained utterly neutral, yet I found it impossibly welcoming.
Without another thought, I released my grip on Diego Schmart’s sleeve. The moment he stepped aside with an amused smile, I moved toward Auredhian Belgot.
Tap, tap, tap.
My hurried steps closed the distance in moments. That handsome face was suddenly right before me. I stopped just one step away from him. We’d only been apart for six hours or so, yet it felt like days had passed.
I hid my turbulent emotions and forced a smile.
“I would have come anyway without you saying so.”
“…I see.”
“Since I’m so happy to see you again, would it be alright if I hugged you?”
Auredhian Belgot didn’t answer immediately. But truthfully, I wasn’t really waiting for his response.
Before he could erect another wall all the way to Udeta, I stepped closer. It didn’t matter that his arms were crossed or that he was leaning against the pillar—I wrapped my arms firmly around his waist.
A pleasant scent brushed against my nose. The fragrance I’d come to love most in the world mingled sweetly with his breath. My heart, which had been racing irregularly, settled into a calm rhythm.
A short laugh escaped from above my head.
“I appreciate the warm welcome, but….”
Auredhian Belgot uncrossed his arms and patted my back a couple of times. It was different from what I’d expected—I thought he’d pull away immediately. And what came next was equally unexpected.
“Tell me, this isn’t a habit of yours, is it?”
“What do you mean?”
I lifted my head to look up at him. Warm fingers gently brushed through my hair.
“Embracing just anyone like this.”
“What kind of person do you take me for? I’m not that kind of woman.”
My sulky retort made Auredhian Belgot chuckle. His expression suggested he didn’t quite believe me.
“Then this excessive enthusiasm—does it mean you’ve gotten yourself into some kind of trouble?”
“….”
This man had an unnecessarily sharp intuition.
I tried to lower my head, but my cheeks were immediately caught and lifted back up. That infuriatingly handsome face was right in front of me.
“What’s with that expression, Princess?”
“Ah….”
“In just a short while, surely you haven’t gone around making a mess again…?”
Well, you see, I actually entered the Prayer Chamber by mistake. I think I must have heard the divine calling. I offered an ambiguous smile and deliberately averted my gaze. There was no way I could tell him the truth so straightforwardly. Raulus spoke only once every few years, if that!
Besides, the reason he’d spoken to me in the first place was because I was an “odd,” “unauthorized” child. I couldn’t possibly tell him that myself. After all, I was Yerenika now.
I glanced downward. But Auredhian Belgot showed no sign of releasing me.
“Come now, confess.”
Those crimson violet eyes pursued me relentlessly. Somehow, heat bloomed from the tips of my ears. Without realizing it, we’d drawn far too close.
“P-please let go…”
“You were the one who hugged me first.”
I found myself without a response. I floundered wordlessly.
No, that was only because I thought you’d build an iron wall reaching all the way to heaven anyway…!
My cheeks puffed out as I mumbled.
“Nothing happened at all.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Really. I’m not some troublemaker…”
My voice grew quieter as my conscience weighed on me. Fortunately, Auredhian Belgot didn’t press further. He released my cheeks and nodded as usual.
“Good. Then I’m relieved.”
“…Were you just testing me from the start?”
I immediately narrowed my eyes and lifted my head. I caught sight of that clean, sharp jawline. And those sharp cheekbones. Eyes with a faint crimson tint. And those pupils.
I obediently lowered my gaze again. Right. My sins are my sins, and your sins are my sins too. Please live a long life with that face, Father.
I heard footsteps from behind. Diego Schmart must have approached. A kind voice tinged with amusement reached us.
“Welcome, Your Majesty.”
“Yes. Has anything happened? Schmart.”
Oh no. If it gets out that I mistakenly entered the Priesthood’s Prayer Chamber, this will be a disaster.
I quickly turned my head toward Diego Schmart. Noticing my earnest glance, he smiled benevolently.
“Nothing at all has occurred.”
The devout priest’s lie was far more useful than mine. I gave him a knowing look and turned back to Auredhian Belgot. Or rather, I tried to. If only I hadn’t heard that startled voice at that very moment.
“My goodness, His Majesty again…”
I was about to turn my head thoughtlessly when a foreboding feeling made my body stiffen. Whispers and murmurs.
“My eyes aren’t deceiving me, are they, Hejario?”
“No, madam. My eyes see it clearly too…!”
Ugh. I swallowed a silent scream. My already startled heart plummeted once more. At the far end of the Corridor, shadows of people were definitely peeking out. The gossiping voices carried clearly through the open Corridor.
Hundreds of pairs of eyes were fixed on me. This was exactly the kind of situation I had no immunity against. How long had they been watching?
Auredhian Belgot looked at me, frozen stiff, and asked with confusion.
“Princess, what’s wrong?”
“There are people.”
“Those who’ve finished their prayers, it seems. Why does that matter?”
“…It’s nothing.”
Excessive attention and gazes are burdensome. Though my body was Yerenika, my mind was still Seun-seo, so I couldn’t help but be sensitive to such situations. Instead of explaining at length, I clutched Auredhian Belgot’s sleeve and whispered.
“When do we leave?”
Auredhian Belgot gazed down at me for a moment, then smiled tenderly. His face softened so gently that my heart raced.
“Now that I think about it, it’s getting late. Shall we head out?”
I nodded eagerly. I really wanted to lie down somewhere now. My physical stamina remained intact, but my mental fortitude was waning.
Auredhian Belgot seemed to sense my condition with uncanny precision. At a single gesture from him, the shadows that had been crowding the corridor vanished entirely.
Diego Schmart bowed respectfully.
“Farewell, Your Majesty. And Princess.”
“See you later, Diego—oof.”
I was about to return his greeting when Auredhian Belgot swept me away. I could have sworn I heard Diego Schmart chuckling softly behind us.
As I was just about to mount Lyud, who waited outside the Temple’s main gates, Auredhian Belgot suddenly asked as if remembering something.
“Where did you leave your robe?”
Now that he mentioned it, I truly didn’t have it. I rummaged through my memories. When had I taken it off?
A sudden recollection drew a short exclamation from me.
“Oh, I left it in Diego Schmart’s room.”
“…Where?”
“In Diego Schmart’s room. I took it off and slept for a bit. I just forgot to bring it with me.”
“…”
Something about his expression seemed off. I looked down at Auredhian Belgot and tilted my head curiously. What was it—was the robe precious?
“Should I go back and get it?”
“No. Never mind.”
Auredhian Belgot answered curtly and swiftly mounted behind me. I nestled back against his chest, fidgeting slightly. A short sigh escaped from above my head.
“…?”
I turned to look at him with a puzzled expression. But he immediately gave Lyud a light kick on the side, forcing me to straighten up quickly.
The journey back to the Imperial Palace was quiet and peaceful. We exchanged hardly any words.
I kept my lips sealed, my mind churning busily the whole way, while Auredhian Belgot seemed lost in his own thoughts.
The complicated day was finally drawing to a close. Everything around us was silent.
“…”
It was a night when the stars of Barishard, threatening to pour down, settled gently with that silence.
As Lyud rose and fell in steady rhythm, it felt like being cradled in a cradle, and my eyelids grew heavy.
Before long, I must have dozed off without realizing it. In that distant, fading sensation at the end, all I felt was the soft, plush texture of sheets and a tender hand brushing gently through my hair.
* * *
Night.
The hour when all things on the surface world sleep. The time when the gods beyond Udeta withdraw their hands from the earth, leaving only a faint moon and stars in the sky. The perfect hour for the spirits of the Underground to slowly raise their heads. The time when the god of the Underground can reach toward the surface with skeletal, bone-bare hands.
Soleia Elad loved this hour. That time before dawn, when the sky was covered in the deepest darkness.
Soleia Elad leaned diagonally against the window frame, gazing up at the pitch-black night sky.
Her long, loosely flowing reddish-brown hair drifted gently in the breeze. Beyond the wide-open window, dark shadows undulated.
A small, hesitant voice came from beyond the window.

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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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