Chapter 14
14. Peach
After the Duke left, my legs gave way, and I collapsed onto the sofa.
"Haa."
With this, the stage was set.
'To oust Enrique and become Emperor, I need a cause.'
That cause, yes, Helene. I'll have to take what you have.
Wouldn't it be better for the Holy Empire to have a Saint, who receives divine revelations directly, rather than an Emperor who is a Holy Knight?
If I pretended to be chosen by God, I could create public opinion that God couldn't stand the dissolute Saintess and created a new Saint.
'If my sisters sent a revelation to the Desert Kingdom, the important thing is what kind of revelation it was that made them come all the way here.'
It's probably a message for me.
That was something I couldn't predict either.
What would my sisters say?
Would they laugh? Would they feel sorry? Would they scold me?
Still, if they were looking after me because I was the youngest, I would be honestly grateful.
Even if it was their last farewell… I was happy just to feel their presence.
Ah, of course, that might just be my expectation.
'...Can I become a demon again?'
Even if I finish all this revenge, I might not be able to return to my sisters' side. Another youngest might be born and take over the territory I ruled.
Just thinking about it made my vision go dark.
It was always a clear future, but I couldn't see anything.
'I want to go back.'
When no one was watching, I hunched my shoulders alone.
No human can understand this loneliness.
How can a mortal empathize with the eternity I have lost?
'If I go back… I will never love anyone again.'
Never again.
I was like that for a long time, and then I dozed off.
I woke up around evening.
It was because Mrs. Bertolt rushed in, her face pale.
"Your Majesty! The Saintess… the Saintess collapsed as soon as she left the Empress Palace!"
Helene should have stayed quietly in the temple, as befitting a Saintess.
However, her special situation as the Emperor's childhood friend and compass was recognized, and more than anything, the Emperor couldn't bear Helene being out of his sight.
Therefore, Helene was living in a small, cozy palace closest to the Imperial Palace.
Several Emperors ago, an Emperor loved his daughter so much that he wanted to keep her nearby, so he built this place, the Lily Palace.
Today, the atmosphere here was very bad.
The Saintess, who had come out of the Empress Palace, was found unable to breathe.
Rashes around the mouth and swelling of the airways usually occur when you come into contact with food that you shouldn't eat.
It was fortunate that there was a priest residing in the palace's prayer room, or it would have been a disaster if she had been discovered late.
"You said you drank tea with dried peaches and ate peaches."
"Uhm."
"It seems that the Saintess will have to stay away from peaches in the future. It is common for food that was fine to suddenly cause problems. A big shock or stress may be a factor."
The maids who served Helene shed exaggerated tears at the old priest's instructions.
"Oh my, if only Her Majesty the Empress had paid a little more attention, this wouldn't have happened!"
"That's right! It was a matter of life and death. The Saintess should protest."
At that, Helene smiled weakly, as if she would break soon.
"No. It's not like Her Majesty the Empress did it on purpose. What can I do if I suddenly developed an allergy?"
"Still! You're so kind, what are we going to do?"
Helene secretly smiled with satisfaction at the maids' fuss.
But on the outside, she only looked pitiful.
After bowing her head for a moment and taking a deep breath, Helene finally rolled out a single tear.
"Oh my, why are you crying? Did Her Majesty the Empress say something?"
"Don't cry. Your pretty eyes will get sore."
The maids stuck around Helene, bringing cold water and fanning her. Only after a long time did Helene slowly open her mouth.
"Actually… I said I would help, and I endured the sadness and said that. But… but she told me to know my place."
"What?"
"You know I prepared so hard. I was so excited…"
"Even if she is the Empress, how could she say such harsh things!"
These maids belonged to the Imperial Palace, not the temple.
The ladies-in-waiting kept their mouths shut, but the maids, well.
They might spread the words they heard here and there.
Helene had never asked the maids to keep their mouths shut.
"I have never aimed for the Empress's position. But she misunderstood. I tried to clear up the misunderstanding, but… now I'm too scared to go to the Empress Palace."
Transparent, bead-like tears fell and soaked the bedding.
The sight of her trembling her slender shoulders as she spoke was as pitiful as a small bird caught in the rain.
The maids began to tear up together, as if they had been insulted.
It was then.
"Everyone, get out."
A low voice coldly cut through the room.
The startled maids didn't even dare to raise their heads and hurriedly left the bedroom.
Only Helene and Enrique remained.
"Enrique!"
When there was no one around, Helene didn't use honorifics to the Emperor. When it was just the two of them, Enrique was just Enrique.
Helene loved these moments when the crown or the glossy cloak surrounding him became useless in front of her.
The moment she could call this beautiful man 'Enrique' without formality.
"You have a peach allergy. Let me see."
"Uhm. It's better now with Divinity. I guess I can't eat peaches anymore."
Helene hurriedly pretended to wipe away her tears. She didn't forget to make every move cute.
Because Enrique likes cute girls.
"What was all that you were saying just now?"
"D, did you hear?"
She wanted him to hear it.
Helene calculated the time it would take for Enrique to hear the news and come to the Lily Palace very accurately.
She knew that he wouldn't come right away, but if he took care of the urgent matters, he would arrive around this time.
Helene widened her eyes and pretended to be flustered.
"It's nothing. There's nothing for Enrique to worry about."
"Tell me. You've always swallowed what you wanted to say. That must be why you got sick."
"It's just… I think she just… doesn't like that I'm from Quid. Ah, but maybe that's just how I feel!"
Helene hurriedly added a word.
The Empress didn't even mention the 'Quid' of Quid, but if she threw it out like this, Enrique would definitely get angry.
It didn't matter if the Empress later said that she had never said such a thing.
After all, the biggest group that hated her for being from Quid was the noble faction.
"She took everything I had prepared for the banquet. But Her Majesty the Empress seems to have other ideas. She didn't even look at it properly. I left it behind, but…"
Helene mumbled, biting her lip slightly, towards Enrique, who had come closer and sat next to her.
"Everyone liked the banquets I opened. So I gained confidence, but I guess someone like me shouldn't do that."
"Someone like you?"
Enrique's voice became even colder. At that, Helene immediately hiccuped.
"Ah, sorry…! I was surprised, hic, I guess."
Hic. Hic!
Helene covered her mouth with both hands and looked around, her hiccups not stopping.
"I forgot you were so sensitive. Sorry."
Enrique, who sighed quietly, immediately apologized and took Helene's hand. Helene intertwined her fingers one by one in his big hand and mumbled as if she was discouraged.
"I want to help with something too. Even something very small. But I can't… so I have to endure it. If I step up and say I want to do this and that, it'll be like fighting with Her Majesty the Empress. I don't want to do that."
Helene never said what she wanted directly. She just conveyed it in a roundabout way.
Then Enrique would always think about what she wanted and put it in her hands.
"I'll go and see if there's anything you can help with."
"Really? Won't she hate me even more then?"
"She'll listen if I tell her."
Helene smiled brightly as she looked at Enrique's profile as he replied indifferently.
"Yeah. That's right, Enrique is the Emperor now. Everyone has to listen to the Emperor's words!"
"I'll ask, so don't cry and hurt yourself, and wait."
"Thank you. But don't overdo it, Enrique."
Actually, I wish you would overdo it more.
I wanted the Emperor to fight the noble faction only for her.
'But if that really happens, I might be disappointed. I like Enrique, the perfect Emperor. I even like his slightly cold side.'
Enrique was busy with work and soon returned to the Imperial Palace.
Helene sent all the maids away and was feeling sorry for herself, but although that was how she looked on the outside, her mind was working busily.
'But earlier, Enrique didn't react much to the word peach, did he?'
There was a woman Enrique once loved.
And the fruit that woman liked was none other than the peach.
Helene unknowingly bit her nails.
'Not only should there be no similarities between that woman and me, but I have to cover all the memories of that woman with me.'
What that woman liked, she hates, and what was okay for that woman is dangerous for her.
Now that enough time has passed and Enrique is about to forget that woman, it seemed like she could do that.
'The Empress is not a threat at all. The one who shook Enrique the most was that woman.'
A tall height that could stand shoulder to shoulder with male knights. A grand physique.
A demon who grew long, jet-black hair that absorbed light and wore antique clothes that could have been made several centuries ago.
She didn't even think about hiding her identity.
Finding that woman back then was a great fortune for Helene.
A time when her position within the temple was slowly becoming unstable.
The demon she accidentally found was the best prey for Helene.
