Chapter 8

8. The Bloodline of the Sun God

Helene puffed out her cheeks. The maids around her secretly clutched their chests and turned away at the sight of her lovely appearance. The guards on patrol were no different.

"His Majesty is quite lenient with the Saintess, isn't he?"

"How could he not be, when the Saintess is so adorable?"

The Imperial Knights who had followed them nudged each other in the ribs, gossiping loud enough for everyone to hear.

Helene enjoyed the reactions around her and blinked her eyes even more adorably.

"Besides, the Empress is ill, isn't she? She must be very tired. Wouldn't receiving such calls be annoying?"

"Helene."

Enrique called her name sternly. It was a signal to stop there.

Knowing this would happen, Helene sighed deeply and nodded sullenly.

"Yes, I will. Nini listens well."

As she said this, Helene subtly glanced upwards.

She wanted the Empress to see this scene of them conversing so intimately.

'Oh, she's not there.'

Too bad.

Helene was one to never miss an opportunity to become superior to the Empress.

Whether she admitted it or not, it stemmed from her inferiority complex about her origins.

Helene.

She was from the 'Quid,' a minority group and untouchable caste.

In fact, 'Quid' referred to the isolated areas where they were gathered and prevented from leaving, but the name stuck, and they were called Quid everywhere.

Slaves at least received food and lodging for working for their masters.

But the Quid could not find jobs anywhere, were not allowed to speak to the citizens of the Empire, and were not allowed to leave the isolated areas.

All they could do was barely survive on the relief supplies provided by the temple every three months.

"Originally, we were the owners of this land."

Young Helene grew up listening to the stories told by the old tribal leader.

In the meantime, her younger sibling starved to death first, and then her parents died of illness. Then, the neighbors took away their hut and belongings, and Helene was driven out into the fields.

Unable to even live in a hut, young Helene became the dirtiest and most despised even among the Quid. The resentment that accumulated grew into venomous fangs.

Her life was turned upside down one day when lightning struck, and Divinity manifested in her body.

Before the eyes of the priests who had brought the relief supplies, Helene floated up, enveloped in a sacred light. Stigmata appeared on her forehead, both hands, and feet, and colorful clouds unfolded brilliantly in the sky.

From then on, Helene was treated as the Saintess.

It was the starting point for her awakening to power.

And when she turned thirteen, she and the Fourth Prince began living together in the temple.

There was a grand pretext that 'to become a Holy Knight, one must live in the temple from a young age and purify their body and mind,' but in reality, it was the Empress's effort to remove her son from the Imperial Palace, where the battle for the throne was fiercely raging.

Thanks to that effort, Helene was able to become close to Enrique.

The vast and cold temple. The priests who regarded them as mere assets of the temple.

Within that, it was inevitable that a boy and a girl of the same age and similar circumstances would become close.

At least, Helene thought so.

That thought grew more and more solid, and by the time she became an adult, it had transformed into this:

Enrique is eternally mine.

Since that was an immutable truth in Helene's world, it didn't matter whether he married or slept with other women.

After all, he would eventually return to her.

In fact, that was the case, so Helene had always felt a secret sense of superiority towards his women.

'He's become a little colder since becoming Emperor, but oh well. Still, Enrique is Enrique.'

Standing in the soft, creamy winter sunlight, Helene glanced at the dignified man.

Enrique's platinum blonde hair had always filled her heart whenever she saw it, from that day until now. She liked his neat and tidy appearance, and his calm demeanor, like a lake without a ripple.

He wasn't a particularly affectionate man, but he tended to grant most of her requests, and Helene was satisfied with that.

Even though he didn't smile often, he occasionally smiled when he was with her, and if she asked him to go for a walk, he would reluctantly get up and come with her.

Even the Empress had to schedule an appointment in advance to have a personal meeting with him, but Helene didn't need to do that.

She wasn't the Empress, but she wielded as much power as the Empress, and yet, because she belonged to the temple and not the Imperial Palace, she didn't have to abide by the Imperial Palace's rules.

Helene was very satisfied with her position.

"By the way, Your Majesty. Did you catch the intruder? The one who dared to sneak into your bedroom."

Helene asked sweetly and linked her arm with Enrique's, and he didn't shake her off.

It wasn't even the end of winter yet, but it felt like spring.

* * *

"Why are you here?"

At the same time.

Walking deep into the subspace, I was greatly shocked to find a young boy collapsed and barely breathing.

It wasn't because the boy, who looked no more than fifteen, was lying there severely injured. Nor was it because the floor was covered in blood.

I recognized the boy's identity at a glance.

"Why is the Son of the Sun here?"

The story of the Sun God, exiled to the human realm, falling deeply in love with a woman and passing on the power and dominion of the sun to his descendants for generations was too famous.

But in exchange for that power, the bloodline of the Sun God could only use half of its original power when it left the desert.

Those born with sand and returning to sand.

Naturally, they didn't leave the desert often.

I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I had seen wrong. But even when I looked again, the collapsed boy was emitting a scorching heat.

As if his entire body was a small sun.

'...Wow. The Yang energy... is amazing.'

Enrique's Yang energy was also great, but it was nothing compared to this boy's.

My skin tingled as if this entire space had turned into a desert, and my throat was sore with every breath I took.

The powerful power of the sun, so strong that even the tears that had been flowing because of Enrique evaporated instantly, completely dominated this area.

I swallowed hard.

I slowly examined the boy's condition first.

Black hair disheveled with sweat, bronze and glossy skin. Look at the scorpion's tail-like, sleek eyes and the reddish lips that exuded arrogance.

He was handsome enough to be called a loss to humanity if he died here.

'But his external wounds are too severe. Even his internal organs have been concussed. If this wasn't a space that stopped the flow of time, he would have already died.'

I wasn't a doctor, but I was knowledgeable about injuries because I had lived for so long.

I glanced at the bandages, water bowl, and needles rolling around next to the boy.

It seemed like he had tried to do something himself, but he must have eventually lost consciousness.

Since time wasn't flowing, his condition wasn't getting worse, but that didn't mean the pain was lessened.

"It's too bad for you to die now."

He was still at an age where his body hadn't fully matured. I was already thrilled at what it would be like if he survived this crisis and grew into a fully grown male.

Moreover, the bloodline of the Sun God was a good match for demons.

Since anything in excess was bound to become a disease, the Yin energy of demons had been a panacea for their enormous Yang energy since ancient times.

"I'll heal you. But I'll have to take some of your energy. Will you make a deal?"

Surprisingly, the boy had been twitching his eyelids since earlier. He was trying to regain consciousness, even if forced, after sensing my presence.

Before hearing an answer, I took off the fur coat I was wearing. Then, I rolled up my long sleeves and forcibly dragged the boy over and laid him down on the soft coat.

He was so heavy that I almost died first, but fortunately, it was possible because more energy than I was expending was entering me whenever I was in contact with the boy.

"…away."

"Don't worry, I'm not trying to harm you."

"Get… away. I won't be your…boy toy."

"Oh my, he's saying something he shouldn't. I'm not interested in a youngling like you either. What taste would something so fresh have?"

I chuckled and swept the sweat-soaked hair off the boy's forehead.

My hands were very cold in this midwinter because of my cold hands and feet.

This was what he needed right now.

"This is a deal. I'm going to give you a short kiss on your forehead. Think of it as a goodnight kiss."

"Don't… touch…."

My wrist was snatched away as soon as I lightly touched the area around his forehead. The Yang energy, which he couldn't control himself, poured into me like a waterfall and permeated my soul.

I felt great as I seemed to hear the sound of the lifespan I needed right now steadily increasing.

"I'll heal you first. Isn't this a good deal for you?"

"I don't need it, ugh!"

Ignoring him, I pressed down hard on the wound on his chest, and the boy, who reflexively groaned, glared at me with feverish eyes.

A dazzling golden light flickered in his pupils.

It was so beautiful, like the sunbeams dancing on a summer day, that I stared at those eyes for a long time.

"If I leave you like this, you'll die. You'll rot here like spoiled fruit. If that's what you want, I'll stop the treatment now."

As I said I wouldn't heal him, the excited energy of water raged around us.

The boy frowned, probably sensing it as well.

"I won't ask why you're here. I won't interrogate you either. You've already given me plenty of what I need."

Actually, I'm not asking because I can roughly guess, though.

How many reasons could there be for a still-growing boy to leave the desert and sneak into the Imperial Palace of another country?

"What…."

"The Emperor of your country has a nasty personality. So does this country."