Demian left Dandelion with the Barbarians. Lara did not go out to see him off, thinking that he would immediately win and was soon to come back, he also didn't want any of her farewells anyway.
Lara locked the entrance to the underground maze she discovered with Demian, returning it back to its sealed state. As The Emperor entrusted everything in the temple to Lara, anyone who wanted to enter had to get her permission.
Due to having most of their priests fired, The Temple of Glory had now lacked a lot of workers. The Emperor could send in soldiers to fill in as guards, but there was no one to manage the temple. Lara asked Isadora for help and her mother readily accepted in response.
Following her request, Sebastian arrived.
“Sebastian?”
Lara asked, flustered. The role she asked to be filled was one of a manager to organize the ledgers and records of the temple visitors.
“Madam Isadora asked me to help you with your work for the time being.”
“But how can she send you, Sebastian… What will happen to her without you?”
“Madam Isadora does well on her own without me. But I can’t say the same about you, milady.”
“I can’t deny that.”
“I also sent someone to Valentine. But he wakes up late, so he probably won’t arrive until the afternoon.”
Valentine was going to investigate old records, the library, and the artifacts underground. Lara judged him to be eligible for the job and that the experience would also aid in his research.
The busy days went by. Lara was so busy that she did not even have time to think of useless things. When she opened her eyes, there was a pile of work to be done. When she closed her eyes, she promptly lost consciousness and fell asleep.
The winter months had felt so unusually long. One day, when the cold receded and when the energy of spring could be felt, Ximena and Eunice visited Lara, with Ximena bearing incredible news to tell.
“Eunice… with whom?’
“The Crown Prince.”
“Did what?”
“Slept with him.”
“Why?”
“She said his pecs are his style. On the first day, they somehow became like that after drinking. But the second time they met, they fought like cats and dogs, and then it just happened. From the third time on, they meet up only for that purpose…”
Lara stared at Eunice with an incredulous look on her face.
“Beasts…”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
Disregarding what her two friends said, Eunice was distracted by the dessert Konny brought. Eunice picked up a cookie and put it in her mouth before snorting and said.
“Hey, do you know? About the dessert shop that kicked out the three Barbarians.”
“Did you bonk with him there?!”
“What? You crazy… This is not about that. I heard business there is really good nowadays.”
“Why?”
“It’s a place visited by the saintess. People are going crazy going on a pilgrimage there. After you slapped the priests, people have been waiting in line in front of the shop since early in the morning.”
“Don’t change the subject. Are you really in that kind of relationship with Crown Prince Acerus? Are you meeting him for his body? Are you in your right mind?”
“Why? Can’t I meet him for that reason?”
After hearing Eunice being so confident, Lara wrapped her head around her hands in frustration.
“Do you realize that he’s the Crown Prince of Tarragon?”
“I know.”
“Eunice.”
“That’s why we just enjoy a quickie.”
“Does he…agree with that?”
Lara asked seriously. Being the Crown Prince’s lover was a dangerous position. As Eunice said, even if it was a relationship where they would enjoy for a while and break up neatly, no one else would think so.
When Lara asked Eunice if she would continue to meet him, Eunice replied that she would stop meeting him straightaway. But somehow, there was no sincerity in her words, so Lara could not believe her. When Lara kept looking at her suspiciously, Eunice changed the topic again.
“By the way, I met Prince Sidhar there. I heard he was eaten by a demon, he really looked like he was someone else entirely.”
“Prince Sidhar? You mean the demon Valac?”
“Yeah. He seems to be getting along well with Acerus. Even though Acerus has a doctor and ladies-in-waiting to take care of him, he still wants to personally take care of Acerus. I thought he was an exclusive Imperial family attendant or something.”
“What are you talking about?”
Lara asked. Eunice was excited by her success at changing the topic and began to say one by one what she witnessed in Acerus’ bedroom.
“When Acerus is annoyed, he accepts it. When Acerus vents his anger on him, he accepts it. When Acerus is hurting, he feels restless and anxious.”
“Valac?”
“Yeah, he was as sincere as a mother who takes care of her children.”
Something was out of the ordinary, Lara thought that she should meet Acerus. After sending Ximena and Eunice back, she immediately went to the Crown Prince’s castle where Acerus was located. Just in time, Acerus’ aide was coming out of his bedroom.
“Hello.”
Lara was first to recognize the aide, his face brightened the moment she called out to him. Then, he walked quickly toward her.
“The miraculous saintess! Have I ever told you that it’s an honor to meet you this close? I don’t think I have…”
“Miraculous saintess? What kind of childish nickname is that?”
“I didn’t come up with it. Just go out to Dandelion’s streets. That’s what all the people have been calling you.”
“That’s too childish.”
“If I dare to give you advice, the more childish your title is, the more memorable it is.”
Lara raised her head and exhaled a long breath toward the ceiling. The aide only knew one side of the story. Lara really hated to be a saintess who remained in many people’s memories for a long time. All she wanted was to do what she had to do as quickly and as secretly as possible and to be forgotten in people’s memories and erased from any records.
“It’s an honor for my family to escort the miraculous saintess.”
An indescribable joy lingered on the face of the aide. He was just happy regardless of whether Lara trembled with embarrassment or not. Then, Lara pointed to Acerus’ room and said.
“There’s a rumor that the playboy patient has a demon nanny. Mind explaining it?”
“Do you mean Valac?”
The aide lowered his voice. When he looked around and confirmed that there was no one in the hallway, he whispered slowly in Lara’s ear.
“I have been curious about it for a while. The demon suddenly began to take care of His Imperial Highness… Please find out what happened.”
“Open the door.”
The aide walked and opened the door even before answering Lara.
“Your Imperial Highness, the saintess is here.”
“My saintess?”
Why am I your saintess?
Lara endured her thoughts and walked into Acerus’ room.
Acerus was sitting on the bed. His body was in a clean bandage. There were painkillers and disinfectant treatment kits on the table, there were also strong liquor and two glasses on top of the tray. Lara meticulously looked over Acerus and his surroundings—his clothes, bed, chair.
“Welcome. I was actually planning to see you soon. I was told that I can move little by little now. Now that Demian has left for the expedition, you will need someone to escort you…”
“His Imperial Majesty already paid attention to that so you don’t have to worry.”
Lara’s attitude was formal and her tone was firm. Acerus looked at her with an awkward face and hesitated to talk.
“About Lady Eunice Dvonn… I also don’t know how our relationships became like this…”
“The relationship with the body as the focus?”
“No! Umm, really, that, it just happens that we fight every time we meet… When we fight, we always drink, and the next thing we know, it already turned out like that.”
“Crown Prince Acerus.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
Acerus looked at her with a miserable face, like a child who was scolded. It was clear that he thought Lara would blame him for his relationship with Eunice. However, Lara was not interested in the matter at all. There was something else she was curious about.
“What did Valac do to you?”
“What?”
“I’m asking why your wounds are already healed.”
“No, the doctor said I should continue treatment until summer.”
“Don’t lie. Your bandages are clean despite it not being new, the disinfectants are dried up with the lid open, the room is full of traces of you walking here and there, and despite the Crown Prince being seriously injured with strong liquor present in the room, there are barely any traces of a caregiver having been here.”
The longer Lara spoke, the more restless Acerus became. If his aide was there, he might have clapped his hands with excitement.
“Saintess.”
“Eunice said this to me. The demon Valac is devoting himself to taking care of you. Even the aide said the same thing. The demon Valac is taking care of you like a child.”
“I…”
“Don’t ever try to fool me. If I ask God, I will know right away.”
“He bit me!”
Acerus replied in a hurry. He was worried that Lara would rush to God and ask, so he closed his eyes tightly and confessed without caring what might happen.
“I’m sorry, I have become his vassal. If he dies, so will I. So no matter what Valac does, I can’t harm him…”
“What? You will die if Valac dies?”
“Yes.”
That was absurd. Acerus was a man who should be the human hero. Lara knew how big the role he played was in the great demon war, she could not just let this go.
“What about the opposite situation? Does it have no effect on Valac?”
“Isn’t that how it works?”
“Then, why does he care about you?”
“Oh… I know, right?”
Acerus opened his mouth blankly.
As Eunice and the aide said, Valac had been extremely devoted to Acerus these days. Not only did he come to his room every night to make sure that his wound was healing smoothly, sometimes he voluntarily patrolled around the Crown Prince’s castle. Acerus recalled Valac saying that he would listen to whatever he wanted.
Acerus initially thought the reason why Valac had been acting so weird was because he was amazed at his first subordinate. But as he talked to Lara, he realized something was very strange.
Lara said.
“As far as I can tell, if you die, so will Valac.”
“Saintess.”
“It remains to be seen who will be the vassal to whom.”
