The Saintess Returned to the Emperor’s Arms Chapter 112

As much time as the hatred has accumulated

 

The next morning, before setting out on the march again, Riella heard some surprising news from Lou.

 

“A group of bandits attacked the eastern tent site in the middle of the night!”

 

“Really?”

 

It was common for long-distance marches carrying large amounts of supplies to be attacked by bandits, but this was different.

 

This is the Emperor’s March.

 

No ordinary bandits would dare to challenge that, and the eastern tents were where the knights camped—security there would’ve been especially tight.

 

“So, what happened to the bandits? Were they caught?”

 

“No.”

 

“They couldn’t catch them?”

 

This march included the 1st Order of Knights led by Asion and even the Empress’s Guard.

 

There’s no way a few bandits could’ve slipped past them.

 

“Is anyone hurt?”

 

“Don’t worry too much. Fortunately, nothing was stolen and no one was injured in the main unit.”

 

“The main unit was fine, that means….”

 

Then, Lou hesitated, looking at Riella’s expression.

 

That’s when Riella realized what Lou had actually come to say and let out a quiet sigh.

 

“I heard that those who were Lady Riella’s former colleagues were victims. All their belongings were taken and there was a fight, but apparently they were so drunk, they barely remember anything…”

 

“…….”

 

“I heard His Majesty is looking into it personally! Still, if you’re worried, you can go check on them?”

 

Riella, who had jumped to her feet out of concern for the knights, attendants, or her people, slowly sank back down into her seat.

 

She stared blankly at herself in the mirror, thought for a moment, and then slowly shook her head.

 

‘Would it be wrong to think they got what they deserved?’

 

She didn’t know.

 

There was no reason left to avoid becoming a “bad person” to people for whom even the word “colleague” now felt too generous.

 

Riella smiled bitterly.

 

* * *

 

“Yeah. That’s too bad.”

 

“Is… that all you want to say?”

 

“Then is there anything else I should say?”

 

“Oh, no, that’s not it….!”

 

The Emperor, the Captain of the Guard, his aides, and the knights stood with long shadows cast behind them.

 

The ones who were prostrating themselves before them were members of Hank’s mercenary group.

 

It wasn’t like they had chosen to grovel—they had no choice.

 

Some suffered leg injuries, some suffered back injuries and some suffered head injuries.

 

None of them could stand properly.

 

“Shouldn’t someone be held responsible for this?”

 

Among them, Hank raised his voice and talked back to the emperor.

 

Of course, it was a temporary outburst.

 

He couldn’t even look the Emperor in the eye.

 

Hank immediately lowered his head and grumbled at the cold shadows of the knights lined up above him.

 

Last night, out of nowhere, masked men barged in. They were beaten mercilessly without even understanding why.

 

Too drunk to put up a proper resistance, they were thoroughly thrashed.

 

And now the Emperor, who’d supposedly come to assess the situation personally, was simply standing there, arms crossed, clearly enjoying the show.

 

“Responsibility? Why would I?”

 

“W-Well, this happened while we were attached to Your Majesty’s forces….”

 

“I never considered you part of my forces.”

 

“S-Still… Isn’t this treatment a little too much? After all, we are like Riella’s family! We are the family of the person who will become the empress—”

 

“I warn you, that name.”

 

At that moment, Herhan knelt on one knee and grabbed Henk’s chin.

 

“It would be better not to mention it so carelessly.”

 

Herhan glared down at Henk, who trembled with his mouth hanging open from fear.

 

And just then—

 

Fragments of Hank’s memories flooded into Herhan’s mind.

 

“Riella!”

 

A voice barking orders like she was a servant.

 

That sharp tone and cold gaze were directed at a tiny girl, barely tall enough to reach Henk’s chest.

 

Riela flinched and trembled as if she were guilty of something.

 

“I told you to prepare a meal, but you did this to me?”

 

“I-I really tried hard… I was making stew…”

 

“Who told you to put in such expensive ingredients like that? Are you going to pay for it all, huh?”

 

She must have just turned ten years old.

 

At an age where she should’ve been picky about food, Riella stood with a ladle in her hand, her fingers blistered and burnt.

 

Her cheeks, flushed from tending the fire, were streaked with sweat.

 

Under the pressure of the adults growling like they were about to eat her alive, she couldn’t even lift her head properly. Trembling, on the verge of tears, she mumbled,

 

“H-Hank… You like potatoes, right? So I brought some on purpose….”

 

“…….”

 

Herhan snapped back to the present.

 

If he saw any more, he might really kill them all right there.

 

“Ugh… Ughhh….”

 

He let go of Henk’s jaw, clenching his teeth tightly as he stood up.

 

“Asion. Just give them the horse so they can follow us to the empire. Other than that, don’t give them food or clothes. Don’t even treat their broken limbs, whether they rot or not.”

 

* * *

 

That evening, they stopped at a post station near the border and had a meal, but Herhan did not eat much.

 

Riella tried to ignore him for a long time, but she couldn’t hold it in any longer and opened her mouth.

 

“Your Majesty.”

 

“Yes. Riella.”

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Riella sighed deeply and put down her fork.

 

“Since a while ago, you’ve been staring at me with your chin resting on your hand.”

 

She had felt his gaze on her all day, but during the meal, it was even more intense.

 

The table was already overly extravagant today.

 

Herhan kept pushing dishes in front of her, urging her to eat this and that, yet he didn’t even touch his own spoon.

 

“Why? Can’t I look at you?”

 

“I can’t eat properly.”

 

Herhan’s eyes gleamed as if he had interpreted those words in his own way.

 

“Is it not to your taste? Should I ask them to bring out a different dish?”

 

“No, that’s not it. I can’t eat properly because I feel burdened by Your Majesty’s gaze.”

 

“Ah.”

 

Herhan rested his chin on his hand again and looked at Riella.

 

It was a light expression that said, ‘There’s nothing you can do about it, you just have to endure it.’

 

“Seriously, why are you doing this? Do you have something to say to me?”

 

Riela asked out of pure curiosity, but Herhan simply shrugged.

 

“I just like seeing you eat well.”

 

“It’s not like I’ve been eating well for just a day or two.”

 

“True. And yet, it’s still so precious and pretty to see.”

 

Riela tilted her head, unable to understand.

 

‘Was this some new way of teasing?’

 

Herhan was more mischievous than he looked, and once he found a weakness, he’d tease until she gave in.

 

At that moment, Herhan released the hand that was resting his chin on and grabbed the fork.

 

She thought he was finally going to eat, but upon closer look, it was actually the fork Riella had just put down.

 

“What are you doing with my fork?”

 

“I’m going to feed you myself.”

 

“…….”

 

“What should I pick for you? Just tell me. A tomato?”

 

“Your Majesty! Please don’t joke around! Did I gain weight recently? Is that why you’re teasing me?”

 

“No. Not at all.”

 

Herhan shook his head with a very serious expression.

 

“That’s because I want to do everything for you.”

 

Riella narrowed her eyes.

Looking at his face, it really didn’t seem like he was joking…

 

“From now on, I’ll do anything for you. So, Riella, you don’t have to worry about anything. Just tell me. You can use me however you want.”

 

That definitely sounded strange.

 

But it wasn’t something unpleasant to hear.

 

Riella stared at Herhan, dumbfounded, then ended up smiling awkwardly.

 

* * *

 

The march moved quickly, and they finally arrived at the Empire.

 

As soon as they arrived at the palace, the first one who met Herhan and Riella was Jess.

 

“It’s nearly… all done.”

 

Jess had remained in the Imperial Palace to handle political affairs during Herhan’s absence.

 

“Well. Anyway, since Your Majesty has a strong goddess by your side, you don’t need someone like me, right?”

 

“That’s true. So you can just guard the palace.”

 

“Wha—! Your Majesty!”

 

It was a comical scene born from Jess pouting over losing his role as a royal doctor, only to be cheerfully dismissed by Herhan.

 

Back then, Jess had turned away without regret, but once left alone, he couldn’t stop worrying about the two.

 

Even though he received constant reports through emergency communication, the first thing he did was check the health of Herhan and Riela.

 

Of course, their condition was excellent, to the point where his worries were in vain.

 

“Oh, it looks like you two get along really well?”

 

Herhan answered confidently while Riella flushed at Jess’s grumbling.

 

“What’s wrong with a husband and wife being together?”

 

“You haven’t even gotten married yet, what kind of couple are you!? Oh my! Okay, I understand. You must be busy, so go on your way.”

 

Jess turned around.

 

“So now that you’ve got the purifier, you don’t need me, huh? After everything I’ve done?”

 

He grumbled as if to let everyone hear him, but Herhan turned away without even pretending to hear him.

 

Instead, it was Riella who approached Jess.

 

“I know it’s all thanks to you, Sir Jess. Thank you.”

 

“Yes?”

 

Jess nervously closed her papers and looked up with a puzzled look.

 

“It was thanks to Sir Jess’s protection that His Majesty was able to survive and meet me. This time too, if sir Jess wasn’t there, we wouldn’t have been able to visit the kingdom with peace of mind.”

 

“…….”

 

“I know you’ve been working so hard. Really, thank you.”

 

Jess’s desk was a mess.

 

It was clear that he had been struggling to take care of things while Herhan was away.

 

Herhan probably knew that too.

 

They are always bickering, but deep down, they care about each other more than anyone else.

 

“Ugh. What’s this?”

 

“What?”

 

“Are you a little confused because it’s been a while since you’ve seen my face? We’re not the type of people who talk like that.”

 

“Oh, is that so?”

 

As Riella laughed, Herhan, who was leaning against the lab door, also chuckled.

 

Only Jess felt embarrassed and tried to change the subject by looking through the papers on the desk.

 

“But it’s true that I’m jealous. What does it feel like to have a colleague who you can trust and rely on for so many years?”

 

The quiet words caused the atmosphere in the lab to become silent.

 

Herhan, who had just been chuckling, and Jess, who had been awkwardly turning his head, both turned to look at Riella carefully.

 

Riella’s face was covered in a bitter smile.

 

‘Right… I’d forgotten those bastards followed her all the way here.’

 

Jess also knew about the members of the mercenary group that Riella had been a part of.

 

Thanks to that, Jess felt really bad, but unlike Riella, he was not the type to offer gentle comfort or encouragement.

 

But he did know how to help in his own way.

 

“Take this, Lady Riella.”

 

Jess rummaged through the piles of papers on his desk and pulled out a document to hand her.

 

“What is this?”

 

“A way to crush those bugs.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“I’ve been combing through the Imperial Code and picking out every article I can find that could be used against them. The biggest one right now is that they conspired with the princess to assassinate His Majesty. Once we arrest them and investigate, we’ll probably find more.”

 

It was a thick document, even at a glance.

 

Riella’s eyes trembled as she flipped through each page.

 

“Bringing them into the Imperial Palace was a good move. Now we can properly investigate, and since they entered Imperial territory, we can deal with them under Imperial law.”

 

“I see….”

 

Finally, Riella closed the document after skimming through its contents.

 

Jess felt proud that he had repaid Riella’s awkward compliment with that.

 

But then—

 

“Thank you. I’ll think about it.”

 

‘She said she’d think about it? Not just go ahead?’

 

‘Was her heart softening?’

 

‘Those bugs were still her colleagues

?’

 

‘What was with this woman?’

 

“No, Lady Riela. There’s nothing to think about! Please, come to your senses. If you are stuck in old feelings—!”

 

Herhan grabbed Jess’ shoulder as he was about to start a long speech in frustration.

 

Just like always, when words weren’t needed, the message passed clearly through their eyes.

 

Herhan’s intention had been delivered.

 

It was thanks to that that Jess, who would have normally thrown a tantrum, backed down at that point.

 

“Let’s rest today, Riella.”

 

After leaving Jess’s lab, Herhan deliberately snatched the troublesome bundle of papers from Riella.

 

“I told them to change the interior of the room while we were away. Aren’t you curious about what it will look like?”

 

Although Herhan tried to change the subject while hastening his steps towards the inner room, Riella, who had been following Herhan with a forced smile, eventually just stopped in her tracks.

 

“Your Majesty.”

 

“Yes, Riella.”

 

Even though it was just a short call, the depth of the worry in her voice was clear, and it pained Herhan.

 

Even when he gently patted her head.

 

Even when he broke their legs, fed her delicious food by hand, or tried to distract her with talk about new curtains or new blankets—there was a part of her he just couldn’t reach.

 

“If I still feel attached to my former colleagues, then I must be the strange one, right?”

 

Her slumped shoulders made her look just like that child from back then, the one who got her hands all blistered trying to cook something nice for the adults.

 

“No. You’re not strange.”

 

Though it made him unbearably angry.

 

Even if those people were nothing, the love she had for them as colleagues, as a family—that feeling must’ve been sincere.

 

“Anyway, I was the one who invited them, so I’d at least like to offer them a meal.”

 

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

 

It takes just as long to completely forget the hatred that has built up.

 

Herhan knew that what he had to do was to wait for that time.

 

* * *