The Saintess Returned to the Emperor’s Arms – Chapter 119

Author: Chewyy

The living descendants of Ann

Greta always thought it was strange.

How did Fabian survive without medicine until now?

It is said that most of Enril’s descendants die young, unable to control their raging powers.

When Greta met Fabian, he was twenty-four and healthier than anyone else.

Greta had believed it was because Fabian was special.

‘Yes. Fabian is special.’

At some point, that had stopped being a thought and had become a belief.

Fabian had to be special. He needed to be…

“Riella Blinite is the descendant of Ann. The only living purifier.”

But that man was saying otherwise.

He was saying that the one who was truly special wasn’t Fabian, but the woman beside him.

“ha ha ha….”

So what choice did she have but to laugh like this?

That was such complete nonsense.

“That’s why I wanted that woman.”

“Stop.”

“Although I’m sure I wasn’t the only one. She’s the kind of woman the whole world would want.”

“Stop it!”

The screams of evil echoed loudly.

Greta’s black eyes churned like a stormy sea at night, dangerously fierce.

There was no trace of laughter.

From the beginning, Greta had such a poisonous look in her eyes while smiling with her mouth, denying reality.

“Why? That’s the truth you wanted to hear so badly. In fact, didn’t you already know that in your head? That from the beginning, everything revolved around Liella Blinite, not you.”

‘No…. no. Riella is nothing.’

Greta shook her head and stepped back.

She didn’t want to hear another word from that man right away because he was saying the same thing, but then she remembered that she still had a hold on his leash.

“What is your power?”

“What?”

“You are a great young master who knows all the truth, what is your power?”

“Ah. Me? Hmm…”

The man tilted his head once.

He looked so relaxed, unlike someone who would die soon. He was annoying to the end.

“I guess… my power is having interesting dreams?”

‘Hah.’

Greta scoffed and muttered,

“I see. So you’re just a worthless bastard, too.”

‘Let’s see if a worthless bastard like him can keep smiling till the end.’

Without hesitation, Greta threw the vial she had been holding onto the hallway floor.

—Crash!

The small glass bottle shattered, and the blue liquid—his only salvation—soaked into the old wooden floor.

“I have nothing to do with you now.”

Greta turned away from the man.

It would be quite a sight to see the face of a man who realized that the one she had just broken was the last one left, and that he was now doomed to die.

But Greta didn’t look back at the man.

She didn’t want to look at anything, so she just ran away from the mansion.

* * *

After running out of the mansion, Greta ran forward without thinking.

She just kept going, with no destination in mind, until she saw a faint glow somewhere in the distance.

‘Is there a village over there?’

Relieved, she took a step forward— And froze.

‘I’m wanted.’

Greta bit her lip and took a step back.

She didn’t know where she should go, but she knew for certain she couldn’t go there.

Wandering under the cover of shadowy trees, Greta was tormented by endless self-mockery and disillusionment.

There had been a time when she believed having just one descendant would give her immense power.

Those were the days when she firmly believed that she had saved Fabian.

But she hadn’t.

She hadn’t saved him—she had killed him.

“Hahaha.”

A cynical laugh burst out involuntarily.

The place where Greta stopped was on a cliff.

‘That’s right. It was all my fault.’

Standing at that cliff’s edge, she kept swaying.

Maybe because she could sense the end was near—she couldn’t stop thinking about Fabian.

The man whose life was fading away day by day like a dying flame from the moment he parted ways with Riella.

‘How on earth could that be possible?’

That’s why she hated Riella even more.

Because it felt like Riella was Fabian’s life itself.

No matter how much Greta tried, she could never come between them.

‘How could you be a descendant of Ann? How could you be someone so powerful? Someone like you?’

‘Come to think of it, even if Riella didn’t know it…’

That day they first met, on the hill with the mercenary carriage, Riella had already been radiant.

And even now, Riella was probably in the brightest part of the world, receiving someone’s splendid love.

‘Maybe it was me who was nothing in the end.’

Greta laughed bitterly.

The body that had been staggering was now firmly upright, and with strength in her legs, she took a step forward.

‘Just one more step like this. Then, goodbye to all this annoying stuff…’

‘Congratulations. You won, Riella.’

Greta closed her eyes.

And as she reached out with one final step off the cliff—

‘……’

Everything suddenly went blank. She couldn’t feel anything.

Has she already died?

No… she hadn’t even fallen yet.

Everything was pitch black, and just as she tried to make sense of it, an unknown voice echoed through the darkness in her head.

‘You can’t die yet. You still have work to do.’

* * *

When she opened her eyes, it was morning, and she was in a small, single-room cabin.

Greta flinched and sat up with a gasp, immediately curling into herself with a groan.

She felt like her head was going to burst.

‘Ugh. What is this? Why am I here?… I don’t remember anything.’

Clutching her head in pain for a long while, she was able to recall some of her memories from yesterday.

‘You still have something left to do.’

‘You must go.’

‘You know where you need to be.’

That persistent, chilling voice that had tormented her endlessly.

“I don’t know! I don’t know anything!”

Greta screamed, kicking her feet and pulling at her hair.

She writhed and struggled until she was completely drained, but no one appeared.

Only the chirping of birds outside the unknown forest hut, and the endless echo of that voice.

“Okay, I understand….”

She even tried denying it, pretending not to hear anything.

Laughed to herself, thinking she must’ve gone mad. Even planned to end her life again.

But every time she came to her senses, she was back at the start.

Only after several days did Greta admit that she had no choice but to give in to that voice.

The voice was right.

Greta knew where her thoughts were leading her.

* * *

It was a long journey.

At the same time, it was a strangely smooth journey.

It’s hard to believe that Greta’s path forward was always open, despite her being wanted.

Whenever she ran out of money, someone would conveniently offer charity. When faced with a checkpoint, a perfect escape route would open up.

‘God leads me.’

More than once, she had woken up in a different place without realizing how she’d gotten there.

Crossing the border had been the same. She’d closed her eyes for a brief rest near the heavily guarded line, hoping to spot a weakness—and when she opened her eyes, she was already across.

So she really can’t help but think that way.

‘This is the path that God leads me on.’

“Extra edition! Extra edition! An emergency announcement from the Imperial Palace!”

Greta arrived at a town close to her destination and picked up a newspaper that had been thrown on the ground.

What was in the newspapers was the news that the Emperor had finally set a date for his wedding with his fiancée, Riella Blinite. The wedding date is exactly ten days later.

It was an overly hasty schedule for what was supposed to be the wedding of the century.

But Greta was calm.

‘Whatever.’

Even the local people who couldn’t even go near the palace, let alone attend the wedding, were so excited that they couldn’t come to their senses as if a happy event had occurred in their family.

Greta didn’t smile. She didn’t cry either.

Expressionless, she walked steadily toward her final destination.

Whether it was ten days or a year from now—either way, the wedding wouldn’t go as planned.

“Someone’s coming. Were we expecting any visitors today?”

“No, there isn’t. Who is it?”

“She’s wearing a veil….”

“Now, wait a minute. That woman…!”

Greta finally took off the veil that she had not taken off for even a moment during her entire journey here.

‘Finally.’

It’s been a long time.

It seems like only yesterday that she ran away, but that place was still the same.

Bright and dazzling on the surface, but underneath, still steeped in that faint, inescapable stench of death.

The Central Temple.

“Y-You’re the princess of Riota, right?”

“That wanted criminal?”

“She’s a criminal! Bring the knights now!”

The priests in the temple courtyard were startled by the unexpected appearance.

It’s pathetic how they run away from a woman.

Greta didn’t even have time to scoff. She kept walking forward.

Only when the shining silver-armored holy knights apprehended her did the priests dare to approach again.

“How dare you walk in here on your own?”

“What, come to hand over another descendant like a good girl again?”

The priests snickered, but Greta answered without a trace of hesitation.

“You’re right. I’ve come to report the living descendant of Ann.”

* * *

The wedding date was set. In just ten days.

Those who did not know the circumstances were all frowning at the ridiculous schedule, but on the other hand, those who knew the circumstances just silently hurried to prepare.

“You don’t have to be so gloomy, right? A wedding’s still a wedding, right?!”

Lou tried hard to cheer up Riella, but it wasn’t enough.

Riella closed the catalog she had been flipping through without much interest and raised her head.

“Where is His Majesty?”

It was Count Delcour who answered Riella’s question.

“He’s… still investigating.”

“Again today…”

Herhan had been digging through the memories of Carnel and Ramosh, searching for the one who brainwashed them.

It was practically an impossible task.

He had to go through all their memories throughout their lives and cross-reference them to find a single point of overlap.

But Herhan did not stop his investigation.

It was as if he would go mad if he didn’t keep himself busy.

And he wasn’t the only one overexerting himself.

Everyone who sensed that the Alliance’s attack was imminent was risking their lives to protect Riella.

Those were days when she couldn’t relax for even a moment.

Even more so because there had been no response from the enemy for nearly ten days since Ramosh was captured.

“I would like to go see His Majesty. Is that okay?”

Eventually, unable to shake her anxiety, Riella asked Count Delcour.

He hesitated, unsure how to respond.

Then Jess stood up with a sigh and spoke.

“I’ll escort you.”

Even though there were knights of the Royal Guard stationed there, it was still not enough, so Jess moved his laboratory to the inner room and continued to stay by Riella’s side.

“Let’s go, Lady Riella.”

Only then did Count Delcourt nod.

Lou followed behind Riella as she stood up from her seat.

Even though there were almost ten people following her around, including the knights of the Royal Guard, Riella was now used to it.

They arrived at the isolation room.

Where Carnel had been held, and now where Ramosh was too.

Herhan was just reading the soldier’s memories inside.

“His Majesty looks worse than he did yesterday. What if he collapses?”

“He promised to only exert himself as much as he can handle. It’s not the first time… but thankfully, Lady Riella is here…”

Jess had no further explanation.

Because Riella had already gone to Herhan’s side.

Riella did not interfere with Herhan’s investigation.

She just waited silently a few feet away for Herhan to finish his investigation, then hugged his back as he took his hand away for a moment and gasped for breath in pain.

A gentle embrace, as if leaning her body softly against his back.

Startled, Herhan lifted his head slightly—then let out a faint chuckle as he realized who the angel clinging to him was.

“Did you finish all your homework? You were supposed to pick the bouquet and tiara by today.”

“I don’t know. I just picked whatever.”

“You can’t do it carelessly. Whose wedding is this?”

Herhan is tired. And Riella is comforting him.

They both looked utterly worn out—but in their own way, it was a beautiful and tender sight.

Watching them quietly, Jess made a desperate wish.

‘I hope this peace continues.’

But just then, Asion burst in, nearly out of breath from running.

And Jess immediately sensed that his desperate wish was about to shatter.

“Your Majesty.”