The Saintess Returned to the Emperor’s Arms – Chapter 122

Author: Chewyy

Officially announces

As the stage was dyed red with blood, the sound of footsteps was fierce.

As the knights who had been mixed in with the onlookers drew their swords and gathered near the stage, an equal number of imperial knights entered the hall, as if they had been waiting for them and prepared for defense.

A war was on the brink of breaking out.

The onlookers who had been screaming furiously now covered their own mouths and trembled.

“Y-Your Majesty…! Please restrain yourself! This is the Central Temple.”

“Ah, yes. So it is. For a moment, I mistook it for a den of thieves. Watching you dare to covet what is mine—how could I possibly endure such a farce?”

“Ha, but Your Majesty, the saint is determined by God—!”

“And what of it? Is there anything in this land that does not belong to me?”

At that moment, the elder’s lips turned blue as he saw the man who had been stabbed by the emperor, bleeding and gasping for breath.

This is a sacred and solemn temple of God.

Moreover, it is a neutral territory protected by international law.

Even if he was the emperor of a hegemonic nation who was blinded by love and crazy, killing would not be tolerated.

‘And in front of the entire world, he drew his sword? That cunning emperor must know this could come back to bite him. Has he finally gone mad?’

High priest Ludovico, sitting in the highest seat below the podium, trembled but secretly rejoiced.

Though the sacrifice of that foolish alliance man was regrettable, this incident could now swing public opinion in the Temple’s favor.

Just as he began to relish the thought—

“Your Majesty, please put away your sword.…”

“I was only exercising my right to self-defense.”

The Emperor, who had silenced the hall with his deadly aura, now pulled out a card no one could have anticipated.

“The right to self-defense…?”

“In a situation where the life of the Emperor—and that of my Empress—was threatened, I took rightful action to protect us.”

“W-Who would dare threaten Your Majesties? Surely… you don’t mean that man just now?”

The elder’s bewildered eyes turned to the breathless man beneath Herhan’s feet.

“Your Majesty. That man is merely an observer who has obtained permission to enter the temple. He came up to the stage without warning, but he did not wield any weapon, and he did not cause any harm to Your Majesty….”

“Wait.”

Interrupting the elder mid-sentence was none other than the Emperor’s Captain of the Guard, Ashion.

As Ashion approached and handed over a document, the elder’s face suddenly went pale.

What was held in his trembling, wrinkled hands was a wanted poster for Greta Feodorna.

‘…Princess Greta?!’

Only then did High Priest Ludovico realize the Emperor’s plan and open his eyes wide.

The priests seated beside him, who had been nervously trembling, all turned pale as they realized the same.

“All of you gathered here must be aware of the currently wanted criminal, the former Princess Greta. It was she who reported that Empress Riella is a descendant of Ann.”

Asion’s solemn voice echoed throughout the hall.

The audience, confused by the unexpected fact, was shocked.

While the surroundings were in commotion silently, someone in every corner tried hard to hide his look of despair.

“Furthermore, we have also detected circumstances in which those who are seeking to restore the alliance are in collusion with the former princess. These criminals, who had already threatened His Majesty the Emperor’s life, not only approached His Majesty without permission, but also attempted to detain Empress Riella under the pretext of an invalid agreement. Therefore, we exercised the right to self-defense, as protected by international law.”

The huge hall was filled with a suffocating silence.

High priest Ludovico was frozen almost like a corpse, unable to even blink.

On the stage, the elder, stunned, shook his hands in denial.

“No, no. That’s all speculation without any evidence.….”

“If you want proof, I can show it to you right here, right now.”

Herhan answered in a confident voice.

The elder realized that he had dug his own grave.

“That’s strange. The temple received anonymous information and said they knew nothing about the informant, so how can they be sure that Greta Feodorna is not the informant?”

“That’s not it—”

“Could it be that you’ve colluded with the criminals as well?”

“N-No! Absolutely not!”

The elder, visibly shaken, turned to High Priest Ludovico for help.

What now?

Herhan gripped his bloodstained sword tightly.

His fury hadn’t fully subsided, but what he needed to deliver now was a message.

A declaration to those who might be hiding somewhere even now, watching him from the shadows.

Emperor Herhan—alone in holding his head high, looked into the eyes of each and every one of the pale-faced audience members and conveyed his clear intentions to them.

“The alliance is a group of war criminals who have fallen a long time ago.”

Someone flinched and stood up instinctively.

“Greta Feodorna is a criminal who threatened me and my imperial family.”

Someone else gasped and trembled.

“And should there be anyone here who sides with such people, they too are my enemies— Thieves who deserve death. I will not hesitate to strike them down right here.”

At those words, all of them dropped their gazes to the floor in terror, unable to meet his eyes.

“I officially proclaim this now: Riella Blinite is mine— that she is the wife of Herhan Linhard von Bielsbach. The only reason I responded to this pitiful summons today was to deliver this message. This is your one and only warning. If any of you still dare to covet her, then come— Prepare for war.”

—Chump chump.

Aside from the sound of Herhan’s footsteps squelching through the bloodied floor as he returned to Riela, not even a mouse dared to stir.

“Let’s go, Riella.”

Herhan’s voice was suddenly soft, as if none of the chaos had ever happened.

“Don’t worry. You can raise your head now.”

His hot hand caressed Riella’s cheek.

A treasure that will never be found in the world, a one-of-a-kind purifier, and a woman who will soon wear the Empress’s crown.

Touched as if too precious to handle, Riella slowly lifted her head.

Herhan’s dark eyes were filled with her own reflection, just like a mirror.

“Come to me. Don’t let dirty blood get on your feet.”

As Riella collapsed into him, Herhan easily lifted her into his arms.

* * *

Dust rose ceaselessly throughout the temple courtyard.

There was a lot of noise everywhere as carriages that had gathered from all over the country began to retreat again.

Those who were prepared to hold out in the temple until Emperor Herhan gave up his claim to Riella Blinite, all of them chose to retreat without exception.

There was no other way.

Even a hint of an eye on Ann’s descendants would immediately lead to them siding with the criminals.

“That crazy princess—what the hell was she thinking? If you’re going to pull a stunt, at least don’t get caught!”

“Exactly! And those damned Alliance bastards, why on earth team up with a wanted criminal? Now we don’t even have a shred of justification to lay a finger on the Saint! Damn it!”

Frustrated, those who had come hoping to catch a glimpse of the prophesied Saint—back after a hundred years—could do nothing but grumble as they turned away.

“It doesn’t look like everyone has completely given up.”

“Of course not. This isn’t the kind of fight that ends in a day or two.”

Jess and Asion watched those leaving the temple and then returned to their lord, who was confronting Ludovico.

“We truly had no knowledge of any of this. Please believe us, Your Majesty!”

“Of course. That’s how it must be.”

“.….”

“If you met with the former Princess Greta and instead of arresting her, you protected her and accepted her report—then that means you were prepared to go to war with me. Isn’t that so, High Priest Ludovico?”

“.….”

High priest Ludovico bowed his head without answering Herhan’s question.

It was as if he were a completely different person from when he first walked in front of the emperor’s carriage and looked up at Riella with his face held high.

“I’ll begin investigations in due time. To clear the Central Temple’s name, we’ll thoroughly expose the crimes of all involved. So I suggest you worry not.”

High priest Ludovico closed his eyes tightly at Herhan’s request, which was like a death sentence.

The emperor seemed to have already figured out all the circumstances.

Herhan already seemed to know everything.

One of the Alliance’s men had been killed publicly.

Could he hope to survive?

Wouldn’t it be better to get down on his knees and beg right now?

“Why? Is there anything more you want to say? Or do you still have a lingering desire to steal my empress?”

“N-no. Absolutely not.”

At the Emperor’s frigid dismissal, Ludovico shrank back and hurriedly left.

The temple was in chaos.

Some of them were so scared that they packed their bags and ran away, only to be caught by the Imperial Knights.

Ludovico shook off the ones clinging to him in tears and summoned only a select few priests.

* * *

A secret space underground in the central temple building.

High priest Ludovico poured out all his suppressed fear, anger, and doubts before the hastily assembled people.

“What the hell happened? How did the Emperor find out about the informant? I told you all to keep your mouths shut! Are we all trying to die together?”

“We—we don’t know, High priest! No one said anything, I swear!”

“Idiots! Do you think the one who spilled it would come forward and say, ‘It was me’?”

Seizing a young priest by the collar, Ludovico shook him furiously before throwing him aside in rage.

“Amelia.”

Then—

His eyes, scanning the assembled priests with open disdain, stopped on a young woman with blonde hair.

“Yes, High priest.”

Amelia’s answer was clear.

With eyes mixed with suspicion and trust, Ludovico looked her up and down.

“Did you deal with that guy well? The guy with powers who had a fight with the princess that night.”

“Of course.”

“What did you do with the body?”