The Saintess Returned to the Emperor’s Arms Chapter 136

Not Something That Was Abandoned, But Protected

 

“What do you mean? I think you’re mistaken. As I said, this is my personal belongings. Please return it, Your Majesty!”

 

“How dare you, in front of Her Majesty the Empress!”

 

Ashion, who had been addressing Amelia politely the whole time, now grabbed her tightly with stiff arms.

 

Amelia couldn’t move at all, but her voice remained firm as she shouted,

“That is something very precious to me, Your Majesty. No matter what it is, it is not the object you are looking for!”

 

Just because Amelia said it wasn’t, didn’t make the object something Riella didn’t recognize.

 

It was Herhan who pressed Amelia in a scolding tone.

 

“Where did this come from?”

 

“……”

 

“I have already asked several times. When, and from whom did you get it?”

 

“……”

 

Amelia did not open her mouth.

 

Even though she clearly knew that not answering the Emperor’s question was a grave act of disrespect.

 

That only made everyone even more tense.

 

“I have carried it with me my entire life. I have nothing else to say.”

 

Since she gave no proper explanation and only insisted, it could only seem like she was hiding something.

 

“So, you choose silence.”

 

“……”

 

“Even if that choice leads you to death, will you remain silent until the end?”

 

“……”

 

At those words from Herhan, Amelia raised her eyes with firm resistance.

 

The silence that followed grew heavy with tension.

 

Riella was completely confused and had no idea where or how to step in.

 

Just a few minutes ago, they had been talking about fighting the temple together, even sharing a sense of comradeship.

 

“Ashion. Take Priest Amelia out.”

 

It meant to arrest her.

 

Even while being dragged away by Ashion, Amelia kept shaking her head and calling out to the Emperor, but she did not confess the truth about the necklace.

 

“Priest Amelia…….”

 

Right before the door completely closed, Riella met Amelia’s desperate gaze as she looked back at her.

 

But that was all.

 

Riella couldn’t bring herself to stop her or defend her.

 

“I don’t understand what’s going on at all. Why is Hank’s necklace here, and why does Priest Amelia have it…….”

 

After Amelia left,

 

the table was in disarray with the temple’s jewels she had scattered while resisting.

 

Riella picked up the blue gem lying among them.

 

Its smooth surface. Its familiar color.

 

Why was this thing she had grown sick of seeing as a child, here?

 

“That’s not Hank’s. Riella. It’s yours.”

 

Herhan spoke as if it were nothing, but to Riella, it was anything but.

 

“It’s the item you were wearing around your neck when Hank found you. Just like how he took off your shoes and sold them, he stole that necklace too, wore it as if it were his, and later sold it when he needed money.”

 

Riella’s eyes widened.

 

‘This was mine?’

 

On her open palm,

 

a small blue stone no bigger than her thumbnail delivered a heavy truth to her.

 

“Kyle bought it back.”

 

“……Kyle?”

 

“Yes. He had been watching you since then. When I read Greta’s memories, I saw that Kyle still had it until recently. But now that it’s in Priest Amelia’s hands……”

 

Herhan trailed off, and Jes finished the sentence.

 

“We will thoroughly investigate the possibility that Priest Amelia has been colluding with Kyle Parlante.”

 

Even after Jes left first with a serious expression, Riella remained dazed for quite a while.

 

The fact that Priest Amelia might be a dangerous person was shocking, but there was something else that unsettled her even more.

 

“So…… this is mine?”

 

“Yes.”

 

More precisely—

 

“It must be something your family left for you.”

 

There was a brief silence.

 

“When did Your Majesty find out about that?”

 

“When Hank came.”

 

“Then you’ve been investigating ever since. About the whereabouts of the necklace. About the existence of the ‘family’ who left this to me.”

 

“……”

 

“And you’re only telling me now.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Herhan did not avoid Riella’s gaze as he admitted it plainly.

 

And that only made Riella resent him more.

 

“Is there still more about me that only you know?”

 

Even though her question was filled with resentment, Herhan offered no excuse.

 

Leaving him behind, Riella walked out of the meeting room.

 

* * *

Riella, who had come out of the barracks, wandered through the imperial palace without any destination.

 

Because her mind was troubled. And also, partly to protest against Herhan.

 

She even told the maids and the imperial guards who had been waiting outside not to follow her, and deliberately walked alone—but at some point, the sound of footsteps began trailing behind her.

 

It was Ashion, who had hurriedly handed Amelia over to Jes and rushed after Riella.

 

“Are you watching me? Afraid I might run away?”

 

“Of course not. You are someone who deserves the protection of the most capable warrior, so I am merely staying by your side.”

 

Riella glared at Ashion.

 

In truth, she wanted to glare at Herhan, but since she had left him behind, Ashion became the substitute.

 

“Do you know how awful His Majesty’s personality is? He always leaves me out. I don’t even know how many times this has happened.”

 

“This time, it is a misunderstanding. He was really about to tell you soon. He worked so hard with the single goal of finding the necklace for you before the wedding—”

 

“Wow. Don’t tell me postponing the wedding was because of that too?”

 

Ashion flinched and widened his eyes.

 

He was the kind of person who, just as he lacked tact, also couldn’t hide what he was thinking.

 

“…Forget it. What’s the point of complaining to someone who’s in the same group anyway.”

 

After sighing, Riella started walking again.

 

Ashion silently followed behind her, as if willing to take the blame in place of his lord.

 

The path they had walked earlier while chatting and laughing with Priest Amelia.

 

And after walking a bit along the path she had strolled yesterday with Herhan, the place her steps led her to was the eastern corridor of the main palace lobby.

 

A room where portraits of past imperial family members were gathered—also called the Hall of Portraits.

 

On one wall of the brightly lit corridor hung the faces of the dynasty that had led this empire.

 

If you walked along dozens of frames, at the very end was an empty spot.

 

It was the place where Herhan and Riella’s portraits would soon hang side by side.

 

“……”

 

The feeling of looking at that empty space was strange, but today, what caught her eye more than that spot was the portrait just one place before it—a woman wearing the empress’s crown.

 

A woman who shared not a single resemblance with Herhan.

 

“We could not place the portrait of the Great Lady here.”

 

The “Great Lady” Ashion referred to meant Herhan’s biological mother.

 

It was something Riella already knew.

 

That the former empress in the portrait she was now looking at was Herhan’s stepmother.

 

The woman in the portrait looked so cold, as if she would not have given even a kind glance, let alone a gentle touch, to a young crown prince who was not her own blood.

 

“I heard during imperial history lessons. His Majesty’s real mother passed away from illness when he was young.”

 

“It was not a simple illness.”

 

“Then…….”

 

She had guessed there must be a hidden story.

 

Otherwise, it made no sense that a woman who had once been a proper empress and even given birth to the crown prince would not have a single portrait displayed anywhere in the palace.

 

“I heard that because His Majesty manifested a special power early on, there was conflict between the Great Lady, who was the empress at the time, and the imperial consort.”

 

“Did the consort find out that His Majesty was her descendant?”

 

“Yes. The Great Lady was seized upon for that reason, forced to give up her position as empress, and continued to be threatened until she ultimately could not save her life.”

 

“I see. So that’s why His Majesty had to escape the palace and live outside…….”

 

The wicked consort had taken Herhan’s mother’s place, and soon her own son ascended the throne as the new emperor.

 

Even then, their attempts to keep Herhan in check never stopped.

 

They tirelessly hunted the disappeared crown prince Herhan and continuously sent assassins after him.

 

“The Kingdom of Riota was also used under their influence.”

 

Riella let out a heated breath.

 

The ones who had taken everything from young Herhan and driven him into the harsh world outside the palace were still depicted with noble dignity inside those gold-framed portraits.

 

How could they be so shameless?

 

How could they be so cruel?

 

How could they hurt someone so precious to her, like a gem?

 

As Riella swallowed back the surge of anger, she suddenly thought—

 

‘Ah. His Majesty must have felt like this too.’

 

When he saw her being mistreated by Hank.

 

When he saw her living while being robbed, not even knowing what kind of necklace it was.

 

He must have felt just as angry and upset.

 

“How dare a captain of the guard recklessly talk about the emperor’s private family matters?”

 

At that moment, along with firm footsteps, Herhan’s sharp reprimand rang out.

 

“Come on, Your Majesty. Isn’t it because I’m such a loyal adjutant that I spoke what you couldn’t bring yourself to say?”

 

“Do not meddle in others’ affairs so presumptuously.”

 

“Others’ affairs? That hurts!”

 

While the two bickered energetically, for some reason Riella couldn’t bring herself to turn around.

 

After Ashion stepped back, Herhan’s footsteps continued again.

 

The approaching steps stopped awkwardly a few paces away from Riella.

 

The man who had forcefully driven away a sword-bearing adjutant, yet was endlessly careful with Riella.

 

“Riella. May I come closer?”

 

He asked gently.

 

When Riella did not answer, he changed his question and asked again.

 

“Can I hug you?”

 

Even though she only gave a very slight nod instead of answering, Herhan, as if he had been waiting, strode forward with big steps and hugged Riella from behind.

 

Feeling the firm strength supporting her back, Riella finally felt reassured—and at the same time, her emotions welled up.

 

Thinking of how the young boy, who couldn’t even hang his mother’s portrait on the wall and was unjustly driven out, had now become the strongest man in this land and was protecting her.

 

“Why don’t you just take down those bad people’s portraits? Why keep them up?”

 

“……So I don’t forget. To protect my people, I have to stay sharp at all times.”

 

Even though so much time had passed that he could have grown numb, Herhan’s answer carried a strong will, as if he were still facing enemies from just yesterday.

 

“You try to let me live peacefully without knowing anything, and handle all the hard things by yourself.”

 

Riella leaned deeply into Herhan’s embrace.

 

It was both a complaint and a comfort.

 

Behind her, his chest rose and fell repeatedly, shifting unevenly.

 

That off-beat movement meant he had something to say but was hesitating to bring it out.

 

“About the necklace… not telling you earlier…”

 

After hesitating like that, what he finally said was an apology and excuse about what had happened earlier.

 

Riella let out a small laugh she had been holding back.

 

“You did it because you thought I’d get hurt. I don’t even need to hear it—it’s obvious.”

 

“……”

 

“I was the same. I couldn’t ask about your mother either. I felt like I knew what kind of story it was, so the words just wouldn’t come out.”

 

So you were the same.

 

Riella placed her hand over Herhan’s arm wrapped around her waist.

 

“When your mother passed away, it must have been really scary and hard.”

 

“It didn’t hurt that much.”

 

She thought it sounded like typical bravado from Herhan, but the reason he added made perfect sense.

 

“Because I knew I wasn’t abandoned—I was protected.”

 

I see.

 

You really are a strong person.

 

Instead of breaking down in tears, you’re someone who stands up and fights to repay the person who protected you.

 

“Riella. I think it’s the same for you.”

 

Herhan continued, holding her tightly.

 

“The person who put that necklace on you when you were little. There must have been someone who wanted to protect you. You too—you weren’t abandoned, you were protected. So no matter who they are or where they are, I will definitely find them.”

 

“Even though your plan to find them first and surprise me failed?”

 

At last, Riella turned around and met Herhan’s eyes.

 

“Stop trying to do everything alone. Let’s go find them together now.”

 

* * *