The Saintess Returned to the Emperor’s Arms Chapter 137

Yvonne

 

“I don’t understand what you mean. In league with the Alliance? I came here to report them. You know that, don’t you?”

 

“Ah. Yes. I know. I do, but……”

 

Jess frowned and ran a hand through his hair.

 

Across from him, Priest Amelia looked desperate the entire time.

 

When he had questioned whether she approached the imperial family under the Alliance’s orders, she had even shown anger close to outrage as she denied it.

 

‘No matter how I look at it, she really does seem innocent.’

 

The problem was—why couldn’t such an innocent person answer where the necklace came from?

 

Since she was a priest, the lord’s power didn’t work on her because of special restrictions.

 

“I should be the one asking you, Sir Jess. That item has nothing to do with this matter. Why are you suddenly questioning my necklace?”

 

“How does it have nothing to do with it? That belongs to Her Majesty the Empress—it’s something she lost as a child—!”

 

“……Pardon? What did you say?”

 

Damn it.

 

Jes let it slip without thinking, then let out a deep sigh.

 

At this point, there was no turning back.

 

Anyway, it didn’t seem like Priest Amelia would speak unless she knew the story behind the item.

 

“That is a family heirloom that Her Majesty Empress Blinite lost when she was a child. We confirmed not long ago that the Alliance had it. And yet today, you took it out from your arms. Now then—will you still keep your mouth shut?”

 

Jes revealed the information about the necklace first.

 

As his explanation continued, Amelia’s blue eyes widened in shock.

 

“Her Majesty’s belonging? The Alliance had it? That makes no sense……”

 

‘Exactly. I want to know what that “nonsense” is too.’

 

After finishing, Jes crossed his arms and waited for Amelia to calm down.

 

Fortunately, it didn’t take long.

 

“I understand.”

 

“Phew. Finally going to talk—”

 

“Before that, I would like to see Her Majesty the Empress. I want to tell the truth directly in front of her.”

 

* * *

 

When Riella returned to the isolation room in the barracks, Amelia was sitting calmly in her seat.

 

She had been worried Amelia might have been treated harshly during questioning, but fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.

 

Still, her wrists were red from being briefly bound, and Riella stared at them before asking,

 

“Are your wrists okay?”

 

At that, Amelia looked up in surprise.

 

Even though none of the misunderstanding about the necklace had been resolved yet, here was someone worrying about her anyway.

 

‘Your Majesty the Empress… truly, you are her…….’

 

Amelia felt a surge of emotion.

 

It felt like she had already found the answer, but still, she swallowed hard and spoke firmly.

 

“Her Majesty Empress Blinite. I apologize, but may I be permitted to look closely at your face?”

 

It was an absurd request.

 

Someone being interrogated, suddenly asking to closely examine the Empress’s face.

 

Ashion tried to stop her, but before he could, Riella nodded and stepped closer to Amelia.

 

Herhan chose to watch the situation for now.

 

They had detained Amelia due to suspicion, but everyone present knew she was not someone who would harm Riella.

 

“You said you are twenty-four this year?”

 

As Amelia gazed deeply at Riella, she began asking various questions.

 

Riella’s origin, her childhood, everything Riella could remember.

 

Though Amelia was the one being investigated, somehow the roles had reversed.

 

Then at some point, Amelia tightly shut her eyes and took several deep breaths.

 

When she opened them again, they were moist, unlike before.

 

Her eyes trembled, filled with emotions—or perhaps memories—too deep to name.

 

“I will tell you everything.”

 

Amelia continued, looking at the blue gemstone necklace in Herhan’s hand.

 

“That is not the necklace the two of you are looking for.”

 

“What? Hey, Priest Amelia! That’s not what you said! You said you’d tell the truth in front of Her Majesty!”

 

Jess frowned and snapped at her.

 

She had been acting so meaningful—had they just been tricked?

 

“I already know everything, so don’t lie—!”

 

“It is not a lie. How could I dare lie before the sun of the Empire? As I said before, this is something I received as a gift when I was young and have cherished ever since. It was originally one of a pair. The one Her Majesty is looking for is likely the other half that looks the same as mine.”

 

A pair?

 

A gift? From whom?

 

“Priest Yvonne.”

 

Amelia answered everyone’s unspoken question.

 

“She was the one who left this to me. She loved me very much, and I loved her very much as well. ……She was like a mother to me.”

 

At the word “mother,” everyone’s hearts sank at once.

 

The one most shaken, of course, was Riella, her fiery eyes trembling.

 

Amelia raised her head again toward her.

 

Though it was audacious to look so directly at the Empress, no one rebuked her for it.

 

“She was a very beautiful person.”

 

In Riella’s red eyes, Amelia saw the warmth of someone who resembled that person.

 

“Just like you, Her Majesty Empress Blinite, standing before me now.”

 

Amelia’s voice trembled with overwhelming emotion.

 

* * *

 

The name “Amelia” was given to her by Priest Yvonne.

 

“Hey, Priest Yvonne! Did you pick up another child without thinking again?”

 

“Without thinking? We have more than enough food and clothes. If our temple doesn’t take in a poor child like this, wouldn’t that be more thoughtless?”

 

Priest Yvonne didn’t budge even at Archbishop Romano’s scolding.

 

“Archbishop, instead of that, look into this child’s eyes. Don’t you feel the clear energy? If she’s taught well, she will surely become a great priest.”

 

“Well… I don’t know about that.”

 

“Oh dear. Really? You can’t sense this sharpness? What should we do—has Your Grace’s divine power declined?”

 

“Y-Yvonne!”

 

She was a woman so bold and lovely it almost seemed shameless.

 

To young Amelia, she was like a pillar holding up the world—strong and shining.

 

“Amelia. There’s no need to shrink back. Stand tall with confidence.”

 

“But… is it really okay for me to stay here?”

 

“Of course. But you have to earn your keep.”

 

“Earn… my keep?”

 

That was a difficult concept for a five-year-old who had been wandering the streets.

 

“H-how do I do that?”

 

“Just study hard.”

 

“Study… that…?”

 

Amelia pointed with her tiny fingers at the bookshelf filled with books.

 

She thought she picked the right answer, but Yvonne shook her head.

 

“What you need to study hard about isn’t in here—it’s out there.”

 

What Yvonne pointed to was outside the window.

 

Tall priests walked gracefully, children around Amelia’s age ran between them,

 

people came to pray and carefully approached the altar, and bright sunlight poured down over everything.

 

“But that’s just outside.”

 

“Yes. What’s important isn’t in books—it’s in that world, in people. You’ll understand someday.”

 

Yvonne gently patted Amelia’s head as she tilted it in confusion.

 

At that moment, in young Amelia’s eyes, she looked like a blooming flower—bright and full of fragrance.

 

After that, Amelia learned under Yvonne.

 

She was unusually clever for her age, and just as ambitious.

 

Whenever she proudly showed off her high test scores, Yvonne would instead firmly correct her.

 

“A servant of God must always be humble. You must become the lowest in the world to help others.”

 

Amelia loved the God Yvonne taught her about, and the world Yvonne showed her.

 

“Priests are really amazing. They’re all kind. They’re good people.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes! They even heal cursed descendants who are sick. Those people are cursed because they did bad things, but the priests still take care of them.”

 

“Amelia. Do you already know the story of Enril and Antu?”

 

Amelia thought she would be praised.

 

She believed she had already understood a great truth of God.

 

But Yvonne didn’t smile.

 

The woman who always smiled warmly looked, at that moment, strangely sad and heavy-hearted.

 

“Amelia. The world may not be what it seems.”

 

As Amelia remembered, it was around that time

 

that the shadows on Yvonne’s face began to grow deeper day by day.

 

Amelia felt anxious.

 

She had a feeling that Yvonne might disappear like this—and just as she feared, one night, she saw Yvonne secretly leaving their quarters.

 

Amelia ran after her in a hurry, not even putting on her shoes properly.

 

“Priest! Where are you going?”

 

“Amelia!”

 

Yvonne, who seemed like she might leave immediately, hesitated and turned her horse around.

 

She came up to Amelia, knelt down, and met her at eye level.

 

She asked how Amelia had come this far—cold, dark, and dangerous as it was.

 

“Where are you going?”

 

“Amelia, I……”

 

“Please don’t go. I’ll behave better. I won’t cause trouble, and I’ll study harder. So… *sob*…”

 

“Oh… Amelia……”

 

Yvonne hugged her tightly.

 

It was the same warm embrace that always comforted her during stormy nights and nightmares.

 

Leaning into that warmth and crying her heart out, Amelia realized—

 

Yvonne would not come back this time.

 

Without even knowing why she was leaving, or where she was going.

 

“There is something very important I have to do.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“I’ve found someone… I must protect.”

 

Yvonne’s red eyes sparkled like they held stars.

 

Lowering her head slightly, she gently placed a hand over her flat stomach.

 

Amelia didn’t understand what it meant and just clung to her.

 

“Can I come with you?”

 

“Amelia…”

 

She expected to hear, *You’re too young. It’s too dangerous.*

 

But instead—

 

“Amelia, you have something you must do here.”

 

For some reason, those words gave Amelia great strength and comfort.

 

Because it didn’t feel like a careless excuse adults made to push her away.

 

“We will meet again someday, Amelia. Until then, will you keep this as a token?”

 

Yvonne placed a necklace around Amelia’s neck.

 

A matching gem, identical to the one she wore, glowed blue under the moonlight.

 

“Amelia. Become someone who walks the right path. Then we will surely meet again.”

 

* * *

“I thought back then that I was just too young to understand. Where Priest Yvonne went. Why she had to leave. And what kind of ‘right path’ she told me to walk.”

 

Amelia’s voice, once soaked with tears, had now become firm again.

 

“As time passed, I too became a priest and began to serve God. Just as Priest Yvonne said, I came to understand that the most important teachings are not within the scriptures, and that the world is not as it seems… But even so, in the end, I could never understand why she had to leave the temple that day.”

 

Everyone stayed silent.

 

Even the Emperor.

 

Without making a single sound, they focused entirely on Amelia’s words as she lowered her thick lashes.

 

“She told me to walk the right path… and yet left me behind, all alone. I even resented her, thinking she had simply run away.”

 

The moment Amelia recalled Yvonne’s teachings again was when she faced *her*—the one who came to the temple of her own will, revealing herself as Antu’s incarnation.

 

When she saw those red eyes, holding a fearless flame, standing against a world that sought to destroy her despite trembling— Amelia began to believe that perhaps standing on her side was the “right path” Yvonne had spoken of.

 

“And now I see that it truly was the right path… I finally understand.”

 

Amelia lifted her gaze.

 

“What was more important than serving the world as a servant of God… what it was that Priest Yvonne truly wanted me to protect—I understand it clearly now.”

 

Long ago, just as the young, curious Amelia once saw the world reflected in Yvonne’s eyes— now Amelia looked into Riella’s eyes.

 

Those red eyes, so much like Yvonne’s, reflected Amelia back at her.

 

“I think… it is you. Your Majesty Empress Blinite.”

 

Riella, who had been biting her lip and holding back the whole time, finally let out a broken, trembling cry.

 

“Priest Yvonne left… to protect you.”

 

* * *