The Saintess Returned to the Emperor’s Arms Chapter 150

As the New Leader of the Temple

 

“Sir El!”

 

Riela jumped to her feet in surprise.

 

Even after the embassy staff stepped aside, she kept staring at him as he approached, unable to believe it.

 

“You came back?”

 

No matter how she looked at him, it was definitely El.

 

His black eyes contrasting with his pale skin, and even the way he had boldly walked in but now couldn’t easily speak when facing her.

 

“How… why did you come back?”

 

Riela asked, unable to understand.

 

And reasonably so— El had clearly left just a few days ago.

 

It was the Emperor’s order.

 

“I will withdraw the surveillance now. If you can rise again without dying, you are free to leave the imperial palace afterward.”

 

After the garden battle—

when El had barely clung to life with fatal injuries, Herhan had said that.

 

At last, El’s atonement had come to an end.

 

The fact that the Vice family had joined the alliance was erased from the records, and El’s family, who had been held like hostages in the imperial barracks, were released.

 

Herhan granted them a residence in a southern village far from the capital, along with settlement funds and new jobs.

 

Once he recovered enough to move, El left the palace with his family.

 

That had only been two days ago.

 

“Do you dislike that I came back that much?”

 

“It’s not that—!”

 

Do you know how hurt I was?

 

Instead of saying what rose up to her throat, Riela only glared at him.

 

When El’s family left, she had personally gone out to the palace walls to see their carriage off.

 

Even if they couldn’t shake hands, she thought she could at least say goodbye.

 

But El never once looked at her until the very end.

 

How upsetting that had been.

 

Was he really that tired of everything? If she had known he would leave without even looking back, she would have at least thanked him for saving her.

 

Even after he left, Riela couldn’t forget his lonely figure for a long time.

 

And yet—

 

“I came back after finishing preparations for my family’s move.”

 

“But why?”

 

“I never intended to leave in the first place. With this much work piled up, where would I even go?”

 

As he said that, El reached out to take the documents on the desk in front of Riela.

 

From beneath his loose sleeve, the pale wrist revealed numerous red scars.

 

At the sight, Riela pressed her lips together and quickly pulled the documents closer to herself.

 

Then she said firmly,

 

“You can stop now, Sir El.”

 

At that, his outstretched hand froze midair.

 

“You can let yourself be at ease now. You risked your life to save us, and His Majesty has already forgiven you.”

 

Her words made El’s chest pound heavily.

 

His already deep, unreadable eyes grew even more distant, then slowly closed.

 

“No. Not entirely.”

 

“Not entirely?”

 

“I’ve committed quite a few sins.”

 

“Are there more things I don’t know about?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Really? What are they?”

 

“I can’t tell you.”

 

*I won’t tell you. Not for the rest of my life.*

 

Speaking in riddles, El wore a very calm smile as he took a step back.

 

It was the first time Riela had ever seen something like *peace* in him.

 

‘He’s smiling now. He always looked like he was being chased by something…’

 

That unexplained smile somehow made Riela lose the urge to question him further.

 

El quietly took something he had been keeping carefully in his arms and held it out to her.

 

It was a thin book.

 

“I’ll give you this instead. I was lucky enough to find it at a bookstore while I was out.”

 

“Hmph. Looks like you’re trying to smooth things over with a gift, but I won’t fall for that so eas—!”

 

Riela glanced at it as if uninterested, then her eyes widened.

 

Her resolve not to be swayed by gifts instantly crumbled, and her face lit up.

 

“This book… could it be…!?”

 

“It’s a wedding gift. Congratulations.”

 

Riela immediately grabbed the book.

 

Even though all kinds of rare and valuable gifts had been pouring in for the wedding, none pleased her more than this.

 

“Thank you, Sir El!”

 

She exclaimed brightly without hesitation.

 

Just then, Lou peeked into the office from outside the door and called out to her.

 

The Emperor had come to pick her up in front of the embassy, so it would be best for her to head out now.

 

Riela nodded firmly and stepped away from the desk.

 

As she passed by him, a fragrance he had never dared to approach brushed past El’s nose.

 

Even in the cold of winter, Riela felt like nothing but a warm spring breeze to him.

 

El tightly shut his eyes.

 

“Sir El.”

 

Riela, who had seemed about to leave the office, turned back and called him again.

 

“Sir El, I’m glad you came back. And I’m not just saying that because of the gift.”

 

Even though she said it wasn’t because of the gift—

 

Riela, hugging the book tightly in both arms and smiling brightly, looked utterly lovely.

 

El quietly watched her, then gave a small nod—closing his eyes before she could turn away.

 

* * *

 

That evening, Herhan was unusually quiet.

 

Even during their long-awaited private dinner together, he kept telling Riela to eat more, while leaving more than half of the food on his own plate.

 

At first, she wondered if he was bothered by the fact that she had met El at the lake palace—but that wasn’t it at all.

 

“He insisted on staying in the palace himself, so he’ll handle things on his own. Still, I told him that if he bothers you with embassy work, I’ll throw him out immediately.”

 

In the first place, it was Herhan who had allowed El to return.

 

And the way he spoke and looked when mentioning El no longer carried the same tension as before.

 

*Then what is it?*

 

There were no enemies left to face, he had made peace with his subordinates, and the wedding preparations were going smoothly.

 

Just this morning, Herhan had seemed in a perfectly good mood as usual.

 

“Your Majesty. Is something bothering you?”

 

“Hm? No.”

 

Herhan answered instantly, without even thinking.

 

Riela narrowed her eyes at him and asked again.

 

“That’s not true. You clearly look like something’s both—”

 

Herhan suddenly stood up from across the table and leaned over it to press his lips against hers.

 

On the small round tea table, the cups and teapot clinked softly.

 

*Smack.*

 

His lips, still carrying the scent of black tea, left behind only a slightly bitter breath before pulling away.

 

Keeping his face close to hers, Herhan answered,

 

“Because you’re too pretty.”

 

“How is me being too pretty a problem?”

 

“It’s a serious problem. You should only be pretty in my eyes, but what if you’re this pretty to everyone? It worries me.”

 

What nonsense.

 

Riela glared at Herhan, who shamelessly said such embarrassing things without a hint of shame.

 

She even pouted, but the large hand holding her chin didn’t move away.

 

His lips came closer again.

 

Unlike before, this time they approached slowly, brushing and pressing gently over her soft lips.

 

Even after their lips met, Herhan took his time, nibbling and teasing her plump lips.

 

Pressing deeply with urgency, then playfully licking and pulling back—

the teasing made Riela’s lips part slightly without her realizing it.

 

Waiting for that exact moment, Herhan immediately pushed in like a beast.

 

The tea scent from before had been bitter, but now their deep, tangled breaths were sweet.

 

Riela unconsciously relaxed her brows and melted into his kiss.

 

To get closer, Herhan lowered his body further.

 

Just then, one of the teacups caught on his elbow and fell—shattering loudly on the floor.

 

“Ah!”

 

“Riela, are you alright?”

 

She nodded.

 

It was Herhan who had been splashed with tea and fragments.

 

“Your Majesty, you should wash up and change.”

 

“I’m fine. More importantly, what we were doing—”

 

The attendants, hearing the sound, came in and began cleaning around the table.

 

Though he clearly didn’t like being pushed toward the bath by Riela, Herhan couldn’t bring himself to shake off her hand and reluctantly moved.

 

Standing on her toes, Riela whispered to him,

 

“Exactly. We should continue what we were doing.”

 

“…!”

 

“Go to the bath first. I’ll be there soon.”

 

At her shy yet bold invitation, Herhan’s eyes lit up.

 

He pulled her into a tight embrace, pressed a lingering kiss to the back of her neck, then stepped away on his own.

 

“Then I’ll prepare the bath with the rose scent you like.”

 

Riela let out a small laugh and nodded.

 

After he left, she stepped out of the inner room with an even more mischievous expression than his.

 

She had pretended to fall for his distraction—

 

‘Hmph. Not anymore. Does he think I won’t notice if he just smooths things over with a kiss?’

 

Herhan hiding something while suffering alone— now, Riela could tell just by the way he blinked.

 

‘If he had just honestly said it’s something he can’t tell me yet, I would’ve let it go.’

 

His attempt to brush it off only fueled her determination.

 

At this point, no matter how much she asked, he wouldn’t confess easily.

 

So she needed to find a gap— and in situations like this, that gap was always *that person*.

 

“Huff, huff! What is it? You called for me so suddenly, so I came right away!”

 

“That’s right. It’s urgent. We need to finish before His Majesty comes out of the bath.”

 

“Finish what…?”

 

“Tell me honestly, Captain Asion. I need to know what His Majesty is hiding from me.”

 

At her blunt declaration, Asion’s mouth fell open.

 

So there really *was* something.

 

Riela kept her firm expression, not giving up the pressure.

 

“I-I can’t. I can’t say it. His Majesty gave a strict order to keep it secret. As a loyal subject, I cannot disobey—”

 

“Right. And who do you think protected that ‘loyal subject’ position for you?”

 

“….”

 

“Do you know how much I tried to help you be forgiven? Or does your loyalty not apply to me? I didn’t even sleep properly worrying about you.”

 

“N-no, I…”

 

“I’m disappointed.”

 

“…!”

 

Cold sweat ran down Asion’s back.

 

He waved his hands, insisting that wasn’t the case, that he would never forget her kindness—but in the end, he couldn’t win against Riela.

 

“I-I shouldn’t… really…”

 

With a tearful sigh, Asion finally confessed everything.

 

After listening calmly, Riela nodded.

 

“I see. So Priest Amelia is looking for a new leader for the central temple. That makes sense. If reform is to be done properly, a new supervisor is definitely needed.”

 

“Yes. That’s right.”

 

“But something’s strange. Why is His Majesty so worried about this and telling you to keep it secret?”

 

“That’s…”

 

‘Do I have to say that?’

 

Asion glanced at Riela—and immediately realized he shouldn’t have.

 

That cautious glance gave away his thoughts, and Riela caught it instantly.

 

“Say it.”

 

“That’s because…”

 

Asion squeezed his eyes shut.

 

‘Ah, whatever. At this point, I’ll just take Her Majesty’s side. It’s not like His Majesty can win against her anyway.’

 

“That’s because Your Majesty is being considered as a candidate for the new leader.”

 

* * *