MTIHVH 02

#2

Empress Hestia ascended to the throne at the age of 20.

She led the empire brilliantly as a woman.

She had two sons with Count Orleans, whom she married by royal decree, and divorced him a few years ago. Now, she was enjoying a glamorous single life.

But there was only one thing that worried her the most.

‘My second son, Ruslan, who is weak.’

Later, I learned that the reason she proposed to the Everett family, who was on the brink of collapse, was not just out of coincidence.

It was because of an advisor’s suggestion to marry into a family that had previously produced someone with holy power.

He claimed Ruslan’s illness was a curse and that someone with holy power could alleviate the symptoms.

So, she sent a proposal to the Count Everett family, who had most recently shown holy power.

But in my past life, that hope was completely dashed.

In fact, Ruslan’s condition worsened, and Hestia gave me a subtle, resentful look.

‘It’s not entirely my fault.’

Surprisingly, the advisor’s advice wasn’t a lie. According to the original story, Ruslan’s illness was indeed a curse, and holy power did help.

The problem was that I didn’t have holy power.

Knowing the cure didn’t change the situation.

In the original story, this curse was resolved when the saintess “Vivian” appeared.

But even then, I couldn’t just sit idly by until Ruslan’s death.

Leaving my room, I immediately went to the prayer hall.

Since Ruslan fell ill, the Empress had been praying daily in a small chapel in the palace for his recovery.

This was also a rare chance to meet the Empress without anyone else around.

“Almighty Aksian, please watch over our Ruslan…”

The stone chapel was simpler than I imagined.

On the altar was an old statue and wildflowers, freshly picked by the Empress.

The flowers had been gathered by the Empress herself.

Thud, roll.

The sound of a stone rolling at my feet made the Empress rise from her seat.

“Who is it?”

“Ah, hello.”

Melisa, still not well-versed in etiquette as a princess, greeted awkwardly, causing Hestia’s face to soften.

A cute girl with pink hair bowed in front of her.

“…It’s an honor to meet you, Your Majesty.”

“It’s too late for a child like you to be wandering around.”

She wasn’t scolding, but her stern voice made the girl’s shoulders shrink.

Since she had only sons, Hestia was unsure how to treat a girl and felt a bit flustered.

She tried to soften her tone and spoke again.

“Why are you here?”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

Even though she was four years older than Ruslan, Melisa was still a child.

Thinking of Danilo’s childhood when he had just become an adult, Hestia smiled quietly to herself.

“Are you lonely being away from home?”

Melisa nodded quietly.

It wasn’t that scary, but right now, it was better to appear weak.

I needed to make unreasonable demands from now on.

“Well… I’m a little scared.”

“Scared? Why?”

“I had a scary dream earlier.”

The Empress showed curiosity at the mention of a dream.

It was understandable.

In this place, holy power usually manifested through dreams as a form of prophecy.

What made Melisa’s ancestors special was that their holy power appeared as a form of strength.

“Tell me what the dream was about.”

“Well…”

Melisa made up a story.

In the vast field, an ice rain fell, and there was a golden kitten lying on the ground. Of course, the golden kitten represented Ruslan.

“And then?”

“I felt so sorry for it, so I took the blows instead. And then, my arms and legs started to sting before suddenly shining…”

She was about to lie about the holy relic that the temple had hidden appearing before her eyes.

But before she could finish speaking, unbelievably, light began to radiate from her own body.

Both she and the Empress were stunned into silence.

But in that moment, Hestia was certain.

This light was the same holy power that had once healed her as a child.

“My goodness, Melisa…”

She hugged the little girl tightly.

She could save him.

Hestia’s heart was filled with the belief that this child could save Ruslan.

“You, you really…”

She couldn’t finish her sentence and swallowed her tears as she tightly embraced the child.

But Melisa, who was held in Hestia’s arms, didn’t understand what was happening.

‘Huh? This isn’t right?’

She had intended to mention the holy relic hidden in the temple, just like in the original story, where the heroine, the saintess, endured for years using the power of the relic before she could heal the cursed prince.

She had come to say that the relic could cure him, but now…

‘Why do I have holy power?’

After a while, the Empress calmed down and took Melisa’s hand, guiding her back to her room.

Standing at the door, Hestia knelt and met Melisa’s eyes.

“Princess, please sleep for now, and tomorrow morning, I’d like you to visit Ruslan.”

“Ruslan, Your Majesty?”

“Yes.”

Hestia looked at her like she was clutching onto a lifeline.

When Melisa nodded slowly, Hestia smiled brightly and hugged her tightly again.

“Strengthen the palace’s security.”

She didn’t forget to strengthen the security around the palace, just in case something happened to Melisa.

After hearing that, Melisa went back to her room.

Climbing into bed, she felt uneasy.

‘Ruslan.’

In my past life, I met Ruslan only once.

On the day of our wedding.

That day, I saw Ruslan’s face, covered in ugly spots, for the first time.

I didn’t burst into tears, but I couldn’t help but stiffen.

My hands might have been trembling.

Although I was older than Ruslan, I was only fourteen at the time.

It wasn’t easy to act like everything was fine.

Since he had been sensitive to others’ gazes from a young age, Ruslan could tell that I was uncomfortable.

‘Since that day, I haven’t been allowed to see his face.’

The Empress had secretly taken me to see him at night several times, but I never really liked being with him either.

Though we tried to hide it, both of us knew.

I felt sorry for him, and I also felt frustrated. Many thoughts flooded my mind.

‘Oh, wait…’

I suddenly jumped out of bed.

The true nature of this novel was that it was a high-level novel.

And as with most high-level novels, the most effective way to transfer holy power was…

‘By touching.’

The only thing the two of us, being minors, could do was hold hands!

The next morning.

The maids came in, looking at me nervously.

Since I married Ruslan, they had treated me like a helpless child, often neglecting their duties.

Sometimes meals wouldn’t come, or they would steal dresses or jewels.

‘First, I need to get rid of these people.’

It was best to get rid of anyone who could cause harm.

They were always ready to stab me in the back.

“Princess, we’ve brought your breakfast.”

Their overly sweet tone sent chills down my spine.

But I couldn’t refuse the food they brought.

Living in the convent made me realize how precious food was.

As I finished all of it, the maids looked surprised.

“His Majesty the Emperor will be arriving soon, so please prepare.”

“Okay.”

I got up and went to the dressing room.

The maids busily searched for a dress that would suit me.

“Princess, your hair color is unique, so a fancy dress would suit you best.”

One maid had dressed me plainly for a tea party with girls my age last week.

She had made me look like a joke because I had no idea about city fashion, having grown up in a rural area.

“No, I don’t think flashy ones suit me.”

“What?”

The maid looked at me, shocked.

She didn’t expect the obedient princess to reject her suggestion.

I picked out a simple light blue dress from the far corner of the dressing room, almost without any decorations.

“I’ll wear this.”

“Princess, no!”

It was a plain dress that could only be worn indoors.

The maids rushed to stop me.

“That dress doesn’t suit that occasion.”

“You’re going to meet His Majesty and the Crown Prince. You need to dress more beautifully.”

“How about this one? The cream-colored silk ribbons will make you look even prettier.”

I pretended to be clueless and tilted my head.

“Last time, you told me that if I wore something flashy, I’d get overshadowed, so of course, I should wear this kind of dress.”

This time, I picked up a dark green dress. It didn’t match at all and was even worse than the last one.

“Oh, no, Your Highness, that’s not what we meant.”

When their own words came back to haunt them, the maids exchanged glances.

“Princess, are you not going to listen to us? We said this one suits you better!”

“If you keep ignoring us, we’ll tell His Majesty, and you’ll be dismissed.”

They started to yell, and Melisa almost cried.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Just listen to us.”

“Please, don’t throw me out…”

“What is this noise?!”

The Emperor’s voice froze the maids in their tracks.

Finally, the guest they had been waiting for had arrived.