Chapter 08
8. The Bloodline of the Sun God
Helene puffed out her cheeks. At her adorable expression, the attendants nearby secretly clutched their chests and turned away. The patrolling guards did the same.
“The Emperor is a bit too fond of Her Holiness the Saint, don’t you think?”
“Well, she is just that cute.”
The knights escorting them poked each other in the ribs and whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear.
Helene enjoyed the reactions around her and blinked even more cutely.
“Besides, the Empress is sick. She must be very tired. Wouldn’t receiving such news be a bother?”
“Helene.”
Enrique called her name sternly, signaling that she had said enough.
Having expected this, Helene let out a deep sigh and sulkily nodded.
“Fine, I’ll behave. Nini is a good listener.”
With that, Helene subtly glanced upward.
She had hoped the Empress might see them exchanging such intimate conversation.
‘Ah, she’s not there.’
What a pity.
Helene never missed an opportunity to place herself above the Empress.
Whether she admitted it or not, it was an expression of her inferiority complex regarding her origins.
Helene.
She was a member of a minority, an untouchable from the Quid.
In fact, “Quid” originally referred to the quarantine zone where they were confined and prevented from leaving, but the name stuck, and they were called Quid wherever they went.
A slave at least had a master, and if they worked, they received food and shelter.
But the Quid could find work nowhere, dared not speak to Imperial citizens, and were forbidden from leaving their quarantine zone.
All they could do was barely survive on relief supplies provided by the temple once every three months.
“We were once the true owners of this land.”
Young Helene grew up listening to the stories told by her chieftain grandmother.
In the meantime, her younger brother starved to death first, then her parents died of disease. A neighbor then stole their hut and belongings, and Helene was driven out into the fields.
Unable to live even in a hut, young Helene became the dirtiest and most despised among the Quid. The resentment that built up within her grew fangs just as sharp.
Her life changed one day, when lightning struck, and divine power manifested from her body.
Before the eyes of the priests who had come with relief supplies, Helene rose, enveloped in sacred light. Stigmata appeared on her forehead, both hands, and both feet, and five-colored clouds spread brilliantly across the sky.
From then on, Helene was treated as a saint.
It was the starting point of her awakening to power.
And when she turned thirteen, the Fourth Prince came to live with her at the temple.
Under the grand pretense that “to become a holy knight, one must purify mind and body by staying at the temple from a young age,” it was actually the prince’s mother’s effort to pull her son out of the palace, where the struggle for the throne was vicious.
Thanks to that effort, Helene was able to become close with Enrique.
The vast, cold temple. The priests who regarded them merely as a good hand dealt to the temple.
It was inevitable that a boy and girl of the same age and similar circumstances would become close.
At least, Helene thought so.
That thought grew increasingly firm and had transformed by the time she reached adulthood:
Enrique was hers forever.
That was an unchanging truth in Helene’s world. So whether he married or slept with other women, it didn’t matter.
Because in the end, he would return to her.
That had proven true, so Helene always felt a secret sense of superiority over his other women.
He’s become a bit colder since becoming Emperor, but well. Enrique is still Enrique.
Standing in the soft, cream-like winter sunlight, Helene glanced at the man with dignified bearing.
Enrique’s platinum-blonde hair, which had made her heart race since childhood, still thrilled her. She loved his neat, refined features and his calm, unwavering demeanor, like a still lake.
Though he wasn’t a particularly affectionate man, he usually granted her requests when she begged, and Helene was satisfied with that.
Though he rarely smiled, he occasionally did so when with her, and if she asked to go on a walk like this, he would reluctantly get up and come with her.
Even the Empress had to schedule an appointment in advance for a private meeting, but Helene did not.
She was not the Empress, yet wielded power equal to hers, and since she belonged to the temple rather than the palace, she need not observe imperial law.
Helene was quite content with her position.
“Oh, by the way, Your Majesty. Did you catch that intruder? The one who snuck into your bedchamber.”
Helene asked sweetly, linking arms with Enrique. He did not shake her off.
Though winter was not yet over, it felt like spring.
“Why are you here?”
At the same time.
Walking deep into the subspace, I was astonished to discover a boy collapsed on the floor, barely breathing.
Not because he appeared only fifteen and lay grievously wounded. Not because the floor was drenched in blood.
I recognized the boy at a single glance.
“Why is the Son of the Sun here?”
It was a famous story: the sun god, exiled to the human realm, fell deeply in love with a woman and passed down the sun’s power and dominion to their descendants.
But as the price for that power, the bloodline of the sun god could only use half their original strength when outside the desert.
Those born from sand, returning to sand.
Naturally, they rarely left the desert.
I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I’d seen wrong. But looking again, the fallen boy radiated searing heat.
As if his entire body were a small sun.
‘…Wow. His yang energy… is incredible.’
Enrique’s yang energy was impressive, but it was nothing compared to this boy’s.
My skin tingled, as if the entire space were turning into a desert, and every breath I took scorched my throat.
Even the tears I’d shed because of Enrique evaporated instantly—so powerful was the sun’s energy dominating the area.
Gulp.
Swallowing dryly, I cautiously assessed the boy’s condition.
Sweat-soaked black hair, disheveled. Bronzed, lustrous skin. Sharp, scorpion-tail eyes and arrogant reddish lips.
Handsome enough to admire.
A face whose loss would be a tragedy for humanity.
‘…But his wounds are too severe. Even his internal organs are in shambles. If this space didn’t stop the flow of time, he’d already be dead.’
I wasn’t a doctor, but having lived long, I knew a lot about injuries.
My gaze flicked to the bandages, water bowl, and needles scattered beside the boy.
He seemed to have tried treating himself, but eventually lost consciousness.
Time didn’t flow here, so his condition hadn’t worsened, but that didn’t mean the pain had lessened.
“It would be such a waste for you to die now.”
He was still young, his body not yet fully matured. If he survived this crisis and grew into an adult male, what might he become? The thought already sent a shiver down my spine.
Moreover, the bloodline of the sun god was highly compatible with demons.
Excess of anything becomes a poison, and since ancient times, the demon’s yin energy had been a potent remedy for their overwhelming yang energy.
“I’ll heal you. But in return, I’ll take some of your energy. Shall we make a deal?”
Surprisingly, the boy’s eyelids had been twitching for a while. Sensing my presence, he was forcing himself to regain consciousness.
Without waiting for an answer, I took off my fur coat. Then I rolled up my sleeves, dragged the boy over, and laid him down on the soft coat.
He was so heavy I nearly died myself, but thankfully, as long as I stayed in contact with him, more vitality flowed into me than left, so I managed.
“……ff.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not trying to harm you.”
“Go… away. I don’t… need your night watch… or anything.”
“Oh my, such dreadful things to say. I’m not interested in a brat like you either. What flavor would something so unripe even have?”
Giggling, I brushed back the boy’s sweat-soaked hair.
Because of my cold hands and feet, my hands were ice-cold in this deep winter.
Just what he needed right now.
“It’s a deal. I’ll briefly press my lips to your forehead. Think of it as a goodnight kiss.”
“Don’t… touch…”
I barely grazed his forehead, but he grabbed my wrist. His own yang energy, unable to be controlled, rampaged wildly, pouring into me like a waterfall and seeping into my very soul.
I could almost hear my desperately needed lifespan accumulating, and my mood soared.
“Let me treat you first. That’s a better deal for you, isn’t it?”
“I don’t need— Gghk!”
Pretending not to hear, I pressed down on the wound on his chest. The boy reflexively groaned and glared at me with feverish eyes.
Ecstatic gold flickered in his pupils.
So beautiful, like sunbeams dancing on a summer day, that I gazed into those eyes for a long time.
“If I leave you like this, you’ll die. You’ll rot here like spoiled fruit. If that’s what you want, I’ll stop treating you now.”
As soon as I said I wouldn’t treat him, the excited water energy around me went wild.
Feeling it too, the boy frowned.
“I won’t ask why you’re here. I won’t interrogate you. You’ve already given me plenty of what I need.”
Honestly, I didn’t ask because I could roughly guess.
There couldn’t be many reasons for an underage boy to leave the desert and sneak into a foreign palace.
“What… would you…”
“Your country’s emperor has a nasty personality. So does this one.”
