DSLA 05

Chapter 5

After that, the carriage didn’t stop again. Lily was the only passenger in the last remaining carriage, while Stuart rode on horseback with the knights. Inside the carriage, thick with the scent of cedarwood, Lily sat restlessly.

If only she hadn’t stepped forward, they might have captured the attackers, and the carriage wouldn’t have been damaged…

She tried multiple times to say she’d rather ride a horse, but Stuart firmly refused each time. Maybe he was worried she’d cause another incident if left outside. Traveling alone in the carriage for three days, Lily felt not just guilt but deep remorse.

At first, only the chirping of insects filled the silence outside. Then, gradually, she began to hear lively conversations. The carriage also jolted less frequently.

When she pulled back the curtain by the window, the scenery outside came into full view. Hawthorn trees, still touched by spring’s freshness, were blooming with white flowers. Lily opened the window a little to admire the flowers lining both sides of the road.

“Ah, that’s better.”

Cool air rushed into the carriage, and only then did her stifled feeling ease. When she opened the window wider and stuck her head out, a voice immediately called out from above, “It’s dangerous.”

Stuart was looking down at her while riding beside the carriage.

“Feeling suffocated? We’re almost there, just hang in a bit longer.”

“Are we in the North now?”

As Lily stretched her neck and looked around, Stuart let out a quiet sigh.

“I told you it’s dangerous, Miss Lily.”

The sigh mixed into his low voice made it oddly stimulating. When Lily giggled mischievously, Stuart sighed again. But this time, the corners of his mouth had lifted slightly.

“Thank you so much for bringing me, Young Duke. It’s beautiful. The weather’s warm too.”

“Last winter was especially cold, but spring came early this year.”

As he said that, Stuart reached out and handed her something. A branch from a roadside hawthorn tree. Behind him, the knight commander joked, “So that’s why you picked that up. Oh, young master…” But Stuart ignored him completely.

Lily stared at the fluttering white blossoms and nodded her thanks with difficulty. Without replying, Stuart passed the carriage. Laughter from the knights rang cheerfully beneath the bright blue sky.

❀ ❀ ❀

She had a feeling just from Stuart’s looks, but now that she saw them in person, both the Northern Duke and Duchess were breathtakingly beautiful. Arriving at the duke’s estate and being introduced to the duke and duchess, Lily could hardly believe the reality in front of her.

Ever since she was little, the High Priest had told her, “All Northerners look like demons. If you don’t go to bed early, they’ll come take you away.” If she had known “demon” meant stunning beauty, she wouldn’t have slept early and let the demon take her long ago.

The Duke looked more like Stuart’s older brother than his father. It was hard to believe he was older than the High Priest. He had more delicate features than Stuart, and his frame was noticeably slimmer. The Duchess was also quite slender, with sharp eyes that made it hard to look directly at her.

“I-I’m Lily Hegelstern. It’s truly an honor…”

After welcoming their son, the Duke and Duchess turned to the young lady stepping down from the family carriage. Under the pressure of their gaze, Lily blurted out her greeting clumsily.

Though they allowed her to come because Stuart had been so insistent, the Duke and Duchess still weren’t pleased about her being from the temple. Their cold response… changed the moment their eyes widened in surprise.

With each step Lily took, flowers bloomed in the garden, forgetting the season. Birds fluttered over and sang above her head, a cat that had been dozing on the wall rushed over to rub against her ankles, and even the horses in the stable neighed joyfully.

While everyone stared in awe, only Stuart shouted urgently.

“Holy power! It’s leaking everywhere! You need to rein it in!”

“Aaaah! Oh no, I’m sorry! I was nervous! Oh no, the carriage! Please move the carriage!”

Only then did Lily snap out of it and quickly pulled her divine power back in. The knights hurried to push the carriage far away.

If someone asked why, after sixteen years of having divine power, she still couldn’t control it properly, Lily would have a lot to say.

Ever since her powers awakened, the High Priest had been forcefully extracting her power for use. So really, Lily had never had the chance to hold onto her full divine power like she did now.

“At least I saved this carriage…!”

When Lily mumbled to herself, Stuart quickly covered his mouth. The other knights were also struggling to hold back laughter.

The Duke and Duchess stared dumbfounded at the garden. It wasn’t even that funny of an incident, yet everyone was smiling cheerfully. Not just the people — even the animals, even the plants seemed to sway as if laughing.

“Stuart, didn’t you say she’s a Saintess candidate?”

“That’s right.”

If Lily had officially been ordained as a Saintess, even the emperor wouldn’t have been able to take her from the temple. Even with their authority diminished, the temple remained extraterritorial.

“With that much divine power, why is she still a candidate?”

“Exactly. With power like that, the temple should’ve been parading her around in public. She’d be perfect for a headline like ‘Descent of Yure.’”

The Duke and Duchess leaned in to talk. Stuart quietly turned his head to look at Lily. She was laughing softly and didn’t seem to carry any of the loneliness he had feared.

For now, that was enough to ease his heart.

❀ ❀ ❀

“I’m Dylan Riley, vice-captain of the Order of the Guardian Knights.”

While the captain joked with Lily occasionally, Dylan made it obvious he disliked her. Assigned to guide her through the estate, he made no effort to hide how annoyed and uncomfortable he felt. But Lily wasn’t particularly hurt.

Back in the capital, she was more used to people disliking her than liking her. She was long familiar with being unwanted.

“I’m Lily Hegelstern!”

With stiff posture and loud voice, Lily shouted like a soldier reporting in. Dylan rubbed his ears and muttered, “I’m not deaf, you know.”

“Well… welcome, I guess.”

Dylan looked at the skinny girl in front of him and sighed deeply.

‘What on earth is the young master thinking…?’

It had been a normal day when Stuart suddenly announced he was bringing a Saintess candidate to join the knights. Everyone, including the Duke and Duchess, tried to stop him, but he didn’t listen. The Duchess even needed to rest for a while afterward due to stress.

‘She might have divine power, but… is that really all?’

The knights had done well enough without it and were confident they could continue to. The captain and Dylan even asked Stuart if he doubted their ability, but Stuart had firmly said no.

“Knights are housed in the annex. You can come and go freely — it’s up to you.”

“Yes, sir!”

Lily kept smiling as if everything was exciting. She said she’d grown up in the capital, but she didn’t seem like a city girl. Though people from all over gathered in the capital, most looked like southern folk due to geography.

Lily, however, resembled a Northerner — pale skin, and unusually tall. Though deep-colored hair or eyes were rare in the North, she had the distinct look.

“This is your room.”

The room Dylan led her to was the closest to the annex entrance — noisy and cold, usually left vacant unless space ran out. But Lily stepped inside with a bright grin.

“Can I really use everything in here?”

She even asked like she was deeply moved. Anyone would think it was a luxurious suite, but the room only had a bed, desk, table, wardrobe, and a large balcony.

This was the only knight’s room with a balcony, but not one knight had ever wanted it.

“It’s such a pretty and stylish room!”

He had purposely filled it with plain, shabby furnishings, but Lily was genuinely delighted. Dylan felt a little guilty.

They said the temple made Saintess candidates live frugally, dressing in rags and sleeping in huts. Lily must have stayed somewhere so terrible that even this room felt like paradise.

He silently upgraded her bedding to something softer.

‘Maybe she thinks I’m a kind person!’

That’s what Lily believed, her eyes twinkling. She felt guilty for assuming the Northerners might mistreat her. To be welcomed so warmly…

“What’s with that branch you keep holding? You should throw it away—”

“The Young Duke — no, the young master — gave it to me. I’m going to treasure it and pass it down as a family heirloom.”

“Well… that’s a good idea.”

Dylan quickly brought her a vase. Lily accepted it with overwhelming gratitude. How could Northerners be so thoughtful? Stuart had been kind too, now that she thought about it.

Maybe the cold greeting from the Duke and Duchess had just been her own prejudice. After all, new knights probably needed to be treated with some strictness to instill discipline.

“Wake-up is at 6 a.m. Meals are at 6:30 in the dining hall. Just head right down the hall from your room and you’ll find it.”

“Yes, Vice-Captain!”

“…Right.”

Lily beamed with energy, and Dylan had no strength to resist her brightness. He left the room like he was escaping.

“Wow! There’s a bathroom too?”

At the temple, she had to shiver all the way to the shared bath just to wash. And now, not only was it private, it was spotless. Lily immediately filled the tub with hot water and climbed in.

“Aaaah, this is nice.”

Hot water had only been secretly available when the Water Maiden was away. Now she could use it freely.

Submerged in warmth, Lily thought back. It had only been a few days since she left the temple, but it already felt like a distant memory.

“They said six o’clock… I can sleep in!”

At the temple, she had to wake up by four to start cleaning, then laundry, cooking, dishes… nonstop work.

Was this just a warm dream? Her new life felt unreal — so luxurious.

After bathing, she washed the clothes Stuart had given her and slipped into a robe. In the wardrobe, she found several simple outfits.

“Wow…”

Overwhelmed by such hospitality, Lily sat down and trembled.

When she opened the balcony doors, a refreshing breeze rushed in. She shook the water from her hair and hung the clothes over the chair.

“I guess people really don’t die so easily.”

Lily stared at the terrace and garden in a daze. The fact that she had left the temple — that she was standing in the North — felt surreal.