HRNGDS 44

~Chapter 44~

Contrary to Ahin’s worries, Sestia warmed up to Delphina very quickly.

Ahin was shocked that Sestia dropped her guard after just a few words.

‘Sestia? Letting her guard down this easily? She usually hates people she doesn’t know!’

Her deep distrust of people didn’t develop overnight.
But there was something Ahin didn’t know:

Sestia was instinctively drawn to the divine energy of Prad flowing in Delphina’s body.

Just like Ahin had felt safe around Delphina, Sestia—who had strong holy power—felt that pull even more deeply. It was practically love at first sight.

Sestia’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Delphina.

‘I don’t know what it is… but I feel like if I stick with her, I’ll finally get to “eat without working” like Prad prophesied!’

But more than anything, she simply liked Delphina.

‘There’s just something about her. She seems powerful, like someone who could give me real influence. I want to stay on her good side… Even if that’s not it, she just seems like a good person.’

It was a gut feeling.

As a Saint candidate, Sestia was born with several unique abilities—one being her strong intuition. She could sense who would help her and who wouldn’t.

That’s why she hated Hadin too—it was the same instinct.

Inside her, a desire for power started to grow.

Meanwhile, Delphina stared, dumbfounded, at the system window in front of her.

<Recruit talent and start leveling up!>

• Sestia: SSS rank
  The Saint candidate from Prad Temple wishes to join your party.
  Accept?
  YES / NO

There was absolutely no reason to say no. Only a fool would reject this.

Delphina shouted in her heart:

‘YES!’

‘So this is what it meant when the system said I’d need a divine priest to heal the Grand Madam!’

She had known Sestia was skilled—but she never imagined she was a Saint.

Delphina looked at these unexpected blessings—Ahin and Sestia—with deep affection.

Just as Delphina was staring at the system window in excitement, Sestia clutched her hand and looked over at Elcayan.

Elcayan frowned slightly.

‘What’s going on?’

Something felt… ominous. Like the girl in front of him could become a serious rival.

Their eyes met.

Despite being a regular-looking girl, Sestia didn’t shrink back from Elcayan’s intense gaze.

She smiled slyly and said,

“Nice to meet you. I look forward to working with you.”

And just like that, Sestia and Ahin officially joined Delphina’s group.

✦ ✦ ✦

The mood in the Rikaion family was grim.

Ivelina hadn’t left her room since returning home.

Even when the Duke and Duchess asked what happened, she stayed silent.

The Duke of Rikaion was especially frustrated—because the Grand Duke of Roheim had filed a formal complaint against them.

And the charge? It was serious:

“Attempted harm against the Grand Duke’s fiancée.”

The Duke of Rikaion gritted his teeth.

If this accusation had come from just Delphina, he could’ve dismissed it as slander.

‘I could just claim Delphina made it up to frame Ivelina after getting engaged to the Grand Duke.’

But the problem was… Calyx had testified.

And Calyx was someone even the noble factions tried not to mess with. He stayed neutral between the 1st and 2nd princes.

Turning him into an enemy would be foolish.

‘This is insane. Are they really going through with this?’

The Duke couldn’t understand why Delphina had changed so suddenly.

‘Did some spell wear off or something? No… that’s not possible…’

Regardless, sitting around wouldn’t solve anything.

‘I’ll just ask Delphina directly.’

After the engagement, she was supposed to visit the Rikaion estate anyway—it was custom to greet one’s family after getting engaged.

Just a few days before the banquet, Ivelina finally emerged from her room.

Her eyes burned with emotion. They were red and swollen from crying.

“Father, Delphina humiliated me. The Northerners are savages!”

“I was wondering about that. What exactly did she say to you?”

Ivelina repeated everything Delphina said to her in the North. As he listened, the Duke realized one thing:

‘Delphina really has changed. But putting that aside… what is the North thinking?’

He didn’t understand the Grand Duke’s side. This conflict only hurt them.

‘If they want help from the temple, they should be trying to stay on our good side.’

The temple was already under the noble faction’s control.

Hadin was likely to become the new High Priest once the current one retired.

The Duke gathered the family in the drawing room.

Ivelina muttered nervously,

“At the banquet… everyone will look down on me. I’ll be seen as pathetic for getting kicked out of the North. Delphina’s probably dying to mock me.”

Dianco shrugged, confused.

“Why are you worried? Delphina always got embarrassed at parties. People laughed at her, not you.”

“Besides, she’s showing up with that famously ugly Grand Duke. What’s there to be afraid of?”

Ivelina shouted through clenched teeth,

“He’s not ugly—he’s actually handsome!”

“Pff, he can’t be better-looking than Kasen. Kasen’s the Empire’s top heartthrob.”

Ivelina refused to admit Elcayan was better-looking than Kasen.

After all, having the most handsome man in the Empire was a point of pride for her.

The Duke let out a sigh.

“Don’t worry. Once Hadin becomes the new High Priest, everything will fall into place.”

Dianco clapped excitedly.

“Wow, Hadin’s made it! From the second son of a viscount to the High Priest. I guess you really do have to be sneaky and ambitious to succeed.”

But Ivelina wasn’t satisfied.

Delphina had humiliated her—badly.

And to make it worse, Delphina actually seemed loved now.

That was infuriating. She even started resenting her father for letting the engagement happen.

“What if Delphina becomes the star of the party? I’ll go crazy if that happens!”

“Don’t worry, Ivelina. You will be the star.”

“But—”

“At the banquet, Hadin will bless you and Kasen. You two will be the center of attention.”

That finally gave Ivelina some comfort.

The current High Priest was suffering from extreme burnout and had left everything in Hadin’s hands.

So as the Duke said, Ivelina and Kasen would likely receive the official blessing.

The Duke smirked coldly.

“You know the North keeps begging us to send them priests, right?”

“Yes, since they don’t have a proper temple there.”

“They’ll do the same at the banquet. But no priest will want to go to that cold, harsh land. And if we reveal that the Grand Madam is sick? Even better.”

The Duke sneered.

Becoming the center of attention at the banquet, receiving a blessing, and highlighting the North’s poor conditions?

It was the perfect setup.

Ivelina finally relaxed.

The Duke spoke with confidence:

“If they want priests that badly, the North will have no choice but to drop the lawsuit. So stop worrying.”