Chapter 07
A few days later, when she opened her eyes, she found herself in a strangely familiar place.
Ariadne groaned softly as she woke.
She seemed to have a faint memory of briefly waking among a crowd of people.
The first thing she saw wasn’t her family or fiancé, but unexpectedly—the man she had tried to save in the forest, Canin, lying beside her.
Canin’s face showed that he had been anxiously waiting for her to wake.
“Mm…”
After three days, Ariadne woke, and Canin asked the same question again.
“You healed me… Are you the saint?”
Even though his phrasing was awkward, there was a strong determination in his eyes—he wanted an answer this time.
Ariadne slowly tried to remember what had happened.
A few days ago, Visen Forest.
Canin had been so shocked when Ariadne ran into him that he momentarily forgot he was surrounded by monsters.
He thought about how reckless she was, yet realized that without her, he would have died at least twice already.
He quickly defeated two monsters at once.
Then, he picked Ariadne up.
She looked exhausted and messy.
Judging by her effort to drag him through the forest all night without leaving him, she had clearly suffered a lot.
“….”
He was deeply impressed that she hadn’t abandoned him, even though she could have.
But what amazed him more was that she was acting like a saint.
Though somewhat clumsy, her power was clearly a healing ability.
He had actually come to the empire because of the saint—because the person he loved most was near death, and he had come hoping to grasp even the tiniest chance of saving them.
He had requested the saint to visit his country.
But instead, he had encountered Ariadne.
“….”
He stared at the woman in his arms with a strange expression.
‘Her name… was Ariadne, wasn’t it?’
Then he remembered a conversation before leaving the palace.
[What is the saint’s name?]
[‘Ashley Bliers,’ I think.]
The foreign pronunciation of “Ashley Bliers” had been difficult for the assistant, who tried to mimic it as closely as possible but failed to get it exactly right.
Still, he could tell that Ariadne and the saint were not the same person.
‘There is supposed to be only one saint. How is this possible?’
He looked at her pale, motionless face, full of doubt.
But he had no time to dwell—Ariadne’s injuries were severe.
He headed straight for the palace.
The darkness had faded, and the morning light was shining through the forest.
The palace was busy preparing the training grounds for the hunting tournament.
On top of that, the prince from a neighboring country had gone missing, and the saint had arrived late, so everyone had to move in a flurry.
Fortunately, this morning, the people from the count’s family, including the saint, had finally arrived—but rumors spread quickly.
The fact that the eldest daughter, Ariadne, did not accompany the saint, and that the saint did not meet the emperor immediately, drew much curiosity.
Even the palace servants gathered at the training grounds were talking about it.
“The eldest daughter of the count didn’t come along this time.”
“Yes, I heard that too.”
A servant hesitated while cleaning and then continued.
“I guess the rumor is true.”
“Ah, I heard it too. I wonder what kind of request made them treat the saint so harshly.”
“Yeah, that’s why the saint arrived late.”
“They say they were very cruel to her.”
“My goodness. How could anyone treat the saint that way?”
People exaggerated Ariadne’s story as gossip.
Because it involved the saint, one of the most influential figures, the story spread quickly.
Moreover, she was revered almost more than the emperor, so the effect was amplified.
“Right. They say she was treated terribly.”
“What’s wrong with fulfilling just one of the saint’s requests?”
“Her sister was so mean.”
Everyone was busy criticizing her.
Ariadne had turned into a complete villain in the gossip. Such is the power of rumors.
Even if it wasn’t true, one person could be easily destroyed by it.
“His Majesty the Emperor is coming out!”
At the sudden shout, the chatter immediately stopped.
The hunting tournament was a major national event, and the emperor was personally inspecting it.
Even if it was mostly for show, people naturally felt tense when the emperor was present.
They stopped what they were doing and all bowed toward him.
Only after the emperor waved his hand a few times did they return to their work, still glancing nervously around.
“Now that His Majesty is here, won’t the saint appear too?”
“I’m not sure. They say her health hasn’t fully recovered yet…”
People hoped to catch a glimpse of the saint, showing how important she was to the empire.
Even without doing anything special, just seeing the saint was considered a great blessing.
And as if to meet that expectation:
“The saint, Ashley Bliers, is coming out!”
A strong voice echoed.
Unlike before, everyone looked eagerly toward the saint, showing genuine respect.
Ashley was accompanied by the count.
She had postponed the emperor’s summons yesterday, so she wasn’t in a good mood.
Her healing power had not fully returned.
“….”
She smiled politely at the people, but her expression showed discomfort. People assumed she was still unwell.
Her body was fine, but her healing power was not fully back.
Moreover,
[Tonight, His Majesty requested to meet with you. He also wants to check the hunting tournament preparations during the day.]
A servant brought her the emperor’s message and left.
She could no longer avoid it.
Her healing power was returning little by little, but she didn’t know if it would satisfy the emperor.
Naturally, her expression showed no joy.
But no one could read her thoughts.
“Saint!”
“Saint!”
Everyone crowded around to see her.
Even though the saint’s main task was simply to heal the emperor slightly, people gave it great meaning.
They projected their hope and expectations onto her, as if she could cure any illness.
Everyone rushed to greet her, but she quickly moved toward the emperor, leaving the crowd behind.
Ashley felt more exhausted than usual by all the attention.
The emperor welcomed her as if he had been waiting.
“Saint, how is your health?”
“It’s fine, thanks to your consideration…”
Ashley’s voice faltered, and the count spoke for her.
“Tonight, we will accompany Ashley to meet His Majesty.”
“Yes. Do you know how long he has been waiting for you?”
Ashley avoided eye contact and smiled awkwardly.
“Around what time tonight…?”
Just as she tried to ask, the entrance to the training ground suddenly stirred.
The emperor frowned and turned to the commotion.
“You must not enter here so recklessly!”
A man carrying a woman strode into the training ground.
His appearance was terrible. Blood stained his worn clothes, evidence of a fight.
Yet even in that state, his tall figure and noble face were striking.
The man—Canin—easily overcame those in his way and moved further inside.
The emperor squinted at his unique foreign attire and was shocked.
He immediately recognized who had dared to enter the grounds without fear.
“Oh my goodness.”
The emperor was not the only one surprised.
The count and Ashley also gaped in shock.
They recognized the woman in his arms as Ariadne.
No one expected the woman thought dead to appear in the arms of a foreign prince.
“Ariadne…?”
Before the count could finish her name, chaos erupted in the training ground.
The emperor suddenly ran toward them, and many servants followed.
The count and Ashley quickly ran after him.
Ariadne felt slightly better and opened her eyes with effort.
Even in her dazed state, she could sense the commotion around her.
“Huu….”
Unaware that she was in front of the emperor, she closed her eyes again and soon lost consciousness once more.
