CHAPTER 26……………………………………………
Since I had no intention of continuing to heal her with divine power, there was no reason for me to make the effort to visit April.
“So, you’ve gotten fairly close with April?”
“Perhaps because there’s no one to talk to at the villa, she seems to feel relatively comfortable around me.”
“Is that so?”
That was good, then.
I let out a light laugh.
“Tell her that if she keeps practicing walking, she can improve.”
“…….”
“It would be good to keep saying things that give her hope.”
“You’re not planning to visit her anymore?”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to come for a while.”
“……Then I won’t be able to see you either.”
“Probably not, right?”
The only place Allen and I could meet was here.
“Irina-nim.”
Allen grabbed me just as I was about to leave, having only stopped briefly to check on April’s condition.
“Why?”
The tears in his crimson eyes were gone, replaced by a hint of hesitation.
“Why what?”
“……Where you are.”
His voice was so quiet I barely caught it, but I heard him.
“Could you tell me?”
It was the first time Allen had ever asked me something like this.
His hand, holding mine, felt as hot as his eyes. I couldn’t react; he was waiting on my answer.
“I won’t be a danger to you, Irina-nim. Just as you saved my life, I want to be of help to you this time.”
“…….”
“If I can’t stay by your side, I’d like to at least know where you are.”
His voice dripped with earnest desperation.
I reminded myself not to fall into the trap of pity or treat someone like an animal just because they seemed pitiful or helpless.
To “tame” someone might just mean to subjugate them.
After seeing how blindly Alicia obeyed her parents, I shouldn’t make the same mistake.
I scratched my forehead with my index finger, feeling awkward.
“Do you think you’d be in danger from me?”
Perhaps thinking I’d be uncomfortable looking down at him, Allen bent one knee and lowered his body naturally.
As he lowered himself, my gaze slowly met his.
His eyes seemed to be pleading for affection.
“Why don’t you ask me anything about myself, Irina-nim?”
“…….”
“Like why I tried to touch the drugs.”
It was similar to what he had said three months ago, though the tone was far more subdued now.
I licked my dry lips before answering his question of whether I was curious or wanted to know about him.
“It’s the same as you not asking me anything.”
“Excuse me?”
“You haven’t asked about what happened with Princess April either.”
“If I asked, would you tell me?”
He looked expectantly at me, and a short, almost amused chuckle escaped despite the seriousness of the situation.
“You speak as if you’d tell me if I asked.”
“…….”
“About what you did in the past, why you were covered in wounds and on the verge of death when we first met, why you became a drug user…”
“…….”
“Who was chasing you, and why you were being chased.”
If there was anything unusual about Allen, it was that ten fingers wouldn’t be enough to count all the oddities.
“And where and why you ran away.”
I recalled the first time I met him.
At first, I thought he was a corpse.
I could understand servants fleeing noble abuse, though.
His unkempt hair, bare feet, and bloodied wounds…
Even the bruises and stains on his clothes.
“Can you tell me about yourself?”
“If I… talk about myself…”
“…….”
“I’m afraid you might be in danger…”
In other words, he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
I wasn’t expecting him to tell me, and honestly, even if he had, I would have refused to listen.
“I don’t need to force you to tell me.”
“…….”
“Allen, I’m just comfortable with how things are now.”
This relationship—no questions, no demands, maintaining just the right distance—felt easy.
After Alicia, Allen might be the person I feel most at ease with.
If, in the future, he decides he wants to tell me about his past, I’d want to gently refuse.
I no longer wanted deep ties with anyone in the Daus Empire.
“Allen.”
I called him calmly, and he nodded slightly.
“I want to keep this relationship as it is.”
For some reason, his face looked hurt.
“Soon, whether you want to or not, you’ll know where I am.”
He looked like he was expecting something, but I turned my gaze away, ignoring it.
What I liked about Allen was that he didn’t push his desires on me.
“I’ll come again next time.”
By the time I left the shop and reached the capital, it was late at night.
I was curious about who Perphone had feelings for.
Was she the daughter of a family comparable to the duke’s?
Not just about Crown Prince Perphone—I wanted to know about the three years in the royal family that I had been absent for.
Since April hadn’t told her family about the broken engagement, she couldn’t ask the duke.
“The people who might know….”
It would have to be Lervian and Adonis.
Of course, Lervian, who spent 24 hours a day with the Crown Prince, would likely know more than Adonis.
“Please keep what you just saw a secret.”
I briefly remembered the red drops of blood on his flushed cheeks and lips, like the color of his hair.
“Take the handkerchief.”
Thinking of today’s encounter with Adonis brought a slight smile to my lips.
I thought it was good that he had helped me without knowing.
Since he said he didn’t need the handkerchief, I’d need another excuse.
Instead of heading to the duke’s house, I went to the capital temple, located in the opposite direction.
Walking briskly, I soon arrived in front of the temple.
Despite the late hour, there were quite a few people. Some priests looked exhausted, and others held crying children.
The priests looked gentle but tired. I had only intended to ask for a simple blessing…
“Priest! Please look at my child! Strange bubbles keep appearing on their body!”
“Please, priest, help my wife!”
Why were there so many sick people?
The priests hurried to assist, as few had divine power, and the sick kept appearing, leaving only exhausted priests.
“It’s Tamitarte!”
I tilted my head slightly as one priest ran toward me.
I turned slowly at the sound of a carriage entering the temple.
It was a large, luxurious carriage fit for an archbishop or even the pope.
Though white to symbolize the temple, it was studded with gold in a way unbefitting the temple’s usual simplicity.
Who could be inside?
As the carriage door opened, a man’s face came into view.
I expected an older, high-ranking priest, but it wasn’t him.
“Tamitarte! Hurry!”
The man appeared to be in his mid- to late-thirties, with long hair rivaling Duke Alexis.
His lavender hair, like a flowing hydrangea, reached his waist.
As I followed his movements with my eyes, Tamitarte turned his gaze toward me.
“Uh…?”
Our eyes met precisely, and I stared blankly.
What the…?
The man stopped completely and stared at me.
Strange guy. I’d just get my blessing and leave.
As I walked into the temple, a small, unexpected name escaped his lips.
“Bu… Vernis-nim…?”
…What?
His light blue eyes were filled with shock.
Did I just hear that correctly? From that man’s lips?
“Bu… Bu… Vernis-nim.”
Why is my mother’s name coming out…?
As the paladin beside him moved to glance at me, I covered my face with my robe.
“Bu… Berni…”
He stopped himself from continuing to call my name, or rather, my biological mother’s name.
“Tamitarte, this isn’t the time. You have to go in!”
“No, wait…!”
Damn it.
I hurriedly turned and quickly left the temple.
“W-wait, wait…!”
The man, desperate to stop me, was surrounded by priests and didn’t know what to do.
“What the hell…”
Once I was far enough from the temple and closer to the duke’s house, I slowly removed the robe I had used to shield myself.
I had to calm my racing heart.
I hadn’t expected anyone to know my biological mother. Especially a priest.
“How… do you know my mother…?”
