“…You all, come here closer.”
Hedera didn’t use Dragon Speech, but her cool tone had the same effect.
The chatting priests halted abruptly. Their eyes widened in shock as they realized Hedera’s presence, and she commanded them again.
“I said come here.”
The command of a princess is absolute.
The priests tentatively approached, clearly terrified, but they still seemed clueless as to why they were being summoned.
“We were just talking about the 3rd Princess a moment ago.”
With those words, the priests quickly recalled what they had said. Fortunately, they hadn’t been rude about the 3rd Princess, but it could have been a problem if they were.
One priest quickly spoke up.
“We apologize for our careless statement…”
“No, the statement itself was excellent.”
Hedera thought that if it weren’t for them, she wouldn’t have even known Solana had been around.
She quickly moved on to the next question.
“Did the 3rd Princess have a man with her?”
The priests suddenly looked very awkward.
“We didn’t… we were so surprised just knowing the 3rd Princess was here…”
Well, there’s a saying that you’ll always protect your own.
After all, these priests live in the Holy Temple inside the Imperial Palace. They had to side with Solana.
Thus, Hedera asked differently.
“Inspector, has he been discharged?”
The priests exchanged glances, looking unsure, but it was 2nd Princess Hedera asking. There was no way they could refuse to answer such a question.
Finally, one of the priests spoke in a voice that barely reached above a whisper.
“Yes… If we have offended the 2nd Princess, we apologize. We were just…”
“Enough.”
The priests looked worried they might be pressed for more, but Hedera didn’t want to hear more. After all, her only concern right now was Ezekiel.
“Do your jobs.”
Hedera began to walk quickly. The problem was that her destination was still unclear.
‘…Where am I going?’
The interior of the Imperial Palace is so vast one could consider it a small village. The thought of Solana spending every moment with Ezekiel made her feel a bit anxious.
“An inspector who isn’t fully recovered is visiting the Black Tower tomorrow….”
Ezekiel’s health, what the inspector had to do, the future of the Magic Tower, the tasks Hedera had to handle herself… so many thoughts clouded her mind.
But then it turned pure white.
Yes, the truth is that such things didn’t matter.
What was making Hedera anxious was not those pretentious reasons.
It was that Solana was breaking her promise and spending time with Ezekiel. That was all that bothered her.
…What on earth could they be talking about?
Honestly, there was no deep thought required. Summoning him secretly meant they were talking about something secret.
The 1st Princess Ether actually mentioned a proposal. What could Solana say? Was it something shocking too?
“….”
Hedera summoned her energy and concentrated.
Her developed sensitivity to energy, a trait of a Dragon Blood owner, quickly enveloped the interior of the palace. Her anxious heart heightened the aura and spread it around, checking every corner.
“…!”
And soon, she sensed Solana’s Holy Power.
It was deep within the Dining Hall.
Swoosh─!
Hedera moved swiftly.
There was a lot to tell Ezekiel when he woke up, and many things he needed to hear. Her first conversation with him should have been hers.
But Solana had snatched that away. How could she not understand how important that conversation was?
“….”
It was at that moment she finally arrived.
The door to the Dining Hall was slightly open, and Hedera peered inside. A couple was sitting together, clearly at the end of their meal with plates almost empty.
‘…How dare she.’
Just the fact that Solana had shared the first meal made a surge of emotions rise in her, but she managed to suppress it.
…If I interrupt now, I won’t be able to listen in on their conversation.
Hedera strained her ears.
Soon, Ezekiel’s voice came through.
“Well, I should probably focus on work for now.”
“In that case, you should keep your distance. That would actually help you concentrate on work.”
What does she mean by keeping a distance?
Solana, who stood up from her seat, leaned towards Ezekiel. In such close proximity, there was ample reason for Hedera to narrow her eyes.
“Flowers attract all sorts of bugs. As you become more famous, many women will swarm to you, but you must firmly push them away. Understood?”
“Um….”
“Focus only on your work, and keep all other women away, except for me. They’ll be filled with ulterior motives.”
Hedera couldn’t believe her ears.
Isn’t Solana the one filled with ulterior motives at this moment? Those words felt completely insincere.
“I’ll just wait patiently. Until the day you gain enough fame and happiness, and return after getting rid of all the women.”
Wasn’t that ultimately her trying to grab him for herself? Hedera found herself biting her lower lip without realizing it.
“…So, please reassure me by praying for you. Don’t get hurt as much as possible, and keep other women away.”
Hedera closed her eyes tightly and pressed her temples. She needed time to process where to start to poke holes in her arguments.
But when she opened her eyes again.
“…!”
They couldn’t help but widen.
Solana was gently placing her hands on top of Ezekiel’s fist. It was too friendly.
“Alright, then I’ll offer a prayer for you.”
Bam─!
Hedera couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst through the door.
“….”
Immediately, silence fell upon the Dining Hall.
Solana’s eyes grew wide when she recognized Hedera, but her expression quickly soured, sensing the hostility emanating from her.
“Interesting, the one who first mentioned three days.”
“What brings you here? Are you hungry?”
“They say the daughter of the Sun God is called a Saintess? I heard a maiden is a requirement, but looking at your actions, it’s hard to find a single trait of a maiden in you. What are you doing to a patient?”
Solana merely frowned slightly, but still didn’t remove her hands from atop Ezekiel’s fist.
Hedera had ample reasons to feel displeased.
“The messengers clung too tightly to him and kept bothering the patient, so I took appropriate measures. I even fed him healthy food, which is rather good, right?”
“Then you should have reported it. Who do you think you are?”
“For tasks within the Holy Temple, there’s no one with more authority than His Majesty the Emperor besides me. I’ve never reported anything to the 2nd Princess thus far.”
A sharp exchange ensued.
Silence fell again.
It was then that Ezekiel cautiously began to speak.
“First, let’s both calm down—”
“Teacher, please stay silent.”
“Inspector, you stay quiet too.”
“….”
Ezekiel quietly wished for Sunweed.
No, he wanted to ask for Sunweed, but he couldn’t. Solana was gripping his hand too tightly.
It was Hedera who broke the silence again.
“Solana.”
Hedera called the 3rd Princess nonchalantly.
Her tone somehow lacked both displeasure and irritation, but now it was laced with an element of mockery.
“…You must have felt very uneasy, huh?”
At those words, Solana’s eyebrows twitched for the first time. Seeing that made Hedera even more sure.
“You’re probably scared of competing with three people, so you made this decision, right? Even breaking the rules of the proposal you suggested yourself.”
A calm voice.
“…But do you think that will work?”
Hedera smirked.
“I hear that if you drive away all the women, you’ll end up the only one left to be chosen… but that’s not going to happen. You simply lack charm.”
In fact, Hedera had felt anxious about the fact that Ezekiel was alone with Solana, but now she exaggeratedly scoffed. Trying to suppress Solana.
“If it were me, I’d tell them to meet other women as much as they wanted. Because I’m confident in the charm I possess.”
Solana was left speechless.
Gotcha, Hedera thought, and began walking toward the inspector, but.
She couldn’t help but stop in her tracks.
Because a single word struck her ear.
“…A girl who didn’t care about the Teacher at all.”
Hedera initially doubted her ears. Disbelief rapidly filled her eyes, which were exposed above her mask.
Solana wore nothing but her usual gentle smile. Was that why the cognitive dissonance was even more severe? Hedera frowned and asked again.
“What did you just say?”
Then Solana recited like a prayer,
In a very soft tone.
“…It’s true, right? You didn’t care about the Teacher’s condition and didn’t show your face even when he was brought to the Holy Temple.”
And the final blow.
“But how dare you, now?”
“….”
That was the end of her words.
The two princesses silently stared at each other for a moment.
“Hah.”
Finally, Hedera let out a hollow laugh.
“Hahaha…. Hahaha! Hahahaha─!”
The hollow laugh quickly turned into hysterical laughter.
The princesses’ conversation had started to get a bit rough.
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