Chapter 17
“If you would allow it…”
Why’s he acting like he needs my permission for everything involving my sister?
Now I finally understood his bizarre behavior, and I couldn’t help but chuckle quietly to myself.
He must really like Rose. He even seemed determined to marry her no matter what.
He was probably jealous at the thought of another man getting close to her while he was off at war.
“…may I… send them?”
Huh?
I was too busy being amused at the thought of Rose to catch the first part of his sentence.
Still, he was probably just asking if he could send her letters.
I nodded without much thought.
“Sure, I’m sure she’ll be happy.”
“……”
“?”
Rose would definitely jump with joy over that.
But… something was off.
Gabriel’s face, which had been silent until now, was now bright red. He looked like someone who had eaten something bad and was having an allergic reaction.
Startled by the sudden change, I asked,
“Hey… are you okay?”
“Ah…”
When I instinctively reached out to him in concern, he flinched and stepped back half a pace.
“Gabriel?”
“Ugh!”
What the—seriously, what’s wrong with him?
“Nngh, just now… you said my name…”
Gabriel even started rubbing his ears as if they were unbearably itchy.
“Hold on. Is it spreading to your ears now?”
“No, it’s not that—”
My expression grew serious. Was there something in the area that could cause this kind of reaction?
“Stop scratching. I think you should see a doctor. Besides your ears, do you have any other symptoms?”
Because of my ability, I’d had to test which plants I could safely touch or consume, so I’d naturally picked up a fair bit of knowledge about them.
There shouldn’t be anything dangerous around here, though…
Wait a second.
A thought struck me, and I narrowed my eyes.
No way—is that not an allergy… but…
‘…Could that lovesick little fool really be reacting like this just because we’re talking about Rose?’
Wow. I couldn’t help but admire it silently.
It had to be that.
Good grief, what kind of pure-hearted boy is this? Is this what makes him the male lead?
‘He really likes her that much.’
In the original novel, Gabriel was devoted to Roseriel—an archetypal romantic hero who only ever showed warmth to his woman.
Maybe he saw my dumbfounded expression, because suddenly Gabriel’s face grew serious… though it was still red as a tomato.
“Young Lady, I’m not usually like this.”
Oh, I doubt that. You’re probably going to be like this forever.
“Sure, I believe you.”
“I mean it…”
Thinking that way, even this rude and standoffish boy looked kind of cute right now.
Even though his affection wasn’t directed at me, I felt a strange pang in my chest.
But… a faint bitterness crept in too. Would I ever meet someone who would love me so unconditionally?
“Don’t worry. Rose will really like it.”
“…You really think so?”
“Yes, I’m sure she will.”
“Only… Rose?”
“…? Right.”
Who else would there be?
I had just told the boy in love what he most wanted to hear—so why did his expression look like that? His shoulders even seemed to droop a little.
‘I give up. Well, that should be enough.’
Seeing no signs that Gabriel had more to say to me, I turned and hurried away with small steps.
‘He’s probably going to wait for Rose again.’
Anyway, I had too many things left to do to worry about a boy I wasn’t even close to.
. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
“Sir Chris. Were you meditating? It’s nearly mealtime—shall we go down together?”
In the sacred and serene atmosphere of the prayer room, the boy called Chris slowly opened his eyes.
“Priest Hamel. Yes, I was taking a moment to reflect.”
“You mustn’t devote yourself too fervently to prayer. You need to take care of your health as well.”
The mid-level priest Hamel looked at Chris with eyes full of respect.
Though much younger than most, Chris possessed a divine power unmatched for someone only twelve years old.
His long, flowing silver hair and gentle green eyes made him look like a physical embodiment of a god.
Chris, the High Priest.
The one who loves the gods above all.
The divine agent of sacred blessings.
The one who bestows grace.
Every glorious title belonged to this young priest.
In the Empire of Mielle, anyone born with a supernatural ability or sacred blessing would receive their official recognition and invocation only through the words of the High Priest.
To the people, the High Priest was practically a living deity.
Even the Emperor did not dare challenge such authority.
Because the High Priest was born to be the High Priest—it was a destiny from the moment of birth.
“By the way, Sir Chris. I heard someone from the imperial palace visited the other day. How did that go?”
Chrus gentle smile flickered away for a moment, then curved again like a thin line.
“So you heard about that. I didn’t think many knew.”
“Yes, I worry because they sometimes make… excessive requests.”
The soft smile that returned to Chris’s face made him seem like an innocent angel carved from marble.
“But Priest Hamel.”
“Yes?”
“Who else knows about that visit?”
“…Pardon?”
Something felt off. Chris still wore his usual beautiful smile, but it sent a chill down Hamel’s spine.
The mid-level priest instinctively stepped back—but there was nowhere to retreat.
“I asked who else knows.”
“I… I believe no one else does, but why would you ask such a—”
Hamel couldn’t finish the sentence.
With a strangled gasp, a sharp, excruciating pain suddenly tore through his chest—right where his heart was.
Still smiling like sunlight itself, the High Priest leaned in and whispered gently:
“It’s a relief… that it was only you.”
Thud—
A wet, bursting sound echoed through the quiet room.
And then, silence.
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“Gasp.”
I snapped my eyes open.
‘What was that?’
It felt like I had just woken from a nightmare—something terrifying—but I couldn’t quite remember it. The unease clung to me like fog.
Then, I checked the date and let out a groan of despair.
“Oh, right… It’s today.”
The damn boat ride.
Even if our relationship had turned sour—cold stares from him, awkward avoidance from me—Gabriel was still my younger sister’s future fiancé.
And while I didn’t exactly pity him, I did feel sorry for the young boy who would soon be sent off to the battlefield.
So I had tried my best to get him and Rose to spend as much time together as possible.
But there was one unexpected obstacle.
“I want to go with my sister!”
“…”
“…”
“Sister, let’s go watch the boats! I want to hang out with both you and brother today!”
The problem was… my younger sister, Rosériel, adored me a little too much.
The moment I saw Gabriel’s face crumple in dismay, I knew—Rose, you have no idea how hard it is to say no to you.
And your poor sister here has no desire to third-wheel your little couple’s outing…
“Young Lady, are you awake—oh! You’re already up.”
Lyra greeted me as usual.
Wearing the expression of someone walking to their doom, I began my full head-to-toe prep for the day’s inevitable formality.
At least, that’s how it started…
“Rose.”
And then… this wasn’t fair.
‘Rosériel!’
I cried out my sister’s name internally.
At the meeting place, the cheerful pink-haired girl was nowhere to be found.
“You’re here, Young Lady.”
Only Gabriel stood there with a pale face, looking at me.
. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
Meanwhile, the pink-haired girl was humming to herself. Notifications chimed loudly on the open notebook in front of her.
– You’ve been invited to the chat by user ‘WillBecomeaDoormat’.
– He clearly has no interest in marriage.
Mouthing the words to herself, the girl picked up her pen and scribbled down a note.
– Even I can tell. Definitely needs more effort. Still zero interest shown.
The following messages were all aggressive in tone, wishing for “that loathsome Belkius” to just get out of the mansion already.
The girl’s eyes curved into a sweet smile.
“Hang in there, Mr. Male Lead.”
. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
Could this be any more awkward?
The boat ride spot, once full of fond memories when we came here with cheerful Rose, now felt suffocating.
‘If you hate it so much, you could’ve just gone back.’
Seeing Gabriel already so devoted to my beloved younger sister was sweet in a way—but being so selective with people made it embarrassing.
He had smiled so gently in front of Rose, yet now, on this boat ride with me, he wore a constantly stiff expression.
It even felt like he was holding his breath the whole time.
I sighed.
“We’re almost there.”
…Couldn’t he at least reply?
I just wanted the boat to reach the destination already and free me from this suffocating moment.
But suddenly, the boat rocked and tilted.
“Huh?”
“Ah—”
Although our knights, attendants, and maids had followed us, they weren’t aboard the same boat.
Even if they were, it wouldn’t have helped much.
The boat had likely hit something in the lake and was swaying—and it happened to be tilting toward my side.
I staggered.
In that moment, the only thought that absurdly crossed my mind was:
‘Will my dress survive soaking wet?’
No exaggeration. I was wearing so many layers. If I fell in like this, I might not even make it back to the surface…
“Hildea!”
Just then, someone shouted my name and yanked my arm. My body was pulled, and for a brief second, our eyes met.
It was Gabriel.
‘Why’re you looking at me like that?’
The boy looked utterly flustered. But this time, his stiff expression was gone. There was no sign of dislike—just surprise.
‘Like he was worried.’
And then we both fell over—
Splash!
“Achoo!”
Hildea’s face was flushed red.
She sat with her eyes tightly shut, looking as though she couldn’t even gather her senses. It was a heart-wrenching sight.
Especially for those loyal to House Hillington, who adored their eldest lady.
“Oh no! Our lady is so ill!”
“Damn that Belkius!”
Right then, Rosériel —who had been standing watch—pouted and muttered:
“Tch. He should’ve saved her coolly, not fallen in with her!”
Groggy, Hildea cracked open her eyes and scolded her thoughtless younger twin:
“Rose —achoo! Where, achoo! Where were you—achoo!”
“Sister, don’t do anything! Ugh, you’re burning up…”
Everyone dabbed their tears with handkerchiefs.
Hildea von Hillington.
Calm, intelligent, and always composed—our eldest lady.
There wasn’t a single person in House Hillington who hadn’t, at some point, received her help—despite her being only eight years old.
But now…
