Chapter 129
Irene wasn’t the only one who sensed something was off.
“I need to get closer to Lady Ramiel.”
She hadn’t observed closely during their first meeting, but this time she intended to take a proper look at what had happened to Ramiel and Sage.
Getting close to Ramiel was not easy. Every time Irene tried to meet her, she received a polite refusal, claiming that she was unwell.
“If I can’t call her out, I’ll pay her a sick visit.”
But that too was declined, with a firm response that they couldn’t risk the Saintess catching an illness.
“I can heal her, you know?”
“They don’t want to trouble the Saintess over such a trivial matter.”
“How is a person being sick a trivial matter?”
“I’m sorry.”
It was ridiculous, but she had no choice but to turn back.
“But she will attend the welcome party, so how about meeting her then?”
“She’ll be there?”
“Yes.”
Lani relayed the information she had gathered. Why was Ramiel avoiding her so much? Was there really something going on?
Irene swallowed a sigh and rose from her seat.
“By the way, what about my clothes?”
“They’ve been prepared.”
Irene changed into comfortable clothes and left the room with Lani. Burt was already waiting outside the door.
“I’ve secured a place for you to train.”
“Great.”
Irene steeled her resolve and followed Burt. Struggling with her lack of stamina, she decided to increase it. She had already consulted with a doctor.
While it was advised to avoid strenuous exercise due to her frail health, light activity was acceptable. She intended to use this opportunity to build her stamina and learn some basic self-defense techniques.
At the training ground, Noah was already running hard. She didn’t know how long he’d been at it, but he looked quite exhausted.
“So what should I do first?”
Irene asked, full of enthusiasm.
“Run.”
“What?”
“I said, run. Just like Noah, keep running until I tell you to stop.”
“Alright.”
She immediately started running behind Noah around the training ground. One lap, two laps. By then, she already felt she was in a crisis.
‘I can’t run anymore!’
The training ground didn’t look that big, but she was already exhausted. She wondered how she had managed to climb the mountain path before.
Hoping Burt might tell her to stop soon, she looked at him, but he said nothing.
“Is it hard?”
Noah, who had been running ahead at a faster pace than Irene, came back and asked.
“No, I can keep going.”
With Noah working so hard, Irene couldn’t bring herself to complain about just two laps. She pushed her exhausted body forward.
Noah seemed to slow down to match Irene’s pace.
“You go on ahead!”
Only after she said that did Noah start running again.
“Stop!”
The run ended only after they completed a full four laps.
‘I can’t breathe.’
The moment she heard Burt’s voice, she collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. Lani, who had been waiting, brought her water and a towel.
After drinking the water and wiping off the sweat, she felt a little better.
“How do you feel?”
“…I’m exhausted.”
“But you should get up. Try sitting over there for now.”
When she sat on a chair that looked like half a split log, Burt placed his hands on her calves. Startled, she tried to pull away but couldn’t overcome his strength.
“Don’t worry. I’m just trying to relax your muscles.”
He began to roughly massage her calves, to the point where she almost begged for mercy. After enduring all this and returning to her room, a gift had arrived.
“What is it? Who sent it?”
“It was sent by the king of the west.”
Inside the box was a white dress. The dress was adorned with small jewels, making it look extremely extravagant.
“Please wear this to the welcome party.”
She read the words written on the card enclosed with the dress. Did she really need such a flashy dress for the welcome party?
Up until now, Irene had always worn simple clothing as a Saintess. She no longer wore the elaborate clothes from her welcome party.
‘He must be up to something.’
Irene closed the dress box.
“What should we do with it?”
“Politely return it.”
“Yes.”
Lani answered and removed the dress box. She was already curious about what they were planning at this welcome party.
The welcome party was held in the largest hall, as was customary in other royal palaces.
However, the dress code seemed odd. Even though it was an event to welcome the Saintess, everyone was dressed extravagantly, like peacocks.
“This feels more like a celebration party than a welcome event.”
Discussion
0 CommentsNo comments yet.