Chapter 57
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“Your Highness the Second Prince!”
Seeing Arendtert return with the support of attendants, his aide dropped the vial he was holding.
The vial rolled across the rug, but Lionel, shocked by the bloodied state of the Second Prince, didn’t even think to pick it up.
“What happened? Who on earth would dare do such a thing—!”
“Don’t start…”
“We must catch the culprit! How dare someone lay hands on His Highness the Prince of the Empire—!”
“Shut up.”
Arendtert bared his teeth, his reddened eyes glaring fiercely. At the sharpness of his command, Lionel pressed his lips shut.
“Go and bring a physician. Someone discreet.”
“Y-Yes, understood!”
As Lionel and the attendants hurriedly left the bedchamber, Arendtert, now alone, let out a rough breath. His lowered gaze suddenly fell upon the vial Lionel had dropped.
It was the potion made from holy water, the one he had ordered. Arendtert poured the contents of the vial into his mouth. As the effect of the holy water spread through his body, his clouded mind grew clearer.
But this was the extent of what the potion could do. It was insufficient for purification. Arendtert bit his lip in frustration.
Not long ago, he had expended his divine power subjugating the monster of the ‘Maw’ that appeared in the imperial palace. Because of that, purification had become urgent.
Normally, he would ration his divine power carefully, using only a little at a time. But because there had been eyes watching, he had recklessly overexerted himself.
If only Sylaria had been by his side, this much would not have been an issue. Just a light purification, holding her hand or embracing her, would have sufficed.
Sylaria was an important Purifier for him.
Their matching rate wasn’t particularly high, but it was incomparable to nibbling away at purification with such holy water. In fact, hadn’t simply burying his face against her chest been enough to recover considerably?
‘No. It’s still not enough.’
Arendtert clenched his fist. Soon, he would have to lead the Order of Holy Knights on an expedition to the Shastir Gorge. To cleanse a place swarming with monsters, he needed to be fully purified. Otherwise, there was the risk of losing control in the middle of the hunt.
A bitter taste filled his mouth. If only he had held Sylaria a little longer. If only he had been able to make her his completely. Then he wouldn’t be floundering now, worrying about losing control.
‘Why did she change overnight?’
Arendtert furrowed his brows. The Sylaria of now was utterly different from the woman he had first met. To the point one might say she was an entirely different person.
The country maiden who had always been entranced and flustered whenever she looked at him suddenly began to cast him looks of contempt.
And that wasn’t the only thing that had changed.
Her conduct had shifted in strange ways. She had once floundered before the Empress, not knowing the proper etiquette of the palace.
Yet suddenly, her bearing became graceful, as though she were born and raised within the palace, her manners impeccable. She even stood tall and spoke her opinions with confidence before the Emperor and Empress.
‘Did she really become another person?’
Arendtert clicked his tongue. Absurd thought. Though Sylaria’s behavior had changed, her outward appearance was still the same.
She was a slender, delicate woman, with the modest beauty of a wildflower.
That was why Arendtert had thought he could take her by force. If she lost her chastity, she could no longer remain Euclid’s fiancée.
Perhaps then, abandoned by Euclid, she might even beg Arendtert to take her in. At that point, he could grant her his magnanimity. That had been his plan when he snuck into her bedchamber.
That she would stab his shoulder with a dagger was beyond his expectations.
He had only wanted a bit of purification. Her defiance had been excessive.
Had Euclid not appeared, Arendtert could have forced his way to the end somehow. The thought left him bitter with regret.
‘Yes, this is all Euclid’s fault.’
Arendtert grasped the pendant hanging from his neck. The mana stone that reflected the state of his divine power glowed a deep green.
Touching Sylaria had at least lightened its color slightly, but going on expedition in this condition would be suicide.
Yet he could not refuse the expedition. After all, he had boasted before the Noble Council that he would wipe out every last monster in the Shastir Gorge.
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