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Chapter 89
The brown-haired man standing beside the red-haired man spoke quietly.
“We’re later than expected.”
“It can’t be helped. Bringing the Saint along would naturally slow down movement.”
Watching Azrael wave outside the carriage, the corners of the red-haired man Natram’s lips slowly lifted.
He already knew the Saint’s face from the imperial newspaper. But seeing her in person, she was far more beautiful and refined than in the printed illustration. No wonder she was called the Saint.
‘If the Saint looks like that, she would be perfect as my wife.’
Natram’s gray eyes sparkled with interest. It was worth coming here, even if it meant surpassing his brothers.
When the carriage passed by, he could no longer see Azrael. Natram clicked his tongue in disappointment and left with his subordinate.
Because of the suddenly increased crowd welcoming them, the expedition had no choice but to move slowly despite the rain. For these people, the expedition was their only hope, so their expressions were too desperate to simply ignore and pass by quickly.
Meanwhile, the knights who had gone ahead to find lodging returned. Since it was a large town, there were several inns for travelers and merchants, and everyone was able to find rooms.
The expedition was divided into four groups—ducal household members and imperial knights—and they settled into nearby inns.
Leonar decided to stay in the same inn as Azrael, along with several imperial knights.
After washing and changing clothes, Azrael ate a late lunch on the first floor of the inn restaurant. By then, the rain had completely stopped.
With some rare free time, she decided to take a walk around the village.
Azrael pulled her hood over her head and left the inn with Mari, escorted by Elin and Terry.
The village, washed clean by the rain, had many shops compared to the previous towns they had passed through, making it quite interesting to look around. Because the rain had just stopped, there weren’t many people outside.
Having spent so long traveling nonstop, Azrael wanted to refresh herself and enjoy the feeling of shopping again as she looked around.
Then she found a dessert café filled with many customers. Through the glass window, cakes and cookies were displayed, tempting her.
“Shall we have something sweet after a long time?”
“Really?”
Mari reacted immediately at Azrael’s words. Hearing Mari swallow her saliva made Azrael chuckle softly.
When Azrael and her group entered the café, people turned their attention toward them. However, this was a town full of merchants and travelers, so their curiosity didn’t last long.
Azrael ordered blueberry cheesecake, macarons, and two cups of black tea, then sat by the window on the first floor instead of the nobles-only second floor so she could eat with Mari.
Elin and Terry ordered only cold juice each and sat at a nearby table, keeping watch.
Soon, the delicious-looking desserts and tea arrived. Azrael’s eyes sparkled with joy.
She immediately cut a small piece of cheesecake, placed it on her fork, and put it into her mouth. It melted before she could even properly chew it.
It was so delicious—she couldn’t even remember the last time she had tasted something this sweet.
Her face brightened completely. She looked like a sixteen-year-old girl who had just debuted in society not long ago.
“You should try it too. It’s really delicious.”
“Yes, my lady.”
At Azrael’s encouragement, Mari, who had been swallowing her saliva, also put the cheesecake into her mouth and widened her eyes in surprise at the taste.
Seeing her reaction, Azrael laughed softly and drank some tea before trying a macaron next.
While the two enjoyed filling their mouths with sweetness, Natram—who had secretly followed them—watched Azrael’s childlike expressions with a lifted corner of his mouth.
Everything she did was adorable. Just the thought that she would soon belong to him made everything even more enjoyable.
After quickly finishing a cold orange juice, Natram was about to look back at Azrael when his eyes met Terry’s.
Knowing Terry was Azrael’s escort knight, Natram turned away to avoid his gaze. Then, naturally, he left the café with his group.
‘Then, see you again, Saint.’
Taking one last look at Azrael before leaving, Natram smiled and walked out.
Terry, who had been watching them closely the entire time, only turned away after they were completely gone.
‘Red hair and pale skin like snow…’
Having been educated since childhood about neighboring countries as a royal, Terry immediately recognized him as a member of the Kalotz Empire’s royal family.
Why would a member of the Kalotz Imperial Family come all the way to the Esperando Empire—especially near the disaster-stricken southern region?
‘I should increase security today.’
After finishing their short walk, Azrael and her group returned to the inn and separated into their rooms.
Terry immediately went to find Leonar.
“What does the Saint’s escort knight want with me?”
Leonar narrowed his eyes when he saw the unexpected visitor.
“I have something to report, Your Highness.”
“Come in.”
Leonar looked at Terry directly and then entered the room, leaving the door open as he sat on the sofa.
The blue-eyed man with long blonde hair tied neatly looked extremely handsome even from Leonar’s perspective. Unlike Leonar’s more rigid personality, he seemed rather gentle.
Ever since he had started seeing him around Azrael, Leonar had not liked it. His eyes became sharper.
“Sit over here.”
Leonar pointed to the sofa opposite him and poured tea into the cups placed on the table. The inn was high-class, so tea sets were prepared in pairs.
Terry took a sip of the still-steaming tea and looked at Leonar’s face.
‘He really resembles my aunt.’
Leonar’s mother, the youngest sister of the Velrock Kingdom’s king and now the Empress of the Esperando Empire, was also Terry’s aunt.
The king had often looked at a pendant with her portrait after she was taken as a prisoner of war. Because of that, all her children remembered her face very well.
Terry felt emotional facing Leonar, who resembled his aunt, and couldn’t immediately speak.
He had deliberately hovered around Azrael to tease Leonar after noticing that his cousin seemed to like her—but this dull cousin didn’t seem to realize anything at all.
Leonar, unaware of anything, felt both pressured and confused by Terry’s intense gaze.
‘Don’t tell me this guy likes men…?’
The gaze now felt almost disgusting, and irritation rose in him.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I was momentarily lost in thought because you resemble someone I know.”
Terry wanted to say “I’m your cousin” right away, but he decided it was not the time yet.
More importantly, he remembered his real purpose.
“More importantly, I have something important to report.”
Leonar, sensing something suspicious about Terry, motioned for him to continue.
“It seems a member of the Kalotz Imperial Family is in this town.”
“The Kalotz Imperial Family?”
“Yes. I saw him at a café where the Princess stopped during her walk earlier.”
Leonar’s eyebrows rose even higher than before.
The Kalotz Empire was a nation founded by northern barbarians. It had been expanding southward for a long time, and although its border was not far from here, it made no sense for royalty to be traveling here for leisure at such a time.
What were they doing near the southern border right now?
‘Could it be…?’
Leonar frowned.
“As you said, news of the Saint’s appearance must have already spread to other countries. We should strengthen security today.”
Terry’s report was not something to take lightly.
Unlike the eastern continent, which worshipped multiple gods, the western continent worshipped only one goddess. And not only the Esperando Empire, but other nations and kingdoms had not seen a Saint for a long time.
