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Chapter 12
Helicia had almost no memory from before the age of eight.
There were only small, broken pieces of memories, but nothing meaningful.
She had known how to read and write from the beginning—though her handwriting was messy.
Maybe because she grew up without parents, Dovan didn’t ask further.
“It’s alright. You might not remember. You probably learned from your parents when you were young. They must have been good people.”
Helicia closed the book filled with complex words.
“Let’s stop here for today. Sir Lato should be receiving his official knight appointment now, so let’s wait a bit.”
Finally free from the boring lesson, Helicia nodded quickly.
Dovan started cleaning up busily.
Resting her chin on her hands and swinging her legs, she asked,
“What are your parents like, Dovan?”
“They both worked in the temple. My father repaired the knights’ equipment, and my mother taught, like me.”
His voice carried small traces of affection.
Dovan’s parents had passed away early.
It was said they died from illness.
During the time without a Saintess, many people like them had died.
Because of family history, Dovan also died early from the same illness—after Helicia lost her divine power.
Helicia had seen his death… seventeen times.
“Lady Helicia… don’t worry about me… your divine power will return.”
“Dovan, I’m sorry… it’s because I don’t have divine power…”
“Even the priests couldn’t cure it. Maybe there are illnesses that divine power can’t heal. It’s not your fault—it runs in my family.”
“That’s a lie. There’s no such illness.”
“Cough… cough… I was honored to teach you… I’ll go first.”
Strangely, everything Helicia cared about disappeared early.
And it happened again and again.
‘That’s why I can’t like the gods.’
Because of that, when the temple later called her a witch, she didn’t feel as wronged.
Except for Lato, she had nothing left to hold onto.
Pushing away her thoughts, she asked Dovan casually,
“That’s interesting. I don’t know my parents, so I can’t describe them.”
“You might be disappointed if you meet them. They look just like me.”
Dovan awkwardly searched through his robe.
He always carried a small portrait of his family close to his chest.
His expression slowly turned into panic.
“Uh… huh?”
He hurriedly searched everywhere—even inside books.
His face turned pale as he looked around.
When he met Helicia’s eyes, he tried to stay calm.
“I’m sorry. I think I left something in my room. May I go first?”
“Okay! Then can I go see Lato?”
Dovan glanced at the time and nodded.
“Yes. The ceremony should be over.”
But his mind was clearly elsewhere.
He kept searching through the books, unable to give up.
Helicia stood up naturally.
Dovan asked quickly, preparing to guide her.
She shook her head.
“I know the way. I can go alone.”
“…Still…”
She opened the door.
Before leaving, she leaned back slightly and said,
“Dovan, you’ll be in your room, right?”
“Eh? Yes, probably. Why?”
“Hmm… I have something to tell you later. It’s a secret.”
She smiled playfully and walked away toward Lato.
Running down the hallway near the training ground, priests greeted her.
“Lady Helicia, are you done with your lesson?”
“Yes! Is Lato done with the ceremony?”
“It should have just ended.”
“Okay!”
She hurried forward.
After walking a bit, she saw Lato in his white knight uniform.
She smiled brightly and ran toward him.
“Lato!”
“Ah…? Why are you here?”
Surprised, Lato walked faster.
Helicia grabbed his clothes and pulled him toward the training ground.
“Come quickly!”
“Why? It’s dangerous here.”
The training ground was surrounded by corridors and tall pillars.
There were trees planted here and there.
The problem was—the trees were much taller than Helicia.
Standing in front of one, she stretched out her arms.
“Pick me up.”
Lato looked clearly embarrassed.
“Knights cannot touch the Saintess unless it is an emergency.”
“This is an emergency. Hurry. Lift me up.”
His eyebrow twitched.
“It doesn’t look like an emergency…”
Helicia narrowed her eyes and threatened him.
“Then I’ll just pull the tree out.”
She grabbed the tree with one hand.
It started shaking, almost coming out of the ground.
Only then did Lato quickly lift her up.
“Like this?”
‘You should have done this earlier.’
“Yes. Lift me higher.”
She pointed at the top of the tree.
As he raised her, her view got higher.
Stretching her head, she saw a small pendant hanging on a branch.
“Found it.”
She took it and smiled proudly.
It was what Dovan had been looking for.
Lato sighed and set her down.
“You could have told me. I would’ve gotten it.”
“Your uniform would get dirty. It’s your first day as an official knight—you should celebrate.”
She opened the pendant.
Inside was a portrait of a couple and a baby—clearly Dovan’s family.
In her past life, this was only found after Dovan died.
He always said he was fine, but often looked at it.
That’s why she wanted to return it.
She had never missed her own parents.
She only felt a little curious about them.
People change depending on situations.
If they knew she was a Saintess, they might ask for money.
And when her power disappeared, they might leave her again.
She had seen too many people like that.
Better not to know.
As she put the pendant in her pocket, Lato said,
“From today, I am officially your guard knight.”
“Oh, congratulations. Of course, no one else suits being my guard except you.”
“I was chosen because I’m the youngest. I was lucky.”
“Luck is also skill.”
There were many children her age.
But not many were skilled enough to be guards.
Helicia dusted her clothes and looked up at him.
“By the way, did I get any letters?”
“Yes.”
Her eyes sparkled with excitement.
But her expression quickly changed after hearing the answer.
“Crown Prince Arzen sent a reply.”
“Why?!”
She grabbed her hair in disbelief.
“I sent it to Arpessian! I asked if he was okay! Why did the Crown Prince reply?!”
Right after the coronation, she had sent a letter to Arpessian.
She wanted to guide him step by step.
But it got blocked by the Crown Prince.
Helicia held her face and cried out,
“Does he not know how to read?! Does the royal family learn late?!”
“This is still the temple. Please be careful with your words.”
Lato warned her quietly.
But she didn’t care.
“If anyone hears, I’ll knock them out in one hit. Don’t worry.”
She swung her small fist in the air.
Even though it was small, it made a sharp sound.
“….”
“Then I’ll heal them afterward. Anyway, I need to write another letter.”
Helicia started walking quickly with her short steps.
Lato followed silently behind her.
