TVOWW 104

Chapter 104

 No One Can Touch You

Splat!

A loud, ugly sound echoed through the courtroom as the Saintess fell flat on her face.

“Th-the Saintess just—”

Someone who had spoken first immediately shut their mouth.
Right now, in the center of the Imperial Court, the Saintess had fallen over.

To help her up would mean getting involved in the incident itself.

Someone will help her, they all thought.
But it shouldn’t be me. This whole thing already involves powerful people.

And so, everyone just hesitated and stared.

Whether she was too embarrassed by her clumsy fall in such a formal setting, or simply too afraid to stand up right away, the Saintess didn’t move.

—How’s that, child? Doesn’t it feel good to see?
—That wretched woman who spread vile rumors about you everywhere finally got what she deserves, huh?

I could hear the trees laughing smugly to themselves.

“…Saintess, are you all right?”

Cardinal Simon, who was closest to her, rushed over and helped her up.
The Saintess, supported by his arm, spoke with a trembling voice.

“I’m fine. But…”

She glanced nervously at the spot where she had been standing just moments ago—
as though something had been there.

—Of course, we tripped her and made it disappear right after.
—We couldn’t leave any trace, could we? If plants suddenly appeared in the middle of a courtroom, people would think it strange.

To be honest, I was less interested in the Saintess’s fall and more amazed by what the trees had just done.
So I immediately asked them:

—Wait, you can make plants grow and vanish from this far away? Even in a place with no trees?

The Imperial Courtroom wasn’t exactly a forest.
The floors were stone, not even grass in sight.

‘Up until now, I couldn’t get help in places without trees…’

If I could use their help like this even in such places, it would be incredibly useful in an emergency.

But the trees replied hesitantly:

—It might be a bit difficult to do that again.
—Why?
—Honestly, we weren’t sure it would even work. But your fairy power suddenly grew a little, so we gave it a try. Thing is… that used up quite a bit of your energy.
—Wait, what? You used my power? How much do I have left?!
—S-sorry.
—We didn’t think it would actually work. We wanted it to, sure, but we didn’t mean to drain you this much.

My head throbbed for a second.
Still, I decided to think positively.

‘If it recovers over time, I’ll be fine.’

My fairy power was slowly returning, and I had Isidore to guide me in using it properly.

Cardinal Simon called gently to the Saintess, who still stood staring at the floor.

“Saintess?”

Her expression wasn’t the usual serene one—it was faintly indignant.

‘Well, that’s understandable. She’s just been humiliated for something she didn’t do.’

But there was no evidence, and since I couldn’t reveal the truth about fairy magic, the Saintess couldn’t do anything.
Even if she tried, she’d just look strange—

“I didn’t fall by myself.”

Her words shattered my assumption.

“Something tripped me—on purpose.”

“What?” Simon frowned in confusion.
There was nothing near her feet—a clean floor, no stones or uneven spots to trip over.

The Saintess lowered her long lashes and trembled pitifully.

“Someone is harboring malice toward me, the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom. Someone is attacking me.”

“What?”

“Now that I think about it, everything’s been strange lately. Lady Luigi, Cardinal Simon… they’ve all been acting oddly. It must have been manipulation—someone trying to harm me.”

Tears welled up in her eyes.

And at that moment—

“What’s going on here?”

Crown Prince Carlos burst into the courtroom and strode toward her.

“Why is the Saintess lying on the floor crying?”

He looked furious, like a man who’d just found his beloved in danger.
The Saintess, upon seeing him, made her expression even more pitiful—then darted a glance toward me.

Carlos’s golden eyes instantly locked onto me.

That predatory stare made my shoulders stiffen, but before fear could sink in, a large, warm hand closed around mine.

“Don’t be afraid.”

Johann leaned close, his voice low beside my ear, as he calmly met the Crown Prince’s gaze.

“As long as I’m by your side,” he murmured,
“no one can touch you.”

“…”

“Whatever you’ve done—or haven’t done—it won’t matter. You’ll never be blamed.”

When I met Johann’s eyes, those deep, seductive crimson pupils shimmered with something secretive—like he knew.

‘Does he… know something about the fairy power?’

Because it felt like he did.
And that scared me a little.

Princess Diana sat alone in a dark room.
After the Crown Prince had left, there was no one by her side.

“No. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

The Crown Prince had threatened her, wagering the future of the kingdom.

‘I’ll use my royal status to block your allied nations’ trade routes. When that happens, the Union Kingdom will abandon your Roium Kingdom without hesitation.’

‘You think the Union is strong? It’s just a gathering of weak nations. As a princess, you should know that better than anyone.’

But Diana had stubbornly refused his threats.
Every time her will wavered, she remembered the final words of Queen Isabella, her mother.

‘Diana, you must hold onto your sense of justice until the very end. So that I can be proud of you.’

Still, could her mother have foreseen that the Crown Prince himself would go this far?

‘If he truly intends to destroy the alliance… then what am I supposed to—’

Click, clack.

“Princess Diana, are you inside?”

The sound of a lock turning was followed by a man’s voice—unfamiliar, calm.

The voice didn’t belong to the guards outside.
Diana straightened her back.

“…Who are you?”

“Good evening, Princess.”

The man who entered had cool gray hair and sharp, steel-blue eyes.
At his feet lay the unconscious guards.

‘He’s strong.’

Diana immediately scanned for a weapon as she asked,
“Who are you?”

“Ah, forgive my manners. I am Baron Erich de Blonieux. The Duke of Blanchet sent me to rescue you.”

“The Duke of Blanchet?”

“Yes. The Duchess was deeply worried about your safety.”

Now that he mentioned it, she vaguely recalled seeing him once when she met Estelle.

“Estelle… sent you?”

Her face darkened.

“If I disappear from here, it’ll only make things worse for her. If she’s caught helping a criminal escape from the Imperial Palace, even a noble house like Blanchet’s won’t—”

“Then we’ll simply make sure we’re not caught.”

“…What?”

Her eyes widened.

“These knights won’t say a word. They never even saw me—I used a tranquilizer.”

Indeed, the guards had no wounds. His work was flawless.

“Even so, suspicion will fall on the Blanchet family. And the Roium Kingdom will—”

“Please don’t worry,” Erich said softly, his gray eyes glinting.
“Nothing will happen to either.”

“How can you be so sure—?”

“Because my master will handle the rest. Once word spreads that the Imperial security was compromised, even the Crown Prince will have to tread carefully. No one blames a kingdom that just lost its princess.”

Diana swallowed hard.

‘If it’s the Duke of Blanchet… maybe.’

She had met him once—
and she remembered him clearly.
A perfectly mannered gentleman on the surface, yet with eyes that looked at her as though she were already condemned.
A terrifying man who didn’t even bother to hide his killing intent.

“You must decide now,” Erich said, tapping the door lightly.
“Will you take the Duke’s hand and run?”

Carlos was holding the Saintess’s frail body.
He had stood up abruptly, shouting,

“—Who dared do this to the Saintess—”

“Silence!”

The Emperor’s voice cut sharply through the hall.

“Crown Prince Carlos! This is an imperial trial! Who gave you permission to burst in uninvited?”

“Father.”

Carlos bit his lip, bowing his head.

“As a member of the imperial family, it’s my duty to attend such trials. I only came to fulfill that duty.”

“Then you should have observed quietly. Instead, you’ve disturbed the court!”

“…My apologies.”

The reprimand stung.
Carlos bowed his head and turned—still holding the Saintess—when another voice rang out.

“What are you doing, holding a criminal?”

“…A criminal?”

Carlos turned, glaring at Johann.

“You dare call the Saintess that?”

“Is there anyone else here accused of crimes?”

“Duke Blanchet, she is the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom. Even our empire cannot treat her lightly. To call her that is insolence.”

“When she clears her name, I’ll apologize formally. Will that suffice?”

Johann’s tone was polite—too polite—and that only irritated Carlos more.

‘He dares speak to me like that?’

Johann was still holding Estelle’s hand, as though to make a point.
Carlos had seen it before, but every time, it infuriated him.

“Are you mocking me?” he hissed.

“Your Highness, it’s all right,” the Saintess murmured weakly in his arms.

“The Duke is right. I still haven’t cleared my name.”

“Even she admits it,” Johann said smoothly. “Then what reason have you to protest, Your Highness?”

Carlos’s jaw tightened.
But in the end, he carefully set the Saintess down.

“Will you be all right to stay?” he asked.

“It’s my duty to see this through,” she said softly, lowering her gaze.
Then she turned to the Emperor and curtsied.

“I apologize, Your Majesty, for showing such an unsightly display before everyone. But please do not blame His Highness for worrying over me.”

“I will not,” the Emperor replied.

Carlos glanced toward Estelle.

‘Why won’t she even look at me?’

She seemed momentarily startled when he appeared—but now, watching him beside the Saintess, she looked almost… relieved.

‘You really think that Duke can save you?’ he thought bitterly.

But he had already threatened Princess Diana directly.
Unlike him, the Duke had no access to the princess, and thus no means to interfere.

“Your Majesty,” Carlos said suddenly, “there’s something important missing from this trial.”

“What is it, Carlos?”

“The key witness—the real criminal. Shouldn’t we bring her in?”

The Emperor nodded.

“Indeed. Before hearing the Saintess’s testimony, we should listen to Princess Diana’s account. Bring her in.”

“…What’s going on?”

A knight arrived at Princess Diana’s room, only to find chaos.
In his hand was the key to the lock that had once secured her.

It was Leandro.

He had come intending to rescue Estelle’s friend quietly—but someone had beaten him to it.

‘Who could have taken her first?’

He shook one of the unconscious guards awake.

“Wake up! Who attacked you?”

But no matter how much he pressed, the guard had no answer.

“I’m sorry, sir. The attack came so suddenly… I never saw their face.”

Leandro’s eyes darkened.

‘Once again, I’ve failed to help Estelle.’

She would be devastated when she heard her friend was gone—and that vile Duke Blanchet would surely exploit her grief.

‘Only someone of his caliber could subdue imperial knights without leaving a mark.’

Only the Duke of Blanchet.

‘He must’ve staged it as a disappearance to avoid suspicion.’

“By the way, Sir Felsis,” the knight said timidly, “forgive me if I’m mistaken, but… what exactly are you doing here?”