WHPR 16

Chapter : 16

Jenaida glared only at Elia, unaware that she herself had made a mistake.

At her firm declaration, Elia tightly shut her mouth.

‘If I kill that woman, Ellen will get angry.’

The Ellen she knew was the type of person who always had to obtain what she wanted.

Elia did not want to earn Ellen’s hatred.

“Damn it.”

She muttered a curse under her breath and disappeared together with Ellen.

Once the urgent situation was over, Jenaida let out the breath she had been holding and collapsed to the ground. As the tension drained from her body, her legs began to tremble.

‘Threatening a spirit, of all things.’

If the spirit named Elia had not obediently followed Ellen’s words, she might have been killed.

As she stood there blankly, clearing her mind, a long shadow fell over her.

“Are you all right?”

At Kaiden’s question, Jenaida turned her head—then belatedly realized she had made a mistake.

Her words and actions toward the spirit just moments ago could easily have appeared as if she were acting favorably toward him.

She brushed away the hand he extended toward her and stood up on her own.

Then, turning her back to him, she muttered curtly,

“Don’t misunderstand.”

“……”

“I’m only doing this because I haven’t yet received His Majesty’s permission for a divorce.”

After bluntly throwing out her words, Jenaida walked forward alone. Inside, she kept repeating the same thing to herself like a mantra.

That she had saved him purely because she did not want to be subjected to a binding spell.

That night, after returning to the estate, Jenaida secretly sent a letter to the emperor.

In it, she wrote that she had approached Kaiden in order to kill him, that his power was too great for her to succeed, and asked him to trust her words.

‘I will gain his trust and kill him without fail….’

After writing the final line, Jenaida carelessly set down the quill on the desk and leaned back in her chair.

Her head throbbed.

‘They must not have seen it.’

Because Kaiden had fired his aura toward the safe zone where the nobles were gathered to kill the monsters, the knight order had been unable to pay attention to Kaiden and Jenaida.

For her, who had acted for Kaiden’s sake, this worked out favorably.

Thanks to that, she was able to avoid unnecessary questioning.

If her actions in protecting Kaiden had reached the emperor’s ears, she might have been forcibly divorced, placed under a binding spell, and forced to live her entire life as Felix’s dog.

‘Thank you, gods.’

Jenaida quietly clasped her hands together.

She was both a spirit contractor and a holy knight who had been granted divine power.

‘They say spirits and gods don’t get along.’

Then where did that leave her?

Perhaps the night was too deep—sentimental thoughts like that drifted through her mind.

With a short sigh, Jenaida placed the finished letter into an envelope and sealed it with a stamp.

Just as she was about to call Dalton, Lancelot whispered softly from behind her.

“Who are you sending that to?”

“…To His Majesty the Emperor.”

Jenaida nearly screamed. She clutched her chest and straightened her posture.

“I didn’t call you. Why did you come out?”

“Just because. Our Jena’s still awake so late.”

“…I’m not a child, you know.”

Lancelot had always been like this.

When she was young and couldn’t sleep, he would come out, sing her lullabies, and tell her heroic tales straight out of a storybook.

But she was an adult now—someone who had long since grown tired of such things.

They were nothing more than faded memories.

“You’re still a child to me. How old do you think I look?”

“What meaning does age have for a spirit?”

Spirits were nature itself.

Though Lancelot was an unstable spirit, age hardly mattered to him.

Spirits either achieved semi-immortality or vanished altogether.

“At times like this, you’re supposed to say I look young.”

“I can’t say things I don’t mean.”

When Jenaida stubbornly responded without yielding, Lancelot grew sulky and complained.

“I raised you for nothing. Raising kids is pointless, I tell you.”

As Lancelot raised his voice, Jenaida cleared her throat and casually added,

“You look young.”

“And…”

“…You’re incredibly handsome.”

Having heard everything he wanted, the corners of his mouth rose practically to the heavens.

‘Did I really need to say that?’

Seeing Lancelot’s beaming face, she had such a pointless thought.

Humming happily to himself, he then asked her with a troubled expression,

“You… are you really okay?”

Concern was woven into his gentle tone.

Though the question seemed to imply many things, Jenaida pretended not to notice.

“Of course. I’m fine. I’ll send this letter and go straight to sleep. I promise.”

At her answer, Lancelot patted her shoulder and disappeared.

Jenaida erased the smile that had lingered on her lips.

‘This is where it starts. Steel your heart.’

After regressing, her life was no longer her own. It was a life meant to be sacrificed, lived solely for Kaiden.

Calming herself, she pulled the cord to summon Dalton.

A few days later, an imperial order came commanding them to head to Niveus in the north, and the grand duke’s party immediately left the capital.

The road was harsh.

Travel was easy up to the outskirts of the capital, but as the ground grew dry and patches of snow appeared, the path became unforgiving.

All the surrounding trees were bare and leafless, creating an eerily ominous atmosphere.

Jenaida stayed at the rear of the procession, encouraging the supply wagons so they would not fall behind.

‘The road to the north isn’t easy.’

Even the bleak wind chipped away at one’s will to move forward.

Despite having undergone formal knight training and traveled battlefields, the mountain trek was exhausting for her.

The civilians trudged along, shoulders slumped.

Jenaida gauged the time by looking up at the gloomy sky.

‘It’ll be night soon.’

With no village or lodge in sight, camping was inevitable. That meant finding suitable ground quickly and setting up tents.

Jenaida approached Kaiden, who was guarding the supply wagons nearby.

“Everyone’s stamina is low. Wouldn’t it be best to rest here?”

They needed to light fires before the sun set. In warm climates it might be fine, but in the north, a single mistake could mean freezing to death.

Kaiden seemed to consider her suggestion briefly, then raised his voice.

“Everyone, halt the procession and prepare to camp!”

As those nearby relayed his command forward, the procession came to a stop.

Kaiden and Jenaida dismounted and tied their horses to nearby trees.

Jenaida was about to head toward the knights to help when Kaiden grabbed her.

She looked at him in confusion, and he replied indifferently,

“There’s no need for you to work. Rest.”

But the knights she glanced at looked busy and in dire need of help.

“They need hands. I’ll assist.”

“I said it’s fine.”

“……”

“Your injury probably hasn’t fully healed. Don’t overexert yourself and get hurt again. You’ll just be in the way.”

Jenaida looked down at her arm, which had been injured earlier while holding back magical beasts. Of course, a priest had healed it completely—though the scar remained.

“The injury was already treated by a priest—”

“I won’t say it more than three times. Rest.”

Though his attitude was somewhat overbearing, she could sense kindness beneath it.

With no other choice, Jenaida decided to walk around instead.

She planned to help if she found anything easy to do.

Contrary to her expectations, however, every member of Kaiden’s knight order worked with practiced efficiency, leaving her with nothing to help with.

Assigned her tent, Jenaida rested inside. Unlike the cold wind outside, the interior was cozy.

As she looked around in admiration, Kaiden entered soon after.

It seemed that, as a married couple, they had been assigned the same tent.

‘It can’t be helped.’

There were no female knights among Kaiden’s men, and the two of them were officially husband and wife.

Sharing the same space was not strange.

Standing in the center, Jenaida moved aside to make room for him.

Kaiden came over and sat down without a word.

Silence settled between them.

The sun would soon fully set.

Going outside was awkward, and above all, they needed to decide on night watch duty.

As Jenaida hesitated, Kaiden spoke first.

“I’ll take the first watch. Wake me after two hours.”

It was better to stand watch first. Being woken up mid-sleep was more tiring.

Jenaida considered insisting otherwise, then let it go. Otherwise, she’d end up in another pointless argument like before.

Soon after, Kaiden sat upright with his back straight and fell asleep—textbook form.

Careful not to wake him, Jenaida quietly exited the tent.

Once outside, the proximity to the north was unmistakable.

After standing absentmindedly for a few minutes, she exhaled softly to ease the boredom. The cold air made her breath clearly visible.

‘Will we reach the castle tomorrow…?’

At their current pace, it seemed they would need to camp at least two more nights.

‘We need to arrive before the pope.’

Facing the pope immediately upon arrival in the north could be overwhelming. No one could match his silver tongue.

As she sighed in worry, a chilling sound reached her ears.

Instinctively, she turned toward the source.

A drake was snarling at Jenaida.