Helene puffed up her cheeks. At the sight of her lovely expression, the servants around her secretly clutched their chests and turned away. The patrolling guards did the same.

“His Majesty is quite lenient with the Holy Maiden, isn’t he?”

“The Holy Maiden must be so adorable.”

The knight guards who had followed them whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear, nudging each other’s sides.

Helene enjoyed the reactions around her and blinked her eyes even more cutely.

“Besides, the Empress is ill. She must be very tired. Wouldn’t receiving such a message itself be bothersome?”

“Helene.”

Enrique called her name sternly. It meant to stop there.

Knowing this would happen, Helene sighed deeply and nodded glumly.

“Yes, I will. Nini is always so obedient.”

As she spoke, Helene surreptitiously glanced upwards.

She had hoped the Empress would see this intimate exchange.

‘Ah, she’s not here.’

How disappointing.

Helene never missed an opportunity to assert her superiority over the Empress.

Whether she admitted it or not, it was an expression of her inferiority complex about her origins.

Helene.

She was from the ‘Quid’, a minority group and untouchable caste.

In fact, ‘Quid’ referred to the segregated area where they were gathered and not allowed to leave, but the name stuck and they came to be called Quid everywhere.

Slaves at least have masters and receive food and lodging for their work.

But the Quid couldn’t find work anywhere, weren’t allowed to speak to citizens of the Empire, and couldn’t leave the segregated area.

All they could do was barely survive on relief supplies provided by the temple once every three months.

“We were originally the masters of this land,” young Helene grew up listening to the stories told by the clan’s old woman.

Meanwhile, her younger sibling died of hunger first, then her parents succumbed to illness. Then neighbors took away their hut and possessions, and Helene was driven out to the fields.

Unable to even live in a hut anymore, young Helene became the dirtiest and lowest even among the Quid. The resentment that built up sharpened her fangs just as much.

Her life changed on a stormy day when divine power manifested in her body.

In front of the priests who brought relief supplies, Helene rose, enveloped in holy light. Stigmata appeared on her forehead, both hands, and feet, and the sky unfurled with brilliant five-colored clouds.

From that moment on, Helene was treated as a Holy Maiden.

It was the starting point of her awakening to power.

And when she turned thirteen, she and the 4th Prince came to stay at the temple together.

There was a grand pretext that ‘to become a holy knight, one must stay at the temple from a young age to purify body and mind’, but in reality, it was the Empress’s effort to remove her son from the palace where a fierce struggle for the throne was taking place.

Thanks to that effort, Helene was able to become close to Enrique.

In the vast and cold temple, with priests who regarded them as mere good cards held by the temple.

In such circumstances, it was inevitable for a boy and girl of the same age in similar situations to become close.

At least, that’s what Helene thought.

That thought became increasingly firm, and by the time she became an adult, it had transformed into this:

Enrique is eternally mine.

This was an immutable truth in Helene’s world, so it didn’t matter if he got married or slept with other women.

He would eventually return to her anyway.

Since that was actually the case, Helene had always felt a secret sense of superiority over his women.

‘He’s become a bit colder since becoming Emperor, but well. Enri is still Enri.’

Standing in the soft, creamy winter sunlight, Helene glanced at the man with his dignified demeanor.

Enrique’s platinum blonde hair still made her heart swell every time she saw it, from that young day until now. His neat and tidy appearance, and his calm demeanor like an unshakable lake, were also pleasing.

He wasn’t an extremely affectionate man, but he tended to grant most requests when pressed, and Helene was satisfied with that.

Though he didn’t smile often, he occasionally smiled when with her, and even if reluctantly, he would come out for walks like this when asked.

While even the Empress had to schedule an appointment in advance for a private audience with him, Helene didn’t need to do so.

She wasn’t the Empress, but she held power equivalent to one, and being affiliated with the temple rather than the palace, she didn’t need to abide by palace etiquette.

Helene was quite satisfied with her position.

“By the way, Your Majesty. Did you catch that intruder? The one who dared to sneak into the bedroom.”

Helene asked coyly as she linked arms with Enrique, and he didn’t shake her off.

Though winter hadn’t fully passed, it felt just like spring.

* * *

“Why are you here?”

At the same time.

Having walked into the depths of the subspace, I was greatly shocked to discover a boy lying barely breathing.

Not because a boy who looked no more than fifteen was lying injured. Not because the floor was soaked with blood.

I recognized the boy’s identity at a glance.

“Why is the Son of the Sun here?”

It was a well-known story that the Sun God, exiled to the human world, came to deeply love a woman and passed down the power and dominion of the sun to generations of descendants.

However, as a price for that power, the bloodline of the Sun God could only use half of their original power when they left the desert.

Those born with sand and returning to sand.

Naturally, they rarely left the desert.

I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I had seen wrong. But even looking again, the fallen boy was emitting a scorching heat.

As if his entire body was a small sun.

‘Wow. The yang energy is… killing it.’

They say Enrique’s yang energy is impressive, but it’s nothing compared to this boy’s.

My skin tingles as if this entire space has turned into a desert, and every breath I take burns my throat.

The power of the sun completely dominated this area, strong enough to instantly evaporate the tears that had been flowing because of Enrique.

Gulp.

Swallowing dryly, I carefully examined the boy’s condition.

Black hair disheveled with sweat, glossy bronze skin. Look at those sharp eyes like a scorpion’s tail and those reddish lips exuding arrogance.

He was handsome enough to draw admiration.

His appearance was such that one could say it would be a loss to humanity for him to die in a place like this.

‘But his external injuries are too severe. Even his internal organs are badly damaged. If this wasn’t a space where time flow is stopped, he would have died already.’

Though I wasn’t a doctor, I was well-versed in wounds from living so long.

I glanced at the bandages, water bowl, and needles rolling around near the boy.

It seems he tried to do something himself but eventually lost consciousness.

Time doesn’t flow, so his condition hasn’t worsened, but that doesn’t mean the pain has lessened.

“It’s quite a shame to die now.”

He’s still at an age where his body hasn’t fully matured. I shudder to think what he might become if he survives this crisis and grows into a full-fledged male.

Moreover, the bloodline of the Sun God had good compatibility with demons.

Since anything in excess becomes a disease, from ancient times, the yin energy possessed by demons had been a specific remedy for their tremendous yang energy.

“I’ll heal you. In exchange, I’ll have to take some of your energy. Care to make a deal?”

Surprisingly, the boy had been twitching his eyelids for a while now. He was trying to regain consciousness, albeit forcibly, sensing my presence.

Before waiting for an answer, I first took off the fur coat I was wearing. Then I rolled up my flowing sleeves and forcibly dragged the boy to lay him on the soft coat.

It was so heavy I thought I might die first, but fortunately, more strength entered me than what I was expending while in contact with the boy, making it possible.

“…way.”

“I’m not trying to harm you, so don’t worry.”

“Go… away. I won’t… accept your night services.”

“My, what a thing to say. I’m not interested in youngsters like you either. What taste could there be in something so fresh?”

Giggling, I brushed back the boy’s sweat-soaked forehead.

Due to my cold hands and feet syndrome, my hands were very cold even in this midwinter.

It’s what this fellow needs right now.

“This is a deal. I’m going to give you a brief kiss on the forehead. Think of it as a goodnight kiss.”

“Don’t… touch.”

Though I barely touched near his forehead, my wrist was suddenly grabbed. The yang energy, which even he couldn’t control and was running wild, flows into me like a waterfall, seeping into my soul.

I feel my mood improving greatly, as if I can hear the sound of the lifespan I urgently need accumulating steadily.

“I’ll heal you first. This way, you come out ahead, right?”

“Don’t need, ugh!”

Ignoring him, I pressed firmly on the chest wound, causing the boy to reflexively groan and glare at me with fever-bright eyes.

A dazzling golden light flickers in his pupils.

It’s so beautiful, like sunbeams dancing on a summer day, that I gazed into those eyes for a long time.

“If left like this, you’ll die. You’ll rot away here like spoiled fruit. If that’s what you want, I’ll stop the treatment now.”

When I said I wouldn’t heal him, the agitated energy of water around us began to thrash about.

Seemingly sensing it too, the boy frowned.

“I won’t ask why you’re here. I won’t interrogate you either. You’ve already given me plenty of what I need.”

In fact, I don’t ask because I can pretty much guess even without asking.

How many reasons could there be for an immature boy to leave the desert and infiltrate another country’s imperial palace?

“What…”

“The emperor of your country has a nasty personality. This country’s emperor is the same.”