Chapter 4

The night in the slum is cold.

There is nothing to block the strong wind that mercilessly blows in from outside the kingdom, scattering sand and denying both houses and people a peaceful sleep.

*Shudder, rattle, rattle*

The strong wind shakes the windows, and the young brothers, who live huddled together in the slum, are troubled by the wind and sand that seep through the cracks.

"Big brother, this house will eventually be swallowed by the sand, too."

Several houses have already been buried by the sand. The Hagar Desert outside the kingdom is gradually encroaching.

"I know. But the kingdom won't do anything anyway."

This is an abandoned area. The brothers listened to the sound of the sand hitting the walls, carried by the wind, and sighed in resignation.

***

"Hmm, after I finish eating, I might go back to sleep~"

Alm Danleik, the former saint, was currently homeless and was lying on her back on a park bench, eating bread she had taken out of her magic bag.

Her manners were poor, but she no longer cared about such things. She was no longer a saint. She was free.

Alm was still only fifteen years old. Young energy is strong when it is free. Being able to roll around on the bench without caring about others' gazes was a sign of strength—yes, this was vitality!

"There's still plenty of bread~"

When she was in the temple, her stomach, filled with accumulated fatigue, could not accept solid food.

Even then, Johannes did not allow her to leave any food uneaten, so she had been pushing only liquid foods like soup into her stomach and secretly throwing solid foods into her magic bag when Johannes wasn't looking. The items in the magic bag do not rot. Thanks to this, she wouldn't run out of food for a while.

She could grow as many vegetables and fruits as she wanted and create water. She could use purification to keep herself and her clothes clean, and if she wanted to take a bath, she could create a large amount of water, heat it, and use a barrier to prevent anyone from seeing her.

"For now, I have everything I need~"

Two days after fleeing the temple, the former saint Alm had completely adapted to her homeless life.

***

Johannes Chastel was furious.

No matter who he ordered, no one would go out to search for Alm.

Everyone glared at Johannes as if he were trash, calling him a "monster," "the temple's filth," and "a man who should be bitten by lice all over his body." This was not the way to treat a member of the royal family.

"If it comes to this, I'll go and find her myself and bring her back! That Alm..."

It had only been two days since Alm left, but the temple's operations were already lagging.

This was to be expected. For the past year, Johannes had burdened Alm with all the duties of a saint, while the other three saints had been given nothing to do.

As a result, the three saints had a year-long gap in their experience. It was impossible for them to smoothly take over the work of Alm, who had been the highest-ranked saint in history.

The three were trying their best, but Johannes could only think about bringing Alm back.

"If Alm just comes back, everything will be fine. If I have Alm, everything will be fine."

Just as he was preparing to set out to search for her, a report came that the fifth prince had visited him.

"Prince Wyoneal?"

Prince Wyoneal, Johannes' half-brother, is the son of the first wife, the queen. Although he is the fifth prince, he is the only son of the queen, so he is the first in line to the throne. The four older princes born to the second wife, the sixth prince born to the third wife, and Johannes, born to the fourth wife, have lower ranks in the line of succession due to their mothers' lower status.

Thus, to Johannes, the fifth prince was more of a lord to serve than a brother.

"I'm sorry to bother you when you're busy."

"No, it's been a while."

Wyoneal is a dignified young man with deep green hair and golden eyes. At seventeen, he already has the presence of a king and is said to be close to being named crown prince.

"So, what brings you here today?"

"Ah, I received a report that a girl dressed like a saint was seen in the slum. I was worried that something might have happened in the slum that required the dispatch of a saint, so I came to confirm."

At Wyoneal's words, Johannes' eyes widened and he clenched his fist.