Chapter 14

#014 Little Guest (4)

"You... "

The moment I opened my mouth, I activated the circle. The golden ring illuminated the bright room even more.

The boy silently looked down at the sacred circle that enveloped his feet.

"How did you get in here?"

"..."

I asked while observing his condition. He definitely looked better than that day.

Although cold sweat was forming on his forehead and his breathing was a bit labored, he didn’t seem like he was about to collapse on the floor like before.

"Did you come to steal Ether again?"

At that, the boy raised his eyes to meet mine directly. His gaze was composed.

"I’ve never stolen."

"If you take it without asking, it’s stealing, then."

The child snorted.

While maintaining my guard, I thought that if his character is already like this, he’ll be quite a sight when he grows up.

"Have you committed a crime? Are you running away?"

"..."

The boy stared at me for a moment, then let out a light sigh and sat down at the table I had been looking at.

His movements were smooth and dignified, making me feel for a moment that this wasn’t my room but his.

"Release the Ether through the circle."

...Is he giving me an order now?

"Why should I?"

"Do you want to faint again?"

"Ha..."

I was momentarily speechless at the child’s boldness.

Even as I stared at him, the child sat upright as if this were his rightful place, not averting his gaze.

The nerve of this kid. I felt I needed to be firm.

"It’s better to answer my questions. I’ll tie you up with a divine command and call the servants if you don’t."

"..."

"You still don’t look good. If you came here for Ether, you should be more polite."

I said firmly. The boy’s brow furrowed slightly.

Eunseo was generally a well-behaved child, but around the age of five or six, like most children, she would throw tantrums to get what she wanted.

If I gave in to her every whim, she would only become more spoiled.

I tried ignoring her and coaxing her, but the best method was always to demand order from her.

If you want something, ask politely. Then I’ll listen.

That’s our rule.

"There’s nowhere in the palace I can’t go."

The child finally spoke, answering my earlier question.

It wasn’t a satisfactory answer, but I gradually released Ether through the circle as if compensating for it.

I tried to imagine unraveling a ball of yarn to control the flow.

It seemed to work, as the boy’s complexion visibly improved.

"I’m not a criminal or a runaway."

I released even more Ether.

As if unraveling four more rounds of yarn.

"Then helping you won’t benefit me at all."

"I can assure you it will."

What? The kid responded seriously to my half-joking remark.

Of course, I didn’t believe him.

A decent person wouldn’t hide in the palace’s confession room or break into a prince’s room through the balcony.

But his knowledge of the palace’s layout didn’t make him seem like an ordinary thief or troublemaker.

"Well, you must be a noble or a royal, then?"

"..."

The child clamped his mouth shut like a clam. His orange eyes stubbornly shone.

Yeah, when he reacts like this, even our older brother can’t get an answer.

I shook my head and chose another question.

Cedric was an only child, and the only two royals residing in the palace were the emperor and the prince, so it was unlikely he was from that family.

The protagonist of "Retired Duke," Cristel, also didn’t have a brother his age.

I had managed to avoid two major obstacles.

"Are you a priest too?"

"No."

The child answered my next question immediately. This was unexpected.

Ether could only be exchanged between priests and holy knights.

It was said that those who possessed the power to handle Ether, i.e., divine power, were almost always priests or holy knights.

"Then you must be a holy knight... "

"Why are you reading books about demons and divine beasts?"

The child sharply cut off my words.

His gaze, now scanning the books on the table, was sharp. For such a small kid, he had a lot of presence.

"I haven’t read them yet. I heard a demon appeared on the back mountain, and it might be a divine beast, so I was curious."

I slowly approached the child and stood opposite the table.

I didn’t mention the story from the mountain keeper Agnes.

Even if I’m a fake priest, I don’t take the role of a confessor lightly enough to spread the contents of a confession everywhere.

"..."

The child muttered. Then came a surprising statement.

"I’m guiding the divine beast that appeared in the palace to a divine sanctuary. That’s why I needed your Ether."

'From ancient times, when a divine beast appeared, those with divine power would guide it to a divine sanctuary.'

A phrase from a book whose title I couldn’t remember flashed through my mind.

An unexpected connection.

"Is there really a divine beast?"

"Yes."

"Does it mean it came down from the back mountain to the palace?"

"It didn’t walk through the front gate, of course."

I swallowed hard. The mountain keeper Agnes and her carpenter friend Maxim’s deductions were correct.

It wasn’t a demon but a divine beast.

"I thought it was a legendary creature. There’s hardly any information about it."

"Is the prince of the Divine Kingdom doubting the existence of divine beasts?"

The child said with a sneer.

"That’s a stereotype. Not everyone in the Divine Kingdom is devout."

"The nearest divine sanctuary to the capital is in the Sarnes Dukedom. You’ll cooperate until I completely guide the divine beast there."

The child cut me off sharply.

Wait, wait a moment. Too much information at once was overwhelming.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again.

Let’s organize this, slowly.

I raised one hand and started with my thumb.

"..."

"You’re guiding that divine beast?"

"Only those with divine power can tame a divine beast. You know that."

Right, this kid has divine power. I nodded slightly and bent my index finger.

"The cardinal is also in the palace. Why are you doing it?"

"His Excellency cannot leave the Emperor’s side."

The boy replied curtly.

The emperor and the cardinal had a contract to become 'religious partners.'

I recalled Benjament’s explanation that the cardinal resided in the palace as the emperor’s partner.

The two, who had become soulmates, couldn’t be separated by a certain distance.

"Third, when you say Sarnes Dukedom, you mean the hometown of Cristel de Sarnes, the duchess?"

The child seemed to find it bothersome to answer and only nodded slightly.

I felt a sense of crisis at this small gesture.

The name that popped up was one I should never be involved with, and I found myself looking up at the sky.

Is this the author’s manipulation?

A hint that no matter what I do, I can’t escape from her and the original plot?

No, there was no need to panic. There were still plenty of ways out.

"Why don’t you just keep the divine beast in the palace? It’s said to be very obedient. There are a lot of web novels these days with animals."

I genuinely thought it wouldn’t be bad to take that route.

As long as I don’t run into Cristel.

"..."

The kid’s eyes and mouth both expressed disdain.

"No, I just don’t want to get involved with the Sarnes Duke. I plan to live quietly."

"Huh."

The boy let out a short breath, as if hearing something absurd.

I briefly reflected on my recent actions.

I admit I made things a bit bigger by agreeing to the confession, but if I didn’t create an escape route, I’d be stuck attending the ball.

I couldn’t risk showing up at an event where the protagonist couple would likely attend.

If I devoted myself to the duties of a priest, I’d receive fewer unwanted love calls from the Rieste social circle.

"The guiding is my job, so you don’t need to worry about the duchy."

The boy said casually. I snapped out of my thoughts and looked down at the child.

"You just need to provide me with Ether."

"..."

I’m fine with that, but are you really okay? Are you doing this alone?"

"My compatibility with the divine beast makes additional help unnecessary."

Compatibility? Does Ether have such a thing?

In this unfamiliar world, there was no end to what I needed to learn.

I shouldn’t even joke about immigrating and leaving Korea, damn it.

"Still, if you need anything else, let me know. You seem to get really bad when your Ether is depleted. Is the guiding that exhausting?"

"..."

I slowly placed my hand on the child’s forehead, which had stopped sweating. He didn’t have a fever.

His complexion was a bit pale, but the child had clearly calmed down after receiving my Ether.

It was unsettling to think that such a young kid would navigate the palace and the capital, and even go to the Sarnes Dukedom alone.

"Can’t you tell anyone about this?"

"I told you to keep it quiet."

"I thought I could tell His Excellency the Cardinal. If he knows what you’re doing, he might help you in some way."

The child silently reached out and opened the wooden box on the table.

It seemed he didn’t want to answer again.

The box was filled with sage tea leaves that Cedric had sent as a gift a few days ago.

"You haven’t touched them?"

"They’re precious, so I planned to share them with the palace staff."

The boy’s expression softened slightly at my comment that he couldn’t drink them all alone.

"Would you like some too?"

The child’s orange eyes seemed to express dissatisfaction.

Only then did I realize he might be thirsty, so I fetched a water bottle and poured some into an empty cup.

"Are you taking care of your meals? You need to eat well to grow tall, like your brother."

"..."

I couldn’t tell if he was ignoring me or refusing to answer.

I picked up a handful of darioles from the glass bowl next to the box and wrapped them in a clean handkerchief.

"Eat these when you’re low on sugar."

Kanael had individually wrapped them in paper so I could enjoy them anytime.

The child took the package from me and looked at it strangely.

"Huh?"

Then, golden particles like fireflies began to float around the child’s body.

I hastily deactivated the circle, wondering if it was my fault. My heart sank a little.

"It’s time for me to go."

The boy didn’t seem bothered at all.

He silently moved to open the balcony door and, in an instant, leaped onto the railing.

His movements were so fluid that I wouldn’t have noticed them if I hadn’t seen them myself.

I quickly moved to the balcony entrance.

"If we meet again, you should tell me your name."

The boy turned his head and stared down at me.

His black hair, illuminated by the moonlight, looked infinitely noble, and his orange eyes were as red as the sun at night.

Our gazes locked for a long moment.

"..."

"Saidi."

After saying that, the boy threw himself into the darkness.

*

"What is all this?"

The next morning, I was dragged to the main gate of Juliette Palace and had to deal with the fuss of the servants.

A large cart was filled with unknown items.

"These are gifts from His Highness Cedric. He’s praising the efforts of Juliette Palace’s servants and giving each of us a box of precious tea leaves."

Benjament explained with a gentle smile.

The box in Kanael’s hand was about one-tenth the size of the one I received.

When I opened the lid, a refreshing, slightly minty scent wafted out.

It seemed to be sage tea again.

"Looks like he’s into it."

Kanael laughed heartily at my muttering.

I headed back to bed, thinking that even if the prince, being the male lead, started doing something he never did before, he wouldn’t die.

It was nice to see everyone gathered and chatting excitedly.