Hedera didn't use a spell, but her cold tone alone had a similar effect.
The priests who were chatting suddenly stopped. Their eyes widened as
they noticed Hedera's presence, and she commanded again.
"I said, come closer."
The command of a princess was absolute.
The priests began to approach, visibly frightened, still unsure why they
were being called.
"You were just talking about the 3rd Princess."
At those words, the priests quickly recalled what they had said. Fortunately,
none had spoken rudely about the 3rd Princess, but it could still be a
problem.
One of the priests quickly spoke up.
"We're sorry. We spoke carelessly…"
"No. Your statements were fine."
Hedera thought that if it weren't for them, she wouldn't have known Solana
had been there.
She quickly asked the next question.
"Was there a man with the 3rd Princess?"
Then, the priests looked very embarrassed.
"We didn't notice that… Just knowing the 3rd Princess was there, we were
so surprised that we lost our composure…"
Well, there's a saying that the arm bends inward.1
These were priests living in the church inside the Imperial Palace. They had
no choice but to side with Solana.
So Hedera asked differently.
"Has the Auditor been discharged?"
The priests exchanged glances, unsure of what to do, but they were dealing
with the 2nd Princess, Hedera. It was impossible not to answer such a
question.
Finally, a priest spoke in a creeping voice.
"Yes… If we have offended you, 2nd Princess, we apologize. We were
just…"
"Enough."
The priests were clearly worried about being interrogated, but Hedera didn't
listen further. Her interest was solely in Jaekiel.
"Get back to your work."
Hedera began to move quickly. The problem was that her destination was
still unclear.
'…Where?'
The Imperial Palace was as vast as a small village. The thought of Solana
spending every moment with Jaekiel made her anxious.
"The Auditor, whose body is still not fully recovered, who needs to visit the
Black Tower tomorrow…"
Jaekiel's health, his duties as the auditor, the future of the Imperial Tower,
the tasks Hedera had to accomplish… Various thoughts crossed her mind,
but they were soon overshadowed.
Yes, in fact, such things didn't matter.
What made Hedera anxious was not those superficial reasons.
It was that Solana was breaking her promise and spending time with Jaekiel
on her own. That alone angered her.
…What on earth are they talking about?
There was no need to think deeply. Calling him secretly meant they would
talk about something secret.
The 1st Princess Ether even proposed marriage. So what would Solana say?
Would it be something just as shocking?
"…"
Hedera focused all her energy.
The keen senses unique to a dragon blood owner quickly spread throughout
the palace. Her anxious mind increased the intensity and speed as she
searched every corner.
"…!"
And soon, she sensed Solana's holy power.
It was deep inside the dining hall.
Whoosh!
Hedera moved quickly.
There were many stories to tell Jaekiel when he'd wake up, and many to
hear from him. His first conversation after regaining consciousness should
have been with Hedera.
But Solana took that away. How important could the conversation be to
justify this?
"…"
In the meantime, she finally arrived.
The dining hall door was slightly open, and Hedera peeked inside through
the gap. The two were sitting there, with plates indicating they had almost
finished their meal.
'…How dare she?!'
The fact that Solana had taken the first meal with Jaekiel made her
emotions surge, but she barely suppressed them.
…If she interrupted now, she wouldn't be able to eavesdrop on their
conversation.
Hedera strained her ears as much as possible.
Soon, she heard Jaekiel's voice.
"Well, I think I need to focus only on work for now."
"In that case, you should keep even more distance. It will help you focus on
work."
What does she mean by keeping distance?
Solana, standing up, leaned her upper body towards Jaekiel. The close
distance was enough to make Hedera's brow furrow.
"Just like flowers attract all kinds of bugs. The more famous you become,
the more women will flock to you, but you must firmly reject them.
Understand?"
"Hmm…"
"Focus solely on your work and keep all other women away from you,
except me. Their intentions are truly impure."
Hedera couldn't believe her ears.
Wasn't Solana the one with the most impure intentions right now? Her
words felt utterly hypocritical.
"I will quietly wait. Until the day you gain enough fame and happiness and
get rid of all other women, I'll be waiting."
In the end, wasn't Solana trying to claim him for herself? Hedera
unconsciously bit her lower lip.
"So, please reassure me, who is waiting and praying for you alone. Do not
get hurt as much as possible, and keep other women away."
Hedera closed her eyes tightly and pressed her temples. She needed time to
organize her thoughts on where to start arguing.
But when she opened her eyes again…
"…!"
Her eyes widened in shock.
Solana had placed both her hands gently over Jaekiel's fist.
"Now, let me pray for you, Teacher."
Bang!
Hedera couldn't hold back and threw the door open forcefully.
"…"
Silence immediately fell inside the dining hall.
Solana, recognizing Hedera, widened her eyes, then subtly frowned, feeling
the clear hostility emanating from Hedera.
"Interesting, the one who first mentioned three days."
"What brings you here? Are you hungry?"
"They call the Sun God's daughter a saint, right? The condition is being a
virgin, but your actions are nothing short of a harlot's. What are you doing
to the patient?"
Solana subtly frowned but did not remove her hands from Jaekiel's fist.
It was more than enough to make Hedera feel disgusted.
"The messengers were too aggressive, constantly bothering the patient, so I
took appropriate measures. I also fed him nutritious food, which is better,
isn't it?"
"Then you should have reported it. How dare you act on your own?"
"In matters within the church, there is no authority higher than His Majesty
the Emperor. I have never reported to the 2nd Princess in any case."
Sharp exchanges followed.
Silence fell again.
Jaekiel cautiously spoke at that moment.
"First, both of you, calm down─"
"Teacher, stay quiet."
"Auditor, stay quiet."
"…"
Jaekiel quietly bit his Sun Grass.
No, he wanted to, but couldn't. Solana was holding his hand tightly.
Hedera broke the silence again.
"Solana."
Hedera called the 3rd Princess indifferently.
Her tone seemed to have rid itself of discomfort and irritation, but now
carried a hint of mockery.
"You must have been very anxious, huh?"
At those words, Solana's eyebrows twitched for the first time. Seeing this,
Hedera became even more convinced.
"You made this decision because you couldn't possibly compete with three
people at once, right? Even breaking the rules of the proposal you suggested
yourself."
A calm voice.
"…But do you think that will work?"
Hedera smirked.
"From what I hear, you think if you get rid of all the other women, you'll be
the only one left to be chosen… But no. You're just not attractive enough."
In fact, Hedera had been anxious about Jaekiel being alone with Solana, but
now she deliberately laughed exaggeratedly to suppress Solana.
"If it were me, I would have told him to meet other women as much as he
wanted because I'm confident in my own charm."
Solana lost her words.
Hedera was sure she had pressed her down. At the same time, she began to
move toward the Auditor.
But soon, she had to stop abruptly.
Because a single word struck her ears.
"The woman who didn't care about the Teacher."
At first, Hedera couldn't believe her ears. Her eyes, visible above the mask,
quickly filled with bewilderment.
Solana was just smiling benevolently, as usual. Perhaps that's why the
cognitive dissonance felt even stronger. Hedera frowned and asked again.
"What did you just say?"
Then Solana, as if reciting a prayer, murmured very gently.
"…Isn't it true? You didn't care about the Teacher's condition, and you
didn't even show your face when he was brought to the church."
And the final blow.
"But now, how dare you?"
"…"
Those were the last words.
The two princesses looked at each other in silence for a while.
"Ha."
Soon, Hedera let out a hollow laugh.
"Haha… Hahaha! Hahahaha!"
The hollow laugh soon turned into maniacal laughter.
The conversation between the princesses was becoming somewhat rough.