Chapter 10
Because of the spell Ulysses had cast, Theo’s body froze completely. He couldn’t move a single finger.
The difference in their power was overwhelming.
It constricted even his breathing. Though his mouth and nose were unobstructed, it felt as if his airway had been sealed shut.
His ragged breaths caught painfully in his throat.
Tap.
The spell was lifted, and while his body regained its freedom, it continued trembling from sheer psychological terror.
“Haa… huff…”
“Priest Theo.”
The eyes looking down at him were frighteningly deep and cold.
Theo had never seen Ulysses like this before.
Just hearing his name spoken in that low, heavy voice felt like a harsher condemnation than any insult.
“Your Holiness! That’s not what—!”
Ulysses walked right past him.
His unwavering steps toward his destination crushed Theo’s fingers beneath his foot.
Of course, Ulysses knew exactly what he had stepped on.
He simply didn’t care.
“I never imagined you would throw yourself into danger for the sake of a useless egg.”
Yoidel’s white robe had been torn by the intense heat.
The pale skin visible beneath it was red and raw from friction burns.
From her slightly twisted ankle to the dull ache radiating from her face, there wasn’t a single part of her that was uninjured.
Because they shared injuries through their pairing, he could feel every bit of that pain himself.
“Why are you here… in this condition?”
When he gently pressed one of her burns, Yoidel flinched.
She didn’t even cry out.
Watching her silently endure the pain, Ulysses let out a deep sigh.
“Ugh…”
“You truly leave me no choice but to place you under special supervision.”
Without the slightest hint of a smile, Ulysses healed the burned areas with magic.
Too stunned to even stand, Yoidel found herself leaning against him as she looked up.
He had never been a man with naturally gentle features.
The difference was simply that his entire atmosphere changed when he smiled.
His true face resembled the bitter cold of winter frost.
After administering rough first aid, Ulysses turned toward the culprit behind the incident.
Theo shuddered at the sight of that expressionless face.
“Your Holiness…”
It didn’t feel like the Ulysses he knew.
Had he been here from the beginning?
Then that means he saw everything… including what I was about to do to that pink-haired brat.
Theo’s face turned deathly pale.
“No matter that this was supposedly training, I cannot overlook priests causing disturbances among themselves.”
“That’s not it, Your Holiness…”
“And even involving the Divine Beast’s egg.”
His icy voice pierced Theo’s ears.
“Tell me exactly what you intended to do, Priest Theo.”
He was questioning him.
While shielding Yoidel.
“It’s unfair!” Theo shouted. “A trainee priest like Yoidel doesn’t deserve the position of Divine Beast caretaker! And if Priest Yoidel had properly fulfilled her duty and guarded the entrance, I never would have gotten in here in the first place! That’s clear negligence! She isn’t even qualified to be a priest!”
The moment he finished speaking, the Divine Beast’s egg shook violently.
“Flo, I’m fine. Calm down.”
The egg trembled as if it were shaking with rage, trying desperately to leap out of Yoidel’s arms.
“So she’s unqualified?”
“Yes!”
Hearing Theo’s confident answer, Ulysses smiled serenely.
There was always something enjoyable about dealing with fools.
“Then the fault lies with me.”
“I was the one lacking judgment when I appointed Lady Yoidel as caretaker of the Divine Beast. As the one who governs the Holy Kingdom, it seems I have fallen short.”
The last traces of color drained from Theo’s face.
Watching him, Ulysses slowly reached toward the egg in Yoidel’s embrace.
Thunk!
The egg immediately smacked his hand away as though annoyed.
Ulysses stared at the irritating little egg before calmly continuing,
“As you can see, Lady Yoidel has been chosen by the Divine Beast.”
“That’s… impossible…”
Theo shook his head in disbelief.
His pride wasn’t merely cracked anymore.
It was on the verge of shattering.
“I could do a far better job!”
He practically screamed.
Just then—
Bang!
“The Divine Beast chose Trainee Priest Yoidel?!”
The door burst open, and Hail rushed in with a horrified expression.
His despairing gaze swept over everyone.
He had only come to check what the commotion was about in the Divine Beast’s chamber.
The news he overheard nearly stopped his heart.
What did I say before?
‘If someone ever hatches the Divine Beast, I’ll carry that person on my shoulders and parade them across the continent.’
He had definitely said that.
Yoidel’s unexpected brilliance during training had briefly clouded his judgment.
But he remembered all too clearly how violent she had once been.
A dreadful image slowly formed in his mind.
Himself carrying that former death-row inmate on his shoulders during a grand parade.
I still haven’t even found out who His Holiness’s destined partner is, and now this happens too?!
Hail immediately shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Absolutely not! Anyone but Priest Yoidel!”
Dong— Dong—
Eight o’clock in the evening.
When the bell tower rang three times, all work within the Grand Temple came to an end, and the temple settled into peaceful rest.
“It still feels as though that cranky old man’s shouting is echoing in my ears.”
Covering one ear slightly, Ulysses narrowed his eyes in annoyance.
Elder Hail’s voice—and his relentless pressure to get married—only grew louder with each passing day.
…But why couldn’t he hear the footsteps of that tiny human?
Ulysses turned around.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming?”
“Ah! Yes!”
Yoidel looked around with wide eyes at the breathtaking place before her.
This magnificent palace…
…was the Holy Palace.
A castle as cold and white as its master, Ulysses.
Located behind the Grand Temple’s central building, it consisted of several enormous palaces.
Everything was built from gleaming white marble.
Though ancient, the palace looked spotless, elegant, and timeless.
Works of art and floral decorations were placed throughout, but the use of color was restrained to maintain an air of quiet sophistication.
The royal guards had already withdrawn.
When the corridor door on the top floor opened, an unimaginably vast room appeared.
One entire wall was made of glass.
Soft carpets and only the bare minimum of furniture filled the space.
This…
…was his office.
His Holiness is probably bringing me here to quietly dispose of me.
Feeling like a lamb being led to slaughter, Yoidel’s eyes welled up with tears.
She had certainly made many mistakes in the past.
But to lose his trust over today’s incident…
She felt terribly wronged.
“Even if I get scolded, I still have to tell you. Your Holiness, Trainee Priest Theo was trying to break the egg. I don’t have any proof, and you probably won’t believe me, but if you just give me a few days, I can prove—”
“I know.”
“…Huh?”
He turned around.
Their eyes met.
His narrow blue eyes looked directly into hers.
“I’m not so foolish that I can’t recognize the malice of a half-baked priest.”
“Neither I… nor that egg.”
“…Nor you.”
Using magic, Ulysses seated Yoidel on a sofa.
Her eyes widened as he bent down in front of her.
Silver hair fell softly around his face, revealing his sharp jawline.
He rolled up the hem of her trousers.
“Didn’t you also realize his hostility and try to protect the egg?”
“If a novice like you could tell, do you really think I couldn’t?”
He spoke calmly as he pulled on a pair of gloves.
“Um… I don’t have germs or anything…”
“Did that Theo fellow actually say something like that to you?”
“No!”
“Then who did?”
His expression turned icy.
“No, that’s not it… I just thought… you seemed uncomfortable touching people. You don’t have to treat me yourself.”
“I’ve already healed most of the abrasions.”
“I only put on the gloves because touching open wounds with unwashed hands isn’t hygienic.”
“And partly for my own reasons.”
Right.
He had never liked physical contact with others.
Yoidel quietly watched him.
Still carrying that tense, sensitive air around him, Ulysses casually prodded her leg.
He was checking for injuries.
Though admittedly…
…he handled her almost like an object.
“Does this hurt?”
“Ow… Everything aches, so it’s hard to tell. I think it does.”
“It does.”
“I can feel the pain there as well.”
Then why did you ask?!
She felt both grateful and strangely offended.
If he already knew through their shared pain, couldn’t he have just checked using his own body?
As she stared at him in disbelief, he smiled with practiced gentleness and moved his hand to her ankle.
Press.
“Ow!”
“This spot hurts too.”
“I see.”
“The injury is fairly deep.”
“You’re pressing harder on purpose, aren’t you?”
He ignored her complaint and cast another healing spell.
The pain disappeared almost instantly.
“It’s the same pain.”
“How can Your Holiness act as though it’s nothing?”
“My body is trained.”
“And as you know, yours is exceptionally weak.”
“Your frame is small.”
“Shall I continue?”
“Your skin is delicate.”
“You bruise easily.”
“And your muscles are barely strong enough to lift a spoonful of food.”
“That’s enough!”
Yoidel’s face turned bright red.
At that moment, seeing him smiling while inspecting her bruises…
She realized it.
He’s enjoying this!
“But protecting such a fragile little fledgling priest…”
“…is my responsibility and duty as Holy Sovereign.”
His gentle voice echoed quietly through the room.
“Lady Yoidel, you are one of the priests under my command.”
“My protection extends to you as well.”
“Perhaps more than anyone else.”
As he expertly treated her injuries, Yoidel shyly tugged her clothes back down to cover herself.
He immediately brushed her hand aside.
“Don’t do something so inefficient.”
“Are you really embarrassed in front of another man?”
He frowned slightly.
Silently, Yoidel wrapped her fingers around the ring that maintained her male disguise.
“Why that expression?”
“It’s about what happened with Theo earlier…”
“If you’re worried about the spell I cast on him, it wasn’t anything serious.”
“I merely immobilized him.”
“You needn’t concern yourself.”
“No… that’s not it.”
She glanced nervously into his blue eyes before speaking in a tiny voice.
“I’m sorry…”
“But honestly…”
“I thought he deserved it.”
“He was the one in the wrong.”
“If Theo had threatened Flo again…”
“I might have headbutted him.”
Despite her timid demeanor, Yoidel said something astonishing.
After hesitating for a long moment, she finally lowered her head.
“Thank you for saving me, Your Holiness.”
Ulysses silently watched her before speaking.
“Such thorough gratitude.”
…Is he saying I shouldn’t even thank him?
Just as she shrank back at his low voice—
“Good.”
“Proper obedience.”
“And appropriate repayment.”
He nodded with clear satisfaction.
“Although…”
“It seems the future you claim to see failed to mention that you would suffer burn injuries today.”
Yoidel’s eyes widened.
So that’s why His Holiness appeared so quickly…
“It was you who promised to come immediately whenever I summoned you.”
“And yet somehow, the situation has been reversed.”
“Why is it that instead of you rushing to my side…”
“…I am the one forced to hurry to yours?”
“Isn’t that rather ridiculous?”
He had simply been sitting quietly in his office.
Then a sudden wave of pain made him wince.
Wounds had appeared on his body for no reason.
The moment he saw them…
…he knew.
Something had happened to Yoidel—the one who shared his pain.
Yoidel suddenly grabbed his robes.
His brows immediately furrowed in displeasure.
“What are you doing?”
“Your injuries!”
“Are you alright, Lord Ulysses?”
“Did they hurt badly?”
Her guilty voice trembled pitifully.
Ulysses found her reaction more puzzling than anything else.
She could barely take care of herself…
…yet she worried about someone else first.
He wasn’t accustomed to receiving concern from others.
“The best thing Lady Yoidel can do…”
“…is not get hurt.”
“That will help me far more than your concern.”
“And it will also help during the examination you’ll be taking.”
“Your Holiness, I earnestly beg you.”
“Please appoint the Divine Beast’s caretaker through the proper examination process!”
Hail had proposed that the two of them settle the matter with a test.
