A week and a day had passed since coming to the imperial palace with the prince. Angel thumped her chest in frustration.
‘Getting information is too slow.’
Though she had created a line of communication by sending her person to Iakos Kingdom along with the prince’s attendants, the distance between the empire and the kingdom was too far, so she hadn’t received any information even once yet.
‘There’s no benefit to having planted people.’
Since she didn’t know anything properly, she couldn’t move rashly either.
‘In contrast to that… the prince met Seoho again.’
The prince had quite good skills and was also quite lucky. He had created time to spend with Seoho using the letter as an excuse, and thanks to the commonality that his mother was a person from the same country as him, he had won over Seoho’s heart even more easily.
Thinking that Seoho was accepting him as the prince intended, one corner of her heart became uncomfortable again.
‘Did the Emperor not stop it? Or is his longing for home that great?’
Since she hadn’t properly seen how Seoho treated the prince, she couldn’t yet confirm that he had completely opened his heart to the prince.
‘I’ll confirm it today.’
Angel recalled the dinner invitation the servant had delivered a little while ago and rose from her seat.
“I should go out.”
Along with the dinner invitation, she had just heard that she had a personal visitor. A personal visitor who would come all the way to the imperial palace—she could roughly guess who had come.
‘The temple must have sent them. That’s why the Emperor invited me to dinner.’
When the reception room door opened and Angel entered, sure enough, two priests stood up and bowed their heads.
Angel made a puzzled face as if she knew nothing.
“What brings you here?”
When Angel sat down and asked, they sat in chairs following Angel and answered.
“Why did you lie to the temple?”
It was quite direct. It seemed the temple had discovered the fact that the prince was in the palace with Angel through some route.
However, fortunately, it seemed that priest was hot-blooded enough to get straight to the point without even greeting properly.
‘Simple humans are easy to handle. The problem is who sent them….’
Angel let out a harmless smile and covered her mouth.
“A lie?”
Then one of the priests answered in an even stiffer voice.
“The temple did not hear that the Holy Maiden was moving together with the Iakos prince.”
Angel didn’t like these people who were staring stiffly at her and interrogating her despite being mere ordinary priests.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve seen that face somewhere.’
Angel narrowed her eyes and examined the man’s face thoroughly, then realized where she had seen him.
‘Was he one of Fray’s people?’
She had seen them assisting Fray a few times. Fray’s people—that was better than someone sent from higher up.
Angel answered even more confidently.
“I didn’t come with the prince. You should consider it as our destinations overlapping.”
At least on the surface, that was the case. The prince and Angel had left the temple at different times and arrived at the imperial palace at slightly different times too.
They had just happened to meet in front of the palace by coincidence.
Angel’s letter sent to the Emperor didn’t contain any mention of traveling together with the prince either.
In other words, they had only noticed the prince’s presence but didn’t have direct evidence that Angel had traveled with him.
‘If I don’t acknowledge it, there won’t be any problem.’
So these people shouldn’t be throwing questions at Angel like this but should go find the prince. To ask why he was in the imperial palace pretending to be a priest and deceiving people.
At Angel’s words, indignation filled the priest’s face. It was clearly visible that he knew something but was frustrated at not being able to say it.
Quite pleased with that sight, Angel’s smile deepened.
“So you came all the way to the imperial palace to ask that?”
“…If you’re not busy, would you please return to the temple.”
As expected, Fray suspected Angel’s intentions. To be precise, she probably thought Angel was plotting something and had guessed as far as that being why she came to the imperial palace.
Angel shook her head as if regretful.
“I still have matters left that His Majesty requested. Doesn’t the temple prioritize His Majesty above all else?”
“That’s true, but…”
When she brought up Rosetta, the priest couldn’t say anything more. Angel raised the corners of her mouth and asked.
“You have nothing more to say now, right? Actually, I have a meal with His Majesty coming up soon.”
With those words, the brief meeting dispersed.
Having easily dealt with the temple’s people, Angel resolved to hurry a bit more.
‘More people might come.’
If Fray had noticed that the prince was in the imperial palace, not just her but those higher up might soon obtain the information as well. There was a high possibility that instead of someone who was no match for Angel like now, someone with proper eloquence to pressure her would come.
‘Things will get troublesome.’
So she should start acting before that.
Now, when the Emperor wasn’t paying much attention to her and there was no interference from the temple, was the best time to move.
Angel, who had left the reception room and was returning to her room, greeted the figure who appeared at the end of the corridor.
“Sol.”
Then, as if conscious of others’ gazes like Angel was, the prince returned the greeting.
“Holy Maiden, have you been well?”
“Yes.”
Angel gave an appropriate greeting and was about to leave when the prince stopped at a not-too-distant distance and asked.
“I heard people came from the temple.”
“Yes.”
“Is there some trouble?”
Since he’d been caught being here, one should consider there to be some trouble. But since she didn’t particularly want to explain in detail, Angel lightly shrugged her shoulders.
“There’s nothing much. I think I should go in to prepare now.”
“Ah, the meal. I was also invited.”
Since she had expected as much, Angel answered calmly.
“Is that so? Then you should prepare as well.”
Angel left the prince behind and entered her room. And she headed straight to the vanity. Angel, who had tidied her appearance, stared intently at the mirror. Beyond the mirror, Angel’s silver eyes, which had changed color after becoming the Holy Maiden, sparkled brightly.
‘I should use what only I have.’
Just as the prince hadn’t revealed everything about the mirror, Angel also had something she was hiding from the prince.
‘I don’t know if the prince will take this seriously. But I need to make him think I have other hidden information besides this.’
That way, she would make him approach Angel first.
The power only the Holy Maiden possessed—using these eyes that only she had, she would emphasize that there was something only Angel herself could use.
***
He wasn’t the type to dislike compliments, but still, this was a bit embarrassing.
‘Is it okay to receive such compliments when I have someone even more beautiful beside me?’
But whether he knew Seoho’s thoughts or not, Puti repeated that he was so beautiful and it suited him well, then left the room saying he would go check on the dining room situation.
When Puti left the room, his buzzing ears seemed to quiet down. Puti was truly kind and friendly, but occasionally he praised Seoho too excessively.
‘In that regard, he seems similar to Rosetta.’
Whether it was a characteristic of people here or what, those around Seoho were generally quite expressive.
“Seoho, ah…”
Seoho turned to Rosetta and cut off his words.
“I’ve already heard enough compliments, so that’s enough.”
At those words, Rosetta made a puzzled face as if asking what he meant.
“I wasn’t trying to give you a compliment though?”
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Seoho rolled his eyes without ill will.
“Then what were you going to say?”
“I was going to talk about the portrait we discussed last time.”
Seoho tried hard not to be embarrassed. As Seoho put strength into his lips, Rosetta suddenly approached and lightly touched Seoho’s lips.
“Of course, your lips deserve to be called cute enough.”
Grabbing and lowering Rosetta’s hand that was pressing down on his lips for a bit longer without immediately letting go, Seoho let out an empty laugh.
“Is it fun to tease me?”
Rosetta shrugged his shoulders and redirected the conversation.
“Anyway, they said there’s no magic to draw pictures. So it seems we’ll have to call a painter after all if we want to leave a painting.”
Though it was disappointing, it couldn’t be helped. Seoho nodded.
“I see. Then call someone at a time that’s convenient for Rosetta.”
Rosetta asked happily.
“Will you let us be painted together?”
Since it was something he hadn’t experienced before, trying it once seemed like it would be good.
“But I’d like to receive one too.”
“Alright. I’ll select a few candidates, so it would be good to choose the painter who will paint us together too.”
“Let’s do that. But Rosetta.”
“Hm?”
“Is it really necessary to eat together?”
Seoho found it hard to understand this suddenly arranged dinner today.
‘It hasn’t even been half a day since I met Yun.’
He could understand arranging a meeting to get confirmation that he would provide more information about the mirror now that he’d exchanged letters with Grace once, and to ask about the reason the temple people came to find Angel, but did they really need to eat together?
‘Isn’t it better to eat comfortably at least?’
Seoho added to Rosetta, who was looking at him as if asking what he meant.
